The Kinship Caregiver Support Act is bipartisan legislation which was reintroduced February 2007 to help grandparents and other relatives raising children. Original cosponsors of the bill are Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Olympia Snowe (R-ME). The bill includes five important provisions to help grandparents and other relatives raising children:

• Establishes a Kinship Navigator Program
• Establishes a Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program to provide federal assistance to states for subsidized guardianship programs to assist relative caregivers and their children
• Ensures written notice to relatives when children enter foster care Allows states to have separate licensing standards for kin and non-kin foster parents, provided both standards protect children and include criminal record checks.
• Expands eligibility for Chafee funds which provide financial assistance to youth aging out of foster care for higher education.
• New language will include foster youth who exit the system into legal guardianship as eligible recipients.

Click here for a detailed summary of the bill...

Sample Letter for Campaign

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I urge you to support the Kinship Caregivers Support Act, Senate Bill 661. This bill would allow states, for the first time, to use federal Title IV-E foster care funds to help provide subsidized guardianship assistance payments to relatives so that the children they care for will not have to remain in foster care.

The bill, among other positive things, also provides supports to states and large metropolitan areas to establish kinship navigator programs, which would help grandparents and other relatives obtain information and referral services and other supports to meet the needs of the children they are raising.

Relative caregivers step in when their grandchildren, nephews and sibblings need their help. Please, help them help.

Sincerely,

Signed by:

Campaign Launched:
April 02, 2007