I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3005 

To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to ensure funding for grants 

to promote responsible fatherhood and strengthen low-income families, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2015 

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself and Mr. CARSON of Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce 

and Agriculture, 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 amend title IV of the Social Security Act to ensure 

funding for grants to promote responsible fatherhood 

and strengthen low-income families, 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 ‘‘Julia Carson Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Fami6 lies Act of 2015’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

TITLE I—PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD AND 

STRENGTHENING LOW-INCOME FAMILIES 

Sec. 101. State assessments of barriers to employment and financial support of 

children. 

Sec. 102. Grants to States to conduct demonstration projects to promote economic opportunity for low-income parents. 

Sec. 103. Healthy marriage promotion and responsible fatherhood programs. 

Sec. 104. TANF work participation improvements. 

Sec. 105. Ban on recovery of Medicaid costs for births. 

Sec. 106. Improved collection and distribution of child support. 

Sec. 107. Collection of child support under the supplemental nutrition assistance program. 

Sec. 108. Grants supporting healthy family partnerships for domestic violence 

intervention and preventions. 

Sec. 109. Procedures to address domestic violence. 

Sec. 110. TANF Employment Fund. 

Sec. 111. Sense of Congress. 

TITLE II—REVENUE PROVISION 

Sec. 201. Increase in credit percentage under earned income tax credit for eligible individuals with no qualifying children. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) Fathers play a significant and underappre6 ciated role in the development of their children, with 

7 research demonstrating that a supportive and in8 volved father strengthens a child’s emotional, phys9 ical, intellectual, and behavioral development. Chil10 dren with positive relationships with fathers, even if 

11 they do not live in the same household, have strong12 er mental health, economic success, and academic 

13 achievement with lower rates of youth delinquency, 

14 school dropout, and teen pregnancy. 


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1 (2) Economic stability also leads to positive out2 comes for children, including stronger emotional 

3 well-being, physical health, and academic success. 

4 (3) Family patterns in the United States have 

5 resulted in fewer children living with their fathers. 

6 The March 2015 Child Trends report on family 

7 structure shows the proportion of all children who 

8 have not attained the age of 18 living with both par9 ents has decreased over the last 54 years, from 87.7 

10 percent in 1960 to 64.4 percent in 2014, with 24 

11 percent of children who have not attained the age of 

12 18 living with their mother only and 4 percent of 

13 children who have not attained the age of 18 living 

14 with their father only. 

15 (4) A 2011 United States Census analysis of 

16 children’s living arrangements and characteristics 

17 showed that a child in a father-absent home is al18 most 4 times more likely to live in poverty than a 

19 child in a married-couple family. 

20 (5) Father engagement does not depend on liv21 ing in the same house as the child, with many non22 residential fathers being actively involved with their 

23 children and supportive of their children’s mothers. 

24 However, low-income fathers experience multiple 

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1 ally to their children due to limited education and 

2 job skills, unstable employment opportunities, child 

3 support enforcement policies, incarceration, and 

4 strained relationships with the children’s mothers. 

5 Multiple approaches are needed to address these 

6 barriers to create opportunities for fathers to sustain 

7 their engagement and closeness with their children 

8 and families. 

9 (6) Federal programs should encourage respon10 sible fatherhood and healthy families by increasing 

11 the upward economic mobility of custodial and non12 custodial parents so that they can actively partici13 pate in financial support and child-rearing as well as 

14 maintain positive, healthy, and nonviolent relation15 ships with their children and co-parents, including 

16 improving compliance with child support obligations 

17 and cooperative parenting. 


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1 TITLE I—PROMOTING RESPON2 SIBLE FATHERHOOD AND 

3 STRENGTHENING LOW-IN4 COME FAMILIES 

5 SEC. 101. STATE ASSESSMENTS OF BARRIERS TO EMPLOY6 MENT AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF CHIL7 DREN. 

8 (a) STATE ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS.—As a con9 dition of the continued approval of a State plan under part 

10 D of title IV of the Social Security Act, each State with 

11 such an approved plan, acting through the appropriate 

12 State agencies, shall assess the State policies with respect 

13 to the issues described in subsection (b) and submit a re14 port to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on 

15 the results of the assessment not later than October 1, 

16 2016. 

17 (b) ISSUES DESCRIBED.—The issues described in 

18 this subsection are the following: 

19 (1) The process of setting and modifying child 

20 support obligations, particularly with respect to low21 income parents, including— 

22 (A) the role and criteria for using imputed 

23 income in determining child support obligations; 

24 (B) the process of modifying obligations; 


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1 (C) the consideration of income and em2 ployment status, including efforts to identify 

3 unreported income; 

4 (D) the consideration of incarceration; 

5 (E) the consideration of disability; 

6 (F) the treatment of arrearages, including 

7 interest charged, and laws or procedures that 

8 interfere with forgiveness, adjustment, waiver, 

9 or compromise of arrears owed to the State by 

10 low-income noncustodial parents who lack suffi11 cient assets or physical ability to pay such ar12 rearages; 

13 (G) the procedures related to retroactive 

14 support; and 

15 (H) State pass-through and disregard poli16 cies for recipients of means-tested public bene17 fits. 

18 (2) The effect of State criminal laws and law 

19 enforcement practices on the employment acquisi20 tion, retention, and advancement prospects of an in21 dividual following arrest, conviction, or incarcer22 ation, including— 

23 (A) any efforts, including counseling or 

24 employment support, to assist ex-prisoners with 


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1 reentry to a community and successful reunifi2 cation with their families; and 

3 (B) an assessment of any efforts to seal or 

4 expunge arrest and conviction records and any 

5 efforts to grant certificates or other acknowl6 edgments of rehabilitation to ex-prisoners, and 

7 to examine State occupational licensing and cer8 tification procedures. 

9 (3) An assessment of the effect of debt on em10 ployment retention, including child support and non11 child support debts imposed to recover costs related 

12 to welfare and criminal justice. 

13 (4) An assessment of State practices related to 

14 providing prisoners and ex-prisoners with valid iden15 tification documents upon release from prison. 

16 (5) Identification of any other barriers to 

17 healthy family formation or sustainable economic op18 portunity for custodial and noncustodial parents that 

19 are created or exacerbated by Federal or State laws, 

20 policies, or procedures, including an examination of 

21 the rules of Federal and State means-tested pro22 grams, the operation of the State workforce system, 

23 the availability of financial education services, and 

24 the availability of domestic violence services and 

25 child support procedures to help victims of domestic 


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1 violence stay safe and obtain the child support they 

2 are owed. 

3 (c) GRANTS TO STATES FOR COMMISSIONS ON STATE

4 LAW IMPROVEMENTS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF CHIL5 DREN AND FAMILIES.—The Secretary of Health and 

6 Human Services shall award grants to States to establish 

7 or support commissions to review the State assessment 

8 conducted in accordance with subsection (a) and to make 

9 recommendations on ways to improve State law in the best 

10 interest of children and families. 

11 (d) APPROPRIATIONS.—Out of any money in the 

12 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 

13 there are appropriated to the Secretary of Health and 

14 Human Services for each of fiscal years 2016 through 

15 2020, $3,000,000, to remain available until expended, for 

16 the purpose of making— 

17 (1) payments to States to offset all or a portion 

18 of the costs of conducting the State assessments and 

19 reports required under subsection (a); and 

20 (2) grants to States under subsection (c). 


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1 SEC. 102. GRANTS TO STATES TO CONDUCT DEMONSTRA2 TION PROJECTS TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC OP3 PORTUNITY FOR LOW-INCOME PARENTS. 

4 (a) COURT-SUPERVISED OR IV–D AGENCY-SUPER5 VISED EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS FOR NONCUSTODIAL

6 PARENTS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—To assist States in imple8 menting section 466(a)(15) of the Social Security 

9 Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

10 shall award grants to States to conduct demonstra11 tion projects to establish, in coordination with coun12 ties and other local or tribal governments, court-su13 pervised or IV–D agency-supervised employment 

14 programs for noncustodial parents who have barriers 

15 to employment and a history of nonpayment of child 

16 support obligations, as determined by a court or the 

17 IV–D agency, and who are determined by the court 

18 or agency to be in need of employment services or 

19 placement in order to pay child support obligations. 

20 A noncustodial parent described in the preceding 

21 sentence who is an ex-offender shall be eligible to 

22 participate in a program established under this sub23 section. 

24 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

25 (A) OPTION TO PARTICIPATE PRIOR TO

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1 gible to receive a grant under this subsection 

2 unless any program established with funds 

3 made available under the grant provides a non4 custodial parent described in paragraph (1) 

5 with an option to participate in the program 

6 prior to the court or agency entering a finding 

7 that the noncustodial parent is in contempt for 

8 failure to pay a child support obligation and, 

9 potentially subject to criminal penalties. 

