Hidden Foster Care Bill Introduced

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has introduced legislation (S. 5214) that would require states to collect information about hidden foster care (sometimes referred to as kinship diversion). The term refers to decisions by child protection agencies to divert children from foster care by placing them with kin without seeking legal custody or providing economic or other supports. Under the bill, states would be required to report the number of children separated from their parents by a hidden foster care arrangement, the number that ended with or without the child entering formal foster care, the categories or types of allegations that led to the arrangement, and the number of caregivers in these arrangements that received additional services. The bill directs HHS to collect this information and provide an annual report to Congress.