There are many state-specific child welfare laws, but there are also many federal laws, especially as it pertains to foster care and adoption protections. These laws are mostly regulated and enforced by the U.S. Children's Bureau, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Some of the main laws pertaining to child welfare are outlined below:
The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018 attempts to prevent unnecessary entrance into the foster care system by providing funding for families whose children are considered at risk of removal from home/ entry into foster care. Public access to the Act is linked above (scroll to Title VII), and it can also be found on Lexis and Westlaw.
The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act of 2014 placed more protections on children in the foster care system in an attempt to reduce sex trafficking of foster children. Some of the protections include increased incentives for guardianship placement and empowering children to be actively involved in their own cases. Public access to the Act is linked above, and it can also be found on Lexis and Westlaw.
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 aimed to increase adoption by providing incentives for foster parents to adopt, expanding placement opportunities for children's relatives, and increasing federal funding for adoption assistance. Public access to the Act is linked above, and it can also be found on Lexis and Westlaw.
The Keeping Families and Children Safe Act of 2003 extended the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act by increasing funding for state child protective services and increasing community-based services for families that are aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect. Public access to the Act is linked above, and it can also be found on Lexis and Westlaw.
The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 required states to provide adoption assistance for low-income families who adopted children with special needs, as well as foster care assistance for foster parents and attempts to reunify foster children with their birth parents. Public access to the Act is linked above, and it can also be found on Lexis and Westlaw.
Other child welfare and juvenile justice statutes would primarily be found in Title 18 (Crimes and Criminal Procedure) or Title 42 (Public Health and Welfare) of the United States Code. Public access to the Code Titles are linked above, and the Code can also be found on Lexis and Westlaw.
Regulations pertaining to child welfare will mostly be found in either Title 28 (Judicial Administration), Title 42 (Public Health), or Title 45 (Public Welfare) of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Public access to the Titles are linked above, and the CFR can also be found on Lexis and Westlaw.
