[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 10, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4872-S4873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. 
        Cochran):
  S. 985. 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, I rise today to re-introduce the Kinship 
Caregiver Support Act with my friend and colleague, Senator Olympia 
Snowe. I would like to acknowledge Senators Tim Johnson and Thad 
Cochran who are original co-sponsors of this legislation.
  Over the weekend, America celebrated Mother's Day, a special day when 
we honored our mothers, whose love and nurturing sustains us throughout 
our lives. Mother's Day offers a wonderful opportunity to honor the 
millions of mothers who offer the gifts of love and nurturing for 
children in need. They give so much to the most vulnerable among us, 
and too often they go unnoticed and unthanked. Many of these women earn 
the title of Mother not through biology, but by their unconditional 
love for children.
  In New York alone, more than 500,000 children are cared for by non-
parent relative caregivers. Nationwide, grandparents head 4.5 million 
households and other relatives head another 1.5 million households. 
Linda James of Rochester, NY is one such mother. She became a second-
time mother at the age of 41 when her granddaughter Jasmine was born 
prematurely and her daughter, Jasmine's mother, was unable to care for 
her daughter. When the hospital needed authorization to perform an 
emergency operation on tiny Jasmine, Linda stepped in and assumed 
responsibility. Since that day, Linda has been Jasmine's only resource 
for stability and happiness.
  Over time, Linda, like many relative caregivers, faced many 
challenges as she tried to raise Jasmine. Simple tasks such as 
enrolling her in school and securing health insurance were daunting 
because she had trouble finding basic information about how to approach 
the process. Linda made many sacrifices to ensure Jasmine's success, 
even taking a leave of absence from her job so she could give Jasmine 
the constant medical attention she required, but she often felt like 
the cards were stacked against her. Emotionally, physically, and 
financially, the experience of raising little Jasmine was nothing short 
of exhausting.
  Kinship caregivers like Linda are often the best chance for a loving 
and stable childhood for the children in their care, but Federal law 
does little to support these families. In fact, unless a child's 
parents relinquish their parental rights, and the relative caregivers 
become adoptive parents, kinship caregivers are no different from 
strangers in the eyes of Federal law.
  In these sad cases, children often linger in foster care 
unnecessarily while a stable, permanent, loving option is overlooked.
  That is why Senator Snowe and I are introducing The Kinship Caregiver 
Support Act. This proposal will provide relative caregivers with the 
information and assistance they need to thrive as non-traditional 
families. This bill will link kinship families with localized 
information about the services and support available to them. By 
creating one-stop centers for kinship caregivers, this bill will 
provide essential support that will keep these families afloat. This 
legislation will also allow States to use their Federal foster care 
funds to provide kinship caregiver assistance payments for children 
languishing in foster care while a kinship caregiver stands ready to 
step in.
  At this time of year, when we remember and honor our mothers, let us 
also remember the contributions that unconventional mothers make, 
mothers who each and every day go above and beyond the call of duty to 
help some of the most vulnerable of our children.

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