Urgent Call to Action: Support the Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act (H.R. 9076)

The Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act (H.R. 9076) has recently been approved by the House Ways and Means Committee and is now set to move forward for a full House vote. This vital bipartisan legislation is set to improve funding and policies for state and tribal child welfare programs, profoundly impacting the lives of Native children and families who are currently interacting or will interact with the child welfare system.

What does H.R. 9076 do?

The legislation reauthorizes two key federal child welfare programs under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act. Tribal nations are eligible to receive funding under each of the two programs, which fund a variety of prevention services that help children stay out of foster care and strengthen families so they can have their children returned safely after placement in foster care.

The Committee approved H.R 9076 on July 24, 2024, with unanimous support (38-0). Several committee members emphasized how important tribal provisions were in the legislation.

Key Provisions of H.R. 9076

H.R. 9076 includes several important provisions. These provisions align with priorities previously introduced in the Strengthening Tribal Families Act (H.R. 8621 and S. 4471). The legislation reflects years of advocacy aimed at improving child welfare systems for Native children and families.

Provisions in H.R. 9076 that support tribes and Native children and families include:

• Increased Funding: Expands mandatory funding under the Title IV-B, Subpart 2 Program (Promoting Safe and Stable Families), allowing more tribes to qualify
• Updated Funding Mechanism: Changes the outdated regulatory formula under Title IV-B, Subpart 1 Program to a 3% set-aside from the overall appropriation
• Enhanced Tribal Court Improvement: Doubles the funding for the Tribal Court Improvement Program from $1 million to $2 million per year
• Reduced Administrative Burden: Allows the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary to modify Title IV-B reporting requirements for tribes with smaller Title IV-B grants to reduce administrative burden
• ICWA Data Collection: Requires HHS to gather data on ICWA requirements from states regarding cases involving Native children
• Technical Assistance: Requires HHS to provide support to states and tribes to support effective ICWA implementation
• Tribal Consultation: Requires HHS to consult with tribes on the development of guidelines to maximize the engagement of tribes in ICWA state court proceedings
• Flexibility in Funding Usage: Allows tribes to use their federally negotiated indirect rate in the operation of Title IV-B programs
• Competitive Grant Eligibility: Clarifies tribes as eligible to apply for and receive competitive grant funding to evaluate programs or services that meet one of the evidence-based criteria under the Title IV-E Prevention Services Program
• Support for Foster Children: Allows HHS to waive the matching requirement, modify an application requirement, or use tribal data for evaluation activities under the grant program to support meaningful relationships between foster children and incarcerated parents

Your Voice Matters.

We are calling on all advocates for the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to contact their House representatives and urge them to prioritize H.R. 9076 for a prompt vote. Your voice can make a significant difference. We’ve created a sample letter that you can customize and send to your representative, urging them to prioritize H.R. 9076.

You can find your representative’s contact information at congress.gov