H.R. 4972 — Create Accountable Respectful Environments (CARE) for Children Act

This section defines a "cottage family home"—a licensed, agency-operated single-family residence housing no more than two children per bedroom (unless in their best interest) under live-in parents using the reasonable and prudent parent standard, with requirements for family connections, sibling placements, trauma-informed care, limited restraints, child feedback systems, and quality improvement—and includes such homes in state title IV-E foster care plan requirements, eligibility for foster care maintenance payments, and exemptions from the two-year limit on payments for children in qualified residential treatment programs (QRTPs). (Thus, states may claim federal matching funds under the title IV-E foster care program for children placed in cottage family homes without time limits applicable to QRTPs, while preserving state flexibility to treat them as foster family homes.) The amendments apply to payments for calendar quarters beginning on or after the date of enactment, with up to a six-month state implementation delay if legislation is required.