A Senate committee unanimously approved legislation Tuesday that would provide more long-term flexibility for family members who care for a relative’s child. Senate Bill 151 would allow caregivers the opportunity to change their placement status from temporary custody to a child-specific foster home as necessary.
Senate Majority Caucus Chair Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, is sponsoring Senate Bill 151 in this year’s legislation session.
Under the measure, relative or fictive kin who are serving as temporary caregivers could apply with the state to become certified as a “child-specific foster home.” That would provide more access to state resources.
Relative caregivers have a biological relationship to the child in custody. Fictive kin caregivers are those who have an emotionally significant relationship with the child or the child’s parent.
Adams said the change is needed because the current “policy is very restrictive, and it is putting a financial and resource strain on many of our relative and fictive kin caregivers.”
Right now, such caregivers are asked to make a one-time decision on how to care for a child in need.
They can accept temporary custody of a child with minimal support and resources from the state, or they can choose to have the child placed in the traditional foster care system.
Or, they can accept a relative placement option, which comes with additional support such as daily per diem, stipends for clothing, training, and respite care.
Adams said caregivers can be faced with making these quick decisions when children are in dangerous or unhealthy situations, and they need somewhere else to live.
“Remember that you are making this one-time-only decision on the spot with no ability to reassess or fully understand the impact that your decision will have on your personal finances,” Adams said.
The bill would also require courts to consider potential relative or fictive kin caregivers from a list that is provided by the child.
Adams said that, according to the bill’s fiscal note, there will be no additional impact to the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, or the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Norma Hatfield, president of the Kinship Families Coalition of Kentucky and a grandmother who has been raising two grandchildren for the past 9 ½ years, asked the legislators for their support, citing the number of children who are not placed with relatives.
“There are a lot of reasons a lot of families that have issues with the way that this program is implemented right now. If you look at a (Department for Community Based Services) report that they issued in September 2023, more than half of the children are in temporary custody instead of relative foster care,” she said.
Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Benton, who chairs the committee, asked about the timeframe for caregivers to become designated as a child-specific foster home because it’s an in-depth process for foster parents.
Adams said some of the details are still being worked out.
“I think that some of that will be worked out on the regulatory side, but from what I understand, our ultimate goal is to keep these kids with someone that’s in their family,” she said. “I believe that it allows them to keep the child in the home and then go through the processes that are required to be qualified as a foster parent.”
Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, said the legislation would elevate the state, and it’s a good step forward. He complimented Hatfield for her dedication.
“It’s a sad commentary on society when we’ve got to take these kind of measures, and certainly family members deserve the same kind of support that the foster parents do,” he said.
Information from the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission.
