I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3379 

To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to promote safe 

and permanent homes for foster children. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 21, 2005 

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 

to promote safe and permanent homes for foster children. 

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 ‘‘Stronger Families 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) By enacting the Adoption and Safe Families 

9 Act of 1997 (Public Law 105–89) and the Adoption 

10 Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (Public 
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1 Law 96–272), the Congress recognized the need to 

2 align Federal incentives with the desired goal of pro3 viding abused and neglected children safe, perma4 nent homes. 

5 (2) According to the nonpartisan Pew Commis6 sion on Children in Foster Care composed of former 

7 Members of Congress of both parties and other child 

8 welfare experts, between 1997 and 2002, adoptions 

9 increased by 64 percent, and each state, the District 

10 of Columbia, and Puerto Rico has earned an award 

11 for increasing adoptions. 

12 (3) Adoption represents only one avenue to per13 manency for children in the foster care system, af14 fecting only 9 percent of children in foster care in 

15 2003. Adoption is not a viable option for many chil16 dren in foster care. Children living with relatives are 

17 less likely to use adoption, and courts explicitly rule 

18 out this permanency option for thousands of children 

19 each year. 

20 (4) Moreover, adoption is not equally available 

21 to children of all races and ethnicities. African22 American children live in kinship care arrangements 

23 more than in other types of care arrangements and 

24 have a lower rate of adoption than other children, 
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1 making reunification and legal guardianship impor2 tant permanency options for this population. 

3 (5) Reunification and guardianship are central 

4 avenues by which any child in foster care may enter 

5 stable, caring homes. In 2002, 54 percent of chil6 dren in foster care were reunified with their parents 

7 and 4 percent obtained legal guardianship. 

8 (6) Moreover, Federal guidelines create a finan9 cial disincentive to legal guardianship because all 

10 Federal support ceases once guardianship is estab11 lished, presenting an overwhelming hardship for 

12 caretakers given the known health and mental health 

13 problems of children who have been in foster care. 

14 Research indicates that 30 to 40 percent of youth in 

15 foster care experience chronic medical problems. 

16 (7) To help meet the needs of foster children 

17 with special needs who are adopted, approximately 

18 $308 per month in Federal funds is provided to 

19 their adoptive families. The Federal Government 

20 pays approximately $383 per month to cover all 

21 adoption assistance program costs, including month22 ly payments to families, administration, and train23 ing. 

24 (8) Remaining in foster care when stable, per25 manent homes are available places unnecessary bur-
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1 dens on States, caseworkers, and families, requiring 

2 regular court appearances, quarterly case reviews, 

3 monthly caseworker visits, and government involve4 ment in routine family activities and decisions. 

5 SEC. 3. PERMANENCY INCENTIVE PAYMENTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 473A of the Social Secu7 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 673a) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 473A. PERMANENCY INCENTIVE PAYMENTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—Subject to the availability 

10 of such amounts as may be provided in advance in appro11 priations Acts for this purpose, the Secretary shall make 

12 a grant to each State that is an incentive-eligible State 

13 for a fiscal year in an amount equal to the permanency 

14 incentive payment payable to the State under this section 

15 for the fiscal year, which shall be payable in the imme16 diately succeeding fiscal year. 

17 ‘‘(b) INCENTIVE-ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State is an in18 centive-eligible State for a fiscal year if— 

19 ‘‘(1) the State has a plan approved under this 

20 part for the fiscal year; 

21 ‘‘(2)(A)(i) the foster child adoption rate for the 

22 State for the fiscal year exceeds the base foster child 

23 adoption rate for the State for the fiscal year; or 
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1 ‘‘(ii) the older child adoption rate for the State 

2 for the fiscal year exceeds the base older child adop3 tion rate for the State for the fiscal year; 

4 ‘‘(B)(i) the guardianship placement rate for the 

5 State for the fiscal year exceeds the base guardian6 ship placement rate for the State for the fiscal year; 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the older child guardianship placement 

9 rate for the State for the fiscal year exceeds the base 

10 older child guardianship placement rate for the 

11 State for the fiscal year; or 

12 ‘‘(C) the reunification rate for the State for the 

13 fiscal year exceeds the base reunification rate for the 

14 State for respect to the fiscal year; 

15 ‘‘(3) the State is in compliance with subsection 

16 (c) for the fiscal year; 

17 ‘‘(4) the State provides health insurance cov18 erage to any child with special needs (as determined 

19 under section 473(c)) for whom there is in effect— 

20 ‘‘(A) an adoption assistance agreement be21 tween a State and the adoptive parent or par22 ents of the child; or 

23 ‘‘(B) a guardianship agreement between a 

24 State and the legal guardian or guardians of 

25 the child; and 
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1 ‘‘(5) the fiscal year is fiscal year 2006 or 2007. 

