II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1876 

To reauthorize and restructure adoption incentive payments, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 19, 2013 

Mr. BAUCUS (for himself, Mr. HATCH, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. 

GRASSLEY, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To reauthorize and restructure adoption incentive payments, 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Strengthening And Finding Families for Children Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS 

Sec. 101. Extension of program through fiscal year 2016. 

Sec. 102. Improvements to award structure. 


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Sec. 103. Renaming of program. 

Sec. 104. Limitations on use of incentive payments. 

Sec. 105. State report on calculation and use of savings resulting from the 

phase-out of eligibility requirements for adoption assistance; requirement to spend 40 percent of savings on certain services. 

Sec. 106. Preservation of eligibility for kinship guardianship assistance payments with a successor guardian. 

Sec. 107. Data collection on adoption and foster child guardianship disruption 

and dissolution. 

Sec. 108. Encouraging the placement of children in foster care with siblings. 

Sec. 109. Effective dates. 

TITLE II—EXTENSION OF FAMILY CONNECTION GRANT 

PROGRAM 

Sec. 201. Extension of family connection grant program. 

TITLE III—UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION 

Sec. 301. Improving the collection of unemployment insurance overpayments 

through tax refund offset. 

TITLE IV—BUDGETARY EFFECTS 

Sec. 401. Determination of budgetary effects. 

1 TITLE I—ADOPTION INCENTIVE 

2 PAYMENTS 

3 SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF PROGRAM THROUGH FISCAL 

4 YEAR 2016. 

5 Section 473A of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 673b) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ‘‘2008 

8 through 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2013 through 2015’’; 

9 and 

10 (2) in each of paragraphs (1)(D) and (2) of 

11 subsection (h), by striking ‘‘2013’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘2016’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. IMPROVEMENTS TO AWARD STRUCTURE. 

2 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARD.—Section 473A(b) of 

3 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(b)) is amended 

4 by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating paragraphs 

5 (3) through (5) as paragraphs (2) through (4), respec6 tively. 

7 (b) DATA REQUIREMENTS.—Section 473A(c)(2) of 

8 such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(c)(2)) is amended— 

9 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

10 ‘‘NUMBERS OF ADOPTIONS’’ and inserting ‘‘RATES

11 OF ADOPTIONS AND GUARDIANSHIPS’’; 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘the numbers’’ and all that fol13 lows through ‘‘section,’’ and inserting ‘‘each of the 

14 rates required to be determined under this section 

15 with respect to a State and a fiscal year,’’; and 

16 (3) by inserting before the period the following: 

17 ‘‘, and, with respect to the determination of the 

18 rates related to foster child guardianships, on the 

19 basis of information reported to the Secretary under 

20 paragraph (12) of subsection (g)’’. 

21 (c) AWARD AMOUNT.—Section 473A(d) of such Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 673b(d)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraphs 

24 (A) through (C) and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(A) $4,000, multiplied by the amount (if 

26 any) by which— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the number of foster child adop2 tions in the State during the fiscal year; 

3 exceeds 

4 ‘‘(ii) the product (rounded to the 

5 nearest whole number) of— 

6 ‘‘(I) the base rate of foster child 

7 adoptions for the State for the fiscal 

8 year; and 

9 ‘‘(II) the number of children in 

10 foster care under the supervision of 

11 the State on the last day of the pre12 ceding fiscal year; 

13 ‘‘(B) $8,000, multiplied by the amount (if 

14 any) by which— 

15 ‘‘(i) the number of older child adop16 tions and older foster child guardianships 

17 in the State during the fiscal year; exceeds 

18 ‘‘(ii) the product (rounded to the 

19 nearest whole number) of— 

20 ‘‘(I) the base rate of older child 

21 adoptions and older foster child 

22 guardianships for the State for the 

23 fiscal year; and 

24 ‘‘(II) the number of children in 

25 foster care under the supervision of 


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1 the State on the last day of the pre2 ceding fiscal year who have attained 

3 age 9; 

4 ‘‘(C) $4,500, multiplied by the amount (if 

5 any) by which— 

6 ‘‘(i) the number of special needs adop7 tions that are not older child adoptions in 

8 the State during the fiscal year; exceeds 

9 ‘‘(ii) the product (rounded to the 

10 nearest whole number) of— 

11 ‘‘(I) the base rate of special 

12 needs adoptions that are not older 

13 child adoptions for the State for the 

14 fiscal year; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the number of children in 

16 foster care under the supervision of 

17 the State on the last day of the pre18 ceding fiscal year who have not at19 tained age 9; and 

20 ‘‘(D) $4,000, multiplied by the amount (if 

21 any) by which— 

22 ‘‘(i) the number of foster child 

23 guardianships in the State during the fis24 cal year; exceeds 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the product (rounded to the 

2 nearest whole number) of— 

3 ‘‘(I) the base rate of foster child 

4 guardianships for the State for the 

5 fiscal year; and 

6 ‘‘(II) the number of children in 

7 foster care under the supervision of 

8 the State on the last day of the pre9 ceding fiscal year.’’; and 

10 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(3) INCREASED ADOPTION AND LEGAL GUARD13 IANSHIP INCENTIVE PAYMENT FOR TIMELY ADOP14 TIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If for any of fiscal 

16 years 2013 through 2015, the total amount of 

17 adoption and legal guardianship incentive pay18 ments payable under paragraph (1) of this sub19 section are less than the amount appropriated 

20 under subsection (h) for the fiscal year, then, 

21 from the remainder of the amount appropriated 

22 for the fiscal year that is not required for such 

23 payments (in this paragraph referred to as the 

24 ‘timely adoption award pool’), the Secretary 

25 shall increase the adoption incentive payment 


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1 determined under paragraph (1) for each State 

2 that the Secretary determines is a timely adop3 tion award State for the fiscal year by the 

4 award amount determined for the fiscal year 

5 under subparagraph (C). 

6 ‘‘(B) TIMELY ADOPTION AWARD STATE DE7 FINED.—A State is a timely adoption award 

8 State for a fiscal year if the State is one of the 

9 50 States or the District of Columbia and the 

10 Secretary determines that more than 50 percent 

11 of the foster child adoptions that were finalized 

12 in the State during the fiscal year were for chil13 dren for whom an adoption was finalized not 

14 more than 12 months after the date on which 

15 the child becomes legally free for adoption. 

16 ‘‘(C) AWARD AMOUNT.—For purposes of 

17 subparagraph (A), the award amount deter18 mined under this subparagraph with respect to 

19 a fiscal year is the amount equal to the product 

20 of— 

21 ‘‘(i) the timely adoption award pool 

22 for the fiscal year; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the number of timely adoption 

24 award States for the fiscal year.’’. 


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1 (d) DEFINITIONS.—Section 473A(g) of such Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 673b(g)) is amended by striking paragraphs (1) 

3 through (8) and inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION RATE.—The 

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

6 to a State and a fiscal year, the percentage deter7 mined by dividing— 

8 ‘‘(A) the number of foster child adoptions 

9 finalized in the State during the fiscal year; by 

10 ‘‘(B) the number of children in foster care 

11 under the supervision of the State on the last 

12 day of the preceding fiscal year. 

13 ‘‘(2) BASE RATE OF FOSTER CHILD ADOP14 TIONS.—The term ‘base rate of foster child adop15 tions’ means, with respect to a State and a fiscal 

16 year, the average of the foster child adoption rate 

17 for the State for the immediately preceding 3 fiscal 

18 years. 

19 ‘‘(3) FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION.—The term 

20 ‘foster child adoption’ means the final adoption of a 

21 child who, at the time of adoptive placement, was in 

22 foster care under the supervision of the State. 

23 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL NEEDS ADOPTIONS THAT ARE

24 NOT OLDER CHILD ADOPTIONS RATE.—The term 

25 ‘special needs adoptions that are not older child 


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1 adoptions rate’ means, with respect to a State and 

2 a fiscal year, the percentage determined by divid3 ing— 

4 ‘‘(A) the number of special needs adoptions 

5 that are not older child adoptions finalized in 

6 the State during the fiscal year; by 

7 ‘‘(B) the number of children in foster care 

8 under the supervision of the State on the last 

9 day of the preceding fiscal year who have not 

10 attained age 9. 

11 ‘‘(5) BASE RATE OF SPECIAL NEEDS ADOP12 TIONS THAT ARE NOT OLDER CHILD ADOPTIONS.— 

13 The term ‘base rate of special needs adoptions that 

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

15 a State and a fiscal year, the average of the special 

16 needs adoptions that are not older child adoptions 

17 rate for the State for the immediately preceding 3 

18 fiscal years. 

19 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL NEEDS ADOPTIONS THAT ARE

20 NOT OLDER CHILD ADOPTIONS.—The term ‘special 

21 needs adoptions that are not older child adoptions’ 

22 means the final adoptions of all children who have 

23 not attained age 9 and for whom an adoption assist24 ance agreement is in effect under section 473. 


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1 ‘‘(7) OLDER CHILD ADOPTIONS AND OLDER

2 FOSTER CHILD GUARDIANSHIPS RATE.—The term 

3 ‘older child adoptions and older foster child 

4 guardianships rate’ means, with respect to a State 

5 and a fiscal year, the percentage determined by di6 viding— 

7 ‘‘(A) the number of older child adoptions 

8 and older foster child guardianships finalized in 

9 the State during the fiscal year; by 

10 ‘‘(B) the number of children in foster care 

11 under the supervision of the State on the last 

12 day of the preceding fiscal year, who have at13 tained 9 years of age. 

14 ‘‘(8) BASE RATE OF OLDER CHILD ADOPTIONS

15 AND OLDER FOSTER CHILD GUARDIANSHIPS.—The 

16 term ‘base rate of older child adoptions and older 

17 foster child guardianships’ means, with respect to a 

18 State and a fiscal year, the average of the older 

19 child adoptions and older foster child guardianships 

20 rate for the State for the immediately preceding 3 

21 fiscal years. 

22 ‘‘(9) OLDER CHILD ADOPTIONS AND OLDER

23 FOSTER CHILD GUARDIANSHIPS.—The term ‘older 

24 child adoptions and older foster child guardianships’ 

25 means the final adoption, or the placement into legal 


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1 guardianship, of all children who have attained 9 

2 years of age and— 

3 ‘‘(A) at the time of the adoptive or legal 

4 guardianship placement, were in foster care 

5 under the supervision of the State; or 

6 ‘‘(B) for whom an adoption assistance 

7 agreement was in effect under section 473. 

8 ‘‘(10) FOSTER CHILD GUARDIANSHIP RATE.— 

9 The term ‘foster child guardianship rate’ means, 

10 with respect to a State and a fiscal year, the per11 centage determined by dividing— 

12 ‘‘(A) the number of foster child 

13 guardianships that occurred in the State during 

14 the fiscal year; by 

15 ‘‘(B) the number of children in foster care 

16 under the supervision of the State on the last 

17 day of the preceding fiscal year. 

18 ‘‘(11) BASE RATE OF FOSTER CHILD

19 GUARDIANSHIPS.—The term ‘base rate of foster 

20 child guardianships’ means, with respect to a State 

21 and a fiscal year, the average of the foster child 

22 guardianship rate for the State for the immediately 

23 preceding 3 fiscal years. 

24 ‘‘(12) FOSTER CHILD GUARDIANSHIP.—The 

25 term ‘foster child guardianship’ means, with respect 


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1 to a State, the exit of a child from foster care under 

2 the responsibility of the State to live with a legal 

3 guardian, if the State has reported to the Sec4 retary— 

5 ‘‘(A) that the State agency has determined 

6 that— 

7 ‘‘(i) the child has been removed from 

8 his or her home pursuant to a voluntary 

9 placement agreement or as a result of a ju10 dicial determination to the effect that con11 tinuation in the home would be contrary to 

12 the welfare of the child; 

13 ‘‘(ii) being returned home is not an 

14 appropriate option for the child; 

15 ‘‘(iii) the child demonstrates a strong 

16 attachment to the prospective legal guard17 ian, and the prospective legal guardian has 

18 a strong commitment to caring perma19 nently for the child; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) if the child has attained 14 years 

21 of age, the child has been consulted re22 garding the legal guardianship arrange23 ment; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) the alternative procedures used by 

2 the State to determine that legal guardianship 

3 is the appropriate option for the child.’’. 

4 SEC. 103. RENAMING OF PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The section heading of section 

6 473A of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673b) is 

7 amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 473A. ADOPTION AND LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP INCEN9 TIVE PAYMENTS.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

11 (1) Section 473A of such Act is amended in 

12 each of subsections (a), (d)(1), (d)(2)(A), and 

13 (d)(2)(B) (42 U.S.C. 673b(a), (d)(1), (d)(2)(A), and 

14 (d)(2)(B)) by inserting ‘‘and legal guardianship’’ 

15 after ‘‘adoption’’ each place it appears. 

16 (2) The heading of section 473A(d) of such Act 

17 (42 U.S.C. 673b(d)) is amended by inserting ‘‘AND

18 LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP’’ after ‘‘ADOPTION’’. 

19 SEC. 104. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF INCENTIVE PAYMENTS. 

20 Section 473A(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 673b(f)) is amended— 

22 (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘, and 

23 shall use the amount to supplement, and not sup24 plant, any Federal or non-Federal funds used to 


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1 provide any service under part B or E’’ before the 

2 period; 

3 (2) by inserting after the first sentence, the fol4 lowing: ‘‘In the case of any State that is paid an in5 centive payment under this section for a fiscal year 

6 that exceeds $100,000, the State shall use at least 

7 25 percent of the incentive payment made to the 

8 State for that fiscal year to provide services for chil9 dren who have been reunified with their families, in10 cluding services to youth who, after emancipating 

11 from foster care, return to their families, to support 

12 and sustain these reunifications.’’; and 

13 (3) by striking ‘‘the preceding sentence’’ and in14 serting ‘‘this subsection’’. 

15 SEC. 105. STATE REPORT ON CALCULATION AND USE OF 

16 SAVINGS RESULTING FROM THE PHASE-OUT 

17 OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOP18 TION ASSISTANCE; REQUIREMENT TO SPEND 

19 40 PERCENT OF SAVINGS ON CERTAIN SERV20 ICES. 

21 Section 473(a)(8) of the Social Security Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 673(a)(8)) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(8)(A) A State shall calculate the savings (if any) 

24 resulting from the application of paragraph (2)(A)(ii) to 

25 all applicable children for a fiscal year, using a methodVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:32 Dec 26, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1876.IS S1876

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1 ology specified by the Secretary or an alternate method2 ology proposed by the State and approved by the Sec3 retary. 

4 ‘‘(B) A State shall annually report to the Secretary— 

5 ‘‘(i) the methodology used to make the calcula6 tion described in subparagraph (A), without regard 

7 to whether any savings are found; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the amount of any savings referred to in 

9 subparagraph (A); and 

10 ‘‘(iii) how any such savings are spent, account11 ing for and reporting the spending separately from 

12 any other spending reported to the Secretary under 

13 part B or E. 

14 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall make all information re15 ported pursuant to subparagraph (B) (including the infor16 mation required under subparagraph (D)(iii)) available on 

17 the website of the Department of Health and Human 

18 Services in a location easily accessible to the public. 

19 ‘‘(D)(i) A State shall spend an amount equal to the 

20 amount of the savings (if any) in State expenditures under 

21 this part resulting from the application of paragraph 

22 (2)(A)(ii) to all applicable children for a fiscal year, to 

23 provide to children of families any service that may be pro24 vided under this part or part B, and shall spend not less 

25 than 40 percent of any such savings on— 


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1 ‘‘(I) post-adoption or post-guardianship services 

2 (as applicable) for children placed in adoptive, kin3 ship guardianship, or guardianship placements and 

4 their families; and 

5 ‘‘(II) services to support and sustain positive 

6 permanent outcomes for children who otherwise 

7 might enter into foster care under the responsibility 

8 of the State. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Any spending by a State in accordance with this 

10 subparagraph shall be used to supplement, and not sup11 plant, any Federal or non-Federal funds used to provide 

12 any service under part B or E. 

13 ‘‘(iii) A State shall include in the annual report sub14 mitted to the Secretary under subparagraph (B) a detailed 

15 account, in such form and manner as the Secretary shall 

16 require, of the services funded by the State to satisfy the 

17 requirements of clause (i) of this subparagraph.’’. 

18 SEC. 106. PRESERVATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR KINSHIP 

19 GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS 

20 WITH A SUCCESSOR GUARDIAN. 

21 Section 473(d)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 673(d)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY NOT AFFECTED BY RE25 PLACEMENT OF GUARDIAN WITH A SUCCESSOR


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1 GUARDIAN.—In the event of the death or inca2 pacity of the relative guardian, the eligibility of 

3 a child for a kinship guardianship assistance 

4 payment under this subsection shall not be af5 fected by reason of the replacement of the rel6 ative guardian with a successor legal guardian 

7 named in the kinship guardianship assistance 

8 agreement referred to in paragraph (1) (includ9 ing in any amendment to the agreement), not10 withstanding subparagraph (A) of this para11 graph and section 471(a)(28).’’. 

12 SEC. 107. DATA COLLECTION ON ADOPTION AND FOSTER 

13 CHILD GUARDIANSHIP DISRUPTION AND DIS14 SOLUTION. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 479 of the Social Security 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 679) is amended by adding at the end the 

17 following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(d)(1) Not later than 12 months after the date of 

19 enactment of the Strengthening And Finding Families for 

20 Children Act the Secretary shall, as part of the data collec21 tion system established under this section, promulgate 

22 final regulations providing for the collection and analysis 

23 of information regarding children who enter into foster 

24 care under the supervision of a State as a result of the 

25 disruption of a placement for adoption or foster child 


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1 guardianship or the dissolution of an adoption or foster 

2 child guardianship. The regulations shall require each 

3 State with a State plan approved under this part and part 

4 B to collect and report as part of such data collection sys5 tem and, as appropriate, to report supplementary, descrip6 tive, or spending information required separate from such 

7 system and, as appropriate, as part of other reports re8 quired under this part or part B, the information specified 

9 in paragraph (2). 

10 ‘‘(2) The regulations promulgated under paragraph 

11 (1) shall require a State to collect and report the following 

12 information: 

13 ‘‘(A) Information on children born in the 

14 United States who are adopted or placed in a foster 

15 child guardianship and who enter into foster care 

16 under the supervision of the State as a result of the 

17 disruption of a placement for adoption or foster 

18 child guardianship or the dissolution of an adoption 

19 or foster child guardianship, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) the number of such children who enter 

21 into foster care under the supervision of the 

22 State as a result of— 

23 ‘‘(I) the disruption of placement for 

24 adoption; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the disruption of placement for 

2 foster child guardianship; 

3 ‘‘(III) the dissolution of an adoption; 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(IV) the dissolution of a foster child 

6 guardianship; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) for each child identified under clause 

8 (i)— 

9 ‘‘(I) the length of the adoption or fos10 ter child guardianship placement prior to 

11 disruption or dissolution; 

12 ‘‘(II) the age of the child at the time 

13 of the disruption or dissolution; 

14 ‘‘(III) the reason for the disruption or 

15 dissolution, as well as illustrative or sup16 plementary materials that provide elabo17 ration for the reason; and 

18 ‘‘(IV) the agencies who handled the 

19 placement for adoption or foster child 

20 guardianship. 

21 ‘‘(B) Information on children born in a country 

22 other than the United States who enter into foster 

23 care under the supervision of the State as a result 

24 of the disruption of a placement for adoption or the 

25 dissolution of an adoption, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the number of such children who enter 

2 into foster care under the supervision of the 

3 State as a result of— 

4 ‘‘(I) the disruption of placement for 

5 adoption; or 

6 ‘‘(II) the dissolution of an adoption; 

7 ‘‘(ii) for each child identified under clause 

8 (i)— 

9 ‘‘(I) the child’s country of birth and, 

10 if different, the country from which the 

11 child originally was placed for adoption; 

12 ‘‘(II) the length of the adoption place13 ment prior to disruption or dissolution; 

14 ‘‘(III) the age of the child at the time 

15 of the disruption or dissolution; 

16 ‘‘(IV) the reason for the disruption or 

17 dissolution, as well as illustrative or sup18 plementary materials that provide elabo19 ration for the reason; and 

20 ‘‘(V) the agencies who handled the 

21 placement for adoption; and 

22 ‘‘(C) A description of the pre- and post-adoptive 

23 support services that the State has determined result 

24 in lower rates of disruption and dissolution of adop25 tions or foster child guardianships. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Information on how the State spends 

2 funds paid to the State from an allotment for the 

3 State under section 433 to promote adoption, and, 

4 separately, to provide pre- and post-adoptive support 

5 services. 

6 ‘‘(E) Such other information as determined ap7 propriate by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘foster 

9 child guardianship’ has the meaning given that term in 

10 section 473A(g)(12).’’. 

11 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 479A of the Social 

12 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679b) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

14 the semicolon; 

15 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 

16 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(7) include in the report submitted pursuant 

20 to paragraph (5) for fiscal year 2016 or any suc21 ceeding fiscal year, national and State-by-State data 

22 on the numbers and rates of disruptions and dissolu23 tions of adoptions, as collected pursuant to section 

24 479(d).’’. 


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1 SEC. 108. ENCOURAGING THE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN 

2 IN FOSTER CARE WITH SIBLINGS. 

3 (a) STATE PLAN AMENDMENT.— 

4 (1) NOTIFICATION OF PARENTS OF SIBLINGS.— 

5 Section 471(a)(29) of the Social Security Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 671(a)(29)) is amended by striking ‘‘all adult 

7 grandparents’’ and inserting ‘‘the following relatives: 

8 all adult grandparents, all parents of a sibling of the 

9 child, where such parent has legal custody of such 

10 sibling,’’. 

11 (2) SIBLING DEFINED.—Section 475 of the So12 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended by 

13 adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(9) The term ‘sibling’ means an individual 

15 who satisfies at least one of the following conditions 

16 with respect to a child: 

17 ‘‘(A) The individual is considered by State 

18 law to be a sibling of the child. 

19 ‘‘(B) The individual would have been con20 sidered a sibling of the child under State law 

21 but for a termination or other disruption of pa22 rental rights, such as the death of a parent.’’. 

23 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec24 tion shall be construed as subordinating the rights of fos25 ter or adoptive parents of a child to the rights of the par26 ents of a sibling of that child. 


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1 SEC. 109. EFFECTIVE DATES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 

3 this section, the amendments made by this title shall take 

4 effect as if enacted on October 1, 2013. 

5 (b) RESTRUCTURING AND RENAMING OF PRO6 GRAM.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

8 sections 102 and 103 shall take effect on October 1, 

9 2014, subject to paragraph (2). 

10 (2) TRANSITION RULE.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

12 other provision of law, the total amount payable 

13 to a State under section 473A of the Social Se14 curity Act for fiscal year 2014 shall be an 

amount equal to 1 15 ⁄2 of the sum of— 

16 (i) the total amount that would be 

17 payable to the State under such section for 

18 fiscal year 2014 if the amendments made 

19 by section 102 of this Act had not taken 

20 effect; and 

21 (ii) the total amount that would be 

22 payable to the State under such section for 

23 fiscal year 2014 in the absence of this 

24 paragraph. 

25 (B) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT IF INSUFFI26 CIENT FUNDS AVAILABLE.—If the total amount 


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1 otherwise payable under subparagraph (A) for 

2 fiscal year 2014 exceeds the amount appro3 priated pursuant to section 473A(h) of the So4 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(h)) for that 

5 fiscal year, the amount payable to each State 

6 under subparagraph (A) for fiscal year 2014 

7 shall be— 

8 (i) the amount that would otherwise 

9 be payable to the State under subpara10 graph (A) for fiscal year 2014; multiplied 

11 by 

12 (ii) the percentage represented by the 

13 amount so appropriated for fiscal year 

14 2014, divided by the total amount other15 wise payable under subparagraph (A) to all 

16 States for that fiscal year. 

17 (c) PROMOTING SIBLING CONNECTIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

19 section 108 shall take effect on the date of enact20 ment of this Act. 

21 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

22 REQUIRED.—In the case of a State plan approved 

23 under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 

24 which the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

25 determines requires State legislation (other than legVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:32 Dec 26, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1876.IS S1876

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25 

•S 1876 IS

1 islation appropriating funds) in order for the plan to 

2 meet the additional requirements imposed by section 

3 108, the State plan shall not be regarded as failing 

4 to comply with the requirements of such part solely 

5 on the basis of the failure of the plan to meet such 

6 additional requirements before the 1st day of the 1st 

7 calendar quarter beginning after the close of the 1st 

8 regular session of the State legislature that ends 

9 after the 1-year period beginning with the date of 

10 enactment of this Act. For purposes of the preceding 

11 sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year 

12 legislative session, each year of the session is deemed 

13 to be a separate regular session of the State legisla14 ture. 

15 TITLE II—EXTENSION OF FAM16 ILY CONNECTION GRANT 

17 PROGRAM 

18 SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF FAMILY CONNECTION GRANT 

19 PROGRAM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 427(h) of the Social Secu21 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 627(h)) is amended by striking 

22 ‘‘2013’’ and inserting ‘‘2016’’. 

23 (b) ELIGIBILITY OF UNIVERSITIES FOR MATCHING

24 GRANTS.—Section 427(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 627(a)) 

25 is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘private’’; and 

2 (2) by inserting ‘‘and institutions of higher edu3 cation (as defined under section 101 of the Higher 

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)),’’ after 

5 ‘‘arrangements,’’. 

6 (c) FINDING FAMILIES FOR FOSTER YOUTH WHO

7 ARE PARENTS.—Section 427(a)(1)(E) of such Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 627(a)(1)(E)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and other 

9 individuals who are willing and able to be foster parents 

10 for children in foster care under the responsibility of the 

11 State who are themselves parents’’ after ‘‘kinship care 

12 families’’. 

13 (d) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Section 427(g) of 

14 such Act (42 U.S.C. 627(g)) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking paragraph (1); and 

16 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

17 paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively. 

18 TITLE III—UNEMPLOYMENT 

19 COMPENSATION 

20 SEC. 301. IMPROVING THE COLLECTION OF UNEMPLOY21 MENT INSURANCE OVERPAYMENTS 

22 THROUGH TAX REFUND OFFSET. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Social Security 

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 503) is amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(m) In the case of a covered unemployment com2 pensation debt (as defined under section 6402(f)(4) of the 

3 Internal Revenue Code of 1986) that remains uncollected 

4 as of the date that is 2 years after the date when such 

5 debt was first incurred, the State to which such debt is 

6 owed shall take action to recover such debt under section 

7 6402(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

9 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2015. 

10 TITLE IV—BUDGETARY EFFECTS 

11 SEC. 401. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

12 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

13 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

14 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

15 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

16 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

17 by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, pro18 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

19 vote on passage. 

Æ 


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