II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1964 

To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to invest 

in funding prevention and family services to help keep children safe 

and supported at home with their families, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2015 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. CASEY, Mr. BENNET, Mr. 

BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mr. MENENDEZ) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security 

Act to invest in funding prevention and family services 

to help keep children safe and supported at home with 

their 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 ‘‘Family Stability and Kinship Care Act of 2015’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Purpose. 

Sec. 4. Time-limited family services under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act. 

Sec. 5. Ensuring funding under part B of title IV of the Social Security Act 

for prevention and post-permanency support. 

Sec. 6. Effective date. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) Our Nation’s child welfare financing system 

4 gives States and Indian Tribes few resources to in5 vest in prevention and family services that help keep 

6 children safely at home or in the care of other family 

7 members. 

8 (2) Title IV–E of the Social Security Act cur9 rently provides States and Indian Tribes with man10 datory Federal funding support for children only 

11 after they are placed in foster care. Title IV–E pro12 vides few incentives for State and tribal efforts to 

13 prevent the need for out-of-home placements of chil14 dren or to reduce the time children spend in foster 

15 care. 

16 (3) In contrast, State and tribal innovations im17 plemented through title IV–E waivers suggest that 

18 permitting State and tribal spending under title IV– 

19 E for front end prevention and family services may 

20 help reduce the prevalence and length of foster care 


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1 placements while maintaining or improving safety 

2 and permanency outcomes for children. 

3 (4) Additionally, State experiences with sub4 sidized guardianship demonstrate that when children 

5 cannot remain with their parents, children placed 

6 with relatives or kin experience greater stability than 

7 children placed with non-relative foster families. 

8 Kinship or relative care reduces the emotional trau9 ma associated with separation from parents, helps 

10 keep siblings together, and preserves cultural herit11 age and community bonds. Providing supportive 

12 services to relatives and kin can reduce the number 

13 of children entering or re-entering foster care. 

14 (5) At the same time, current Federal funding 

15 for broad, community-based, primary prevention pro16 grams through title IV–B is too limited to ade17 quately reach the number of families in need. 

18 (6) Greater access to prevention and family 

19 services will help keep children safe and supported 

20 at home with their parents or other family members, 

21 give States and Indian Tribes the flexibility to adapt 

22 evidence-based support services to the specific needs 

23 of each family, and ensure that States and Indian 

24 Tribes are held accountable for allocating services in 

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1 dren, while minimizing the prevalence of lengthy fos2 ter care placements. 

3 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

4 The purpose of this Act is to enable States to provide 

5 enhanced support to children and families and prevent fos6 ter care placements through the provision of time-limited 

7 family services and expanded kinship supports. 

8 SEC. 4. TIME-LIMITED FAMILY SERVICES UNDER PART E OF 

9 TITLE IV OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT. 

10 (a) TIME-LIMITED FAMILY SERVICES DEFINED.— 

11 Section 475 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended by 

12 adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(13)(A) The term ‘time-limited family services’ 

14 means supports and services that are among the 

15 services and supports specified in subparagraph (B) 

16 and that are provided to a child or to the parents 

17 or potential or designated kin caregivers of a child 

18 described in subparagraph (C) during a 12-month 

19 period that begins on a date described in subpara20 graph (D). Such individuals shall remain eligible for 

21 time-limited family services for a full 12-month pe22 riod without regard to whether any such individuals 

23 cease to be described in subparagraph (C) after the 

24 period begins. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The services and supports described in 

2 this subparagraph are the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) Parenting and family skills training 

4 and parent education, including parent advo5 cates, peer-to-peer mentoring and support 

6 groups for parents, primary caregivers, and po7 tential kinship caregivers. 

8 ‘‘(ii) Individual, group, and family coun9 seling, mentoring, and therapy, including inten10 sive family preservation or reunification pro11 grams and trauma-informed care. 

12 ‘‘(iii) Services or assistance to address bar13 riers to family preservation and reunification, 

14 including mental health needs, domestic vio15 lence, substance abuse, and inadequate housing. 

16 ‘‘(iv) Crisis assistance or services to sta17 bilize families in times of crisis or facilitate kin18 ship placement, such as transportation, cloth19 ing, household goods, assistance with housing 

20 and utility payments, child care, respite care, 

21 and assistance connecting families with other 

22 community-based services. 

