[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 171 (Thursday, September 30, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6847-S6848]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 398--DESIGNATING SEPTEMBER 2021 AS ``NATIONAL KINSHIP 
                              CARE MONTH''

  Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. Brown) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.:

                              S. Res. 398

       Whereas in September 2021, ``National Kinship Care Month'' 
     is observed;
       Whereas nationally, 2,800,000 children are living in 
     kinship care with grandparents, other relatives, and family 
     friends (``fictive kin'');
       Whereas, according to the Federal Interagency Forum on 
     Child and Family Statistics, in 2019, 1,700,000 children were 
     cared for by grandparents, 651,000 by other relatives, and 
     481,000 by nonrelatives who are not foster parents;
       Whereas nationally, nearly \1/3\ of all foster care 
     placements are in kinship foster care, with more than 133,000 
     children placed in kinship foster care;
       Whereas more than 2,600,000 children live in informal 
     kinship care outside of the foster care system;
       Whereas ``kinship'' is the term used to describe the 
     relationship between children and nonparent relative 
     caregivers in recent federal enactments of law, including in 
     the Consolidated Appropriations Acts enacted for each of 
     fiscal years 2018 through 2021, in the COVID-19 response 
     provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and 
     in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021;
       Whereas in over 40 States, more than 300 State statutes 
     that use the term ``kinship'' and there are more than 15 
     references to that term in the federal child welfare laws 
     contained in title 42 of the United States Code;
       Whereas while kinship care is the most common term for 
     relative caregivers of children, they are sometimes also 
     referred to as kincaregivers or grandfamilies;
       Whereas federally-funded kinship navigator programs and 
     kinship guardian programs operate in over 40 States;
       Whereas the number of children placed in foster care 
     continues to increase due in part to the opioid crisis, and 
     child welfare agencies are increasingly reliant on 
     grandparents and other kinship caregivers;
       Whereas, during the COVID-19 pandemic, kinship caregivers, 
     who are often grandparents with health vulnerabilities, are 
     parenting children in their homes, often with limited 
     support;
       Whereas kinship or relative care can be a critical tool in 
     addressing disproportionality;
       Whereas African American and Hispanic children are more 
     likely to be placed in kinship care (32 percent and 48 
     percent, respectively), than are White children (27 percent) 
     and past evidence, such as reports and testimony to Congress 
     by the Government Accountability Office and other research, 
     suggests that kinship care is an important practice in 
     reducing disproportionality;
       Whereas kinship caregivers residing in urban, rural, and 
     suburban households in every State and territory of the 
     United States have stepped forward out of love and loyalty to 
     care for children during times in which parents are unable to 
     do so;
       Whereas kinship caregivers provide safety, promote well-
     being, and establish stable households for vulnerable 
     children;
       Whereas kinship care homes offer a refuge for traumatized 
     children;

[[Page S6848]]

       Whereas kinship care enables a child to maintain family 
     relationships and cultural heritage and remain in the 
     community of the child;
       Whereas the wisdom and compassion of kinship caregivers is 
     a source of self-reliance and strength for countless children 
     and for the entire United States;
       Whereas children in kinship care experience improved 
     placement stability, higher levels of permanency, and 
     decreased behavioral problems;
       Whereas kinship caregivers face daunting challenges to keep 
     children from entering foster care;
       Whereas, because of parental substance use disorders and 
     other adverse childhood experiences, children in kinship care 
     frequently have trauma-related conditions;
       Whereas many kinship caregivers give up their retirement 
     years to assume parenting duties for children;
       Whereas the Senate wishes to honor the many kinship 
     caregivers who throughout the history of the United States 
     have provided loving homes for children;
       Whereas the first President of the United States, George 
     Washington, and his wife Martha were themselves kinship 
     caregivers, as were many other great people of the United 
     States;
       Whereas the Senate is proud to recognize the many kinship 
     care families in which a child is raised by grandparents, 
     other relatives, or fictive kin;
       Whereas National Kinship Care Month provides an opportunity 
     to urge people in every State to join in recognizing and 
     celebrating kinship caregiving families and the tradition of 
     families in the United States to help kin;
       Whereas, in 2018, Congress provided for kinship navigator 
     programs and services in the Family First Prevention Services 
     Act enacted under title VII of division E of the Bipartisan 
     Budget Act of 2018 and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
     2018;
       Whereas, in 2018, Congress provided for the formation of 
     the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising 
     Grandchildren to examine supports for grandparents and other 
     kinship caregivers in the Supporting Grandparents Raising 
     Grandchildren Act;
       Whereas, since 2018, Congress has continued to support 
     kinship families by renewing funding for kinship navigators 
     in the Consolidated Appropriations Acts, enacted for each of 
     fiscal years 2018 through 2021, providing flexibility for how 
     such funds may be used in the COVID-19 response provisions of 
     the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and implementing 
     the National Technical Assistance Center on Kinship and 
     Grandfamilies in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021;
       Whereas more remains to be done to support kinship 
     caregiving and to ensure that all children have a safe, 
     loving, nurturing, and permanent family, regardless of age or 
     special needs: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates September 2021 as ``National Kinship Care 
     Month'';
       (2) encourages Congress, States, local governments, and 
     community organizations to continue to work to improve the 
     lives of vulnerable children and families and to support the 
     communities working together to lift them up;
       (3) urges all States to expand their support of kinship 
     care and their use of kinship foster care: and
       (4) honors the commitment and dedication of kinship 
     caregivers and the advocates and allies who work tirelessly 
     to provide assistance and services to kinship caregiving 
     families.

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