Sponsors (2)
The bill secures continued federal support and anti‑supplanting protections for child welfare services through 2026 and increases state accountability, but does so with open‑ended spending and added compliance costs that shift budgetary and administrative burdens onto states and taxpayers.
Children, youth, and the state/local agencies that serve them will keep access to federal foster care, adoption, and related services through Sept 30, 2026, and the bill's anti-supplanting rule helps protect those services from being replaced by federal funds.
State and local child welfare programs and administrators gain operational continuity because funding is authorized as 'such sums as may be necessary,' reducing the risk of immediate funding gaps that would disrupt services.
State governments and governors receive clearer rules and a fixed compliance date (Oct 1, 2025) plus increased certification/accountability requirements, which can improve fiscal transparency and reduce misuse of federal funds.
Taxpayers face potentially open‑ended federal spending because funds are authorized as 'such sums as may be necessary,' increasing federal outlays through Sept 30, 2026.
State and local governments (and ultimately taxpayers) may incur additional administrative and compliance costs to document that federal funds supplement rather than supplant state/local spending, including hiring staff or consultants.
State and local governments and local program innovators could lose flexibility to reallocate funding because maintaining prior funding levels is required, which may force service cuts or limit local program innovation when budgets are tight.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires TANF federal funds to supplement, not supplant, state/local funds with a required governor certification, and extends/appropriates most Title IV‑A funding through Sept 30, 2026.
Introduced April 1, 2025 by Claudia Tenney · Last progress April 1, 2025
Requires States that receive federal TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funds to use those federal funds only to supplement — not replace — State or local funds for programs under the TANF part, and requires the State chief executive to certify compliance. The anti-supplanting requirement takes effect October 1, 2025. The measure also extends authorization and provides indefinite appropriations ("such sums as may be necessary") to continue most Title IV‑A activities through September 30, 2026, while excluding certain specified subsections from the extension.