Each day, there are approximately 415,000 children in foster care in the United States, according to Children’s Rights. On average, kids remain in the system for two years, and 7% remain for five or more years. In 2014 alone, more than 22,000 people aged out of foster care without permanent families — something, Children’s Rights reports, leads to a greater chance of homelessness, unemployment, or incarceration.

The numbers and statistics are staggering, but one piece of legislation, the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2016, could change that, reducing the number of kids who enter foster care. But there’s a problem: One senator is blocking it from becoming a law. The bill, which was introduced in June of this year after nearly two years of work and negotiation, passed the House of Representatives unanimously almost immediately. It was later attached to the 21st Century Cures Act in order to make it through the Senate. Last week, North Carolina senator Richard Burr requested it be removed, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan obliged. On Monday, the Senate voted in favor of the Cures Act, without the inclusion of Family First. Now, as Congress prepares to close up shop for the year, the fate of this foster reform bill hangs in the balance. Here’s what you should know about it.

What would this bill do?

The main goal of the bill is to keep as many children out of foster care, and with their own families, as possible. As it currently stands, federal funding is granted for use by group homes and other foster care providers, after children are removed from their homes. It’s focused on caring for children after things like abuse and neglect occur, rather than preventing those things from happening in the first place. The Family First Prevention Services Act would change that by allowing states to use federal foster care funds to pay for things like mental health services, in-home parenting programs, support for relatives who assume caregiving responsibilities, and evidence-based substance abuse and opioid treatment; the latter of which would help fight the growing opioid epidemic that’s caused an influx in foster children.

“By focusing on the root of the problem and directing resources to preventive services, the Family First Prevention Services Act provides bipartisan solutions for families and children affected by the opioid addiction crisis,” Utah senator Orrin Hatch, who introduced the bill to the Senate along with Oregon senator Ron Wyden, said in a statement. “The bill also aims to reduce reliance on group homes for children by providing services that will keep families together.”

Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee that introduced the bill in the House, agreed. In a Ways and Means Committee press release, he said, “The Family First Prevention Services Act does exactly what the title suggests — it puts families first. The bill focuses on addressing problems in the home by delivering parents much-needed support, rather than sending a child straight into foster care. Most of all, it helps ensure our children grow up in strong communities and stable homes.”

Family First would also help children who are in the foster care system, by implementing better systems to place them with relatives or adoptive parents more quickly, and ensuring they’re placed in appropriate family settings. And for group homes that do want continued federal funding (which would be available for up to 5% of the foster care population per state, according to The Huffington Post), the bill would require they hire highly qualified staff to ensure the safety and well-being of the children in their care.