Family Law - Kinship Care

Summary

The bill directs local child‑welfare departments to give priority to kinship placements and to take a child’s feelings about a prospective caregiver into account. It expands who can be approved as a kinship caregiver to include unrelated adults with strong bonds or those named by the child or parent, and sets specific factors the department must evaluate before approval. The aim is to keep children with familiar or preferred adults whenever safely possible.

AI-generated summary — may be incomplete or inaccurate. Verify against the official bill text.

Hearings

• Judicial Proceedings — Bill Hearing
  Judicial Proceedings · Apr 2, 2026
• Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee
  Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee · Apr 2, 2026
• Judiciary — Bill Hearing
  Judiciary · Feb 26, 2026

History

1. Mar 24, 2026Hearing 4/02 at 1:00 p.m.
2. Mar 23, 2026Referred Judicial Proceedings
3. Mar 20, 2026Third Reading Passed
4. Mar 19, 2026Second Reading Passed with Amendments
5. Mar 19, 2026Favorable with Amendments Report by Judiciary
6. Mar 19, 2026Favorable with Amendments {
7. Feb 13, 2026Hearing 2/26 at 1:00 p.m.
8. Feb 12, 2026First Reading Judiciary

Sponsors

• Acevero · sponsor
• Conaway
• D. Jones
• Fennell
• Guyton
• Hill
• Martinez
• Moreno
• Simmons
• Smith
• Taylor
• Toles
• Woods
• Young

Bill text

Opens the legislature’s own copy.

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