Technology and Child Welfare: Congress Searches for Progress Amid Political Strain
Lawmakers explore AI’s potential amid bipartisan hopes, partisan tensions, and enduring structural challenges.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a growing tool in child welfare – to help determine when to intervene, how to support families before crisis, and how to improve outcomes for youth in foster care. This week the U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Work and Welfare convened a hearing to examine the implications of technology and consider what shifts in federal policy and fiscal priorities might be required.
It was telling that a hearing convened to promote the promise of AI repeatedly circled back to an undeniable truth: positive outcomes still fundamentally hinge on human relationships and each young person’s pursuit of belonging.
Subcommittee Chairman Darin LaHood (R-Illinois) vowed “to modernize and reform the Chafee Foster Care Program.” He declared, “Child welfare systems have not kept up with the pace of technology, and it is children and caseworkers feel the impact”. He stressed that the day-to-day operations are too often dependent on “spreadsheets and clunky software applications to track cases.” He cited troubling outcomes for youth who exit foster care - “educational dropout, early pregnancy, and unemployment.” He underscored his priority – addressing the “significant barriers” youth face in securing stable housing.
LaHood praised President Donald Trump’s Fostering Futures for American Children and Families Executive Order (EO) and vowed he will help “advance those priorities” through Congress. Read C4CJ’s report on the EO here.
Ranking member Congressman Danny Davis (D-Illinois) offered a stark assessment: America’s “foster care system continues to fail many youth”. “We have a big problem, and it will require big solutions.”
Michael Leach, Chief External Engagement Officer at Think of Us and former child welfare leader in Tennessee’s Independent Living Program and South Carolina’s Department of Social Services, issued a direct challenge to lawmakers:
“Today’s hearing focuses on technology and the Chafee program, and those are important, laudable topics, but I want to be very direct: There are things technology can do, but it cannot replace the need for broad, systemic reforms. There are tweaks that need to be made to Chafee, but they don’t erase the need for transformational change.”
He reinforced a long-lamented truth – laws have changed, financing strategies have shifted (a bit), technology is evolving and yet too little has changed:
“We are still seeing the same outcomes. Nationally, we do not see consistent improvement in key outcomes like homelessness, incarceration, education, employment, or economic stability. Some states show modest gains for youth who receive extended supports, but there is no clear nationwide pattern of better results for most young people aging out.”
Chaffee: An Important but Unfulfilled Promise
In 1999, Congress enacted the Foster Care Independence Act, P.L. 106-169 establishing expectations and funding resources available to states known as the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program. At that time, Congress acknowledged extensive evidence that youth “leaving foster care have significant difficulty making a successful transition to adulthood”, including “high rates of homelessness, non-marital childbearing, poverty, and delinquent or criminal behavior.” Congress also addressed the frequency by which these youth are the “target of crime and physical assaults.” Among the statutory purposes:
Identifying youth likely to remain in foster care until their 18th birthday and to work to intentionally assist them to make the “transition to self-sufficiency” through the provision of a variety of services and supports that improve the likelihood they obtain a high school diploma and are connected to a fuller array of education and training opportunities and supports, including those that will facilitate the youth’s connection to and success in postsecondary education.
Connecting youth with “mentors” who can provide ongoing support.
Providing “financial, housing, counseling, employment, education, and other appropriate support and services” to help youth “achieve self-sufficiency.”
Congress improved Chafee in 2018 when Congress enacted the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). FFPSA was woven into a broader bipartisan budget act signed by President Trump in 2018. Among the improvements was providing states with the ability to extend (until age 23) Chafee services and to provide for Education and Training Vouchers (ETVs) through age 26. Approximately $186 million is annually available to states for Chafee related services and supports with an added $400 million allocated in response to supporting youth during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
In 2025, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report identifying the “barriers” states encounter as they strive to help young people transition from foster care to adulthood. GAO was asked to explore how states are utilizing Chafee program funds.
GAO looked at expenditure data for fiscal years 2018 through 2022 as well as Chafee allocations (to states) for fiscal year 2023. GAO highlighted how “states did not always spend all available federal funding, despite having unmet needs in serving youth.” GAO went on to document that in fiscal year 2022, a dozen states returned Chafee independent living funds and 28 states returned Chafee education voucher funds. The federal government (through the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) can redistribute Chafee funds states do not spend and is returned to the federal government remaining available for up to 2 years so that other states can seek to claim them.
During the Ways and Means Subcommittee hearing, Lasheunda Carr, who works at Lawrence Hall, urged Congress to improve Chafee to:
Align Chafee with “real-life needs, including housing, transportation and mental health support”.
Extend timelines for state planning and spending.
“Clarify that unspent funds do not equate to lack of need but rather highlight structural and implementation barriers.
Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D- Wisconsin) lamented Chafee’s “flat” funding. She also ticked off other ways that federal supports and funding are disappearing or not keeping pace. She said, “When a person Googles services they won’t’ find much in way of government support.”
The “Staggering” Number of Youth Relinquished Because Families Can’t Access Help
Congressman Nathaniel Moran (R- Texas) cited 2024 research from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) revealing that between 2005 and 2019 more than 3.2 million foster youth up to age 16 had some form of disability. He expressed concern for “foster youth with disabilities that may not be connected to programs they need”, in part, because information is “buried in case notes” existing in “unstructured data.”
In his testimony, Leach referenced a 2025 research brief exploring the degree to which children, notably tweens and teens with diagnosed behavioral health conditions or disabilities, entered foster care because their family has been unable to get them the care they require. Researchers reported key findings:
Nationwide, between February 2017 and February 2019, as many as 25,000 foster care entries (or 5 percent of all foster care entries) might have been instances of custody relinquishment.
Across states, the share of foster care entries that might have been instances of custody relinquishment ranged widely from less than 1 percent to 18 percent. In eight states, 10 percent or more of foster care entries looked like instances of custody relinquishment.
Among foster care entries that resembled custody relinquishment nationwide, the large majority of children were ages 13 to 17, and majorities were also White and male.
Based on linked child welfare and Medicaid data available in only Florida and Kentucky, nearly all (98 percent) children in situations that resembled custody relinquishment were diagnosed with a behavioral health condition in the year after entering foster care. The most common diagnoses varied between the two states.
In Florida and Kentucky, about one in five children in situations that resembled custody relinquishment were diagnosed with both a behavioral health condition and a disability according to the linked child welfare and Medicaid data
Lawmakers were challenged to be bold as Leach testified:
“The best thing we can do for children’s futures is disrupt this pipeline and get them the support they need in their communities, so they never enter care in the first place. That means mental and behavioral health care available in the community. Family acceptance and crisis stabilization programs. Support services for adolescent substance use. Supports that help communities wrap around children before crisis hits.”
“Relational health” as the Priority – Technology as a Support
Dr. Jennifer Jacobs, a West Point Graduate, Army Veteran and CEO and Co-Founder of Connect Our Kids testified that a TIME article published more than a decade ago about foster care proved an ah moment for her.
She realized there was “a similarity in what foster care professionals needed to do to find families for the kids in their care, and what intelligence analysts do to find and track terrorists’ networks.” She discoveredunlike the technology tools available in the national security arena, child welfare had “sticky notes and Microsoft Excel.”
She stressed leveraging technology allows for a prioritization of “relational health.” She said that the value of technology is how it can aid in preserving family bonds and rebuilding “vital networks of belonging that help children in foster care thrive.”
Leach agreed that technology plays a key role “in connecting young people to services, facilitating new therapeutics, and helping to identify problems before they become crises.” Still, he added that “fundamentally” improving outcomes for children and families remains “relational work.”
In February 2024, Andy Kessler a columnist writing for the Wall Street Journal called CarePortal the “Uber of Foster Care”. Tuesday, Subcommittee members received testimony from Adrien Lewis, the Founder and President of CarePortal. Lewis has built and grown “a national technology platform that connects caseworkers who identify needs with local faith communities, businesses, and individuals ready to help in real time.” Cultivating “deep, local partnerships” he and his team have built “a Care- Sharing network of over 6,000 faith communities and 1,500 agencies that have served more than 600,000 children and caregivers – in unity together – across 39 states, one vetted need at a time.”
