New federal foster care law will aid grandparent caregivers

Via Generations United/MKCA:

The President has  signed into law the Fostering Connections toSuccess and Increasing Adoption Act of 2008. The act is a bi-partisancompromise between the House and Senate that includes many of the provisions ofthe Kinship Caregiver Support Act. 

The bill will promote permanent families for children by providing:

• Authorizessubsidized guardianship to enable children in the care of grandparentsand other relatives to exit foster care into permanency
• EstablishesKinship navigator programs to help link relative caregivers both insideand outside of the formal child welfare system to a broad range ofservices and supports that will help them meet the needs of thechildren in their care
• Requires notice be given to adult relatives of a child if he or she is placed in foster care
• Allowsstates in a demonstration program the option to set separate licensingstandards for relative foster parents and non-relative foster parents

The bill also supports children and families by:

• Extending direct Title IV-E funding to tribal governments
• Reauthorizing  the Adoption Incentives Program, a critical tool in helping children become adopted.
• Allowing states to receive federal reimbursement for support provided to foster youth up to age 21
• Requiring reasonable efforts to keep siblings together

Click here for a full summary of the bill.  There still will be significant workto implement the act fully, but it is nonetheless a historic day forgrandfamilies. For more information on the Act, go to http://www.gu.org/Polic7231752.asp