On [July 24, 2024], the Ways and Means Committee advanced two pieces of legislation that support families and children living in vulnerable circumstances. The Committee approved a first-in-a-generation reauthorization and reform of the Title IV-B child welfare program, tasked with helping prevent child abuse and neglect, protecting the safety and well-being of children in the foster care system, and keeping families together. 2008 was the last time the program received any significant reforms and authorization for the program expired in 2021. The reforms included in the committee-approved legislation ensures children are not separated from their parents solely because of poverty, strengthens support systems for relatives providing kinship care, cuts federal administrative burdens to allow caseworkers to concentrate on serving families, broadens mental health care planning to provide support for children and youth dealing with trauma, and expands access to legal representation.
The Committee also advanced legislation to overturn an IRS policy change that would make it more difficult for custodial parents to receive child support payments. The IRS established an October 1 deadline to block state agencies from using contractors for the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program, which serves nearly 13 million families and 18 percent of all children. The bill also provides parity for tribes operating child support enforcement programs.
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