I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4972 
To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to address or 
assist in resolving the shortage of appropriate foster homes for children, 
to develop resources to keep sibling groups together, and to provide 
for a system of checks and balances to ensure a child’s ongoing safety 
and well-being, by providing for the placement of a foster child in 
cottage family homes and making a child so placed eligible for foster 
care maintenance payments. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 15, 2025 
Mr. STEUBE (for himself, Mr. DUNN of Florida, Mrs. CAMMACK, Ms. 
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. SOTO, Mr. GIMENEZ, Mr. SCOTT FRANKLIN 
of Florida, Mr. EZELL, Mr. GUEST, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. RUTHERFORD, 
Mr. EDWARDS, and Mr. MILLS) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 
to address or assist in resolving the shortage of appro-
priate foster homes for children, to develop resources 
to keep sibling groups together, and to provide for a 
system of checks and balances to ensure a child’s ongoing 
safety and well-being, by providing for the placement 
of a foster child in cottage family homes and making 
a child so placed eligible for foster care maintenance 
payments. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:30 Aug 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\H4972.IH
H4972
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Create Accountable 
Respectful Environments (CARE) for Children Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PLACEMENT OF FOSTER CHILDREN IN COTTAGE 
FAMILY HOMES. 
(a) 
STATE
PLAN
REQUIREMENT.—Section 
471(a)(37) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
671(a)(37)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or a cottage family 
home’’ before the comma. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY OF COTTAGE FAMILY HOMES FOR 
FOSTER
CARE
MAINTENANCE
PAYMENTS.—Section 
472(a)(2)(C) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672(a)(2)(C)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘a cottage family home,’’ before 
‘‘with a parent’’. 
(c) DEFINITION OF COTTAGE FAMILY HOME.—Sec-
tion 472(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672(c)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) COTTAGE FAMILY HOME.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘cottage 
family home’ means a home— 
‘‘(i) that is operated by a public or 
private child care agency licensed or ap-
proved by the State in which the home is 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:30 Aug 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4972.IH
H4972
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
situated as an agency that meets the 
standards established for the licensing or 
approval; 
‘‘(ii) that encourages and supports the 
child and the family of the child in main-
taining a strong connection through reg-
ular contact and involvement in a plan of 
care, except to the extent otherwise di-
rected by a court of law; 
‘‘(iii) that is able to serve as a re-
source to facilitate sibling groups being 
placed together where daily contact and 
interaction strengthens family ties; 
‘‘(iv) that provides children access to 
activities or items that are age or develop-
mentally-appropriate, including the ability 
to participate in extracurricular, social, or 
other home and community activities with 
the same freedom afforded to their peers 
who are living at home with their families; 
‘‘(v) that has and implements a trau-
ma-informed approach in the care of chil-
dren; 
‘‘(vi) that prohibits the use of seclu-
sion or mechanical or chemical restraints 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:30 Aug 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4972.IH
H4972
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
and permits only short-term physical re-
straint if approved in the policies of the 
agency to prevent injury to self or others, 
and prohibits any prone physical restraint; 
‘‘(vii) that provides a system for a 
child to alert a staff member if the child 
has a concern, feels unfairly denied rights, 
or is subject to a threat of mistreatment; 
‘‘(viii) that has a continuous quality 
improvement methodology that regularly 
solicits information from children con-
cerning their perceptions of the quality of 
care and opinions about the strengths and 
weaknesses of the program; 
‘‘(ix) that is in a single-family style 
residence with no more than 2 children per 
bedroom unless it is in the best interest of 
the children; and 
‘‘(x) in which the children are under 
the care of live-in parents that use the rea-
sonable and prudent parent standard and 
provide 24-hour substitute care of children 
placed away from their parents or other 
caretakers. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:30 Aug 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4972.IH
H4972
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(B) PRESERVATION
OF
STATE
FLEXI-
BILITY.—The Secretary may not prohibit, limit, 
or penalize, by regulation or order, or bring an 
action in any court to challenge, any action or 
determination of a State or political subdivision 
of a State to— 
‘‘(i) treat a cottage family home as a 
foster family home for purposes of this 
part; or 
‘‘(ii) treat an entity as a cottage fam-
ily care home for purposes of this part, as 
the State deems necessary to serve the best 
interests of children or families.’’. 
(d) NO TIME LIMIT
ON FOSTER CARE MAINTE-
NANCE PAYMENTS FOR CHILDREN PLACED IN A COTTAGE 
FAMILY HOME.—Section 472(k)(2) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 672(k)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(E) A cottage family home.’’. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the en-
actment of this Act, and shall apply to payments 
under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:30 Aug 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4972.IH
H4972
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
for calendar quarters beginning on or after such 
date. 
(2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION 
REQUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services determines that State legislation (other 
than legislation appropriating funds) is required in 
order for a State plan under part E of title IV of 
the Social Security Act to meet the additional re-
quirements imposed by the amendments made by 
this section, the plan shall not be regarded as failing 
to meet any of the additional requirements before 
the date that is 6 months after the date of the en-
actment of this Act. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:30 Aug 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4972.IH
H4972
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB