I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2558 

To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to require the 

Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct research on indicators of child well-being. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2009 

Mr. FATTAH (for himself and Mr. CAMP) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

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

to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to conduct research on indicators of child well-being. 

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 ‘‘State Child Well-Being 

5 Research Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The well-being of children is a paramount 

9 concern for our Nation and for every State, and 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
2 

•HR 2558 IH

1 most programs for children and families are man2 aged at the State or local level. 

3 (2) Child well-being varies over time and across 

4 social, economic, and geographic groups, and can be 

5 affected by changes in the circumstances of families, 

6 by the economy, by the social and cultural environ7 ment, and by public policies and programs at the 

8 Federal, State, and local level. 

9 (3) States, including small States, need infor10 mation about child well-being that is specific to their 

11 State and that is up-to-date, cost-effective, and con12 sistent across States and over time. 

13 (4) Regular collection of child well-being infor14 mation at the State level is essential so that Federal 

15 and State officials can track child well-being over 

16 time. 

17 (5) Information on child well-being is necessary 

18 for all States, particularly small States that do not 

19 have State-level data in other federally supported 

20 databases. Information is needed on the well-being 

21 of all children, not just children participating in 

22 Federal programs. 

23 (6) Telephone surveys of parents represent a 

24 relatively cost-effective strategy for obtaining infor25 mation on child well-being at the State level for all 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
3 

•HR 2558 IH

1 States, including small States, and can be conducted 

2 alone or in mixed mode strategy with other survey 

3 techniques. 

4 (7) Data from telephone surveys of the popu5 lation are currently used to monitor progress toward 

6 many important national goals, including immuniza7 tion of preschool children with the National Immuni8 zation Survey, and the identification of health care 

9 issues of children with special needs with the Na10 tional Survey of Children with Special Health Care 

11 Needs. 

12 (8) A State-level telephone survey, alone or in 

13 combination with other techniques, can provide in14 formation on a range of topics, including children’s 

15 social and emotional development, education, health, 

16 safety, family income, family employment, and child 

17 care. Information addressing marriage and family 

18 structure can also be obtained for families with chil19 dren. Information obtained from such a survey 

20 would not be available solely for children or families 

21 participating in programs but would be representa22 tive of the entire State population and consequently, 

23 would inform welfare policymaking on a range of im24 portant issues, such as income support, child care, 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
4 

•HR 2558 IH

1 child abuse and neglect, child health, family forma2 tion, and education. 

3 SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON INDICATORS OF CHILD WELL-BEING. 

4 Section 413 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 613) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(k) INDICATORS OF CHILD WELL-BEING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) RENAMING OF SURVEY.—On and after the 

8 date of the enactment of this subsection, the Na9 tional Survey of Children’s Health conducted by the 

10 Director of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau 

11 of the Health Resources and Services Administration 

12 shall be known as the ‘Survey of Children’s Health 

13 and Well-Being’. 

14 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATION OF SURVEY TO INCLUDE

15 MATTERS RELATING TO CHILD WELL-BEING.—The 

16 Secretary shall modify the survey so that it may be 

17 used to better assess child well-being, as follows: 

18 ‘‘(A) NEW INDICATORS INCLUDED.—The 

19 indicators with respect to which the survey col20 lects information shall include measures of 

21 child-well-being related to the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) Education. 

23 ‘‘(ii) Social and emotional develop24 ment. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
5 

•HR 2558 IH

1 ‘‘(iii) Physical and mental health and 

2 safety. 

3 ‘‘(iv) Family well-being, such as fam4 ily structure, income, employment, child 

5 care arrangements, and family relation6 ships. 

7 ‘‘(B) COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS.—The 

8 data collected with respect to the indicators de9 veloped under subparagraph (A) shall be— 

10 ‘‘(i) statistically representative at the 

11 State and national level; 

12 ‘‘(ii) consistent across States, except 

13 that data shall be collected in States other 

14 than the 50 States and the District of Co15 lumbia only if technically feasible; 

16 ‘‘(iii) collected on an annual or ongo17 ing basis; 

18 ‘‘(iv) measured with reliability; 

19 ‘‘(v) current; 

20 ‘‘(vi) over-sampled (if feasible), with 

21 respect to low-income children and fami22 lies, so that subgroup estimates can be 

23 produced by a variety of income categories 

24 (such as for 50, 100, and 200 percent of 

25 the poverty level, and for children of varied 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
6 

•HR 2558 IH

1 ages, such as 0–5, 6–11, 12–17, and (if 

2 feasible) 18–21 years of age); and 

3 ‘‘(vii) made publicly available. 

4 ‘‘(C) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) PUBLICATION.—The data col6 lected with respect to the indicators devel7 oped under subparagraph (A) shall be pub8 lished as absolute numbers and expressed 

9 in terms of rates or percentages. 

10 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—A data 

11 file shall be made available to the public, 

12 subject to confidentiality requirements, 

13 that includes the indicators, demographic 

14 information, and ratios of income to pov15 erty. 

16 ‘‘(iii) SAMPLE SIZES.—Sample sizes 

17 used for the collected data shall be ade18 quate for microdata on the categories in19 cluded in subparagraph (B)(vi) to be made 

20 publicly available, subject to confidentiality 

21 requirements. 

22 ‘‘(D) CONSULTATION.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In developing the 

24 indicators under subparagraph (A) and the 

25 means to collect the data required with reVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:07 May 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2558.IH H2558

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
7 

•HR 2558 IH

1 spect to the indicators, the Secretary shall 

2 consult and collaborate with a sub3 committee of the Federal Interagency 

4 Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 

5 which shall include representatives with ex6 pertise on all the domains of child well7 being described in subparagraph (A). The 

8 subcommittee shall have appropriate staff 

9 assigned to work with the Maternal and 

10 Child Health Bureau during the design 

11 phase of the survey. 

12 ‘‘(ii) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall 

13 consult with the subcommittee referred to 

14 in clause (i) with respect to the design, 

15 content, and methodology for the develop16 ment of the indicators under subparagraph 

17 (A) and the collection of data regarding 

18 the indicators, and the availability or lack 

19 thereof of similar data through other Fed20 eral data collection efforts. 

21 ‘‘(iii) COSTS.—Costs incurred by the 

22 subcommittee with respect to the develop23 ment of the indicators and the collection of 

24 data related to the indicators shall be 

25 treated as costs of the survey. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
8 

•HR 2558 IH

1 ‘‘(3) ADVISORY PANEL.— 

2 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in 

3 consultation with the Federal Interagency 

4 Forum on Child and Family Statistics, shall es5 tablish an advisory panel of experts to make 

6 recommendations regarding— 

7 ‘‘(i) the additional matters to be ad8 dressed by the survey by reason of this 

9 subsection; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the methods, dissemination strat11 egies, and statistical tools necessary to 

12 conduct the survey as a whole. 

13 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The advisory 

15 panel established under subparagraph (A) 

16 of this paragraph shall include experts on 

17 each of the domains of child well-being de18 scribed in paragraph (2)(A), experts on 

19 child indicators, experts from State agen20 cies and from nonprofit organizations that 

21 use child indicator data at the State level, 

22 and experts on survey methodology. 

23 ‘‘(ii) DEADLINE.—The members of 

24 the advisory panel shall be appointed not 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
9 

•HR 2558 IH

1 later than 2 months after the date of the 

2 enactment of this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(C) MEETINGS.—The advisory panel es4 tablished under subparagraph (A) shall meet— 

5 ‘‘(i) at least 3 times during the first 

6 year after the date of enactment of this 

7 subsection; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) annually thereafter for the 4 suc9 ceeding years. 

10 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated for each of 

12 fiscal years 2010 through 2014, $20,000,000 for the 

13 purpose of carrying out this subsection.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. GAO REPORT ON COLLECTION AND REPORTING OF 

15 DATA ON DEATHS OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER 

16 CARE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of 

18 the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

19 United States shall conduct a study to determine, and sub20 mit to the Congress a written report on the adequacy of, 

21 the methods of collecting and reporting data on deaths of 

22 children in the child welfare system. 

23 (b) MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In the study, 

24 the Comptroller General shall, for each year for which 

25 data are available, determine— 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
10 

•HR 2558 IH

1 (1) the number of children eligible for services 

2 or benefits under part B or E of title IV of the So3 cial Security Act who States reported as having died 

4 due to abuse or neglect; 

5 (2) the number of children so eligible who died 

6 due to abuse or neglect but were not accounted for 

7 in State reports; and 

8 (3) the number of children in State child wel9 fare systems who died due to abuse or neglect and 

10 whose deaths are not included in the data described 

11 in paragraph (1) or (2). 

12 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In the report, the Comp13 troller General shall include recommendations on how sur14 veys of children by the Federal Government and by State 

15 governments can be improved to better capture all data 

16 on the death of children in the child welfare system, so 

17 that the Congress can work with the States to develop bet18 ter policies to improve the well-being of children and re19 duce child deaths. 

Æ 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS