Kinship Policy Summaries

Generations United and Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption brief outlining recommendations to support permanencywith kin through adoption and guardianship. Recommendations include increasing investment in post-permanency supports for kinship families, supporting kinship navigators to help with adoption and permanency, establishing robust respite networks and programs for kinship families, and encouraging states and tribes to adopt kin-specific licensing and approval standards.

Report by the National Conference of State Legislatures highlighting state policies regarding kinship care. The report explains the benefits of kinship care, shares state-by-state data about kinship placement, and gives examples of state laws on strategies inlcuding defining kinship providers, identifying kin and prioritizing kinship placements, reducing red tape for kin-specific licensure, providing supportive services and assistance to kinship caregivers, and ensuring long-term stability. 

Resource highlighting progress that has been made towards thethe 2024 Kinship Unity Action Agenda's priority areas since its release. This update highlights major collective accomplishments from the field that have national implications. It is not designed to be a comprehensive overview of the important, ongoing state and community-based work happening across the country every day.

Generations United resource explaining the impact of HR 9076- Supporting America's Children and Families Act on kinship families. This bill was signed into law at the start of 2025, and makes updates to the Title IV-B program, including increasing funding; requiring states to consult with people with lived experience, including kinship caregivers and youth; clarifying that Title IV-B funds can be used for kinship families and peer-to-peer support programs, and changing how kinship navigator programs are funded.

A collective advocacy tool created by Generations United, the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and Think of Us to guide our future work to support kinship families. The action agenda identifies and prioritizes key policy opportunities to support kinship families. It was created through a convening of national advocates, featuring professionals with diverse perspectives and individuals with lived experience in grandfamilies/kinship families, and incorporates feedback from the broader advocacy community, grandfamilies services providers, and focus groups with kinship caregivers from varied backgrounds.