Raising Kids Of Relatives Could Bring Federal Funds

By Chris L. Jenkins, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, November 17, 2008; Page B01 A new federal law would steer monthly financial support to people who take in children their relatives have abused or neglected, a development expected to expand such assistance in Maryland and the District and perhaps launch a similar effort in Virginia. -------------- The law is among the most sweeping reforms of the U.S. foster care system since President Bill Clinton overhauled federal law to streamline the adoption process in 1997. It also tries to address a persistent problem in child welfare: Older children and teenagers do not easily find permanent or adoptive homes. So the law increases the rewards for such placements and gives states money to allow children to stay in foster care until age 21 instead of 18. ---------------- In order to receive the federal funds, each state must provide matching funding. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act extends the informal arrangements traditionally made by extended families of children from broken homes. Children unable to live with their parents often were sent to live with a grandmother or an aunt for a time.