II 

Calendar No. 149 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 847 

To establish the International Children with Disabilities Protection Program 

within the Department of State, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 16, 2023 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. MORAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, 

Mr. CARDIN, Mr. TILLIS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. KAINE, Ms. DUCKWORTH, 

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

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

JULY 25, 2023 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

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

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 with Disabilities Protection Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

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

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

5 children and youth with disabilities in the world, in6 cluding approximately 53,000,000 children under 

7 age 5. 

8 (2) Families and children with disabilities to9 gether make up nearly 2,000,000,000 people, or 25 

10 percent of the world’s population. 

11 (3) Millions of children, particularly children 

12 with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, 

13 are placed in large or small residential institutions 

14 and most of those children are left to grow up with15 out the love, support, and guidance of a family. The 

16 vast majority of children placed in residential insti17 tutions have at least one living parent or have ex18 tended family, many of whom would keep their chil19 dren at home if they had the support and legal pro20 tections necessary to do so. 

21 (4) As described in the 2013 world report pub22 lished by UNICEF, many parents who wish to keep 

23 their children with disabilities feel that they have no 

24 choice but to give up their child to a residential in25 stitution because of prejudice and stigma against 

26 disability, the lack of support and protection that 


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1 families receive, and the fact that education and 

2 community services are often inaccessible or inap3 propriate for children with disabilities. 

4 (5) Extensive scientific research demonstrates 

5 that placing children in residential institutions may 

6 lead to psychological harm, increased developmental 

7 disabilities, stunted growth, rapid spread of infec8 tious diseases, and high rates of mortality. 

9 (6) Leading child protection organizations have 

10 documented that children and adolescents raised 

11 without families in residential institutions face high 

12 risk of violence, trafficking for forced labor or the 

13 sex industry, forced abortion or sterilization, and 

14 criminal detention. 

15 (7) The danger of family breakup and institu16 tionalization has grown enormously as a result of the 

17 COVID–19 pandemic. According to a study pub18 lished in The Lancet, as of September 2022, a min19 imum of 10,500,000 children globally have lost a 

20 parent or co-residing caregiver to COVID–19 and 

21 are now at increased risk of placement in a residen22 tial institution. 

23 (8) The disability rights movement in the 

24 United States has been a world leader and an inspi25 ration to the growth of a global disability rights 


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1 movement. The United States has many models of 

2 practice that could be shared with countries around 

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

4 promote the full inclusion of children with disabil5 ities in families around the world. 

6 (9) The Advancing Protection and Care for 

7 Children in Adversity strategy of the United States 

8 Government (APCCA) and the Global Child Thrive 

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

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

11 United States Government to investing in the devel12 opment, care, dignity, and safety of vulnerable chil13 dren and their families around the world, including 

14 efforts to keep children with their families and re15 duce placement of children in residential institutions. 

16 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that— 

18 (1) stigma and discrimination against children 

19 with disabilities, particularly intellectual and other 

20 developmental disabilities, and lack of support for 

21 community inclusion have left people with disabilities 

22 and their families economically and socially 

23 marginalized; 

24 (2) organizations of persons with disabilities 

25 and family members of persons with disabilities are 


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1 often too small to apply for or obtain funds from do2 mestic or international sources or ineligible to re3 ceive funds from such sources; 

4 (3) as a result of the factors described in para5 graphs (1) and (2), key stakeholders have often been 

6 left out of public policymaking on matters that af7 fect children with disabilities; and 

8 (4) financial support, technical assistance, and 

9 active engagement of people with disabilities and 

10 their families is needed to ensure the development of 

11 effective policies that protect families, ensure the full 

12 inclusion in society of children with disabilities, and 

13 promote the transition of children with disabilities to 

14 independent living as adults. 

15 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

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

18 means the Department of State. 

19 (2) FAMILY.—The term ‘‘family’’ includes mar20 ried and unmarried parents, single parents, adoptive 

21 families, kinship care, extended family, and foster 

22 care. 

23 (3) ORGANIZATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABIL24 ITIES.—The term ‘‘organization of persons with dis25 abilities’’ means a nongovernmental civil society orVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S847.RS S847

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1 ganization with staff leadership and a board of di2 rectors the majority of which consists of— 

3 (A) people with disabilities; 

4 (B) individuals who were formerly placed 

5 in a residential institution; or 

6 (C) family members of children or youth 

7 with disabilities. 

8 (4) RESIDENTIAL INSTITUTION.—The term 

9 ‘‘residential institution’’— 

10 (A) means a facility where children live in 

11 a collective arrangement that is not family12 based and that— 

13 (i) may be public or privately man14 aged and staffed; 

15 (ii) may be small or large; and 

16 (iii) may or may not be designated for 

17 children with disabilities; and 

18 (B) includes an orphanage, a children’s in19 stitution, a group home, an infant home, a chil20 dren’s village or cottage complex, a boarding 

21 school used primarily for care, and any other 

22 residential setting for children. 

23 SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

24 It is the policy of the United States to— 


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1 (1) assist countries abroad in creating rights 

2 protection programs for people with disabilities and 

3 developing policies and social supports to ensure that 

4 children with disabilities can grow up as members of 

5 families and make the transition to independent liv6 ing as adults; 

7 (2) promote the development of advocacy skills 

8 and leadership abilities of people with disabilities 

9 and family members of children and youth with dis10 abilities so that such individuals can effectively par11 ticipate in their local, regional, and national govern12 ments to promote policy reforms and programs to 

13 support full inclusion in families of children with dis14 abilities; 

15 (3) promote the development of laws and poli16 cies that— 

17 (A) strengthen families and protect against 

18 the unnecessary institutionalization of children 

19 with disabilities; and 

20 (B) create opportunities for youth with dis21 abilities to receive the resources and support 

22 needed to achieve their full potential and transi23 tion to independent living as adults; 

24 (4) promote participation by different groups of 

25 people with disabilities and their families in advoVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S847.RS S847

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1 cating for disability rights and reforms to legal 

2 frameworks; and 

3 (5) promote the sustainable action needed to 

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

5 ensure full family inclusion of children with disabil6 ities and the transition of children with disabilities 

7 to independent living as adults. 

8 SEC. 6. INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES 

9 PROTECTION PROGRAM AND CAPACITY 

10 BUILDING. 

11 (a) INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

12 PROTECTION PROGRAM.— 

13 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—There is 

14 established within the Bureau of Democracy, 

15 Human Rights, and Labor of the Department a 

16 grant and capacity-building program to be known as 

17 the ‘‘International Children with Disabilities Protec18 tion Program’’ (in this section referred to as the 

19 ‘‘Program’’). 

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

21 to assist organizations of persons with disabilities 

22 and family members of children with disabilities in 

23 communicating about and advocating for policies 

24 that ensure the family inclusion and transition to 


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1 independent living of children with disabilities to ad2 vance the policy described in section 5. 

3 (3) CRITERIA.—The Secretary of State, in con4 sultation with leading civil society groups with exper5 tise in global disability rights, shall establish criteria 

6 for— 

7 (A) applications for grants awarded under 

8 paragraph (4); and 

9 (B) the selection of— 

10 (i) the countries or regions targeted 

11 under the Program; 

12 (ii) priority activities funded through 

13 grants awarded under paragraph (4); and 

14 (iii) capacity-building needs of recipi15 ents of grants awarded under paragraph 

16 (4). 

17 (4) DISABILITY INCLUSION GRANTS.— 

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

19 may award grants to eligible implementing 

20 partners to administer grant amounts directly 

21 or through subgrants. 

22 (B) ELIGIBLE IMPLEMENTING PART23 NERS.—For purposes of this paragraph, an eli24 gible implementing partner is a nongovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S847.RS S847

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1 mental organization or other civil society orga2 nization that— 

3 (i) has the capacity to administer 

4 grant amounts— 

5 (I) directly; or 

6 (II) through subgrants that can 

7 be effectively used by emerging new 

8 organizations of persons with disabil9 ities; and 

10 (ii) has expertise in disability rights. 

11 (C) PRIORITY.—The Secretary of State 

12 shall prioritize awarding grants under this 

13 paragraph to eligible implementing partners 

14 with experience operating or administering sub15 grants in countries for which the Assistant Sec16 retary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, 

17 and Labor, in consultation with the United 

18 States Government Special Adviser and Senior 

19 Coordinator for the Administrator of the United 

20 States Agency for International Development 

21 on Children in Adversity, has determined that 

22 there are significant populations of children liv23 ing in residential institutions. 


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1 (D) SUBGRANTS.—An eligible imple2 menting partner that receives a grant under 

3 this paragraph should seek to— 

4 (i) provide not less than 50 percent of 

5 the grant amount through subgrants to 

6 local organizations of persons with disabil7 ities and other nongovernmental organiza8 tions working in country to advance the 

9 policy described in section 5; and 

10 (ii) provide, of any amount distributed 

11 pursuant to clause (i)— 

12 (I) 75 percent to organizations of 

13 persons with disabilities; and 

14 (II) 25 percent to other non15 governmental organizations. 

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

17 of State is authorized to provide funds to nongovernmental 

18 organizations with expertise in capacity building and tech19 nical assistance to develop capacity-building programs 

20 to— 

21 (1) develop disability leaders, legislators, policy22 makers, and service providers to plan and implement 

23 programs to advance the policy described in section 

24 5; 


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1 (2) build the advocacy capacity and knowledge 

2 of successful models of rights enforcement, family 

3 support, and disability inclusion among disability, 

4 youth, and allied civil society advocates, attorneys, 

5 and professionals to advance the policy described in 

6 section 5; 

7 (3) create online programs to train policy8 makers, activists, and other individuals on successful 

9 models of reform, services, and rights protection to 

10 ensure that children with disabilities can live and 

11 grow up with families and become full participants 

12 in society, which— 

13 (A) are available globally; 

14 (B) offer low-cost or no-cost training ac15 cessible to persons with disabilities, family 

16 members of such persons, and other individuals 

17 with potential to offer future leadership in the 

18 advancement of the goals of family inclusion, 

19 transition to independent living as adults, and 

20 rights protection for children with disabilities; 

21 and 

22 (C) should be targeted to government pol23 icymakers, disability activists, and other poten24 tial allies and supporters among civil society 

25 groups; and 


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1 (4) create study tours so activists and policy2 makers from abroad can observe and better under3 stand the operation of successful models of family 

4 and community inclusion and rights advocacy, in5 cluding exposing such activists and policymakers to 

6 models of good practice in the United States. 

7 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

9 appropriated to carry out this section amounts as 

10 follows: 

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

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

13 2025 through 2029. 

14 (2) CAPACITY-BUILDING AND TECHNICAL AS15 SISTANCE PROGRAMS.—Of the amounts authorized 

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

17 $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and not less than 

18 $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

19 2029 are authorized to be available for capacity20 building and technical assistance programs to sup21 port disability rights leadership and to train and en22 gage policymakers, professionals, and allies in civil 

23 society organizations in foreign countries. 

24 SEC. 7. BRIEFINGS AND REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION. 

25 (a) ANNUAL BRIEFING REQUIRED.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than an2 nually through fiscal year 2029, the Secretary of 

3 State shall submit to the Committee on Health, 

4 Education, Labor, and Pensions, the Committee on 

5 Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Appropria6 tions of the Senate a briefing on— 

7 (A) the programs and activities carried out 

8 to advance the policy described in section 5; 

9 and 

10 (B) any broader work of the Department 

11 in advancing that policy. 

12 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each briefing required by 

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

14 program carried out under section 6— 

15 (A) the rationale for the country and pro16 gram selection; 

17 (B) the goals and objectives of the pro18 gram, and the kinds of participants in the ac19 tivities and programs supported; 

20 (C) a description of the types of technical 

21 assistance and capacity building provided; and 

22 (D) an identification of any gaps in fund23 ing or support needed to ensure full participa24 tion of organizations of persons with disabilities 


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1 or inclusion of children with disabilities in the 

2 program. 

3 (b) REPORTS REQUIRED.— 

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

5 once every 3 years through fiscal year 2029, the 

6 Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on 

7 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, the Com8 mittee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on 

9 Appropriations of the Senate a report on the mat10 ters described in subsection (a)(1). 

11 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by para12 graph (1) shall include the elements described in 

13 subsection (a)(2). 

14 (3) CONSULTATION.—In preparing each report 

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

16 shall consult with organizations of persons with dis17 abilities. 

18 SEC. 8. PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION AND 

19 ADVOCACY FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABIL20 ITIES. 

21 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PROGRAMMING AND

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

23 (1) all programming of the Department and the 

24 United States Agency for International Development 

25 related to childcare reform, improvement of health 


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1 care systems, primary and secondary education, dis2 ability rights, and human rights should seek to be 

3 consistent with the policy described in section 5; and 

4 (2) programs of the Department and the 

5 United States Agency for International Development 

6 related to children, health care, and education— 

7 (A) should— 

8 (i) engage organizations of persons 

9 with disabilities in policymaking and pro10 gram implementation; and 

11 (ii) support full inclusion of children 

12 with disabilities in families; and 

13 (B) should aim to avoid support for resi14 dential institutions for children with disabilities 

15 except in situations of conflict or emergency in 

16 a manner that protects family connections as 

17 described in subsection (b). 

18 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CONFLICT AND EMER19 GENCIES.—It is the sense of Congress that— 

20 (1) programs of the Department and the 

21 United States Agency for International Development 

22 serving children in situations of conflict or emer23 gency, among displaced or refugee populations, or in 

24 natural disasters should seek to ensure that children 


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1 with and without disabilities can maintain family 

2 ties; and 

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

4 separated from parents or have no family, every ef5 fort should be made to ensure that children are 

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

7 a substitute family. 

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

10 with Disabilities Protection Act of 2023’’. 

11 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that— 

13 (1) stigma and discrimination against children 

14 with disabilities, particularly intellectual and other 

15 developmental disabilities, and lack of support for 

16 community inclusion have left people with disabilities 

17 and their families economically and socially 

18 marginalized; 

19 (2) organizations of persons with disabilities and 

20 family members of persons with disabilities are often 

21 too small to apply for or obtain funds from domestic 

22 or international sources or ineligible to receive funds 

23 from such sources; 

24 (3) as a result of the factors described in para25 graphs (1) and (2), key stakeholders have often been 


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1 left out of public policymaking on matters that affect 

2 children with disabilities; and 

3 (4) financial support, technical assistance, and 

4 active engagement of persons with disabilities and 

5 their families is needed to ensure the development of 

6 effective policies that protect families, ensure the full 

7 inclusion in society of children with disabilities, and 

8 promote the ability of persons with disabilities to live 

9 in the community with choices equal to others. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

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

13 means the Department of State. 

14 (2) ELIGIBLE IMPLEMENTING PARTNER.—The 

15 term ‘‘eligible implementing partner’’ means a non16 governmental organization or other civil society orga17 nization that— 

18 (A) has the capacity to administer grants 

19 directly or through subgrants that can be effec20 tively used by local organizations of persons with 

21 disabilities; and 

22 (B) has international expertise in the rights 

23 of persons with disabilities, including children 

24 with disabilities and their families. 


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1 (3) ORGANIZATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABIL2 ITIES.—The term ‘‘organization of persons with dis3 abilities’’ means a nongovernmental civil society or4 ganization run by and for persons with disabilities 

5 and families of children with disabilities. 

6 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

7 It is the policy of the United States to— 

8 (1) assist partner countries in developing poli9 cies and programs that recognize, support, and pro10 tect the civil and political rights of and enjoyment of 

11 fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities, in12 cluding children, such that the latter may grow and 

13 thrive in supportive family environments and make 

14 the transition to independent living as adults; 

15 (2) promote the development of advocacy and 

16 leadership skills among persons with disabilities and 

17 their families in a manner that enables effective civic 

18 engagement, including at the local, national, and re19 gional levels, and promote policy reforms and pro20 grams that support full economic and civic inclusion 

21 of persons with disabilities and their families; 

22 (3) promote the development of laws and policies 

23 that— 


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1 (A) strengthen families and protect against 

2 the unnecessary institutionalization of children 

3 with disabilities; and 

4 (B) create opportunities for children and 

5 youth with disabilities to access the resources 

6 and support needed to achieve their full potential 

7 to live independently in the community with 

8 choices equal to others; 

9 (4) promote the participation of persons with 

10 disabilities and their families in advocacy efforts and 

11 legal frameworks to recognize, support, and protect 

12 the civil and political rights of and enjoyment of fun13 damental freedoms by persons with disabilities; and 

14 (5) promote the sustainable action needed to 

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

16 ensure full family inclusion of children with disabil17 ities and the transition of children with disabilities to 

18 independent living as adults. 

19 SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES 

20 PROTECTION PROGRAM AND CAPACITY 

21 BUILDING. 

22 (a) INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

23 PROTECTION PROGRAM.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be es25 tablished within the Department of State a program 


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1 to be known as the ‘‘International Children with Dis2 abilities Protection Program’’ (in this section referred 

3 to as the ‘‘Program’’) to carry out the policy described 

4 in section 4. 

5 (2) CRITERIA.—In carrying out the Program 

6 under this section, the Secretary of State, in consulta7 tion with leading civil society groups with expertise 

8 in the protection of civil and political rights of and 

9 enjoyment of fundamental freedoms by persons with 

10 disabilities, may establish criteria for priority activi11 ties under the Program in selected countries. 

12 (3) DISABILITY INCLUSION GRANTS.—The Sec13 retary of State may award grants to eligible imple14 menting partners to administer grant amounts di15 rectly or through subgrants. 

16 (4) SUBGRANTS.—An eligible implementing 

17 partner that receives a grant under paragraph (3) 

18 should provide subgrants and, in doing so, shall 

19 prioritize local organizations of persons with disabil20 ities working within a focus country or region to ad21 vance the policy described in section 4. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of funds made available in 

24 fiscal years 2024 through 2029 to carry out the pur25 poses of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 


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1 2151 et seq), there are authorized to be appropriated 

2 to carry out this Act amounts as follows: 

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

4 (B) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

5 through 2029. 

6 (2) CAPACITY-BUILDING AND TECHNICAL ASSIST7 ANCE PROGRAMS.—Of the amounts authorized to be 

8 appropriated by paragraph (1), not less than 

9 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2029 

10 should be available for capacity-building and tech11 nical assistance programs to— 

12 (A) develop the leadership skills of persons 

13 with disabilities, legislators, policymakers, and 

14 service providers in the planning and implemen15 tation of programs to advance the policy de16 scribed in section 4; 

17 (B) increase awareness of successful models 

18 of the promotion of civil and political rights and 

19 fundamental freedoms, family support, and eco20 nomic and civic inclusion among organizations 

21 of persons with disabilities and allied civil soci22 ety advocates, attorneys, and professionals to ad23 vance the policy described in section 4; and 

24 (C) create online programs to train policy25 makers, advocates, and other individuals on sucVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S847.RS S847

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1 cessful models to advance reforms, services, and 

2 protection measures that enable children with 

3 disabilities to live within supportive family envi4 ronments and become full participants in soci5 ety, which— 

6 (i) are available globally; 

7 (ii) offer low-cost or no-cost training 

8 accessible to persons with disabilities, fam9 ily members of such persons, and other indi10 viduals with potential to offer future leader11 ship in the advancement of the goals of fam12 ily inclusion, transition to independent liv13 ing as adults, and protection measures for 

14 children with disabilities; and 

15 (iii) should be targeted to government 

16 policymakers, advocates, and other potential 

17 allies and supporters among civil society 

18 groups. 

19 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION. 

20 (a) ANNUAL REPORT REQUIRED.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than an22 nually through fiscal year 2029, the Secretary of 

23 State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Rela24 tions and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

25 Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 


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1 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep2 resentatives a report on— 

3 (A) the programs and activities carried out 

4 to advance the policy described in section 4; and 

5 (B) any broader work of the Department in 

6 advancing that policy. 

7 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by para8 graph (1) shall include, with respect to each program 

9 carried out under section 5— 

10 (A) the rationale for the country and pro11 gram selection; 

12 (B) the goals and objectives of the program, 

13 and the kinds of participants in the activities 

14 and programs supported; 

15 (C) a description of the types of technical 

16 assistance and capacity building provided; and 

17 (D) an identification of any gaps in fund18 ing or support needed to ensure full participa19 tion of organizations of persons with disabilities 

20 or inclusion of children with disabilities in the 

21 program. 

22 (3) CONSULTATION.—In preparing each report 

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

24 shall consult with organizations of persons with dis25 abilities. 


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1 SEC. 7. PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION AND AD2 VOCACY FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES. 

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PROGRAMMING AND PRO4 GRAMS.—It is the sense of Congress that— 

5 (1) all programming of the Department and the 

6 United States Agency for International Development 

7 related to health systems strengthening, primary and 

8 secondary education, and the protection of civil and 

9 political rights of persons with disabilities should seek 

10 to be consistent with the policy described in section 4; 

11 and 

12 (2) programs of the Department and the United 

13 States Agency for International Development related 

14 to children, global health, and education— 

15 (A) should— 

16 (i) engage organizations of persons 

17 with disabilities in policymaking and pro18 gram implementation; and 

19 (ii) support full inclusion of children 

20 with disabilities in families; and 

21 (B) should aim to avoid support for resi22 dential institutions for children with disabilities 

23 except in situations of conflict or emergency in 

24 a manner that protects family connections as de25 scribed in subsection (b). 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CONFLICT AND EMER2 GENCIES.—It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) programs of the Department and the United 

4 States Agency for International Development serving 

5 children in situations of conflict or emergency, among 

6 displaced or refugee populations, or in natural disas7 ters should seek to ensure that children with and 

8 without disabilities can maintain family ties; and 

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

10 separated from parents or have no family, every effort 

11 should be made to ensure that children are placed 

12 with extended family, in kinship care, or in an adop13 tive or foster family. 


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Calendar No. 149 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 847 

A BILL 

To establish the International Children with Disment of State, and for other purposes. abilities Protection Program within the DepartJULY 25, 2023 

Reported with an amendment 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS