Moran, Cornyn Introduce Hidden Foster Care Transparency Act to Protect Children and Families

Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today introduced the Hidden Foster Care Transparency Act, joined in the Senate by Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA), to bring greater transparency to child welfare and ensure children are not overlooked.

Hidden foster care, also called parental child safety placements, occurs when state agencies informally place children with relatives without court oversight. These arrangements can provide stability and keep children connected to family, but because states are not required to track or report them, there is little accountability to ensure children are safe and families are supported. Each year, hundreds of thousands of children are placed into these arrangements, yet no national data exists on the outcomes and impact of such placements.

"Families deserve to be treated with dignity, and children deserve to be seen and protected, not hidden from accountability," said Congressman Moran. "This bill ensures states can't sidestep responsibility and that Congress has the information we need to safeguard kids and support parents."

"Informal foster care arrangements without any accountability or transparency can leave families in limbo and expose children to neglect, instability, or even abuse," said Senator Cornyn. "By requiring states to follow Texas' example and bring these hidden foster care arrangements out of the shadows, this legislation would help ensure that every child has a safe and loving place to call home."

Congressman Moran pointed to Texas as a model. In 2023, the Legislature passed HB 730, which required Child Protective Services to notify parents of their right to counsel, imposed strict time limits on parental child safety placements, and mandated that the state track these cases. "In Texas, we made sure parents were informed of their rights, that placements had clear limits, and that CPS had to track these cases," said Congressman Moran. "Those safeguards brought accountability to a process that had long operated without it."

"H.R. 5507 sheds light on a little-known part of the child protection system known as 'hidden foster care.' These informal arrangements, while intended to prevent formal foster care entry, currently lack the oversight and legal guardrails necessary to safeguard the rights of families against government overreach. This bill will bring critical transparency and accountability to our nation's child protection system. The Texas Public Policy Foundation is grateful to Congressman Moran and Senator Cornyn for their leadership on this important issue," said the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

The Hidden Foster Care Transparency Act requires states to report how and when hidden foster care is used, ensuring the protection and wellbeing of children in such arrangements.

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