; Whereas COVID–19 both heightened the challenges for existing kinship caregivers and created new kinship caregivers due to parents dying or becoming disabled due to the virus leaving behind children who have been taken in by their kinship families; Whereas Black children make up 14 percent of all children in the United States but comprise over 25 percent of all children raised by grandparents and 23 percent of all children in foster care; Whereas American Indian/Alaska Native children make up 1 percent of all children in the United States but comprise over 8 percent of all children raised by grandparents and 2 percent of all children in foster care; Whereas kinship care enables children— (1) to maintain family relationships and family heritage; (2) to remain in their community; and (3) to thrive; Whereas research shows that living with relatives and fictive kin benefits children in a number of ways including— (1) kinship care minimizes trauma; (2) kinship placements improve behavioral and mental health outcomes; (3) kinship care promotes sibling and other family ties; (4) kinship families provide higher levels of permanency; and (5) kinship care reduces the risk of homelessness and criminal involvement by providing an important and emotionally sustaining bridge for older youth; Whereas kinship caregivers report tremendous satisfaction in caring for and raising children but face substantial challenges in accessing resources they need to care for their families, to avoid living in poverty, and to prevent children from entering foster care; Whereas much remains to be done to ensure that all children have a safe, loving, nurturing, and permanent family, regardless of age or special needs