DC KinCare Alliance Community Organizing Specialist Maryellen Ryan urged the Council to fully fund the Grandparent Caregiver and Close Relative Caregiver Programs in accordance with the Increasing Support for Grandparent and Close Relative Caregivers Amendment Act of 2025. The testimony highlights the critical role kinship caregivers play in keeping children safe and stable, while also documenting the significant disparities between the financial supports and services available to children in foster care compared to children being raised by relatives outside the foster care system.

DC KinCare Alliance Community Board Advocacy Lead Donte Massey shared his experience raising four younger siblings after a family crisis and explained how the Close Relative Caregiver Program helped stabilize his family through housing, transportation, food, and educational support. His testimony urges the Council to fully fund the Grandparent Caregiver and Close Relative Caregiver subsidy programs, emphasizing that kinship caregivers provide the same essential care and stability as foster parents and need equal financial support to keep children safely connected to family and community.

Long-time kinship caregiver and DC KinCare Alliance Community Board Outreach Leader Marcia Moore shares how legal representation and advocacy from DC KinCare Alliance helped her protect and ultimately adopt her great-niece after the child was abandoned and exposed to domestic violence. In her testimony before the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, Ms. Moore emphasizes the life-changing impact of Access to Justice funding for kinship caregivers seeking legal stability and essential public benefits for the children in their care.

In testimony before the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, Ward 7 resident and relative caregiver Donte Massey describes how DC KinCare Alliance helped him care for his younger siblings after they experienced homelessness and instability. Mr. Massey explains how legal services and public benefits advocacy made it possible to keep his siblings together and urges the Council to fully restore funding for the Access to Justice Initiative to support other kinship families in crisis.

Ward 7 resident and relative caregiver Betty Holmon shares how DC KinCare Alliance helped her navigate complex guardianship and custody proceedings to keep her great-nephew safe and stable during a family crisis. In her testimony before the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, Ms. Holmon highlights the importance of Access to Justice funding in helping kinship caregivers secure legal support, maintain family stability, and ensure children can thrive academically and emotionally.

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.