I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1066

To establish grant programs and provide other forms of Federal assistance

to pregnant women, children in need of adoptive families, and individuals

and families adopting children.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 27, 1995

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities and, in addition, to the Committees on National Security, Banking and Financial

Services, Ways and Means, Commerce, Government Reform and Oversight, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To establish grant programs and provide other forms of

Federal assistance to pregnant women, children in need

of adoptive families, and individuals and families adopting 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 ‘‘Omnibus Adoption Act

5 of 1995’’.
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1 TITLE I—NATIONAL ADVISORY

2 BOARD ON ADOPTION

3 SEC. 101. NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ADOPTION.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

5 the National Advisory Board on Adoption (in this section

6 referred to as the ‘‘Board’’).

7 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—Not later than 90 days after the

8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health

9 and Human Services shall appoint the members of the

10 Board, and shall include in such appointment as Board

11 members representatives of—

12 (1) private, nonprofit organizations involved in

13 child welfare and maternal and child health services,

14 including national organizations representing organi15 zations that provide adoption services and maternity

16 housing and services facilities;

17 (2) private, nonprofit organizations represent18 ing adopted children, adoptive families or biological

19 parents;

20 (3) organizations and agencies involved with

21 privately arranged or international adoptions;

22 (4) organizations representing State and local

23 government agencies with responsibility for coordi24 nating or regulating adoption services or maternity

25 and housing services facilities; and
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1 (5) organizations representing State and local

2 courts or judicial entities with jurisdiction over is3 sues of family law.

4 (c) MEETINGS.—The Board shall hold such meetings

5 as may be appropriate, but shall meet at least once every

6 90 days.

7 (d) DUTIES.—The Board shall—

8 (1) monitor on behalf of Congress the imple9 mentation of the programs established and activities

10 required under this Act and make such rec11 ommendations as it deems appropriate to help carry

12 out the intent of Congress in establishing such pro13 grams and requiring such activities;

14 (2) consult with the heads of departments and

15 agencies charged with the responsibility of carrying

16 out such programs and activities; and

17 (3) make such recommendations as it deems ap18 propriate, including recommendations regarding ad19 ditional legislation, to carry out the purposes of this

20 Act.

21 (e) TERMINATION.—The Board shall terminate at the

22 expiration of the 4-year period that begins on the date

23 of the enactment of this Act.
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1 TITLE II—ADOPTION DATA

2 COLLECTION SYSTEM

3 SEC. 201. REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ADOPTION

4 DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM.

5 (a) REPORT ON STATUS OF FINAL REGULATIONS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary

8 of Health and Human Services shall submit to the

9 Congress a report on the status of the implementa10 tion of the data collection system required pursuant

11 to section 479 of the Social Security Act.

12 (2) SPECIFIC ASSURANCES REQUIRED.—The re13 port described in paragraph (1) shall include specific

14 assurances that under the data collection system—

15 (A) unnecessary diversions of resources

16 from agencies responsible for adoption and fos17 ter care shall be avoided;

18 (B) uniform definitions and methodologies

19 shall be used to ensure that any data collected

20 is reliable and consistent over time and among

21 jurisdictions;

22 (C) comprehensive national information

23 shall be provided with respect to—
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1 (i) the demographic characteristics of

2 all adopted and foster children and their

3 biological and adoptive or foster parents,

4 (ii) the status of the foster care popu5 lation, including the number of children in

6 foster care, the number, length and type of

7 placement, availability for adoption, avail8 ability for group care, and goals for ending

9 or continuing foster care,

10 (iii) the number and demographic

11 characteristics of all children placed in or

12 removed from foster care, children adopt13 ed, and children with respect to whom

14 adoptions have been terminated, and

15 (iv) the extent and nature of assist16 ance provided by Federal, State, and local

17 adoption and foster care programs and the

18 characteristics of the children with respect

19 to whom such assistance is provided; and

20 (D) appropriate requirements and incen21 tives shall be implemented to ensure that the

22 system functions reliably throughout the United

23 States.

24 (b) MONTHLY PROGRESS REPORTS.—Every 30 days

25 after the report described in subsection (a) is required to
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1 be submitted, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv2 ices shall submit to the Congress reports on the progress

3 made in implementing the data collection system referred

4 to in subsection (a).

5 (c) CONSULTATION WITH ADVISORY BOARD.—In de6 veloping regulations needed to carry out this section, the

7 Secretary of Health and Human Services shall consult

8 with the National Advisory Board on Adoption established

9 under section 101(a).

10 TITLE III—ADOPTION

11 EDUCATION PROGRAMS

12 SEC. 301. SOCIAL WORK GRADUATE STUDY FELLOWSHIPS.

13 (a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT.—Title IX of the

14 Higher Education Act of 1965 is amended by adding at

15 the end the following new part:

16 ‘‘PART H—SOCIAL WORK GRADUATE STUDY

17 ‘‘SEC. 981. AWARD OF FELLOWSHIPS.

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From the amount appropriated

19 to carry out this part, the Secretary shall award not more

20 than 50 fellowships in accordance with the provisions of

21 this part for study in graduate schools of social work that

22 offer innovative programs described in subsection (b) to

23 students selected on the basis of demonstrated achieve24 ment and exceptional promise. The fellowships shall be
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1 awarded for only one academic year of study and shall

2 be renewable for two additional years.

3 ‘‘(b) INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS DEFINED.—The pro4 grams described in this subsection are innovative pro5 grams concerning the effects of adoption on the children

6 who are adopted, the families who adopt children and the

7 biological parents who make an adoption plan. Acceptable

8 purposes for such programs include: basic research on the

9 short-term and long-term effects of adoption on adopted

10 children, biological parents and adoptive families; develop11 ment of model curriculum and instructional programs to

12 assist adopted children, biological parents and adoptive

13 families; development of innovative programs to counsel

14 pregnant women on the availability and benefits of choos15 ing to make an adoption plan; and any other program de16 termined to be consistent with the purposes of this section.

17 ‘‘(c) STUDENT SELECTION PROCEDURES.—The Sec18 retary shall, by regulation, establish such selection proce19 dures as are appropriate to carry out the purposes of this

20 part.

21 ‘‘SEC. 982. STIPENDS.

22 ‘‘(a) AWARD BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall

23 pay to individuals awarded fellowships under this part

24 such stipends (including such allowances for subsistence

25 and other expenses for such individuals and their depend-
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1 ents) as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate,

2 adjusting such stipends as necessary so as not to exceed

3 the fellow’s demonstrated level of need according to meas4 urements of need approved by the Secretary. The stipend

5 levels established by the Secretary shall reflect the purpose

6 of this program to encourage highly talented students to

7 undertake graduate study and shall provide a level of sup8 port comparable to that provided by federally funded grad9 uate fellowships in the science and engineering fields.

10 ‘‘(b) INSTITUTIONAL PAYMENTS.—(1) The Secretary

11 shall (in addition to the stipends paid to individuals under

12 subsection (a)) pay to the institution of higher education,

13 for each individual awarded a fellowship for pursuing a

14 course at such institution, $6,000, except that such

15 amount charged to a fellowship recipient and collected

16 from such recipient for tuition and other expenses re17 quired by the institution as part of the recipient’s instruc18 tional program shall be deducted from the payment of the

19 institution under this subsection.

20 ‘‘(2) Subject to the availability of appropriations,

21 amounts payable to an institution by the Secretary pursu22 ant to this subsection shall not be reduced for any purpose

23 other than the purposes specified under paragraph (1).
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1 ‘‘SEC. 983. FELLOWSHIP CONDITIONS.

2 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECEIPT.—An individual

3 awarded a fellowship under the provisions of this part

4 shall continue to receive payments provided in section 982

5 only during such periods as the Secretary finds that he

6 is maintaining satisfactory proficiency in, and devoting es7 sentially full time to, study or research in the field in

8 which such fellowship was awarded, in an institution of

9 higher education, and is not engaging in gainful employ10 ment other than part-time employment by such institution

11 in teaching, research, or similar activities, approved by the

12 Secretary.

13 ‘‘(b) REPORTS FROM RECIPIENTS.—The Secretary is

14 authorized to require reports containing such information

15 in such form and to file at such times as the Secretary

16 determines necessary from any person awarded a fellow17 ship under the provisions of this part. The reports shall

18 be accompanied by a certificate from an appropriate offi19 cial at the institution of higher education, stating that

20 such individual is making satisfactory progress in, and is

21 devoting essentially full time to the program for which the

22 fellowship was awarded.

23 ‘‘SEC. 984. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

24 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

25 this part $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1996, and such sums
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1 as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal

2 years.’’.

3 (b) CONSULTATION WITH ADVISORY BOARD.—In de4 veloping regulations needed to carry out part H of title

5 IX of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as added by

6 subsection (a)), the Secretary of Education shall consult

7 with the National Advisory Board on Adoption established

8 under section 101(a).

9 SEC. 302. GRANTS FOR ADOPTION EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

10 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—Not later than 1 year

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary

12 of Education (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec13 retary’’) shall make grants to States that agree to adopt

14 programs of adoption education for purposes of carrying

15 out such programs.

16 (b) GRANT AMOUNTS.—The Secretary shall deter17 mine the amount of the grant any State is eligible to re18 ceive under this section based on the estimated size and

19 cost of the program to be assisted under the grant and

20 the number of children to be served by the program.

21 (c) APPLICATION.—Any State that desires to receive

22 a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary

23 an application at such time, in such manner, and contain24 ing or accompanied by such information and assurances

25 as the Secretary may reasonably require.
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1 (d) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall by regulation

2 publish guidelines for model adoption programs to be as3 sisted under this section.

4 (e) CONSULTATION WITH ADVISORY COUNCIL.—In

5 developing regulations needed to carry out this section, the

6 Secretary shall consult with the National Advisory Council

7 on Adoption established under section 101(a).

8 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

9 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

10 $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1996, 1997, and

11 1998.

12 TITLE IV—ADOPTION BENEFITS

13 FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

14 AND MILITARY PERSONNEL

15 SEC. 401. HEALTH BENEFITS FOR THE BIOLOGICAL MOTH16 ER OF A CHILD WHO IS ADOPTED BY A FEHBP

17 ENROLLEE.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8904(a) of title 5, United

19 States Code, is amended in each of paragraphs (1) and

20 (2) by adding after subparagraph (F) the following new

21 subparagraph:

22 ‘‘(G) Prenatal and maternity benefits

23 (other than benefits relating to a surrogate

24 parenting arrangement) for the biological moth25 er of an adoptive child of an enrollee.’’.
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1 (b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—Section 8902 of title

2 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

3 the following:

4 ‘‘(o)(1) The Office shall by regulation establish mini5 mum standards relating to benefits provided by any health

6 benefits plan described in section 8903 or 8903a in con7 nection with prenatal or maternity care for the biological

8 mother of a child who is to be adopted by an enrollee,

9 and medical care for such child. Under the regulations,

10 benefits—

11 ‘‘(A) shall be payable for care provided after

12 the date as of which the enrollee furnishes written

13 notice (complete with such information and in such

14 form as the Office may reasonably require, except

15 that such information may not include information

16 relating to the identity of the biological parents) of

17 a specific intent to adopt;

18 ‘‘(B) shall be contingent on the adoption be19 coming final; and

20 ‘‘(C) shall not be payable in connection with

21 any surrogate parenting arrangement.

22 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this subsection shall be considered

23 to prevent the Office from entering into a contract under

24 which the carrier agrees to provide benefits in connection
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1 with care provided on or before the date referred to in

2 paragraph (1)(A).’’.

3 SEC. 402. ADOPTION PROVISIONS RELATING TO MEMBERS

4 OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES.

5 (a) REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES FOR PRENATAL

6 AND MATERNITY CARE FOR THE BIOLOGICAL MOTHER

7 UNDER DOD ADOPTION PROGRAM.—

8 (1) REIMBURSEMENT.—Subsection (g)(2) of

9 section 1052 of title 10, United States Code, is

10 amended—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub12 paragraph (C); and

13 (B) by striking subparagraph (D) and in14 serting the following new subparagraphs:

15 ‘‘(D) prenatal and maternity care provided

16 to the biological mother of the child to be

17 adopted on and after the date on which the

18 member notifies the Secretary of Defense, in

19 such manner as the Secretary may require by

20 rule, of the intent of the member to adopt the

21 child of the biological mother; and

22 ‘‘(E) medical expenses of a newborn infant

23 to be adopted by the member.’’.

24 (2) EXPANSION.—Such section is further

25 amended—
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1 (A) in subsections (a), (d), (e), and

2 (g)(2)(C), by striking ‘‘armed forces’’ each

3 place it appears and inserting ‘‘uniformed serv4 ices’’; and

5 (B) by adding at the end of subsection (g)

6 the following new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(3) The term ‘uniformed services’ does not in8 clude the Coast Guard since members of the Coast

9 Guard are reimbursed for adoption expenses under

10 section 514 of title 14.’’.

11 (3) EXCEPTION TO REIMBURSEMENT.—Sub12 section (b) of such section is amended by adding at

13 the end the following new sentence: ‘‘No reimburse14 ment may be made under subsection (a) for ex15 penses incurred in carrying out a surrogate

16 parenting arrangement.’’.

17 (4) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Subsection (f) of such

18 section is amended by adding at the end the follow19 ing new sentence: ‘‘The Secretary may not require

20 the member to provide information relating to the

21 identity of the biological mother.’’.

22 (5) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—In the

23 case of a member of the commissioned corps of the

24 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

25 or the commissioned corps of the Public Health
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1 Service, section 1052 of title 10, United States

2 Code, as amended by paragraph (2), shall apply with

3 respect to an adoption of a child by such a member

4 that becomes final after September 30, 1993.

5 (b) REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES FOR PRENATAL

6 AND MATERNITY CARE FOR THE BIOLOGICAL MOTHER

7 UNDER COAST GUARD ADOPTION PROGRAM.—

8 (1) REIMBURSEMENT.—Subsection (g)(2) of

9 section 514 of title 14, United States Code, is

10 amended—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub12 paragraph (C); and

13 (B) by striking subparagraph (D) and in14 serting the following new subparagraphs:

15 ‘‘(D) prenatal and maternity care provided

16 to the biological mother of the child to be

17 adopted on and after the date on which the

18 member notifies the Secretary, in such manner

19 as the Secretary may require by rule, of the in20 tent of the member to adopt the child of the bi21 ological mother; and

22 ‘‘(E) medical expenses of a newborn infant

23 to be adopted by the member.’’.

24 (2) EXCEPTION TO REIMBURSEMENT.—Sub25 section (b) of such section is amended by adding at
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1 the end the following new sentence: ‘‘No reimburse2 ment may be made under subsection (a) for ex3 penses incurred in carrying out a surrogate

4 parenting arrangement.’’.

5 (3) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Subsection (f) of such

6 section is amended by adding at the end the follow7 ing new sentence: ‘‘The Secretary may not require

8 the member to provide information relating to the

9 identity of the biological mother.’’.

10 (c) AUTHORIZED CARE FOR MILITARY DEPENDENTS

11 TO INCLUDE PRENATAL CARE.—Section 1077(a)(8) of

12 title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Ma13 ternity’’ and inserting ‘‘Prenatal, maternity,’’.

14 (d) AUTHORIZED CARE FOR ADOPTED CHILDREN TO

15 INCLUDE CARE FOR PREEXISTING CONDITIONS.—Section

16 1077 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by add17 ing at the end the following new subsection:

18 ‘‘(e) In the case of a child (as described in subpara19 graph (B) or (D) of paragraph (6) of section 1072 of this

20 title) of a member of a uniformed service, health care pro21 vided under section 1076 of this title shall include care

22 for any condition of the child that predates the date of

23 the adoption of the child.’’.
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1 SEC. 403. COORDINATION OF EFFORTS BETWEEN OFFICE

2 OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT AND DEPART3 MENT OF DEFENSE.

4 The Director of the Office of Personnel Management,

5 the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Transpor6 tation shall, to the greatest extent possible—

7 (1) coordinate their efforts in developing regula8 tions and guidelines necessary to carry out their re9 spective responsibilities resulting from the amend10 ments made by sections 401 and 402; and

11 (2) consult with the National Advisory Board

12 on Adoption established under section 101(a) in de13 veloping such regulations and guidelines.

14 TITLE V—ADOPTION TAX

15 CREDIT

16 SEC. 501. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR ADOPTION EXPENSES.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub18 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

19 1986 (relating to refundable credits) is amended by redes20 ignating section 35 as section 36 and by inserting after

21 section 34 the following new section:

22 ‘‘SEC. 35. ADOPTION EXPENSES.

23 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an in24 dividual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax

25 imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year the amount
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1 of the qualified adoption expenses paid or incurred by the

2 taxpayer during such taxable year.

3 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—

4 ‘‘(1) DOLLAR LIMITATION.—The aggregate

5 amount of qualified adoption expenses which may be

6 taken into account under subsection (a) with respect

7 to the adoption of a child shall not exceed $5,000.

8 ‘‘(2) INCOME LIMITATION.—The amount allow9 able as a credit under subsection (a) for any taxable

10 year shall be reduced (but not below zero) by an

11 amount which bears the same ratio to the amount

12 so allowable (determined without regard to this

13 paragraph but with regard to paragraph (1)) as—

14 ‘‘(A) the amount (if any) by which the tax15 payer’s adjusted gross income exceeds $60,000,

16 bears to

17 ‘‘(B) $40,000.

18 ‘‘(3) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No credit shall be al20 lowed under subsection (a) for any expense for

21 which a deduction or credit is allowable under

22 any other provision of this chapter.

23 ‘‘(B) GRANTS.—No credit shall be allowed

24 under subsection (a) for any expense to the ex-
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1 tent that funds for such expense are received

2 under any Federal, State, or local program.

3 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED ADOPTION EXPENSES.—For pur4 poses of this section, the term ‘qualified adoption ex5 penses’ means reasonable and necessary adoption agency

6 fees, court costs, attorney fees, and other expenses which

7 are directly related to the legal adoption of a child by the

8 taxpayer and which are not incurred in violation of State

9 or Federal law or in carrying out any surrogate parenting

10 arrangement. The term ‘qualified adoption expenses’ shall

11 not include any expenses in connection with the adoption

12 by an individual of a child who is the child of such individ13 ual’s spouse.

14 ‘‘(d) MARRIED COUPLES MUST FILE JOINT RE15 TURNS.—Rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (2), (3),

16 and (4) of section 21(e) shall apply for purposes of this

17 section.’’

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

19 (1) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title

20 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting be21 fore the period ‘‘, or from section 35 of such Code’’.

22 (2) The table of sections for subpart C of part

23 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is

24 amended by striking the last item and inserting the

25 following:

‘‘Sec. 35. Adoption expenses.
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‘‘Sec. 36. Overpayments of tax.’’.

1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

3 December 31, 1995.

4 TITLE VI—MATERNAL HEALTH

5 CERTIFICATES PROGRAM

6 SEC. 601. MATERNAL HEALTH CERTIFICATES FOR ELIGI7 BLE PREGNANT WOMEN.

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MATERNAL HEALTH CER9 TIFICATES FOR ELIGIBLE PREGNANT WOMEN.—Not later

10 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,

11 the Secretary shall establish a program to provide mater12 nal health certificates for eligible pregnant women to use

13 to cover expenses incurred in receiving services at a mater14 nity and housing services facility or other supervised set15 ting.

16 (b) ELIGIBILITY OF INDIVIDUALS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—A pregnant woman is eligi18 ble to receive a maternal health certificate under the

19 program established under subsection (a) if the

20 woman—

21 (A) has an annual individual income (de22 termined without taking into account the in23 come of any parent or guardian of the individ24 ual) not greater than 175 percent of the income

25 official poverty line (as defined by the Office of
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1 Management and Budget, and revised annually

2 in accordance with section 673(2) of the Omni3 bus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981) applica4 ble to such individual; and

5 (B) provides the Secretary with such other

6 information and assurances as the Secretary

7 may require.

8 (2) INCOME OF ESTRANGED SPOUSE NOT IN9 CLUDED.—In determining the income of an individ10 ual for purposes of paragraph (1)(A), there shall not

11 be included the income of a spouse if the spouse has

12 been living apart from the woman for not less than

13 6 months.

14 (3) PARTICIPATION IN AFDC PROGRAM NOT RE15 QUIRED.—An individual otherwise eligible to receive

16 a maternal health certificate under the program es17 tablished under subsection (a) shall not be found in18 eligible to receive such a certificate solely on the

19 grounds that the individual does not receive aid

20 under the State plan for aid to families with depend21 ent children under part A of title IV of the Social

22 Security Act.

23 (c) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF EXPENSES IN24 CURRED.—A certificate received under the program estab25 lished under subsection (a) may be used to cover an
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1 amount of expenses incurred by an individual at a mater2 nity housing and services facility that does not exceed an

3 amount equal to—

4 (1) $100; multiplied by

5 (2) the number of days during which such serv6 ices are provided to the individual at such facility.

7 (d) CONSULTATION WITH ADVISORY BOARD.—In de8 veloping regulations needed to carry out the program es9 tablished under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult

10 with the National Advisory Board on Adoption established

11 under section 101(a).

12 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

13 (1) MATERNITY AND HOUSING SERVICES FACIL14 ITY.—The term ‘‘maternity and housing services fa15 cility’’ means a nonprofit facility or supervised set16 ting licensed or otherwise approved by the State in

17 which the facility is located to serve as a residence

18 for not fewer than 4 pregnant women during preg19 nancy and for a limited period after the date on

20 which the child carried during the pregnancy is

21 born, as the Secretary may determine, that provides

22 such pregnant women with appropriate supportive

23 services, which may include the following supportive

24 services:

25 (A) Room and board.
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1 (B) Medical care (provided either at the

2 facility or off-site) for the woman and her child,

3 including prenatal, delivery, and post-delivery

4 care.

5 (C) Instruction and counseling regarding

6 future health care for the woman and her child.

7 (D) Nutrition services and nutrition coun8 seling.

9 (E) Counseling and education concerning

10 all aspects of prenatal care, childbirth, and

11 motherhood.

12 (F) General family counseling, including

13 child and family development counseling.

14 (G) Adoption counseling.

15 (H) Vocational and educational counseling

16 and services.

17 (I) Basic transportation services to enable

18 the woman to obtain services from the facility.

19 (2) PREGNANT WOMAN.—The term ‘‘pregnant

20 woman’’ means a woman determined to have one or

21 more fetuses in utero.

22 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

23 the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
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1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 are authorized to be appropriated for maternal health cer3 tificates under this section—

4 (1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;

5 (2) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1997; and

6 (3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1998.

7 TITLE VII—REHABILITATION

8 GRANTS FOR MATERNITY

9 HOUSING AND SERVICES FA10 CILITIES

11 SEC. 701. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.

12 The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

13 shall carry out a program to provide assistance under this

14 title to eligible nonprofit entities for rehabilitation of exist15 ing structures for use as facilities to provide housing and

16 services to pregnant women.

17 SEC. 702. AUTHORITY AND APPLICATIONS.

18 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may make grants

19 under the program under this title to eligible nonprofit

20 entities to rehabilitate existing structures for use as ma21 ternity housing and services facilities.

22 (b) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary may make grants

23 only to nonprofit entities that submit applications for

24 grants under this title in the form and manner that the

25 Secretary shall prescribe, which shall include assurances
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1 that grant amounts will be used to provide a maternity

2 housing and services facility.

3 SEC. 703. GRANT LIMITATIONS.

4 (a) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant under this

5 title may not be in an amount greater than $1,000,000.

6 An eligible nonprofit entity may not receive more than 1

7 grant under this title in any fiscal year.

8 (b) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF GRANTS.—The Secretary

9 may not make grants under this title to more than 100

10 eligible nonprofit entities in any fiscal year.

11 (c) USE OF GRANTS FOR REHABILITATION ACTIVI12 TIES.—Any eligible nonprofit entity that receives a grant

13 under this title shall use the grant amounts for the acqui14 sition or rehabilitation (or both) of existing structures for

15 use as a maternity housing and services facility, which

16 may include planning and development costs, professional

17 fees, and administrative costs related to such acquisition

18 or rehabilitation.

19 SEC. 704. REPORTS.

20 The Secretary shall require each eligible nonprofit en21 tity that receives a grant under this title to submit to the

22 Secretary a report, at such times and including such infor23 mation as the Secretary shall determine, describing the

24 activities carried out by the eligible nonprofit entity with

25 the grant amounts.
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1 SEC. 705. DEFINITIONS.

2 For purposes of this title:

3 (1) ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT ENTITIES.—The term

4 ‘‘eligible nonprofit entity’’ means any organization

5 that—

6 (A) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the

7 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt

8 from taxation under subtitle A of such Code;

9 and

10 (B) has submitted an application under

11 section 702(b) for a grant under this title.

12 (2) MATERNITY HOUSING AND SERVICES FACIL13 ITY.—The term ‘‘maternity housing and services fa14 cility’’ means a facility licensed or otherwise ap15 proved by the State in which the facility is located

16 to serve as a residence for not fewer than 4 preg17 nant women during pregnancy and for a limited pe18 riod after the date on which the child carried during

19 the pregnancy is born, as the Secretary may deter20 mine, that provides such pregnant women with ap21 propriate supportive services, which may include the

22 following services:

23 (A) Room and board.

24 (B) Medical care for the woman and her

25 child, including prenatal, delivery, and post-de26 livery care.
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1 (C) Instruction and counseling regarding

2 future health care for the woman and her child.

3 (D) Nutrition services and nutrition coun4 seling.

5 (E) Counseling and education concerning

6 all aspects of prenatal care, childbirth, and

7 motherhood.

8 (F) General family counseling, including

9 child and family development counseling.

10 (G) Adoption counseling.

11 (H) Vocational and educational counseling

12 and services.

13 (I) Basic transportation services to enable

14 the woman to obtain services from the facility.

15 (J) Any other appropriate supportive serv16 ices.

17 (3) PREGNANT WOMAN.—The term ‘‘pregnant

18 woman’’ means a woman determined to have one or

19 more fetuses in utero.

20 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

21 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

22 SEC. 706. REGULATIONS AND CONSULTATION WITH ADVI23 SORY BOARD.

24 The Secretary shall issue any regulations necessary

25 to carry out this title. In developing such regulations, the
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1 Secretary shall consult with the National Advisory Board

2 on Adoption established under section 101(a).

3 SEC. 707. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

5 this title $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1996, $40,000,000

6 for fiscal year 1997, and $60,000,000 for fiscal year 1998.

7 TITLE VIII—SENSE OF CON8 GRESS REGARDING CHANGES

9 IN STATE ADOPTION LAWS

10 SEC. 801. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress that

12 each State should adopt, and assume responsibility for en13 forcing, laws, rules, or regulations that would provide

14 that—

15 (1) the State shall make available to a prospec16 tive adoptive parent all relevant information with re17 spect to the placement of the child for adoption, in18 cluding information with respect to the medical, so19 cial, and economic history and ethnic background of

20 the child and the child’s biological parents (except to

21 the extent that such information would identify the

22 child or biological parents) and shall impose criminal

23 penalties on any person who makes an unauthorized

24 disclosure of such information;
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1 (2) a State-approved professional working in a

2 licensed agency setting shall investigate the prospec3 tive adoptive parent of a child before the child is

4 placed with such parent for adoption;

5 (3) the courts of the State shall not finalize any

6 adoption before each party to the adoption proceed7 ing has submitted to the court all information relat8 ing to the costs incurred by or on behalf of the party

9 in connection with the adoption, including a list of

10 all payments, benefits, gifts, or other things of value;

11 (4) the State shall guarantee adequate legal

12 representation with respect to the adoption proceed13 ing to the biological mother of a child who is the

14 subject of such proceeding, if the parent wants sepa15 rate legal representation;

16 (5) if a child is placed with an individual pursu17 ant to a written plan of adoption before the adoption

18 occurs and such individual does not file a petition

19 for the adoption of the child with the appropriate

20 court during the 1-year period beginning on the date

21 the child is placed with such individual, such individ22 ual shall be barred from adopting the child; and

23 (6) with respect to each health benefit plan pro24 viding coverage to individuals in the State—
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1 (A) each such plan provide coverage of

2 health expenses relating to pregnancy and child3 birth (but not including any expenses relating

4 to carrying out a surrogate parenting arrange5 ment)—

6 (i) upon the adoption of a child by an

7 individual enrolled in the plan, for the

8 child and for the biological mother of such

9 child, but only with respect to expenses in10 curred after the individual enrolled in the

11 plan furnishes written notice to the spon12 sor of the plan of the individual’s intent to

13 adopt the biological mother’s child, and

14 (ii) for any dependent child of an indi15 vidual enrolled in the plan; and

16 (B) the sponsor of such a plan may not ex17 clude, terminate, or otherwise limit coverage

18 under the plan with respect to the adopted child

19 of an individual enrolled in the plan on the

20 basis that such child has a pre-existing condi21 tion.

22 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

23 (1) the term ‘‘health benefit plan’’ means any

24 plan, fund, or program that provides medical care to
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1 participants or beneficiaries directly or through in2 surance, reimbursement, or otherwise;

3 (2) the term ‘‘pre-existing condition’’ means

4 any disease, disability, disorder, impairment, or

5 other health condition; and

6 (3) the term ‘‘sponsor’’ means any entity in a

7 State providing a health benefit plan in a State.

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