Congressional Research Service 2

Other amendments appear intended to boost availability of community-based resources for families, through family resource centers and electronic portals to connect community resources with specific needs, and to clarify or allow access to PSSF services for youth (up to age 26) and kinship families. Title I of H.R. 9076 would explicitly authorize use of PSSF funds for short-term, non-recurring benefits (e.g., utility payments) to address a family crisis that might otherwise lead to a child’s foster care entry. Further, it would revise CWS or PSSF plans to

• require development of policies to prevent separation of families solely due to poverty,

• direct states to inform parents and children about available independent legal representation in child welfare proceedings,

• add attention to meeting mental health needs of children in foster care, and

• call for standards that describe use of virtual caseworker visits for youth in care at age 18 or older.

States/tribes would be required to consult with families and youth with experience in the child welfare system and to report on how they incorporate youth guidance in their child and family services plans.

A full 3% of all CWS and PSSF funding would be directed to formula grants for tribal child and family service programs, funding reserved for tribal CIP would be doubled (from $1 million to $2 million), and HHS would be required to streamline Title IV-B reporting requirements for certain tribes. To improve compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act, Title I of H.R. 9076 directs states to consult with tribes on specific ICWA requirements (including timely notice of custody proceedings involving Indian children and recordkeeping related to active efforts to prevent the break-up of Indian families, transfers of jurisdiction for custody proceedings, and termination of parental rights proceedings). HHS would be required to consult with tribes and produce guidance for states on ICWA compliance, including through use of data.

Separately, Title I of H.R. 9076 would amend the SSA to reserve out of discretionary PSSF funding (for each of FY2026-FY2029) $10 million for competitive grants to support kinship navigator programs and $5 million for competitive grants to accelerate development of prevention services that meet Family First practice standards. Further, it would increase the reservation of mandatory PSSF funding as of FY2026 for MCV grants to $26 million (+6 million). While it would eliminate a $6 million set-aside of PSSF mandatory funds to HHS for evaluation and technical assistance, it would maintain the current law 3.3% reservation of PSSF discretionary funds for those purposes.

Additionally, Title I of H.R. 9076 would authorize $35 million in discretionary appropriations (for each of FY2026-FY2029) to support collaborations between state agencies for child welfare and adult correctional facilities to demonstrate policies and procedures that promote meaningful relationships between incarcerated parents and their children in foster care.

Title I of H.R. 9076 would make numerous additional changes, including requiring HHS to study and report on efforts to address administrative burden under the Title IV-B program, and to produce guidance on improved data collection and reporting on youth in residential treatment facilities.

Strengthening State and Tribal Child Support Enforcement (Title II)

Title II of H.R. 9076 would expand access to federal tax information (FTI) for specified child support enforcement (CSE) programs and their contractors. All states (including the District of Columbia and five territories) and 61 tribal nations operate CSE programs pursuant to Title IV-D of the SSA. Certain CSE services (e.g., the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program) are supported via the exchange of FTI. State and local IV-D program access to that data is governed by the Internal Revenue Code §6103. FTI may only be