Lewis spoke about a young woman about to age out of foster care at the age 18 pregnant and without connection to family. Her caseworker outreached to CarePortal seeking a crib and baby supplies. That request was met by a local family and church that not only helped with the concrete needs but went on to build “a trusting relationship” with her. Those who rallied on her behalf when from “neighbors to friends to family.” As a result, the baby born to this young mother did not enter foster care and today that mom mentors other young moms who age out of foster care.
“Connection builds trust. Trust can lead to ongoing relationships, stabilizing vulnerable families. Over time, scaled Care-Sharing networks augment resilient, coordinated, local ecosystems of support that strengthen families and reduce downstream costs.” - Adrien Lewis
Congressman Nathaniel Moran (R- Texas) spoke of envisioning federal policy that creates scenarios where youth “find their identity, their purpose, their belonging and find unconditional love in life.” He sought to understand how AI and technology could build on this “goal of relational health.”
Jacobs acknowledged that it might seem “counterintuitive”, but that AI and technology can improve relational health because these tools “do the things that take time away from humans being human.” She continued, “If technology can take that burden, it allows caseworkers, foster parents, biological parents and kin to have the time to be that human network that youth need.”
Fear of Lost Funding Drives a “Culture of Administrative Tasks”
Martin Elisco, CEO and Chairman of the Board Augintel testified about his “dedication to social services and entrepreneurship.” Elisco, who previously worked at Motorola and Zebra Technologies designing public radio safety systems and working with the Veterans Administration (VA) on patient safety technology, said artificial intelligence (AI) is already “making lives better for children, families and social workers.”
Chairman LaHood referenced a 2025 report – Caseworker Experiences Working in the Child Welfare System – that revealed caseworkers spend “an average of 4.3 hours a day on paperwork and documentation.” He asked Elisco how Augintel’s technology “empower caseworkers to shift from a culture of compliance and administrative tasks to one that allows them to spend more time serving and focusing on foster youth?”.
Elisco praised child welfare workers as “some of the most dedicated professionals in government.” He cited how they are routinely “stymied with too much administrative work, and too little insight, into the needs and histories of those they care for.” He stressed that caseworkers are “working with outdated technology, clicking through case notes one-by-one in green screen systems, or sifting through their pile of sticky notes for that one name they needed.”
Elisco said that funding streams are the driver to why caseworkers spend “so much time” on administrative and compliance work. They are required to document the work to be “in compliance with the regulations tied to those funding streams.” He assured that the Augintel technology puts this compliance work in the “background.” He said that the technology also helps “establish trust” with families because they don’t have to ask the youth or family to repeat their stories. This makes youth and families “finally being heard.”
LaHood sought to drill down on how decisions and outcomes, influenced by technology, are tracked.
Lewis said that the “lived experience” of caseworkers who engage with the families is part of how impact is measured. He reminded that the caseworkers are the “ones that close the case” in the portal after a community member met the expressed need. The “reliability of the need actually being met happens because the caseworker said it happened.” He reminded what they “are after is meaningful connection”. He assured CarePortal is working on “building credibility and opportunity through evidence-based research.” He said there is “room for more resources to do more research.”
State and County AI Leaders: Illinois and Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County
Elisco encouraged Congress and the Trump Administration to look for leadership and guidance from state, county, and private child welfare agencies. For example, AI powered by Augintel has been leveraged by state agencies (Illinois Department of Children and Family Services), county human services leaders (Allegheny County, Pennsylvania) and nonprofits (Aspiranet).
In Illinois, 6,000 DCFS staff use AI, more specifically natural language processing (NLP).
Elisco drew attention to Heidi Mueller’s direct observations – Artificial Intelligence in Child Welfare –recently published in the Policy and Practice Magazine of the American Public Human Services Association. Mueller underscored that child welfare agencies “are run on human power” with staff reliant on having the “right data” to inform decisions. Much of this needed data is “captured in the reporting and observations” made by staff in case notes. Mueller wrote how traditionally child welfare leaders struggle to utilize “case note data to identify trends or evaluate processes.” She cited a recent DCFS audit surrounding the quality and timeliness of child abuse investigations noting that such audits are traditionally built largely from data that exists outside the “narrative case notes”. As a result, DCFS employees’ “good faith efforts” to meet with individuals who are the subject of a report (e.g., child, alleged perpetrator, collateral contacts) are not represented in the data and can skew perceptions about the agency’s actions and outcomes.
