Generations United Unpacks the Kinship Provisions in the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act

By Family Voices United

In February, Generations United hosted a webinar highlighting the provisions included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 that will impact grandfamilies and kinship care — the most significant of which provide additional federal funds for kinship navigator programs.

During the 60-minute webinar, Generations United staff members Ana Beltran and Jaia Lent were joined by experts from the Children’s Defense Fund and the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law to provide an overview of new federal investments in kinship navigator programs, grandfamilies housing, and relevant child welfare programs that can help grandfamilies.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 combines $1.4 trillion to fund the federal government for fiscal year 2021 and a $900 million COVID19 relief package. It contains several important provisions that provide critical relief to:

• Grandfamilies/Kinship families
• Young people in or aging out of foster care
• Vulnerable children and families in or at risk of entering foster care
• Investments to help state and tribal child welfare agencies adjust practice in response to the pandemic

These provisions will have important implications for grandfamilies and kinship families (families in which grandparents, other relatives or close family friends are raising children), and provide new opportunities for the child welfare system to better support these families.

You can view the full webinar at the top of this page, or view the slides presented during the webinar. To learn more about the kinship provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, read Generation United’s brief summary of the Act.