[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 102 (Wednesday, July 21, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8557-S8558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Ms. Snowe, and Mr. Daschle):
  S. 2706. A bill to establish kinship navigator programs, to establish 
kinship guardianship assistance payments for children, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be introducing 
legislation that expands the supports and services available to 
grandparents and other relatives who are raising children when their 
biological parents can no longer take care of them. I am happy to have 
worked with my friend and colleague, Senator Olympia Snowe, in crafting 
this important bill.
  Today there is a phenomenon that is quietly changing the face of the 
American family and creating new challenges for our Nation's child 
welfare system--the growth of kinship care. According to the Census, 
more than 6 million children--1 in 12--live in households headed by 
grandparents or other relatives.
  New York alone has over 409,000 children living in these households. 
The majority of these children--54 percent--live with their 
grandparents, while the rest live with aunts, uncles, siblings, and 
cousins. Sadly, one-fifth of families headed by grandparents are living 
in poverty.
  While extended families have always stepped in to raise children when 
parents could not, over the past two decades we've seen a rise in the 
number of children living with grandparents and other relatives. A 
study conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons found 
that the number of children living in grandparent-headed households 
increased by 30 percent between 1990 and 2000.
  Parents are unable to raise their own children for many different 
reasons, and we still have a lot to learn about this trend, but a few 
statistics are illuminating: Mothers are the fastest growing segment of 
the U.S. prison population. Approximately 7 in 10 women in correctional 
facilities have children under age 17. The number of women living with 
HIV/AIDS increased from 4,000 in the early 80s to close to 60,000 in 
2000.
  Many of these women are unable to raise their children and often rely 
on their relatives to fill in. Many other parents die or contract 
debilitating diseases that also make it impossible for them to fulfill 
their parental obligations.
  Grandparents and other relatives have stepped forward, often at great 
personal sacrifice, to provide safe and loving homes for the children 
in their care. This has allowed tens of thousands of children to live 
with extended family rather than strangers.
  Extended families can provide a sense of belonging and a connection 
with their family history. Children are traumatized when they are 
separated from their natural parents--being cared for by grandparents 
or other relatives can soften that blow.
  But kinship families, especially those without formal legal custody 
of the children under their care, face a number of unnecessary 
barriers. Let me give you an example. Maria Lemmons, of Albany, lost 
her daughter, a single mother of 3, in a tragic car crash when Maria 
was 67. Maria immediately stepped in to take custody of her 
grandchildren, aged 11, 13, and 15. But as you can imagine, she 
struggled. Maria was financially secure, but she hadn't raised a 
teenager in over 20 years. She needed guidance about parenting and a 
support group to help her navigate the tough terrain of parenting.
  At the other extreme is Susan Smith. Susan's daughter Cathy almost 
lost custody of her son, Jacob, when she became addicted to heroin and 
neglected him for days at a time. Susan intervened to take care of 
Jacob even though doing so required a significant financial sacrifice. 
Susan lives on a Social Security check of less than $300 a month. She 
can barely afford her groceries and her medicine. But she was not 
willing to let Jacob be raised by a stranger.
  At the very least, both of these women need and deserve our 
compassion. But I believe they also deserve our support as they assume 
the awesome responsibility of raising children. The Kinship Caregiver 
Support Act will help women like Maria and Susan in three important 
ways.
  First, it will establish a ``kinship navigator'' program. This 
program will provide funds to social service agencies to establish 
toll-free hotlines, websites, and resource guides on the local and 
State parenting support available to kinship families. These hotlines 
and websites will give grandparents critical information about 
enrolling children in school, obtaining SCHIP, Medicaid and other 
health insurance, safeguarding their homes for small children, applying 
for housing assistance, obtaining legal services, finding childcare, 
and identifying parental support groups so that women like Maria have 
someone to talk to about their experiences.
  The kinship navigator program will promote partnerships between 
government agencies, not-for-profit and faith-based organizations to 
help them better serve the needs of kinship care families.
  The second part of this legislation will make it possible for kinship 
families who serve as permanent legal guardians to receive the same 
payments that foster families would receive. This is extremely 
important because many grandparents want to raise their grandchildren 
but, like Susan, simply cannot afford to do so.
  States will have the option to use their title IV-E funds to provide 
payments to grandparents and other relatives who have assumed legal 
guardianship of the children they've cared for as foster parents. 
Families would be eligible if the child has been under the care of the 
State agency for at least 12 months and was eligible for foster care 
maintenance payments.

[[Page S8558]]

  There are a few States, such as Illinois and Maryland, that have 
already implemented subsidized guardianship waivers through the Health 
and Human Services demonstration project. These States have shown that 
subsidized guardianship is a cost-neutral and effective way to keep 
families together. My legislation will make it possible for all States 
to follow in their path. It values families that care for each other.
  The final part of this legislation will require States to notify 
grandparents when children enter the foster care system. Unfortunately, 
grandparents and other relatives often do not know when their 
grandchildren or nieces and nephews come under the care of the State. 
By notifying grandparents and other relatives when children enter the 
foster care system, we can make it a lot easier for families to stay 
together.
  I also want to note that in May of this year, the Pew Commission on 
Children in Foster Care recommended that children who live with a 
permanent legal guardian should receive federal guardianship 
assistance. This commission is widely considered to be one of the most 
comprehensive investigation of child welfare financing policy in 
decades and is chaired by a bipartisan group of child welfare experts, 
including legislators, state administrators, family service providers, 
judges, foster and adoptive parents, and former foster youth. It is 
encouraging that their recommendations are in line with the legislation 
I am introducing today.
  I am very pleased with this legislation; it shows that we are moving 
in the right direction toward helping the thousands of children and the 
relatives that care for them in this country. I look forward to working 
with my colleagues to pass this bill in the Senate.
                                 ______