Queens, NY—As the New York State Legislature’s 2017 Legislative Session came to an end in June, a piece of legislation (S4833-A/A7554-A) introduced by Senator Tony Avella (S.D. 11) and Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi (A.D. 28) to amend the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KinGAP) to expand the definition of “relative guardian” to include additional adults with close relationships to the foster child unanimously passed both the Senate and Assembly.
This legislation was first introduced in the NYS Legislature in March and instantly received overwhelming support through memorandums of support from Lawyers for Children, Citizens Committee for Children, the New York City Bar, the New York State Bar Association, New York State Kinship Navigator, the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, the New York City A.S.F.A. Coalition, and the Committee on Children and the Law.
