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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3423 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3423

        To ensure the safety and well-being of adopted children.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 30, 2013

Mr. Langevin (for himself, Mr. Wittman, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Sean 
   Patrick Maloney of New York, Ms. Norton, Ms. Bass, and Mr. Grimm) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
    Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
        To ensure the safety and well-being of adopted children.

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

SECTION 1. ADOPTION SUPPORT SERVICES.

    (a) Ensuring Well-Being of Adopted Children and Adoptive 
Families.--Section 421 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(5) ensuring the well-being of adopted children and their 
        adoptive families and promoting efforts to prevent such 
        children from entering the foster care system through the 
        provision of pre- and post-adoptive support services; and''.
    (b) Pre- and Post-Adoptive Support Services.--Paragraph (8) of 
section 431(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is amended to read as 
follows:
            ``(8) Adoption promotion and support services.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `adoption promotion and 
                support services' means services and activities 
                designed to encourage more adoptions out of the foster 
                care system and support domestic adoptions and 
                adoptions from other countries, consistent with 
                promoting the best interests of adopted children and 
                their adoptive families. Such services and activities 
                may include pre- and post-adoptive support services, as 
                described in subparagraph (B), that are designed to 
                support adopted children and their adoptive families.
                    ``(B) Pre- and post-adoptive support services.--The 
                term `pre- and post-adoptive support services' means 
                the following:
                            ``(i) Pre-adoptive support services, which 
                        may include--
                                    ``(I) direct services, including 
                                training, educational support, 
                                counseling, case management, and other 
                                services for adoptive parents and 
                                families that address caregiver 
                                interests and concerns regarding common 
                                behavioral issues, such as--
                                            ``(aa) issues relating to 
                                        emotional, behavioral, or 
                                        developmental health needs;
                                            ``(bb) issues relating to 
                                        attachment, identity, 
                                        abandonment, cultural 
                                        differences, grief, and loss;
                                            ``(cc) issues resulting 
                                        from birth defects due to fetal 
                                        alcohol syndrome or any other 
                                        substance abuse-related 
                                        developmental disorder;
                                            ``(dd) the conditions that 
                                        a child is being adopted from, 
                                        and how this will influence the 
                                        child's emotional and social 
                                        development; and
                                            ``(ee) adoptive families 
                                        should receive full disclosure 
                                        of the child's background 
                                        information (non-identifying 
                                        and identifying when needed or 
                                        when agreed upon in an open 
                                        adoption). This information 
                                        should include but not be 
                                        limited to information from 
                                        family, agency, court, school, 
                                        mental health, and medical 
                                        files;
                                    ``(II) the provision of educational 
                                resources for adoptive parents 
                                regarding the geographic, ethnic, and 
                                cultural background of the adopted 
                                child;
                                    ``(III) peer-to-peer mentoring and 
                                support groups that permit a newly 
                                adoptive parent to communicate and 
                                learn from more experienced adoptive 
                                parents, including programs that 
                                enhance communication between adoptive 
                                parents with children of similar 
                                geographic, ethnic, or cultural 
                                backgrounds; and
                                    ``(IV) the provision of 
                                informational resources for adoptive 
                                parents, including--
                                            ``(aa) resources available 
                                        through Federal and State 
                                        agencies, including information 
                                        regarding benefits for children 
                                        with a medical condition or a 
                                        physical, mental, or emotional 
                                        disability;
                                            ``(bb) newsletters, Web 
                                        sites, and other informational 
                                        resources regarding adoption-
                                        related services;
                                            ``(cc) the establishment of 
                                        lending libraries containing 
                                        information and resources for 
                                        adoptive parents; and
                                            ``(dd) conferences, parent 
                                        support discussion groups, and 
                                        seminars that are available to 
                                        adoptive parents and other 
                                        relevant stakeholders.
                            ``(ii) Post-adoptive support services, 
                        which may include--
                                    ``(I) continued provision to 
                                adoptive parents of pre-adoptive 
                                support services described in clause 
                                (i);
                                    ``(II) the provision of accessible 
                                and reliable respite services for 
                                adoptive parents;
                                    ``(III) direct services and 
                                counseling for adopted child and 
                                family, including, as appropriate--
                                            ``(aa) support services for 
                                        an adopted child with 
                                        emotional, behavioral, or 
                                        developmental health needs;
                                            ``(bb) support services 
                                        that address issues relating to 
                                        attachment, identity, 
                                        abandonment, cultural 
                                        differences, grief, and loss; 
                                        and
                                            ``(cc) treatment services 
                                        that are specialized for 
                                        adopted children, including 
                                        psychiatric residential 
                                        services, outpatient mental 
                                        health services, social skills 
                                        training, intensive in-home 
                                        supervision services, 
                                        recreational therapy, suicide 
                                        prevention, and substance abuse 
                                        treatment;
                                    ``(IV) peer-to-peer mentoring and 
                                support groups that allow adopted 
                                children to communicate and socialize 
                                with other adopted children, including 
                                programs that provide for communication 
                                between adopted children from similar 
                                geographic, ethnic, or cultural 
                                backgrounds; and
                                    ``(V) crisis and family 
                                preservation services, including 
                                respite care and crisis counseling and 
                                a 24-hour emergency hotline for 
                                adoptive parents.''.

