S. 2902 — Hidden Foster Care Transparency Act

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) "CPS agency" as the state agency administering state plans under parts B (child and family services) and E (foster care and adoption assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act, or any state, county, local, or tribal child protective services agency; (2) "hidden foster care arrangement" as any child separation from parents or primary caregivers without state responsibility for care or placement and without a court order or oversight (including arrangements following a child protection hotline call or CPS investigation, or so-called kinship diversion, foster care diversion, safety planning, informal family planning, or hidden foster care); (3) "Secretary" as the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and (4) "State" as having the meaning given in section 1101(a)(1) of the Social Security Act for purposes of parts B and E of title IV.

This section requires states, as a condition of receiving foster care funding under title IV-E of the Social Security Act, to submit data on hidden foster care arrangements (i.e., informal separations of children from parents directed by child protective services without entry into formal foster care) to the Secretary as part of the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) for each fiscal year. The required data specifies (1) the number of children separated from parents by such arrangements; (2) the number of arrangements ending without formal foster care entry; (3) the number ending with formal foster care entry; (4) the category of allegation in each separation case; (5) the number of caregivers receiving additional services (e.g., kinship navigator programs, title IV-B/E prevention services, or legal counsel); (6) investigation results (substantiated, indicated, or not); (7) parents provided or represented by legal counsel before or within 72 hours of an arrangement; (8) duration of arrangements, including those exceeding 90 days without court orders; (9) outcomes for children exiting arrangements (e.g., reunification, kinship custody, or formal foster care); (10) specific services provided to parents, children, and kinship caregivers; and (11) subsequent substantiated abuse or neglect reports within 3, 6, 9, or 12 months. (AFCARS is the federal data collection system on children entering, in, and exiting public foster care and adoption.)

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit an annual report to Congress on hidden foster care arrangement practices (i.e., informal separations of children from parents by child protective services agencies without formal foster care entry), based on state reports under section 3. The report must include (1) the total number of children whose hidden foster care arrangements ended in the fiscal year, delineating those not entering formal foster care from those that did; (2) the total number of each category or type of allegation in cases resulting in such separations; (3) to the extent data is available, the number of caregivers receiving additional services such as kinship navigator programs, prevention services under parts B or E of title IV of the Social Security Act, other non-CPS services, or legal counsel; and (4) the number of states submitting section 3 reports and a summary of how states address these arrangements in their title IV-B or -E state plans. The section further requires the Secretary to ensure standardized data collection under section 3 that complements existing child welfare reporting; authorizes use of title IV-E funds for related guidance and technical assistance to states; and requires public availability of the report, potentially incorporated into the annual state report compilation under Social Security Act §479A.