H.R. 7236

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 7236 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7236 To provide for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to maintain a national list of licensed private child placement agencies, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 23, 2026 Mr. Shreve introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To provide for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to maintain a national list of licensed private child placement agencies, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``In Good Standing Adoption Agencies Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. NATIONAL LIST OF LICENSED CHILD PLACEMENT AGENCIES. (a) In General.--Section 474 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 674) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(h) National List of Licensed Child Placement Agencies.-- ``(1) State reporting.-- ``(A) In general.--Not later than January 1 of each fiscal year, a State with a plan approved under this part for the fiscal year shall submit to the Secretary a list of private child placement agencies that, as of the end of the preceding fiscal year, were licensed or accredited by, and in good standing with, the State and exempt from Federal income tax by reason of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. ``(B) Child placement agency.--In subparagraph (A), the term `child placement agency' means an agency that places children in prospective adoptive homes. ``(2) National list.--The Secretary, through the United States Children's Bureau, shall compile and maintain a publicly available list consisting of each list most recently submitted by a State under paragraph (1). ``(3) Annual reports to congress.--Not later than the 2nd December 31 after the date of the enactment of this subsection, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a written report that contains the list maintained under paragraph (2) and identifies any child placement agency that is licensed by a State and is not on the list, and a specification of any disciplinary actions that a State has taken against a private child placement agency.''. (b) Loss of Eligibility for Adoption and Legal Guardianship Incentive Payments for Failure of State To Comply With List Submission Requirement.--Section 473A(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(b)) is amended-- (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (3); (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (4) and inserting ``; and''; and (3) by adding at the end the following: ``(5) the State has complied with section 474(h)(1) with respect to the preceding fiscal year.''. <all>