HR 8245

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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. <all>