II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4725 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 2, 2022 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Data-Driven Foster 

5 Parent Recruitment and Retention Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATE PLAN AMENDMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 422 of the Social Security 

8 Act (42 U.S.C. 622) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (7) 

10 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(7) provide for development and implementa2 tion of a family partnership plan which meets the re3 quirements of subsection (d) for identification, re4 cruitment, screening, licensing, support, and reten5 tion of foster and adoptive families that reflect the 

6 racial and ethnic diversity of children in the State 

7 for whom foster and adoptive homes are needed;’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(d) FAMILY PARTNERSHIP PLAN REQUIRE11 MENTS.—For purposes of subsection (b)(7), the require12 ments for a family partnership plan (in this subsection 

13 referred to as the ‘plan’) are the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) The plan is developed in consultation with 

15 birth, kinship, foster and adoptive families, commu16 nity-based service providers, technical assistance 

17 providers, and youth with lived experience with fos18 ter care and adoption. 

19 ‘‘(2) ) The plan describes — 

20 ‘‘(A) how the State plans to identify, no21 tify, engage, and support relatives as potential 

22 placement resources for children; 

23 ‘‘(B) how the State plans to use data to 

24 establish goals, assess needs, measure progress, 

25 reduce unnecessary placements in congregate 


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1 care, improve placement stability, increase rates 

2 of kinship placements, improve recruitment and 

3 retention of families for teens, sibling groups, 

4 and other special populations, and align the ra5 cial and ethnic composition of foster and adop6 tive families with that of children in need of 

7 homes; and 

8 ‘‘(C) how that State will stand up or sup9 port foster family advisory boards for the pur10 pose of improving recruitment and retention of 

11 foster and adoptive families. 

12 ‘‘(3) The plan provides that, not less than an13 nually, the State shall collect and report on the 

14 State’s actual foster family capacity and congregate 

15 care utilization, including the number, demo16 graphics, and characteristics of licensed foster fami17 lies, the number of such families that are not being 

18 fully utilized and the reasons therefor, and the num19 ber, demographics, and characteristics of children 

20 placed in congregate care in-State and out-of-State. 

21 ‘‘(4) The plan includes, and shall update not 

22 less than annually, a summary of the most recent 

23 feedback from foster and adoptive parents and youth 

24 regarding licensure, training, support, and reasons 

25 why parents stop fostering. 


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1 ‘‘(5) The plan includes such other information 

2 relating to foster and adoptive parent recruitment 

3 and retention as the Secretary may require.’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), the amendment made by this subsection 

7 shall take effect on October 1, 2022. 

8 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

9 REQUIRED.—In the case of a State plan approved 

10 under subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social 

11 Security Act which the Secretary of Health and 

12 Human Services determines requires State legisla13 tion (other than legislation appropriating funds) in 

14 order for the plan to meet the additional require15 ments imposed by this subsection, the State plan 

16 shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the 

17 requirements of such part solely on the basis of the 

18 failure of the plan to meet such additional require19 ments before the first day of the first calendar quar20 ter beginning after the close of the first regular ses21 sion of the State legislature that begins after the 

22 date of enactment of this subsection. For purposes 

23 of the previous sentence, in the case of a State that 

24 has a 2-year legislative session, each year of such 


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1 session shall be deemed to be a separate regular ses2 sion of the State legislature. 

3 SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON FOSTER FAMILIES 

4 IN ANNUAL CHILD WELFARE OUTCOMES RE5 PORT TO CONGRESS. 

6 Section 479A of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 679b) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

10 after the semicolon; 

11 (B) in paragraph (7)(B), by striking the 

12 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(8) include in the report submitted pursuant 

15 to paragraph (5) for fiscal year 2023 or any suc16 ceeding fiscal year— 

17 ‘‘(A) State-by-State data on the number, 

18 demographics, and characteristics of foster fam19 ilies in the State, and the number of licensed 

20 foster families not being utilized in the State 

21 and the reasons why; and 

22 ‘‘(B) a summary of the challenges of, and 

23 barriers to, being a foster parent, including 

24 with respect to recruitment, licensure, engage25 ment, retention, and why parents stop fosVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Aug 06, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4725.IS S4725

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1 tering, as reported by States based on surveys 

2 of foster parents.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and in5 serting the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(2) WORKING GROUP ON DATA COLLECTION, 

9 USE, AND PRESENTATION.—Not later than 3 months 

10 after the date of enactment of the Data-Driven Fos11 ter Parent Recruitment and Retention Act of 2022, 

12 the Secretary shall convene a working group com13 prised of leading child welfare researchers, child wel14 fare practitioners, and individuals with lived experi15 ence in foster care, including youth with experience 

16 in both family-based care and congregate care, to 

17 advise the Secretary on the types, uses, and presen18 tation of data to be included in the annual report re19 quired under this section.’’. 

Æ 


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