10 (B) PROGRAM GOALS.—An employment 

11 program established with funds made available 

12 under a grant awarded under this subsection 

13 shall be designed to do the following: 

14 (i) To assist a noncustodial parent de15 scribed in paragraph (1) obtain and main16 tain unsubsidized employment. 

17 (ii) To increase the amount of finan18 cial support received by children. 

19 (iii) To help a noncustodial parent de20 scribed in paragraph (1) improve relation21 ships with their children and their chil22 dren’s custodial parent. 

23 (C) 6 MONTHS OF CONTINUOUS, TIMELY

24 PAYMENTS.—An employment program estab25 lished with funds made available under this 


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1 subsection shall not permit a noncustodial par2 ent placed in the program to graduate from the 

3 program and avoid penalties for failure to pay 

4 a child support obligation until the noncustodial 

5 parent completes at least 6 months of contin6 uous, timely payment of the parent’s child sup7 port obligations. 

8 (D) USE OF FUNDS.— 

9 (i) Services provided under an employ10 ment program established with funds made 

11 available under this subsection must in12 clude the following: 

13 (I) Job placement, including job 

14 development and supervised job search 

15 as necessary. 

16 (II) Case management, including 

17 educational assessment and advising, 

18 vocational assessment and career ex19 ploration services, and court liaison 

20 services. 

21 (III) Counseling on responsible 

22 parenthood. 

23 (IV) Referral for support and 

24 educational services. 


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1 (V) Employment retention serv2 ices. 

3 (ii) Services provided under an em4 ployment program established with funds 

5 made available under this subsection may 

6 include the following: 

7 (I) Remedial education services 

8 or educational referral. 

9 (II) Support funds for services 

10 such as transportation, child care, or 

11 short-term training. 

12 (III) Transitional jobs programs. 

13 (IV) Public-private career path14 way partnerships established in ac15 cordance with subsection (b)(2). 

16 (V) Occupational skill training, 

17 including college credit programs. 

18 (VI) Curricula development. 

19 (E) ADMINISTRATION.—A State that re20 ceives a grant under this subsection may con21 tract with a public or private nonprofit organi22 zation, including a faith-based or community23 based organization, to administer (in conjunc24 tion with the court of jurisdiction or the IV–D 


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1 agency) the court-supervised or IV–D agency2 supervised employment program. 

3 (b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

5 Human Services may not award a grant to a State 

6 under this section unless the State agrees that, with 

7 respect to the costs to be incurred by the State in 

8 conducting a demonstration project with funds pro9 vided under the grant, the State will provide to carry 

10 out the project non-Federal contributions valued at 

11 10 percent of the amount of Federal funds paid to 

12 the State under such grant. 

13 (2) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—In this 

14 subsection, the term ‘‘non-Federal contributions’’ in15 cludes contributions by the State and by public and 

16 private entities that may be in cash or in kind, but 

17 does not include any amounts provided by the Fed18 eral Government, or services assisted or subsidized 

19 to any significant extent by the Federal Government, 

20 or any amount expended by a State before October 

21 1, 2015. 

22 (c) WORKER PROTECTIONS AND LABOR STAND23 ARDS.— 

24 (1) RATE OF PAY; BENEFITS AND WORKING

25 CONDITIONS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—An employer of a par2 ticipant in a program or activity funded under 

3 this section shall pay the participant at the rate 

4 paid to an employee of the employer who is not 

5 a participant in the program or activity and 

6 who performs comparable work at the worksite, 

7 including periodic increases where appropriate. 

8 If no other employee of the employer performs 

9 comparable work at the worksite, the employer 

10 shall pay the participant not less than the ap11 plicable Federal or State minimum wage, 

12 whichever is higher. 

13 (B) BENEFITS AND CONDITIONS.—A State 

14 receiving a grant under this section shall ensure 

15 that an individual employed through participa16 tion in a program or activity funded by the 

17 grant is provided with benefits and working 

18 conditions at the same level and to the same ex19 tent as the benefits and conditions are provided 

20 to other employees of the employer of the indi21 vidual who have worked a similar length of time 

22 and perform the same work. 

23 (2) NONDUPLICATION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving a 

25 grant under this section shall ensure that the 


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1 grant funds are used only for a program or ac2 tivity that does not duplicate, and is in addition 

3 to, a program or activity otherwise available in 

4 the locality of the program or activity. 

5 (B) PRIVATE, NONPROFIT ENTITY.—A 

6 State receiving a grant under this section shall 

7 ensure that the grant funds are not provided to 

8 a private nonprofit entity to conduct a program 

9 or activity that is the same as or substantially 

10 equivalent to a program or activity provided by 

11 a State or local government agency in the area 

12 in which the entity is located, unless the re13 quirements of paragraph (3) are met. 

14 (3) NONDISPLACEMENT.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—An employer shall not 

16 displace an employee or position (including par17 tial displacement such as reduction in hours, 

18 wages, or employment benefits) or impair con19 tracts for services or collective bargaining 

20 agreements, as a result of the use by the em21 ployer of a participant in a program or activity 

22 funded under this section, and no participant in 

23 the program or activity shall be assigned to fill 

24 any established unfilled position vacancy. 


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1 (B) JOB OPPORTUNITIES.—A job oppor2 tunity shall not be created under this paragraph 

3 that will infringe on the promotional oppor4 tunity of an employed individual. 

5 (C) LIMITATION ON SERVICES.— 

6 (i) SUPPLANTATION OF HIRING.—A 

7 participant in a program or activity funded 

8 under this section shall not perform any 

9 service or duty, or engage in any activity, 

10 that will supplant the hiring of an em11 ployee that is not a participant in the pro12 gram or activity. 

13 (ii) DUTIES FORMERLY PERFORMED

14 BY ANOTHER EMPLOYEE.—A participant 

15 in a program or activity funded under this 

16 section shall not perform any service or 

17 duty, or engage in any activity, that is a 

18 service, duty, or activity that had been per19 formed by or was assigned to any employee 

20 who— 

21 (I) resigned or was discharged 

22 less than 3 months before the date on 

23 which the participant performs the 

24 service or duty or engages in the ac25 tivity; 


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1 (II) is subject to a reduction in 

2 force; 

3 (III) has recall rights pursuant 

4 to a collective bargaining agreement 

5 or applicable personnel procedures; 

6 (IV) is on leave (such as ter7 minal, temporary, vacation, emer8 gency, or sick leave); 

9 (V) is on strike; or 

10 (VI) is being locked out. 

11 (D) CONCURRENCE OF LOCAL LABOR OR12 GANIZATION.—A State conducting a demonstra13 tion project funded under this section shall en14 sure that no participant in a program or activ15 ity of the project is placed with an employer 

16 until the entity conducting the program or ac17 tivity has obtained the written concurrence of 

18 any local labor organization representing em19 ployees who are engaged in the same or sub20 stantially similar work as that proposed to be 

21 carried out for the employer with whom a par22 ticipant is to be placed under the program or 

23 activity. 

24 (4) NO EFFECT ON UNION ORGANIZING.—A 

25 State conducting a demonstration project funded 


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1 under this section shall provide the Secretary of 

2 Health and Human Services with assurance certified 

3 by both the State and the entity conducting a pro4 gram or activity funded under this section that none 

5 of the funds shall be used to assist or deter union 

6 organizing. 

7 (5) ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving a 

9 grant under this section shall not use the grant 

10 funds to subsidize training or employment with 

11 an employer that has a demonstrable record of 

12 noncompliance with Federal labor, civil rights, 

13 workplace safety, or related laws. 

14 (B) CERTIFIED SATISFACTORY RECORD.— 

15 Employers who receive training or wage sub16 sidies under programs or activities funded 

17 under this section shall have a satisfactory 

18 record in labor relations and employment prac19 tices, as certified by the Secretary of Labor. 

20 (C) APPLICATION OF WORKER PROTEC21 TION LAWS.—A participant in a program or ac22 tivity funded under this section shall be consid23 ered to be an employee of any employer that 

24 the participant is placed with for all purposes 

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1 lating to health and safety, civil rights, and 

2 worker’s compensation. 

3 (D) OTHER JOB QUALITY STANDARDS.— 

4 Employers who receive training or wage sub5 sidies under programs or activities funded 

6 under this section shall meet all applicable 

7 State or local job or employer quality standards 

8 regarding such issues as wages, benefits, ad9 vancement opportunities, and turnover rates es10 tablished for programs funded under the Work11 force Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 

12 et seq.). 

