Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025

# Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025 Summary **What it does:** This bill requires states to create plans aimed at improving the foster care system by making placements more stable, prioritizing placements with relatives (kinship placements), and matching the makeup of foster and adoptive families to the needs of children in the system. It also requires the federal Children's Bureau to collect and publish annual data about foster and adoptive families across states, including their demographics and the challenges people face in becoming foster or adoptive parents. **Who it affects:** The bill impacts state child welfare agencies, families interested in foster care or adoption, and children currently in or at risk of entering the foster care system.

It primarily affects implementation at the state level while requiring federal-level data collection and reporting. **Current status:** The bill has passed the House and is now awaiting Senate action. It was sponsored by Representative Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and focuses on child welfare, family services, and government oversight of foster care systems.