HR 5647119th CongressIn Committee

Advocates for Families Act of 2025

Introduced: Sep 30, 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-1] (R-Alabama)

Civil Rights & JusticeSocial Services

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

Advocates for Families Act of 2025 would require states that receive federal support for child welfare services to ensure access to family advocates for parents, foster parents, or legal guardians in any child welfare case or interaction involving the child. A family advocate would have the authority to represent the parent’s interests and act on their behalf throughout the case, though the bill does not require the state to pay for or provide these services. The act also requires states to set professional conduct standards for advocates, inform families of their rights and available resources at the start of any case or interaction, and report back to the federal government on the impact of honoring these rights and on recommendations to facilitate their exercise. In addition, the secretary would annually (biennially, starting two years after enactment) report to Congress about the right to representation by a family advocate based on state submissions.

Key Points

1States receiving federal funds for child welfare must ensure access to a family advocate for parents, foster parents, or legal guardians in any case or interaction involving the child.
2The family advocate must have authority to represent the parent’s interests and act on their behalf throughout the case, but states are not required to pay or provide for the services.
3States must establish standards for the professional conduct of family advocates and inform eligible families about the right to representation and local resources at the start of any case or interaction.
4The state must inform the Secretary about how honoring the right to a family advocate affects the provision of child welfare services and any recommendations to improve the ability of families to exercise this right.
5A new reporting requirement (Sec. 429C): the Secretary must submit a biennial report to Congress within two years of enactment and every two years thereafter on the right to be represented by a family advocate, based on states’ submissions.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected: Parents, foster parents, and legal guardians involved in child welfare cases; state child welfare agencies; the child’s interests are indirectly affected through increased advocacy.Secondary group/area affected: Federal-state funding relationship for child welfare programs; potential providers of advocacy services (e.g., non-profits, or private advocates) that states may use to fulfill the requirement.Additional impacts: Increased administrative requirements for states (plan amendments, training standards, communications to families, data collection for reporting); greater federal oversight via annual biennial reporting to Congress; potential variability in implementation across states given no federal funding obligation to pay for the advocates.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Oct 16, 2025