[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 579 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 579
To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to
improve foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 21, 2025
Mr. Feenstra (for himself and Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to
improve foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Recruiting Families Using Data Act
of 2025''.
SEC. 2. STATE PLAN AMENDMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 422 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
622) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(7), by inserting ``through the
development and implementation of a family partnership plan
which meets the requirements of subsection (d) for
identification, recruitment, screening, licensing, support, and
retention of foster and adoptive families'' after ``are
needed''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Family Partnership Plan Requirements.--For purposes of
subsection (b)(7), the requirements for a family partnership plan (in
this subsection referred to as the `plan') are the following:
``(1) The plan is developed in consultation with birth,
kinship, foster and adoptive families, community-based service
providers, technical assistance providers, and youth with lived
experience with foster care and adoption.
``(2) The plan describes--
``(A) how the State plans to identify, notify,
engage, and support relatives (and others connected to
the child) as potential placement resources for
children;
``(B) how the State plans to develop and implement
child-specific recruitment plans for every child in or
entering foster care who needs a foster or adoptive
family;
``(C) how the State plans to authentically engage
children and youth in recruitment efforts on their
behalf;
``(D) how the State plans to use data to establish
goals, assess needs, measure progress, reduce
unnecessary placements in congregate care, increase
permanency, improve placement stability, increase the
rate of kinship placements, improve recruitment and
retention of families for teens, sibling groups, and
other special populations, and align the composition of
foster and adoptive families with the needs of children
in or entering foster care; and
``(E) how that State will stand up or support
foster family advisory boards for the purpose of
improving recruitment and retention of foster and
adoptive families.
``(3) The plan provides that, not less than annually, the
State shall collect and report on the State's actual foster
family capacity and congregate care utilization, including the
number, demographics, and characteristics of licensed foster
families, including prospective adoptive families, the number
of such families that haven't received a placement or are not
being fully utilized and the reasons therefor, and the number,
demographics, and characteristics of children placed in
congregate care in-State and out-of-State.
``(4) The plan includes, and shall update not less than
annually, a summary of the most recent feedback from foster and
adoptive parents and youth regarding licensure, training,
support, and reasons why parents stop fostering or why adoptive
or legal guardianship placements out of foster care fail or
foster and such adoptive of legal guardianship families
struggle to meet children's needs.
``(5) The plan includes, and shall update annually, a
report on the State's analysis of specific challenges or
barriers to recruiting, licensing, and utilizing families who
reflect the racial and ethnic background of children in foster
care in the State, and the State's efforts to overcome those
challenges and barriers.
``(6) The plan includes such other information relating to
foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention as the
Secretary may require.''.
(b) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
amendment made by this subsection shall take effect on October
1, 2026.
(2) Delay permitted if state legislation required.--In the
case of a State plan approved under subpart 1 of part B of
title IV of the Social Security Act which the Secretary of
Health and Human Services determines requires State legislation
(other than legislation appropriating funds) in order for the
plan to meet the additional requirements imposed by this
subsection, the State plan shall not be regarded as failing to
comply with the requirements of such part solely on the basis
of the failure of the plan to meet such additional requirements
before the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning
after the close of the first regular session of the State
legislature that begins after the date of enactment of this
subsection. For purposes of the previous sentence, in the case
of a State that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of
such session shall be deemed to be a separate regular session
of the State legislature.
SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE FAMILIES IN
ANNUAL CHILD WELFARE OUTCOMES REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Section 479A(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679b(a)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (7)(B), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) include in the report submitted pursuant to paragraph
(5) for fiscal year 2025 or any succeeding fiscal year--
``(A) State-by-State data on the number,
demographics, and characteristics of foster and
adoptive families in the State, and the number of
potential foster and adoptive families not being
utilized in the State and the reasons why;
``(B) a summary of the challenges of, and barriers
to, being a foster or adoptive parent, including with
respect to recruitment, licensure, engagement,
retention, and why parents stop fostering, adoptions
disrupt or dissolve, or foster or adoptive families
struggle, as reported by States based on surveys of
foster and adoptive parents; and
``(C) a summary of the challenges and barriers
States reported on efforts to recruit a pool of
families that reflect the racial and ethnic background
of children in foster care in the State, and efforts to
overcome those barriers.''.
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