Elisco testified about how being pregnant and in foster care “can be a safety risk” and while services and supports exist they are often “underutilized because outdated systems cannot identify if a young woman is pregnant.” Illinois’ use of Augintel has allowed this key information to surface. He said, “Before AI, DCFS knew of less than 100 expectant mothers in their care, then, with AI they became aware of 621 more who can now make use of this program.”
Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services (ACDHS) turned to AI and NLP in 2022. ACDHS said that their goal was to enhance support for the caseworkers so they can “better serve our clients.” During a 2022 webinar there was discussion about how the “trajectory of a child’s life” can change by having easy access to some of the most basic information (e.g., grandma’s phone number) that is buried deep in the file. AI also allows for a check up on what has and has not been communicated with families. For example, AI has helped caseworkers know if a family with an infant has been engaged about safe sleep or if it remains a need or somehow reinforced based on observations with the family over time. ACDHS identified the problems they were trying to address:
Caseworkers have an average of 14 cases and each case then has more than 120 notes.
Informing case decisions and evaluating outcomes was linked to administrative data only missing robust information in the case notes.
Lengthy case reviews.
Inability to access unstructured data across several human service systems.
In a case study put out by Augintel, a leader of ACDHS’ Office of Analytics, Technology and Planning reinforced the richness of the data in case notes and how these notes “tell the story of that family.” ACDHS shifted from a pilot mode (involving about 80 individuals) to full operation accessible to 400 caseworkers. One caseworker estimated that Augintel is saving her five hours per week “previously combing through case notes for information or prepping for court.” The caseworker relayed that now her time is spent “focusing on more impactful tasks.”
Mixed Signals About Whether Congress Can Come Together “To Put Kids First”
Congressman Aaron Bean (R-Florida) expressed hope that the story coming out of the hearing would be that Congress “comes together to put kids first.”
Crafting such a headline grew more elusive as partisan tensions surfaced.
Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D- Wisconsin) lamented what she described as the steady downsizing of the federal government’s capacity to support families. She criticized the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law this summer—particularly its provisions affecting SNAP benefits, which require work participation. Such requirements, she argued, are simply not “realistic” given the steep hurdles youth face as they exit foster care.
Congressman Nathaniel Moran (R- Texas) countered sharply, asserting that the way young people with “no skills” gain them is by working. He emphasized the importance of learning to “show up on time, be prepared, work hard, and take directions”—skills he said are universal, regardless of whether a young person comes from a traditional, foster, or adoptive family. He closed by stressing that every “kiddo” has a “great destiny ahead” and that loving support most often comes from families, faith communities, and the broader economy—not government. Government’s role, he said, is not to supplant those institutions but to “supplement and support” them.
Congressman Dwight Evans (D-Pennsylvania) lamented the “cuts in Medicaid” and left panelists quiet as he said, “There is only so much one can do to help the most vulnerable when the President is only concerned about protecting himself and big billionaire buddies.”
Congressman Jimmy Gomez (D-California) was equally blunt. He warned that, in the wake of the One Big Beautiful Bill, “programs working families rely on” are being cut. Those choices, he said, “make it harder and harder for these kids to get on their feet.” He expressed frustration that the Subcommittee was focusing on technology and AI without acknowledging the foundational supports young people need from the very start.
Despite the sharp disagreements, panelists worked to keep lawmakers focused on what truly matters: ensuring children are safe, strengthening and supporting families (ideally at the earliest signal of need), and improving outcomes for youth who have already experienced far too much trauma and instability.
Elisco underscored that Augintel works with “red states and blue states alike,” a reminder that child safety and family well-being are not partisan aims.
And while lawmakers bickered, the seriousness of their engagement made one thing unmistakable: across party lines, there is a growing recognition that child welfare must change—and that for youth aging out of foster care, the status quo is no longer defensible.