2 ‘‘(c) DATA REQUIREMENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State is in compliance 

4 with this subsection for a fiscal year if the State has 

5 provided to the Secretary the data described in para6 graph (2)— 

7 ‘‘(A) for fiscal years 2004 and 2005 (or, if 

8 the 1st fiscal year for which the State seeks a 

9 grant under this section is after fiscal year 

10 2006, the 2 fiscal years most immediately pre11 ceding such 1st fiscal year); and 

12 ‘‘(B) for each fiscal year that succeeds the 

13 2 fiscal years specified or referred to in sub14 paragraph (A) and that precedes the fiscal year 

15 referred to in this paragraph in the matter pre16 ceding subparagraph (A). 

17 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF PERMANCY PLACE18 MENT RATES BASED ON AFCARS DATA.—The Sec19 retary shall determine the rates of each type of 

20 adoption, guardianship placement, and reunification 

21 described in this section in each State with respect 

22 to each of fiscal years 2006 and 2007 on the basis 

23 of data meeting the requirements of the system es24 tablished pursuant to section 479, as reported by the 
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1 State and approved by the Secretary by August 1 of 

2 the succeeding fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(3) NO WAIVER OF AFCARS REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 This section shall not be construed to alter or affect 

5 any requirement of section 479 or of any regulation 

6 prescribed under such section with respect to report7 ing of data by States, or to waive any penalty for 

8 failure to comply with such a requirement. 

9 ‘‘(d) PERMANENCY INCENTIVE PAYMENT.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), the permanency incentive payment pay12 able to a State for a fiscal year under this section 

13 shall be equal to the sum of— 

14 ‘‘(A) $3,000, multiplied by the amount (if 

15 any) by which the sum of the number of foster 

16 child adoptions, the number of guardianship 

17 placements, and the number of reunifications 

18 for the State for the fiscal year exceeds the sum 

19 of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the number of foster child adop21 tions for the State for the fiscal year mul22 tiplied by the base foster child adoption 

23 rate for the State for the fiscal year; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the number of guardianship 

25 placements for the State for the fiscal year 
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1 multiplied by the base guardianship place2 ment rate for the State for the fiscal year; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(iii) the number of reunifications for 

5 the State for the fiscal year multiplied by 

6 the base reunification rate for the State for 

7 the fiscal year; 

8 ‘‘(B) $1,500, multiplied by the amount (if 

9 any) by which the sum of the number of special 

10 needs adoptions that are not older child adop11 tions and the number of special needs guardian12 ship placements that are not older child guard13 ianship placements for the State for the fiscal 

14 year exceeds the sum of— 

15 ‘‘(i) the number of special needs adop16 tions that are not older child adoptions for 

17 the State for the fiscal year, multiplied by 

18 the base rate of special needs adoptions 

19 that are not older child adoptions for the 

20 State for the fiscal year; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the number of special needs 

22 guardianship placements that are not older 

23 child guardianship placements for the 

24 State for the fiscal year, multiplied by the 

25 base rate of special needs guardianship 
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1 placements that are not older child guard2 ianship placements for the State for the 

3 fiscal year; and 

4 ‘‘(C) $3,000, multiplied by the amount (if 

5 any) by which the sum of the number of older 

6 child adoptions and the number of older child 

7 guardianship placements for the State for the 

8 fiscal year exceeds the sum of— 

9 ‘‘(i) the number of older child adop10 tions for the State for the fiscal year, 

11 mutiplied by the base older child adoption 

12 rate for the State for the fiscal year; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the number of older child guard14 ianship placements for the State for the 

15 fiscal year, mutiplied by the base older 

16 child guardianship placement rate for the 

17 State for the fiscal year. 

18 ‘‘(2) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT IF INSUFFICIENT

19 FUNDS AVAILABLE.—For any fiscal year, if the total 

20 amount of permanency incentive payments otherwise 

21 payable under this section for a fiscal year exceeds 

22 the amount appropriated pursuant to subsection (h) 

23 for the fiscal year, the amount of the permanency 

24 incentive payment payable to each State under this 

25 section for the fiscal year shall be— 
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1 ‘‘(A) the amount of the permanency incen2 tive payment that would otherwise be payable to 

3 the State under this section for the fiscal year; 

4 multiplied by 

5 ‘‘(B) the percentage represented by the 

6 amount so appropriated for the fiscal year, di7 vided by the total amount of permanency incen8 tive payments otherwise payable under this sec9 tion for the fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(e) 2-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF INCENTIVE PAY11 MENTS.—Payments to a State under this section in a fis12 cal year shall remain available for use by the State 

13 through the end of the succeeding fiscal year. 

