Christy Webster, Ward 8 resident and Co-President of the DC KinCare Alliance Community Board, testified about the life-changing impact of the D.C. Access to Justice Initiative on her family. With legal support from DC KinCare Alliance, she successfully secured custody of her granddaughters, ensuring their safety, stability, and academic success. Her testimony highlights how sustained ATJ funding strengthens kinship families while generating long-term savings and better outcomes for children in the District.

Ward 7 resident Donte Massey shared how DC KinCare Alliance helped him navigate complex systems to secure custody, housing stability, and public benefits while raising his younger siblings. Through legal advocacy and community leadership development, he was empowered not only to keep his family together but also to advocate for the Close Relative Caregiver Program subsidy. His testimony underscores the critical role justice grant funding plays in helping kinship families achieve safety, stability, and self-sufficiency.

Marla Spindel testified about the critical role Access to Justice Initiative funding plays in stabilizing kinship families across the District. She highlighted the organization’s impact—serving more than 1,100 caregivers and 1,500 children, advancing systemic policy reforms, and launching innovative programs like Project ADOPT and Project STAY—while emphasizing that legal access strengthens economic security, improves child outcomes, and enhances public safety. Her testimony underscored that sustained ATJ funding is essential to ensuring relative caregivers can secure custody, access benefits, and provide safe, permanent homes for vulnerable children.

Ward 1 resident Marcia Moore, Outreach Leader of the DC KinCare Alliance Relative Caregiver Community Board, testified about the critical role the D.C. Access to Justice Initiative played in helping her secure custody—and ultimately finalize adoption—of her great-niece. With legal support from DC KinCare Alliance, she was able to navigate custody proceedings and access essential public benefits, including SNAP, TANF, and the caregiver subsidy. Her testimony underscores how sustained ATJ funding empowers kinship caregivers to provide permanent, stable homes for children who might otherwise lack protection and support.

Stacey Brown, a Ward 6 resident and kinship caregiver, testified about the trauma her goddaughter endured and how DC KinCare Alliance provided urgent, compassionate legal advocacy to secure custody and ultimately finalize adoption. With support funded through Access to Justice and the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants, her family was able to access trauma-informed services and long-term stability. Today, her goddaughter is thriving in college, and Stacey continues to advocate for kinship families across the District.

Ms. McClellan highlighted longstanding, systemic failures that continue to place children at risk. The testimony called for greater accountability and transparency around unsafe hotline screen outs, flawed investigations, and the unlawful use of “informal” placements with relatives that deny families critical legal protections and supports.

The testimony highlighted how burdensome documentation requirements, outdated and inaccurate public information, and system barriers delay access to critical financial support for kinship caregivers.

Ms. McClellan stated that DC KinCare Alliance applauds the extension of the Grandparent Caregiver Program (GCP) and Close Relative Caregiver Program (CRCP) subsidies to those raising children up to age 21, rather than losing that support when the child reaches 18 years of age. We appreciate the clarity of a fixed subsidy amount over the uncertainty of a range that is calculated based on factors that are not entirely transparent.

We believe, however, that the Bill as drafted would be more expensive and less effective than it could be if the responsibilities of the proposed District Office for Children were placed within the Office of the Ombudsperson for Children (OFC).

DC KinCare Alliance recommend that the Bill be expanded to expressly require CFSA to allow anyone it interviews or meets with to have a trusted person present for advice and support, including legal counsel.

Ms. McClellan discussed DC KinCare Alliance’s serious concerns regarding some of the proposed changes to the statutory definition of “neglected child.”

We’re proud to share that the D.C. Council officially declared September 2025 as Kinship Care Month, thanks to a ceremonial resolution introduced by Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker, who chairs the Committee on Youth Affairs.