SB 544 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Relating to temporary increase in payment to kinship parent

SB 544 provides a temporary increase in subsidy payments for kinship parents (relatives caring for children) to match foster parent rates, lasting up to six months. To qualify, kinship parents must complete a state and national criminal background check within five days of placement, pass the check, undergo a home safety screening, and receive a list of child-placing agencies from the Department of Human Services to assist with foster parent certification. The temporary payment begins within 30 days of placement and continues monthly until certification is achieved or the six-month period ends, whichever comes first. Kinship parents cover the cost of background checks and fingerprinting.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Jan 23, 2026

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What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to strengthen safety requirements for kinship parents by adding a mandatory criminal background check and home screening before they receive foster-level subsidies. The substitute version also clarifies that the Department of Human Services must provide a list of child-placing agencies to assist kinship parents with certification. Additionally, new provisions restrict the release of criminal history records to protect privacy and clarify that the applicant pays for the background check costs.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include mandatory background checks and home screenings as conditions for eligibility, and added specific privacy protections for criminal record data.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory state and national criminal history record check that must be passed within five days of placement.

Added a requirement for an initial home screening to identify and correct life safety issues.

Added a mandate for the Department of Human Services to provide a list of available child-placing agencies to assist with certification.

Added a requirement that the kinship parent must pay the actual costs for fingerprinting and the criminal history record check.

ENFORCEMENT

Added new sections authorizing the Department to conduct background checks, restricting who can access criminal record results, and clarifying that these records are not public.

FISCAL

Modified the subsidy payment terms to specify that payments occur on the first business day of each month.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 23, 2026

Committee

To Finance

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Committee

Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Committee

To Health and Human Resources

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in Senate

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Committee

To Health and Human Resources then Finance

upper

1 primary · 5 co-sponsors