The 2023 State of Grandfamilies Report - Building Resilience: Supporting Grandfamilies' Mental Health and Wellness aims to bring attention to the mental health and emotional wellness of grandfamilies, shed light on their resilience and challenges they face, and provide innovative solutions and resources to better support them. 

Summary of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the topic of foster care legal representation, released on 9/28/23. This new rule includes the “costs of legal representation” as a reimbursable expense under Title IV-E for a list of involved persons, including kinship caregiver.  The NPRM is open for comment until November 27, 2023.

The US Administration for Children and Families approved a new rule allowing kin-specific licensing or approval standards for kinship foster homes.

This resource discusses the role of kin caregivers in education including if the child is in child welfare custody or not in custody., 

ABA Journal Children and the Law Article Series highlighting advocate support for kinship care and the use of shadow foster care systems to place children with kin outside of child welfare. August 2023. 

The ABA Center on Children and the Law and Generations United, in partnership with Casey Family Programs, have created this practical kinship assessment tool with resource links to support the array of child welfare agencies—from those that are embarking on a kin-first journey to those that are continuously striving for quality improvement. 

Children Thrive in Grandfamilies Fact Sheet, a resource updated by Generations United, provides key facts about how children do in the care of relatives and a list of research articles to support the facts. 2023. 

This brief provides kinship practice examples from across the country, organized by seven main topics, to help jurisdictions change policy and practice to promote kin placement and permanency, and successfully implement a kin-first culture shift.

The 2022 State of Grandfamilies Report –  Together at the Table: Supporting the Nutrition, Health, and Well-Being of Grandfamilies includes the latest findings on grandfamilies facing high rates of hunger and food insecurity, as well as policy recommendations to help feed grandfamilies.

This brief outlines key considerations when addressing barriers to GAP participation and promoting a kin-first culture. These considerations were informed by regional convenings held in June 2021 of more than 200 representatives from 44 states, four tribes, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.

On November 16, 2021, the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren delivered its initial report to Congress. It includes a comprehensive review of the joys, challenges, gaps, and unmet needs and 22 recommendations for how the federal government, states, tribes, territories, and communities—in partnership with the private sector—can better support kin and grandparent caregivers.

Generations United is operating the Grandfamilies and Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center,* funded through a five-year cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living (ACL).

This publication developed by ABA Center on Children and the Law, Children’s Defense Fund, and Generations United helps kinship families and the professionals who assist them compare caregiving options. It provides a broad, national overview about the choices and considerations to help caregivers make informed decisions about the pathways to pursue (2022). A webinar of this tool can be viewed here.      

The Family First Prevention Services Act: Implementing the Provisions that Support Kinship Families Checklist, created in a partnership between the ABA Center on Children and the Law, Casey Family Programs, Children’s Defense Fund and Generations United, is designed to describe the necessary steps for effective implementation of the federal requirements of the kinship provisions of the Family First Act.

Generations United released several racial equity tool kits that feature grandfamilies-related content on racism, bias, and injustice in the juvenile justice system, policing, and courts, and how they impact Black and Brown people. The first, created in partnership with the National Indian Child Welfare Association, focuses on American Indian and Alaskan Native grandfamilies. The second focuses on African American grandfamilies. The most recent toolkit is focused on Latino grandfamilies, and is also available in Spanish.

This publication contains articles on resources for grandparents raising the children of the opioid epidemic, working with immigrant kinship caregivers and more. CLP is a free online resource with practical articles tied to the ABA Center on Children and the Law's primary areas of work and may be accessed at www.childlawpractice.org. To sign up for CLP Alerts, send an email to clptoday@americanbar.org.