How do federal laws impact kinship care in the child welfare system?
Current kinship care policy and practice is shaped by federal and state policies and the result of litigation against child welfare agencies. Federal legislation impacting kinship care includes The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-272); Title IV of the Social Security Act; the U.S. Supreme Court Decision, Miller v. Youakim (1979); and The Indian Child Welfare Act (P.L. 95-608). The legislation most directly related to the funding of kinship care is Title IV of the Social Security Act, and additional requirements are imposed by the U.S. Supreme Court Decision, Miller v. Youakim (1979). Title IV of the Social Security Act authorized welfare grants to be received by relatives. The U.S. Supreme Court Decision, Miller v. Youakim (1979) entitled relatives to receive the same federal foster care benefits as those received by non-relative foster parents providing that the kinship placements are eligible for federal reimbursement under the AFDC-Foster Care Program whic
