In this opinion piece from the Hill, Daniel Heimpel, the publisher of The Chronicle of Social Change, reveals that kinship caregivers in the US "are routinely denied payments and systemically diverted from important resources."
"When Congress passed a landmark foster care law bill earlier this year, they enshrined this second-class status on relative caregivers nationwide," says Heimpel. The author discusses the newly passed the Family First Prevention Services Act, which "amends how the federal government finances foster care – and puts new focus on keeping kids from entering foster care in the first place." According to Heimpel, the new bill offers 12 months of services to parents "at dire risk of losing their children," including mental health services, substance abuse treatment, and parenting training. However, "the law expects that family members will step in to care for these children while parents receive services," says Heimpel, "but doesn’t offer any new funds to help them do so."