The Impact of the KIND Act on Foster Care

On February 5, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the Kinship on Demand Act, or the KIND Act. This law essentially means that foster care officials will prioritize placing foster children with extended relatives and will grant to those families the same benefits as a traditional foster care environment.  

Under the KIND Act, familial caregivers do not become licensed foster parents, but do qualify for added financial benefits and can go through a more relaxed licensing procedure, Heather Tarczan, Director of Communications for DCFS, told the Chicago Sun-Times. 

In addition, this law benefits the children that are being served in the foster care system. According to the ACLU of Illinois, 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 

• Results in higher placement satisfaction for youth in care 

• Delivers better social, behavioral, mental health, and educational outcomes for youth than when they are placed in non-kin foster care 

“One Hope United believes that it is important to keep youth in care connected to their family and whenever possible we ensure that the children are placed with relatives. We encourage our relatives to become licensed, although not required, and are hoping that this process will offer a more streamlined approach to making relatives certified as foster parents in Illinois.,” Senior Director of Programs for One Hope United, Devin Gazelle, said. “We are excited to see how the KIND Act will positively impact the number of relatives that become certified and the impact that it will have on making youth in relative homes eligible for subsidized guardianship.”