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The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center (Network) - run by Generations United in cooperation with the Administration for Community Living (ACL) - is very pleased to share that the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) today proposed an important rule for children in kinship/relative foster care. The proposal allows child welfare agencies around the country to adopt licensing or approval standards for all relative or kinship foster family homes that are different from those used for non-kin foster family homes. Moreover, ACF encourages child welfare agencies to “strongly consider” developing standards for relative and kinship foster family homes that are limited to long-standing federal safety requirements and omit any additional standards required of non-kin foster family homes.
This proposal is a significant move forward for the thousands of children who are placed with relatives and kin in foster care and yet do not receive monthly foster care payments to meet their needs. All children placed with non-kin in foster care receive these monthly payments, and this proposed rule advances equity for children in kinship/relative foster care, who are disproportionately Black, Indigenous, and/or living in underserved rural areas.
The proposal also allows child welfare agencies more flexibility without compromising child safety and well-being and aligns with long-standing federal and state laws that give priority to relatives, over non-relatives, for the placement of children. As cited in the background to the notice, these relative placement preferences are based on decades of research showing that children in foster care do best when they are placed with relatives, as compared to non-relatives. Children with relatives:
- Maintain close family connections, which are critical to healthy child development and a sense of belonging,
- Preserve their cultural identity and relationship to their community, and
- Experience fewer behavioral problems and higher placement stability rates compared to children living with non-relatives in foster care.
The Network is very pleased that ACF cited many trusted sources in its notice, including the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Initial Report to Congress and lawyers at Generations United and the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law.
The notice period is open until April 17, 2023 and the Network encourages all stakeholders, including kinship caregivers, youth raised in kinship care, and child welfare agencies, to submit comments.
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