I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1534

To improve the ability of the child welfare system to prevent and respond 

to child abuse and place children in safe, loving, and permanent homes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 1, 2003

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. RANGEL, 

Mr. STARK, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. MCDERMOTT) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL

To improve the ability of the child welfare system to prevent 

and respond to child abuse and place children in safe, 

loving, and permanent homes.

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 ‘‘Child Protective Serv5 ices Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
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TITLE I—ENSURING CHILD SAFETY BY PAYING FOR 

PERFORMANCE 

Sec. 101. Grants and bonuses to improve State performance. 

Sec. 102. Report on enhanced data on child well-being. 

TITLE II—SUPPORTING QUALITY FRONT LINE WORKERS 

Sec. 201. Child welfare service quality improvement grants. 

Sec. 202. Increase in payment rate for States for expenditures for short term 

training of staff of certain child welfare agencies and court personnel. 

TITLE III—COMBATTING THE EFFECTS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE 

Sec. 301. Child protection/alcohol and drug partnerships for children. 

TITLE IV—INCREASING STATE FLEXIBILITY TO SERVE FAMILIES 

Sec. 401. State option to align eligibility for foster care maintenance payments 

and adoption assistance with TANF eligibility. 

Sec. 402. Kinship guardianship assistance payments for children. 

Sec. 403. Modifications relating to child welfare demonstration projects. 

TITLE V—ENSURING ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR PREVENTION 

AND ADOPTION ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 501. Ensuring adequate funding for prevention and adoption activities. 

TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE 

Sec. 601. Effective date.

1 TITLE I—ENSURING CHILD 

2 SAFETY BY PAYING FOR PER3 FORMANCE 

4 SEC. 101. GRANTS AND BONUSES TO IMPROVE STATE PER5 FORMANCE. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title IV of the Social 

7 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629–629i) is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘Subpart 3—Improving State Performance 

10 ‘‘SEC. 440. GRANTS AND BONUSES TO IMPROVE STATE PER11 FORMANCE. 

12 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State that is a quali2 fied State with respect to a fiscal year specified in 

3 paragraph (4) shall be entitled to receive from the 

4 Secretary a grant for the fiscal year in an amount 

5 equal to the amount described in paragraph (2). 

6 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of the 

7 grant payable to a State under paragraph (1) for a 

8 fiscal year shall be the amount that bears the same 

9 ratio to the total amount available for grants under 

10 paragraph (1) for the fiscal year as the number of 

11 children in the State who have not attained 18 years 

12 of age bears to the number of children in all quali13 fied States for the fiscal year. 

14 ‘‘(3) USE OF GRANT.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a 

16 grant is made under paragraph (1) of this sub17 section shall use the grant to carry out the cor18 rective action plan referred to in subsection 

19 (c)(1). 

20 ‘‘(B) CARRYOVER OF FUNDS.—A State to 

21 which a grant is made under paragraph (1) for 

22 a fiscal year may expend the grant in the fiscal 

23 year or the next fiscal year. 

24 ‘‘(C) NO SUPPLANTATION.—A State to 

25 which a grant is made under paragraph (1) 
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1 shall use the grant to supplement and not sup2 plant any Federal, State, or local funds used 

3 for child welfare services or child welfare train4 ing. 

5 ‘‘(4) REALLOTMENT OF UNEXPENDED

6 FUNDS.—To the extent that a grant made under 

7 paragraph (1) is not expended by the grantee during 

8 the time provided by paragraph (3)(B), the grantee 

9 shall remit the unexpended portion of the grant to 

10 the Secretary, who shall make the amount avail11 able—

12 ‘‘(A) if the next fiscal year is fiscal year 

13 2005, for grants under paragraph (1) for fiscal 

14 year 2005; or 

15 ‘‘(B) in any other case, for grants under 

16 subsection (b) for the then next fiscal year. 

17 ‘‘(5) APPROPRIATION.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Out of any money in 

19 the Treasury of the United States not otherwise 

20 appropriated, there are appropriated to carry 

21 out this subsection $100,000,000 for each of 

22 fiscal years 2004 and 2005. 

23 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—The amounts appro24 priated by subparagraph (A) shall remain avail25 able for grants under this subsection through 
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1 fiscal year 2005. Any amount so appropriated 

2 that remains unexpended by the Secretary at 

3 the end of fiscal year 2005 shall be available for 

4 expenditure under subsection (b) through fiscal 

5 year 2008. 

6 ‘‘(b) BONUSES.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State that is a quali8 fied State with respect to a fiscal year specified in 

9 paragraph (4) shall be entitled to received from the 

10 Secretary a bonus for the fiscal year in an amount 

11 equal to the amount described in paragraph (2), if 

12 the Secretary determines that, in the preceding fis13 cal year, the State made significant progress in 

14 achieving the goals of the corrective action plan re15 ferred to in subsection (c)(1). 

16 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of the 

17 bonus payable to a State under paragraph (1) for a 

18 fiscal year shall be the amount that bears the same 

19 ratio to the total amount available for grants under 

20 paragraph (1) for the fiscal year as the number of

21 children in the State who have not attained 18 years 

22 of age bears to the number of such children in all 

23 qualified States to which a bonus is so payable for 

24 the fiscal year. 

25 ‘‘(3) USE OF GRANT.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a 

2 grant is made under paragraph (1) of this sub3 section shall use the grant to carry out the cor4 rective action plan referred to in subsection 

5 (c)(1). 

6 ‘‘(B) CARRYOVER OF FUNDS.—A State to 

7 which a grant is made under paragraph (1) for 

8 a fiscal year may expend the grant in the fiscal 

9 year or the next fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(C) NO SUPPLANTATION.—A State to 

11 which a grant is made under paragraph (1) 

12 shall use the grant to supplement and not sup13 plant any Federal, State, or local funds used 

14 for child welfare services or child welfare train15 ing. 

16 ‘‘(4) REALLOTMENT OF UNEXPENDED

17 FUNDS.—To the extent that a grant made under 

18 paragraph (1) is not expended by the grantee during 

19 the time provided by paragraph (3)(B), the grantee 

20 shall remit the unexpended portion of the grant to 

21 the Secretary, who shall make the amount available 

22 for grants under paragraph (1) for the then next fis23 cal year. 

24 ‘‘(5) APPROPRIATION.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Out of any money in 

2 the Treasury of the United States not otherwise 

3 appropriated, there are appropriated to carry 

4 out this subsection $100,000,000 for each of 

5 fiscal years 2006 through 2008. 

6 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—The amounts appro7 priated by subparagraph (A) shall remain avail8 able for grants under this subsection through 

9 fiscal year 2008. 

10 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED STATE.—In this section, the 

12 term ‘qualified State’ means, with respect to a fiscal 

13 year, a State that—

14 ‘‘(A) has in effect during the fiscal year a 

15 corrective action plan approved under section 

16 1123A(b)(4); and 

17 ‘‘(B) has submitted to the Secretary a doc18 ument which describes the efforts that were 

19 made by the State to develop community in20 volvement in establishing the corrective action 

21 plan. 

22 ‘‘(2) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

23 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 

24 Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, American 

25 Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.’’. 
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1 SEC. 102. REPORT ON ENHANCED DATA ON CHILD WELL2 BEING. 

3 Not later than October 2004, the Secretary of Health 

4 and Human Services shall provide to the Congress rec5 ommendations on improving the quality and usefulness of 

6 data being collected through the Adoption and Foster 

7 Care Analysis and Reporting System (in this section re8 ferred to as ‘‘AFCARS’’). The Secretary should develop 

9 the recommendations in consultation with State agencies 

10 which have functions related to child welfare and with ex11 perts in fields related to child welfare. In developing the 

12 recommendations, the Secretary shall consider modifying 

13 AFCARS to include the collection and analysis of longitu14 dinal data, as well as entry and exit cohort analysis, and 

15 a measure of adoption disruption. 