SEC. 2. FUNDING FOR ADOPTION SUPPORT SERVICES.

    Paragraph (8) of section 473(a) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(8) With respect to the amount of savings (if any) in State 
expenditures under this part resulting from the application of 
paragraph (2)(A)(ii) to all applicable children for a fiscal year, a 
State shall--
            ``(A) spend a significant portion, not less than 20 
        percent, of such amount to provide pre- and post-adoptive 
        support services (as defined in section 431(a)(8)(B));
            ``(B) spend the remainder of such amount to provide to 
        children or families any other services that may be provided 
        under this part or part B; and
            ``(C) on an annual basis, submit to the Secretary a report 
        that provides a detailed account of any services that were 
        funded pursuant to this paragraph.''.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM FOR POST-ADOPTION MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

    Subpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 290bb-3 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 520L. POST-ADOPTION MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Administrator, 
shall award grants or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to--
            ``(1) develop and implement Statewide or tribal post-
        adoption mental health service programs for all adopted 
        children;
            ``(2) support public organization and private nonprofit 
        organizations actively involved in Statewide or tribal post-
        adoption mental health service programs;
            ``(3) collect and analyze data on State-sponsored Statewide 
        or tribal post-adoption mental health service programs that can 
        be used to monitor the effectiveness of such services and for 
        research, technical assistance, and policy development;
            ``(4) develop and provide educational and training 
        opportunities concerning the mental health needs of adopted 
        children and their families for use by teachers, social 
        workers, and other community mental health service providers; 
        and
            ``(5) develop and provide materials for potential adoptive 
        parents, both for domestic adoptions and adoptions from other 
        countries, describing the possible need for post-adoption 
        mental health services and available resources.
    ``(b) Eligible Entity.--
            ``(1) Definition.--In this section, the term `eligible 
        entity' means--
                    ``(A) a State;
                    ``(B) a public organization or private nonprofit 
                organization designated by a State to develop or direct 
                the State-sponsored Statewide post-adoption mental 
                health service program under a grant under this 
                section; and
                    ``(C) a Federally recognized Indian tribe or tribal 
                organization (as defined in the Indian Self-
                Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
                450 et seq.)) or an urban Indian organization (as 
                defined in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 
                U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)) that is actively involved in the 
                development and continuation of a post-adoption mental 
                health service program.
            ``(2) Limitation.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Secretary shall ensure that each State is awarded only 1 grant 
        or cooperative agreement under this section. For purposes of 
        the preceding sentence, a State shall be considered to have 
        been awarded a grant or cooperative agreement if the eligible 
        entity involved is the State or an entity designated by the 
        State under paragraph (1)(B). Nothing in this paragraph shall 
        be construed to apply to entities described in paragraph 
        (1)(C).
    ``(c) Preference.--In providing assistance under a grant or 
cooperative agreement under this section, the Secretary shall give 
preference to eligible entities that have demonstrated success in 
increasing the level of adoption competency among mental health 
providers, adoption lawyers, social workers, case workers, and adoptive 
parents.
    ``(d) Requirement for Direct Services.--Not less than 85 percent of 
funds received under a grant or cooperative agreement under this 
section shall be used to provide direct services, of which not less 
than 5 percent shall be used for activities authorized under subsection 
(a)(3).
    ``(e) Coordination and Collaboration.--
            ``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Secretary shall collaborate with relevant Federal agencies and 
        adoption-related working groups to promote interaction between 
        domestic foster care agencies and private adoption agencies in 
        other countries.
            ``(2) Consultation.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Secretary shall consult with--
                    ``(A) State and social service agencies engaged in 
                the placement of children for adoption, domestically or 
                from other countries;
                    ``(B) local and national organizations that serve 
                foster and adopted youth;
                    ``(C) health and education specialists who focus on 
                adoption and foster care medicine;
                    ``(D) youth who have been in foster care or 
                adopted, domestically or from other countries;
                    ``(E) families and friends of youth who have been 
                in foster care or adopted, domestically or from other 
                countries; and
                    ``(F) qualified professionals who possess the 
                specialized knowledge, skills, experience, and relevant 
                attributes needed to serve adopted children and their 
                families.
            ``(3) Policy development.--In carrying out this section, 
