II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4982 

To establish the International Children with Disabilities Protection Program 

within the Department of State, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. MORAN, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. 

LEAHY, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. KAINE, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, Mr. MERKLEY, and Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish the International Children with Disabilities Protection Program within the Department of State, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Children 

5 with Disabilities Protection Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 4982 IS

1 (1) According to the United Nations Children’s 

2 Fund (UNICEF), there are at least 240,000,000 

3 children and youth with disabilities in the world, in4 cluding approximately 53,000,000 children under 

5 age 5. 

6 (2) Families and children with disabilities to7 gether make up nearly 2,000,000,000 people, or 25 

8 percent of the world’s population. 

9 (3) Millions of children, particularly children 

10 with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, 

11 are placed in large or small residential institutions 

12 and most of those children are left to grow up with13 out the love, support, and guidance of a family. The 

14 vast majority of children placed in residential insti15 tutions have at least one living parent or have ex16 tended family, many of whom would keep their chil17 dren at home if they had the support and legal pro18 tections necessary to do so. 

19 (4) As described in the 2013 world report pub20 lished by UNICEF, many parents who wish to keep 

21 their children with disabilities feel that they have no 

22 choice but to give up their child to a residential in23 stitution because of prejudice and stigma against 

24 disability, the lack of support and protection that 

25 families receive, and the fact that education and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 4982 IS

1 community services are often inaccessible or inap2 propriate for children with disabilities. 

3 (5) Extensive scientific research demonstrates 

4 that placing children in residential institutions may 

5 lead to psychological harm, increased developmental 

6 disabilities, stunted growth, rapid spread of infec7 tious diseases, and high rates of mortality. 

8 (6) Leading child protection organizations have 

9 documented that children and adolescents raised 

10 without families in residential institutions face high 

11 risk of violence, trafficking for forced labor or the 

12 sex industry, forced abortion or sterilization, and 

13 criminal detention. 

14 (7) The danger of family breakup and institu15 tionalization has grown enormously as a result of the 

16 COVID–19 pandemic. According to a study pub17 lished in The Lancet, as of February 2022, a min18 imum of 6,900,000 children globally have lost a par19 ent or co-residing caregiver to COVID–19 and are 

20 now at increased risk of placement in a residential 

21 institution. 

22 (8) The disability rights movement in the 

23 United States has been a world leader and an inspi24 ration to the growth of a global disability rights 

25 movement. The United States has many models of 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 4982 IS

1 practice that could be shared with countries around 

2 the world to support laws, policies, and services to 

3 promote the full inclusion of children with disabil4 ities in families around the world. 

5 (9) The Advancing Protection and Care for 

6 Children in Adversity strategy of the United States 

7 Government (APCCA) and the Global Child Thrive 

8 Act of 2020 (subtitle I of title XII of division A of 

9 Public Law 116–283; 134 Stat. 3985) commit the 

10 United States Government to investing in the devel11 opment, care, dignity, and safety of vulnerable chil12 dren and their families around the world, including 

13 efforts to keep children with their families and re14 duce placement of children in residential institutions. 

15 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

16 It is the sense of Congress that— 

17 (1) stigma and discrimination against children 

18 with disabilities, particularly intellectual and other 

19 developmental disabilities, and lack of support for 

20 community inclusion have left people with disabilities 

21 and their families economically and socially 

22 marginalized; 

23 (2) organizations of persons with disabilities 

24 and family members of persons with disabilities are 

25 often too small to apply for or obtain funds from doVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 Oct 07, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4982.IS S4982

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 4982 IS

1 mestic or international sources or ineligible to re2 ceive funds from such sources; 

3 (3) as a result of the factors described in para4 graphs (1) and (2), key stakeholders have often been 

5 left out of public policymaking on matters that af6 fect children with disabilities; and 

7 (4) financial support, technical assistance, and 

8 active engagement of people with disabilities and 

9 their families is needed to ensure the development of 

10 effective policies that protect families and ensure the 

11 full inclusion in society of children with disabilities. 

12 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

15 means the Department of State. 

16 (2) FAMILY.—The term ‘‘family’’ includes mar17 ried and unmarried parents, single parents, adoptive 

18 families, kinship care, extended family, and foster 

19 care. 

20 (3) ORGANIZATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABIL21 ITIES.—The term ‘‘organization of persons with dis22 abilities’’ means a nongovernmental civil society or23 ganization with staff leadership and a board of di24 rectors the majority of which consists of— 

25 (A) people with disabilities; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 4982 IS

1 (B) individuals who were formerly placed 

2 in a residential institution; or 

3 (C) family members of children or youth 

4 with disabilities. 

5 (4) RESIDENTIAL INSTITUTION.—The term 

6 ‘‘residential institution’’— 

7 (A) means a facility where children live in 

8 a collective arrangement that is not family9 based and that— 

10 (i) may be public or privately man11 aged and staffed; 

12 (ii) may be small or large; and 

13 (iii) may or may not be designated for 

14 children with disabilities; and 

15 (B) includes an orphanage, a children’s in16 stitution, a group home, an infant home, a chil17 dren’s village or cottage complex, a boarding 

18 school used primarily for care, and any other 

19 residential setting for children. 

20 SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

21 It is the policy of the United States to— 

22 (1) assist countries abroad in creating rights 

23 protection programs for people with disabilities and 

24 developing policies and social supports to ensure that 

25 children with disabilities can grow up as members of 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 4982 IS

1 families and make the transition to independent liv2 ing as adults; 

3 (2) promote the development of advocacy skills 

4 and leadership abilities of people with disabilities 

5 and family members of children and youth with dis6 abilities so that such individuals can effectively par7 ticipate in their local, regional, and national govern8 ments to promote policy reforms and programs to 

9 support full inclusion in families of children with dis10 abilities; 

11 (3) promote the development of laws and poli12 cies that— 

13 (A) strengthen families and protect against 

14 the unnecessary institutionalization of children 

15 with disabilities; and 

16 (B) create opportunities for youth with dis17 abilities to receive the resources and support 

18 needed to achieve their full potential; 

19 (4) promote participation by different groups of 

20 people with disabilities and their families in advo21 cating for disability rights and reforms to legal 

22 frameworks; and 

23 (5) promote the sustainable action needed to 

24 bring about changes in law, policy, and programs to 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 4982 IS

1 ensure full family inclusion of children with disabil2 ities. 

3 SEC. 6. INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES 

4 PROTECTION PROGRAM AND CAPACITY 

5 BUILDING. 

6 (a) INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

7 PROTECTION PROGRAM.— 

8 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—There is 

9 established within the Bureau of Democracy, 

10 Human Rights, and Labor of the Department a 

11 grant and capacity-building program to be known as 

12 the ‘‘International Children with Disabilities Protec13 tion Program’’ (in this section referred to as the 

14 ‘‘Program’’). 

15 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Program is 

16 to assist organizations of persons with disabilities 

17 and family members of children with disabilities in 

18 communicating about and advocating for policies 

19 that ensure the family inclusion and transition to 

20 independent living of children with disabilities to ad21 vance the policy described in section 5. 

22 (3) CRITERIA.—The Secretary of State, in con23 sultation with leading civil society groups with exper24 tise in global disability rights, shall establish criteria 

25 for— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•S 4982 IS

1 (A) applications for grants awarded under 

2 paragraph (4); and 

3 (B) the selection of— 

4 (i) the countries or regions targeted 

5 under the Program; 

6 (ii) priority activities funded through 

7 grants awarded under paragraph (4); and 

8 (iii) capacity-building needs of recipi9 ents of grants awarded under paragraph 

10 (4). 

11 (4) DISABILITY INCLUSION GRANTS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State 

13 may award grants to eligible implementing 

14 partners to administer grant amounts directly 

15 or through subgrants. 

16 (B) ELIGIBLE IMPLEMENTING PART17 NERS.—For purposes of this paragraph, an eli18 gible implementing partner is a nongovern19 mental organization or other civil society orga20 nization that— 

21 (i) has the capacity to administer 

22 grant amounts— 

23 (I) directly; or 

24 (II) through subgrants that can 

25 be effectively used by emerging new 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•S 4982 IS

1 organizations of persons with disabil2 ities; and 

3 (ii) has expertise in disability rights. 

4 (C) PRIORITY.—The Secretary of State 

5 shall prioritize awarding grants under this 

6 paragraph to eligible implementing partners 

7 with experience operating or administering sub8 grants in countries for which the Assistant Sec9 retary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, 

10 and Labor, in consultation with the United 

11 States Government Special Adviser and Senior 

12 Coordinator for the Administrator of the United 

13 States Agency for International Development 

14 on Children in Adversity, has determined that 

15 there are significant populations of children liv16 ing in residential institutions. 

17 (D) SUBGRANTS.—An eligible imple18 menting partner that receives a grant under 

19 this paragraph should seek to— 

20 (i) provide not less than 50 percent of 

21 the grant amount through subgrants to 

22 local organizations of persons with disabil23 ities and other nongovernmental organiza24 tions working in country to advance the 

25 policy described in section 5; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•S 4982 IS

1 (ii) provide, of any amount distributed 

2 pursuant to clause (i)— 

3 (I) 75 percent to organizations of 

4 persons with disabilities; and 

5 (II) 25 percent to other non6 governmental organizations. 

7 (b) CAPACITY-BUILDING PROGRAMS.—The Secretary 

8 of State is authorized to provide funds to nongovernmental 

9 organizations with expertise in capacity building and tech10 nical assistance to develop capacity-building programs 

11 to— 

12 (1) develop disability leaders, legislators, policy13 makers, and service providers to plan and implement 

14 programs to advance the policy described in section 

15 5; 

16 (2) build the advocacy capacity and knowledge 

17 of successful models of rights enforcement, family 

18 support, and disability inclusion among disability, 

19 youth, and allied civil society advocates, attorneys, 

20 and professionals to advance the policy described in 

21 section 5; 

22 (3) create online programs to train policy23 makers, activists, and other individuals on successful 

24 models of reform, services, and rights protection to 

25 ensure that children with disabilities can live and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•S 4982 IS

1 grow up with families and become full participants 

2 in society, which— 

3 (A) are available globally; 

4 (B) offer low cost or no-cost training ac5 cessible to persons with disabilities, family 

6 members of such persons, and other individuals 

7 with potential to offer future leadership in the 

8 advancement of the goals of family inclusion 

9 and rights protection for children with disabil10 ities; and 

11 (C) should be targeted to government pol12 icymakers, disability activists, and other poten13 tial allies and supporters among civil society 

14 groups; and 

15 (4) create study tours so activists and policy16 makers from abroad can observe and better under17 stand the operation of successful models of family 

18 and community inclusion and rights advocacy, in19 cluding exposing such activists and policymakers to 

20 models of good practice in the United States. 

21 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

23 appropriated to carry out this section amounts as 

24 follows: 

25 (A) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•S 4982 IS

1 (B) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

2 2025 through 2029. 

3 (2) CAPACITY-BUILDING AND TECHNICAL AS4 SISTANCE PROGRAMS.—Of the amounts authorized 

5 to be appropriated by paragraph (1), not less than 

6 $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and not less than 

7 $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

8 2029 are authorized to be available for capacity9 building and technical assistance programs to sup10 port disability rights leadership and to train and en11 gage policymakers, professionals, and allies in civil 

12 society organizations in foreign countries. 

13 SEC. 7. BRIEFINGS AND REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION. 

14 (a) ANNUAL BRIEFING REQUIRED.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than an16 nually through fiscal year 2029, the Secretary of 

17 State shall submit to the Committee on Health, 

18 Education, Labor, and Pensions, the Committee on 

19 Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Appropria20 tions of the Senate a briefing on— 

21 (A) the programs and activities carried out 

22 to advance the policy described in section 5; 

23 and 

24 (B) any broader work of the Department 

25 in advancing that policy. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•S 4982 IS

1 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each briefing required by 

2 paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to each 

3 program carried out under section 6— 

4 (A) the rationale for the country and pro5 gram selection; 

6 (B) the goals and objectives of the pro7 gram, and the kinds of participants in the ac8 tivities and programs supported; 

9 (C) a description of the types of technical 

10 assistance and capacity building provided; and 

11 (D) an identification of any gaps in fund12 ing or support needed to ensure full participa13 tion of organizations of persons with disabilities 

14 or inclusion of children with disabilities in the 

15 program. 

16 (b) REPORTS REQUIRED.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

18 once every 3 years through fiscal year 2029, the 

19 Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on 

20 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, the Com21 mittee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on 

22 Appropriations of the Senate a report on the mat23 ters described in subsection (a)(1). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•S 4982 IS

1 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by para2 graph (1) shall include the elements described in 

3 subsection (a)(2). 

4 (3) CONSULTATION.—In preparing each report 

5 required by paragraph (1), the Secretary of State 

6 shall consult with organizations of persons with dis7 abilities. 

8 SEC. 8. PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION AND 

9 ADVOCACY FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABIL10 ITIES. 

11 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PROGRAMMING AND

12 PROGRAMS.—It is the sense of Congress that— 

13 (1) all programming of the Department and the 

14 United States Agency for International Development 

15 related to childcare reform, improvement of health 

16 care systems, primary and secondary education, dis17 ability rights, and human rights should seek to be 

18 consistent with the policy described in section 5; and 

19 (2) programs of the Department and the 

20 United States Agency for International Development 

21 related to children, health care, and education— 

22 (A) should— 

23 (i) engage organizations of persons 

24 with disabilities in policymaking and pro25 gram implementation; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•S 4982 IS

1 (ii) support full inclusion of children 

2 with disabilities in families; and 

3 (B) should aim to avoid support for resi4 dential institutions for children with disabilities 

5 except in situations of conflict or emergency in 

6 a manner that protects family connections as 

7 described in subsection (b). 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CONFLICT AND EMER9 GENCIES.—It is the sense of Congress that— 

10 (1) programs of the Department and the 

11 United States Agency for International Development 

12 serving children in situations of conflict or emer13 gency, among displaced or refugee populations, or in 

14 natural disasters should seek to ensure that children 

15 with and without disabilities can maintain family 

16 ties; and 

17 (2) in situations of emergency, if children are 

18 separated from parents or have no family, every ef19 fort should be made to ensure that children are 

20 placed with extended family, in kinship care, or in 

21 a substitute family. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB