Promoting Permanency Through Kinship Families Act

Increased Support for Kinship Caregivers: The bill expands services to include "kinship placement support services" such as crisis stabilization, transportation, housing assistance, and utility payments to help stabilize families in crisis (Section 8).

Improved Family Stability: By promoting kinship care and providing resources, the bill aims to help children maintain family connections, which can reverse adverse outcomes like homelessness or involvement in the criminal justice system (Section 2).

Removal of Barriers to Placement: The act requires that kinship placement not be denied based solely on past allegations of abuse or neglect if the caregiver does not pose a current safety threat (Section 4).

Elimination of Age Barriers: The bill ensures that an individual's age (above 18) cannot be used to disqualify them from being a kinship caregiver (Section 5).

Easier Access to Financial Assistance: The bill reduces the time required for eligibility for kinship guardianship assistance from six consecutive months to three consecutive months (Section 6).

Access to Family Search Technology: The act includes "family finding" efforts that use search technology to find biological family members for children at risk of entering foster care (Section 8).

Increased Burden of Proof for States: States must now provide "clear and convincing evidence" to document several decisions, such as when kinship placement is not in a child's best interest or when efforts to find kin are considered futile (Section 3).

Increased Documentation Requirements: State agencies are required to provide more detailed documentation and analysis regarding disproportionality and disparities in their child welfare systems (Section 3).