Sponsors
The bill funds a national 24/7 helpline and weekly support to expand immediate family support and improve child safety, but requires ongoing federal spending and centralizes delivery in a single grantee model that raises cost, privacy, and provider‑diversity risks.
Parents, caregivers, children, and youth gain 24/7 access to a single, national helpline (calls, texts, live chat) that provides immediate emotional support and trusted guidance.
The helpline and related prevention services can enable earlier identification and response to child maltreatment and substance misuse, improving child safety and outcomes.
Weekly evidence-based mutual support groups nationwide can strengthen parenting skills and family stability, supporting long‑term community well‑being.
The program imposes a recurring federal cost (explicit $20M/year) that increases taxpayer spending and could displace other budget priorities.
Concentrating funding on a single national grantee and prioritizing applicants with national helpline experience may exclude smaller, newer, or locally rooted providers and reduce service diversity and local access.
Relying on a single grantee creates a risk that underperformance or organizational failure would cause service interruptions or reduced coverage until grants are re‑awarded.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Creates a competitive federal grant for a single nonprofit to run a national 24/7 parent and youth helpline, website, outreach, and weekly support groups; authorizes $20M/yr (2027–2032).
Introduced March 27, 2026 by Norma Judith Torres · Last progress March 27, 2026
Creates a federal grant program to fund a single nonprofit to establish and run a national, 24-hour toll-free parent and youth helpline (calls, texts, live chat), a companion website, outreach, and weekly mutual support groups. Grants can last up to five years, priority is given to applicants with prior helpline and evidence-based group experience, and HHS must report to Congress on implementation and effectiveness; the bill authorizes $20 million per year for FY2027–2032.