New CARE Act Defines 'Cottage Family Homes,' Mandates No Prone Restraint in Foster Care

The new Create Accountable Respectful Environments (CARE) for Children Act is a big deal for the foster care system because it officially recognizes and funds a specific type of placement called a “cottage family home.” Think of this as the federal government deciding that certain small, highly regulated group homes can now get the same maintenance payments as traditional foster families, provided they meet a strict set of rules laid out in Section 2.

This isn't just a paperwork change; it's about setting a new standard for care. These cottage homes must be run by an agency and staffed by live-in parents using the "reasonable and prudent parent standard." Crucially, the bill removes the time limit on federal payments for children placed in these homes, providing financial stability for providers and continuity for the kids. States now must include this option in their foster care plans, although the bill allows states flexibility in how they define and approve these homes without federal penalty.

The Fine Print on Safety and Family Ties

The most impactful part of the CARE Act is the non-negotiable list of requirements for these cottage homes, all designed to make them feel more like actual homes and less like institutions. For instance, the residence must look like a single-family house, and generally, no more than two children can share a bedroom. This moves away from the institutional feel that often plagues larger group settings. More importantly, the bill focuses heavily on keeping kids connected to their roots and their siblings.

Under the new rules, these homes must actively support the child and their birth family to stay connected through regular contact, unless a court specifically forbids it. They also have to be set up to keep sibling groups together if it strengthens their family bonds. If you're a parent trying to maintain contact with your child in the system, this provision, found in Section 2, is a clear mandate for the placement agency to work with you, not against you.

No Prone Restraint: A Major Shift in Safety

For anyone concerned about child safety in care facilities, the bill includes a clear, hard line: cottage family homes cannot use seclusion, chemical, or mechanical restraints. Furthermore, they are absolutely prohibited from using prone physical restraint (restraining someone face down). Physical restraint is only allowed for very short periods to stop immediate harm, and only if the agency policies approve it.

This is a significant safety upgrade. While the allowance for physical restraint to stop immediate harm is somewhat vague—lacking specific time limits—the outright ban on prone restraint is a clear step toward more humane, trauma-informed care. The bill also mandates that every home must have a clear system allowing a child to quickly report concerns, mistreatment, or unfair treatment to a staff member. They also need a quality improvement process that regularly asks the children living there what they think about the care they’re getting, putting the kids’ voices front and center.

Who Benefits and Who Pays?

Children in foster care, especially sibling groups, stand to benefit the most from these highly regulated, family-like settings. Agencies that already run high-quality, small-scale programs will now have guaranteed access to federal maintenance payments, stabilizing their finances. However, the new, strict operational standards—particularly the trauma-informed approach and the restraints ban—mean that any existing group homes looking to become “cottage family homes” will need to invest heavily in training and procedural changes to comply. For state and local governments, this means updating their administrative structures to oversee and certify these new types of placements, which could require new resources and administrative effort.