FOSTER Act

This legislation amends the 21st Century Cures Act to bolster the capacity of State and local agencies in their response to the opioid abuse crisis, particularly concerning children and their caregivers. It expands existing opioid grants to specifically support opioid abuse prevention and treatment services for children, caregivers, kinship care families , and kinship caregivers . These services encompass crucial areas such as workforce recruitment and training, health care services, and foster and adoptive parent recruitment and training. To clarify eligibility and scope, the bill introduces definitions for "kinship care family" and "kinship caregiver," specifying a relative who is the primary caregiver due to parental inability and has a legal or informal relationship with the child. Furthermore, it authorizes an appropriation of $255,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2028 through 2033 to fund these expanded initiatives. A significant provision ensures that 1 percent of the total authorized amount for each fiscal year is specifically set aside to carry out these new support activities for children and caregivers affected by the opioid crisis.