JANUARY 5, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Bipartisan legislation – representing the work of many members of the Ways and Means Committee – to provide critical supports to vulnerable children and families has been signed into law. The Supporting America’s Children and Families Act (H.R.9076), introduced by Work and Welfare Subcommittee Chairman Darin LaHood (IL-16) and Ranking Member Danny K. Davis (IL-07), reauthorizes, fully for the first time in over fifteen years, child welfare programs under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act that provide federal resources to states, tribes, and territories for family preservation and to promote the safety, permanence, and well-being of children in foster care.
• In fiscal year (FY) 2022, 369,000 American children were in foster care and 19,000 youth aged-out of foster care.
• The program also provides funding for the Court Improvement Program to support child welfare legal proceedings, and Regional Partnership Grants to address parental substance use disorder as cause of child removal in order to help keep families united.
Background on the Supporting America’s Children and Families Act:
Reauthorizes Title IV-B for five years and makes reforms to modernize the program. Saves taxpayer dollars by supporting early intervention to help families stay united and reducing duplication in the child welfare system. Uses savings from H.R. 7906, the Strengthening State and Tribal Child Enforcement Act to make targeted investments that will:
- Reduce administrative burden by requiring the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reduce paperwork and data reporting for state agencies and caseworkers by at least 15 percent.
- Improve access for Indian tribes by streamlining funding, as well as monitoring state engagement with the Indian Child Welfare Act.
- Support 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.
- Address the caseworker crises by ensuring caseworkers have access to training and support to improve retention and recruitment.
- Strengthen support systems for the 2.5 million grandparents and relatives providing kinship care for children who would otherwise enter foster care.
- Improve outcomes for youth transitioning from foster care by including individuals with lived experience (formerly in foster care) in state service planning and ensuring youth have access to mental health services.
- Support post-adoption services by requiring HHS to review post-adoption supports provided under Title IV-B and identify opportunities for strengthening them.
Read a one-pager on H.R. 9076 here.
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U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Ben Ray Luján Bipartisan Bill to Protect Native American Children Signed into Law
January 3, 2025 - Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, the President signed into law the Native American Child Protection Act (NACPA), 
bipartisan
legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Ben Ray Luján
(D-NM). The bill reauthorizes and reforms three programs that ensure
tribes have the tools needed to treat, prevent, investigate, and
prosecute Native American child abuse and neglect. These programs were
originally authorized in 1990 as part of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act to
fill funding gaps in tribal child welfare services, but the programs
were never truly funded and have not been reauthorized by Congress.
“No matter where a child grows up in the United States, they deserve to live in an environment free from abuse. The Native American Child Protection Act reauthorizes and modernizes programs that aim to assist tribes in their efforts to help victims of child abuse and prevent future abuse,” said Senator Collins. “This bill recognizes the significance of each tribe’s unique cultural values, customs, and traditions, while helping to ensure that children and families receive the support they deserve.”
“I’m proud to see President Biden sign the Native American Child Protection Act into law, which was passed in Congress with bipartisan support. In this country, all children deserve grow up without fear of being harmed or neglected,” said Senator Luján. “This legislation is an important step in ensuring that tribes have access to the resources needed to provide services that reduce trauma and uncertainty for children.”
To ensure tribes have adequate resources to effectively prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect in their communities, the NACPA:
- Establishes a single National Indian Child Resource and Family Services Center to provide tribes with technical assistance and training on addressing child abuse, family violence, and child neglect. It will also improve intergovernmental coordination between federal and tribal personnel responding to these issues;
- Reauthorizes the competitive Indian Child Abuse Treatment Grant Program to establish treatment programs and culturally appropriate services for the victims of child abuse and neglect in Indian Country; and
- Reauthorizes formula grants to tribes under the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Program for child abuse prevention and investigation.
To this day, these grants are still the only tribal-specific child
abuse prevention and treatment programs for Native children. However,
Congress has only appropriated $5 million since their original enactment
in 1990. Reauthorizing and modernizing these critical programs will
help tribes develop and strengthen services to reduce trauma and
uncertainty for Native American children.
Source: Senator Susan Collins
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