Sign-On for the Bipartisan S. 1313 Using Data to Recruit Families (by 10-28-2024)
October 2024The National Foster Parent Association invites state and national organizations to join in supporting S. 1313, the Recruiting Families Using Data Act. Click here to sign the form.
This legislation is sponsored by Senator Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Hassan (D-NH). S. 1313 is an identical companion to H.R. 3048 which has already passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Section-by-section: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Dk35Aw6jtzDPYGzBpJzQdX-Qz8uiDjVt
House Dear Colleague on companion bill: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Dk35Aw6jtzDPYGzBpJzQdX-Qz8uiDjVt
Deadline for signing on is Oct. 29. With questions, please reach Hope Cooper (hope@truenorthgroup.com) or Arnie Eby at arnie@nfpaonline.org
This legislation is sponsored by Senator Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Hassan (D-NH). S. 1313 is an identical companion to H.R. 3048 which has already passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support.
The Recruiting Families Using Data Act updates existing federal policy related to foster family recruitment and retention in several important ways.
Specifically the bill:
- Updates federal policy which has not been updated since 1994 to encourage stronger family & communtiy partnerships and better use data so that agencies can meet the urgent need for family-based placements for children and teens in foster care.
- Requires child welfare agencies to engage and consult with birth, kinship, foster and adoptive families, youth with lived experience with foster care and adoption, community-based service providers, and technical assistance providers.
- Requires child welfare agencies to use data to establish goals and measure progress on key outcomes including increasing rates of kinship placements; reducing unnecessary placements in congregate care; improving placement stability; increasing recruitment and retention of families caring for teens, sibling groups, and other special populations; and aligning the racial and ethnic composition of foster and adoptive families with that of children in foster care.
- Requires child welfare agencies to describe how they plan to stand up and support ongoing family advisory boards to improve retention of foster and adoptive families.
- Requires states to collect data and report on the acutal foster family capacity and congregate care, including children placed in congregate care in-State and out-of-State. Data collection would also include a summary of feedback from foster parents on their experience with licensing, support, training, and reasons why they have stopped taking placements if applicable.
- Requires HHS to produce an annual report of foster family capacity and congregate care utilization reported by states in order to identify national trends. This data would build on and enhance current data collection and reporting on children in foster care.
View the letter to Congress: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bCZqLImNBjhXtJLrvwgkyBFith1u-xPl/edit
One page summary: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Dk35Aw6jtzDPYGzBpJzQdX-Qz8uiDjVtSection-by-section: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Dk35Aw6jtzDPYGzBpJzQdX-Qz8uiDjVt
House Dear Colleague on companion bill: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Dk35Aw6jtzDPYGzBpJzQdX-Qz8uiDjVt
Deadline for signing on is Oct. 29. With questions, please reach Hope Cooper (hope@truenorthgroup.com) or Arnie Eby at arnie@nfpaonline.org