Ensuring equal financial support to kinship parents and fictive kin

This bill requires West Virginia to provide kinship caregivers (relatives raising children) and fictive kin (non-relatives with strong caregiving bonds) with the same financial support currently given to certified foster parents. It removes the requirement for these caregivers to become certified, though safety and background checks remain mandatory. The law ensures all existing foster parent benefits - like stipends, resources, and support services - are extended directly to kinship and fictive kin caregivers without additional barriers. This change applies immediately to all state-funded child welfare programs under the Department of Health and Human Resources.