B 26-0399 Legislature · 26th Council Period (2025-2026)

Support, Opportunity, Unity, Legal Relationships (SOUL) Amendment Act of 2025

This bill (B 26-0399, SOUL Amendment Act of 2025) creates a new legal pathway for District of Columbia youth aged 16+ transitioning from foster care to adulthood. It allows youth to form a "Support Family" legal relationship with caring adults (caregivers/supporters) while maintaining existing family ties, without terminating birth parent rights. To establish this, youth must request it through court (via motion, affidavit, or legal counsel), and the court must approve it unless it’s deemed not in their best interest. The law outlines specific procedures for filing motions, creating support family agreements, and court oversight, with requirements for youth consent and court documentation. This directly affects foster youth in DC’s child welfare system aged 16+ who are in the care of the Agency.

Bill status signed all 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Oct 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Council Passage

Jun 2026

Signed into Law

Aug 2026

Introduced Oct 6, 2025 Signed Aug 28, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossment → Enrollment · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was finalized and enacted as the 'SOUL Amendment Act of 2026' (changing the year from 2025). It establishes a new permanency pathway for foster youth aged 16 to 20 to live with a 'SOUL Family' of caring adults without severing ties to their birth parents. The changes include clarifying that the youth must be under 21, expanding the definition of the Agency to include contractors, and adding a specific provision authorizing the agency to conduct background checks on potential caregivers.

Scope change

The bill now explicitly includes the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Act of 1977 to authorize background checks for adults in the new pathway, and the age eligibility for the youth is now strictly defined as 16 to under 21.

DEFINITION

The age range for eligible youth was updated from '16 and older' to '16 years of age or older, but less than 21 years of age'.

A new definition for 'Agency' was added to explicitly include contracted placement and service providers.

The definition of 'SOUL Family' was clarified to require at least one other caregiver or supporter, and the definition of 'SOUL Caregiver' was updated to specify they are not the birth parent.

REQUIREMENT

A new requirement was added to amend the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Act to authorize the agency to conduct background checks on adults in the SOUL pathway.

The process for selecting a SOUL plan was updated to require the signature of a guardian ad litem or stated interest attorney instead of just legal counsel.

TECHNICAL

The bill title year was changed from 2025 to 2026, and formatting inconsistencies in section headers were corrected.

Floor votes · Council Jun 2, 2026

How they voted

13–0

Passed

Total votes 13

Jun 2, 2026

D Democratic11

11 Yea

100% Yea

I Independent2

2 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jun 2, 2026

Council · Passed

Council Vote: pass (13-0)

council

Mar 26, 2026

Legislature · Passed

Committee Mark-up of B26-0399 by the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee

legislature

Jan 27, 2026

Legislature · Passed

Committee Mark-up of B26-0399 by the Youth Affairs Committee

legislature

Oct 7, 2025

Committee

Referred to Committee on Youth Affairs, and Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety

legislature

Oct 6, 2025

Introduced

B26-0399 Introduced by Councilmember Parker at Office of the Secretary

legislature

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors