Resources & Publications: Supporting Kinship Families
- May 09, 2011 | Beth Davis-Pratt and Rutledge Q. Hutson CLASP Comments on American Community Survey Kinship care means different things to different people and organizations. Most broadly, it can be used to define any care provided by grandparents or other relatives. More narrowly, in using this term to talk about grandparents and other relatives raising children in kinship care, it is often thought of as only those families in which the grandparent or other relative has taken over primary responsibility for most of the basic needs of the child (such as feeding, clothing, providing shelter, and meeting the child's health, educational, and emotional needs) on a daily basis without either of the child's parents present in the household. Not surprisingly, the needs of different types of kinship families vary greatly. In these comments to the Census Bureau, CLASP makes a number of recommendations to strengthen the data collected in the American Community Survey to provide a better estimate of the number and types of kinship families in the United States. Download PDF
- Sep 29, 2010 Relative Foster Care Licensing Waivers in the States: Policies and Possibilities This report, a joint project of CLASP and the ABA Center on Children and the Law, prepared in collaboration with ChildFocus, the Children's Defense Fund, Generations United and the Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Resource Center. This document presents background information on foster care licensing for relatives. It also includes an overview of Title IV-E reimbursement for relative foster homes and information on the current landscape of waivers of foster home licensing standards, as well as recommendations for licensing standards that can help further the goal of maintaining family connections for children in foster care. Download PDF
- Aug 09, 2010 | Rutledge Q. Hutson Comments to Office of Child Support Enforcement: Proposed Rulemaking on Safeguarding Child Support Information These comments address proposed changes to the sharing of child support information specifically as related to information sharing with child welfare agencies for child welfare purposes. CLASP hopes that the final regulations more clearly identify what information can be shared to help child welfare agencies carry out their responsibilities under Titles IV-B and IV-E and that, in particular, they clarify how information regarding family violence can be shared in a safe and appropriate manner. Download PDF
- Jan 25, 2010 | CLASP Federal Policy Recommendations for 2010 Our nation faces many domestic challenges, including improving access to affordable health care, improving access to education as well as education outcomes, and providing debt and foreclosure relief. CLASP's 2010 federal policy recommendations are equally essential to achieving healthy and thriving families and improving the nation's prosperity. Read Online | Download PDF
- Sep 30, 2009 CLASP Statement for the Record: September 15, 2009 Hearing on the Implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act Statement for the record of the September 15, 2009 Hearing on the Implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act submitted to the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, Committee on Ways and Means. Download PDF
- Jun 01, 2009 FAQ on the Provisions Designed to Impact Youth and Young Adults Download PDF
- Jan 30, 2008 | Tiffany Conway and Rutledge Q. Hutson Parental Incarceration: How to Avoid a "Death Sentence" for Families First published by the Clearinghouse Review Journal of Poverty Law and Policy in Summer 2007, this paper highlights a number of promising services and supports for incarcerated parents and recommends what attorneys representing or working with incarcerated parents and their children can do to minimize harm to children. Download PDF
- Sep 17, 2007 | Tiffany Conway and Rutledge Q. Hutson Submission in Response to Senator Gordon Smith's July 26, 2007 Call For Papers to Examine the Needs of Grandparent and Other Relative Caregivers In this paper--a response to a call for papers from Sen. Gordon Smith--CLASP details the reasons to support kinship care, recommends areas for additional research, highlights current challenges states face, and addresses common myths. CLASP encourages Congress to adopt the provisions of the Kinship Caregiver Support Act. Download PDF
- May 15, 2007 The Partnership to Protect Children and Strengthen Families The Partnership was formed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; the American Public Human Services Association; Catholic Charities USA; CLASP; the Children's Defense Fund; the Child Welfare League of America; the National Child Abuse Coalition; and Voices for America's Children. In May 2007, the founding partners issued a set of recommendations to enhance federal child welfare law to better protect children and ensure them nurturing families and invited others to join the Partnership. Nearly 30 national organizations now comprise the Partnership. Download PDF
- Mar 02, 2007 | Tiffany Conway and Rutledge Q. Hutson Is Kinship Care Good for Kids? More than 2.5 million children are being raised by grandparents and other relatives because their parents are unable--for a variety of reasons--to care for them. A number of states have utilized subsidized guardianship programs as a way of supporting these "kinship families." Some wonder whether kinship care is a good thing--and how we know this. This fact sheet addresses these often unasked but crucial questions. Download PDF
- Jan 09, 2007 | Rutledge Q. Hutson Partnering to Promote Guardianship: The Federal Outlook This presentation provides an overview of the needs of children being raised by grandparents and other relatives because their parents are unable to do so. It highlights key provisions of several federal legislative proposals to address some of the unique needs of these families, and it offers an overview of the current federal policymaking environment. Download PDF