23 ‘‘(C) Individuals described in this subparagraph 

24 are the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) A child who is a candidate for foster 

2 care (as defined in paragraph 14) but can re3 main safely at home or in a kinship placement 

4 with receipt of specified time-limited family 

5 services. 

6 ‘‘(ii) A child in foster care (without regard 

7 to whether the child is or would be eligible for 

8 payments under section 472 or 473). 

9 ‘‘(iii) A child in foster care who is a preg10 nant or parenting foster youth. 

11 ‘‘(iv) Parents or potential or designated 

12 kin caregivers of a child described in clause (i), 

13 (ii), or (iii) when their service needs are directly 

14 related to the safety, permanence, or well-being 

15 of the child or to the child’s ability not to enter 

16 or re-enter foster care. 

17 ‘‘(D) The dates described in this subparagraph 

18 are the following: 

19 ‘‘(i) The date on which a child is identified 

20 in a case plan as a child who is a candidate for 

21 foster care (as defined in paragraph (14)). 

22 ‘‘(ii) The date on which a child is consid23 ered to have entered foster care pursuant to 

24 paragraph (5)(F). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) The date on which a child is identi2 fied in a case plan as a pregnant or parenting 

3 foster youth in need of time-limited family serv4 ices. 

5 ‘‘(14) The term ‘child who is a candidate for foster 

6 care’ means, a child who is identified in a case plan as 

7 being at imminent risk of entering or re-entering foster 

8 care (without regard to whether the child is or would be 

9 eligible for payments under section 472 or 473) but who 

10 can remain safely in the child’s current home or in a kin11 ship placement as long as the time-limited family services 

12 that are necessary to prevent the child’s entry or reentry 

13 into foster care are provided. Such term includes a child 

14 whose adoption or guardianship arrangement is at risk of 

15 a disruption or dissolution that would result in a foster 

16 care placement.’’. 

17 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 471 of such Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 671) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘and’’ and 

20 all that follows through the semicolon and inserting 

21 ‘‘, adoption assistance in accordance with section 

22 473, and, at the option of the State, time-limited 

23 family services in accordance with subsection (e);’’; 

24 and 

25 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS FOR TIME-LIMITED FAMILY

2 SERVICES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State may provide time4 limited family services (as defined in section 

5 475(13)) to individuals described in subparagraph 

6 (C) of section 475(13) only if the State— 

7 ‘‘(A) submits as part of the State plan re8 quired under subsection (a) a time-limited fam9 ily services plan component that meets the re10 quirements of paragraph (2); and 

11 ‘‘(B) satisfies the general requirements 

12 specified in paragraph (3) and the maintenance 

13 of effort requirements specified in (5). 

14 ‘‘(2) TIME-LIMITED FAMILY SERVICES PLAN

15 COMPONENT.—In order to meet the requirements of 

16 this paragraph, a time-limited family services plan 

17 component shall include, with respect to each 5-year 

18 period for which the plan component is in operation 

19 in the State, the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) How the State intends to utilize the 

21 Federal funding available for providing time22 limited family services, including a description 

23 of how Federal funds provided for such services 

24 will be used to supplement, and not supplant, 


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1 the level of State and local funds expended for 

2 child welfare. 

3 ‘‘(B) How providing time-limited family 

4 services is expected to improve outcomes for 

5 children and families, including which specific 

6 outcomes the State expects to achieve and the 

7 means by which those outcomes will be mon8 itored. 

9 ‘‘(C) How the State will monitor and over10 see the safety of children who receive time-lim11 ited family services, including through periodic 

12 risk assessments throughout the period in 

13 which such services are provided on behalf of a 

14 child remaining at home and re-examination of 

15 the plan for service provision on behalf of a 

16 child remaining at home or in foster care if 

17 there is a determination that the child’s risk of 

18 entering or re-entering into foster care, or of 

19 being prevented from exiting foster care, re20 mains high over the course of the provision of 

21 such services. 

22 ‘‘(D) Information on the specific evidence23 based programs and promising practice models 

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1 limited family services, including a description 

2 of— 

3 ‘‘(i) each such program or model; 

4 ‘‘(ii) how the State plans to imple5 ment each such program or model; 

6 ‘‘(iii) how the State selected such pro7 grams or models; and 

8 ‘‘(iv) the target population for each 

9 model. 

