[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 17, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H173-H175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECRUITING FAMILIES USING DATA ACT OF 2023
Mr. FEENSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3058) 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, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3058
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 2023''.
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 the 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 or 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, 2024.
(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
[[Page H174]]
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
Iowa (Mr. Feenstra) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa.
General Leave
Mr. FEENSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days 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 Iowa?
There was no objection.
Mr. FEENSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3058, the Recruiting Families Using Data Act of
2023, supports States in addressing the nationwide shortage of foster
homes.
In the United States of America, every child deserves a home.
Unfortunately, our Nation's foster care system is facing enormous
challenges, with a record number of children sleeping in social
workers' offices, hotels, and hospitals because they have nowhere else
to go.
Iowa lost more than 200 licensed foster care homes since 2019.
Washington, D.C., lost nearly half of their foster homes since 2019.
States like South Carolina have seen a 60 percent decline.
These foster homes are essential to providing vulnerable children
with safe, loving homes, and we have to stop this dramatic decline.
We need to make it easier to find families who are willing and able
to foster children and those generous families who choose to foster to
continue.
Unfortunately, the ability for States and nonprofits to respond to
the challenges is limited by the shortage of information. We need to
know why foster families quit fostering if we are going to make it
easier to recruit and retain them. We need to be able to evaluate what
the needs of foster families and their children are so that States can
set goals for improvement and be able to evaluate whether they are
making progress in meeting those goals.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the steps this bill takes to modernize
child welfare by taking advantage of data to support States in their
recruitment and retention of foster parents so children can be cared
for in safe and loving homes.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this
important legislation, and I give a special thanks and shout-out to
Representative Kildee for his leadership on this bill and for the
committee's work to strengthen the child welfare system.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me start by thanking my colleague and friend, Mr.
Feenstra, for his work on this legislation. I think we have proven once
again that while we do have our divisions in this body and some
divisions in this country, there are certain issues that bring us
together across party lines and across different aspects of our
society.
Mr. Feenstra and I, I think, proved that with our work on this
legislation, along with other Members who have joined together to put
this really important act together to help foster youth have a better
path forward in life.
This legislation, as Mr. Feenstra said, is a commonsense approach to
solving one of the problems that we see in the foster care system. It
will improve the recruitment and retention of foster families so that
we can get more kids into safe and loving homes.
Across the country, there is a severe shortage of foster parents, and
retention of foster families, of foster parents, is a big part of the
problem. Most foster parents stop fostering after just 1 year, and many
stop fostering after their very first or second foster placement.
Under current law, States have the responsibility to develop plans,
known as diligent recruitment plans, outlining the actions they will
take to ensure that every kid in their care is connected to a family
that meets their particular needs. However, a recent review conducted
by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that these
plans need significant reform and improvement.
States rarely use data to inform recruitment and retention
strategies, and often, they fail to engage foster parents or foster
youth, the people who understand the system better than anyone, in
developing those plans.
What this means is that States continue to have difficulty finding
and keeping foster parents, which has devastating impacts for those
foster kids.
The most recent Federal review of Michigan's foster care system cites
countless reports of children sleeping in offices or hotels for weeks
and months as they await placement in a foster home.
Our social workers are doing the best they can, stepping up to take
care of these children when they don't have anyone else, but that is
not the kind of home that any child deserves.
As we continue to grapple with this severe shortage of foster homes,
we are also seeing a growing number of foster parents drop out of the
system because they just aren't getting the support that they need.
In 2023, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
reported that close to one-third of foster parents terminate their
foster care licenses each year. This, of course, only puts more stress
on a system that desperately needs more safe and loving homes.
Mr. Speaker, our legislation, the Recruiting Families Using Data Act,
is the first step toward addressing this crisis. To help States better
meet the needs of foster children in their care, the bill would replace
the outdated diligent recruitment plans with family partnership plans
that are developed in consultation with foster youth and their
families; support foster family advisory boards, which give foster
parents a voice in the policy development process; and, as the title of
the bill suggests, use data to establish recruitment and retention
goals and measure progress toward those goals.
This is a subject that is close to me. In my original career for
almost a decade, I was a social worker working in this field. In fact,
I was working in a residential agency for the most at-risk kids in our
population, neglected and abused kids. So I know, from my own personal
experience, the weaknesses in the system, and I know that fixing the
system will require the expertise of the people who know it best.
The foster care system is known best by the people who are part of
it, the families and the youth who have gone through it. By giving
people a voice and using data that we derive from them and their
experiences, we will find better ways to recruit and find retainment
strategies that really work.
While it doesn't solve the entire problem, this bill would make a
significant improvement to the foster care system not just in my home
State but all across the country.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FEENSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Florida (Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick).
[[Page H175]]
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of
H.R. 3058, the Recruiting Families Using Data Act, introduced by
Representative Dan Kildee from the great State of Michigan.
I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation because we
know all too well that protecting America's foster children starts by
recruiting and retaining the best foster families to provide safe and
loving homes.
{time} 1515
Mr. Speaker, I am a strong believer that we measure what we value.
This bill takes a critical step to help States better meet the needs of
the foster children in their care by replacing antiquated tactics with
improved Family Partnership Plans to collect and utilize data to
establish recruitment and retention goals while simultaneously tracking
progress toward reaching these goals.
Even with the limited data that currently exists, we know that there
is a severe shortage of foster parents across our country due to a lack
of retention. By measuring what we value, we can better understand the
root causes of low retention and help those willing to open their homes
to those who need it the most.
We must never waver as a Congress and as a country to ensure
America's foster families have what they need to keep our children safe
and loved.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for
closing.
I thank my colleague, Mr. Feenstra, for his work on this, as well as
all my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee and throughout
Congress for supporting this legislation.
As I said, there is much we need to do to improve the foster care
system, to recognize the needs of foster youth, to make sure that they
have a safe and loving home, to put them on a path to be the best
versions of themselves. This is a step in that direction. I encourage
all my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. FEENSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Every year, thousands of families welcome foster children into their
homes. Children in foster care need permanent, loving homes. Sadly, our
Nation is facing a shortage of available foster homes, and children are
left sleeping in hotels and hospitals and social workers' offices
because they have nowhere else to go. These children need foster
parents, and we need to show compassion and care for them as they face
the trauma and hardship of being removed from their homes. We must do
more to ensure that all children in foster care have safe and available
placements.
This bill is so important that it has to get passed. I thank, again,
Congressman Kildee for all his work and support for this legislation. I
also appreciate the comments that he just made. I truly urge my
colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 3058, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. FEENSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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