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Committee advances kinship-caregiver pilot to give grandparents $500 monthly stipend via foundations
Summary
A Senate committee voted to advance House Bill 252, a three-year pilot that would route $500 monthly stipends from private foundations through the Department of Aging to grandparents and kin caring for children outside the formal foster system.
A Senate committee advanced House Bill 252 to create a kinship caregiver support pilot administered through the Department of Aging. The bill, carried in committee by a senator presenting the measure, would pair foundation funding with department staff to support grandparents and other kin who take children into their homes but who are not in the formal CYFD foster-care system.
The sponsor said the pilot will hire staff in the Aging and Long-Term Services Department to help kin caregivers navigate federal, state and local resources, provide legal services to help caregivers evaluate custody options, deliver monthly training and conduct home visits, and organize peer support groups. “They will provide the staffing and the foundations will provide the money,” the sponsor said.
Under the pilot as described in committee, foundations would provide a monthly stipend of $500 for three years to participating caregivers; the sponsor told the committee the pilot aims to serve 250 families across about five to seven counties and includes an evaluation component.
Committee members voiced support and asked implementation questions. A senator noted $4,000,000 already exists in the budget to cover Aging Department coordination costs, and several members said the pilot targets a population of kin caregivers who currently do not receive CYFD foster-care payments. Senator Thomason, whose colleague described knowing multiple grandchildren raised by grandparents, said the program targets “exactly the population” she had in mind and voiced support.
A motion to advance the bill was moved by Senator Padilla and seconded by Senator Trio; the committee completed a roll call and the chair announced the measure would go to the floor. Roll-call entries recorded multiple yes votes and at least two no votes; the chair indicated the committee would release several bills to the floor that evening.
Next steps: The bill advances to the Senate floor for further consideration. The pilot's stipend funding comes from private foundation memoranda of understanding with the Department of Aging per the sponsor's description; the bill also tasks the department with staffing and coordination.