13 (6) GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE.—An entity con14 ducting a program or activity funded under this sec15 tion shall establish and maintain a procedure for the 

16 filing and adjudication of grievances by employees of 

17 worksite employers who are not participants in the 

18 program, or such employees’ representatives, or by 

19 participants in such a program or activity alleging a 

20 violation of a provision of this subsection, that is 

21 similar to the grievance procedure established by a 

22 State for purposes of section 407(f)(3) of the Social 

23 Security Act. 

24 (7) NONPREEMPTION OF STATE LAW.—The 

25 provisions of this subsection shall not be construed 


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1 to preempt any provision of State law that affords 

2 greater protections to employees or participants than 

3 are afforded by this subsection. 

4 (8) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS PAID TO PAR5 TICIPANTS.—Amounts paid to a participant in a 

6 program or activity funded under this section shall 

7 be— 

8 (A) considered earned income for purpose 

9 of determining the participant’s eligibility for 

10 the child tax credit established under section 24 

11 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the 

12 earned income tax credit established under sec13 tion 32 of such Code, and any other tax benefit 

14 under such Code the eligibility for which is 

15 based on earned income; and 

16 (B) disregarded for purposes of deter17 mining the participant’s, the participant’s fam18 ily’s, or the participant’s household’s eligibility 

19 for, or amount of, assistance or benefits pro20 vided under any means-tested program funded 

21 in whole or in part with Federal funds. 

22 (d) APPLICATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State desiring to receive a 

24 grant to conduct a demonstration project under this 

25 section shall submit an application to the Secretary 


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1 of Health and Human Services, at such time and in 

2 such manner as the Secretary may require, which 

3 shall include— 

4 (A) evidence of an agreement between the 

5 State and 1 or more counties to establish an 

6 employment program that meets the require7 ments of subsection (a); 

8 (B) the number of potential noncustodial 

9 parents to be served by the program; 

10 (C) the purposes specific to that State’s 

11 program; 

12 (D) the median income of potential individ13 uals to be served by the program; and 

14 (E) such additional information or assur15 ances as the Secretary may require. 

16 (2) COMPLIANCE WITH WORKER PROTECTIONS

17 AND LABOR STANDARDS.—The application shall in18 clude an assurance that the State and any entity, in 

19 conducting a program or activity under the project, 

20 shall comply with the worker protections and labor 

21 standards established in accordance with such pro22 tections under subsection (c). 

23 (3) NONDISCRIMINATION.—The application 

24 shall include an assurance that the State and any 

25 entity, in conducting a program or activity under the 


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1 demonstration project, shall comply with section 

2 188(a)(2) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

3 (29 U.S.C. 2938(a)(2)) to the same extent that such 

4 section would apply to the entity if the program or 

5 activity was considered to be funded or otherwise fi6 nancially assisted under that Act. 

7 (4) ASSURANCE GRANT WILL SUPPLEMENT, 

8 NOT SUPPLANT, OTHER STATE FUNDING.—The ap9 plication shall include an assurance from the chief 

10 executive officer of the State that funds made avail11 able under the grant will supplement, and not sup12 plant, other funds used by the State to establish or 

13 support employment placements for low-income par14 ents. 

15 (5) APPLICATIONS BY INDIAN TRIBES OR TRIB16 AL ORGANIZATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and 

17 Human Services may exempt an Indian tribe or trib18 al organization from any requirement of this section 

19 that the Secretary determines would be inappro20 priate to apply to the Indian tribe or tribal organiza21 tion, taking into account the resources, needs, and 

22 other circumstances of the Indian tribe or tribal or23 ganization. 

24 (e) PRIORITIES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR AWARDING

25 GRANTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

2 and (3), the State shall give priority to making a 

3 grant under this section to an entity that— 

4 (A) demonstrates success with respect to 

5 meeting the goals of quality job placement, 

6 long-term unsubsidized job retention, and, 

7 where applicable, increasing child support pay8 ments, decreasing unpaid child support arrear9 ages, and increasing the involvement of low-in10 come noncustodial parents with their children 

11 through their participation in responsible fa12 therhood activities, including participation in 

13 programs that provide culturally relevant cur14 ricula in core subjects including— 

15 (i) conducting activities with children; 

16 (ii) improving communication skills; 

17 (iii) child support management; 

18 (iv) providing financially for the fam19 ily’s security and well-being; 

20 (v) managing stress and anger; 

21 (vi) maintaining physical and mental 

22 health; 

23 (vii) parenting and relationship skills; 

24 (viii) child development; and 


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1 (ix) barriers to responsible parent2 hood, including substance abuse, unem3 ployment, criminal justice system involve4 ment, and inadequate housing; and 

5 (B) coordinates with, and links individuals 

6 as applicable to, other public and private bene7 fits and employment services for low-income 

8 adults, including the criminal justice system, 

9 programs funded under title IV of the Social 

10 Security Act, educational assistance and stu11 dent aid programs, and job training or employ12 ment services, including State employment 

13 agencies. 

14 (2) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—In making a 

15 grant under this section, the Secretary of Health 

16 and Human Services shall ensure that a grantee 

17 demonstrates a plan for implementing measures to 

18 track their performance with respect to meeting the 

19 goals of quality job placement, long-term unsub20 sidized job retention, and, where applicable, increas21 ing child support payments, decreasing child support 

22 arrearages, and increasing the involvement of low-in23 come noncustodial parents with their children. 

24 (3) REFLECTIVE OF TARGET POPULATIONS.— 

25 In making a grant under this section, the Secretary 


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1 of Health and Human Services shall give priority to 

2 a State with a proposed demonstration project that 

3 is designed to target low-income adults, including 

4 custodial and noncustodial parents, and low-income 

5 married couples. 

6 (f) REGULATORY AND POLICY FLEXIBILITY.—The 

7 Secretary of Health and Human Services, in coordination 

8 with the Secretary of Education and the Attorney General, 

9 shall work with grantees under this section to resolve pol10 icy barriers that may impede blending of Federal re11 sources to support these demonstration projects. 

12 (g) EVALUATION.—The Secretary of Health and 

13 Human Services shall provide for an independent and rig14 orous evaluation of the demonstration projects conducted 

15 under this section that includes, to the maximum extent 

16 feasible, random assignment or other appropriate statis17 tical techniques, in order to assess the effectiveness of the 

18 projects. 

19 (h) GENERAL DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

21 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com22 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 

23 Islands, Guam, and American Samoa, and includes 

24 an Indian tribe or tribal organization. 


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1 (2) IV–D AGENCY.—The term ‘‘IV–D agency’’ 

2 means the State or local agency responsible for ad3 ministering the State program established pursuant 

4 to part D of title IV of the Social Security Act. 

5 (3) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

6 The terms ‘‘Indian tribe’’ and ‘‘tribal organization’’ 

7 have the meaning given the terms in section 4 of the 

8 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

9 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

10 (i) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money in the 

11 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 

12 there are appropriated to carry out this section 

13 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020. 

14 SEC. 103. HEALTHY MARRIAGE PROMOTION AND RESPON15 SIBLE FATHERHOOD PROGRAMS. 

16 (a) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.— 

17 (1) ASSURANCE.—Section 403(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II) 

18 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 603(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II)) is amended— 

20 (A) in item (aa), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

21 (B) in item (bb), by striking the period 

22 and inserting a semicolon; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(cc) if the entity is a State 

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1 nization, to not condition the re2 ceipt of assistance under the pro3 gram funded under this part, 

4 under a program funded with 

5 qualified State expenditures (as 

6 defined in section 

7 409(a)(7)(B)(i)), or under any 

8 other program funded under this 

9 title, on enrollment in any such 

10 programs or activities; and 

11 ‘‘(dd) to permit any partici12 pant in a program or activity 

13 funded under this paragraph, in14 cluding an individual whose par15 ticipation is specified in the indi16 vidual responsibility plan devel17 oped for the individual in accord18 ance with section 408(b), to 

19 transfer to another such program 

20 or activity upon notification to 

21 the entity and the State agency 

22 responsible for administering the 

23 State program funded under this 

24 part.’’. 


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1 (2) PROHIBITION.—Section 408(a) of such Act 

2 (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(13) BAN ON CONDITIONING RECEIPT OF

5 TANF OR CERTAIN OTHER BENEFITS ON PARTICIPA6 TION IN A HEALTHY MARRIAGE OR RESPONSIBLE

7 FATHERHOOD PROGRAM.—A State to which a grant 

8 is made under section 403 shall not condition the re9 ceipt of assistance under the State program funded 

10 under this part, under a program funded with quali11 fied State expenditures (as defined in section 

12 409(a)(7)(B)(i)), or under any other program fund13 ed under this title, on participation in a healthy 

14 marriage promotion activity (as defined in section 

15 403(a)(2)(A)(iii)) or in an activity promoting re16 sponsible fatherhood (as defined in section 

17 403(a)(2)(C)(ii)).’’. 

