Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2023

Subjects: Families


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1313 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1313

   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

                             April 26, 2023

   Mr. Grassley (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Wicker, and Mr. Lujan) 
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.

    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 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, 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 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.''.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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