Study Requested by Reps. Davis and Walorski Emphasizes Importance of Navigators for Kinship Caregivers

Washington, D.C.- March 8, 2023, Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL) issued the following statement on the public release of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report Child Welfare: HHS Is Taking Steps to Help States Support Relative Caregivers with Evidence-Based Programs(GAO-23-105624).

In June 2019, then-Chairman Davis and the late then-Ranking Member Jackie Walorski (R-IN) requested GAO provide information about how states are investing in kinship navigator programs, preparing to draw down federal matching funds for operating evidence-based kinship programs, and using federally appropriated dollars to evaluate kinship navigator programs to build the prevention services evidence base. Kinship navigator programs offer information and referrals to relative caregivers to help them navigate the many services they might require to meet the needs of the children in their care.

"Kinship caregivers serve as an essential resource to stabilize children who experienced abuse and neglect, reducing child trauma and helping children thrive," said Subcommittee on Worker & Family Support Ranking Member Danny K. Davis (D-IL). "Kinship navigator programs offer information and referrals to help relative caregivers access benefits and services. This GAO report underscores my commitment to helping grandparents and other kinship caregivers obtain the supports they need to keep their families together and safe. I wish the late Representative Walorski were here today to see the results of our bipartisan request. I will continue to fight for our shared commitment to support kinship families, including by ensuring that kinship navigator programs have sufficient funding to help families."

In 2022, about 2.2 million children lived with kin caregivers - grandparents, adult siblings, other relatives, or close family friends - nearly 60% of whom were living with a grandparent head of household. Research broadly supports kinship care as a better option for children in foster care that can produce fewer behavioral and mental health challenges than traditional foster care placements. Kinship placements reduce trauma by keeping families together and by reducing the risk of multiple placements during the child's time in the child welfare system. Kinship navigator programs help kinship caregivers access the support and services they need to safely care for children in their care.

The Ways & Means Committee has a long history of bipartisan collaboration on child welfare legislation, including the 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act, which provides states the opportunity to access a dedicated federal funding stream for kinship navigator programs if the programs meet certain evidence-base requirements.

Representatives Davis and Walorski co-authored the bipartisan Supporting Foster Youth and Families through the Pandemic Act, which was enacted in December 2020. This law included new policy flexibilities that allowed states to temporarily access increased federal resources for kinship navigator programs through 2021. To access the increased funding, states must obtain HHS approval and submit claims for expenses incurred from April 1, 2020-September 30, 2021. Thanks to the GAO report, we know that, as of January, 27 states and one tribe have obtained such approval, and 13 states have claimed about $16.5 million in federal reimbursements for thiscritical pandemic lifeline for families. About 91 percent of these funds were used to provide services or support to kinship families, and the remaining 9 percent were used for costs such as evaluation expenses.

As the Biden-Harris Administration continues to prioritize keeping families safely together, including removing barriers for child welfare agencies to license kin, the results discussed in the GAO report additionally underscore Representative Davis's years of leadership in advocating for child welfare agencies to remove barriers to placement with kin given the extensive research showing that children experience greater well-being, stability, and safety when living with relatives. GAO's report will help inform the Committee's work on Title IV-B child welfare reauthorization and efforts to build the evidence-base for kinship navigator programs to expand their reach across the country.

Representative Davis represents the 7^th Congressional District of Illinois, serving as the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Worker & Family Support within the Committee on Ways and Means, which has broad jurisdiction over child welfare including the kinship navigator program.

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