18 (3) PENALTY.—Section 409(a) of such Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 609(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(17) PENALTY FOR CONDITIONING RECEIPT

22 OF TANF OR CERTAIN OTHER BENEFITS ON PARTICI23 PATION IN A HEALTHY MARRIAGE OR RESPONSIBLE

24 FATHERHOOD PROGRAM.—If the Secretary deter25 mines that a State has violated section 408(a)(13) 


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1 during a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reduce the 

2 grant payable to the State under section 403(a)(1) 

3 for the immediately succeeding fiscal year by an 

4 amount equal to 5 percent of the State family assist5 ance grant.’’. 

6 (b) ACTIVITIES PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHER7 HOOD.—Section 403(a)(2)(C)(ii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 603(a)(2)(C)(ii)) is amended— 

9 (1) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘marriage or 

10 sustain marriage’’ and insert ‘‘healthy relationships 

11 and marriages or to sustain healthy relationships or 

12 marriages’’; 

13 (2) in subclause (II), by inserting ‘‘educating 

14 youth who are not yet parents about the economic, 

15 social, and family consequences of early parenting, 

16 helping participants in fatherhood programs work 

17 with their own children to break the cycle of early 

18 parenthood,’’ after ‘‘child support payments,’’; and 

19 (3) in subclause (III), by striking ‘‘fathers’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘low-income fathers and other low-income 

21 noncustodial parents who are not eligible for assist22 ance under the State program funded under this 

23 part’’. 

24 (c) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 403(a)(2)(D) of 

25 such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)(D)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2012’’ the 1st place 

2 it appears and inserting ‘‘each of fiscal years 2016 

3 through 2020’’; and 

4 (2) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2012’’ the 2nd place 

5 it appears and inserting ‘‘a fiscal year’’. 

6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 this section shall take effect on October 1, 2015. 

8 SEC. 104. TANF WORK PARTICIPATION IMPROVEMENTS. 

9 (a) ELIMINATION OF SEPARATE WORK REQUIRE10 MENTS FOR 2-PARENT FAMILIES.— 

11 (1) WORK PARTICIPATION RATE.—Section 407 

12 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 607) is amend13 ed— 

14 (A) in subsection (a)— 

15 (i) beginning in the heading, by strik16 ing ‘‘PARTICIPATION RATE REQUIRE17 MENTS’’ and all that follows through ‘‘A 

18 State’’ in paragraph (1) and inserting 

19 ‘‘PARTICIPATION RATE REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 A State’’; and 

21 (B) in subsection (b)— 

22 (i) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking 

23 ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub24 section (a)’’; 


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1 (ii) by striking paragraph (2) and re2 designating paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) as 

3 paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively; 

4 (iii) in paragraph (3) (as so redesig5 nated), by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1)(B) and 

6 (2)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘determining month7 ly participation rates under paragraph 

8 (1)(B)’’; and 

9 (iv) in paragraph (4) (as so redesig10 nated), by striking ‘‘rates’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘rate’’. 

12 (2) MINIMUM WEEKLY HOURS REQUIRE13 MENT.—Section 407(c)(1) of the Social Security Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(1)) is amended— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘GENERAL RULES’’ and all 

16 that follows through ‘‘For purposes of’’ in sub17 paragraph (A) and inserting ‘‘GENERAL

18 RULES—For purposes of’’; and 

19 (B) by striking subparagraph (B). 

20 (3) LIMITATION ON PENALTY IMPOSITION.—In 

21 applying section 409(a)(3) of the Social Security Act 

22 for any of fiscal years 2007 through 2015, the Sec23 retary of Health and Human Services shall dis24 regard the requirement imposed by section 407(a)(2) 

25 of such Act. 


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1 (b) ELIMINATION OF DISTINCTION BETWEEN CORE

2 AND OTHER WORK ACTIVITIES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 407(c)(1) of such 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(1)), as amended by sub5 section (a)(2) of this section, is further amended by 

6 striking ‘‘not fewer than’’ and all that follows 

7 through ‘‘subsection (d),’’. 

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

9 407(c)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(2)) is 

10 amended by striking subparagraph (C). 

11 (c) ELIMINATION OF CAP ON TREATING VOCATIONAL

12 EDUCATIONAL TRAINING AS WORK PARTICIPATION.— 

13 Section 407(c)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(2)) is 

14 amended by striking subparagraph (D). 

15 (d) INCREASE IN MONTHS OF EDUCATIONAL VOCA16 TIONAL TRAINING THAT MAY BE COUNTED AS WORK

17 PARTICIPATION.—Section 407(d)(8) of such Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 607(d)(8)) is amended by striking ‘‘12 months’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘24 months’’. 

20 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section shall take effect on October 1 of the first fiscal 

22 year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act 

23 and shall apply to the determination of minimum partici24 pation rates for months beginning on or after that date. 


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1 SEC. 105. BAN ON RECOVERY OF MEDICAID COSTS FOR 

2 BIRTHS. 

3 (a) BAN ON RECOVERY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 454 of the Social 

5 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 654), is amended— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para7 graph (33); 

8 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

9 paragraph (34) and inserting a semicolon; and 

10 (C) by inserting after paragraph (34) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(35) provide that, except as provided in sec13 tion 1902(a)(25)(F)(ii), the State shall not use the 

14 State program operated under this part to collect 

15 any amount owed to the State by reason of costs in16 curred under the State plan approved under title 

17 XIX for the birth of a child for whom support rights 

18 have been assigned pursuant to section 471(a)(17) 

19 or 1912; and’’. 

20 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sec21 tion 454(35) of such Act, as added by paragraph 

22 (1), shall be construed as affecting the application of 

23 section 1902(a)(25) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 1396a(a)(25)) with respect to a State (relating to 

25 the State Medicaid plan requirement for the State to 

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1 ability of third parties to pay for care and services 

2 available under the plan). 

3 (b) CLARIFICATION THAT BAN ON RECOVERY DOES

4 NOT APPLY WITH RESPECT TO INSURANCE OF A PARENT

5 WITH AN OBLIGATION TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT.—Clause 

6 (ii) of section 1902(a)(25)(F) of the Social Security Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(25)(F)) is amended by inserting 

8 ‘‘only if such third-party liability is derived through insur9 ance,’’ before ‘‘seek’’. 

10 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

13 take effect on October 1, 2015. 

14 (2) EXTENSION OF EFFECTIVE DATE FOR

15 STATE LAW AMENDMENT.—In the case of a State 

16 plan under title XIX of the Social Security Act 

17 which the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

18 determines requires State legislation in order for the 

19 plan to meet the additional requirements imposed by 

20 the amendments made by this section, the State 

21 plan shall not be regarded as failing to comply with 

22 the requirements of such title solely on the basis of 

23 its failure to meet these additional requirements be24 fore the first day of the first calendar quarter begin25 ning after the close of the first regular session of the 


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1 State legislature that begins after the date of enact2 ment of this Act. For purposes of the previous sen3 tence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year legis4 lative session, each year of the session is considered 

5 to be a separate regular session of the State legisla6 ture. 

7 SEC. 106. IMPROVED COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF 

8 CHILD SUPPORT. 

9 (a) DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD SUPPORT.— 

10 (1) FULL DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD SUPPORT

11 COLLECTED; REFORM OF RULES FOR DISTRIBUTION

12 OF CHILD SUPPORT COLLECTED ON BEHALF OF

13 CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 457 of the So15 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 657) is amended— 

16 (i) by striking subsection (a) and in17 serting the following: 

18 ‘‘(a) FULL DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS COLLECTED

19 ON BEHALF OF ANY FAMILY.—Subject to subsection (c), 

20 the entire amount collected on behalf of any family as sup21 port by a State pursuant to a plan approved under this 

22 part shall be paid by the State to the family.’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking subsections (c) 

24 through (e) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) AMOUNTS COLLECTED FOR CHILD FOR WHOM

2 FOSTER CARE MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS ARE MADE.— 

3 Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section, 

4 amounts collected by a State as child support for months 

5 in any period on behalf of a child for whom a public agen6 cy is making foster care maintenance payments under part 

7 E shall be paid to the public agency responsible for super8 vising the placement of the child, which may use the pay9 ments in the manner it determines will serve the best in10 terests of the child, including setting such payments aside 

11 for the child’s future needs or use.’’. 

12 (B) FOSTER CARE STATE PLAN AMEND13 MENT.—Section 471(a)(17) of such Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 671(a)(17) is amended— 

15 (i) by inserting ‘‘and consistent with 

16 the child’s case plan’’ after ‘‘where appro17 priate’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘secure an assignment 

19 to the State of any rights to support’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘establish paternity and estab21 lish, modify, and enforce child support ob22 ligations’’. 

23 (C) SOCIAL SECURITY ACT AMEND24 MENTS.— 


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1 (i) CHILD SUPPORT STATE PLAN

2 AMENDMENT.—Section 454 of such Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section 

4 105(a)(1) of this Act, is amended by in5 serting after paragraph (35) the following: 

6 ‘‘(36) provide that a State shall pay all col7 lected child support to the payee, except as provided 

8 in section 457(c).’’. 

9 (ii) DISBURSEMENT OF SUPPORT PAY10 MENTS.—Section 454B(c) of such Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 654b(c)) is amended by adding at 

12 the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(3) DISBURSEMENT TO FAMILIES.—The State 

14 disbursement unit shall pay all collected child sup15 port to the payee, except as otherwise provided in 

16 section 457.’’. 

17 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (A) Section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)(I)(aa) of such 

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)(7)(B)(i)(I)(aa)) is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘457(a)(1)(B)’’ and in21 serting ‘‘457(a)’’. 

22 (B) Section 454(5) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 654(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘(A) in any 

24 case’’ and all that follows through ‘‘(B)’’. 


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1 (C) Section 466(a)(3)(B) of such Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 666(a)(3)(B)) is amended— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘shall be distributed in 

4 accordance with section 457 in the case of 

5 overdue support assigned to a State pursu6 ant to section 408(a)(3) or 471(a)(17), or, 

7 in any other case,’’; and 

8 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or to the public 

9 agency responsible for supervising the 

10 placement of the child, which may use the 

11 payments in the manner the public agency 

12 determines will serve the best interest of 

13 the child’’ before the semicolon. 

14 (b) PROHIBITION ON CONDITIONING RECEIPT OF

15 TANF ON ASSIGNMENT OF SUPPORT.—Section 408(a)(3) 

16 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)(3)) is amend17 ed— 

18 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘NO

19 ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILIES NOT’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘PROHIBITION ON CONDITIONING ASSISTANCE FOR

21 FAMILIES ON’’; 

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘not’’ after ‘‘shall’’; 

23 (3) by inserting ‘‘or under a program funded 

24 with qualified State expenditures (as defined in sec25 tion 409(a)(7)(B)(i))’’ after ‘‘this part’’; and 


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1 (4) by striking ‘‘, not exceeding the total 

2 amount of assistance so paid to the family,’’. 

3 (c) REQUIREMENT TO DISREGARD PERCENTAGE OF

4 CHILD SUPPORT COLLECTED IN DETERMINING AMOUNT

5 AND TYPE OF TANF ASSISTANCE.—Section 408(a) of 

6 such Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)), as amended by section 

7 103(a)(2) of this Act and subsection (b) of this section, 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following new para9 graph: 

10 ‘‘(14) REQUIREMENT TO DISREGARD PERCENT11 AGE OF CHILD SUPPORT COLLECTED IN DETER12 MINING AMOUNT AND TYPE OF TANF ASSISTANCE.— 

13 A State to which a grant is made under section 403 

14 shall disregard at least the same percentage of 

15 amounts collected as support on behalf of a family 

16 as the percentage of earned income that the State 

17 disregards, in determining the amount or type of as18 sistance provided to the family under the State pro19 gram funded under this part or under a program 

20 funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined 

21 in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)).’’. 

22 (d) RESTORATION OF FEDERAL FUNDING.—Effec23 tive on the date of enactment of this Act, section 7309 

24 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (Public Law 109– 

25 171; 120 Stat. 147) is repealed and part D of title IV 


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1 of the Social Security Act shall be applied as if the amend2 ment made by subsection (a) of that section had not been 

3 enacted. 

4 (e) REPEAL OF MANDATORY FEE FOR CHILD SUP5 PORT COLLECTION.—Effective on the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, section 7310 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 

7 2005 (Public Law 109–171; 120 Stat. 147) is repealed 

8 and part D of title IV of the Social Security Act shall 

9 be applied as if the amendments made by that section had 

10 not been enacted. 

11 (f) PROHIBITION ON CONSIDERING A PERIOD OF IN12 CARCERATION VOLUNTARY UNEMPLOYMENT.—Section 

13 466(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 666(a)) is 

14 amended by inserting after paragraph (19) the following: 

15 ‘‘(20) PROCEDURES RELATING TO PERIODS OF

16 INCARCERATION OF NONCUSTODIAL PARENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Procedures which re18 quire that, in determining or modifying the 

19 amount of, or terms and conditions of, any sup20 port obligation of a noncustodial parent, the 

21 State— 

22 ‘‘(i) shall not consider any period of 

23 incarceration of such parent as a period of 

24 voluntary unemployment that disqualifies 

25 the parent from obtaining a modification 


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1 of the support obligation consistent with 

2 the parent’s ability to pay child support; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) subject to subparagraph (B) in 

5 the case of an incarcerated parent, may— 

6 ‘‘(I) temporarily suspend any 

7 support obligation on the parent and 

8 the enforcement of any support obli9 gation of the parent existing prior to 

10 the period of incarceration; and 

11 ‘‘(II) temporarily prohibit the ac12 crual of any interest on any support 

13 obligation of the parent existing prior 

14 to the period of incarceration during 

15 any such period. 

16 ‘‘(B) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CHAL17 LENGE SUSPENSION.—Such procedures shall re18 quire the State to provide a custodial parent 

19 with— 

20 ‘‘(i) notice of any suspension of re21 view, adjustment, or enforcement of a sup22 port obligation and of any prohibition on 

23 interest accrual on such obligation that is 

24 imposed in accordance with subparagraph 

25 (A)(ii); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an opportunity to request that 

2 the suspension or prohibition be termi3 nated or modified on the basis that the 

4 noncustodial parent has sufficient income 

5 or resources to continue payment of the 

6 support obligation during the noncustodial 

7 parent’s period of incarceration.’’. 

8 (g) REVIEW AND ADJUSTMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT

9 ARREARAGES UPON REQUEST.—Section 466(a)(10) of 

10 such Act (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(10)) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(D) REVIEW AND ADJUSTMENT OF AR13 REARAGES.—Procedures which require the 

14 State to review, and if appropriate, reduce the 

15 balance of arrearages permanently assigned to 

16 the State under part A or E of this title, or 

17 under title XIX, pursuant to standards and 

18 procedures established by the State, in cases 

19 where the obligor lacks sufficient ability to pay 

20 the arrears, adjustment will promote timely 

21 payment of current support, or barriers, such 

22 as incarceration, may have limited the ability of 

23 the obligor to timely seek a modification of the 

24 order, and it is in the best interests of the child 

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1 ceding sentence shall be construed as affecting 

2 arrearages that have not been permanently as3 signed to the State under any such part or 

4 title.’’. 

5 (h) STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than October 1, 

6 2016, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 

7 study and submit a report to Congress regarding the fol8 lowing: 

9 (1) The effect of age eligibility restrictions for 

10 the earned income tax credit established under sec11 tion 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for in12 dividuals without qualifying children on— 

13 (A) the ability of young parents to pay 

14 child support; 

15 (B) compliance with child support orders; 

16 and 

17 (C) the relationship between young non18 custodial parents and their children. 

19 (2) The impact of State earned income tax 

20 credit programs, especially such programs with tar21 geted benefits for noncustodial parents, on— 

22 (A) the ability of noncustodial parents to 

23 pay child support; 

24 (B) compliance with child support orders; 

25 and 


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1 (C) the relationship between noncustodial 

2 parents and their children. 

3 (3) The challenges faced by legal immigrants 

4 and individuals for whom English is not their pri5 mary language in fulfilling child support and other 

6 noncustodial parenting obligations. 

7 (i) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro9 vided in this section, the amendments made by this 

10 section shall take effect on October 1, 2016, and 

11 shall apply to payments under parts A and D of title 

12 IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters 

13 beginning on or after that date, without regard to 

14 whether regulations to implement the amendments 

15 are promulgated by such date. 

16 (2) STATE OPTION TO ACCELERATE EFFECTIVE

17 DATE.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a State 

18 may elect to have the amendments made by the pre19 ceding provisions of this section apply to the State 

20 and to amounts collected by the State (and to pay21 ments under such parts), on and after such date as 

22 the State may select that is not later than Sep23 tember 30, 2016. 


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1 SEC. 107. COLLECTION OF CHILD SUPPORT UNDER THE 

2 SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE 

3 PROGRAM. 

4 (a) ENCOURAGEMENT OF COLLECTION OF CHILD

5 SUPPORT.—Section 5 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 

6 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (e)— 

8 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and 

9 (6) as paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively; 

10 (B) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking 

11 ‘‘paragraph (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

12 (7)’’; and 

13 (C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(5) DEDUCTION FOR CHILD SUPPORT RE16 CEIVED.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A household shall be 

18 allowed a deduction of 20 percent of all legally 

19 obligated child support payments received from 

20 an identified or putative parent of a child in the 

21 household if that parent is not a household 

22 member. 

23 ‘‘(B) ORDER OF DETERMINING DEDUC24 TIONS.—A deduction under this paragraph shall 

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1 cess shelter deduction under paragraph (7).’’; 

2 and 

3 (2) in subsection (k)(4)(B), by striking ‘‘sub4 section (e)(6)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (e)(7)’’. 

5 (b) SIMPLIFIED VERIFICATION OF CHILD SUPPORT

6 PAYMENTS.—Section 5(n) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

7 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(n)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking 

9 ‘‘STATE OPTIONS TO SIMPLIFY’’, and inserting 

10 ‘‘SIMPLIFIED’’; and 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘Regardless of whether’’ and in12 serting the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A household that is paying 

14 legally obligated child support through the program 

15 under part D of title IV of the Social Security Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) shall receive— 

17 ‘‘(A) a deduction under subsection (e)(4); 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(B) an exclusion under subsection (d)(6); 

20 for child support payments made. 

21 ‘‘(2) STATE OPTIONS.—Regardless of whether’’. 

22 (c) INCLUSION OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES PRO23 GRAMS IN DEFINITION OF WORK PROGRAM.—Section 

24 6(o)(2) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

25 2015(o)(2)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period 

4 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(E) participate in and comply with the re7 quirements of a demonstration project under 

8 section 102 of the Julia Carson Responsible Fa9 therhood and Healthy Families Act of 2015;’’. 

10 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section and the amend12 ments made by this section take effect on October 

13 1, 2015. 

14 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—A State shall imple15 ment the amendments made by subsections (a) and 

16 (b) for participating households at the 1st certifi17 cation, or 1st recertification, of the household that 

18 occurs on or after October 1, 2015. 

19 SEC. 108. GRANTS SUPPORTING HEALTHY FAMILY PART20 NERSHIPS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTER21 VENTION AND PREVENTIONS. 

22 Section 403(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 603(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

24 new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(6) GRANTS SUPPORTING HEALTHY FAMILY

2 PARTNERSHIPS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTER3 VENTION AND PREVENTION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

5 award grants on a competitive basis to healthy 

6 family partnerships to develop and implement 

7 promising practices for— 

8 ‘‘(i) assessing and providing services 

9 to individuals and families affected by do10 mestic violence, including through case11 worker training, the provision of technical 

12 assistance to community partners, and the 

13 implementation of safe visitation and ex14 change programs; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) preventing domestic violence, 

16 particularly as a barrier to economic secu17 rity, and fostering healthy relationships. 

18 ‘‘(B) EDUCATION SERVICES.—In awarding 

19 grants under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

20 shall ensure that 10 percent of the funds made 

21 available under such grants are used for high 

22 schools and other secondary educational institu23 tions and institutions of higher education to 

24 provide education services on the value of 

25 healthy relationships, responsible parenting, 


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1 and healthy marriages characterized by mutual 

2 respect and nonviolence, and the importance of 

3 building relationships skills such as communica4 tion, conflict resolution, and budgeting. 

5 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—The respective entity 

6 and organization of a healthy family partner7 ship entered into for purposes of receiving a 

8 grant under this paragraph shall submit a joint 

9 application to the Secretary, at such time and 

10 in such manner as the Secretary shall specify, 

11 containing— 

12 ‘‘(i) a description of how the partner13 ship intends to carry out the activities de14 scribed in subparagraph (A); 

15 ‘‘(ii) an assurance that funds made 

16 available under the grant shall be used to 

17 supplement, and not supplant, other funds 

18 used by the entity or organization to carry 

19 out programs, activities, or services de20 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B); and 

21 ‘‘(iii) such other information as the 

22 Secretary may require. 

23 ‘‘(D) GENERAL RULES GOVERNING USE OF

24 FUNDS.—The rules of section 404, other than 


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1 subsection (b) of that section, shall not apply to 

2 a grant made under this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(E) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(i) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term 

5 ‘domestic violence’ has the meaning given 

6 that term in section 402(a)(7)(B). 

7 ‘‘(ii) HEALTHY FAMILY PARTNER8 SHIP.—The term ‘healthy family partner9 ship’ means a partnership between— 

10 ‘‘(I) an entity receiving funds 

11 under a grant made under paragraph 

12 (2) to promote healthy marriage or re13 sponsible fatherhood; and 

14 ‘‘(II) an organization with dem15 onstrated expertise working with sur16 vivors of domestic violence. 

17 ‘‘(F) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money 

18 in the Treasury of the United States not other19 wise appropriated, there are appropriated for 

20 each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020, 

21 $25,000,000 to carry out this paragraph.’’. 

22 SEC. 109. PROCEDURES TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403(a)(2) of the Social 

24 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and 

2 (E) as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respectively; and 

3 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECEIPT OF

6 FUNDS.—An entity may not be awarded a grant 

7 under this paragraph unless the entity, as a 

8 condition of receiving funds under such a 

9 grant— 

10 ‘‘(i) identifies in its application for the 

11 grant the domestic violence experts at the 

12 local, State, or national level with whom 

13 the entity will consult in the development 

14 and implementation of the programs and 

15 activities of the entity; 

16 ‘‘(ii) on award of the grant, and in 

17 consultation with such domestic violence 

18 experts, develops a written protocol which 

19 describes— 

20 ‘‘(I) how the entity will identify 

21 instances or risks of domestic violence; 

22 ‘‘(II) the procedures for respond23 ing to such instances or risk, includ24 ing making service referrals and pro25 viding protections and appropriate asVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:49 Jul 14, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3005.IH H3005

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1 sistance for identified individuals and 

2 families; 

3 ‘‘(III) how confidentiality issues 

4 will be addressed; and 

5 ‘‘(IV) the domestic violence train6 ing that will be provided to ensure ef7 fective and consistent implementation 

8 of the protocol; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) in an annual report to the Sec10 retary, includes a description of the domes11 tic violence protocols, and a description of 

12 any implementation issues identified with 

13 respect to domestic violence and how the 

14 issues were addressed. 

15 ‘‘(E) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DEFINED.—In 

16 this paragraph, the term ‘domestic violence’ has 

17 the meaning given the term in section 

18 402(a)(7)(B).’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 403(a)(2) 

20 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)), as amended by section 

21 103(d) of this Act and subsection (a)(1) of this section, 

22 is amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘and (E)’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘(D), and (G)’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘(F)’’; 

2 and 

3 (2) in subparagraphs (B)(i) and (C)(i), by 

4 striking ‘‘(D)’’ each place it appears and inserting 

5 ‘‘(F)’’. 

6 SEC. 110. TANF EMPLOYMENT FUND. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403(b) of the Social Secu8 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 603(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(b) EMPLOYMENT FUND.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby estab11 lished in the Treasury of the United States a fund 

12 which shall be known as the ‘Employment Fund for 

13 Needy Families’ (in this subsection referred to as 

14 the ‘Fund’.) 

15 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS INTO FUND.—Out of any money 

16 in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise 

17 appropriated, there are appropriated for each of fis18 cal years 2017 and 2018, $608,000,000 for payment 

19 to the Fund, which shall remain available until ex20 pended. 

21 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal 

23 years 2017 and 2018, the Secretary shall make 

24 a grant to any qualifying entity as provided in 

25 this paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(B) QUALIFYING ENTITY.—For purposes 

2 of this paragraph, a qualifying entity for a fis3 cal year is a State, territory, Indian tribe, or 

4 tribal organization that submits to the Sec5 retary an application for a grant under this 

6 paragraph for the fiscal year, in such manner 

7 and at such time as the Secretary may require. 

8 ‘‘(C) ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

10 Secretary shall reserve $10,000,000 out of 

11 the amounts made available under para12 graph (2) for each fiscal year to provide 

13 technical assistance to qualifying entities 

14 receiving a grant under this paragraph for 

15 the fiscal year. 