14 ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF INCENTIVE PAY15 MENTS.—A State shall not expend an amount paid to the 

16 State under this section except to provide to children or 

17 families any service (including post-permanency services) 

18 that may be provided under part B or E. Amounts ex19 pended by a State in accordance with the preceding sen20 tence shall be disregarded in determining State expendi21 tures for purposes of Federal matching payments under 

22 sections 423, 434, and 474. 

23 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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1 ‘‘(1) FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION.—The term 

2 ‘foster child adoption’ means, with respect to a State 

3 and a fiscal year, a final adoption of a child if— 

4 ‘‘(A) at the time of adoptive placement, the 

5 child was in foster care under the supervision of 

6 the State; and 

7 ‘‘(B) during the fiscal year, the period for 

8 which the adoption has lasted has become 12 

9 months. 

10 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL NEEDS ADOPTION.—The term 

11 ‘special needs adoption’ means, with respect to a 

12 State and a fiscal year, a final adoption of a child 

13 if— 

14 ‘‘(A) there is in effect for the child an 

15 adoption assistance agreement entered into by 

16 the State under section 473; 

17 ‘‘(B) the child is a child with special needs 

18 for purposes of this section; and 

19 ‘‘(C) during the fiscal year, the period for 

20 which the adoption has lasted has become 12 

21 months. 

22 ‘‘(3) OLDER CHILD ADOPTION.—The term 

23 ‘older child adoption’ means, with respect to a State 

24 and a fiscal year, the final adoption in the State of 

25 a child who has attained 9 years of age if— 
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1 ‘‘(A)(i) at the time of the adoptive place2 ment, the child was in foster care under the re3 sponsibility of the State; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) an adoption assistance agreement for 

5 the child is in effect under section 473 with re6 spect to the child; and 

7 ‘‘(B) during the fiscal year, the period for 

8 which the adoption has lasted has become 12 

9 months. 

10 ‘‘(4) GUARDIANSHIP PLACEMENT.—The term 

11 ‘guardianship placement’ means, with respect to a 

12 State and a fiscal year, the placement of a child with 

13 a caretaker pursuant to a legal guardianship if— 

14 ‘‘(A) immediately before the placement, the 

15 child had been in foster care under the respon16 sibility of the State for no less than 12 months; 

17 ‘‘(B) the State has determined that neither 

18 being returned home nor being adopted is an 

19 appropriate permanency option for the child; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(C) during the fiscal year, the period for 

22 which the placement has lasted has become 12 

23 months. 

24 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL NEEDS GUARDIANSHIP PLACE25 MENT.—The term ‘special needs guardianship place-
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1 ment’ means, with respect to a fiscal year, a guard2 ianship placement, with respect to the fiscal year, of 

3 a child with special needs. 

4 ‘‘(6) OLDER CHILD GUARDIANSHIP PLACE5 MENT.—The term ‘older child guardianship place6 ment’ means, with respect to a State and a fiscal 

7 year, a guardianship placement of a child who has 

8 attained 9 years of age if, at the time of the guard9 ianship placement, the child was in foster care under 

10 the supervision of the State. 

11 ‘‘(7) REUNIFICATION.—The term ‘reunification’ 

12 means, with respect to a State and a fiscal year, the 

13 reuniting of a child who is in foster care under the 

14 responsibility of the State with the family from 

15 whom the child was removed if— 

16 ‘‘(A) immediately before the reuniting, the 

17 child had been in such care for not less than 1 

18 month; and 

19 ‘‘(B) during the fiscal year, the period for 

20 which the child has remained reunited with the 

21 family has become 12 months 

22 ‘‘(8) FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION RATE.—The 

23 term ‘foster child adoption rate’ means, with respect 

24 to a State and a fiscal year, of the children in foster 

25 care under the responsibility of the State, the per-
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1 centage who became subject to a foster child adop2 tion during the fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(9) BASE FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION RATE.— 

4 The term ‘base foster child adoption rate’ means, 

5 with respect to a State and— 

6 ‘‘(A) fiscal year 2006, the foster child 

7 adoption rate for the State for fiscal year 2005; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(B) any subsequent fiscal year, the foster 

10 child adoption rate for the State for the fiscal 

11 year for which the rate is the greatest in the 

12 period that begins with fiscal year 2005 and 

13 ends with the fiscal year preceding that subse14 quent fiscal year. 

