“To support State efforts to record all child welfare interviews.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a grant program administered by the Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assist state agencies responsible for child welfare interviews—which elicit information on child abuse, neglect, or related crimes—in recording and retaining all such interviews (including initial family assessment interviews, to the extent practicable) for five years. Grantees must enact requirements for electronic recording (e.g., audio or body camera) of all interviews and secure five-year retention with limited release (generally to government investigators or prosecutors, or to caregivers/guardians in judicial proceedings unless court-ordered otherwise), violation penalties, and access controls; for FY2026 through 2031, the Associate Commissioner shall use not more than $30 million annually from appropriations for subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (i.e., Promoting Safe and Stable Families program grants to states for child welfare services). (Thus, no separate appropriation is authorized for the grants.)