Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB579 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
	1	+	I
1	2		119THCONGRESS
2	3		1
3	4		STSESSION H. R. 579
4		-	AN ACT
	5	+	To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to improve
	6	+	foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention, and for other purposes.
	7	+	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
	8	+	JANUARY21, 2025
	9	+	Mr. F
	10	+	EENSTRA(for himself and Mr. BOYLEof Pennsylvania) introduced the
	11	+	following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
	12	+	A BILL
5	13		To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security
6	14		Act to improve foster and adoptive parent recruitment
7	15		and retention, and for other purposes.
8	16		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
9		-	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2
10		-	•HR 579 EH
11		-	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1
12		-	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recruiting Families 2
13		-	Using Data Act of 2025’’. 3
14		-	SEC. 2. STATE PLAN AMENDMENT. 4
	17	+	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
	18	+	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
	19	+	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recruiting Families 4
	20	+	Using Data Act of 2025’’. 5
	21	+	SEC. 2. STATE PLAN AMENDMENT. 6
15	22		(a) I
16		-	NGENERAL.—Section 422 of the Social Security 5
17		-	Act (42 U.S.C. 622) is amended— 6
18		-	(1) in subsection (b)(7), by inserting ‘‘through 7
19		-	the development and implementation of a family 8
20		-	partnership plan which meets the requirements of 9
21		-	subsection (d) for identification, recruitment, screen-10
22		-	ing, licensing, support, and retention of foster and 11
23		-	adoptive families’’ after ‘‘are needed’’; and 12
24		-	(2) by adding at the end the following: 13
	23	+	NGENERAL.—Section 422 of the Social Security 7
	24	+	Act (42 U.S.C. 622) is amended— 8
	25	+	(1) in subsection (b)(7), by inserting ‘‘through 9
	26	+	the development and implementation of a family 10
	27	+	VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Feb 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H579.IH H579
	28	+	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2
	29	+	•HR 579 IH
	30	+	partnership plan which meets the requirements of 1
	31	+	subsection (d) for identification, recruitment, screen-2
	32	+	ing, licensing, support, and retention of foster and 3
	33	+	adoptive families’’ after ‘‘are needed’’; and 4
	34	+	(2) by adding at the end the following: 5
25	35		‘‘(d) F
26		-	AMILYPARTNERSHIP PLANREQUIRE-14
27		-	MENTS.—For purposes of subsection (b)(7), the require-15
28		-	ments for a family partnership plan (in this subsection 16
29		-	referred to as the ‘plan’) are the following: 17
30		-	‘‘(1) The plan is developed in consultation with 18
31		-	birth, kinship, foster and adoptive families, commu-19
32		-	nity-based service providers, technical assistance 20
33		-	providers, and youth with lived experience with fos-21
34		-	ter care and adoption. 22
35		-	‘‘(2) The plan describes— 23
36		-	‘‘(A) how the State plans to identify, no-24
37		-	tify, engage, and support relatives (and others 25 3
38		-	•HR 579 EH
39		-	connected to the child) as potential placement 1
40		-	resources for children; 2
41		-	‘‘(B) how the State plans to develop and 3
42		-	implement child-specific recruitment plans for 4
43		-	every child in or entering foster care who needs 5
44		-	a foster or adoptive family; 6
45		-	‘‘(C) how the State plans to authentically 7
46		-	engage children and youth in recruitment ef-8
47		-	forts on their behalf; 9
48		-	‘‘(D) how the State plans to use data to 10
49		-	establish goals, assess needs, measure progress, 11
50		-	reduce unnecessary placements in congregate 12
51		-	care, increase permanency, improve placement 13
52		-	stability, increase the rate of kinship place-14
53		-	ments, improve recruitment and retention of 15
54		-	families for teens, sibling groups, and other spe-16
55		-	cial populations, and align the composition of 17
56		-	foster and adoptive families with the needs of 18
57		-	children in or entering foster care; and 19
58		-	‘‘(E) how that State will stand up or sup-20
59		-	port foster family advisory boards for the pur-21
60		-	pose of improving recruitment and retention of 22
