II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2173 

To amend subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to 

extend State court funding for child welfare, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 29, 2017 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Ms. HARRIS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social 

Security Act to extend State court funding for child 

welfare, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Continuation of Useful 

5 Resources to States Act’’ or ‘‘COURTS Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF STATE COURT FUNDING FOR CHILD 

7 WELFARE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 436(a) of the Social Secu9 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 629f) is amended by striking ‘‘2012 

10 through 2016’’ and inserting ‘‘2018 through 2022’’. 


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1 (b) PROGRAM CHANGES.—Section 438 of such Act 

2 (42 U.S.C. 629h) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

6 ‘‘in a timely and complete manner’’ before 

7 ‘‘, as set forth’’; and 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

9 the semicolon and inserting ‘‘, including by 

10 training judges, attorneys, and other legal 

11 personnel.’’; and 

12 (B) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4); 

13 (2) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) by striking paragraph (2); 

15 (B) by striking all that precedes ‘‘be eligi16 ble to receive’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—In order to’’; and 

18 (C) in the matter preceding paragraph 

19 (2)— 

20 (i) by moving the matter 2 ems to the 

21 left; 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 

23 (I) by striking ‘‘(A) in the case of 

24 a grant for the purpose described in 


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1 subsection (a)(3),’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘(1)’’; and 

3 (II) by inserting ‘‘use not less 

4 than 30 percent of grant funds to’’ 

5 before ‘‘collaborate’’; 

6 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

7 ‘‘(B) in the case of a grant for the purpose 

8 described in subsection (a)(4),’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘(2)’’; and 

10 (iv) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

11 ‘‘(C) in the case of a grant for the purpose 

12 described in subsection (a),’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘(3)’’; 

14 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts reserved 

18 under sections 436(b)(2) and 437(b)(2) for a fiscal 

19 year, each highest State court that has an applica20 tion approved under this section for the fiscal year 

21 shall be entitled to payment of an amount equal to 

22 the sum of— 

23 ‘‘(A) $255,000; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the amount described in paragraph 

25 (2) with respect to the court and the fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT DESCRIBED.—The amount de2 scribed in this paragraph with respect to a court and 

3 a fiscal year is the amount that bears the same ratio 

4 to the total of the amounts reserved under sections 

5 436(b)(2) and 437(b)(2) for grants under this sec6 tion for the fiscal year (after applying paragraphs 

7 (1)(A) and (3) of this subsection) as the number of 

8 individuals in the State in which the court is located 

9 who have not attained 21 years of age bears to the 

10 total number of such individuals in all States with 

11 a highest State court that has an approved applica12 tion under this section for the fiscal year. 

13 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBES.—From the amounts re14 served under section 436(b)(2) for a fiscal year, the 

15 Secretary shall, before applying paragraph (1) of 

16 this subsection, allocate $1,000,000 for grants to be 

17 awarded on a competitive basis among the highest 

18 courts of Indian tribes or tribal consortia that— 

19 ‘‘(A) are operating a program under part 

20 E, in accordance with section 479B; 

21 ‘‘(B) are seeking to operate a program 

22 under part E and have received an implementa23 tion grant under section 476; or 

24 ‘‘(C) have a court responsible for pro25 ceedings related to foster care or adoption.’’; 


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1 (4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘2012 through 

2 2016’’ and inserting ‘‘2018 through 2022’’; and 

3 (5) by striking subsection (e). 

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

5 this section shall take effect on October 1, 2017. 

Æ 


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