(a) In general

In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for fiscal year 2021, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $10,000,000, to remain available through September 30, 2025, for the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Administration for Community Living, to establish, directly or through grants or contracts, a National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families (in this section referred to as the “Center”) to provide training, technical assistance, and resources for government programs, nonprofit and other community-based organizations, and Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations, that serve grandfamilies and kinship families to support the health and well-being of members of grandfamilies and kinship families, including caregivers, children, and their parents. The Center shall focus primarily on serving grandfamilies and kinship families in which the primary caregiver is an adult age 55 or older, or the child has one or more disabilities.

(b) Activities of the Center

Terms Used In 42 USC 3020g

  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7

The Center shall—

(1) engage experts to stimulate the development of new and identify existing evidence-based, evidence-informed, and exemplary practices or programs related to health promotion (including mental health and substance use disorder treatment), education, nutrition, housing, financial needs, legal issues, disability self-determination, caregiver support, and other issues to help serve caregivers, children, and their parents in grandfamilies and kinship families;

(2) encourage and support the implementation of the evidence-based, evidence-informed, and exemplary practices or programs identified under paragraph (1) to support grandfamilies and kinship families and to promote coordination of services for grandfamilies and kinship families across systems that support them;

(3) facilitate learning across States, territories, Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations for providing technical assistance, resources, and training related to issues described in paragraph (1) to individuals and entities across systems that directly work with grandfamilies and kinship families;

(4) help government programs, nonprofit and other community-based organizations, and Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations, serving grandfamilies and kinship families, to plan and coordinate responses to assist grandfamilies and kinship families during national, State, Tribal, territorial, and local emergencies and disasters; and

(5) assist government programs, and nonprofit and other community-based organizations, in promoting equity and implementing culturally and linguistically appropriate approaches as the programs and organizations serve grandfamilies and kinship families.