61		-	foster and adoptive families. 23
62		-	‘‘(3) The plan provides that, not less than an-24
63		-	nually, the State shall collect and report on the 25 4
64		-	•HR 579 EH
65		-	State’s actual foster family capacity and congregate 1
66		-	care utilization, including the number, demo-2
67		-	graphics, and characteristics of licensed foster fami-3
68		-	lies, including prospective adoptive families, the 4
69		-	number of such families that haven’t received a 5
70		-	placement or are not being fully utilized and the rea-6
71		-	sons therefor, and the number, demographics, and 7
72		-	characteristics of children placed in congregate care 8
73		-	in-State and out-of-State. 9
74		-	‘‘(4) The plan includes, and shall update not 10
75		-	less than annually, a summary of the most recent 11
76		-	feedback from foster and adoptive parents and youth 12
77		-	regarding licensure, training, support, and reasons 13
78		-	why parents stop fostering or why adoptive or legal 14
79		-	guardianship placements out of foster care fail or 15
80		-	foster and such adoptive of legal guardianship fami-16
81		-	lies struggle to meet children’s needs. 17
82		-	‘‘(5) The plan includes, and shall update annu-18
83		-	ally, a report on the State’s analysis of specific chal-19
84		-	lenges or barriers to recruiting, licensing, and uti-20
85		-	lizing families who reflect the racial and ethnic back-21
86		-	ground of children in foster care in the State, and 22
87		-	the State’s efforts to overcome those challenges and 23
88		-	barriers. 24 5
89		-	•HR 579 EH
90		-	‘‘(6) The plan includes such other information 1
91		-	relating to foster and adoptive parent recruitment 2
92		-	and retention as the Secretary may require.’’. 3
	36	+	AMILYPARTNERSHIP PLANREQUIRE-6
	37	+	MENTS.—For purposes of subsection (b)(7), the require-7
	38	+	ments for a family partnership plan (in this subsection 8
	39	+	referred to as the ‘plan’) are the following: 9
	40	+	‘‘(1) The plan is developed in consultation with 10
	41	+	birth, kinship, foster and adoptive families, commu-11
	42	+	nity-based service providers, technical assistance 12
	43	+	providers, and youth with lived experience with fos-13
	44	+	ter care and adoption. 14
	45	+	‘‘(2) The plan describes— 15
	46	+	‘‘(A) how the State plans to identify, no-16
	47	+	tify, engage, and support relatives (and others 17
	48	+	connected to the child) as potential placement 18
	49	+	resources for children; 19
	50	+	‘‘(B) how the State plans to develop and 20
	51	+	implement child-specific recruitment plans for 21
	52	+	every child in or entering foster care who needs 22
	53	+	a foster or adoptive family; 23
	54	+	VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Feb 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H579.IH H579
	55	+	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3
	56	+	•HR 579 IH
	57	+	‘‘(C) how the State plans to authentically 1
	58	+	engage children and youth in recruitment ef-2
	59	+	forts on their behalf; 3
	60	+	‘‘(D) how the State plans to use data to 4
	61	+	establish goals, assess needs, measure progress, 5
	62	+	reduce unnecessary placements in congregate 6
	63	+	care, increase permanency, improve placement 7
	64	+	stability, increase the rate of kinship place-8
	65	+	ments, improve recruitment and retention of 9
	66	+	families for teens, sibling groups, and other spe-10
	67	+	cial populations, and align the composition of 11
	68	+	foster and adoptive families with the needs of 12
	69	+	children in or entering foster care; and 13
	70	+	‘‘(E) how that State will stand up or sup-14
	71	+	port foster family advisory boards for the pur-15
	72	+	pose of improving recruitment and retention of 16
	73	+	foster and adoptive families. 17
	74	+	‘‘(3) The plan provides that, not less than an-18
	75	+	nually, the State shall collect and report on the 19
	76	+	State’s actual foster family capacity and congregate 20
	77	+	care utilization, including the number, demo-21
	78	+	graphics, and characteristics of licensed foster fami-22
	79	+	lies, including prospective adoptive families, the 23
	80	+	number of such families that haven’t received a 24
	81	+	placement or are not being fully utilized and the rea-25
	82	+	VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Feb 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H579.IH H579
	83	+	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4
	84	+	•HR 579 IH
	85	+	sons therefor, and the number, demographics, and 1
	86	+	characteristics of children placed in congregate care 2
	87	+	in-State and out-of-State. 3
	88	+	‘‘(4) The plan includes, and shall update not 4
	89	+	less than annually, a summary of the most recent 5
	90	+	feedback from foster and adoptive parents and youth 6
	91	+	regarding licensure, training, support, and reasons 7
	92	+	why parents stop fostering or why adoptive or legal 8
	93	+	guardianship placements out of foster care fail or 9
	94	+	foster and such adoptive of legal guardianship fami-10
	95	+	lies struggle to meet children’s needs. 11
	96	+	‘‘(5) The plan includes, and shall update annu-12
	97	+	ally, a report on the State’s analysis of specific chal-13
	98	+	lenges or barriers to recruiting, licensing, and uti-14
	99	+	lizing families who reflect the racial and ethnic back-15
	100	+	ground of children in foster care in the State, and 16
	101	+	the State’s efforts to overcome those challenges and 17
	102	+	barriers. 18
	103	+	‘‘(6) The plan includes such other information 19
	104	+	relating to foster and adoptive parent recruitment 20
	105	+	and retention as the Secretary may require.’’. 21
93	106		(b) E
94		-	FFECTIVEDATE.— 4
	107	+	FFECTIVEDATE.— 22
95	108		(1) I
96		-	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-5
97		-	graph (2), the amendment made by this subsection 6
98		-	shall take effect on October 1, 2026. 7
99		-	(2) D
100		-	ELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION 8
101		-	REQUIRED.—In the case of a State plan approved 9
102		-	under subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social 10
103		-	Security Act which the Secretary of Health and 11
104		-	Human Services determines requires State legisla-12
105		-	tion (other than legislation appropriating funds) in 13
106		-	order for the plan to meet the additional require-14
107		-	ments imposed by this subsection, the State plan 15
108		-	shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the 16
109		-	requirements of such part solely on the basis of the 17
110		-	failure of the plan to meet such additional require-18
111		-	ments before the first day of the first calendar quar-19
112		-	ter beginning after the close of the first regular ses-20
113		-	sion of the State legislature that begins after the 21
114		-	date of enactment of this subsection. For purposes 22
115		-	of the previous sentence, in the case of a State that 23
116		-	has a 2-year legislative session, each year of such 24 6
117		-	•HR 579 EH
118		-	session shall be deemed to be a separate regular ses-1
119		-	sion of the State legislature. 2
120		-	SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON FOSTER AND 3
121		-	ADOPTIVE FAMILIES IN ANNUAL CHILD WEL-4
122		-	FARE OUTCOMES REPORT TO CONGRESS. 5
123		-	Section 479A(a) of the Social Security Act (42 6
124		-	U.S.C. 679b(a)) is amended— 7
125		-	(1) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking ‘‘and’’ 8
126		-	after the semicolon; 9
127		-	(2) in paragraph (7)(B), by striking the period 10
128		-	and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 11
129		-	(3) by adding at the end the following: 12
130		-	‘‘(8) include in the report submitted pursuant 13
131		-	to paragraph (5) for fiscal year 2025 or any suc-14
132		-	ceeding fiscal year— 15
133		-	‘‘(A) State-by-State data on the number, 16
134		-	demographics, and characteristics of foster and 17
135		-	adoptive families in the State, and the number 18
136		-	of potential foster and adoptive families not 19
137		-	being utilized in the State and the reasons why; 20
138		-	‘‘(B) a summary of the challenges of, and 21
139		-	barriers to, being a foster or adoptive parent, 22
140		-	including with respect to recruitment, licensure, 23
141		-	engagement, retention, and why parents stop 24
142		-	fostering, adoptions disrupt or dissolve, or fos-25 7
143		-	•HR 579 EH
144		-	ter or adoptive families struggle, as reported by 1
145		-	States based on surveys of foster and adoptive 2
146		-	parents; and 3
147		-	‘‘(C) a summary of the challenges and bar-4
148		-	riers States reported on efforts to recruit a pool 5
149		-	of families that reflect the racial and ethnic 6
150		-	background of children in foster care in the 7
151		-	State, and efforts to overcome those barriers.’’. 8
152		-	Passed the House of Representatives March 4,
153		-	2025.
154		-	Attest:
155		-	Clerk. 119
156		-	TH
157		-	CONGRESS
158		-	1
159		-	ST
160		-	S
161		-	ESSION
162		-
163		-	H. R. 579
164		-	AN ACT
165		-	To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social
166		-	Security Act to improve foster and adoptive par-
167		-	ent recruitment and retention, and for other pur-
168		-	poses.
	109	+	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-23
	110	+	graph (2), the amendment made by this subsection 24
	111	+	shall take effect on October 1, 2026. 25
	112	+	VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Feb 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H579.IH H579
	113	+	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5
	114	+	•HR 579 IH
	115	+	(2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION 1
	116	+	REQUIRED.—In the case of a State plan approved 2
	117	+	under subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social 3
	118	+	Security Act which the Secretary of Health and 4
	119	+	Human Services determines requires State legisla-5
	120	+	tion (other than legislation appropriating funds) in 6
	121	+	order for the plan to meet the additional require-7
	122	+	ments imposed by this subsection, the State plan 8
	123	+	shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the 9
	124	+	requirements of such part solely on the basis of the 10
	125	+	failure of the plan to meet such additional require-11
	126	+	ments before the first day of the first calendar quar-12
	127	+	ter beginning after the close of the first regular ses-13
	128	+	sion of the State legislature that begins after the 14
	129	+	date of enactment of this subsection. For purposes 15
	130	+	of the previous sentence, in the case of a State that 16
	131	+	has a 2-year legislative session, each year of such 17
	132	+	session shall be deemed to be a separate regular ses-18
	133	+	sion of the State legislature. 19
	134	+	SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON FOSTER AND 20
	135	+	ADOPTIVE FAMILIES IN ANNUAL CHILD WEL-21
	136	+	FARE OUTCOMES REPORT TO CONGRESS. 22
	137	+	Section 479A(a) of the Social Security Act (42 23
	138	+	U.S.C. 679b(a)) is amended— 24
	139	+	VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Feb 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H579.IH H579
	140	+	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6
	141	+	•HR 579 IH
	142	+	(1) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking ‘‘and’’ 1
	143	+	after the semicolon; 2
	144	+	(2) in paragraph (7)(B), by striking the period 3
	145	+	and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 4
	146	+	(3) by adding at the end the following: 5
	147	+	‘‘(8) include in the report submitted pursuant 6
	148	+	to paragraph (5) for fiscal year 2025 or any suc-7
	149	+	ceeding fiscal year— 8
	150	+	‘‘(A) State-by-State data on the number, 9
	151	+	demographics, and characteristics of foster and 10
	152	+	adoptive families in the State, and the number 11
	153	+	of potential foster and adoptive families not 12
	154	+	being utilized in the State and the reasons why; 13
	155	+	‘‘(B) a summary of the challenges of, and 14
	156	+	barriers to, being a foster or adoptive parent, 15
	157	+	including with respect to recruitment, licensure, 16
	158	+	engagement, retention, and why parents stop 17
	159	+	fostering, adoptions disrupt or dissolve, or fos-18
	160	+	ter or adoptive families struggle, as reported by 19
	161	+	States based on surveys of foster and adoptive 20
	162	+	parents; and 21
	163	+	‘‘(C) a summary of the challenges and bar-22
	164	+	riers States reported on efforts to recruit a pool 23
	165	+	of families that reflect the racial and ethnic 24
	166	+	VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Feb 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H579.IH H579
	167	+	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7
	168	+	•HR 579 IH
	169	+	background of children in foster care in the 1
	170	+	State, and efforts to overcome those barriers.’’. 2
	171	+	Æ
	172	+	VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Feb 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H579.IH H579
	173	+	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS