HR 8757
Promoting Childhood Independence and Resilience Act of 2026
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Bill overview
The Promoting Childhood Independence and Resilience Act of 2026 aims to reform child welfare practices by addressing overzealous investigations of families for allowing children to develop independence. It seeks to clarify what constitutes ‘reasonable childhood independence activities’ and encourages states to prioritize preventing unnecessary government intervention in parenting decisions. The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to study how states can better support parental choices and to update grant programs to reflect this shift in focus.
Key provisions
- Directs the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a study on empowering parents to allow children independence without government intervention.
- Defines ‘reasonable childhood independence activities’ to include a range of activities like playing outdoors, walking to school, and running errands.
- Amends the Marylee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program to require states to include training on preventing unnecessary investigations related to independence activities.
- Amends the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program to similarly require training on the importance of independence activities.
- Modifies the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to explicitly include reasonable childhood independence activities as not constituting abuse or neglect.
- Updates grant programs to require responses that account for the importance of independence activities and avoid justifying child welfare intervention.
- Requires child welfare agencies to provide assurances to parents that allowing independence activities won’t lead to legal action.
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119th CONGRESS — 2d Session
H. R. 8757
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To amend subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to address child welfare involvement caused by reasonable childhood independence activities, to amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to promote childhood independence, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Promoting Childhood Independence and Resilience Act of 2026
.
The Congress finds the following:
In Illinois, a woman was cited for child neglect for inadequate supervision
after allowing her 11-, 9-, and 5-year-old children to play in a park near their home.
In Maryland, a couple was found responsible for unsubstantiated child neglect after allowing their 10- and 6-year-old children to play outside and walk home by themselves.
In Georgia, a mother was arrested and accused of reckless conduct when her 10-year-old son walked a mile away from their home without telling anyone.
In South Carolina, a mother was arrested for unlawful conduct towards a child for allowing her 9-year-old daughter to play alone at a popular, kid-filled park.
In North Carolina, a couple was charged with felony involuntary manslaughter and child neglect when a driver hit their 7-year-old son and killed him while walking home from a nearby grocery store. They were held on $1,500,000 bonds each.
In Virginia, Child Protective Services investigated a couple numerous times for allowing their three children to play unsupervised outside, telling the parents that the children need to always be supervised, even in their own bedrooms.
In Pennsylvania, a single mother of two was placed on her State’s child abuse registry after tasking her 13-year-old brother to babysit her 1-year-old child.
State legislators who have supported State legislation to promote childhood independence have recounted being stopped in their own parenting decisions out of fear of child protective services or police intervention. Examples include Michigan State Senator Jeff Irwin’s decision to allow a third grader to walk to their nearby school, Colorado State Representative Kim Ransom’s decision to run into a gas station to pay for gas during a snowstorm and leave kids in the van, and South Carolina Senator Wes Climer’s decision to allow a 5-year-old child to be outside in his own yard. In hearings on State legislation across the country, Democrat and Republican legislators remarked on growing up with much more freedom to play, roam, and run errands without constant adult management of their whereabouts and activities.
Children spend 50 percent less time in unstructured outdoor actives than children in the 1970s. The average American child spends 4 to 7 minutes a day outside in unstructured play.
Less than 25 percent of children between ages 6 and 17 reach the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day, and childhood obesity has tripled since the 1970s.
Cross-age interactions have been shown to develop social skills and the ability to learn.
The percentage of teens who meet up with their friends almost every day
has been on a steady decline since the 1980s.
Face-to-face socializing between teenagers has fallen by over 45 percent from 2003 to 2022.
More than half of Generation Z report that as children they felt lonely at least once or twice a month—nearly double the reported number of Baby Boomers when they were young.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children are spending an average of 7 hours a day on entertainment media, including phones, electronic devices, and television.
Excessive screen time for young children increases the risk of attention and behavioral problems, poor sleep, anxiety, depression, aggression, and hyperactivity.
As childhood independence and free play have decreased over the decades, the percentage of children suffering from anxiety and depression has increased. The rates of teens with Major Depressive Disorder
and Generalized Anxiety Disorder
rose by at least 5-fold from 1950 to 1990.
Pediatric hospitalizations due to mental health increased by 25 percent between 2009 and 2019.
Early screen use has been found to lower academic performance.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services has prioritized reducing the amount of time that children spend on screens, citing it as a key health improvement priority.
In this Act, the term reasonable childhood independence activities has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note), as amended by section 6 of this Act.
sets forth the recommendations of the Secretary on how reasonable childhood independence activities can promote independence and resilience in American children;
sets forth recommendations for how child protective services and child welfare agencies could ease parental fear and anxiety and increase the ability and willingness of parents to allow children to participate in reasonable childhood independence activities without direct supervision; and
includes a review of whether the risk assessment protocols or the investigation or prosecutorial practices of State child welfare systems penalize, threaten, or deter parents who allow their children to participate in reasonable childhood independence activities, and sets forth recommendations to ensure that the protocols and practices support and empower parents who allow their children to participate in reasonable childhood independence activities.
Section 432(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629b(a)) is amended—
in paragraph (10), by striking and
after the semicolon;
in paragraph (11), by striking the period and inserting ; and
; and
by adding at the end the following:
Section 431(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
in paragraph (18), by striking and
after the semicolon;
in paragraph (19), by striking the period and inserting ; and
; and
by adding at the end the following:
Section 422(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 622(c)) is amended by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3) and inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
in paragraph (2), by inserting , and does not include a decision by a parent or caretaker to allow a child to participate in reasonable childhood independence activities, unless such a decision was the result of an unreasonable disregard of a foreseeable risk of serious harm
after presents an imminent risk of serious harm
;
by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (8) as paragraphs (7) through (9), respectively; and
by inserting after paragraph (5) the following new paragraph:
means activities that—
are carried out by a child, alone or with other children and without direct supervision by an adult or older child; and
a parent or caregiver reasonably believes are physically and developmentally appropriate for the child without such supervision; and
includes—
playing indoors or outdoors;
taking public transportation;
walking or bicycling to or from school or local commercial or recreational facilities;
running errands;
remaining at home or at any other safe and reasonable location for a reasonable period of time;
babysitting younger children; and
Section 106(a) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(a)) is amended—
in paragraph (4), by striking response;
and inserting response, and tools and protocols that ensure that risk and safety assessments account for the importance of reasonable childhood independence activities to a child’s healthy development, and make clear that allowing a child to participate in reasonable childhood independence activities is not child abuse or neglect and that allowing such participation does not justify child welfare system intervention, including separation of any child from the child’s parent or guardian;
;
in paragraph (8), by striking neglect;
and inserting neglect, including strategies and training protocols that ensure such individuals understand the importance of reasonable childhood independence activities to a child’s healthy development, and understand that allowing a child to participate in reasonable childhood independence activities is not child abuse or neglect and that allowing such participation does not justify child welfare system intervention, including separation of any child from the child’s parent or guardian;
; and
in paragraph (10), by striking response;
and inserting response, and helping the public better understand that a parent or guardian allowing a child to participate in reasonable childhood independence activities is not child abuse or neglect and that allowing such participation does not justify child welfare system intervention, including separation of any child from the child’s parent or guardian;
.
Section 106(b)(2)(B) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)(2)(B)) is amended—
in clause (xxiv), by striking and
after the semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following:
assurances and protections to ensure that parents and legal guardians may allow a child to participate in reasonable childhood independence activities without fear or threat of criminal or civil charges, custody assessments or investigations, mandated services, child abuse registry, or accusations of child abuse or neglect solely because the parent or legal guardian allows their child to participate in reasonable childhood independence activities; and
provisions and procedures for training child protective services workers, caseworkers, and other employees or contractual agents of child welfare agencies about the importance of reasonable childhood independence activities to a child’s healthy development, and to understand that a parent or legal guardian allowing a child to participate in reasonable childhood independence activities is not cause to suspect child abuse or neglect and that such activities do not justify the separation of any child from the child’s parent or legal guardian;