In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

June 13, 2018. 

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 1091) entitled ‘‘An Act to establish a Federal Task Force to Support 

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.’’, do pass with the following 

AMENDMENTS: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Grand3 parents Raising Grandchildren Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) More than 2,500,000 grandparents in the 

7 United States are the primary caretaker of their 

8 grandchildren, and experts report that such numbers 

9 are increasing as the opioid epidemic expands. 

10 (2) Between 2009 and 2016, the incidence of pa11 rental alcohol or other drug use as a contributing fac12 tor for children’s out-of-home placement rose from 

13 25.4 to 37.4 percent. 

14 (3) When children cannot remain safely with 

15 their parents, placement with relatives is preferred 
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1 over placement in foster care with nonrelatives be2 cause placement with relatives provides stability for 

3 children and helps them maintain family connections. 

4 (4) The number of foster children placed with a 

5 grandparent or other relative increased from 24 per6 cent in 2006 to 32 percent in 2016, according to data 

7 from the Department of Health and Human Services. 

8 (5) Grandparents’ lives are enhanced by caring 

9 for their grandchildren; the overwhelming majority of 

10 grandparents report experiencing significant benefits 

11 in serving as their grandchildren’s primary care12 givers. 

13 (6) Providing full-time care to their grand14 children may decrease grandparents’ ability to ad15 dress their own physical and mental health needs and 

16 personal well-being. 

17 (7) Grandparents would benefit from better co18 ordination and dissemination of information and re19 sources available to support them in their caregiving 

20 responsibilities. 

21 SEC. 3. ADVISORY COUNCIL TO SUPPORT GRANDPARENTS 

22 RAISING GRANDCHILDREN. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an Advi24 sory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grand25 children. 
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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Council shall be 

3 composed of the following members, or their designee: 

4 (A) The Secretary of Health and Human 

5 Services. 

6 (B) The Secretary of Education. 

7 (C) The Administrator of the Administra8 tion for Community Living. 

9 (D) The Director of the Centers for Disease 

10 Control and Prevention. 

11 (E) The Assistant Secretary for Mental 

12 Health and Substance Use. 

13 (F) The Assistant Secretary for the Admin14 istration for Children and Families. 

15 (G) A grandparent raising a grandchild. 

16 (H) An older relative caregiver of children. 

17 (I) As appropriate, the head of other Fed18 eral departments, or agencies, identified by the 

19 Secretary of Health and Human Services as hav20 ing responsibilities, or administering programs, 

21 relating to current issues affecting grandparents 

22 or other older relatives raising children. 

23 (2) LEAD AGENCY.—The Department of Health 

24 and Human Services shall be the lead agency for the 

25 Advisory Council. 
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1 (c) DUTIES.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

3 (A) INFORMATION.—The Advisory Council 

4 shall identify, promote, coordinate, and dissemi5 nate to the public information, resources, and the 

6 best practices available to help grandparents and 

7 other older relatives— 

8 (i) meet the health, educational, nutri9 tional, and other needs of the children in 

10 their care; and 

11 (ii) maintain their own physical and 

12 mental health and emotional well-being. 

13 (B) OPIOIDS.—In carrying out the duties 

14 described in subparagraph (A), the Advisory 

15 Council shall consider the needs of those affected 

16 by the opioid crisis. 

17 (C) NATIVE AMERICANS.—In carrying out 

18 the duties described in subparagraph (A), the 

19 Advisory Council shall consider the needs of 

20 members of Native American tribes. 

21 (2) REPORT.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Advi24 sory Council shall submit a report to— 

25 (i) the appropriate committees; 
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1 (ii) the State agencies that are respon2 sible for carrying out family caregiver pro3 grams; and 

4 (iii) the public online in an accessible 

5 format. 

6 (B) REPORT FORMAT.—The report shall in7 clude— 

8 (i) best practices, resources, and other 

9 useful information for grandparents and 

10 other older relatives raising children identi11 fied under paragraph (1)(A) including, if 

12 applicable, any information related to the 

13 needs of children who have been impacted 

14 by the opioid epidemic; 

15 (ii) an identification of any gaps in 

16 items under clause (i); and 

17 (iii) where applicable, identification of 

18 any additional Federal legislative authority 

19 necessary to implement the activities de20 scribed in clause (i) and (ii). 

21 (3) FOLLOW-UP REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

22 after the date on which the report required under 

23 paragraph (2)(A) is submitted, the Advisory Council 

24 shall submit a follow-up report that includes the in25 formation identified in paragraph (2)(B) to— 
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1 (A) the appropriate committees; 

2 (B) the State agencies that are responsible 

3 for carrying out family caregiver programs; and 

4 (C) the public online in an accessible for5 mat. 

6 (4) PUBLIC INPUT.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Council 

8 shall establish a process for public input to in9 form the development of, and provide updates to, 

10 the best practices, resources, and other informa11 tion described in paragraph (1) that shall in12 clude— 

13 (i) outreach to States, local entities, 

14 and organizations that provide information 

15 to, or support for, grandparents or other 

16 older relatives raising children; and 

17 (ii) outreach to grandparents and other 

18 older relatives with experience raising chil19 dren. 

20 (B) NATURE OF OUTREACH.—Such outreach 

21 shall ask individuals to provide input on— 

22 (i) information, resources, and best 

23 practices available, including identification 

24 of any gaps and unmet needs; and 
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1 (ii) recommendations that would help 

2 grandparents and other older relatives bet3 ter meet the health, educational, nutritional, 

4 and other needs of the children in their 

5 care, as well as maintain their own phys6 ical and mental health and emotional well7 being. 

8 (d) FACA.—The Advisory Council shall be exempt 

9 from the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee 

10 Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

11 (e) FUNDING.—No additional funds are authorized to 

12 be appropriated to carry out this Act. 

13 (f) SUNSET.—The Advisory Council shall terminate on 

14 the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this 

15 Act. 

16 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—In this Act, the term 

19 ‘‘Advisory Council’’ means the Advisory Council to 

20 Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren that is 

21 established under section 3. 

22 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES.—In this Act, the 

23 term ‘‘appropriate committees’’ means the following: 

24 (A) The Special Committee on Aging of the 

25 Senate. 
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1 (B) The Committee on Health, Education, 

2 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 

3 (C) The Committee on Education and the 

4 Workforce of the House of Representatives. 

5 (D) The Committee on Energy and Com6 merce of the House of Representatives. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘An Act to establish 

a Federal Advisory Council to Support Grandparents 

Raising Grandchildren.’’. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1091 

AMENDMENTS