Bill > S162

This bill, known as the Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025, aims to improve foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention by requiring states to develop comprehensive family partnership plans. These plans must be created in consultation with various stakeholders, including birth, foster, and adoptive families, and must outline strategies for identifying and supporting potential placement resources, developing child-specific recruitment efforts, and authentically engaging children in their own placement process. States will be required to collect and report detailed data annually on foster family capacity, including the number and demographics of licensed foster families, reasons why some families are not fully utilized, and characteristics of children in congregate care. The bill mandates that states analyze and report on challenges in recruiting families who reflect the racial and ethnic backgrounds of children in foster care, gather feedback from foster and adoptive parents about their experiences, and include this information in annual reports to Congress. The new requirements will take effect on October 1, 2026, with some flexibility for states that need to pass enabling legislation. By collecting and analyzing more comprehensive data, the bill seeks to improve the foster care system's ability to match children with suitable families and address systemic challenges in recruitment and retention.

Budget and Finance

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/162/all-info