16 ‘‘(ii) TERRITORIES AND INDIAN

17 TRIBES.—The Secretary shall reserve, 

18 from the amount made available under 

19 paragraph (2) for a fiscal year that re20 mains after applying clause (i), 3 percent 

21 for grants under this paragraph for the fis22 cal year to qualifying entities that are ter23 ritories and 1 percent for grants under this 

24 paragraph for the fiscal year to qualifying 

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1 ganizations, to be allotted in a manner the 

2 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(iii) STATES.— 

4 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The amount 

5 of a grant under this paragraph pay6 able for a fiscal year to a qualifying 

7 entity that is a State shall be the 

8 amount that bears the same ratio to 

9 the aggregate amount as the number 

10 of individuals residing in the State 

11 who have attained 18 years of age but 

12 have not attained 67 years of age who 

13 are not employed, as determined by 

14 the Secretary, bears to the total num15 ber of such individuals residing in all 

16 qualifying entities that are States. 

17 ‘‘(II) AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—For 

18 purposes of this clause, the term ‘ag19 gregate amount’ means the amount 

20 made available for a fiscal year under 

21 paragraph (2) that remains after ap22 plying clauses (i) and (ii). 

23 ‘‘(iv) UNUSED FUNDS.— 

24 ‘‘(I) REASONABLE LIMITS ON

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1 retary shall set reasonable limits on 

2 the amount of funds a State receiving 

3 a grant under this paragraph may 

4 carry over for expenditure in fiscal 

5 years after the fiscal year for which 

6 the grant is awarded. 

7 ‘‘(II) REDISTRIBUTION OF UN8 USED FUNDS.—Any portion of the 

9 amount of a grant made to a State 

10 under clause (iii) that the Secretary 

11 determines will not be used by the 

12 State shall be redistributed among the 

13 States that the Secretary determines 

14 will not have such an unused amount, 

15 using the rules specified in clause (iii). 

16 Any amount so redistributed to a 

17 State is deemed part of the grant 

18 made to the State under the preceding 

19 provisions of this paragraph. 

20 ‘‘(D) USE OF FUNDS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS.— 

22 ‘‘(I) SUBSIDIZED EMPLOY23 MENT.—A qualifying entity awarded a 

24 grant under this paragraph shall use 

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1 sidized employment program to assist 

2 recipients of TANF cash assistance 

3 and TANF-eligible individuals who 

4 are not recipients of cash assistance 

5 in obtaining paid employment. 

6 ‘‘(II) SECTORAL SKILLS TRAIN7 ING.—A qualifying entity may use not 

8 more than 15 percent of funds award9 ed to the entity under this paragraph 

10 for a fiscal year to conduct a sectoral 

11 skills training program to provide sec12 toral skills training to recipients of 

13 TANF cash assistance and TANF-eli14 gible individuals who are not recipi15 ents of cash assistance. 

16 ‘‘(ii) ALLOWABLE EXPENSES.—A 

17 qualifying entity may use funds awarded 

18 under this paragraph to carry out clause 

19 (i), including the following activities: 

20 ‘‘(I) Administrative expenses. 

21 ‘‘(II) Supportive services, includ22 ing transportation and child care, to 

23 enable individuals to participate in a 

24 program described in clause (i). 


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1 ‘‘(III) Wages and associated pay2 roll costs for individuals participating 

3 in the subsidized employment program 

4 described in clause (i)(I). 

5 ‘‘(iii) ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSIST6 ANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(I) REQUIREMENT TO USE 75

8 PERCENT OF FUNDS TO ASSIST RE9 CIPIENTS OF TANF CASH ASSIST10 ANCE.—A qualifying entity shall use 

11 not less than 75 percent of funds 

12 awarded to the entity under this para13 graph to assist under the program de14 scribed in clause (i)(I) (and, if the en15 tity so elects, the program described 

16 in clause (i)(II)) recipients of TANF 

17 cash assistance and may use the re18 mainder of the funds to assist TANF19 eligible individuals who are not recipi20 ents of cash assistance. 

21 ‘‘(II) RECIPIENT OF TANF CASH

22 ASSISTANCE.—In this subparagraph, 

23 the term ‘recipient of TANF cash as24 sistance’ means an individual who— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) has attained 18 years 

2 of age and has not attained 67 

3 years of age; and 

4 ‘‘(bb) is not employed and is 

5 determined by the qualifying en6 tity to have been unsuccessful at 

7 obtaining paid employment after 

8 participating in a job search pro9 gram; and— 

10 ‘‘(AA) is a member of a 

11 family that receives cash as12 sistance under the State 

13 program funded under this 

14 part or any other State pro15 gram funded with qualified 

16 State expenditures (as de17 fined in section 

18 409(a)(7)(B)(i)); or 

19 ‘‘(BB) is a noncustodial 

20 parent of a minor child re21 siding with a family de22 scribed in item (aa), in a 

23 case in which the parent is 

24 not considered by the State 


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1 to be a member of the fam2 ily. 

3 ‘‘(III) TANF-ELIGIBLE INDI4 VIDUAL WHO IS NOT A RECIPIENT OF

5 CASH ASSISTANCE.—In this subpara6 graph, the term ‘TANF-eligible indi7 vidual who is not a recipient of cash 

8 assistance’ means an individual who— 

9 ‘‘(aa) has attained 18 years 

10 of age and has not attained 67 

11 years of age; 

12 ‘‘(bb) is not employed and is 

13 determined by the qualifying en14 tity to have been unsuccessful at 

15 obtaining paid employment after 

16 participating in a job search pro17 gram; 

18 ‘‘(cc) is not an individual de19 scribed in subitems (AA) or (BB) 

20 of subclause (II)(bb); and 

21 ‘‘(dd) is a member of a fam22 ily that includes a minor child re23 siding with the family (including 

24 a noncustodial parent of the 

25 child) if the family has an income 


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1 that is less than the poverty line 

2 (as defined in section 673(2) of 

3 the Omnibus Budget Reconcili4 ation Act of 1981, including any 

5 revision required by such section, 

6 applicable to a family of the size 

7 involved). 

8 ‘‘(E) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

9 ‘‘(i) SUBSIDIZED EMPLOYMENT.—For 

10 each fiscal year for which an eligible entity 

11 receives a grant under this paragraph, the 

12 entity shall submit to the Secretary a re13 port on the subsidized employment pro14 gram described in subparagraph (D)(i)(I), 

15 including a description of— 

16 ‘‘(I) the design of the wage sub17 sidy provided to individuals receiving 

18 employment assistance under the pro19 gram (in this clause referred to as 

20 ‘subsidized employees’); 

21 ‘‘(II) requirements imposed on 

22 employers by the State as a condition 

23 of participating in the program; 

24 ‘‘(III) the types of jobs in which 

25 subsidized employees are placed; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) demographic information 

2 for subsidized employees and for the 

3 target population the entity seeks to 

4 assist under the program; 

5 ‘‘(V) the total number of sub6 sidized employees participating in the 

7 program during the fiscal year; 

8 ‘‘(VI) the average number of 

9 hours worked per week by a sub10 sidized employee; 

11 ‘‘(VII) the average length of time 

12 for which a subsidized employee par13 ticipates in the program; and 

14 ‘‘(VIII) the employment out15 comes for subsidized employees after 

16 participating in the program, includ17 ing the number of individuals hired by 

18 an employer with which the individual 

19 was placed during the program and 

20 the number of individuals hired by 

21 other employers. 

22 ‘‘(ii) SECTORAL SKILLS TRAINING.—If 

23 an eligible entity elects to conduct a sec24 toral skills training program described in 

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1 quired under clause (i) of this subpara2 graph shall also include a description of— 

3 ‘‘(I) the design of the program; 

4 ‘‘(II) the industries in which indi5 viduals receiving assistance under the 

6 program (in this clause referred to as 

7 ‘trainees’) receive training; 

8 ‘‘(III) demographic information 

9 for trainees and for the target popu10 lation the entity seeks to assist under 

11 the program; 

12 ‘‘(IV) the total number of train13 ees participating in the program dur14 ing the fiscal year; 

15 ‘‘(V) the average number of 

16 hours per week for which a trainee re17 ceives training; 

18 ‘‘(VI) the average length of time 

19 for which a trainee participates in the 

20 program; and 

21 ‘‘(VII) the employment outcomes 

22 for trainees after participating in the 

23 program. 

24 ‘‘(F) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall 

25 establish and implement a rigorous system for 


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1 evaluating the success of subsidized employment 

2 programs and sectoral training programs con3 ducted pursuant to this paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

5 ‘‘(A) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZA6 TION.—The terms ‘Indian tribe’ and ‘tribal or7 ganization’ have the meaning given such terms 

8 in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

9 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

10 450b). 

11 ‘‘(B) SECTORAL SKILLS TRAINING.—The 

12 term ‘sectoral skills training’ means training 

13 that implements a sectoral skills training strat14 egy established by an industry or sector part15 nership (as defined in section 3(26) of the 

16 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act). 

17 ‘‘(C) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means 

18 each of the 50 States of the United States and 

19 the District of Columbia. 

20 ‘‘(D) TERRITORIES.—The term ‘territories’ 

21 means Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States 

22 Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, 

23 and American Samoa.’’. 

24 (b) PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS COUNTED TOWARD

25 WORK PARTICIPATION RATE.—Section 407(b) of such Act 


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1 (42 U.S.C. 607(b)), as amended by section 104(a)(1)(B) 

2 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(5) STATE OPTION TO INCLUDE SUBSIDIZED

4 EMPLOYMENT AND SECTORAL SKILLS TRAINING

5 PARTICIPANTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) If an individual who is not a recipient 

7 of assistance under the State program funded 

8 under this part (or any other State program 

9 funded with qualified State expenditures (as de10 fined in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)) participates in 

11 work activities for not less than the minimum 

12 average number of hours per week specified in 

13 the table in subsection (c)(1) of this section 

14 during a month as part of a State’s subsidized 

15 employment or sectoral skills training program 

16 funded under section 403(b), the State may 

17 count the individual as a family that includes 

18 an adult or a minor child head of household 

19 who is engaged in work for the month for pur20 poses of paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection.’’. 

21 (c) STATE PLAN REQUIRED TO INCLUDE DESCRIP22 TION OF EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS.—Section 

23 402(a)(1)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)(B)) is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(vi) The document shall indicate 

2 whether the State intends to apply for a 

3 grant to conduct a subsidized employment 

4 program and, if the State so chooses, a 

5 sectoral skills training program, under sec6 tion 403(b). If so, the document shall in7 clude a description of the program or pro8 grams the State intends to conduct using 

9 the grant funds and a description of how 

10 the program or programs will serve non11 custodial parents of minor children.’’. 

12 (d) GRANTS EXEMPTED FROM TERRITORIAL PAY13 MENT CEILING.—Section 1108(a)(2) of such Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 1308(a)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘403(b),’’ 

15 after ‘‘403(a)(5),’’. 

16 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO RETAIN DEFINI17 TION OF A NEEDY STATE.— 

18 (1) NUMBER OF WEEKS FOR WHICH JOB

19 SEARCH COUNTS AS WORK.—Section 407(c)(2)(A) of 

20 such Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(2)(A)) is amended— 

21 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘section 

22 409(a)(7)(B)(i))’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (iii)’’; 

23 and 

24 (B) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(iii) NEEDY STATE.—For purposes 

2 of clause (i), a State is a needy State for 

3 a month if— 

4 ‘‘(I) the average rate of— 

5 ‘‘(aa) total unemployment in 

6 such State (seasonally adjusted) 

7 for the period consisting of the 

8 most recent 3 months for which 

9 data for all States are published 

10 equals or exceeds 6.5 percent; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(bb) total unemployment in 

13 such State (seasonally adjusted) 

14 for the 3-month period equals or 

15 exceeds 110 percent of such aver16 age rate for either (or both) of 

17 the corresponding 3-month peri18 ods ending in the 2 preceding 

19 calendar years; or 

20 ‘‘(II) as determined by the Sec21 retary of Agriculture (in the discretion 

22 of the Secretary of Agriculture), the 

23 monthly average number of individ24 uals (as of the last day of each 

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1 mental nutrition assistance program 

2 in the State in the then most recently 

3 concluded 3-month period for which 

4 data are available exceeds by not less 

5 than 10 percent the lesser of— 

6 ‘‘(aa) the monthly average 

7 number of individuals (as of the 

8 last day of each month) in the 

9 State that would have partici10 pated in the supplemental nutri11 tion assistance program in the 

12 corresponding 3-month period in 

13 fiscal year 1994 if the amend14 ments made by titles IV and VIII 

15 of the Personal Responsibility 

16 and Work Opportunity Reconcili17 ation Act of 1996 had been in ef18 fect throughout fiscal year 1994; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(bb) the monthly average 

21 number of individuals (as of the 

22 last day of each month) in the 

23 State that would have partici24 pated in the supplemental nutri25 tion assistance program in the 


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1 corresponding 3-month period in 

2 fiscal year 1995 if the amend3 ments made by titles IV and VIII 

4 of the Personal Responsibility 

5 and Work Opportunity Reconcili6 ation Act of 1996 had been in ef7 fect throughout fiscal year 

8 1995.’’. 

9 (2) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO REDUCE

10 WORK PARTICIPATION RATE PENALTY DUE TO CIR11 CUMSTANCES THAT CAUSED STATE TO BECOME

12 NEEDY STATE.—Section 409(a)(3)(C) of such Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 609(a)(3)(C)) is amended by striking 

14 ‘‘section 403(b)(5)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

15 407(c)(2)(A)(iii)’’. 

16 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply with respect to fiscal years begin18 ning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 111. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

20 It is the sense of the Congress that a State to which 

21 a grant is made under section 403 of the Social Security 

22 Act should consider a noncustodial parent of a minor 

23 child, if the child is a recipient of assistance under a State 

24 program funded under part A of title IV of such Act (or 

25 under any other State program funded with qualified 


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1 State expenditures (as defined in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i) 

2 of such Act), to be a member of the family of the child 

3 for purposes of providing assistance to the family, the 

4 child, and the noncustodial parent under the program. 

5 TITLE II—REVENUE PROVISION 

6 SEC. 201. INCREASE IN CREDIT PERCENTAGE UNDER 

7 EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT FOR ELIGIBLE 

8 INDIVIDUALS WITH NO QUALIFYING CHIL9 DREN. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The row in the table in section 

11 32(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 relating 

12 to no qualifying children is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘No qualifying children .......................................... 20 7.65’’. 

13 (b) INCOME PHASEOUT FOR ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS

14 WITH NO QUALIFYING CHILDREN.—The table in section 

15 32(b)(2)(A) of such Code is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘$5,280’’ and inserting ‘‘$11,500’’. 

17 (c) REDUCTION OF MARRIAGE PENALTY MADE PER18 MANENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 32(b)(2)(B) of such 

20 Code is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(B) JOINT RETURNS.—In the case of a 

22 joint return filed by an eligible individual and 

23 such individual’s spouse, the phaseout amount 


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1 determined under subparagraph (A) shall be in2 creased by $5,000.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 32(b) 

4 of such Code is amended by striking paragraph (3). 

5 (d) INCREASE IN AGE RANGE FOR ELIGIBLE INDI6 VIDUALS WITH NO QUALIFYING CHILD.—Section 

7 32(c)(1)(A)(ii)(II) of such Code is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘age 25’’ and inserting ‘‘age 

9 21’’, and 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘age 65’’ and inserting ‘‘age 

11 68’’. 

12 (e) TAXPAYER ELIGIBLE FOR CREDIT FOR INDIVID13 UALS WITH NO QUALIFYING CHILDREN IF QUALIFYING

14 CHILDREN DO NOT HAVE VALID SOCIAL SECURITY NUM15 BERS.—Section 32(c)(1)(F) of such Code is amended to 

16 read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(F) INDIVIDUALS WHO DO NOT INCLUDE

18 TIN, ETC., OF ANY QUALIFYING CHILD.—In the 

19 case of any eligible individual who has one or 

20 more qualifying children, if— 

21 ‘‘(i) no qualifying child of such indi22 vidual is taken into account under sub23 section (b) by reason of paragraph (3)(D), 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) no child of such individual is 

2 taken into account for purposes of any 

3 other child tax benefit under this chapter, 

4 for purposes of the credit allowed under this 

5 section, such individual may be considered an 

6 eligible individual without a qualifying child.’’. 

7 (f) EXPANDING THE EITC FOR CERTAIN FORMER

8 FOSTER YOUTH.—Section 32(c)(1) of such Code, as 

9 amended by subsection (e), is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘(G) FOSTER YOUTH.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

13 subparagraph (A), the term ‘eligible indi14 vidual’ shall include an individual who is a 

15 qualified foster youth. 

16 ‘‘(ii) QUALIFIED FOSTER YOUTH DE17 FINED.—For purposes of clause (i), the 

18 term ‘qualified foster youth’ means an in19 dividual who— 

20 ‘‘(I) has attained age 18 but not 

21 attained age 21 before the close of the 

22 taxable year, and 

23 ‘‘(II) on or after attaining the 

24 age of 14 was placed in a foster fam25 ily home by an agency of a State or 


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•HR 3005 IH

1 a political subdivision thereof or by a 

2 qualified foster care placement agency 

3 (as defined by section 131(b)(3)).’’. 

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

5 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

6 December 31, 2015. 

Æ 


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