II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1458 

To encourage the development and implementation of a comprehensive, global 

strategy for the preservation and reunification of families and the provision of permanent parental care for orphans. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 16, 2009 

Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself and Mr. INHOFE) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To encourage the development and implementation of a comprehensive, global strategy for the preservation and reunification of families and the provision of permanent 

parental care for orphans. 

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 ‘‘Families for Orphans 

5 Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1458 IS

1 (1) A child who grows up in a permanent fam2 ily in an atmosphere of happiness, love, and under3 standing has the best opportunity for the full and 

4 harmonious development of his or her potential. 

5 (2) The right of a child to grow up in a safe, 

6 loving, and permanent relationship with a respon7 sible adult is a basic human right. 

8 (3) The safety and well-being of children should 

9 be the paramount concern of child welfare policies 

10 and programs. 

11 (4) As stated in the United Nations Programme 

12 for the International Year of the Family (1994), 

13 ‘‘the family provides the natural framework for the 

14 emotional, financial, and material support essential 

15 to the growth and development of its members, par16 ticularly infants and children.’’. 

17 (5) Cost benefit analysis data shows that effec18 tive, high quality interventions to improve parenting 

19 skills and reduce child maltreatment save between 

20 $2 and $8 for every dollar spent. 

21 (6) Despite the good efforts of countless gov22 ernments and nongovernmental organizations, mil23 lions of children remain outside of the protection, 

24 permanency, safety, and love of a family. Without 

25 the care of a family, these children are forced to live 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1458 IS

1 on the streets, in child-headed households, or in in2 stitutions. 

3 (7) According to UNICEF, there are more than 

4 132,000,000 orphans worldwide. Unless immediate 

5 action is taken, the number of orphans is expected 

6 to increase over time. 

7 (8) According to Dr. Dana Johnson at the Uni8 versity of Minnesota, lack of stimulation and con9 sistent caregivers, suboptimal nutrition and physical 

10 and sexual abuse all conspire to delay and some11 times preclude normal development, speech acquisi12 tion, and attainment of necessary social skills. Chil13 dren lose 1 month of linear growth for every 3 

14 months in an orphanage. 

15 (9) Research indicates that infants who do not 

16 receive touching, holding, and stimulation fail to 

17 thrive and may suffer life-affecting physical and 

18 emotional stressors, if not death. 

19 (10) Although governments throughout the 

20 world are seeking models for preventing institu21 tionalization and finding permanent families for or22 phaned children, many lack the resources or infra23 structure to adequately address this need. 

24 (11) As a result of its efforts to protect its chil25 dren from abuse and neglect, the United States has 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1458 IS

1 amassed a vast body of research, policy, and the pro2 fessional capacity to promote safety, permanency, 

3 and well-being for children and youth so they can 

4 become healthy and successful adults. 

5 (12) Despite the fact that the United States in6 vests $300,000,000,000 annually in international aid 

7 programs that are improving the health, safety, and 

8 well-being of children throughout the world, it is un9 clear how much of this funding is used to support 

10 the preservation and reunification of families or the 

11 provision of permanent parental care. 

12 (13) Greater coordination is needed between 

13 Federal bureaus and agencies with an interest in or14 phan care policy. Such efforts would be greatly as15 sisted by the development of a comprehensive global 

16 strategy for providing permanent parental care for 

17 orphans. 

18 (14) Despite the United States’ interest in de19 veloping a comprehensive global strategy for pro20 viding permanent parental care for orphans, the 

21 United States lacks a clear, dedicated, diplomatic 

22 authority to represent these interests. 

23 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 

24 (1) provide the infrastructure and resources 

25 necessary for the United States to develop and imVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:07 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1458.IS S1458

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1458 IS

1 plement a comprehensive, global strategy for the 

2 preservation and reunification of families and the 

3 provision of permanent parental care for orphans; 

4 (2) streamline and coordinate United States 

5 policies and programs related to the preservation 

6 and reunification of families and the provision of 

7 permanent parental care for orphans; 

8 (3) encourage and assist foreign governments in 

9 the development and implementation of effective 

10 child welfare policies, systems, and programs that 

11 preserve and reunify families and provide permanent 

12 parental care for orphans; 

13 (4) ensure that all aid efforts receiving funding 

14 from the United States recognize and support the 

15 need for the preservation and reunification of fami16 lies and the provision of permanent parental care for 

17 orphans; and 

18 (5) build global awareness of the need for the 

19 preservation and reunification of families and the 

20 provision of permanent parental care for orphans. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) ADOPTION SUPPORT SERVICES.—The term 

24 ‘‘adoption support services’’ means services and ac25 tivities designed to encourage adoption that is deterVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:00 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1458.IS S1458

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1458 IS

1 mined to be in the best interests of children, includ2 ing— 

3 (A) pre- and post-adoption services; and 

4 (B) activities designed to expedite the 

5 adoption process and support adoptive families. 

6 (2) DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION.—The term ‘‘de7 institutionalization’’ means the process of safely 

8 moving youth from institutions to— 

9 (A) permanent parental care; or 

10 (B) temporary alternatives designed to 

11 lead to permanent parental care. 

12 (3) FAMILY AT RISK OF DISSOLUTION.—The 

13 term ‘‘family at risk of dissolution’’ means a family 

14 under circumstances which— 

15 (A) compromise the health, safety, and 

16 well-being of minor, dependent children to an 

17 extent that the parental caregivers may be com18 pelled to voluntarily or involuntarily forfeit 

19 care, parental rights, or custody of such chil20 dren; or 

21 (B) are likely to cause the parents to aban22 don or relinquish rights to minor, dependent 

23 children. 

24 (4) FAMILY PRESERVATION.—The term ‘‘family 

25 preservation’’ means services for children and famiVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:00 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1458.IS S1458

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1458 IS

1 lies designed to promote the safety and well-being of 

2 children and families and to help families (at risk or 

3 in crisis, including community-based family support, 

4 social, therapeutic, and financial programs and serv5 ices designed to— 

6 (A) enable families to provide safe, perma7 nent, and nurturing care to their children; and 

8 (B) strengthen and support families who 

9 are at risk of dissolution, separation, or domes10 tic violence. 

11 (5) INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘institution’’ 

12 means— 

13 (A) an orphanage; 

14 (B) a children’s home; 

15 (C) a boarding school for orphans; 

16 (D) a shelter; 

17 (E) a residential facility; 

18 (F) a hospital; 

19 (G) a dormitory; 

20 (H) long-term foster care; and 

21 (I) any other setting in which permanent 

22 parental care is not being provided to the child. 

23 (6) INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD.—The term ‘‘in24 stitutionalized child’’ means a child who— 

25 (A) is younger than 21 years of age; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1458 IS

1 (B) lives in an institution. 

2 (7) LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP.—The term ‘‘legal 

3 guardianship’’ means a legally recognized relation4 ship between a child and a caretaker, which is in5 tended to be permanent and is evidenced by the 

6 transfer to the caretaker of parental rights with re7 spect to the child, including the rights of protection, 

8 education, custody, and decisionmaking. 

9 (8) LEGAL KINSHIP.—The term ‘‘legal kinship’’ 

10 means a legally recognized relationship between a 

11 child and a relative, which is intended to be perma12 nent and is evidenced by the transfer to a relative 

13 of parental rights with respect to the child, including 

14 the rights of protection, education, custody, and de15 cisionmaking. 

16 (9) ORPHAN.—The term ‘‘orphan’’ means any 

17 child— 

18 (A) who lacks permanent parental care be19 cause of the death, the disappearance of, or the 

20 legal, permanent relinquishment of such child 

21 by both parents; 

22 (B) who is living in the care and custody 

23 of an institution; 

24 (C) whose biological parents’ rights have 

25 been legally terminated; or 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1458 IS

1 (D) whose country of origin has deter2 mined that the child lacks permanent parental 

3 care. 

4 (10) PERMANENT PARENTAL CARE.—The term 

5 ‘‘permanent parental care’’— 

6 (A) means a legally recognized relationship 

7 between an adult and a child who is younger 

8 than 21 years of age, which is life-long and pro9 vides a caring, safe, stable physical environ10 ment; 

11 (B) includes— 

12 (i) domestic and international adop13 tion; 

14 (ii) legal guardianship; and 

15 (iii) legal kinship; and 

16 (C) does not include temporary or long17 term foster care, institutionalization, or men18 toring. 

19 (11) REUNIFICATION.—The term ‘‘reunifica20 tion’’ means time-limited services and activities pro21 vided to an orphan in order to facilitate the safe and 

22 timely reunification of the child and parent. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1458 IS

1 SEC. 4. OFFICE FOR ORPHAN POLICY DIPLOMACY AND DE2 VELOPMENT. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

4 the Department of State the Office for Orphan Policy Di5 plomacy and Development (referred to in this section as 

6 the ‘‘Office’’), which shall promote and support— 

7 (1) the preservation and reunification of fami8 lies; and 

9 (2) the provision of permanent parental care for 

10 orphans. 

