This bill amends federal child welfare law to encourage and remove barriers to placing children in foster care with relatives or close family friends (kinship placements) when they cannot safely remain with their parents. The legislation affects state child welfare agencies, kinship caregivers, and children in the foster care system. Key changes require states to actively search for and involve relatives and fictic kin in case planning, document decisions to deny kinship placements with "clear and convincing evidence," allow kinship caregivers of any age to serve as guardians, and reduce the minimum foster care duration from six months to three months for kinship guardianship assistance eligibility. The bill eliminates the requirement that children meet certain welfare income thresholds (AFDC eligibility) to receive foster care maintenance payments and expands federal funding for kinship support services like crisis assistance and family-finding efforts. States must implement these changes beginning in the first fiscal year after the bill's enactment, with extensions available if new state legislation is required, and the law includes special provisions for Indian tribes managing their own child welfare programs.
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