Bennet, Cornyn Introduce Bill to Support Colorado Children

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced the Protecting America's Children by Strengthening Families Act to reauthorize and improve child welfare programs that promote family unity and the safety and well-being of children.

"We have a responsibility to ensure that every kid in America grows up in a loving and supportive home," said Bennet. "That's why we are proposing legislation to cut through bureaucracy and provide critical, flexible investment in child welfare policy. This will allow us to provide communities in Colorado and throughout the country with the flexibility they need to keep kids safe and families together."

"Creating a safe, healthy, and supportive environment at home is the first step to helping Texas children thrive," said Cornyn. "This legislation would make strategic and evidence-backed improvements to ensure a 360-degree support system is in place for children in foster care nationwide."

This legislation would reauthorize Title IV-B of the Social Security Act for five years and improve its child welfare programs by:

• Increasing funding by $75 million a year;
• Expanding evidence-based services to prevent child abuse and neglect;
• Increasing access to training for caseworkers and improving recruitment and retention efforts to address caseworker shortage and bolster the workforce;
• Reducing administrative burden;
• Providing grant funding for the Court Improvement Program to support child legal proceedings;
• Streamlining access to funding, including for Indian tribes; and
• Strengthening support systems for relatives and family transitions, including children entering into kinship diversion, exiting foster care, or transitioning to an adopted family.

The text of the bill is available HERE.