S.1660: Grandfamilies Act of 2019
Overview
The Grandfamilies Act (S.1660) includes a broad range of provisions that would provide families with increased access to public services. The Grandfamilies Act would update Social Security benefit rules so that children being raised by other relatives would be eligible for the same benefits given to children that are being raised by a mom or dad. The bill would also increase eligibility for TANF’s child-only grants for grandfamilies by imposing significant financial penalties on states that attempted to means-test caregiver income or imposing time limits or work requirements. Additionally, the bill would create new financial incentives to states to offer temporary guardianship laws that provide relative caregivers with the legal authority to access services, such as school enrollment or health care, on the child’s behalf.
The Grandfamiles Act would appropriate $10 million in grants for states to support housing programming for grandfamiles, $10 million more for states to develop grandfamily support plans, and an additional $5 million to create a National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies.
H.R. 2967 is the House companion bill introduced by Rep. Danny Davis.
View Full OverviewTalking Points
- Approximately 2.6 million children are currently being raised in kinship families.
- The National Assembly supports this bill because it would provide financial equity to households with complex family structures and provide resources directly to children so that they have the same opportunity to reach their full human potential as families headed by a mother or father.