[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 3, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5253-S5254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN:
  S. 822. A bill to amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 
to provide for demonstration projects to test the feasibility of 
establishing kinship care as an alternative to foster care for a child 
who has adult relatives willing to provide safe and appropriate care 
for the child, and to require notice to adult relative caregivers; to 
the Committee on Finance.


                      THE KINSHIP CARE ACT OF 1997

 Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Kinship 
Care Act of 1997. Grandparents caring for grandchildren represent one 
of the most underappreciated and perhaps under-utilized natural 
resources in our Nation. Yet they hold tremendous potential for curing 
one of our society's most pressing problems--the care of children who 
have no parents, or whose parents simply aren't up to the task of 
providing children a stable, secure, and nurturing living environment.
  There is such a great reservoir of love and experience available to 
us, and more especially to the tens of thousands of American children 
who desperately need basic care giving. We provide public assistance 
for strangers to give this kind of care, but the folks available to do 
it are in short supply.
  Legislation I am introducing in the Senate today will give States the 
flexibility to provide the support these grandparents need, so that our 
seniors can fill the care gap. Last year, as part of welfare reform, 
Senator Coats and I were successful in passing legislation that would 
give preference to an adult relative over a nonrelated caregiver when 
determining a placement for a child. My new legislation will continue 
the process of shifting the focus of our child welfare system from 
leaving children with strangers to leaving them in the loving arms of 
grandparents and other relatives.
  I am not noticing a new trend. States have been moving in this 
direction for over a decade. Over the past 10 years the number of 
children involved in extended family arrangements has increased by 40 
percent. Currently, more than four million children are being raised by 
their grandparents. In other words, 5 percent of all families in this 
country are headed by grandparents.
  My view is that it's time for the Federal Government to get with the 
program and start developing policies that make it easier, instead of 
more difficult, for families to come together to raise their children.
  My bill has several parts. First, it would allow States to obtain 
waivers to set up kinship care guardianship systems where grandparents 
and other relative providers can receive some financial assistance 
without having to turn over custody of the child to the State and 
without having to go through the paperwork and bureaucratic hurdles of 
the foster care system.
  Grandparents already face a number of hurdles when they suddenly find 
themselves caring for a grandchild. These may include living in 
seniors-only housing, not having clothes or

[[Page S5254]]

space for a grandchild, or living on a fixed income. We need to 
encourage States to start making their child protection systems 
grandparent- and relative-friendly.
  The second part of this bill requires states to give relative 
caregivers notice of and an opportunity to be heard in hearings or case 
reviews with respect to the child's safety and well-being. I have 
repeatedly heard the frustration of these grandparents and relative 
caregivers who say they never knew about or were not allowed to attend 
a hearing or case review affecting a child for whom they may be caring 
or have cared for years. Surely their voices should be heard in those 
circumstances where the well-being and safety of the child is being 
discussed.
  As we reevaluate the effectiveness of our country's child protection 
systems, it's time that we start developing some new ideas and new ways 
to use our resources more effectively to find loving environments for 
children who can't live with their natural parents.
  I applaud the efforts of my colleague in the House, Representative 
Connie Morella who has introduced the companion bill in the House, and 
I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join with me in 
giving states increased flexibility to make their foster care systems 
more grandparent friendly.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 822

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Kinship Care Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. KINSHIP CARE DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.

       (a) In General.--Part E of title IV of the Social Security 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 670-679) is amended by inserting after section 
     477 the following:

     ``SEC. 478. KINSHIP CARE DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.

       ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to allow and 
     encourage States to develop effective alternatives to foster 
     care for children who might be eligible for foster care but 
     who have adult relatives who can provide safe and appropriate 
     care for the child.
       ``(b) Demonstration Authority.--The Secretary may authorize 
     any State to conduct a demonstration project designed to 
     determine whether it is feasible to establish kinship care as 
     an alternative to foster care for a child who--
       ``(1) has been removed from home as a result of a judicial 
     determination that continuation in the home would be contrary 
     to the welfare of the child;
       ``(2) would otherwise be placed in foster care; and
       ``(3) has adult relatives willing to provide safe and 
     appropriate care for the child.
       ``(c) Kinship Care Defined.--As used in this section, the 
     term `kinship care' means safe and appropriate care 
     (including long-term care) of a child by 1 or more adult 
     relatives of the child who have legal custody of the child, 
     or physical custody of the child pending transfer to the 
     adult relative of legal custody of the child.
       ``(d) Project Requirements.--In any demonstration project 
     authorized to be conducted under this section, the State--
       ``(1) should examine the provision of alternative financial 
     and service supports to families providing kinship care; and
       ``(2) shall establish such procedures as may be necessary 
     to assure the safety of children who are placed in kinship 
     care.
       ``(e) Waiver Authority.--The Secretary may waive compliance 
     with any requirement of this part which (if applied) would 
     prevent a State from carrying out a demonstration project 
     under this section or prevent the State from effectively 
     achieving the purpose of such a project, except that the 
     Secretary may not waive--
       ``(1) any provision of section 422(b)(10), section 479, or 
     this section; or
       ``(2) any provision of this part, to the extent that the 
     waiver would impair the entitlement of any qualified child or 
     family to benefits under a State plan approved under this 
     part.
       ``(f) Payments to States; Cost Neutrality.--In lieu of any 
     payment under section 473 for expenses incurred by a State 
     during a quarter with respect to a demonstration project 
     authorized to be conducted under this section, the Secretary 
     shall pay to the State an amount equal to the total amount 
     that would be paid to the State for the quarter under this 
     part, in the absence of the project, with respect to the 
     children and families participating in the project.
       ``(g) Use of Funds.--A State may use funds paid under this 
     section for any purpose related to the provision of services 
     and financial support for families participating in a 
     demonstration project under this section.
       ``(h) Duration of Project.--A demonstration project under 
     this section may be conducted for not more than 5 years.
       ``(i) Application.--Any State seeking to conduct a 
     demonstration project under this section shall submit to the 
     Secretary an application, in such form as the Secretary may 
     require, which includes--
       ``(1) a description of the proposed project, the geographic 
     area in which the proposed project would be conducted, the 
     children or families who would be served by the proposed 
     project, the procedures to be used to assure the safety of 
     such children, and the services which would be provided by 
     the proposed project (which shall provide, where appropriate, 
     for random assignment of children and families to groups 
     served under the project and to control groups);
       ``(2) a statement of the period during which the proposed 
     project would be conducted, and how, at the termination of 
     the project, the safety and stability of the children and 
     families who participated in the project will be protected;
       ``(3) a discussion of the benefits that are expected from 
     the proposed project (compared to a continuation of 
     activities under the State plan approved under this part);
       ``(4) an estimate of the savings to the State of the 
     proposed project;
       ``(5) a statement of program requirements for which waivers 
     would be needed to permit the proposed project to be 
     conducted;
       ``(6) a description of the proposed evaluation design; and
       ``(7) such additional information as the Secretary may 
     require.
       ``(j) State Evaluations and Reports.--Each State authorized 
     to conduct a demonstration project under this section shall--
       ``(1) obtain an evaluation by an independent contractor of 
     the effectiveness of the project, using an evaluation design 
     approved by the Secretary which provides for--
       ``(A) comparison of outcomes for children and families (and 
     groups of children and families) under the project, and such 
     outcomes under the State plan approved under this part, for 
     purposes of assessing the effectiveness of the project in 
     achieving program goals; and
       ``(B) any other information that the Secretary may require;
       ``(2) obtain an evaluation by an independent contractor of 
     the effectiveness of the State in assuring the safety of the 
     children participating in the project; and
       ``(3) provide interim and final evaluation reports to the 
     Secretary, at such times and in such manner as the Secretary 
     may require.
       ``(k) Report to the Congress.--Not later than 4 years after 
     the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 
     shall submit to the Congress a report that contains the 
     recommendations of the Secretary for changes in law with 
     respect to kinship care and placements.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Title IV of the Social Security 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended
       (1) in section 422(b)--
       (A) by striking the period at the end of the paragraph (9) 
     (as added by section 554(3) of the Improving America's 
     Schools Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-382; 108 Stat. 4057)) and 
     inserting a semicolon;
       (B) by redesignating paragraph (10) as paragraph (11); and
       (C) by redesignating paragraph (9), as added by section 
     202(a)(3) of the Social Security Act Amendments of 1994 
     (Public Law 103-432, 108 Stat. 4453), as paragraph (10);
       (2) in sections 424(b), 425(a), and 472(d), by striking 
     ``422(b)(9)'' each place it appears and inserting 
     ``422(b)(10)''; and
       (3) in section 471(a)--
       (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (17);
       (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (18) (as 
     added by section 1808(a) of the Small Business Job Protection 
     Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-188; 110 Stat. 1903)) and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by redesignating paragraph (18) (as added by section 
     505(3) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
     Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193; 110 Stat. 
     2278)) as paragraph (19).

     SEC. 3. NOTICE TO RELATIVE CAREGIVERS.

       (a) In General.--Section 471(a)(19) of the Social Security 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(19), as redesignated by section 
     1(b)(3)(C), is amended to read as follows:
       ``(19) provides that the State shall, with respect to an 
     adult relative caregiver for a child--
       ``(A) provide that relative caregiver with notice of, and 
     an opportunity to be heard in, any dispositional hearing or 
     administrative review held with respect to the child; and
       ``(B) give preference to that relative caregiver over a 
     non-related caregiver when determining a placement for a 
     child, provided that the relative caregiver meets all 
     relevant State child protection standards, and that placement 
     with the relative caregiver would be consistent with the 
     safety needs of the child.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     takes effect on October 1, 1997.
                                 ______