The FOSTER Act inserts a new grant purpose into Section 1003 of the 21st Century Cures Act to direct federal opioid‑response funds to State and local agencies that serve children affected by the opioid crisis. The bill authorizes workforce recruitment and training, health care services, and foster and adoptive parent recruitment and training specifically targeted to children, caregivers, kinship care families, and kinship caregivers.
The measure also adds statutory definitions for “kinship caregiver” and “kinship care family,” authorizes $255 million per year for fiscal years 2028–2033, and requires that 1 percent of the annual grant amount be set aside to carry out the new grant purpose. For child‑welfare and behavioral‑health professionals, the bill creates a dedicated federal funding stream aimed at strengthening kinship placements and the caregiving workforce in the context of opioid misuse among parents and caregivers.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill amends 21st Century Cures Act Section 1003 to add a specific grant purpose supporting opioid prevention and treatment services delivered by State and local child‑services agencies for children, caregivers, kinship care families, and kinship caregivers. Eligible activities include workforce recruitment and training, health care services (referencing preexisting covered services), and foster and adoptive parent recruitment and training.
Who It Affects
State and local agencies responsible for child welfare, kinship caregivers and kinship care families, foster and adoptive parent recruitment programs, and organizations that provide workforce training and behavioral health services to children impacted by opioid misuse.
Why It Matters
The bill creates a named, recurring federal funding stream (authorized at $255M annually for 2028–2033) and a statutory definition of kinship caregivers, which can change how states prioritize funding and program design for children affected by opioids. It channels resources toward workforce capacity and caregiver supports rather than only treatment for adults.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The FOSTER Act makes a surgical change to the opioid grant authority created by the 21st Century Cures Act. It inserts a new grant purpose that lets States and local child‑services agencies use federal opioid‑response dollars to support children and the adults who care for them when parental opioid misuse destabilizes families.
That purpose explicitly covers three categories of activity: recruiting and training the caregiving workforce, delivering health care services for affected children and caregivers, and recruiting and training foster and adoptive parents.
To make the targeting clearer, the bill adds statutory definitions for kinship care families and kinship caregivers. Under the new text, a kinship caregiver is a relative by blood, marriage, or adoption who lives with and serves as the child’s primary caregiver because the parent cannot or will not do so, and who either has a legal tie to the child or is raising the child informally.
The definitions recognize informal family caregiving arrangements that frequently arise in opioid‑impacted cases and make those households an explicit focus of grant activity.The bill also establishes money and a small set‑aside. It authorizes $255 million per year for fiscal years 2028 through 2033 to the existing Section 1003 grant program, and amends the program’s allocation rules so that 1 percent of the annual grant amount is reserved to carry out the new kinship/caregiver grant purpose.
Most of the rest of the 1003 authorities and definitions remain in place, but the measure shifts both programmatic focus and funding priorities toward child‑services agencies and caregiver supports.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill adds a new Subparagraph (F) to Section 1003(b)(4) of the 21st Century Cures Act explicitly authorizing grants for services for children, caregivers, kinship care families, and kinship caregivers.
Eligible uses under the new grant purpose are limited to workforce recruitment and training, health care services (including services already enumerated in Section 1003), and foster and adoptive parent recruitment and training.
The statute receives two new definitions: 'kinship caregiver' (relative by blood, marriage, or adoption who lives with and is primary caregiver because the parent is unable or unwilling, and who has a legal tie or is raising the child informally) and 'kinship care family.', The bill authorizes $255,000,000 per year for each fiscal year 2028 through 2033 for the Section 1003 grant program.
The amendment requires that 1 percent of the annual Section 1003 appropriation be set aside specifically to carry out the new Subparagraph (b)(4)(F) activities.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Short title—'FOSTER Act'
This section provides the act’s short title, 'Furthering Opioid Services, Training, and Education Resources Act' or 'FOSTER Act.' It is a formal naming provision and has no programmatic effect other than how the amendment will be cited in later references.
Adds a new grant purpose to Section 1003(b)(4)
Subsection (a) inserts a new subparagraph (F) into the existing Section 1003(b)(4) language. That new purpose authorizes grants to support opioid prevention and treatment services as delivered by State and local child‑services agencies, with explicit coverage for workforce recruitment and training, health care services, and foster/adoptive parent recruitment and training. Practically, this creates an allowable use category under the existing grant authority that states can propose in applications.
Adds definitions for 'kinship caregiver' and 'kinship care family'
This provision inserts new subsection (h) defining 'kinship caregiver' and 'kinship care family.' The kinship caregiver definition is behavioral and situational—focusing on residency, the caregiving role when a parent is unable or unwilling, and either a legal relationship or informal raising of the child. By codifying these terms, the bill narrows who the new grant purpose is intended to reach and guides applicants and reviewers on qualifying populations.
Authorizes funding for fiscal years 2028–2033
Amendment to subsection (j)(1) adds an authorization of $255,000,000 for each fiscal year 2028 through 2033 for the Section 1003 grant program. The text creates a multi‑year authorization beyond the program’s prior authorization through 2027, signalling a federal funding commitment for the specified period but remaining subject to annual appropriations and program rules.
Set‑aside of 1 percent for the new kinship/caregiver purpose
This change alters the program’s set‑aside language to require that 1 percent of the Section 1003 annual appropriation be reserved to carry out the newly added subparagraph (b)(4)(F). The set‑aside is a modest, mandatory earmark inside the grant pool; it guarantees some funds for kinship/caregiver activities but leaves the bulk of funding subject to existing allocation formulas and competitive processes.
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Who Benefits
- Kinship caregivers and kinship care families — The bill explicitly names these households as grant targets, increasing the likelihood of funding for services, training, and supports that address the specific needs of relatives who take custody when parents misuse opioids.
- State and local child‑services agencies — Grants can cover workforce recruitment and training and programmatic supports that strengthen capacity to manage opioid‑related family disruptions, giving agencies new tools to serve affected children.
- Foster and adoptive parent recruitment programs — The statute allows grant funds to be used for recruitment and training, helping programs expand the pool of caregivers when parents cannot care for children.
- Behavioral health and pediatric service providers — The authorized activities include health care services for children and caregivers, creating demand for clinical and wraparound services that treat trauma and substance‑use impacts.
- Workforce training organizations — Entities that provide caregiver, foster parent, and clinician training can access new grant dollars to develop curricula and deliver training tied to opioid‑related child welfare needs.
Who Bears the Cost
- Federal budget/appropriations — The bill authorizes $255 million annually for 2028–2033, which will require appropriation action to be spent; authorizations increase the pressure on future budgets.
- State and local agencies — To access competitive or formula grants, agencies must prepare applications, comply with federal reporting and program requirements, and potentially match resources or redirect staff time to implement new programs.
- Grant administrators and program managers — The 1 percent set‑aside and new eligibility categories add administrative complexity—grant officials will need to update guidance, performance metrics, and monitoring frameworks.
- Existing programs addressing child welfare and opioid response — States may reallocate limited grant management capacity and planning resources to accommodate the new set of eligible activities, potentially crowding out other priorities.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central tension is between targeted federal support for kinship caregivers and the practical limits of a programmatic add‑on: the bill seeks to direct opioid‑response dollars toward a vulnerable, often informal caregiving population, but it relies on an existing grant framework without spelling out distribution, accountability, or sufficient set‑aside funding—forcing implementers to choose between precision (reaching informal kinship families) and administrative simplicity (channeling funds through existing foster‑care systems).
The bill creates a focused funding stream but leaves key implementation details to the existing Section 1003 grant program and its administrators. It does not specify whether the new funds are distributed through a competitive grant, formula, or a hybrid; nor does it prescribe performance measures, beneficiary verification procedures, or matching requirements.
Those choices will determine how effectively money reaches informal kinship caregivers versus formal foster placements.
The 1 percent set‑aside guarantees some funding for kinship/caregiver activities but is intentionally small relative to the overall authorization. That tradeoff risks symbolic protection of the new purpose without delivering sufficient resources for intensive services, especially in high‑need States.
Similarly, the kinship caregiver definition includes both legally connected caregivers and informal caregivers, but the bill does not clarify documentation standards, eligibility timelines, or how informal caregivers will be verified for grant‑funded services. These gaps create operational risks: states that want to prioritize informal kinship families may encounter auditing and eligibility hurdles, while others may favor simpler, documented foster placements.
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