11 (b) COORDINATOR.— 

12 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Office shall be headed 

13 by the Coordinator for Orphan Policy Diplomacy 

14 and Development (referred to in this section as the 

15 ‘‘Coordinator’’), who shall be appointed by the Presi16 dent. 

17 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—To the extent possible, 

18 the Coordinator shall be an individual with back19 ground and experience in the development of perma20 nency related policies and systems. 

21 (3) DUTIES.—The Coordinator shall— 

22 (A) oversee and coordinate— 

23 (i) all programs and duties authorized 

24 in this Act; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1458 IS

1 (ii) all other activities that the United 

2 States Government conducts in furtherance 

3 of the purposes of this Act; and 

4 (B) carry out the functions described in 

5 subsection (c). 

6 (4) AUTHORITY.—The Coordinator shall report 

7 directly to the Secretary of State. 

8 (c) FUNCTIONS.— 

9 (1) ADVISORY.—Unless otherwise specified in 

10 law, the Coordinator shall serve as the primary advi11 sor to the Secretary of State and the President in 

12 all matters related to— 

13 (A) global family preservation and reunifi14 cation; and 

15 (B) the provision of permanent parental 

16 care for orphans. 

17 (2) DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the direction 

19 of the President and the Secretary of State, the 

20 Coordinator shall represent the United States 

21 in matters and cases relevant to family preser22 vation, reunification, and permanent parental 

23 care in— 

24 (i) contacts with foreign governments, 

25 nongovernmental organizations, intergovVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:00 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1458.IS S1458

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1458 IS

1 ernmental agencies, and specialized agen2 cies of the United Nations and other inter3 national organizations of which the United 

4 States is a member; 

5 (ii) multilateral conferences and meet6 ings relevant to family preservation, reuni7 fication, and permanent parental care for 

8 orphaned children; and 

9 (iii) fulfillment of the diplomatic re10 sponsibilities designated to the central au11 thority under title I of the Intercountry 

12 Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14911 et 

13 seq.). 

14 (B) WAIVER.—The Secretary of State may 

15 waive the requirements under subparagraph (A) 

16 if— 

17 (i) representation by the Coordinator 

18 would interfere with the Secretary’s con19 stitutional duty to represent the United 

20 States; or 

21 (ii) representation by another high 

22 level official would be more appropriate or 

23 beneficial. 

24 (3) POLICY DEVELOPMENT.— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1458 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Coordinator 

2 shall— 

3 (i) advise and support the Secretary 

4 of State in the development of a com5 prehensive, global strategy to promote the 

6 preservation and reunification of families 

7 and the provision of permanent parental 

8 care for orphans; and 

9 (ii) advise and support foreign govern10 ments with the development of sound pol11 icy regarding— 

12 (I) the preservation and reunifi13 cation of families; and 

14 (II) the provision of permanent 

15 parental care for orphans. 

16 (B) BEST PRACTICES.—In developing poli17 cies under this Act, the Coordinator shall iden18 tify and engage the best practices in family 

19 preservation, reunification, and permanent pa20 rental care derived from a wide variety of do21 mestic and global policy and practice leaders. 

22 (C) CULTURAL SENSITIVITY.—In devel23 oping policies under this Act, the Coordinator 

24 shall take into account cultural norms for each 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1458 IS

1 country to the extent consistent with the overall 

2 purposes of this Act. 

3 (D) PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY.—In de4 veloping policies and programs under this Act, 

5 the Coordinator shall— 

6 (i) attempt to reunify children with 

7 their families before pursuing adoption, 

8 legal kinship, legal guardianship, or domes9 tic adoption; and 

10 (ii) ensure that reasonable efforts are 

11 made to provide permanent parental care 

12 domestically before internationally. 

13 (E) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Coor14 dinator shall provide technical assistance to for15 eign countries to help build their capacities to 

16 strengthen family preservation, reunification, 

17 and permanent parental care policies, services, 

18 and practices, including— 

19 (i) assistance with the drafting, dis20 seminating, and implementing of legisla21 tion for family preservation and reunifica22 tion and the provision of permanent paren23 tal care; 

24 (ii) assistance with the development of 

25 systems designed to support family preserVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:00 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1458.IS S1458

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1458 IS

1 vation, reunification, and permanent pa2 rental care for institutionalized orphans; 

3 (iii) assistance with the establishment 

4 of public, private, and faith- and commu5 nity-based partnerships designed to sup6 port the preservation and reunification of 