15 ‘‘(10) OLDER CHILD ADOPTION RATE.—The 

16 term ‘older child adoption rate’ means, with respect 

17 to a State and a fiscal year, of the children in foster 

18 care under the responsibility of the State, the per19 centage who— 

20 ‘‘(A) have attained 9 years of age; and 

21 ‘‘(B) became subject to an older child 

22 adoption during the fiscal year. 

23 ‘‘(11) BASE OLDER CHILD ADOPTION RATE.— 

24 The term ‘base older child adoption rate’ means, 

25 with respect to a State and— 
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1 ‘‘(A) fiscal year 2006, the older child adop2 tion rate for the State for fiscal year 2005; and 

3 ‘‘(B) any subsequent fiscal year, the older 

4 child adoption rate for the State for the fiscal 

5 year for which the rate is the greatest in the 

6 period that begins with fiscal year 2005 and 

7 ends with the fiscal year preceding that subse8 quent fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(12) GUARDIANSHIP PLACEMENT RATE.—The 

10 term ‘guardianship placement rate’ means, with re11 spect to a State and a fiscal year, of the children in 

12 foster care under the responsibility of the State, the 

13 percentage who became subject to a guardianship 

14 placement during the fiscal year. 

15 ‘‘(13) BASE GUARDIANSHIP PLACEMENT

16 RATE.—The term ‘base guardianship placement 

17 rate’ means, with respect to a State and— 

18 ‘‘(A) fiscal year 2006, the guardianship 

19 placement rate for the State for fiscal year 

20 2005; or 

21 ‘‘(B) any subsequent fiscal year, the 

22 guardianship placement rate for the State for 

23 the fiscal year for which the rate is the greatest 

24 in the period that begins with fiscal year 2005 
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1 and ends with the fiscal year preceding that 

2 subsequent fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(14) OLDER CHILD GUARDIANSHIP PLACE4 MENT RATE.—The term ‘older child guardianship 

5 placement rate’ means, with respect to a State and 

6 a fiscal year, of the children in foster care under the 

7 responsibility of the State, the percentage who— 

8 ‘‘(A) have attained 9 years of age; and 

9 ‘‘(B) during the fiscal year, became subject 

10 to an older child guardianship placement. 

11 ‘‘(15) BASE OLDER CHILD GUARDIANSHIP

12 PLACEMENT RATE.—The term ‘base older child 

13 guardianship placement rate’ means, with respect to 

14 a State and— 

15 ‘‘(A) fiscal year 2006, the older child 

16 guardianship placement rate for the State for 

17 fiscal year 2005; or 

18 ‘‘(B) any subsequent fiscal year, the older 

19 child guardianship placement rate for the State 

20 for the fiscal year for which the rate is the 

21 greatest in the period that begins with fiscal 

22 year 2005 and ends with the fiscal year pre23 ceding that subsequent fiscal year. 

24 ‘‘(16) REUNIFICATION RATE.—The term ‘reuni25 fication rate’ means, with respect to a State and a 
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1 fiscal year, of the children in foster care under the 

2 responsibility of the State, the percentage who be3 come subject to a reunification during the fiscal 

4 year. 

5 ‘‘(17) BASE REUNIFICATION RATE.—The term 

6 ‘base reunification rate’ means, with respect to a 

7 State and— 

8 ‘‘(A) fiscal year 2006, the reunification 

9 rate for the State for fiscal year 2005; or 

10 ‘‘(B) any subsequent fiscal year, the reuni11 fication rate for the State for the fiscal year for 

12 which the rate is the greatest in the period that 

13 begins with fiscal year 2005 and ends with the 

14 fiscal year preceding that subsequent fiscal 

15 year. 

16 ‘‘(18) BASE RATE OF SPECIAL NEEDS ADOP17 TIONS THAT ARE NOT OLDER CHILD ADOPTIONS.— 

18 The term ‘base rate of special needs adoptions that 

19 are not older child adoptions’ means, with respect to 

20 a State and— 

21 ‘‘(A) fiscal year 2006, the rate of special 

22 needs adoptions that are not older child adop23 tions for the State for fiscal year 2005; or 

24 ‘‘(B) any subsequent fiscal year, the rate 

25 of special needs adoptions that are not older 
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1 child adoptions for the State for the fiscal year 

2 for which the rate is the greatest in the period 

3 that begins with fiscal year 2005 and ends with 

4 the fiscal year preceding that subsequent fiscal 

5 year. 

6 ‘‘(19) RATE OF SPECIAL NEEDS ADOPTIONS

7 THAT ARE NOT OLDER CHILD ADOPTIONS.—The 

8 term ‘rate of special needs adoptions that are not 

9 older child adoptions’ means, with respect to a State 

10 and a fiscal year, of the children in foster care under 

11 the responsibility of the State, the percentage who— 

12 ‘‘(A) are children with special needs; 

13 ‘‘(B) have not attained 9 years of age; and 

14 ‘‘(C) during the fiscal year, became subject 

15 to a special needs adoption. 

16 ‘‘(20) BASE RATE OF SPECIAL NEEDS GUARD17 IANSHIP PLACEMENTS THAT ARE NOT OLDER CHILD

18 GUARDIANSHIP PLACEMENTS.—The term ‘base rate 

19 of special needs guardianship placements that are 

20 not older child guardianship placements’ means, 

21 with respect to a State and— 

22 ‘‘(A) fiscal year 2006, the rate of special 

23 needs guardianship placements that are not 

24 older child guardianship placements for the 

25 State for fiscal year 2005; or 
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1 ‘‘(B) any subsequent fiscal year, the rate 

2 of special needs guardianship placements that 

3 are not older child guardianship placements for 

4 the State for the fiscal year for which the rate 

5 is the greatest in the period that begins with 

6 fiscal year 2005 and ends with the fiscal year 

7 preceding that subsequent fiscal year. 

8 ‘‘(21) CHILD WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.— For pur9 poses of this section, a child shall not be considered 

10 a child with special needs unless— 

11 ‘‘(A) the State has determined that the 

12 child cannot or should not be returned to the 

13 home of his parents; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the State had first determined that 

15 there exists with respect to the child a specific 

16 factor or condition (such as his ethnic back17 ground, age, or membership in a minority or 

18 sibling group, or the presence of factors such as 

19 medical conditions or physical, mental or emo20 tional handicaps) because of which it is reason21 able to conclude that such child cannot be 

22 placed with ‘adoptive parents or’ a guardian 

23 without providing medical assistance under title 

24 XIX. 
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1 ‘‘(h) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO2 PRIATIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For grants under sub4 section (a), there are authorized to be appropriated 

5 to the Secretary $43,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

6 2006 through 2008. 

7 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated 

8 under paragraph (1), or under any other law for 

9 grants under subsection (a), are authorized to re10 main available until expended, but not after fiscal 

11 year 2008. 

12 ‘‘(i) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, di14 rectly or through grants or contracts, provide tech15 nical assistance to assist States and local commu16 nities to reach their targets for increased rates of 

17 adoptions, guardianships, and reunifications for chil18 dren in foster care. 

19 ‘‘(2) DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER OF THE

20 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The technical assistance 

21 provided under paragraph (1) may support the goal 

22 of encouraging more adoptions out of the foster care 

23 system when adoptions promote the best interests of 

24 children, and more permanency placements of other 

25 kinds out of the foster care system when such other 
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1 kinds of placements promote the best interests of 

2 children, and may include the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) The development of best practice 

4 guidelines for expediting termination of paren5 tal rights. 

6 ‘‘(B) Models to encourage the use of con7 current planning. 

8 ‘‘(C) The development of specialized units 

9 and expertise in moving children toward adop10 tion, guardianship, or reunification as a perma11 nency goal through the use of established best 

12 practices in these areas. 

13 ‘‘(D) The development of risk assessment 

14 tools to facilitate early identification of the chil15 dren who will be at risk of harm if returned 

16 home. 

17 ‘‘(E) Models to encourage the fast tracking 

18 of children who have not attained 1 year of age 

19 into pre-adoptive placements. 

20 ‘‘(F) Development of programs that place 

21 children into pre-adoptive families without wait22 ing for termination of parental rights. 

23 ‘‘(3) TARGETING OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

24 TO THE COURTS.—Not less than 50 percent of any 

25 amount appropriated pursuant to paragraph (4) 
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1 shall be used to provide technical assistance to the 

2 courts. 

3 ‘‘(4) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF AP4 PROPRIATIONS.—To carry out this subsection, there 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

6 not to exceed $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

7 2006 and 2007.’’. 

8 (b) DETERMINATION OF WHETHER AFCARS CAN

9 BE USED TO PROVIDE DATA NECESSARY FOR CALCU10 LATING PERMANENCY INCENTIVE PAYMENTS; AUTHOR11 ITY TO PRESCRIBE ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS IF RE12 QUIRED.—The Secretary shall determine whether the sys13 tem established pursuant to section 479 of the Social Se14 curity Act is capable of being used to collect the data nec15 essary to enable permanency incentive payments to be cal16 culated under section 473A of such Act in a timely man17 ner, and if not, the Secretary shall prescribe such regula18 tions as may be necessary to make the system so capable. 

19 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

20 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2005. 

Æ