[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 30 (Friday, February 16, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2171-S2172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Ms. Snowe, and Mr. Cochran):
  S. 661. A bill to establish kinship navigator programs, to establish 
guardianship assistance payments for children, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Finance.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I am pleased to re-introduce the Kinship 
Caregiver Support Act today with my friend and colleague, Senator 
Olympia Snowe. The growth of kinship care is a phenomenon that is 
quietly changing the face of the American family and creating new 
challenges for our Nation's child welfare system. This bill would be a 
huge help to kinship caregivers in New York and across the country.
  Nationwide, now more than ever children are living in households 
headed by grandparents and other relatives. In New York City alone, 
there are over 245,000 adolescents already living in grandparent 
households. Nationwide, an estimated 20,000 children living in foster 
care could leave the system if Congress made subsidized guardianship 
available to their families.
  As caregivers who often become parents unexpectedly, these generous 
family members face unique challenges to

[[Page S2172]]

successfully raising children. These challenges are physical, emotional 
and of course, financial. Grandparents and other relatives raising 
children often encounter a variety of unnecessary barriers, including 
difficulties enrolling children in school, authorizing medical 
treatment, maintaining their public housing leases, obtaining 
affordable legal services, and accessing a variety of Federal benefits 
and services. Almost one-fifth of grandparents responsible for their 
grandchildren live in poverty.
  The Kinship Caregiver Support Act attempts to address the full range 
of difficulties facing kinship caregivers, by allowing relatives to 
become formal guardians while receiving some financial assistance. This 
bill will provide relative caregivers with the information and 
assistance they need to thrive as non-traditional families.
  First, the Act contains a ``subsidized guardianship provision'', 
which will give States the option to use their Title IV-E funds to 
provide payments to grandparents and other relatives who have assumed 
legal guardianship of children they have cared for as foster parents.
  The Act also establishes the Kinship Navigator Program, which will 
provide families with the guidance they need to learn how to obtain 
health care coverage for the children in their care, apply for housing 
assistance, locate childcare, enroll children in school, and gain 
access to other services.
  Finally, this legislation will require States to notify grandparents 
and other close relatives 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. Notifying grandparents and other relatives when children enter 
the foster care system will make it easier for families to stay 
together.
  So many grandparents and other relatives are making great personal 
sacrifices to provide safe and loving homes for the children in their 
care. It is my hope that my colleagues will join Senator Snowe and me 
as we continue this fight for children and families.
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