Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025
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The bill would require states to develop a data-driven "family partnership plan" as part of their federal child welfare state plan, aimed at recruiting and retaining foster and adoptive families and increasing placements with relatives.
It would also require the Administration for Children and Families' annual report to Congress to include state-by-state data on foster and adoptive family numbers, demographics, and the barriers states face in recruiting such families.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend the Social Security Act's child welfare state plan requirements so that states must develop and implement a "family partnership plan" describing how they will identify and support relative placements, create child-specific recruitment plans, engage youth in recruitment, use data to improve placement stability and kinship placement rates, and establish foster family advisory boards. States would have to annually report data on foster family capacity, congregate care use, parent feedback, and racial/ethnic recruitment barriers.
The bill also would require the Children's Bureau's annual child welfare outcomes report to Congress to include state-by-state data on foster and adoptive family numbers and demographics, a summary of recruitment and retention challenges, and barriers to recruiting families that reflect the racial and ethnic makeup of children in foster care. The state plan amendment would generally take effect October 1, 2026, with a delay allowed for states needing new state legislation.
Key provisions
- 1Would require states to develop a family partnership plan for identifying, recruiting, screening, licensing, supporting, and retaining foster and adoptive families
- 2Would require the plan to describe how the state identifies and engages relatives as placement resources and creates child-specific recruitment plans
- 3Would require states to use data to reduce unnecessary congregate care placements, increase kinship placements, and improve placement stability
- 4Would require annual state reporting on foster family capacity, congregate care utilization, and family demographics
- 5Would require states to analyze and report on barriers to recruiting families reflecting children's racial and ethnic backgrounds
- 6Would require the Children's Bureau's annual outcomes report to include state-by-state data on foster and adoptive families and recruitment barriers
Who would be affected
State child welfare agencies that administer foster care and adoption programs, current and prospective foster and adoptive families, children and youth in or entering foster care, kinship caregivers, and the Administration for Children and Families' Children's Bureau, which compiles the annual report to Congress.
Why it matters
States would face new planning and data-reporting obligations meant to reduce foster and adoptive family shortages and placement instability, potentially expanding kinship and adoptive placement options for children. Compliance failures could implicate a state's federal child welfare plan approval, though delays are allowed if new state legislation is needed.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Social Security Act, Section 422 (42 U.S.C. 622) (Sec. 2)
Adds a requirement that state child welfare plans include a detailed family partnership plan for recruiting and retaining foster and adoptive families
Amends Social Security Act, Section 479A (42 U.S.C. 679b) (Sec. 3)
Adds requirements for the annual child welfare outcomes report to include state data on foster/adoptive families and recruitment barriers
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- State plan amendment requiring the family partnership plan
- Delay allowed for states needing new state legislation to comply with the plan requirements
- Annual outcomes report must include new foster/adoptive family data
How implementation would work
States would need to update their federally approved child welfare state plans to include a family partnership plan developed with input from families, service providers, and youth with lived experience in foster care. States would collect and report data annually on foster family capacity, demographics, congregate care use, and racial/ethnic recruitment barriers, feeding into the Children's Bureau's annual report to Congress. Noncompliant state plans could be found deficient, but the Secretary of Health and Human Services may grant a delay if new state legislation is required, tied to the state's legislative calendar.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires state plans for child welfare services to provide for the development and implementation of a family partnership plan to improve foster care placement stability, increase rates of kinship placements, and align the composition of foster and adoptive families with the needs of children in or entering foster care.
The Children's Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families also must include in its annual report information from states about the number, demographics, and characteristics of foster and adoptive families as well as a summary of the challenges related to recruiting and being foster or adoptive parents.
Legislative subjects
Adoption and foster care; Child safety and welfare; Congressional oversight; Families; Family relationships; Family services; Government information and archives; State and local government operations