        the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) coordinate and collaborate on policy 
                development with the Administration for Children and 
                Families and other relevant Department of Health and 
                Human Services agencies and adoption-related working 
                groups; and
                    ``(B) consult on policy development at the Federal 
                level with those in the private sector engaged in the 
                recruitment of foster and adoptive parents, the 
                placement of children in foster care and for adoption, 
                and the provision of post-adoption services.
    ``(f) Evaluation and Report.--
            ``(1) Evaluations by eligible entities.--Not later than 18 
        months after receipt of a grant or cooperative agreement under 
        this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary 
        the results of an evaluation to be conducted by the entity 
        concerning the effectiveness of the activities carried out 
        under the grant or agreement.
            ``(2) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the 
        appropriate committees of Congress a report concerning the 
        results of--
                    ``(A) the evaluations conducted under paragraph 
                (1); and
                    ``(B) an evaluation conducted by the Secretary to 
                analyze the effectiveness and efficacy of the 
                activities conducted with grants, collaborations, and 
                consultations under this section.
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Adopted child.--The term `adopted child' means an 
        individual who is under 21 years of age and was adopted from 
        foster care, through a private placement agency, or from 
        another country.
            ``(2) Adoption competency.--The term `adoption competency' 
        means an understanding of--
                    ``(A) the nature of adoption as a form of family 
                formation and the different types of adoption;
                    ``(B) relevant emotional and physical issues 
                involved in the adoption process, including issues 
                relating to separation, loss, attachment, abuse, 
                trauma, and neglect;
                    ``(C) common developmental challenges associated 
                with adoption;
                    ``(D) the characteristics and skills that allow for 
                successful adoptive families;
                    ``(E) proper sensitivity with respect to the 
                different geographic, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds 
                of adopted children and adoptive families; and
                    ``(F) the necessary skills for effectively 
                advocating on behalf of birth and adoptive families.
            ``(3) Post-adoption mental health services.--The term 
        `post-adoption mental health services' includes--
                    ``(A) adoption competent mental health direct 
                services, including training, educational support, 
                counseling, and other services for adoptive parents and 
                families that address caregiver interests and concerns 
                regarding child behavioral issues that are common among 
                adopted children and children in foster care, 
                including, as appropriate--
                            ``(i) caring for an adopted child with 
                        emotional, behavioral, or developmental health 
                        needs; and
                            ``(ii) providing for the emotional needs of 
                        an adopted child, including issues relating to 
                        attachment, identity, abandonment, cultural 
                        differences, grief, and loss;
                    ``(B) peer-to-peer mentoring and support groups 
                that permit a newly adoptive parent to communicate and 
                learn from more experienced adoptive parents;
                    ``(C) the provision of informational resources and 
                available services for adoptive parents;
                    ``(D) direct services, including counseling, peer-
                to-peer mentoring and support groups, and other 
                services for adopted children that address common 
                behavioral and adjustment issues, including, as 
                appropriate--
                            ``(i) support services for an adopted child 
                        with emotional, behavioral, or developmental 
                        health needs;
                            ``(ii) support services that address the 
                        emotional needs of an adopted child, including 
                        issues relating to attachment, identity, 
                        abandonment, cultural differences, grief, and 
                        loss; and
                            ``(iii) treatment services that are 
                        specialized for adopted children, including 
                        psychiatric residential services, outpatient 
                        mental health services, social skills training, 
                        intensive in-home supervision services, 
                        recreational therapy, suicide prevention, and 
                        substance abuse treatment;
                    ``(E) peer-to-peer mentoring and support groups 
                that allow adopted children to communicate and 
                socialize with other adopted children; and
                    ``(F) crisis intervention and family preservation 
                services.
    ``(h) Funding for Post-Adoption Mental Health Services.--From 
amounts appropriated to carry out titles III, V, or XIX of the Public 
Health Service Act for each fiscal year, $20,000,000 shall be used by 
the Secretary in each such fiscal year to fund services and programs 
authorized under this section.''.

SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION ON ADOPTION DISRUPTION AND DISSOLUTION.

    (a) In General.--Section 479 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
679) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d)(1) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of 
this subsection, the Secretary shall, as part of the data collection 
system established under this section, promulgate final regulations 
providing for the collection and analysis of information regarding 
children who enter into State custody as a result of the disruption of 
a placement for adoption or the dissolution of an adoption, which shall 
require States to collect and report--
            ``(A) information on children who are adopted within the 
        United States or from other countries and who enter into State 
        custody as a result of the disruption of a placement for 
        adoption or the dissolution of an adoption, including--
                    ``(i) the number of children who enter into State 
                custody as a result of--
                            ``(I) the disruption of placement for 
                        adoption; or
                            ``(II) the dissolution of an adoption; and
                    ``(ii) for each child identified under clause (i)--
                            ``(I) as applicable, the country of birth 
                        for any child who was not born in the United 
                        States;
                            ``(II) the length of the adoption placement 
                        prior to disruption or dissolution;
                            ``(III) the age of the child at the time of 
                        the disruption or dissolution;
                            ``(IV) the reason for the disruption or 
                        dissolution; and
                            ``(V) the agencies who handled the 
                        placement for adoption; and
            ``(B) such other information as determined appropriate by 
        the Secretary.
    ``(2) The regulations shall require a State that reports the 
information described in paragraph (1) to use the information--
            ``(A) to consolidate and expand the collection of 
        information on adoption disruption and dissolution;
            ``(B) to improve research and data collection systems in 
        order to more accurately determine and measure the rates, 
        outcomes, and causes of adoption disruption and dissolution;
            ``(C) to identify pre- and post-adoptive support services 
        (including services described in section 431(a)(8)(B)) that 
        result in lower rates of disruption and dissolution of 
        adoptions;
            ``(D) to develop an understanding of the relationship 
        between the rate of incidence of adoption disruptions and 
        dissolutions and the support services that are provided to 
        adoptive families in order to identify and develop effective 
        evidence-based strategies, programs, and support services that 
        help to prevent adoption disruption and dissolution; and
            ``(E) to develop and enhance training and educational 
        services regarding strategies for prevention of adoption 
        disruption and dissolution.
    ``(3)(A) Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 
this subsection, the Secretary shall, subject to subparagraph (B), 
establish an advisory committee to study methods to effectively collect 
data regarding disruption and dissolution of adoptions that are not 
included in the data collection system established under this section, 
including--
            ``(i) data on children whose adoptions are disrupted or 
        dissolved but do not enter into State custody as a result of 
        such disruption or dissolution;
            ``(ii) data on adoption displacements, whereby an adopted 
        child is temporarily placed out of the home of an adoptive 
        parent in order to receive medical, mental health, behavioral, 
        or other forms of treatment; and
            ``(iii) such other data as determined appropriate by the 
        Secretary.
    ``(B) The membership and organization of the advisory committee 
described in subparagraph (A) shall be determined by the Secretary and 
shall include--
            ``(i) State and child welfare agencies that are engaged in 
        the placement of children for adoption domestically or from 
        other countries;
            ``(ii) local and national organizations that serve adopted 
        children and children in foster care; and
            ``(iii) members of State and local judiciary and court 
        staff.
    ``(C) Not later than 12 months after establishment of the advisory 
committee described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall submit to 
the appropriate committees of Congress a report containing 
recommendations of the advisory committee for improvement of the data 
collection system established under this section.''.
    (b) Annual Report.--Section 479A of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 679b) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) include in the report submitted pursuant to paragraph 
        (5) for fiscal year 2013 or any succeeding fiscal year, 
        national and State-by-State data on the numbers and rates of 
        disruptions and dissolutions of adoptions, as collected 
        pursuant to section 479(d)(1).''.

SEC. 5. GAO REPORT.

    Within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Congress a 
written report on--
            (1) how children are advertised online for adoption, the 
        number of children so advertised, what happens to children so 
        advertised, the reasons why children are so advertised, and the 
        resources available to the government to combat the 
        advertising;
            (2) how home studies of prospective parents vary, depending 
        on whether the adoption is private, domestic, or international;
            (3) how the type and amount of pre-adoptive training 
        prospective parents receive varies;
            (4) the availability of quality support for families to 
        meet the post-adoption emotional and behavioral challenges 
        faced by children; and
            (5) the reasons for adoption disruptions and dissolutions, 
        and for the sending of adopted children to live with new 
        families without notice to the appropriate authorities.
                                 <all>
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