Help Grandfamilies Prevent Child Abuse Act
Sponsored By: Senator Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]
Introduced
Summary
Prioritizes kinship placements for children and boosts support for relatives who raise them. It changes the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to add kinship voices to advisory bodies and to require grants and programs to focus on kinship caregivers and kinship navigators.
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- Kinship families and grandparents: Federal programs and prevention grants would explicitly support relatives who raise children inside or outside foster care. Training would cover caring for children with behavioral or mental health needs and understanding substance use and trauma.
- States, tribes, and child welfare agencies: Grant procedures must plan to prioritize placement with kin first, identify and engage kin supports during a child’s involvement, make licensing kin a priority, and report children diverted to kinship care outside the foster system.
- Service providers and communities: The national clearinghouse must coordinate with the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network to share evidence based and exemplary practices. Community grants can fund kinship navigators and build local networks to support kin caregivers and foster care alumni.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
More grants and priority for kin
If enacted, community grants would expressly cover kinship families raising children inside or outside foster care. Local programs would be eligible to serve kinship caregivers and foster care alumni as participants. Grants would have to state that kinship placements will be prioritized. Grant recipients would need procedures to try kin first, prioritize licensing kin, support permanency, and build community supports. These changes would take effect upon enactment.
Better kinship coordination and training
If enacted, federal child welfare program lists would add kinship navigators and similar kin-focused roles. The Advisory Board would include organizations serving kinship families, birth parents, kin caregivers, and foster care alumni. The National Clearinghouse would coordinate with the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network to share evidence-based practices for kin families. Local programs would have to train staff on kinship caregiver needs, trauma, and substance use disorders. Kinship caregivers and foster care alumni would be explicit program participants. These changes would take effect upon enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]
NH • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]
ME • R
Sponsored 7/22/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov