The Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act (H.R. 9076)opens in new window passed the U.S. House and Senate and was signed into law by President Biden on January 4, 2025. The bill reauthorizes Title IV-B of the Social Security Act, keeping children with their families and family-based placements as much as possible and making policy improvements that complement ongoing mental health efforts by federal policymakers supporting a trauma-responsive child welfare system.
In March 2024, APA members Royleen Ross, PhD; Shannon Beach, PhD; and Kim Reynolds, PhD, ABPP, met with congressional offices to advocate for this legislation in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Native American Child Health.
The legislation moved forward in an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 405-10 in the House in 2024 and under unanimous consent in the Senate. Without congressional action, Title IV-B would have expired on December 31, 2024, leaving American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children removed from their families and placed in the care of tribal child welfare systems with low funding, high administrative burden, and a lack of coordination.
APA Services wishes to thank the Society of Indian Psychologistsopens in new window, and Beach, Ross, and Reynolds for their tireless efforts in this important work.
For more information, contact Serena Dávila.