Help Grandfamilies Prevent Child Abuse Act
- Sponsor
- Rep. Scanlon, Mary Gay [D-PA-5]
- Committees
- Education and Workforce Committee (primary)
- Last action
- Jul 22, 2026
Bottom line
This bill aims to integrate kinship families more fully into child abuse prevention and treatment efforts by updating CAPTA to recognize and support their unique role in child welfare.
What it actually does
H.R. 9878, the "Help Grandfamilies Prevent Child Abuse Act," amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to enhance support and protections for children being raised in kinship families, particularly those outside the formal foster care system. It expands the CAPTA Advisory Board to include kinship family representatives, directs the National Clearinghouse to coordinate with kinship support networks, and requires states receiving CAPTA grants to prioritize kinship placements and provide specific support services and training for kinship caregivers.
Proponents argue
Supporters argue that the bill addresses a critical gap in child welfare by formally recognizing and providing resources for the vast majority of children in kinship care who are outside the foster care system. They contend that strengthening support for grandfamilies and kinship caregivers can prevent child abuse and neglect, improve outcomes for vulnerable children, and reduce the strain on the formal foster care system by leveraging existing family networks.
Opponents contend
No organized opposition is explicitly stated in the provided text. Potential concerns, if any, might revolve around the administrative burden on states to implement new reporting and service requirements, or questions about the efficacy of expanding federal mandates without significant new funding.
The bill is relatively short and its provisions are clearly stated, making it accessible for a reader to understand its core intent and mechanisms within a reasonable timeframe.
Section 3(a) (Amends CAPTA Section 102(c))
Expanding Advisory Board Representation
This provision expands the membership of the Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect to include representatives from organizations providing services to kinship families, as well as birth parents, kinship caregivers, and foster care alumni. This ensures that the perspectives of those directly involved in kinship care are considered in national child abuse prevention and treatment strategies.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that including these diverse voices on the Advisory Board will lead to more informed and effective policies that better reflect the realities and needs of children and families impacted by child abuse and neglect, especially those in kinship care.
Critics contend
No specific opposition is typically raised against expanding advisory board representation, as it generally enhances stakeholder engagement.
Tradeoffs
Balancing the size and manageability of an advisory board with the desire for comprehensive representation.
Section 3(b) (Amends CAPTA Section 103(b))
National Clearinghouse Coordination with Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network
This provision directs the National Clearinghouse for Information Relating to Child Abuse to coordinate with the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center. The goal is to disseminate information about evidence-based and exemplary practices for supporting children in kinship families, whether they are within or outside the child welfare system.
Section 3(c) (Amends CAPTA Section 105(a)(4))
Grant Procedures for Equitable Kin Placement
This amendment requires recipients of CAPTA grants to implement procedures that ensure equity for children placed with kin. These procedures must prioritize kin as the first placement option, actively engage kin as supports throughout a child's involvement with the child welfare system, prioritize licensing kin as foster parents, support permanent families for children with kin, and build strong community networks for kin families.
Section 3(d)(1) (Amends CAPTA Section 106(b)(2))
State Grant Applications to Prioritize Kinship Placements and Include Kinship Navigators
This provision amends the requirements for State grant applications under CAPTA. States must now include in their applications how kinship placements will be prioritized. Additionally, states must describe how they will involve "kinship navigators" alongside other service providers (like substance abuse treatment agencies) in their child abuse and neglect prevention and treatment programs.
Section 3(d)(2) (Amends CAPTA Section 106(d)(3))
State Grant Reporting on Diverted Kinship Placements
This amendment requires states to report on the number of children who were diverted from the child welfare system to live with kin outside of the foster care system and did not receive services during the year under the State program. It also clarifies that reporting on "families" should now refer specifically to "parents" in a redesignated subparagraph.
Section 3(e)(1) (Amends CAPTA Section 201(b)(1))
Community-Based Grants to Support Kinship Families
This provision adds a new purpose to the Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect program: to "support the unique needs of kinship families raising children inside or outside the foster care system." This explicitly broadens the scope of these grants to include kinship families.
Section 3(e)(2) (Amends CAPTA Section 205(a))
Local Program Requirements for Kinship Caregivers
This amendment modifies the requirements for local programs receiving community-based grants. It expands the target population for services to explicitly include "families where children are being raised by kin because their parents cannot raise them." It also mandates that training provided by these programs includes specific topics for kinship caregivers, such as caring for children with behavioral/mental health challenges, accessing eligible services, understanding substance use disorders, and the impact of trauma on children. Finally, it adds kinship caregivers and foster care alumni as required participants in the development of local program plans.
Redesignates subparagraphs (B) and (C) as (C) and (D) respectively, and then in the newly redesignated subparagraph (D), strikes "families" and inserts "parents." This refines the reporting requirement for states under CAPTA Section 106(d)(3) to specifically refer to "parents" when reporting on certain data points related to child abuse and neglect prevention and treatment programs.
Section 3(d)(2)(A) and (C)
Why it matters:This is standard legislative practice for making precise, technical adjustments to existing statutory language, often to clarify intent or improve data consistency.
Case for: Proponents would argue that this clarification ensures more precise and consistent data collection regarding the involvement of biological or adoptive parents in child abuse prevention programs, which can lead to better-targeted interventions.
Case against: No specific case against, as it's a technical clarification.
Estimated impact: Minor, primarily affecting data reporting granularity for state programs.