Press Releases

Scanlon’s bill is part of first-in-a-generation, bipartisan package to reform child welfare and protect America’s children

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon’s (PA-05) Ensuring Legal Representation for Child Welfare Act passed the House as part of a bipartisan package legislation to reauthorize and reform child welfare programs under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act. Scanlon’s bill would instruct states to provide information about available independent legal representation to children and parents in child welfare proceedings.

Scanlon, who serves as co-chair of both the Congressional Caucuses on Access to Legal Aid and Foster Youth, introduced the bipartisan bill earlier this summer alongside Rep. Claudia Tenney (NY-24), who serves on the Ways & Means Work and Welfare Subcommittee. Scanlon and Tenney’s bill is part of a bipartisan package called the Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act, which encompasses policies from 16 different pieces of legislation from Republican and Democrat members of the Ways and Means Committee. The package reauthorizes Title IV-B for the first time since 2021 and delivers the first significant reforms since 2008. With approximately 369,000 children currently in foster care, this legislation offers vital assistance to help strengthen and keep families together and support the safety and well-being of children in foster care.

“With so much at stake in child protection proceedings, attorneys have a critical role to make sure that the voices of children and parents are heard, and their rights are protected,” said Rep. Scanlon. “These attorneys can facilitate communication between parties and assist the courts to make informed decisions that prioritize the well-being of the child and family as a whole. I was proud to join Rep. Tenney in introducing the Ensuring Legal Representation for Child Welfare Act to promote justice and safeguard the rights of children and parents, and I am thrilled to see it pass the House as part of today’s historic, bipartisan child welfare reform package.”

Read more about Scanlon’s Ensuring Legal Representation for Child Welfare Act here. Read more about the other key policies in the broader package here. 

Also passing the house today was the Senate companion of the Find and Protect Foster Youth Act, a bill Rep. Scanlon leads as an original co-sponsor. This bipartisan legislation seeks to create an improved feedback mechanism between states and the Administration of Children and Families (ACF) to provide better oversight and information-sharing related to missing and runaway foster youth. Read more here. 

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