RECRUITING FAMILIES USING DATA ACT OF 2025

On 2025-03-04, Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL-7) delivered a floor speech titled "RECRUITING FAMILIES USING DATA ACT OF 2025" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered taxes, the environment. It referenced legislation: HR579.

RECRUITING FAMILIES USING DATA ACT OF 2025

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 41 (Tuesday, March 4, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 4, 2025)] [House] [Pages H962-H964] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] RECRUITING FAMILIES USING DATA ACT OF 2025 Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (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. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 579 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 [[Page H963]] 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.''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri. General Leave Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Missouri? There was no objection. Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Recruiting Families Using Data Act introduced by my Ways and Means colleagues, Representatives Randy Feenstra and Brendan Boyle. This bill would make a relatively straightforward but needed update to current law to promote State-level recruitment of foster care families. Thousands of loving parents open their homes every year to offer care and support for children in need. By doing so, they provide shelter for children who would otherwise be forced to stay in caseworker offices, hospitals, or hotels. However, many of these same parents, for any number of reasons, stop serving as foster families after only 1 year. In short, there is a dire need for more foster families in our communities. Much of the foster care system is coordinated at the State level, which means we need to enlist the States in helping expand the number of foster families. Under current law, States are required, as a condition of receiving funding, to have a plan in place to recruit foster and adoptive families, but we know, based on an analysis by the Department of Health and Human Services, that many States continue to face challenges. This bill would build on existing law by calling on States receiving Federal funding to develop family partnership plans that lay out their specific process for finding potential foster families and recruiting and retaining them in the foster care system. The legislation also authorizes the evaluation of key data to ensure we identify what efforts have been successful in expanding the availability of foster families. I thank Representatives Feenstra and Boyle for introducing this legislation and for their bipartisan leadership on this issue. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to support this commonsense piece of legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 579, the Recruiting Families Using Data Act. This legislation is a good example of Congress doing the work our constituents sent us here to do. Last Congress, my former colleague, Dan Kildee, worked closely with Representative Feenstra to introduce this bipartisan bill, which is based on solid research and the fundamental principle that if we want to know what is best for foster youth and their families, we should ask them. The result was this bill, which would require States to create a new family partnership plan to explain how they are identifying, screening, engaging, and supporting foster and adoptive families, in consultation with people with lived experience. To me, one of the most critical aspects of this will be engaging with the child's family, whether it is by placing foster children with family members directly or making space for kin who can't be f

Referenced legislation: HR579, HR579