Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- To President
- Became Law
Overview
This bill modifies federal foster and adoption programs to improve recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive parents by allowing better use of data and recruitment strategies. The changes could affect faith-based agencies' ability to recruit and serve Christian families in foster care and adoption.
Why it matters: Faith-based adoption and foster care agencies serve many Christian families; changes to recruitment methods and data use could either help or hinder their operations depending on implementation, making oversight important for families of faith considering foster care or adoption.
Topic: Child welfare / CPS / foster care · classifier confidence 72%
What this changes
Amends existing law
Law today: The Social Security Act, parts B and E, currently govern federal foster care and adoption assistance programs, including requirements for state child welfare agencies.
If passed: This bill would amend federal foster care and adoption law to improve how states recruit and retain foster and adoptive parents. The exact mechanisms are not specified in the available text, but the bill likely modifies data-sharing, outreach, or support practices to make foster and adoption more accessible to families.
AI-generated from the bill text — verify against the official text.
Likely supporters & opponents
Likely support
- adoption and foster-care advocacy organizations — Expanding the pool of foster and adoptive families reduces the number of children in institutional care and finds permanent families faster.
- religious organizations involved in foster care and adoption — Removing barriers to family placement aligns with faith-based values of caring for vulnerable children and supporting Christian families called to foster or adopt.
- state child welfare agencies — Better data and recruitment tools help states place more children in stable homes and reduce caseload burden on social workers.
Likely opposition
- privacy-advocacy groups — Using data to recruit families raises concerns about how personal information is collected, stored, and shared without robust consent protections.
- civil-liberties organizations — Targeting recruitment based on data profiles could exclude certain groups or raise fairness questions about who is encouraged to foster or adopt.
AI-inferred typical positions based on the bill’s substance — general stakeholder categories, not confirmed endorsements.
Should I support this?
Likely helpful for Christian families
This bill aims to strengthen foster and adoptive families—a goal aligned with Christian family values and religious liberty in parenting. It removes barriers rather than imposing new restrictions, and many Christian families and churches actively participate in foster care and adoption. The primary risk is data privacy, but the bill's purpose supports parental freedom and family formation.
An AI assessment from a Christian-family perspective — religious freedom, parental rights, and freedom in education — not legal or voting advice.
Official summary
A bill to amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to improve foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
- Chuck Grassley (R)
- Margaret Hassan (D)
- Roger Wicker (R)
- Amy Klobuchar (D)
- Jon Ossoff (D)
Status timeline
- 2026-06-15Held at the desk.H
- 2026-06-15Received in the House.H
- 2026-06-12Message on Senate action sent to the House.S
- 2026-06-11Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text: CR S2770-2771)S
- 2026-06-11S.Amdt.5821 Amendment SA 5821 proposed by Senator Thune for Senator Grassley. (consideration: CR S2769)S
- 2026-06-11S.Amdt.5821 Amendment SA 5821 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.S
- 2026-06-11Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S2770-2771)S
- 2026-06-11Senate Committee on Finance discharged by Unanimous Consent.S
- 2025-01-21Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.S
H = House · S = Senate · A = Assembly