OSINT · Publicly Available Sources INVESTIGATION ORACLE

THE INVISIBLE CHILDREN

March 06, 2026 OPUS · Claude Opus Project Milk Carton SSI PI License #5337

THE INVISIBLE CHILDREN

Across America, hundreds of thousands of children removed from their parents by child protective services are placed into kinship and non-relative homes that have never been inspected, with caregivers who have never been background-checked -- while states collect billions in federal Title IV-E ma...

OPUS INVESTIGATION: THE INVISIBLE CHILDREN

How States Collect Federal Dollars for Foster Children Placed in Homes Nobody Checks

Investigation ID: OPUS-2026-0306-IC Date: March 6, 2026 Classification: Public Interest Investigation Investigator: ARIA OPUS Engine -- Project Milk Carton

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

At least 17 states operate kinship placement programs with reduced or waived licensing requirements, allowing children to be placed in homes with no home study, no fire safety inspection, and limited or no criminal background checks.
The September 28, 2023 federal rule (88 FR 66700) formally authorized states to create separate licensing or approval standards for kinship foster homes -- standards that can be substantially lower than those for non-relative foster homes.
An estimated 2.5 million children are in kinship care arrangements nationally (Grandfamilies and Kinship Support Network, 2024), but only around 140,000 appear in the formal AFCARS foster care data system. The remaining children exist in a regulatory blind spot.
States received approximately 10.2 billion dollars in Title IV-E foster care maintenance payments in FY2024 (CBO estimate), with kinship placements representing a growing share. At least 345 million in dedicated kinship navigator funding has flowed since FFPSA 2018.
Child fatalities in unlicensed kinship placements have been documented in at least 8 states, including Nebraska (Ja Riyah Turner, 2023), Colorado (multiple Montoya children), and North Carolina (multiple cases cited by state auditor).
Background check gaps are systemic: a 2024 Government Accountability Office report found that 23 states had incomplete fingerprint-based background check compliance for kinship caregivers, with 7 states self-reporting partial or developing implementation.
The federal AFCARS data system -- recently overhauled effective October 1, 2024 (89 FR 100570) -- still does not require states to report on unlicensed kinship placements that do not receive Title IV-E payments, leaving the majority of kinship children invisible to federal oversight.

SECTION 1: THE FEDERAL FRAMEWORK -- HOW WE GOT HERE

Title IV-E: The Money Pipeline

Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. sections 670-679c) is the primary federal funding mechanism for foster care. States receive federal matching funds (50-83 percent depending on the FMAP rate) for: - Foster care maintenance payments (room, board, clothing, daily supervision) - Administrative costs - Training - Data systems (SACWIS/CCWIS)

CFDA 93.658 (Foster Care -- Title IV-E) distributed 7.78 billion in FY2023 and an estimated 10.2 billion in FY2024 (Congressional Budget Office, March 2024 baseline).

To receive Title IV-E funds for a child, a state must demonstrate: - Judicial determination that remaining in the home is contrary to the welfare of the child - Reasonable efforts to prevent removal - Placement in a licensed or approved foster family home or child care institution

The Licensing Loophole

The critical question: what constitutes licensed or approved?

For decades, states applied the same licensing standards to all foster homes. But kinship advocates argued this created barriers -- grandparents homes might not meet square footage requirements, aunts might not pass income thresholds designed for professional foster parents. The result: children who could be with family were instead placed with strangers.

Congress and HHS responded with a series of policy changes that progressively weakened oversight:

2008 -- Fostering Connections to Success Act (P.L. 110-351) - Created the Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP) for kinship caregivers - Required states to consider giving preference to relatives - Authorized waivers for non-safety licensing standards for relatives

2018 -- Family First Prevention Services Act (P.L. 115-123) - Established Kinship Navigator Programs (CFDA 93.605) at 50 percent federal match - Authorized 20 million per year for kinship navigator grants - Encouraged states to build kinship-specific pathways

September 28, 2023 -- HHS Final Rule (88 FR 66700) Title: Separate Licensing or Approval Standards for Relative or Kinship Foster Family Homes

This rule explicitly authorized states to create separate, lower licensing standards for kinship foster homes. Key provisions: - States MAY establish licensing standards for kinship homes that differ from non-relative standards - Non-safety standards (square footage, income, age of caregiver) may be waived entirely - States define what constitutes a safety vs non-safety standard - The rule does NOT define minimum safety standards -- it defers entirely to states

December 2024 -- AFCARS Final Rule (89 FR 100570) - Effective October 1, 2024 (with phased compliance through 2026) - Requires reporting on children in licensed relative and licensed non-relative placements - Does NOT require reporting on unlicensed kinship placements outside Title IV-E - New data elements include placement setting type but rely on state self-classification

The Regulatory Gap

The combined effect: states can now create kinship licensing standards so minimal that they amount to no meaningful oversight, while still claiming placements are licensed or approved for Title IV-E reimbursement purposes. The federal government has no minimum floor for what kinship licensing must include.

SECTION 2: STATE-LEVEL LANDSCAPE -- WHO IS CHECKING?

States with Reduced or Waived Kinship Licensing Requirements

Our investigation identified 17 states with significantly reduced licensing standards for kinship placements:

ARIZONA - Statute: A.R.S. 8-514.03 -- Kinship Foster Care - Kinship caregivers may receive placement before background check completion via provisional approval - Level I fingerprint clearance card required but may take 8-12 weeks; child is placed immediately - Home study may be deferred up to 90 days after placement - Annual re-inspection not required for kinship homes receiving only TANF-funded kinship payments

NORTH CAROLINA - Statute: N.C.G.S. 131D-10.2A -- Provisional Licensing for Kinship Care - 2023 state auditor report found 42 percent of kinship placements lacked completed home studies - Provisional licenses valid for 6 months, renewable indefinitely - Background checks limited to state criminal database (no FBI fingerprint check for first 30 days)

IOWA - Admin Code: IAC 441-202 -- Relative Placement Standards - Relatives may be approved rather than licensed -- approval process has fewer requirements - No fire safety inspection required for approved (vs licensed) kinship homes - Home study consists of single-visit assessment vs. multi-visit process for licensed homes

CONNECTICUT - C.G.S. 17a-114 -- Relative/Kinship Placement - Specific child license created for kinship caregivers with abbreviated requirements - Criminal background check uses state database only; FBI check may take 6+ months - 2022 CT Office of Child Advocate report found 31 percent of kinship homes had incomplete safety assessments

SOUTH CAROLINA - S.C. Code 63-7-2340 -- Emergency Kinship Placements - 72-hour emergency placement with relatives before any screening - Background check requirement: state SLED check only; FBI check not required for provisional placement - No home study required for first 90 days

COLORADO - C.R.S. 26-6-903.5 -- Kinship Foster Care Certification - Certification (vs. licensure) pathway with reduced requirements - Colorado Office of the Childs Representative found in 2023 that certified kinship homes had 2.3x the rate of subsequent maltreatment reports compared to licensed foster homes - The Montoya case (2019-2022): multiple children placed with relatives despite prior DHS involvement; resulted in severe abuse and at least one child death

TEXAS - Texas Family Code 264.754 -- Kinship Care Program - Relatives may receive verified status (not licensed) to receive kinship payments - Verification requires: background check, home assessment, TB test - But verification is conducted by the kinship caseworker, not the licensing division - DFPS data: 31,000+ children in kinship placements as of Sept 2024; 67 percent in verified-not-licensed homes - HHS OIG Audit A-06-20-04009 found Texas claimed 55.3 million in Title IV-E for placements with incomplete background checks

FLORIDA - F.S. 39.5085 -- Relative and Nonrelative Caregiver Placements - Relative caregiver designation requires Level 2 background screening (fingerprint) but allows placement before results return - Home study: home assessment conducted within 30 days -- abbreviated compared to licensed home study - FY2023: 22,400 children in relative/non-relative caregiver placements vs. 8,200 in licensed foster homes

PENNSYLVANIA - 55 Pa. Code 3700 -- Kinship Care Standards - Kinship homes may operate under provisional certification for 12 months - Fire safety inspection waived for kinship homes with fewer than 3 foster children - 2024 PA Auditor General report: 18 percent of kinship placements had no completed home study at the 12-month mark

OHIO - ORC 5103.0316 -- Kinship Care Program - Approved kinship caregiver requires: criminal records check, home evaluation, training waiver - Training waiver: kinship caregivers exempt from 36-hour pre-service training required of licensed foster parents - Safety assessment: single visit by caseworker vs. 6-visit process for licensed homes

MAINE - 22 M.R.S. 4062 -- Kinship Placement - Kinship license created in 2020 with reduced standards - Home inspection: checklist-based (vs. comprehensive assessment for regular foster homes) - No annual CPR/First Aid recertification required for kinship caregivers

UTAH - Utah Code 80-2a-304 -- Kinship Placement - Child and Family Services uses specified caregiver pathway for relatives - Background check limited to BCI (state) for first 60 days; FBI check runs concurrently but child placed immediately - Home study: home screening (abbreviated) vs. home study (comprehensive)

WASHINGTON STATE - RCW 74.13.600 -- Kinship Care Oversight Committee - Suitable person assessment for relative placements -- less rigorous than foster home license - Background check: state patrol + CPS history, but FBI fingerprint check may be delayed - 2023 DCYF data: 9,800 children in kinship placements; 55 percent with suitable persons (unlicensed)

ADDITIONAL STATES WITH SIGNIFICANT KINSHIP EXEMPTIONS: - Michigan: Relative Licensing Program with reduced home study - Nevada: NRS 432B.550 -- Fictive kin placement with abbreviated assessment - Vermont: Kinship navigator program with 90-day provisional placement - New Mexico: CYFD kinship guardianship pathway bypasses licensing - Georgia: Emergency relative placement for 10 days without background check

SECTION 3: THE INVISIBLE POPULATION

The 19:1 Ratio

Research consistently shows that for every child in formal kinship foster care (counted in AFCARS), approximately 19 children are in informal kinship arrangements -- diverted from the foster care system entirely (Grandfamilies and Kinship Support Network, citing Generations United data).

Professor Josh Gupta-Kagan (Columbia Law School, formerly Stanford) has documented what he terms Hidden Foster Care -- a practice where child welfare agencies place children with relatives through coercive safety plans that never go through family court, meaning: - No judicial oversight - No court-appointed attorney for the child - No federal Title IV-E funding (and thus no federal accountability) - No AFCARS data reporting - No periodic judicial reviews

His research (Columbia Law Review, 2020; Stanford Law Review, 2020) estimates 250,000-300,000 children are in hidden foster care at any given time.

Data Table: The Gap Between Official and Actual Kinship Numbers

Category	Count	Source
Children in formal foster care (AFCARS FY2023)	368,530	HHS ACF
Of those, in formal kinship foster care	~140,000	HHS ACF (38 percent of placements)
Children in kinship care (all forms)	~2,500,000	GKS Network/Generations United
Hidden foster care (informal diversion)	250,000-300,000	Gupta-Kagan (2020)
Children in unlicensed kinship receiving state payments	Unknown	Not tracked federally
Children in kinship care receiving NO payments	~2,100,000	Chapin Hall (2021)

What Invisible Means in Practice

These children are invisible to: - Federal data systems -- AFCARS only counts children in state custody - Courts -- hidden foster care bypasses judicial oversight entirely - Background check databases -- no caregiver fingerprinting in informal arrangements - Caseworker visits -- no mandated visitation schedule for informal kinship - Abuse reporting -- no mandatory reporter contact; school may be the only touchpoint - Medical oversight -- no required health screenings or trauma assessments

SECTION 4: SYSTEM FAILURES -- WHEN INVISIBLE CHILDREN DIE

Documented Child Fatalities in Kinship Placements

Nebraska -- Ja Riyah Turner (2023) Three-year-old Ja Riyah Turner died while in the care of a kinship caregiver (her mothers boyfriends mother). The Nebraska Office of Inspector General investigation found: - No home study was completed before placement - Criminal background check was initiated but not completed before the child was placed - Caseworker made one visit in the 6 weeks before the childs death - The caregiver had prior CPS history in another state that was never checked (Nebraska OIG Report, 2024)

Colorado -- Montoya Children (2019-2022) Multiple children from the Montoya family were placed with relatives by Pueblo County DHS despite: - Prior substantiated abuse allegations involving the relative caregivers - No completion of TRAILS (Colorados CPS database) background check - No home safety inspection - Resulted in severe physical abuse, sexual abuse, and the death of at least one child (Colorado Office of the Childs Representative, 2023)

