Bill Title: Provides that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the Kinship in Demand (KIND) Act. Provides that the KIND Act creates the statutory vision and authority for the Department of Children and Family Services to execute a kin-first approach to service delivery and directs the juvenile courts to provide necessary oversight of the Department's obligations to maintain family connections and promote equitable opportunities for youth and families to thrive with relational permanence. Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Contains provisions concerning Department rules on relative and licensed foster care; grants to subsidized guardians of hard-to-place children; a requirement on the Department to make diligent efforts to place a child with a relative; documentation of the Department's reasons for failing to secure a relative placement; foster care maintenance payments for relatives who qualify for certification as a relative caregiver home under the Child Care Act of 1969; subsidized guardianship support services for children and their guardians; certification and background checks on persons seeking relative caregiver approval; annual reports regarding relative and certified relative caregiver placements; performance audits; and other matters. Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Requires the Department to adopt standards for certified relative caregiver family homes that are different from licensing standards used for non-relative foster family homes. Contains provisions concerning background screenings of prospective relative caregiver homes; a requirement that the Department assist prospective certified relative caregivers with completing the steps required for approval as a certified relative caregiver home; orientation activities for certified relative caregivers; and other matters. Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Makes changes to provisions concerning "best interest" determinations; court assessments on the Department's effort to place a minor with a relative; inquiries by a court on the Department's family finding and relative engagement efforts; required notification to a minor's located relatives that the minor has been removed from the custody of the minor's parents; and other matters. Some provisions take effect immediately, some provisions take effect January 1, 2025 and some provisions take effect July 1, 2025.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 24-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-06 - House Floor Amendment No. 4 Rules Refers to Adoption & Child Welfare Committee [HB4781 Detail]

Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [HTML]

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Sponsors

Name	Type	Sponsorship	District	Financial	Encyclopedia	Biography
Representative Marcus Evans [D]	Primary	Sponsored Bills	HD-033	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Mary Flowers [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-031	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-038	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Norma Hernandez [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-077	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Joyce Mason [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-061	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Rita Mayfield [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-060	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Suzanne Ness [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-066	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Kevin Olickal [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-016	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Dagmara Avelar [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-085	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Lilian Jimenez [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-004	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Edgar Gonzalez [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-023	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Maurice West [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-067	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Yolanda Morris [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-009	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Kelly Cassidy [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-014	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Anna Moeller [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-043	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Abdelnasser Rashid [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-021	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Sonya Harper [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-006	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Diane Blair-Sherlock [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-046	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Cyril Nichols [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-032	N/A	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Gregg Johnson [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-072	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Hoan Huynh [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-013	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Justin Slaughter [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-027	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Will Guzzardi [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-039	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Michelle Mussman [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-056	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart

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