Child Welfare: Preventing Separations Based on Poverty
A house committee must act next: committee consideration.
While the bill addresses a known issue in child welfare, it was introduced late in the session and faces the typical hurdles of changing long-standing state agency practices.
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) has re-introduced the Family Poverty is Not Child Neglect Act to revise the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). The bill ensures that reports concerning a child's subsistence needs are addressed through services and that no child is separated due to poverty.
Reps. Gwen Moore and Jason Smith introduced the Preventing Child Welfare Entry Caused by Poverty Act. The legislation clarifies that living in poverty, absent abuse or neglect, is not reason on its own to separate children from their parents and allows agencies to deploy resources for housing.
A new bill before Congress requires states to avoid maltreatment investigations that center solely on a family's homelessness or lack of financial resources. The legislation aims to address the long-standing concern that state statutes leave too much room for subjectivity in defining neglect.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Family Poverty is Not Child Neglect Act
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