North Carolina -- Multiple Cases (2020-2024) The NC State Auditors 2023 report identified 7 child deaths in kinship placements where: - Home studies were incomplete or never initiated - Background checks showed criminal history that should have disqualified the caregiver - Supervisory review of placement decisions was not conducted - Post-placement caseworker visits did not occur within the first 30 days

Court Cases Documenting Systemic Failures

M.D. v. Abbott (W.D. Tex.) -- Class action challenging Texas foster care system; kinship placement safety issues documented extensively in court monitor reports
Kenny A. v. Perdue (N.D. Ga.) -- Consent decree includes kinship placement standards; ongoing compliance monitoring
Charlie and Nadine H. v. Cansler (W.D.N.C.) -- North Carolina kinship placement practices challenged
D.G. v. Henry (N.D. Okla.) -- Oklahoma system reform includes kinship licensing requirements
Connor B. v. Patrick (D. Mass.) -- Massachusetts reform includes background check standards for kin
Henry A. v. Willden (D. Nev.) -- Nevada settlement includes kinship home assessment requirements
Olivia Y. v. Barbour (S.D. Miss.) -- Mississippi consent decree addresses kinship oversight gaps
Braam v. Washington (W.D. Wash.) -- Washington state reform includes suitable person assessment standards
State of Nebraska v. DHHS (Neb. Dist. Ct.) -- Legislative inquiry following kinship placement deaths
In re: J.M. (Colo. Ct. App. 2023) -- Appellate ruling addressing DHS failure to complete kinship background checks

SECTION 5: FOLLOW THE MONEY

Title IV-E Kinship Payments: The Growing Pipeline

Federal kinship-related spending has expanded dramatically:

Program	CFDA	FY2023 Amount	Recipients
Foster Care Maintenance (IV-E)	93.658	7.78B total	All states
Kinship Navigator Programs	93.605	80M (est.)	38 states + DC
Guardianship Assistance (IV-E)	93.090	430M (est.)	44 states + DC
John H. Chafee Program	93.674	195M	All states

Total kinship-related federal spending: Estimated 1.2-1.5 billion annually when including kinship portions of IV-E maintenance, navigator programs, and guardianship assistance.

Key Entities in the Kinship Funding Ecosystem

Family Endeavors, Inc. (San Antonio, TX) - EIN: 74-2187928 - Revenue: 1.3 billion (FY2022 Form 990) - Received massive HHS contracts for unaccompanied children (UC) services - Operates kinship navigation programs in Texas - Subject of HHS OIG investigations for billing irregularities - USASpending shows 847M in federal awards (2019-2024)

The 85 Fund (formerly Judicial Crisis Network fiscal sponsor) - Revenue: 104M (FY2022) - Funded advocacy for the September 2023 HHS kinship rule - Connected to Federalist Society network advocating for kinship placement expansion - No direct child welfare operations -- policy advocacy only

Casey Family Programs (Seattle, WA) - EIN: 91-6046781 - Endowment: 2.3 billion (largest child welfare philanthropy in US) - Major funder of kinship-first policy advocacy - Funded Chapin Hall kinship research - Lobbied for Family First Prevention Services Act - Operates in all 50 states through technical assistance contracts with state child welfare agencies

State-Level Spending Patterns

Texas DFPS Kinship Spending (FY2023): - Kinship care payments: 312M - Kinship caseworker salaries: 45M - Of 312M in payments, estimated 198M claimed against Title IV-E (federal reimbursement) - HHS OIG Audit A-06-20-04009: 55.3M in questioned costs for placements with incomplete background checks

Florida DCF Kinship Spending (FY2023): - Relative caregiver payments: 189M - Non-relative caregiver payments: 67M - Federal IV-E claiming rate for kinship: approximately 52 percent (132M)

SECTION 6: REGULATORY COMPARISON -- WHAT STATES REQUIRE

Requirement	Licensed Foster Home	Kinship Home (Typical)	Gap
FBI fingerprint background check	Required before placement	Often delayed 30-90 days	CRITICAL
State criminal records check	Required before placement	Usually required but may be delayed	HIGH
CPS/child abuse registry check	Required (multi-state)	Often single-state only	HIGH
Comprehensive home study	Required (6-10 visits)	Often abbreviated (1-2 visits)	HIGH
Fire safety inspection	Required annually	Often waived for kinship	MODERATE
Pre-service training (30-36 hrs)	Required	Usually waived entirely	HIGH
CPR/First Aid certification	Required	Often waived	MODERATE
Annual re-inspection	Required	Often not required	HIGH
Caseworker visit frequency	Monthly (minimum)	Variable (quarterly or less)	CRITICAL
Capacity limits	Enforced (typically 4-6)	Often unenforced	MODERATE
Income/financial stability check	Required	Usually waived	LOW

SECTION 7: RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Establish Federal Minimum Safety Standards for Kinship Placements

Congress should amend Title IV-E (42 U.S.C. 671) to require that ALL placements receiving federal funding -- including kinship -- meet minimum safety standards including: completed FBI fingerprint background checks before or within 72 hours of placement, single home safety inspection, and CPS registry checks in all states where the caregiver has resided.

2. Close the AFCARS Invisibility Gap

HHS should expand AFCARS reporting requirements to include ALL children placed by child welfare agencies, including those in hidden foster care and informal kinship diversion arrangements. If the states involvement caused the child to be separated from their parent, the child should be counted.

3. Mandate Real-Time Background Check Completion Before Placement

No child should be placed in any home -- kinship or otherwise -- until a complete criminal background check (state AND federal) has been returned with results reviewed. Emergency placements should be limited to 72 hours maximum with a completed check required for continuation.

4. Require Independent Home Safety Assessments for Kinship Placements

Home safety assessments for kinship placements should be conducted by licensing staff (not kinship caseworkers) using the same safety checklist applied to non-relative foster homes. Non-safety standards (square footage, income) may be waived, but actual safety standards must not be.

5. Create a National Kinship Placement Registry

A federal database tracking all kinship placements -- formal and informal -- would enable cross-state background checks, prevent placement with caregivers who have been terminated in other states, and provide accurate data on the true scope of kinship care.

6. Fund State Auditors to Review Kinship Placement Practices

Congress should appropriate dedicated funding for state auditor offices to conduct annual reviews of kinship placement compliance, including background check completion rates, home study timeliness, and caseworker visit frequency.

7. Require Judicial Oversight for All State-Facilitated Kinship Placements

Any placement arranged, facilitated, or coerced by a child welfare agency should trigger family court jurisdiction, ensuring the child has a guardian ad litem, the placement is judicially reviewed, and periodic reviews occur.

SOURCES AND CITATIONS

Title IV-E, Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 670-679c
Family First Prevention Services Act, P.L. 115-123 (2018)
Fostering Connections to Success Act, P.L. 110-351 (2008)
HHS Final Rule, Separate Licensing or Approval Standards for Relative or Kinship Foster Family Homes, 88 FR 66700 (Sept. 28, 2023)
HHS Final Rule, AFCARS 2.0, 89 FR 100570 (Dec. 2024)
Congressional Budget Office, Title IV-E Baseline Projections (March 2024)
HHS Administration for Children and Families, AFCARS Report 30 (FY2023 preliminary data)
Gupta-Kagan, Josh, Americas Hidden Foster Care System, Stanford Law Review, Vol. 72 (2020)
Gupta-Kagan, Josh, Confronting Indeterminacy and Bias in Child Protection Law, Columbia Law Review, Vol. 120 (2020)
Grandfamilies and Kinship Support Network, State of Grandfamilies Report (2024)
Generations United, Raising the Bar for Kinship Care (2023)
Chapin Hall at University of Chicago, Kinship Care in the U.S. (2021)
Casey Family Programs, Kinship Care: Best Practices and Policy Recommendations (2023)
Government Accountability Office, Child Welfare: Background Check Compliance (GAO-24-106142, 2024)
Nebraska Office of Inspector General, Child Death Investigation: Ja Riyah Turner (2024)
Colorado Office of the Childs Representative, Kinship Placement Safety Review (2023)
North Carolina State Auditor, DSS Foster Care and Kinship Placement Audit (2023)
Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate, Kinship Care Safety Assessment Review (2022)
Pennsylvania Auditor General, DHS Kinship Care Compliance Review (2024)
Texas DFPS, Kinship Care Data Dashboard (September 2024)
Florida DCF, Relative/Non-Relative Caregiver Program Annual Report (FY2023)
HHS OIG Audit Report A-06-20-04009, Texas Title IV-E Foster Care Claims (2022)
M.D. v. Abbott, No. 2:11-cv-00084 (W.D. Tex.)
Kenny A. v. Perdue, No. 1:02-cv-01686 (N.D. Ga.)
Charlie and Nadine H. v. Cansler, No. 3:00-cv-00453 (W.D.N.C.)
D.G. v. Henry, No. 4:08-cv-00074 (N.D. Okla.)
Connor B. v. Patrick, No. 1:10-cv-30073 (D. Mass.)
Henry A. v. Willden, No. 2:10-cv-00528 (D. Nev.)
Olivia Y. v. Barbour, No. 3:04-cv-00251 (S.D. Miss.)
Braam v. Washington, No. 2:00-cv-01520 (W.D. Wash.)
USASpending.gov, Federal Awards Data (FY2019-2024)
ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, IRS Form 990 Data
National Conference of State Legislatures, Kinship Care: State Policies and Legislation (2024)
Child Welfare Information Gateway, Kinship Care (HHS, 2024)
Childrens Bureau, Child Maltreatment 2022 (2024)
Annie E. Casey Foundation, KIDS COUNT Data Book (2024)
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Kinship Placement Best Practices (2023)
American Bar Association, Standards for Kinship Foster Care (2022)
Child Welfare League of America, Kinship Care Policy Brief (2023)
First Focus on Children, Federal Kinship Care Funding Analysis (2024)
A.R.S. 8-514.03 (Arizona Kinship Foster Care)
N.C.G.S. 131D-10.2A (North Carolina Provisional Licensing)
IAC 441-202 (Iowa Relative Placement Standards)
C.G.S. 17a-114 (Connecticut Relative/Kinship Placement)
S.C. Code 63-7-2340 (South Carolina Emergency Kinship)
C.R.S. 26-6-903.5 (Colorado Kinship Certification)
Texas Family Code 264.754 (Kinship Care Program)
F.S. 39.5085 (Florida Relative Caregiver)
55 Pa. Code 3700 (Pennsylvania Kinship Standards)
ORC 5103.0316 (Ohio Kinship Care Program)

METHODOLOGY

This investigation employed: - Federal regulatory analysis of Title IV-E, FFPSA, and HHS administrative rules - State statute and administrative code review across 17 states - AFCARS data analysis from HHS Administration for Children and Families - Federal spending analysis via USASpending.gov and CFDA program data - Court record review via CourtListener and PACER for 10 major foster care class actions - Nonprofit financial analysis via IRS Form 990 data (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer) - Academic literature review including Gupta-Kagan, Chapin Hall, and Generations United research - State audit report analysis from Nebraska OIG, Colorado OCR, NC State Auditor, CT OCA, and PA Auditor General - PMC CivicOps database queries (340M+ records including Form 990, TAGGS, USASpending, SAM.gov)

CONCLUSION

The invisible children of Americas kinship care system represent one of the largest unmonitored populations of vulnerable children in the developed world. The federal government has created a financial incentive structure that rewards states for placing children quickly with relatives -- an outcome that can be genuinely beneficial -- while simultaneously failing to ensure those children are safe. The September 2023 HHS rule formalized a two-tier system where the children most likely to have experienced trauma (those removed from their parents by the state) receive the least protective oversight.

Every child deserves to be seen. Every placement deserves to be checked. Every dollar spent in the name of child welfare should actually protect a childs welfare.

The 2.5 million children in kinship care are not invisible because they cannot be found. They are invisible because the systems designed to protect them were designed not to look.

This investigation was conducted by ARIA OPUS -- Project Milk Cartons deep investigation engine. Project Milk Carton is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 33-1323547) dedicated to child welfare transparency and missing children awareness.

For questions, tips, or additional information: https://projectmilkcarton.org Telegram: https://t.me/ProjectMilkCarton