The "Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025" aims to significantly improve the recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive parents across the United States. It achieves this by amending parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act, primarily by requiring states to implement a new framework for family engagement. This framework centers around the development and execution of a comprehensive family partnership plan.

Each state's plan must be developed in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, including birth, kinship, foster, and adoptive families, as well as youth with lived experience in foster care. The plan is required to describe how the state will identify and support relatives as potential placements, develop child-specific recruitment strategies, and authentically engage children and youth in these efforts. A key component involves using data to establish goals, measure progress, reduce congregate care placements, and improve placement stability and permanency.

Furthermore, the plan mandates annual collection and reporting on the state's actual foster family capacity and congregate care utilization, detailing the number and characteristics of licensed families, including those not fully utilized. States must also annually update a summary of feedback from foster and adoptive parents and youth regarding licensure, training, support, and reasons for placement disruptions or fostering cessation. The bill also requires an annual analysis of challenges and barriers to recruiting families that reflect the racial and ethnic background of children in care, along with efforts to overcome these disparities.

Beyond state-level plans, the legislation amends the Social Security Act to require the annual child welfare outcomes report to Congress to include specific, detailed information. This includes state-by-state data on the number, demographics, and utilization of foster and adoptive families, as well as summaries of challenges and barriers reported by states and foster parents themselves. This comprehensive reporting aims to provide greater transparency and accountability in national foster care and adoption efforts.