H.R. 8245

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8245 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8245

To support State efforts to record all child welfare interviews.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 9, 2026

Mrs. Wagner (for herself, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Moore of 
Utah, and Mr. Owens) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To support State efforts to record all child welfare interviews.

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 ``Generate Recordings of All Child 
protective Interviews Everywhere Act'' or the ``GRACIE Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICE INTERVIEW RECORDING GRANTS.

(a) Grants.--The Associate Commissioner may award grants to States 
for the purpose of assisting State agencies responsible for conducting 
child welfare interviews in recording and retaining all child welfare 
interviews conducted by such State agencies.
(b) Application.--A State seeking a grant under this section shall 
submit an application to the Associate Commissioner at such time and in 
such manner as the Associate Commissioner may require. Such application 
shall include--
(1) the State's lead agency for the grant program and that 
agency's current requirements involving the recording and 
retention of child welfare interviews;
(2) the challenges the State faces in developing, 
implementing, and monitoring requirements involving the 
recording and retention of child welfare interviews; and
(3) a description of how the State plans to use funds for 
activities described in subsection (c).
(c) Use of Funds.--
(1) In general.--Amounts received under a grant under this 
section shall be used exclusively for costs directly associated 
with conducting and retaining for 5 years the recording of all 
child welfare interviews by a State agency responsible for 
conducting child welfare interviews, including initial 
interviews conducted during a family assessment to the extent 
practicable.
(2) Recording requirement.--A State receiving a grant under 
this section shall have a statute, ordinance, policy, or 
practice requiring all child welfare interviews conducted by 
the State agency responsible for conducting child welfare 
interviews to be recorded through electronic audio recording, 
body camera video, or any other reasonable means of recording.
(3) Retention requirement.--A State receiving a grant under 
this section shall have a statute, ordinance, policy, or 
practice requiring the recordings described in paragraph (2) to 
be retained and stored for not less than 5 years in a manner 
consistent with the protocols established by the State for such 
recordings, which shall include that--
(A) a copy of such recording--
(i) subject to clause (ii), may only be 
released to appropriate government agencies 
investigating an allegation or prosecuting an 
offense relating to an allegation; and
(ii) upon request by a caregiver or 
guardian in connection with a judicial 
proceeding, shall be made available to the 
caregiver or guardian, unless the court orders 
otherwise;
(B) a penalty is imposed for a violation of the 
limitation described in subparagraph (A); and
(C) the retention systems of the State agency 
responsible for conducting child welfare interviews 
securely manage the storage and distribution of such a 
recording with access controls and role-based 
permission management.
(d) Accountability.--
(1) Records.--A State that receives a grant under this 
section shall maintain such records as the Associate 
Commissioner may require to facilitate an effective audit 
relating to the receipt of the grant, the use of amounts from 
the grant, or outsourcing activities.
(2) Access.--For the purpose of conducting audits and 
examinations, the Associate Commissioner shall have access to 
any book, document, or record of the State agency that receives 
a grant under this section if the Associate Commissioner 
determines that the book, document, or record relates to--
(A) the receipt of the grant; or
(B) the use of amounts from the grant.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Associate commissioner.--The term ``Associate 
Commissioner'' means the Associate Commissioner of the 
Children's Bureau of the Office of the Administration for 
Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human 
Services.
(2) Child welfare interview.--The term ``child welfare 
interview'' means a documented interview with any relevant 
parties, including a child or an adult, conducted by a State 
agency responsible for conducting child welfare interviews in 
order to elicit information regarding concerns of abuse of a 
child, neglect of a child, or other crimes against a child.
(3) State.--The term ``State'' means--
(A) each of the several States;
(B) the District of Columbia;
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
(D) any territory or possession of the United 
States.
(f) Funding and Sunset.--For each of fiscal years 2026 through 
2031, the Associate Commissioner shall use not more than $30,000,000 of 
the amounts appropriated to carry out subpart 1 of part B of title IV 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) to carry out this 
section.
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