When a child cannot safely stay with a parent, the next best thing is almost always a familiar face: a grandparent, an aunt, an older sibling, a family friend. Children placed with relatives, known as kinship care, tend to feel more stable, stay connected to their siblings and culture, and move homes less often. Several bills in the 119th Congress aim to make that path easier and to strengthen the foster system around it.
Helping relatives say yes: the Recruiting Families Using Data Act
The Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025 (H.R.579 in the House and S.162 in the Senate) would require states to build a real plan for finding and supporting families, with the goal of increasing kinship placements and keeping children in stable homes rather than bouncing between placements. The House passed its version in March 2025, an early sign of bipartisan agreement that the system can use data to place children better.
Shining a light on hidden foster care
Sometimes a child is moved to a relative outside of any court process, an arrangement often called kinship diversion or hidden foster care. It can keep a child out of the formal system, but it can also leave the caregiver without the financial help and services that licensed foster families receive. The Hidden Foster Care Transparency Act (H.R.5507 and S.2902) would require states to track these arrangements and make sure kinship caregivers can reach support programs like kinship navigator services.
Not aging out alone
Young people who turn 18 in foster care often lose support overnight, right when they are least ready for it. The Increasing Access to Foster Care Through Age 21 Act (H.R.8498) would encourage states to extend foster care support and services to age 21, and let young people who have left care return to it if they need to. Research consistently shows that a few more years of support leads to better outcomes in housing, education, and employment.
Why this matters for families
Behind every one of these bills is a simple idea we share: children do best inside strong family connections, and the adults who step up to raise them deserve real support. Grandparents and relatives raising children are doing some of the hardest and most loving work there is, often on a fixed income and with little notice.