Support SB1602 to Equalize Kinship Foster Care Stipends

I urge you to support SB1602 when it comes before the Senate Appropriations, Transportation & Technology Committee on Tuesday. This bill would gradually raise the monthly stipend for kinship foster care parents to $600 per month, matching what every other foster parent receives. Kinship foster care parents, often grandparents raising their grandchildren, currently receive less financial support than unrelated foster parents despite caring for the same vulnerable children. Senator Lela Alston has been working toward this parity since 2019 because the current disparity creates an untenable situation: some families are forced to send children back to the state simply because they cannot afford to care for them. This financial gap makes no sense from either a child welfare or fiscal perspective. When children are placed with relatives or people who have significant relationships with them, they maintain family connections and experience less trauma than placement with strangers. These kinship arrangements provide stability and continuity during an already difficult time. Yet we penalize the very families willing to step up by paying them less than we pay unrelated foster parents. The consequences of inadequate support are real. Grandparents and other relatives living on fixed incomes face impossible choices between their own financial security and keeping their grandchildren out of the foster care system. When they cannot afford to continue, children return to state custody, creating additional placements and disruption. This harms children and increases costs to the state. SB1602 corrects this inequity by ensuring kinship foster care parents receive the same $600 monthly stipend as other foster parents. This is not about creating new benefits but about treating all foster parents fairly regardless of their relationship to the child. Children in kinship care deserve the same level of financial support as children in traditional foster care. I ask you to vote yes on SB1602 in committee on Tuesday and help it advance. These families have been waiting for parity since 2019. They should not have to choose between financial stability and caring for their own family members.