H.R. 9994: Family Poverty is Not Child Neglect Act

This bill would change federal child welfare planning rules to say that states must make sure children are not separated from their parents or guardians just because the family is poor. It would also require states to show that they are developing or improving support services that help keep families together, including help related to things like housing instability or parents’ unemployment.

What the bill changes

• It adds a new requirement for state child welfare plans under the Social Security Act.
• States would have to give assurances that poverty alone is not used as the reason to remove a child from home.
• States would also have to work on services and benefits that can help families in poverty stay safely together.

What kinds of help it points to

The bill gives examples of the kinds of supports states might develop or improve, such as:

• help with housing insecurity;
• help connected to unemployment of a parent or guardian;
• other services that reduce the risk that poverty leads to family separation.

Federal report requirement

Within 2 years after the bill becomes law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services would have to send Congress a report on how poverty affects child welfare cases. The report would cover things like:

• contacts with child and family services agencies;
• child welfare investigations;
• allegations of neglect, abuse, or maltreatment;
• temporary or permanent removal of children from home;
• foster care, kinship care, or other out-of-home placements;
• other actions that affect a child’s custody or care.

The report would also need to include:

• recommendations for laws or policies to collect better information on these issues;
• recommendations to help prevent children in poverty from being separated from their families, temporarily or permanently.

Relevant Companies

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