7 families and permanent parental care for 

8 orphans; 

9 (iv) assistance with the development 

10 of workforce training for governmental and 

11 nongovernmental staff working to support 

12 the preservation and reunification of fami13 lies and permanent parental care for or14 phans; and 

15 (v) assistance with infrastructure de16 velopment and data collection techniques 

17 necessary to— 

18 (I) support the biennial census 

19 required under paragraph (6)(A); 

20 (II) collect permanency indicators 

21 described in paragraph (6)(B); 

22 (III) collect the data necessary to 

23 determine to what extent countries 

24 meet the minimum standards de25 scribed in section 6; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 1458 IS

1 (IV) organizing exchanges for 

2 child welfare, adoption, and other so3 cial service professionals working to 

4 support the preservation and reunifi5 cation of families and permanent pa6 rental care for orphans. 

7 (F) PRESERVATION OF THE FAMILY AND

8 PERMANENT PARENTAL CARE CONFERENCE.— 

9 In fiscal year 2011, and every 2 years there10 after, the Secretary of State shall— 

11 (i) conduct a conference on best prac12 tices and successful strategies for the pres13 ervation and reunification of families and 

14 the provision of permanent parental care 

15 for orphans; 

16 (ii) share and address key issues rel17 ative to— 

18 (I) the most current biennial cen19 sus data collected under paragraph 

20 (6)(A); 

21 (II) the permanency indicator 

22 data collected under paragraph 

23 (6)(B); and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 1458 IS

1 (III) the data collected from the 

2 Global Best Practices Pilot Program 

3 under section 7(c); and 

4 (iii) disseminate information regard5 ing— 

6 (I) best practices for building 

7 country and regional capacity to de8 crease the number of orphans; 

9 (II) strategies for financially sus10 taining activities to support family 

11 preservation and reunification and 

12 permanent parental care; 

13 (III) best practices in inter14 national adoption and in preventing 

15 corruption; and 

16 (IV) best methods and practices 

17 for assessing progress and quality for 

18 moving children into permanent pa19 rental care in a safe and timely man20 ner. 

21 (4) COORDINATION.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall coordi23 nate the foreign policy and assistance of the 

24 United States in support of— 

25 (i) families at risk of dissolution; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 1458 IS

1 (ii) orphans in need of permanent pa2 rental care. 

3 (B) COORDINATION BETWEEN DOMESTIC

4 AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY.—To the extent 

5 possible, the Coordinator shall work with the 

6 Secretary of Health and Human Services to 

7 maintain consistency between United States 

8 foreign and domestic policy on family preserva9 tion and reunification and permanent parental 

10 care. 

11 (5) COMMUNICATION.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall build 

13 global awareness of its purpose and activities. 

14 (B) WEB SITE.—To carry out subpara15 graph (A), the Office shall maintain a Web site 

16 that includes— 

17 (i) a description of the global prob18 lems related to orphans and children in in19 stitutional and temporary nonfamily care; 

20 (ii) the status of activities being car21 ried out by the Office; 

22 (iii) the progress made by the Office 

23 to achieve its goals; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 1458 IS

1 (iv) current research, reports, policy, 

2 training opportunities, evaluation, and 

3 methodology describing best practices; 

4 (v) information collected by the bien5 nial census under paragraph (6)(A); 

6 (vi) permanency indicators collected 

7 under paragraph (6)(B); 

8 (vii) the annual report submitted to 

9 Congress under paragraph (6)(C); 

10 (viii) the status of site results for the 

11 study of global best practices conducted 

12 under section 7(c)(1); 

13 (ix) requests for proposals, grant or 

14 contract awards, amounts, purposes, and 

15 lessons learned during implementation; and 

16 (x) a summary of the scope and 

17 progress of country projects funded by the 

18 Office. 

19 (6) REPORTS, RESEARCH, AND ASSESS20 MENTS.— 

21 (A) BIENNIAL CENSUS OF CHILDREN

22 WITHOUT PERMANENT PARENTAL CARE.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than De24 cember 31, 2010, and every 2 years there25 after, the Office shall develop, oversee, 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 1458 IS

1 support, and publish the results of a cen2 sus of all children who live outside perma3 nent parental care. The census shall enu4 merate the number of children, categorized 

5 by sex and age, who reside in— 

6 (I) a public or private orphanage; 

7 (II) a hospital or other medical 

8 institution or treatment facility; 

9 (III) temporary or long-term 

10 family-based foster care; 

11 (IV) a group home; 

12 (V) a residential or congrega13 tional facility, regardless of the avail14 ability of treatment services; 

15 (VI) kinship care without legal 

16 status or the presence of adult family 

17 members; or 

18 (VII) a dormitory or other per19 manent or temporary living situation 

20 in which a government or nongovern21 mental organization places children 

22 who do not have parental care. 

23 (ii) CENSUS COUNTRIES.—The data 

24 collected under clause (i) shall include all 

25 member countries of the United Nations. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 1458 IS

1 (iii) DELEGATION.—The Coordinator 

2 may delegate the responsibility for con3 ducting the census to a third party if— 

4 (I) such party has expertise in 

5 human or social services and inter6 national quantitative data collection 

7 and analysis; and 

8 (II) such a delegation is con9 sistent with the purposes set forth in 

10 section 2(b). 

11 (B) PERMANENCY INDICATORS FOR CHIL12 DREN WITHOUT PERMANENT PARENTAL

13 CARE.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall 

15 collect available data related to a series of 

16 policy and practice indicators on the capac17 ity of foreign governments to offer perma18 nent parental care as an option for or19 phaned children. 

20 (ii) DATA.—Data collected under 

21 clause (i) shall include— 

22 (I) the number of families pro23 vided preservation services and the 

24 number of such families that reVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:00 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1458.IS S1458

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 1458 IS

1 mained intact after receiving such 

2 services; 

3 (II) the number of children in in4 stitutions who were reunified with 

5 their respective families; 

6 (III) the number of children 

7 placed in a permanent family through 

8 domestic adoption and the living situ9 ation of such children before such per10 manent placement; 

11 (IV) the number of children who 

12 were placed in a permanent family 

13 through legal guardianship and their 

14 living situation before such permanent 

15 placement; 

16 (V) the number of children who 

17 were placed in a permanent family 

18 through international adoption and 

19 the living situation of such children 

20 before such permanent placement; 

21 (VI) the number of children who 

22 were placed in legal or informal kin23 ship care and their placement pre-kin24 ship care; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
23 

•S 1458 IS

1 (VII) the number of children who 

2 moved from temporary foster care to 

3 long-term foster care; 

4 (VIII) the number of children 

5 who reentered institutional care after 

6 moving into permanent parental care; 

7 and 

8 (IX) the length of time children 

9 are spending in institutional care or 

10 foster care. 

11 (iii) DELEGATION.—The Coordinator 

12 may delegate the responsibility for col13 lecting data on permanency indicators 

14 under this paragraph to a third party if— 

15 (I) the third party has expertise 

16 in human or social services and inter17 national quantitative data collection; 

18 and 

19 (II) such a delegation is con20 sistent with the purposes set forth in 

21 section 2(b). 

22 (iv) CONSULTATION.—The Coordi23 nator may consult with representatives of 

24 the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the 

25 Department of Homeland Security, the 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 1458 IS

1 United States Agency for International 

2 Development, the Department of Health 

3 and Human Services, the United Nations, 

4 UNICEF, the World Health Organization, 

5 and other aid- or child welfare-related net6 works and organizations to— 

7 (I) identify and expand existing 

8 reporting networks; and 

9 (II) refine common definitions of 

10 indicators. 

11 (v) UNITED STATES INDICATORS.— 

12 The Secretary of Health and Human Serv13 ices shall provide the Coordinator with the 

14 information required to be collected under 

15 this paragraph relating to individuals and 

16 families residing in the United States. 

17 (vi) REPORT.—Not later than Decem18 ber 31, 2011, and every 2 years thereafter, 

19 the Office shall publish a report that in20 cludes the data described in clause (ii). 

21 (C) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not 

22 later than September 1 of each year, the Sec23 retary of State shall submit to Congress an an24 nual report that includes— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
25 

•S 1458 IS

1 (i) a description of the global status of 

2 orphans; 

3 (ii) a description of the activities of 

4 the Office in support of family preservation 

5 and reunification and permanent parental 

6 care for orphans; 

7 (iii) estimates from the most recent 

8 biennial census of the number of children 

9 living without permanent parental care; 

10 (iv) a description of the status of fam11 ily preservation, reunification, and perma12 nent parental care initiatives underway in 

13 each foreign country receiving financial as14 sistance under this Act; 

15 (v) a description of— 

16 (I) the major challenges faced by 

17 governments that are resulting in an 

18 increase in the numbers of orphans; 

19 and 

20 (II) barriers which are preventing 

21 governments from achieving perma22 nent parental care for orphans; 

23 (vi) trends in increasing or decreasing 

24 risks for orphans and families at risk of 

25 dissolution; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
26 

•S 1458 IS

1 (vii) a listing of the governments that 

2 do not meet the minimum standards de3 scribed in section 6(a); 

4 (viii) trends toward improvement in 

5 family preservation and reunification; 

6 (ix) trends in domestic and inter7 national adoption, foster care, and institu8 tional care; 

9 (x) the most current permanency indi10 cators described in subparagraph (B); and 

11 (xi) movement toward implementation 

12 of permanency-related laws and conven13 tions. 

14 (7) GRANTS.—The Office shall oversee the pro15 vision of technical and financial assistance, including 

16 grants, pilot programs, and demonstrations, to gov17 ernments and nongovernmental organizations to pro18 mote family preservation, reunification, and perma19 nent parental care for orphans. 

20 SEC. 5. POLICY COORDINATING COMMITTEE IN SUPPORT 

21 OF ORPHAN POLICY, DIPLOMACY, AND DE22 VELOPMENT. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 

24 an interagency policy coordinating committee (referred to 

25 in this section as the ‘‘Policy Coordinating Committee’’), 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
27 

•S 1458 IS

1 which shall monitor and support international efforts in 

2 family preservation, family reunification, and permanent 

3 parental care for orphans. 

4 (b) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall appoint the 

5 members of the Policy Coordinating Committee, which 

6 shall include— 

7 (1) the Secretary of State, who shall serve as 

8 Chair; 

9 (2) the Administrator of the United States 

10 Agency for International Development; 

11 (3) the Attorney General; 

12 (4) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv13 ices; 

14 (5) the Secretary of Homeland Security; and 

15 (6) any other Government official appointed by 

16 the President. 

17 (c) ACTIVITIES OF COMMITTEE.—The Policy Coordi18 nating Committee shall provide advice to the Office for 

19 Orphan Policy Diplomacy and Development regarding— 

20 (1) the development of a comprehensive global 

21 strategy that is consistent with the minimum stand22 ards described in section 103(a); 

23 (2) financial support of programs that assist 

24 countries in developing child welfare systems that— 

25 (A) preserve and reunify families; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
28 

•S 1458 IS

1 (B) provide permanent parental care for 

2 orphans. 

3 (3) advocacy efforts with governments, non4 governmental organizations, and other entities to ad5 vance the purposes set forth in section 2(b); and 

6 (4) the collection of data through significant re7 search on family preservation, reunification, and per8 manent parental care methods for orphans. 

9 (d) WORKING GROUPS.—Members of the Policy Co10 ordinating Committee may create small working groups 

11 within their respective agencies to support and advise their 

12 work on behalf of the Policy Coordinating Committee. 

13 SEC. 6. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE PROVISION OF 

14 PERMANENT PARENTAL CARE. 

15 (a) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—A country meets the 

16 minimum standards for the provision of permanent paren17 tal care by a partner country if— 

18 (1) the government of the country has laws, 

19 practices, and judicial standards that— 

20 (A) protect children from abuse and ne21 glect; 

22 (B) are aimed at reducing the number of 

23 abandoned children; 

24 (C) are aimed at preserving families at 

25 risk of dissolution; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
29 

•S 1458 IS

1 (D) are aimed at safely and appropriately 

2 reunifying orphans and institutionalized chil3 dren with their families; 

4 (E) promote legal guardianship and kin5 ship care; 

6 (F) promote domestic adoption; 

7 (G) allow for international adoption; and 

8 (H) promote the physical and emotional 

9 well-being and protection of children while they 

10 are waiting for reunification or placement with 

11 a permanent family; 

12 (2) the government of the country is— 

13 (A) keeping a significant percentage of 

14 families at risk of dissolution intact; 

15 (B) reuniting a significant percentage of 

16 orphans and institutionalized children with bio17 logical families and relatives; and 

18 (C) moving a significant percentage of or19 phans into permanent parental care in situa20 tions in which the orphans cannot be reunified 

21 with their families; and 

22 (3) the numbers of children aging out of insti23 tutions or foster care in such country is decreasing 

24 by a significant percentage each year. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
30 

•S 1458 IS

1 (b) CRITERIA.—A country is eligible for assistance 

2 from the Office for Orphan Policy Diplomacy and Devel3 opment under this Act if the government of the country— 

4 (1) publicly acknowledges the need for family 

5 preservation, reunification, and permanent parental 

6 care for orphans; and 

7 (2) demonstrates a commitment to develop im8 proved laws, policies, infrastructure, and training 

9 programs to preserve and reunify families and pro10 vide permanent parental care for orphans by— 

11 (A) developing formal strategic plans to 

12 develop laws and infrastructure to address 

13 shortcomings related to meeting the minimum 

14 standards described in subsection (a); 

15 (B) allocating resources to study the issues 

16 described in subparagraph (A); or 

17 (C) expending or setting aside sufficient 

18 funds to help build child welfare and judicial in19 frastructure and enact laws to address short20 comings related to meeting such minimum 

21 standards. 

22 SEC. 7. GRANT, PILOT, AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. 

23 (a) ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.— 

24 Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

25 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
31 

•S 1458 IS

1 (1) by redesignating section 135, as added by 

2 section 5(a) of Public Law 109–121, as section 137; 

3 and 

4 (2) by inserting after section 135, as added by 

5 section 3 of Public Law 109–95, the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 136. ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. 

7 ‘‘(a) ASSISTANCE TO MEET MINIMUM STAND8 ARDS.—The President is authorized to provide assistance 

9 to foreign countries directly, or through nongovernmental 

10 and multilateral organizations, for programs, projects, and 

11 activities designed to assist the country to meet the min12 imum standards described in section 6(a) of the Families 

13 for Orphans Act of 2009. 

14 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS THAT

15 MEET MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President is author17 ized to provide assistance, including trade and debt 

18 relief, to any foreign country that demonstrates suc19 cess in meeting the majority of the minimum stand20 ards and other goals described in paragraph (2). 

21 ‘‘(2) PLAN.—The government of a country de22 siring assistance under this subsection shall dem23 onstrate a commitment to meeting the minimum 

24 standards described in section 6(a) of the Families 

25 for Orphans Act of 2009 by independently, or with 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
32 

•S 1458 IS

1 assistance from the Office for Orphan Policy Diplo2 macy and Development, developing— 

3 ‘‘(A) a detailed, long-term strategic plan 

4 for meeting such minimum standards and re5 lated long-range goals; and 

6 ‘‘(B) a 1-year or 2-year operational plan 

7 that describes the immediate steps that the for8 eign government will take toward meeting such 

9 minimum standards.’’. 

10 (b) ASSISTANCE IN SUPPORT OF FAMILY PRESERVA11 TION AND PERMANENT PARENTAL CARE FOR OR12 PHANS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State is 

14 authorized to award grants to nongovernmental 

15 agencies working to promote permanent parental 

16 care for orphans, in accordance with the results of 

17 the global best practices study conducted under sub18 section (c). 

19 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants received under 

20 this subsection may be used to— 

21 (A) improve public policy in support of the 

22 preservation and reunification of families and 

23 permanent parental care for orphans; 

24 (B) reduce the number of children aban25 doned; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
33 

•S 1458 IS

1 (C) reduce the number of families at risk 

2 of dissolution; 

3 (D) increase the number of children reuni4 fied with their parents; 

5 (E) increase the number of children ob6 taining legal guardianship and kinship care; 

7 (F) increase the number of children placed 

8 for adoption domestically; 

9 (G) support international adoption for chil10 dren who cannot be adopted domestically, or re11 unified with their biological parents; 

12 (H) draft laws and develop systems de13 signed to promote ethical, evidence-based prac14 tice in international adoption; 

15 (I) increase the level of expertise and un16 derstanding of foreign governments working to 

17 preserve and reunify families and promote per18 manent parental care for orphans; 

19 (J) create and support connections with 

20 caring, committed adults to older children at 

21 risk of, or in the process of, aging out of insti22 tutional care; 

23 (K) develop mentoring, visitation, and fos24 ter adopt programs aimed at recruiting a larger 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
34 

•S 1458 IS

1 number of individuals willing to provide perma2 nent parental care for orphans; 

3 (L) increase adoption support services; and 

4 (M) create and improve child welfare and 

5 judicial infrastructures, which strengthen and 

6 support permanent family care for orphans. 

7 (3) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—To the extent pos8 sible, grants shall be awarded under this subsection 

9 to organizations that have demonstrated— 

10 (A) experience in the area of child welfare 

11 and judicial policy, family preservation, reunifi12 cation, and permanent parental care for or13 phans; 

14 (B) success in working with the in-country 

15 governmental agencies responsible for care of 

16 children; and 

17 (C) adherence to the child welfare laws of 

18 the foreign government in which such organiza19 tions are located. 

20 (c) GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES.— 

21 (1) STUDY ON GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

24 Secretary of State shall initiate a study to iden25 tify global best practices for— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
35 

•S 1458 IS

1 (i) preserving and reunifying families; 

2 and 

3 (ii) providing permanent parental care 

4 for orphans. 

5 (B) IDENTIFICATION OF FACTORS.—In 

6 conducting the study under subparagraph (A), 

7 the Secretary shall identify— 

8 (i) evidence-based programs that are 

9 demonstrated to provide permanent paren10 tal care in a timely manner; 

11 (ii) policies and practices that result 

12 in increased deinstitutionalization of chil13 dren; 

14 (iii) laws of other countries that re15 quire and support permanent parental 

16 care; 

17 (iv) factors that decrease the dissolu18 tion of families; and 

19 (v) best practices for promoting eth20 ical international adoption practices. 

21 (C) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

22 initiating the study under this paragraph, the 

23 Secretary shall publish a report on the best 

24 practices identified in the study. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
36 

•S 1458 IS

1 (D) USE OF STUDY RESULTS.—The Sec2 retary shall use the results of the study con3 ducted under this paragraph to guide and in4 form— 

5 (i) the award of all grants under this 

6 Act; and 

7 (ii) all activities in the global best 

8 practices pilot program carried out under 

9 paragraph (2). 

10 (2) GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES PILOT PRO11 GRAM.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Upon completing the 

13 study described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 

14 of State shall establish and carry out a global 

15 best practices pilot program. 

16 (B) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the pro17 gram established pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

18 shall be to— 

19 (i) demonstrate how research-based 

20 policies and programs to provide orphans 

21 with permanent parental care can be suc22 cessfully implemented; 

23 (ii) establish model programs that, 

24 once tested for effectiveness, will be availVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:00 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1458.IS S1458

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
37 

•S 1458 IS

1 able, replicable, and adaptable on a global 

2 basis; 

3 (iii) identify a comprehensive series of 

4 interventions, which result in family pres5 ervation, reunification, and permanent pa6 rental care for orphans; and 

7 (iv) determine which in-country fac8 tors enhance or negate efforts to achieve 

9 family preservation, reunification, and per10 manent parental care for orphans. 

11 (C) SELECTION OF SITES.— 

12 (i) NUMBER OF SITES.—In carrying 

13 out the pilot program established under 

14 this paragraph, the Secretary of State 

15 shall select and establish not fewer than 5 

16 sites, each of which shall be located in a 

17 different region of the world. 

18 (ii) PRIORITIES.—In selecting sites 

19 under clause (i), the Secretary shall con20 sider— 

21 (I) cultural, geographic, and eco22 nomic diversity of countries included 

23 in the region; 

24 (II) whether governments within 

25 the region have sufficient infrastrucVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:00 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1458.IS S1458

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
38 

•S 1458 IS

1 ture and capacity to support the pilot 

2 program; and 

3 (III) the incidence of abandoned 

4 children and children in institutional 

5 care in the region and culture. 

6 (iii) DELEGATION.—The Coordinator 

7 for Orphan Policy Diplomacy and Develop8 ment may delegate implementation of the 

9 pilot program under this paragraph to 1 or 

10 more organizations that have experience in 

11 the use of evidence-based programs to pro12 mote family preservation, reunification, or 

13 permanent parental care for orphans. 

14 (iv) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later 

15 than 1 year after the date on which the 

16 first pilot program is established under 

17 this paragraph, and each subsequent year, 

18 the Coordinator shall publish a report on 

19 the status of, and lessons learned in, the 

20 pilot program. 

21 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 (1) OPERATIONS.—There are authorized to be 

23 appropriated for the administrative costs associated 

24 with carrying out the duties of the Office for Orphan 

25 Policy Diplomacy and Development— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
39 

•S 1458 IS

1 (A) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

2 (B) such sums as may be necessary for 

3 each subsequent fiscal year. 

4 (2) ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.— 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated for assist6 ance to foreign governments under section 136 of 

7 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961— 

8 (A) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

9 (B) such sums as may be necessary for 

10 each subsequent fiscal year. 

11 (3) GRANTS TO SUPPORT PERMANENT PAREN12 TAL CARE.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

13 for grants under section 7(b)— 

14 (A) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

15 (B) such sums as may be necessary for 

16 each subsequent fiscal year. 

17 (4) GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES PILOT PRO18 GRAM.—There are authorized to be appropriated to 

19 the Secretary of State to carry out section 7(c)— 

20 (A) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

21 (B) such sums as may be necessary for 

22 each subsequent fiscal year. 

Æ 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS