Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025
Officially: “Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025” Read the full text
What it does
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1Short title
This section would give the Act the short title "Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025."
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025 .
2State plan amendment
This section would amend Section 422 of the Social Security Act, which sets requirements for a state's plan under subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act. It would require that the part of that state plan dealing with identifying, recruiting, screening, licensing, supporting, and retaining foster and adoptive families be carried out through a family partnership plan that meets new requirements set out in this section. That family partnership plan would have to be developed in consultation with birth, kinship, foster, and adoptive families, community-based service providers, technical assistance providers, and youth with lived experience in foster care and adoption. It would have to describe how the state plans to identify, notify, engage, and support relatives and other people connected to a child as possible placement resources; how the state plans to create a child-specific recruitment plan for every child in or entering foster care who needs a foster or adoptive family; how the state plans to authentically engage children and youth themselves in recruiting on their own behalf; how the state plans to use data to set goals, assess needs, measure progress, reduce unnecessary placement 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 mix of foster and adoptive families with the needs of children in or entering care; and how the state will stand up or support foster family advisory boards to improve recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive families. At least once a year, the state would have to collect and report on its actual foster family capacity and its use of congregate care, including the number, demographics, and characteristics of licensed foster families (including prospective adoptive families), the number of those families that have not received a placement or are not being fully used and the reasons why, and the number, demographics, and characteristics of children placed in congregate care both in-state and out-of-state. The plan would also have to include, and update at least annually, a summary of the most recent feedback from foster and adoptive parents and youth about licensure, training, and support, and about why parents stop fostering or why adoptive or legal guardianship placements out of foster care fail, or why foster and adoptive or guardianship families struggle to meet children's needs. It would also have to include, and update annually, the state's analysis of the specific challenges or barriers to recruiting, licensing, and using families who reflect the racial and ethnic background of children in the state's foster care system, and the state's efforts to overcome those challenges and barriers. The Secretary of Health and Human Services could require the plan to include other information relating to foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention. This amendment would take effect on October 1, 2026. However, if the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines that a state needs to pass state legislation (other than legislation that only appropriates funds) to meet these added requirements, the state's plan would not be treated as failing to comply solely because it does not yet meet them, until the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the close of the first regular session of that state's legislature that begins after this Act's enactment date; for a state with a two-year legislative session, each year of that session would count as a separate regular session for this purpose.
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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.
3Inclusion of information on foster and adoptive families in annual child welfare outcomes report to Congress
This section would amend Section 479A(a) of the Social Security Act, which lists what the Secretary of Health and Human Services must include in the annual child welfare outcomes report to Congress. Starting with the report for fiscal year 2025 and every fiscal year after that, the report would have to include state-by-state data on the number, demographics, and characteristics of foster and adoptive families in each state, and on the number of potential foster and adoptive families in each state that are not being used and the reasons why. The report would also have to include a summary, based on states' surveys of foster and adoptive parents, of the challenges and barriers to being a foster or adoptive parent, covering recruitment, licensure, engagement, and retention, and covering why parents stop fostering, why adoptions disrupt or dissolve, or why foster or adoptive families struggle. The report would also have to include a summary of the challenges and barriers that states reported facing in their efforts to recruit a pool of families that reflect the racial and ethnic background of children in the state's foster care system, and the states' efforts to overcome those barriers.
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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. .
Where it is
In the House.