16 TITLE II—SUPPORTING QUALITY 

17 FRONT LINE WORKERS 

18 SEC. 201. CHILD WELFARE SERVICE QUALITY IMPROVE19 MENT GRANTS. 

20 Part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 620–629i) is further amended by adding at the end 

22 the following: 
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1 ‘‘Subpart 4—Supporting Quality Front Line Workers 

2 ‘‘SEC. 440A. CHILD WELFARE SERVICE QUALITY IMPROVE3 MENT GRANTS. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

5 the Administration of Children and Families, shall make 

6 grants to States to improve the quality of child welfare 

7 services by increasing the quality and capacity of their 

8 child welfare workforce or by increasing the coordination 

9 of their child welfare services. 

10 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) CONTENTS.—A State desiring to receive a 

12 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec13 retary an application that includes the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) PLAN.—A detailed description of how 

15 the State would use the grant, during the 5-

16 year period beginning with the date the grant 

17 is received, to improve working conditions of 

18 child welfare workers in any agency providing a 

19 service under the State plan approved under 

20 subpart 1 or 2 of part B or part E in 1 or more 

21 ways described in paragraph (2), and an expla22 nation of how doing so would help the State 

23 achieve the outcomes set forth in the Final List 

24 of Child Welfare Outcomes and Measures (64 

25 Fed. Reg. 45552–45554). 
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1 ‘‘(B) BASELINE DATA ON STATE-SE2 LECTED INDICATORS.—The information de3 scribed in those subparagraphs of paragraph 

4 (3) which describe the indicators that the State 

5 intends to improve on using the grant, with re6 spect to all child welfare agencies in the State 

7 for the fiscal year preceding the first fiscal year 

8 for which the grant is requested. 

9 ‘‘(C) BUDGET.—A budget showing how the 

10 State would expend funds (including any grant 

11 funds provided under this section) for child wel12 fare services or the improvement of the services. 

13 ‘‘(2) WAYS TO IMPROVE WORKING CONDI14 TIONS.—The ways described in this paragraph to 

15 improve working conditions of child welfare workers 

16 are the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) Increase the wages of supervisory and 

18 nonsupervisory child welfare workers.

19 ‘‘(B) Increase the number of State super20 visory and nonsupervisory staff working on 

21 strengthening and preserving families and im22 proving child well-being, permanency, and safe23 ty. 

24 ‘‘(C) Reduce the turnover rate for super25 visory and nonsupervisory child welfare workers 
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1 in the State, and the number of supervisory and 

2 nonsupervisory staff vacancies in child welfare 

3 agencies. 

4 ‘‘(D) Improve the formal education and 

5 training of supervisory and nonsupervisory child 

6 welfare workers. 

7 ‘‘(E) Increase the number of supervisory 

8 and nonsupervisory child welfare workers who 

9 have graduated from an institution of higher 

10 education in such fields of study as the Sec11 retary determines are related to the delivery of 

12 child welfare services. 

13 ‘‘(F) Coordinate training, recruitment, and 

14 retention strategies for child welfare workers. 

15 ‘‘(G) Provide educational scholarships for 

16 fields of study relevant to the purposes of parts 

17 B and E in return for substantial service. 

18 ‘‘(H) Implement strategies to increase the 

19 safety of child welfare workers. 

20 ‘‘(I) Enable the State child welfare agen21 cies to coordinate the provision of services with 

22 State and local health care agencies, State and 

23 local alcohol and drug abuse prevention and 

24 treatment agencies, State and local mental 

25 health agencies, State and local housing agen-
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1 cies, State and local agencies administering the 

2 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families pro3 gram, and other welfare agencies to promote 

4 child safety, permanence, and family stability. 

5 ‘‘(J) Provide training to improve the abil6 ity of child welfare workers to include and in7 volve families in planning decisions for children 

8 served by State child welfare agencies. 

9 ‘‘(3) DESCRIPTION OF BASELINE DATA.—The 

10 data described in this paragraph are the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) The average salary of supervisory 

12 child welfare workers, and of nonsupervisory 

13 child welfare workers. 

14 ‘‘(B) The average number of children or 

15 families, per caseworker—

16 ‘‘(i) for caseworkers who provide serv17 ices for abused or neglected children and 

18 their families; 

19 ‘‘(ii) for caseworkers who provide 

20 services to strengthen and preserve fami21 lies with children; 

22 ‘‘(iii) for caseworkers who provide 

23 adoption services; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) for caseworkers who provide 

25 family foster care services. 
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1 ‘‘(C) The total number of vacancies in su2 pervisory staff positions and in nonsupervisory 

3 staff positions, and each such number expressed 

4 as a percentage of each type of staff position. 

5 ‘‘(D) The average rate at which super6 visory child welfare workers left employment, 

7 and at which nonsupervisory child welfare work8 ers left employment. 

9 ‘‘(E) The average duration of employment 

10 of supervisory child welfare workers and of non11 supervisory child welfare workers. 

12 ‘‘(F) The total number and percentage of 

13 supervisory child welfare workers and of non14 supervisory child welfare workers who have re15 ceived a bachelor’s or more advanced degree 

16 from an institution of higher education, in the 

17 aggregate, and broken down by field of study. 

18 ‘‘(G) The average number of staff for 

19 whom supervisory child welfare workers are re20 sponsible. 

21 ‘‘(H) The range and scope of pre-service 

22 and in-service training opportunities, including 

23 numbers and percentage of supervisory child 

24 welfare staff and of nonsupervisory child wel25 fare staff engaged in training programs. 
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1 ‘‘(I) The number and severity of injuries 

2 and threats to child welfare workers, and the 

3 strategies used to address the safety of child 

4 welfare workers. 

5 ‘‘(J) Data that indicates whether families 

6 and children received support services (such as 

7 mental and physical health care, food stamps, 

8 affordable housing, and substance abuse pre9 vention and treatment) needed to create a sta10 ble home environment. 

11 ‘‘(K) Such other indicators as the Sec12 retary may by regulation prescribe. 

13 ‘‘(4) AMENDMENT OF APPLICATIONS.—A State 

14 may at any time submit to the Secretary an amend15 ment to the application of the State under this sub16 section. On approval of such an amendment, the ap17 plication shall be considered to include the amend18 ment. 

19 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On certification by the Sec21 retary that a State application for a grant under 

22 this section meets the requirements of subsection (b) 

23 and that implementing the activities described in the 

24 application would help the State achieve some of the 

25 outcomes set forth in the Final List of Child Welfare 
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1 Outcomes and Measures (64 Fed. Reg. 45552–

2 45554), and on approval by the Secretary of the ap3 plication, the State shall be eligible to receive a 

4 grant under this section for each fiscal year for 

5 which funds are available for such a grant. 

6 ‘‘(2) GRANT AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall 

7 make a grant to each State that is eligible to receive 

8 a grant under this section for a fiscal year, in an 

9 amount equal to the lesser of—

10 ‘‘(A) the amount finally allotted to or re11 served for the State under this subsection for 

12 the fiscal year; or 

13 ‘‘(B) 3 times the amount that the State 

14 has committed to spend to carry out the activi15 ties described in the approved application.

16 ‘‘(3) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—

17 ‘‘(A) PUERTO RICO.—The Secretary shall 

18 reserve 1.75 percent of the funds appropriated 

19 pursuant to subsection (j) for each fiscal year, 

20 for a grant to Puerto Rico under this section 

21 for the fiscal year. If, for a fiscal year, Puerto 

22 Rico does not submit to the Secretary an appli23 cation that meets the requirements of sub24 section (b), the funds so reserved shall be avail25 able for allotment under paragraph (4) of this 
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1 subsection for the succeeding fiscal year or (if 

2 the succeeding fiscal year is fiscal year 2009) 

3 remitted to the Treasury of the United States. 

4 ‘‘(B) OTHER TERRITORIES.—The Sec5 retary shall reserve 0.3 percent of the funds ap6 propriated pursuant to subsection (j) for each 

7 fiscal year, for grants among the United States 

8 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and 

9 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is10 lands under this section in such amounts as the 

11 Secretary deems appropriate for the fiscal year. 

12 If, for a fiscal year, none of such territories 

13 submits to the Secretary an application that 

14 meets the requirements of subsection (b), the 

15 funds so reserved shall be available for allot16 ment under paragraph (4) of this subsection for 

17 the succeeding fiscal year or (if the succeeding 

18 fiscal year is fiscal year 2009) remitted to the 

19 Treasury of the United States. 

20 ‘‘(C) INDIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary shall 

21 reserve 2 percent of the funds appropriated 

22 pursuant to subsection (j) for each fiscal year, 

23 for grants among Indian tribes under this sec24 tion in such amounts as the Secretary deems 

25 appropriate for the fiscal year. If, for a fiscal 
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1 year, the Secretary does not receive from any 

2 Indian tribe an application that meets the re3 quirements of subsection (b), the funds so re4 served shall be available for allotment under 

5 paragraph (4) of this subsection for the suc6 ceeding fiscal year or (if the succeeding fiscal 

7 year is fiscal year 2009) remitted to the Treas8 ury of the United States. 

9 ‘‘(D) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EVAL10 UATIONS.—The Secretary shall reserve 0.7 per11 cent of the funds appropriated pursuant to sub12 section (j) for each fiscal year, to pay the costs 

13 of providing technical assistance and conducting 

14 evaluations under this section. 

15 ‘‘(4) ALLOTMENTS.—

16 ‘‘(A) INITIAL ALLOTMENT.—From the 

17 amount available to carry out this section for a 

18 fiscal year that remains after applying para19 graph (3) for the fiscal year (including any 

20 amount available for allotment under this para21 graph for the fiscal year after applying para22 graph (3) for the preceding fiscal year), the 

23 Secretary shall initially allot to each State not 

24 described in paragraph (3) for a fiscal year an 

25 amount that bears the same ratio to the re-
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1 maining amount as the number of individuals 

2 who reside in the State and have not attained 

3 18 years of age bears to the total number of 

4 such individuals in all States not described in 

5 paragraph (3) that are eligible for a grant 

6 under this section for such most recent fiscal 

7 year. 

8 ‘‘(B) FINAL ALLOTMENT.—The Secretary 

9 shall reduce the amount initially allotted to 

10 each State with an initial allotment under sub11 paragraph (A) of more than $300,000, on a pro 

12 rata basis, to the extent necessary to ensure 

13 that the amount finally allotted to each such 

14 State is not less than $300,000. 

15 ‘‘(d) USE OF GRANT.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a grant 

17 is made under this section shall use the grant in ac18 cordance with the approved application for the 

19 grant. 

20 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—A State that 

21 receives funds under this section shall remit to the 

22 Secretary any of such funds that remain unexpended 

23 by the State at the end of the 2-year period that be24 gins with the date of the receipt. 
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1 ‘‘(3) NO SUPPLANTATION.—A State to which a 

2 grant is made under this section shall use the grant 

3 to supplement and not supplant any Federal, State, 

4 or local funds used for child welfare services or child 

5 welfare training. 

6 ‘‘(e) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall monitor the 

7 activities of grantees under this section to ensure compli8 ance with this section and any State plan of the grantee 

9 under subpart 1. 

10 ‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

11 provide technical assistance to any grantee to assist the 

12 grantee in improving the quality of child welfare services, 

13 including strategies to recruit, train, and retain high qual14 ity staff, and in complying with the provisions of law re15 ferred to in subsection (e). 

16 ‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines 

18 that, during a fiscal year, a grantee under this sec19 tion has not complied with a requirement of this 

20 Act, the Secretary may—

21 ‘‘(A) in the case of the 1st such determina22 tion of noncompliance, reduce by not less than 

23 5 percent the amount of the grant otherwise 

24 payable to the grantee under this section for 

25 the fiscal year; 
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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of the 2nd such deter2 mination of noncompliance, reduce by not less 

3 than 25 percent the amount of the grant other4 wise payable to the grantee under this section 

5 for the fiscal year; and 

6 ‘‘(C) in the case of the 3rd or any subse7 quent such determination of noncompliance, 

8 withhold the payment of a grant to the grantee 

9 under this section for any succeeding fiscal 

10 year, notwithstanding subsection (c). 

11 ‘‘(2) RECOVERY.—In the case of a determina12 tion under paragraph (1) of grantee noncompliance, 

13 to the extent that a penalty cannot be imposed 

14 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall require the 

15 grantee to remit to the Secretary the amount of the 

16 penalty not able to be so imposed.

17 ‘‘(h) EVALUATION.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 

19 30, 2006, the Secretary shall conduct an interim 

20 evaluation to determine whether the grantees under 

21 this section have improved the provision of child wel22 fare services beyond the level reflected in the base23 line data set forth in the applications submitted by 

24 the grantees under this section. 
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1 ‘‘(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than Sep2 tember 30, 2008, the Secretary shall submit to the 

3 Congress a written report that contains the final 

4 evaluation of the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

6 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this 

7 section, including regulations, developed in consultation 

8 with the States, governing how to obtain the baseline data 

9 described in subsection (b)(3). 

10 ‘‘(j) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money in the 

11 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 

12 there are appropriated to the Secretary not more than 

13 $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008 

14 to carry out this section. 

15 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) ALASKA NATIVE ORGANIZATION.—The 

17 term ‘Alaska Native Organization’ means any orga18 nized group of Alaska Natives eligible to operate a 

19 Federal program under the Indian Self-Determina20 tion Act (25 U.S.C. 450f et seq.) or the designee of 

21 such a group. 

22 ‘‘(2) CHILD WELFARE AGENCY.—The term 

23 ‘child welfare agency’ means the State agency re24 sponsible for administering subpart 1, and any pub-
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1 lic or private agency under contract with the State 

2 agency to provide child welfare services. 

3 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

4 means any Indian tribe, band, Nation or other orga5 nized group or community of Indians, including any 

6 Alaska Native Organization, that is recognized as el7 igible for the special programs and services provided 

8 by the United States to Indians because of their sta9 tus as Indians. 

10 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—

11 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965. 

14 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

15 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 

16 Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, American 

17 Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.’’. 

18 SEC. 202. INCREASE IN PAYMENT RATE FOR STATES FOR 

19 EXPENDITURES FOR SHORT TERM TRAINING 

20 OF STAFF OF CERTAIN CHILD WELFARE 

21 AGENCIES AND COURT PERSONNEL. 

22 Section 474(a)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 674(a)(3)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(B) 75 percent of so much of such ex2 penditures (including travel and per diem ex3 penses) as are for the short-term training of—

4 ‘‘(i) current or prospective foster or 

5 adoptive parents and the members of the 

6 staff of State-licensed or State-approved 

7 child care institutions providing care, or of 

8 State-licensed or State-approved child wel9 fare agencies providing services, to foster 

10 and adopted children receiving assistance 

11 under this part, 

12 ‘‘(ii) members of the staff of abuse 

13 and neglect courts, agency attorneys, attor14 neys representing children, parents, or 

15 guardians ad litem, or other court-ap16 pointed special advocates representing chil17 dren in proceedings of such courts, and 

18 ‘‘(iii) persons employed by State, 

19 local, or private nonprofit child-serving 

20 agencies that are working with the State 

21 or local agency administering the State 

22 plan under this part to keep children safe 

23 and provide permanent families for chil24 dren, 
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1 in ways that increase the ability of such current 

2 or prospective parents, guardians, staff mem3 bers, institutions, attorneys, advocates, and per4 sons to provide support and assistance to foster 

5 and adopted children, whether incurred directly 

6 by the State or by contract,’’. 

7 TITLE III—COMBATTING THE 

8 EFFECTS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE 

9 SEC. 301. CHILD PROTECTION/ALCOHOL AND DRUG PART10 NERSHIPS FOR CHILDREN. 

11 Part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 620–629i) is further amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘Subpart 5—Child Protection/Alcohol and Drug 

15 Partnerships For Children 

16 ‘‘SEC. 441. DEFINITIONS. 

17 ‘‘In this subpart: 

18 ‘‘(1) ALASKA NATIVE ORGANIZATION.—The 

19 term ‘Alaska Native Organization’ means any orga20 nized group of Alaska Natives eligible to operate a 

21 Federal program under the Indian Self-Determina22 tion Act (25 U.S.C. 450f et seq.) or the designee of 

23 such a group. 

24 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘administra2 tive costs’ means the costs for the general ad3 ministration of administrative activities, includ4 ing contract costs and all overhead costs. 

5 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—Such term does not in6 clude the direct costs of providing services and 

7 costs related to case management, training, 

8 technical assistance, evaluation, establishment, 

9 and operation of information systems, and such 

10 other similar costs that are also an integral 

11 part of service delivery. 

12 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term ‘eligible 

13 State’ means a State that submits a joint applica14 tion from the State agencies that—

15 ‘‘(A) includes a plan that meets the re16 quirements of section 443; and 

17 ‘‘(B) is approved by the Secretary for a 5-

18 year period after consultation with the Assist19 ant Secretary for the Administration for Chil20 dren and Families and the Administrator of the 

21 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

22 Administration.

23 ‘‘(4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

24 means any Indian tribe, band, Nation or other orga25 nized group or community of Indians, including any 
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1 Alaska Native Organization, that is recognized as el2 igible for the special programs and services provided 

3 by the United States to Indians because of their sta4 tus as Indians. 

5 ‘‘(5) STATE.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘State’ 

7 means each of the 50 States, the District of Co8 lumbia, and the territories described in sub9 paragraph (B). 

10 ‘‘(B) TERRITORIES.—

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The territories de12 scribed in this subparagraph are Puerto 

13 Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Is14 lands, American Samoa, and the Northern 

15 Mariana Islands. 

16 ‘‘(ii) AUTHORITY TO MODIFY RE17 QUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may modify 

18 the requirements of this subpart with re19 spect to a territory described in clause (i) 

20 to the extent necessary to allow the terri21 tory to conduct activities through funds 

22 provided under a grant made under this 

23 subpart. 

24 ‘‘(6) STATE AGENCIES.—The term ‘State agen25 cies’ means the State child welfare agency and the 
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1 unit of State government responsible for the admin2 istration of the substance abuse prevention and 

3 treatment block grant provided under subpart II of 

4 part B of title XIX of the Public Health Service Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 300x–21 et seq.). 

6 ‘‘(7) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘tribal 

7 organization’ means the recognized governing body 

8 of an Indian tribe. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 442. GRANTS TO PROMOTE CHILD PROTECTION/AL10 COHOL AND DRUG PARTNERSHIPS FOR CHIL11 DREN. 

12 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS.—The Sec13 retary shall award grants to eligible States and directly 

14 to Indian tribes in accordance with the requirements of 

15 this subpart for the purpose of promoting joint activities 

16 among Federal, State, and local public child welfare and 

17 alcohol and drug abuse prevention and treatment agencies 

18 (and among child welfare and alcohol and drug abuse pre19 vention and treatment agencies that are providing services 

20 to children in Indian tribes) that focus on families with 

21 alcohol or drug abuse problems who come to the attention 

22 of the child welfare system and are designed to—

23 ‘‘(1) increase the capacity of both the child wel24 fare system and the alcohol and drug abuse preven25 tion and treatment system to address comprehen-
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•HR 1534 IH 

1 sively and in a timely manner the needs of such fam2 ilies to improve child safety, family stability, and 

3 permanence; and 

4 ‘‘(2) promote recovery from alcohol and drug 

5 abuse problems. 

6 ‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 60 days after 

7 the date a joint application is submitted by the State agen8 cies or an application is submitted by an Indian tribe, the 

9 Secretary shall notify a State or Indian tribe that the ap10 plication has been approved or disapproved. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 443. PLAN REQUIREMENTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) CONTENTS.—Subject to subsection (c), the plan 

13 shall contain the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) A detailed description of how the State 

15 agencies will work jointly to implement a range of 

16 activities to meet the alcohol and drug abuse preven17 tion and treatment needs of families who come to 

18 the attention of the child welfare system and to pro19 mote child safety, permanence, and family stability. 

20 ‘‘(2) An assurance that the heads of the State 

21 agencies shall jointly administer the grant program 

22 funded under this subpart and a description of how 

23 they will do so. 

24 ‘‘(3) A description of the nature and extent of 

25 the problem of alcohol and drug abuse among fami-
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1 lies who come to the attention of the child welfare 

2 system in the State, and of any plans being imple3 mented to further identify and assess the extent of 

4 the problem. 

5 ‘‘(4) A description of any joint activities already 

6 being undertaken by the State agencies in the State 

7 on behalf of families with alcohol and drug abuse 

8 problems who come to the attention of the child wel9 fare system (including any existing data on the im10 pact of such joint activities) such as activities relat11 ing to—

12 ‘‘(A) the appropriate screening and assess13 ment of cases; 

14 ‘‘(B) consultation on cases involving alco15 hol and drug abuse; 

16 ‘‘(C) arrangements for addressing con17 fidentiality and sharing of information; 

18 ‘‘(D) cross training of staff; 

19 ‘‘(E) co-location of services; 

20 ‘‘(F) support for comprehensive treatment 

21 programs for parents and their children; and 

22 ‘‘(G) establishing priority of child welfare 

23 families for assessment or treatment. 

24 ‘‘(5)(A) A description of the joint activities to 

25 be funded in whole or in part with the funds pro-
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1 vided under the grant, including the sequencing of 

2 the activities proposed to be conducted under the 5-

3 year funding cycle and the goals to be achieved dur4 ing such funding cycle. The activities and goals shall 

5 be designed to improve the capacity of the State 

6 agencies to work jointly to improve child safety, fam7 ily stability, and permanence for children whose fam8 ilies come to the attention of the child welfare sys9 tem and to promote their parents’ recovery from al10 cohol and drug abuse. 

11 ‘‘(B) The description shall include a statement 

12 as to why the State agencies chose the specified ac13 tivities and goals. 

14 ‘‘(6) A description as to whether and how the 

15 joint activities described in paragraph (5), and other 

16 related activities funded with Federal funds, will ad17 dress some or all of the following practices and pro18 cedures:

19 ‘‘(A) Practices and procedures designed to 

20 appropriately—

21 ‘‘(i) identify alcohol and drug treat22 ment needs; 

23 ‘‘(ii) assess such needs; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) assess risks to the safety of a 

2 child and the need for permanency with re3 spect to the placement of a child; 

4 ‘‘(iv) enroll families in appropriate 

5 services and treatment in their commu6 nities; and 

7 ‘‘(v) regularly assess the progress of 

8 families receiving such treatment. 

9 ‘‘(B) Practices and procedures designed to 

10 provide comprehensive and timely individualized 

11 alcohol and drug abuse prevention and treat12 ment services for families who come to the at13 tention of the child welfare system that include 

14 a range of options that are available, accessible, 

15 and appropriate, and that may include the fol16 lowing components: 

17 ‘‘(i) Preventive and early intervention 

18 services for children of parents with alcohol 

19 and drug abuse problems that integrate al20 cohol and drug abuse prevention services 

21 with mental health and domestic violence 

22 services, and that recognize the mental, 

23 emotional, and developmental problems the 

24 children may experience. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) Prevention and early intervention 

2 services for parents at risk for alcohol and 

3 drug abuse problems. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Comprehensive home-based, out5 patient, and residential treatment options. 

6 ‘‘(iv) After-care support (both formal 

7 and informal) for families in recovery that 

8 promotes child safety and family stability. 

9 ‘‘(v) Services and supports that focus 

10 on parents, parents with their children, 

11 parents’ children, other family members, 

12 and parent-child interaction. 

13 ‘‘(C) Elimination of existing barriers to 

14 treatment and to child safety and permanence, 

15 such as difficulties in sharing information 

16 among agencies and differences between the 

17 values and treatment protocols of the different 

18 agencies. 

19 ‘‘(D) Effective engagement and retention 

20 strategies. 

21 ‘‘(E) Pre-service and in-service joint train22 ing of management and staff of child welfare 

23 and alcohol and drug abuse prevention and 

24 treatment agencies, and, where appropriate, 

25 judges and other court staff, to—
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•HR 1534 IH 

1 ‘‘(i) increase such individuals’ aware2 ness and understanding of alcohol and 

3 drug abuse and related child abuse and ne4 glect; 

5 ‘‘(ii) more accurately identify and 

6 screen alcohol and drug abuse and child 

7 abuse in families; 

8 ‘‘(iii) improve assessment skills of 

9 both child abuse and alcohol and drug 

10 abuse staff, including skills to assess risk 

11 to children’s safety; 

12 ‘‘(iv) increase staff knowledge of the 

13 services and resources that are available in 

14 such individuals’ communities and appro15 priate for such families; and 

16 ‘‘(v) increase awareness of the impor17 tance of permanence for children and the 

18 timelines for decision making regarding 

19 permanence in the child welfare system. 

20 ‘‘(7) A description of the jurisdictions in the 

21 State (including whether such jurisdictions are 

22 urban, suburban, or rural) where the joint activities 

23 will be provided, and the plans for expanding such 

24 activities to other parts of the State during the 5-

25 year funding cycle. 
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1 ‘‘(8) A description of the methods to be used in 

2 measuring progress toward the goals identified 

3 under paragraph (5), including how the State agen4 cies will jointly measure their performance in accord5 ance with section 446, and how remaining barriers 

6 to meeting the needs of families with alcohol or drug 

7 abuse problems who come to the attention of the 

8 child welfare system will be assessed. 

9 ‘‘(9) An assurance of the coordination, to the 

10 extent feasible and appropriate, of the activities 

11 funded under a grant made under this subpart with 

12 the services or benefits provided under other Federal 

13 or federally assisted programs that serve families 

14 with alcohol and drug abuse problems who come to 

15 the attention of the child welfare system, including 

16 health, mental health, domestic violence, housing, 

17 and employment programs, the temporary assistance 

18 to needy families program funded under part A of 

19 this title, other child welfare and alcohol and drug 

20 abuse prevention and treatment programs, and the 

21 courts. 

22 ‘‘(10) An assurance that not more than 10 per23 cent of expenditures under the plan for any fiscal 

24 year shall be for administrative costs. 
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1 ‘‘(11) An assurance that alcohol and drug 

2 treatment services provided at least in part with 

3 funds provided under a grant made under this sub4 part shall be licensed, certified, or otherwise ap5 proved by the appropriate State alcohol and drug 

6 abuse agencies, or in the case of an Indian tribe, by 

7 a State alcohol and drug abuse agency, the Indian 

8 Health Service, or other designated licensing agency. 

9 ‘‘(12) An assurance that Federal funds pro10 vided to the State under a grant made under this 

11 subpart will not be used to supplant Federal or non12 Federal funds for services and activities provided as 

13 of the date of the submission of the plan that assist 

14 families with alcohol and drug abuse problems who 

15 come to the attention of the child welfare system. 

16 ‘‘(13) A description of the input that was ob17 tained in the development of the plan, from case18 workers, community advocates, judges, and other 

19 agencies that serve families who come to the atten20 tion of the child welfare system.

21 ‘‘(b) AMENDMENTS.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible State or Indian 

23 tribe may amend, in whole or in part, its plan at any 

24 time through transmittal of a plan amendment. 
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1 ‘‘(2) 60-DAY APPROVAL DEADLINE.—A plan 

2 amendment is considered approved unless the Sec3 retary notifies an eligible State or Indian tribe in 

4 writing, within 60 days after receipt of the amend5 ment, that the amendment is disapproved (and the 

6 reasons for disapproval) or that specified additional 

7 information is needed. 

8 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATIONS BY INDIAN

9 TRIBES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible for 

11 a grant made under this subpart, an Indian tribe 

12 shall—

13 ‘‘(A) submit a plan to the Secretary that 

14 describes—

15 ‘‘(i) the activities the tribe will under16 take with both child welfare and alcohol 

17 and drug agencies that serve the tribe’s 

18 children to address the needs of families 

19 who come to the attention of the child wel20 fare agencies and have alcohol and drug 

21 problems; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) whether and how such activities 

23 address any of the practice and policy 

24 areas in subsection (a)(6); and 
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•HR 1534 IH 

1 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (2) of this sub2 section, meet the other requirements of sub3 section (a) unless, with respect to a specific re4 quirement of subsection (a), the Secretary de5 termines that it would be inappropriate to apply 

6 the requirement to an Indian tribe, taking into 

7 account the resources, needs, and other cir8 cumstances of the Indian tribe. 

9 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS; USE OF FEDERAL

10 FUNDS.—Paragraphs (10) and (12) of subsection 

11 (a) shall not apply to a plan submitted by an Indian 

12 tribe. The indirect cost rate agreement in effect for 

13 an Indian tribe shall apply with respect to adminis14 trative costs under the tribe’s plan. 

15 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY FOR INTERTRIBAL CONSOR16 TIUM.—The participating Indian tribes of an inter17 tribal consortium may develop and submit a single 

18 plan that meets the applicable requirements of sub19 section (a) (as so determined by the Secretary) and 

20 paragraph (1) of this subsection. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 444. APPROPRIATION; RESERVATION OF FUNDS. 

22 ‘‘(a) APPROPRIATION.—For the purpose of providing 

23 allotments to eligible States and Indian tribes under this 

24 subpart and research and training under subsection 
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1 (b)(3), there is appropriated out of any money in the 

2 Treasury not otherwise appropriated—

3 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2004, $100,000,000; 

4 ‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2005, $100,000,000; 

5 ‘‘(3) for fiscal year 2006, $150,000,000; 

6 ‘‘(4) for fiscal year 2007, $200,000,000; and 

7 ‘‘(5) for fiscal year 2008, $200,000,000. 

8 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—With respect to a 

9 fiscal year: 

10 ‘‘(1) TERRITORIES.—The Secretary shall re11 serve 2 percent of the amount appropriated under 

12 subsection (a) for such fiscal year for payments to 

13 Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Is14 lands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana 

15 Islands. 

16 ‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary shall re17 serve 2 percent of the amount appropriated under 

18 subsection (a) for such fiscal year for direct pay19 ments to Indian tribes and Indian tribal organiza20 tions for activities intended to increase the capacity 

21 of the Indian tribes and tribal organizations to ex22 pand treatment, services, and training to assist fam23 ilies with alcohol and drug abuse problems who come 

24 to the attention of the child welfare agencies. 
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•HR 1534 IH 

1 ‘‘(3) RESEARCH AND TRAINING.—The Sec2 retary shall reserve 1 percent of the amount appro3 priated under subsection (a) for such fiscal year for 

4 practice-based research on the effectiveness of var5 ious approaches for the screening, assessment, en6 gagement, treatment, retention, and monitoring of 

7 families with alcohol and drug abuse problems who 

8 come to the attention of the child welfare system. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 445. PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE STATES AND INDIAN 

10 TRIBES. 

11 ‘‘(a) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—

12 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE STATES OTHER THAN TERRI13 TORIES.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount ap15 propriated under section 444(a) for a fiscal 

16 year, after the reservation of funds required 

17 under section 444(b) for the fiscal year and 

18 subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this 

19 paragraph, the Secretary shall pay to each eligi20 ble State (after the Secretary has determined 

21 that the State has satisfied the matching re22 quirement under subsection (b) of this section) 

23 an amount that bears the same ratio to the 

24 amount so appropriated for the fiscal year as 

25 the number of children who have not attained 
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•HR 1534 IH 

1 18 years of age that reside in the eligible State 

2 bears to the total number of children who have 

3 not attained 18 years of age who reside in all 

4 eligible States for the fiscal year. 

5 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT.—In no case 

6 shall the amount of a payment to an eligible 

7 State for a fiscal year be less than an amount 

8 equal to 0.5 percent of the amount appropriated 

9 under section 444(a) for the fiscal year, after 

10 the reservation of funds required under section 

11 444(b). 

12 ‘‘(C) PRO RATA REDUCTIONS.—The Sec13 retary shall make pro rata reductions in the 

14 amounts of the allotments determined under 

15 subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year to the extent 

16 necessary to comply with subparagraph (B). 

17 ‘‘(2) TERRITORIES.—From the amounts re18 served under section 444(b)(1) for a fiscal year, the 

19 Secretary shall pay to each territory described in 

20 section 441(5)(B) with an approved plan that meets 

21 the requirements of section 443 (after the Secretary 

22 has determined that the territory has satisfied the 

23 matching requirement under subsection (b) of this

24 section) an amount that bears the same ratio to 

25 such amount for such fiscal year as the number of 
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•HR 1534 IH 

1 children under the age of 18 that reside in the terri2 tory bears to the total number of children under the 

3 age of 18 who reside in all such territories for such 

4 fiscal year. 

5 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBES OR TRIBAL ORGANIZA6 TIONS.—From the amount reserved under section 

7 444(b)(2) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall pay 

8 to each Indian tribe with an approved plan that 

9 meets the requirements of section 443(c) (after the 

10 Secretary has determined that the Indian tribe has 

11 satisfied the matching requirement under subsection 

12 (b) of this section) an amount that bears the same 

13 ratio to such reserved amount for such fiscal year as 

14 the number of children who have not attained 18 

15 years of age in the Indian tribe bears to the total 

16 number of such children in all Indian tribes with 

17 plans so approved for such fiscal year, as determined 

18 by the Secretary on the basis of the most current 

19 and reliable information available to the Secretary. 

20 For purposes of making the allocations required 

21 under the preceding sentence, an Indian tribe may 

22 submit data and other information that the tribe has 

23 on the number of Indian children who have not at24 tained 18 years of age for consideration by the Sec25 retary. 
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•HR 1534 IH 

1 ‘‘(b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive a grant 

3 under this subpart for a fiscal year, an eligible State 

4 or Indian tribe shall provide through non-Federal 

5 contributions the applicable percentage determined 

6 under paragraph (2) for such fiscal year of the costs 

7 of conducting activities funded in whole or in part 

8 with funds provided under the grant. Such contribu9 tions shall be paid jointly by the State agencies, in 

10 the case of an eligible State, or by an Indian tribe. 

11 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For purposes 

12 of paragraph (1), the applicable percentage for an 

13 eligible State or Indian tribe for a fiscal year is—

14 ‘‘(A) 15 percent, in the case of fiscal years 

15 2004 and 2005; 

16 ‘‘(B) 20 percent, in the case of fiscal years 

17 2006 and 2007; and 

18 ‘‘(C) 25 percent, in the case of fiscal year 

19 2008. 

20 ‘‘(3) SOURCE OF MATCH.—The non-Federal 

21 contributions required of an eligible State under this 

22 subsection may be in cash or in kind, fairly evalu23 ated, including plant, equipment, or services. The 

24 contributions may be made directly or through dona25 tions from public or private entities. Amounts pro-
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•HR 1534 IH 

1 vided by the Federal Government, or services as2 sisted or subsidized to any significant extent by the 

3 Federal Government may not be included in deter4 mining whether an eligible State has provided the 

5 applicable percentage of such contributions for a fis6 cal year. 

7 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds provided under a grant 

8 made under this subpart may only be used to carry out 

9 activities specified in the plan, as approved by the Sec10 retary. 

11 ‘‘(d) DEADLINE FOR REQUEST FOR PAYMENT.—An 

12 eligible State or Indian tribe shall apply to be paid funds 

13 under a grant made under this subpart not later than the 

14 beginning of the fourth quarter of a fiscal year or such 

15 funds shall be reallotted under subsection (f). 

16 ‘‘(e) CARRYOVER OF FUNDS.—Funds paid to an eli17 gible State or Indian tribe under a grant made under this 

18 subpart for a fiscal year may be expended in that fiscal 

19 year or the succeeding fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘(f) REALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.—

21 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE STATES.—In the case of an eli22 gible State that does not apply for funds allotted to 

23 the eligible State under a grant made under this 

24 subpart for a fiscal year within the time provided 

25 under subsection (d), or that does not expend such 
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•HR 1534 IH 

1 funds during the time provided under subsection (e), 

2 the funds which the eligible State would have been 

3 entitled to for such fiscal year shall be reallotted to 

4 1 or more other eligible States on the basis of each 

5 such State’s relative need for additional payments, 

6 as determined by the Secretary, after consultation 

7 with the Assistant Secretary for the Administration 

8 for Children and Families and the Administrator of 

9 the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

10 Administration. 

11 ‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBES.—In the case of an Indian 

12 tribe that does not expend funds allotted to the tribe 

13 during the time provided under subsection (e), the 

14 funds to which the Indian tribe would have been en15 titled to for such fiscal year shall be reallotted to the 

16 remaining Indian tribes that are implementing ap17 proved plans in amounts that are proportional to the 

18 percentage of Indian children in each such tribe who 

19 have not attained 18 years of age. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 446. PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY; REPORTS 

21 AND EVALUATIONS. 

22 ‘‘(a) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.—The Sec23 retary, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for the 

24 Administration for Children and Families, the Adminis25 trator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
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•HR 1534 IH 

1 Administration, Chief Executive Officers of a State or 

2 Territory, State legislators, State and local public officials 

3 responsible for administering child welfare and alcohol and 

4 drug abuse prevention and treatment programs, court 

5 staff, consumers of the services, and advocates for children 

6 and parents who come to the attention of the child welfare 

7 system, shall, within 12 months after the date of the en8 actment of this subpart, establish indicators that will be 

9 used to assess periodically the performance of eligible 

10 States and Indian tribes in using grant funds provided 

11 under this subpart to promote child safety, permanence, 

12 and well-being and recovery in families who come to the 

13 attention of the child welfare system. 

14 ‘‘(b) SECRETARIAL REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS.—

15 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORTS.—On the basis of re16 ports submitted under subsection (a), the Secretary, 

17 in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for the 

18 Administration for Children and Families and the 

19 Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental 

20 Health Services Administration, shall report annu21 ally, beginning on October 1, 2005, to the Com22 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep23 resentatives and the Committee on Finance of the

24 Senate on the joint activities conducted with funds 

25 provided under grants made under this subpart, the 
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•HR 1534 IH 

1 indicators that have been established, and the 

2 progress that has been made in addressing the needs 

3 of families with alcohol and drug abuse problems 

4 who come to the attention of the child welfare sys5 tem and in achieving the goals of child safety, per6 manence, and family stability. 

7 ‘‘(2) EVALUATIONS.—Not later than 6 months 

8 after the end of each 5-year funding cycle under this 

9 subpart, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 

10 committees described in paragraph (1) of this sub11 section that summarizes the results of the evalua12 tions conducted by eligible States and Indian tribes 

13 under subsection (a)(5)(B), as reported by such 

14 States and Indian tribes in accordance with subpara15 graphs (C) and (D) of subsection (a)(5). The Sec16 retary shall include in the report required under this 

17 paragraph recommendations for further legislative or 

18 administrative actions that are designed to assist 

19 children and families with alcohol and drug abuse 

20 problems who come to the attention of the child wel21 fare system.’’. 
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1 TITLE IV—INCREASING STATE 

2 FLEXIBILITY TO SERVE FAMI3 LIES 

4 SEC. 401. STATE OPTION TO ALIGN ELIGIBILITY FOR FOS5 TER CARE MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS AND 

6 ADOPTION ASSISTANCE WITH TANF ELIGI7 BILITY. 

8 (a) FOSTER CARE MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS.—Sec9 tion 472 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 672) is 

10 amended—

11 (1) in subsection (a)(4)(A), by inserting ‘‘, or at 

12 State option, assistance under the State program 

13 funded under part A (as in effect on December 31, 

14 2002),’’ after ‘‘1996)’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(i) A child shall be treated as meeting the require17 ment of section 472(a)(4)(A) only if the child meets the 

18 income and resource standards and methodologies for de19 termining eligibility for cash assistance in effect under the 

20 relevant State plan or program referred to in such section 

21 or, at State option, the standards and methodologies in 

22 effect as of the date of determining the eligibility.’’. 

23 (b) ADOPTION ASSISTANCE.—Section 473 of such 

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 673) is amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(B)(i), by inserting ‘‘, or 

2 at State option, assistance under the State program 

3 funded under part A (as in effect on December 31, 

4 2002),’’ after ‘‘1996)’’; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(7) A child shall be treated as meeting the require7 ment of section 473(a)(2)(B)(i) only if the child meets the 

8 income and resource standards and methodologies for de9 termining eligibility for cash assistance in effect under the 

10 relevant State plan or program referred to in such section 

11 or, at State option, the standards and methodologies in 

12 effect as of the date of determining the eligibility.’’. 

13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.—The amend14 ments made by this section shall take effect on the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to applica16 tions for benefits under State plans approved under part 

17 E of title IV of the Social Security Act that are submitted 

18 on or after such date. 

19 SEC. 402. KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS 

20 FOR CHILDREN. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part E of title IV of the Social 

22 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670–679b) is amended by insert23 ing after section 472 the following: 
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•HR 1534 IH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 472A. KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAY2 MENTS FOR CHILDREN. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State with a plan approved 

4 under this part may, at State option, enter into kinship 

5 guardianship assistance agreements to provide kinship 

6 guardianship assistance payments on behalf of children to 

7 grandparents and other relatives who have assumed legal 

8 guardianship (as defined in section 475(7)) of the children 

9 for whom they have cared as foster parents and for whom 

10 they have committed to care for on a permanent basis. 

11 ‘‘(b) KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE AGREE12 MENT.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive pay14 ments under sectino 474(a)(5), a State shall—

15 ‘‘(A) negotiate and enter into a written, 

16 binding kinship guardianship assistance agree17 ment with the prospective relative guardian of 

18 a child who meets the requirements of this sub19 section; and 

20 ‘‘(B) provide the prospective relative 

21 guardian with a copy of the agreement. 

22 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The agree23 ment shall specify, at a minimum—

24 ‘‘(A) the amount of, and manner in which, 

25 each kinship guardianship assistance payment 

26 will be provided under the agreement; 
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1 ‘‘(B) the additional services and assistance 

2 that the child and relative guardian will be eli3 gible for under the agreement; 

4 ‘‘(C) the procedure by which the relative 

5 guardian may apply for additional services as 

6 needed, provided the agency and relative guard7 ian agree on the additional services as specified 

8 in the case plan; and 

9 ‘‘(D) subject to paragraph (4), that the 

10 State will pay the total cost of nonrecurring ex11 penses associated with obtaining legal guardian12 ship of the child. 

13 ‘‘(3) INTERSTATE APPLICATION.—The agree14 ment shall provide—

15 ‘‘(A) that the agreement shall remain in 

16 effect without regard to the State residency of 

17 the kinship guardian; and 

18 ‘‘(B) for the protection of the interests of 

19 the child in any case where the kinship guard20 ian and the child move to another State while 

21 the agreement is in effect. 

22 ‘‘(4) NO EFFECT ON FEDERAL REIMBURSE23 MENT.—Nothing in paragraph (2)(D) shall be con24 strued as affecting the ability of the State to obtain
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1 reimbursement from the Federal Government for 

2 costs described in that paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(c) KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAY4 MENT.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The kinship guardianship 

6 assistance payment shall be based on consideration 

7 of the needs of the relative guardian and of the child 

8 and shall be at least equal to the amount of the fos9 ter care maintenance payment for which the child 

10 would have been eligible if the child had remained in 

11 foster care. The payment may be readjusted periodi12 cally based on relevant changes in such needs. 

13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

15 subparagraph (B), no kinship guardianship as16 sistance payment may be made to a relative 

17 guardian for any child who has attained 18 

18 years of age. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—A kinship guardian20 ship assistance payment may be made to a rel21 ative guardian with respect to a child who—

22 ‘‘(i) is a full-time student in a sec23 ondary school or in the equivalent level of 

24 a vocational or technical training program 

25 and has not attained 19 years of age; or 
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1 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a child who the 

2 State determines has a mental or physical 

3 disability that warrants the continuation of 

4 assistance until the child attains 21 years 

5 of age. 

6 ‘‘(d) CHILD’S ELIGIBILITY FOR A KINSHIP GUARD7 IANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAYMENT.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A child is eligible for a kin9 ship guardianship assistance payment under this 

10 section if the State agency determines the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) The child has been—

12 ‘‘(i) removed from his or her home 

13 pursuant to a voluntary placement agree14 ment or as a result of a judicial determina15 tion to the effect that continuation in the 

16 home would be contrary to the welfare of 

17 the child; 

18 ‘‘(ii) under the care of the State agen19 cy for the 12-month period ending on the 

20 date of the agency determination; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) eligible for foster care mainte22 nance payments under section 472. 

23 ‘‘(B) Being returned home or adopted are 

24 not appropriate permanency options for the 

25 child. 
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1 ‘‘(C) The child demonstrates a strong at2 tachment to the prospective relative guardian 

3 and the relative guardian has a strong commit4 ment to caring permanently for the child. 

5 ‘‘(D) With respect to a child who has at6 tained 14 years of age, the child has been con7 sulted regarding the kinship guardianship ar8 rangement. 

9 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF SIBLINGS.—With respect 

10 to a child described in paragraph (1) whose sibling 

11 or siblings are not so described—

12 ‘‘(A) the child and any sibling of the child 

13 may be placed in the same kinship guardianship 

14 arrangement if the State agency and the rel15 ative agree on the appropriateness of the ar16 rangement for the siblings; and 

17 ‘‘(B) kinship guardianship assistance pay18 ments may be paid for the child and each sib19 ling so placed.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

21 (1) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 

22 471(a)(20) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘before the foster or adoptive 

24 parent may be finally approved for placement of a 

25 child on whose behalf foster care maintenance pay-
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1 ments or adoption assistance payments’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘or relative guardian before the foster or adop3 tive parent or relative guardian may be finally ap4 proved for placement of a child on whose behalf fos5 ter care maintenance payments, adoption assistance 

6 payments, or kinship guardianship assistance pay7 ments’’. 

8 (2) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—Section 474(a) of 

9 such Act (42 U.S.C. 674(a)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking the period at the end and insert11 ing ‘‘; plus’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(5) an amount equal to the Federal medical 

14 assistance percentage (as defined in section 1905(b) 

15 of the total amount expended during such quarter as 

16 kinship guardianship assistance payments under sec17 tion 472A pursuant to kinship guardianship assist18 ance agreements.’’. 

19 (3) DEFINITIONS.—Section 475(1) of such Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 675(1)) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(F) In the case of a child with respect to 

23 whom the permanency plan is placement with a 

24 relative and receipt of kinship guardianship as-
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1 sistance payments under section 472A, a de2 scription of— 

3 ‘‘(i) the steps that the agency has 

4 taken to determine that it is not appro5 priate for the child to be returned home or 

6 adopted; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the reasons why a permanent 

8 placement with a fit and willing relative 

9 through a kinship guardianship assistance 

10 arrangement is in the child’s best interests; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the ways in which the child 

12 meets the eligibility requirements for a kin13 ship guardianship assistance payment; 

14 ‘‘(iv) the efforts the agency has made 

15 to discuss adoption by the child’s relative 

16 foster parent as a more permanent alter17 native to legal guardianship and, in the 

18 case of a relative foster parent who has 

19 chosen not to pursue adoption, documenta20 tion of the reasons therefor; and 

21 ‘‘(v) the efforts made by the State 

22 agency to secure the consent of the child’s 

23 parent or parents to the kinship guardian24 ship assistance arrangement, or the rea25 sons why the efforts were not made.’’.
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1 SEC. 403. MODIFICATIONS RELATING TO CHILD WELFARE 

2 DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. 

3 (a) CONSIDERATION OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS

4 PROMOTING CHILD PROTECTION ARRANGEMENTS.—Sec5 tion 1130(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 1320a-9(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(D) If an appropriate application therefor 

9 is submitted, the Secretary shall consider au10 thorizing a demonstration project which is de11 signed to promote community partnerships for 

12 protecting children, including collaborative ar13 rangements between child welfare agencies and 

14 other public agencies or private organizations 

15 which address child abuse, mental health, early 

16 and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treat17 ment services, domestic violence, housing, edu18 cation, or early childhood activities.’’. 

19 (b) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO APPROVE DEM20 ONSTRATION PROJECTS.—Section 1130(a)(2) of such Act 

21 (42 U.S.C. 1320a-9(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘2002’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘2008’’. 

23 (c) ELIMINATION OF LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF

24 WAIVERS.—Section 1130(a)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 1320a-9(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘not more than 

26 10’’. 
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1 (d) ELIMINATION OF LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF

2 STATES THAT MAY BE GRANTED WAIVERS TO CONDUCT

3 DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS ON SAME TOPIC.—Section 

4 1130 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-9) is amended by add5 ing at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(h) NO LIMIT ON NUMBER OF STATES THAT MAY

7 BE GRANTED WAIVERS TO CONDUCT SAME OR SIMILAR

8 DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall not 

9 refuse to grant a waiver to a State under this section on 

10 the grounds that a purpose of the waiver or of the dem11 onstration project for which the waiver is necessary would 

12 be the same as or similar to a purpose of another waiver 

13 or project that is or may be conducted under this sec14 tion.’’. 

15 (e) ELIMINATION OF LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF

16 WAIVERS THAT MAY BE GRANTED TO A SINGLE STATE

17 FOR DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—Section 1130 of such 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-9) is further amended by adding 

19 at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) NO LIMIT ON NUMBER OF WAIVERS GRANTED

21 TO, OR DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS THAT MAY BE CON22 DUCTED BY, A SINGLE STATE.—The Secretary shall not 

23 impose any limit on the number of waivers that may be 

24 granted to a State, or the number of demonstration 
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1 projects that a State may be authorized to conduct, under 

2 this section.’’. 

3 (f) STREAMLINED PROCESS FOR CONSIDERATION OF

4 AMENDMENTS TO AND EXTENSIONS OF DEMONSTRATION

5 PROJECTS REQUIRING WAIVERS.—Section 1130 of such 

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-9) is further amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(j) STREAMLINED PROCESS FOR CONSIDERATION

9 OF AMENDMENTS AND EXTENSIONS.—The Secretary 

10 shall develop a streamlined process for consideration of 

11 amendments and extensions proposed by States to dem12 onstration projects conducted under this section.’’. 

13 (g) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—Section 1130 of 

14 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-9) is further amended by add15 ing at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(k) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—The Secretary 

17 shall make available to any State or other interested party 

18 any report provided to the Secretary under subsection 

19 (f)(2), and any evaluation or report made by the Secretary 

20 with respect to a demonstration project conducted under 

21 this section, with a focus on information that may promote 

22 best practices and program improvements.’’. 

23 (h) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 1130(b)(1) 

24 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-9(b)(1)) is amended by 

25 striking ‘‘422(b)(9)’’ and inserting ‘‘422(b)(10)’’. 
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1 TITLE V—ENSURING ADEQUATE 

2 FUNDING FOR PREVENTION 

3 AND ADOPTION ACTIVITIES 

4 SEC. 501. ENSURING ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR PREVEN5 TION AND ADOPTION ACTIVITIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 2 of part B of title IV 

7 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629–629i) is amend8 ed by striking sections 436 and 437 and inserting the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 436. APPROPRIATION; RESERVATION OF CERTAIN 

11 AMOUNTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money in the 

13 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 

14 there are appropriated to carry out this subpart 

15 $505,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008. 

16 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION OF CERTAIN AMOUNTS.—From 

17 the amount specified in subsection (a) for any fiscal year, 

18 the Secretary shall reserve amounts as follows: 

19 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION, RESEARCH, TRAINING, AND

20 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall re21 serve $12,600,000 for expenditure by the Sec22 retary—

23 ‘‘(A) for research, training, and technical 

24 assistance costs related to the program under 

25 this subpart; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) for evaluation of State programs 

2 based on the plans approved under section 432 

3 and funded under this subpart, and any other 

4 Federal, State, or local program, regardless of 

5 whether federally assisted, that is designed to 

6 achieve the same purposes as the State pro7 grams. 

8 ‘‘(2) STATE COURT IMPROVEMENTS.—The Sec9 retary shall reserve $16,600,000 for grants under 

10 section 437. 

11 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary shall re12 serve 2 percent for allotment to Indian tribes in ac13 cordance with section 433(a).’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such subpart is 

15 amended by redesignating sections 438 and 439 as sec16 tions 437 and 438, respectively. 

17 TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE 

18 SEC. 601. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

19 Except as provided in section 401(c), this Act shall 

20 take effect on October 1, 2003.

Æ