U.S. House passes Smucker legislation to expand foster care services
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to support foster care and child welfare services, including four pieces of legislation either introduced or co-sponsored by Lancaster County's congressman, Lloyd Smucker.
Clearing by a 405-10 vote , the overall bill would renew and reform the 2008 federal child welfare law giving resources to states and tribal governments to support foster care services. That law will expire at the end of this year if Congress does not reauthorize it.
During Tuesday's floor debate on the Protecting America's Children by Strengthening Families Act , Smucker said it "aims to provide vital resources to families in need with the goal of preventing them from needing the foster care system in the first place and helping to maintain healthy families which are the cornerstone of our society."
One of Smucker's contributions to the bill would expand the number of families and individuals who can access foster care services to include kinship families, peer support programs and young adults transitioning out of foster care.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation estimated between 2021 and 2023 about 2.4 million children were being cared for in kinship families, like when children are raised by a grandparent or other relative.
The nearly 19,000 children who age out of the foster care system annually are more susceptible to unemployment and homelessness, according to the Court Appointed Special Advocates Guardians ad Litem for Children .
Two proposals would streamline the federal funding requirements for child welfare agencies and expand the use of funding to include recruitment and training for caseworkers. A fourth piece, which Smucker co-sponsored with Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, would have the Department of Health and Human Services collect data to gauge the quality of post-adoption services and resources for families.
"I think the improvements that are included today in that reauthorization will make a difference in the lives of many children and many families throughout the country," Smucker said.
Reforms to the program offered through the legislation are a result of a year-long review of federal child welfare programs by the Ways and Means Committee, which Smucker sits on.
"The other pillar of this bill will ensure that states can utilize contractors to support their child welfare programs," Smucker said on the House floor, noting it is a "vital flexibility" that Lancaster and York counties use to support payments.
Smucker's 11th Congressional District covers Lancaster County and includes a southern part of York County.
The legislation — passing amid contentious annual budget negotiations — will need to win the support of the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority, to become law.
The 10 House votes against the bill were cast by Republicans, several of whom are members of the conservative Freedom Caucus.
