Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Representatives Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) and Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) recently introduced the Help Grandfamilies Prevent Child Abuse Act, a bipartisan bill to better support kinship caregivers who have taken over responsibility as primary caregivers for children exposed to substance abuse and trauma. Companion legislation was also introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME). 

Due to the ongoing opioid epidemic, an increased number of kinship caregivers — the vast majority of whom are grandparents — have taken over the role of primary caregivers for children impacted by the crisis. This bipartisan legislation would help address the unique challenges that grandfamilies and kinship caregivers face. The bill will ensure these families are eligible for services under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) and provide support to meet the unique needs of children who have experienced trauma, including exposure to substance misuse.

“The opioid epidemic has devastated families in our region and across the country,” Rep. Scanlon said. “The effects of this public health crisis extend beyond the person suffering from substance use disorder — impacting entire families, especially children. Nearly 2.7 million children across the United States, and over 200,000 in Pennsylvania, are currently being raised by their grandparent(s), other relatives, or close family friends. Before being elected to Congress, I saw firsthand the challenges faced by kinship caregivers when I represented multiple grandparents who were struggling to overcome the legal, financial, and emotional challenges of caring for grandchildren when their parents were unavailable due to addiction. As we work to combat the opioid epidemic and support those suffering, we also have to address the unique needs of extended kinship families.”

“When children cannot stay with their parents, grandparents and other relatives help reduce the trauma of separation by keeping children safely with family, yet so often these grandfamilies get little to no support,” said Jaia Peterson Lent, Deputy Executive Director and Co-Director of the National Center on Grandfamilies at Generations United. “This legislation helps these families access services and support to help the children thrive.”

The Help Grandfamilies Prevent Child Abuse Act would:

• Help to ensure that grandfamilies and all kinship families are eligible for services under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).
• Provide additional support to these families to meet the unique needs of children who have experienced trauma, including being exposed to substance misuse. 
• Call for specialized training to help kinship caregivers navigate the complicated supports and services they may be eligible to receive.
• Coordinates with the National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families that Congress created in the American Rescue Plan to disseminate information on best practices used to support children being raised in kinship families within, or outside of, the child welfare system.

A copy of the bill is available here.

###