Illinois makes it easier for grandparents to care for foster kids

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law on Wednesday that makes it easier for grandparents and other relatives to take guardianship of children in the state’s child welfare system.

The new law, called the Kinship in Demand (or "KIND") Act also creates a path for more kids in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services to find permanent homes through guardianship.

Keeping kids with family

What we know:

There are about 9,300 children and youth in the DCFS system who are living with distant relatives, but many do not receive the same benefits as a licensed foster caregiver because of "outdated" requirements, according to Pritzker’s office.

Licensed caregivers are foster parents who have met DCFS requirements and obtained a license to care for a child or youth in DCFS. The "KIND" Act will allow for increased financial support for distant relatives caring for children.

The new law will allow DCFS to set up a more flexible certification process while maintaining essential safety and welfare standards, the governor’s office said. 

DCFS is in the process of drafting rules outlining the standards for relative caregivers and is expected to adopt them in the coming months.

KIND Act

Dig deeper:

Specifically, the law will:

• Equalize payments to relatives with the rate provided to traditional foster parents.
• Help youth-in-care maintain connections with their families.
• Tailor services and support to kinship families.
• Engage youth, their families, and kinship caregivers in permanency planning to materially improve their overall experiences.
• Make certain the wishes of youth and their families are taken into account when planning for the youth’s future.
• Treat adoption and guardianship as equally viable options when reunification with parents is not possible.

Law ‘reflects a simple reality’

What they're saying:

Pritzker praised the passage of the law which allows more kids to stay with family members.

"Staying in a familiar place and seeing a comforting face every day can make all the difference in the life of a child-in-care," he said in a statement. "The KIND Act enhances family finding efforts to ensure we are doing everything we can to identify relatives who can care for and maintain ongoing, supportive connections with our youth. Just as importantly, it holds us accountable to incorporate the voices of youth and families in decisions that have a lasting impact on their lives."

Nora Collins-Mandeville, the director of systems reform policy at the ACLU of Illinois, said providing resources for relatives is good policy for the state’s children.

"The KIND Act reflects a simple reality – children whose lives have been disrupted need stability and love wherever and whenever possible," she said in a statement. "We know that placing youth in the child welfare system with relatives lessens the trauma associated with family separation, reduces the number of times a child is moved, enhances permanency options if youth cannot be reunified and results in higher placement satisfaction for youth in care."