REP. DAVIS CELEBRATES HOUSE PASSAGE OF HIS BIPARTISAN BILL TO REFORM CHILD WELFARE TO PROTECT AMERICA’S CHILDREN

Rep. Danny K Davis
Rep. Danny K Davis

REP. DAVIS CELEBRATES HOUSE PASSAGE OF HIS BIPARTISAN BILL TO REFORM CHILD WELFARE TO PROTECT AMERICA’S CHILDREN

Bill Would Increase Guaranteed Funding for Key Child Welfare Services for the First Time Since 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Danny K. Davis (D-IL) celebrated the passage by the House of Representatives of his bipartisan legislation with Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) to reauthorize and reform child welfare programs under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act. The bipartisan Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act passed the House by a vote of 405 to 10 as part of H.R. 9076, Supporting America’s Children and Families Act, as amended. The bill reauthorizes Title IV-B and delivers the first increase in guaranteed funding since 2006. With approximately 369,000 children currently in foster care, this legislation offers vital assistance to help strengthen and keep families together and support the safety and well-being of children in foster care.

Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act encompasses policies from 16 different pieces of legislation from both Republican and Democrat members of the Ways and Means Committee. The bill follows the Committee’s extensive, year-long review of the nation’s child welfare programs to identify areas where these programs could better serve children and families.

Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL) said, “I am proud to join with Chair LaHood in leading this important bill that will increase guaranteed funding for the MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families program for the first time since 2006. In addition to providing essential new funding for both state and tribal agencies to strengthen families, this bill includes significant investments and policy updates to improve child safety and well-being. For example, it invests in aiding kinship caregivers in finding needed resources, in evidence-based programs that successfully help parents overcome substance use disorders to safely care for their children, and in independent legal representation to address racial inequities in child welfare. This bill also provides for new demonstration projects to promote meaningful relationships between foster youth and their incarcerated parents, powerful relationships that support both parents and youth.”

Key policies included in the Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act:

● Reauthorizes Title IV-B for five years and makes reforms to modernize the program.

● Reduces paperwork and data reporting for state agencies and caseworkers by at least 15 percent.

● Strengthens support systems for the 2.5 million grandparents and relatives providing kinship care for children who would otherwise enter foster care.

● Improves access for Indian tribes by streamlining funding, as well as monitoring state engagement with the Indian Child Welfare Act.

● Addresses the caseworker crises by ensuring caseworkers have access to technology and training that support a strong workforce.

● Improves outcomes for youth transitioning from foster care, including by allowing foster youth up to age 26 to be eligible for services and incorporating lived experience in the state planning of child welfare plans.

● Supports the expansion of evidence-based services to prevent child abuse and neglect and ensures children are not separated from parents solely due to poverty-related neglect.

● Supports adoption services by evaluating the effectiveness of pre- and post-adoption services available under Title IV-B to adopt the more than 65,000 children waiting to be adopted.

The bill is supported by 228 national, state, and local organizations, including: American Academy of Pediatrics; American Psychological Association Services, Inc.; American Public Human Services Association; Bolder Horizon; Child Welfare League of America; Children and Family Futures; Children’s Defense Fund; Children’s Trust Fund Alliance; Family Focused Treatment Association; FosterClub; Generations United; National Association of Counsel for Children; National Association of Counties; National Association of County Human Services Administrators; National Child Abuse Coalition; National Family Resource Coalition; National Indian Child Welfare Association; Prevent Child Abuse America; Think of Us; Voice for Adoption; and Zero to Three.


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