WASHINGTON, D.C. (Thursday, July 26, 2024) This week, the House Committee on Ways and Means introduced the Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act. The bill would reauthorize and reform title IV-B programs and lay the groundwork for the transformational change that is needed in child welfare. 

Think of Us applauds the House Committee on Ways and Means, particularly Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) and Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Chairman Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Ranking Member Danny K. Davis (D-IL) of the Subcommittee on Work and Welfare for their work on this bill. We have been proud to partner with the Committee to inform and shape several of these provisions and are proud to endorse the bill. Think of Us urges Congress to move swiftly to pass this important suite of reforms and issued the following statement:

“The Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act represents the culmination of a year-long bipartisan effort to implement long-overdue reforms to critical child welfare programs. It has been more than 15 years since title IV-B was meaningfully reformed, leaving us with a woefully inadequate system for today’s realities. Passing this legislation is a crucial down payment on the transformational change that children and families impacted by the child welfare system have been calling for and need. 

Think of Us is deeply grateful for the thousands of young people, parents, and kin caregivers who have contributed their wisdom and perspective to this process. Their expertise and advocacy were essential to drive and shape these reforms.

Implementing these reforms will bring us one step closer to building the conditions wherein every child can heal, develop, and thrive within a family and their community.”

The legislation would: 

• Increase investment in families. The bill permanently increases yearly funding for the MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program by $75 million, providing more resources for family preservation, family support, family reunification, and adoption promotion and support. This is an important step toward restoring the program’s funding, which has been drastically reduced by inflation over the last two decades.
• Center lived expertise in shaping a better system. For the first time, federal law will require states to consult with youth, parents, kinship caregivers, and foster and adoptive parents as they create their child welfare plans. 
• Prevent entries due to poverty. The bill grants new flexibility to states to provide non-recurring short-term concrete and economic support to families to prevent family separation that is based on poverty. 

Additionally, the bill would recognize the importance of kin caregivers; streamline funding and requirements for tribes; provide grants for evaluation and research of prevention programs; give new flexibility for youth in extended foster care; require new focus on mental health; modernize child welfare courts; strengthen the child welfare workforce; and more. 

A section-by-section of the bill is here. 

About Think of Us:

Think of Us is a national nonprofit driving child welfare reform by partnering with impacted youth, families, and government leaders. We’re a team of dedicated advocates, policy experts, and researchers working to center lived experience in child welfare decision-making, reduce unnecessary system entries, preserve families, and support youth transitioning out of care.

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