Diligent Recruitment and the Court Improvement Program May See Action This Year

Partisan squabbles over high-profile issues like the budget may draw most of the headlines this year, but there may still be room for quiet bipartisan agreement on lower-profile issues like foster care and adoption.

On February 28, the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Jason Smith (R-MO) sent a letter to the House Budget Committee Chairman, Jodey Arrington (R-TX) indicating that the Ways and Means Committee plans to reauthorize Title IV-B programs this year. This legislation, which Democrats hoped to reauthorize last year, serves as the likely legislative vehicle for updating federal diligent recruitment requirements, the Court Improvement Program, and the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program (PSSF).

Last year, VFA endorsed legislation (S. 4725) introduced by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) that would have improved foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention. Other bills were introduced that would have doubled funding for the Court Improvement Program. Both would have required changes to Title IV-B, which Republicans showed no interest in reauthorizing, so neither saw action.

In hindsight, this reluctance appears to have been because they preferred to wait until they controlled the House and were in a better position to negotiate the details. With Chairman Smith now signaling interest in reauthorizing IV-B, action on these issues now seems more likely, possibly as soon as this summer. If so, the newly renamed Work and Welfare Subcommittee chaired by Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) will take the lead.

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