10 ‘‘(E) A description of the collaboration be11 tween the State agencies responsible for admin12 istering the State plans under this part and 

13 part B and the State agency responsible for ad14 ministering the State plan under title XIX, as 

15 well as with other public and private agencies 

16 with experience in administering child and fam17 ily services, including community-based organi18 zations, in order to foster a continuum of care 

19 and services available for children and families. 

20 ‘‘(F) A description of how the State shall 

21 assess children and families to determine eligi22 bility for time-limited family services. 

23 ‘‘(G) A description of training and support 

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1 cluding how caseload size and type will be de2 termined, managed, and overseen. 

3 ‘‘(H) A description of training and support 

4 for parents or potential or designated kin care5 givers of a child eligible for time-limited family 

6 services. 

7 ‘‘(3) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—The general 

8 requirements for providing time-limited family serv9 ices specified in this paragraph are the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) SPECIFIED SERVICES IN ADVANCE OF

11 PROVISION.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro13 vided in clause (ii), the specific services 

14 necessary to prevent the child’s entry or 

15 reentry into foster care or enable the 

16 child’s exit from foster care to be reunified 

17 with their family or placed with kin are 

18 specified in the child’s case plan in advance 

19 of the provision of such services. 

20 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION FOR EMERGENCY OR

21 OTHER EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES.—Clause 

22 (i) shall not apply to the provision of time23 limited family services in emergency or exi24 gent circumstances but the provision of 

25 such services shall be included in the 


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1 child’s case plan as soon as practicable 

2 after the provision of the services. 

3 ‘‘(B) PROMISING AND EVIDENCE-BASED

4 PROGRAMS, ASSISTANCE, OR SERVICES.— 

5 ‘‘(i) EVIDENCE-BASED PROGRAMS, AS6 SISTANCE, OR SERVICES.—Not later than 

7 October 1, 2018, at least 25 percent of the 

8 total amount of expenditures by the State 

9 for time-limited family services are for evi10 dence-based programs, assistance, or serv11 ices that have demonstrated any of the fol12 lowing outcomes, as determined by the 

13 Secretary and based on rigorous evalua14 tion: 

15 ‘‘(I) Reducing the likelihood or 

16 duration of foster care placement. 

17 ‘‘(II) Decreasing use of con18 gregate care settings. 

19 ‘‘(III) Increasing use of kinship 

20 care arrangements. 

21 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—The State only 

22 provides time-limited family services that 

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1 turally specific or other adaptations of pro2 grams. 

3 ‘‘(iii) GUIDANCE ON CRITERIA AND

4 PRE-APPROVED PROGRAMS, SERVICES, AND

5 ASSISTANCE.— 

6 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later 

7 than October 1, 2017, the Secretary 

8 shall issue guidance to States that 

9 specifies the level of evidence required 

10 for a program, service, or form of as11 sistance to satisfy the requirements of 

12 this subparagraph, and contains a 

13 pre-approved list of programs, services 

14 and forms of assistance that meet 

15 such criteria or satisfy such require16 ments. 

17 ‘‘(II) UPDATES.—The Secretary 

18 shall issue updates to the guidance re19 quired under this clause as often as 

20 the Secretary determines necessary. 

21 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT ONLY IF NO OTHER FED22 ERAL FUNDING AVAILABLE.—Payment under 

23 section 474(a)(6) for expenditures for time-lim24 ited family services shall not duplicate other 

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1 ports that are provided as time-limited family 

2 services and shall only be made to the extent 

3 that payment for services and supports provided 

4 as time-limited family services cannot reason5 ably be expected to be available under another 

6 federally funded program within a reasonable 

7 time given the needs of the child and the child’s 

8 family during the child’s 12-month eligibility 

9 period. 

10 ‘‘(D) OUTCOME ASSESSMENT AND REPORT11 ING.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State shall 

13 collect and report to the Secretary the fol14 lowing with respect to each child for whom, 

15 or on whose behalf, time-limited family 

16 services are provided during a 12-month 

17 period: 

18 ‘‘(I) With respect to each cat19 egory of services and supports de20 scribed in section 475(13)(B), the 

21 specific services provided and the total 

22 expenditures for each such service. 

23 ‘‘(II) The child’s placement sta24 tus at the beginning, and at the end, 

25 of the period, respectively. 


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1 ‘‘(III) The child’s placement sta2 tus 1 year after the end of the period. 

3 ‘‘(ii) SIBLINGS.—If time-limited fam4 ily services are provided over a 12-month 

5 period to or on behalf of 2 or more sib6 lings, the aggregate amount of expendi7 tures for such services to be reported 

8 under clause (i)(I) may be allocated to 1 

9 sibling or divided among such siblings so 

10 long as such siblings are all included in 

11 calculation of the per-child spending meas12 ure under paragraph (4)(A)(i)(III). 

13 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION FOR OUTCOMES-RE14 WARDED INCREASED MATCH.— 

15 ‘‘(A) NATIONAL PERFORMANCE MEAS16 URES.— 

17 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT; ANNUAL UP18 DATES.—Beginning with fiscal year 2021, 

19 and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

20 shall establish the following national per21 formance measures: 

22 ‘‘(I) PERCENTAGES OF CAN23 DIDATES WHO DO NOT SUBSE24 QUENTLY ENTER FOSTER CARE.— 

25 With respect to all children for whom, 


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1 or on whose behalf, time-limited fam2 ily services are provided during any 

3 12-month period, the percentages of 

4 such children initially determined to 

5 be candidates for foster care who do 

6 not enter a foster care placement 

7 (other than a kinship placement) dur8 ing such period and through the end 

9 of the succeeding 12-month period. 

10 ‘‘(II) PERCENTAGES OF CHIL11 DREN WHO LEAVE FOSTER CARE FOR

12 REUNIFICATION, KINSHIP PLACE13 MENT, GUARDIANSHIP, OR ADOP14 TION.—With respect to all children 

15 for whom, or on whose behalf, time16 limited family services are provided 

17 during any 12-month period, the per18 centages of such children who are ini19 tially in a foster care placement who 

20 are returned to, or are placed with a 

21 biological or adoptive parent or in a 

22 kinship placement or guardianship at 

23 the end of such period and who re24 main in each such placement through 


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1 the end of the succeeding 12-month 

2 period. 

3 ‘‘(III) PER-CHILD SPENDING ON

4 TIME-LIMITED FAMILY SERVICES.— 

5 With respect to each 12-month period 

6 for which percentages are determined 

7 under subclauses (I) and (II) (other 

8 than a percentage determined for a 

9 succeeding 12-month period), the total 

10 amount of expenditures for providing 

11 time-limited family services for, or on 

12 behalf of, each child during the pe13 riod. 

14 ‘‘(ii) DATA.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish and update the national perform16 ance measures— 

17 ‘‘(I) based on the median State 

18 values of the information reported 

19 under each subclause of clause (i) for 

20 the 3 most recent years; and 

21 ‘‘(II) taking into account State 

22 differences in the price levels of con23 sumption goods and services using the 

24 most recent regional price parities 

25 published by the Bureau of Economic 


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1 Analysis of the Department of Com2 merce or such other data as the Sec3 retary determines appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION OF STATE PER5 FORMANCE.—The Secretary shall annually 

6 make available to the public each State’s 

7 performance with respect to the national 

8 performance measures. 

9 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION TO MATCHING RATE.— 

10 ‘‘(i) CRITERIA FOR INCREASE.—Be11 ginning with fiscal year 2022, the Federal 

12 percentage applicable to payments to a 

13 State for a fiscal year under section 

14 474(a)(6) for expenditures attributable to 

15 time-limited family services shall be in16 creased by such number of percentage 

17 points (not to exceed 10 percentage points) 

18 as the Secretary shall determine, for any 

19 State for which— 

20 ‘‘(I) each of the State-specific 

21 percentages described in subclauses 

22 (I) and (II) of subparagraph (A)(i) 

23 are greater than the national average 

24 percentages determined under such 


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1 subclauses for the preceding fiscal 

2 year; and 

3 ‘‘(II) the State-specific per child 

4 spending amount described in sub5 clause (III) of subparagraph (A)(i) is 

6 less than the national average amount 

7 determined under that subclause for 

8 the preceding fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(ii) CRITERIA FOR REDUCTION.—Be10 ginning with fiscal year 2022, the Federal 

11 percentage applicable to payments to a 

12 State for a fiscal year under section 

13 474(a)(6) for expenditures attributable to 

14 time-limited family services shall be re15 duced by such number of percentage points 

16 (not to exceed 10 percentage points) as the 

17 Secretary shall determine, for any State 

18 for which— 

19 ‘‘(I) each of the State-specific 

20 percentages described in subclauses 

21 (I) and (II) of subparagraph (A)(i) 

22 are less than the national average per23 centages determined under such sub24 clauses for the preceding fiscal year; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the State-specific per child 

2 spending amount described in sub3 clause (III) of subparagraph (A)(i) is 

4 more than the national average 

5 amount determined under that sub6 clause for the preceding fiscal year. 

7 ‘‘(iii) NO CHANGE UNLESS ALL CRI8 TERIA MET.—A State shall not be eligible 

9 for an increase in its applicable Federal 

10 matching rate under section 474(a)(6) for 

11 a fiscal year, or shall not be subject to a 

12 reduction in that rate for a fiscal year, un13 less the State satisfies both of the condi14 tions specified in clause (i) or (ii) (as ap15 plicable). 

16 ‘‘(5) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) CERTIFICATION.—The Governor of a 

18 State shall certify that payments under this 

19 part for time-limited family services are used to 

20 supplement, and not supplant, the level of State 

21 and local funds expended for child welfare for 

22 fiscal year 2015. 

23 ‘‘(B) STATE REPORTS.—A State shall fur24 nish reports to the Secretary, at such times, in 

25 such format, and containing such information 


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1 as the Secretary may require, that demonstrate 

2 the State’s compliance with subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH

4 THE PROVISION OF TIME-LIMITED FAMILY SERV5 ICES.—Expenditures described in paragraph (6) or 

6 (7) of section 474(a)— 

7 ‘‘(A) shall not be eligible for payment 

8 under paragraph (3) of section 474(a); and 

9 ‘‘(B) shall be eligible for payment without 

10 regard to whether such expenditures are in11 curred on behalf of a child who is, or is poten12 tially, eligible for assistance payments under 

13 this part. 

14 ‘‘(7) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

15 this subsection shall be construed to reduce or limit 

16 the responsibility of the State agency responsible for 

17 administering the State plan approved under title 

18 XIX to administer and provide care and services for 

19 children with respect to whom services are provided 

20 under the State plan developed pursuant to this sub21 part.’’. 

22 (c) PAYMENTS UNDER TITLE IV–E.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 474(a) of the Social 

24 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 674(a)) is amended— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe2 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; plus’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(6) subject to section 471(e), for each quarter 

5 beginning after September 30, 2015, an amount 

6 equal to the Federal medical assistance percentage 

7 (which shall be as defined in section 1905(b), in the 

8 case of a State other than the District of Columbia, 

9 or 70 percent, in the case of the District of Colum10 bia) of the total amount expended during such quar11 ter for the provision of time-limited family services 

12 (as defined in section 475(13)) (or, with respect to 

13 such payments made during such quarter under a 

14 cooperative agreement or contract entered into by 

15 the State and an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or 

16 tribal consortium for the administration or payment 

17 of funds under this part, an amount equal to the 

18 Federal medical assistance percentage that would 

19 apply under section 479B(d) (in this paragraph re20 ferred to as the ‘tribal FMAP’) if such Indian tribe, 

21 tribal organization, or tribal consortium made such 

22 payments under a program operated under that sec23 tion, unless the tribal FMAP is less than the Fed24 eral medical assistance percentage that applies to 

25 the State); plus 


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1 ‘‘(7) subject to section 471(e)(6), for each quar2 ter beginning after September 30, 2015, an amount 

3 equal to the sum of the following proportions of the 

4 total amount expended during such quarter— 

5 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of so much of such ex6 penditures as found necessary by the Secretary 

7 for the proper and efficient administration of 

8 the State plan for the provision of time-limited 

9 family services (as defined in section 475(13)), 

10 including expenditures for activities approved 

11 by the Secretary that promote the development 

12 of necessary infrastructure to establish and im13 plement the provision of time-limited family 

14 services for individuals who are eligible for such 

15 services; and 

16 ‘‘(B) 50 percent of so much of such ex17 penditures as are for training of personnel em18 ployed or preparing for employment by the 

19 State agency or by the local agency admin20 istering the plan in the political subdivision, 

21 with respect to the provision of time-limited 

22 family services, including on how to determine 

23 who are individuals eligible for such services, 

24 how to identify and provide appropriate time25 limited family services, and how to oversee and 


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1 evaluate the ongoing appropriateness of such 

2 services.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (i) 

4 of section 472 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672) is 

5 amended by adding after and below paragraph 

6 (2)(B) of such subsection the following flush sen7 tence: 

8 ‘‘Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to Federal match9 ing payments for administrative expenditures that are eli10 gible for payment under section 474(a)(7).’’. 

11 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DATA COLLECTION, 

12 AND EVALUATION.—Section 476 of the Social Security 

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 676) is amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DATA COLLECTION, 

16 AND EVALUATIONS RELATING TO TIME-LIMITED FAMILY

17 SERVICES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; BEST PRAC19 TICES.—The Secretary shall provide to States and, 

20 as applicable, to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, 

21 and tribal consortia, technical assistance regarding 

22 the provision of time-limited family services under 

23 this part and shall disseminate best practices with 

24 respect to the provision of such services. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATIONS.— 

2 The Secretary, directly or through grants, contracts, 

3 or interagency agreements, shall collect data and 

4 conduct research and evaluations with respect to the 

5 provision of time-limited family services under this 

6 part for purposes of assessing the extent to which 

7 the provision of such services reduces the prevalence 

8 and length of foster care placements and improves 

9 safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes for 

10 children on whose behalf services or assistance are 

11 provided under this part. 

12 ‘‘(3) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

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

14 submit to the Committee on Ways and Means 

15 of the House of Representatives and the Com16 mittee on Finance of the Senate periodic re17 ports based on the provision of time-limited 

18 family services under this part and the activi19 ties carried out under this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Sec21 retary shall make the reports to Congress sub22 mitted under this paragraph publicly available. 

23 ‘‘(4) APPROPRIATION.—There is appropriated 

24 to the Secretary, out of any money in the Treasury 

25 of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 


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•S 1964 IS

1 $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2016 and each fiscal year 

2 thereafter to carry out this subsection.’’. 

3 (e) APPLICATION TO PROGRAMS OPERATED BY IN4 DIAN TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 479B of the Social 

6 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679c) is amended— 

7 (A) in subsection (c)(1)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (C)(i)— 

9 (I) in subclause (II), by striking 

10 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

11 (II) in subclause (III), by strik12 ing the period at the end and insert13 ing ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (III) by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(IV) at the option of the tribe, 

17 organization, or consortium, time-lim18 ited family services (as defined in sec19 tion 475(13)) to individuals described 

20 in subparagraph (C) of section 

21 475(13), in accordance with section 

22 471(e) and subparagraph (E).’’; and 

23 (ii) by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(E) TIME-LIMITED FAMILY SERVICES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

2 tribe, organization, or consortium that 

3 elects to provide time-limited family serv4 ices (as defined in section 475(13)) to indi5 viduals described in subparagraph (C) of 

6 section 475(13) under the plan, the Sec7 retary shall specify the requirements appli8 cable to the provision of such services. 

9 Such requirements shall, to the greatest 

10 extent practicable, be consistent with the 

11 requirements applicable to States under 

12 section 471(e) and shall permit the provi13 sion of such services in the form of pro14 grams, assistance, or services that are 

15 adapted to the culture and context of the 

16 tribal communities served. 

17 ‘‘(ii) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—The 

18 Secretary shall establish specific perform19 ance measures for each tribe, organization, 

20 or consortium that elects to provide time21 limited family services. The performance 

22 measures shall, to the greatest extent prac23 ticable, be consistent with the national per24 formance measures required for States 

25 under paragraph (4)(A) of section 471(e) 


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1 but shall allow for consideration of factors 

2 unique to the provision of such services by 

3 tribes, organizations, or consortia.’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘and 

5 (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘(5), and (6)’’. 

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading 

7 for subsection (d) of section 479B of such Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 679c) is amended by striking ‘‘FOR FOSTER

9 CARE MAINTENANCE AND ADOPTION ASSISTANCE

10 PAYMENTS’’. 

11 (f) MODERNIZING THE TITLE AND PURPOSE OF

12 TITLE IV–E.— 

13 (1) PART HEADING.—The heading for part E of 

14 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 

15 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘PART E—FEDERAL PAYMENTS FOR FOSTER 

17 CARE AND PERMANENCY’’. 

18 (2) PURPOSE.—The first sentence of section 

19 470 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670) is 

20 amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘adoption as22 sistance’’ and inserting a comma; 

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘kinship guardianship as24 sistance, and time-limited family services,’’ after 

25 ‘‘needs,’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking ‘‘(commencing with the fis2 cal year which begins October 1, 1980)’’. 

3 SEC. 5. ENSURING FUNDING UNDER PART B OF TITLE IV OF 

4 THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT FOR PREVEN5 TION AND POST-PERMANENCY SUPPORT. 

6 (a) ELIMINATION OF TIME-LIMIT FOR FAMILY RE7 UNIFICATION SERVICES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 431(a)(7) of the So9 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)(7)) is amend10 ed— 

11 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

12 ‘‘TIME-LIMITED FAMILY’’ and inserting ‘‘FAM13 ILY’’; and 

14 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘time-limited family’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘family’’; and 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘, but only during the 

18 15-month period that begins on the date 

19 that the child, pursuant to section 

20 475(5)(F), is considered to have entered 

21 foster care’’. 

22 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (A) Section 430 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 629) is amended in the matter preceding para25 graph (1), by striking ‘‘time-limited’’. 


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1 (B) Subsections (a)(4), (a)(5)(A), and 

2 (b)(1) of section 432 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 629b) are amended by striking ‘‘time-limited’’ 

4 each place it appears. 

5 (b) MANDATORY FUNDING FOR THE PROMOTING

6 SAFE AND STABLE FAMILIES (PSSF) PROGRAM.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

8 (A) APPROPRIATION FOR FISCAL YEAR

9 2016.—Section 436(a) of the Social Security Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 629f(a)) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘are authorized’’ and all that follows through 

12 the period and inserting ‘‘is appropriated 

13 $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2016.’’. 

14 (B) INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR EVALUA15 TION, RESEARCH, TRAINING AND TECHNICAL

16 ASSISTANCE AND STATE COURT IMPROVE17 MENTS.—Section 436(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 629f(b)) is amended— 

19 (i) in paragraph (1), in the matter 

20 preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 

21 ‘‘$6,000,000’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘$10,000,000’’; and 

23 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking 

24 ‘‘$30,000,000’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘$33,000,000’’. 


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•S 1964 IS

1 (C) INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR STATE

2 COURT ASSESSMENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS.— 

3 Section 438(c)(3)(A)(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 629h(c)(3)(A)(i)) is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘$9,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$12,000,000’’. 

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

7 437(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629g(a)) is amended 

8 by striking ‘‘2016’’ and inserting ‘‘2015’’. 

9 (c) SPENDING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 432(a)(4) 

10 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629b(a)(4)) is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘, with significant portions of such 

12 expenditures for each such program’’ and inserting ‘‘with 

13 at least 25 percent of the expenditures made for adoption 

14 promotion and support services’’. 

15 (d) RESEARCH, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND GUID16 ANCE ON PROMISING PROGRAM MODELS AND EVIDENCE17 BASED PROGRAMS.—Section 435(c) of such Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 629e(c)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

20 (1); 

21 (2) by striking the period at the end of para22 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(3) beginning with fiscal year 2016, 

25 $4,000,000 for research on promising programs, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:35 Aug 12, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1964.IS S1964

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1 cluding culturally specific adaptations, to identify 

2 additional evidence-based prevention and interven3 tion programs that prevent child abuse and neglect, 

4 reduce the likelihood of foster care placement by 

5 supporting birth families and kinship families, in6 crease family reunification with parents or other kin, 

7 improve targeted supports for pregnant and par8 enting teens and their children, and promote post9 permanency placement stability for children living 

10 with relatives or non-related caregivers, and for pro11 viding technical assistance and guidance to States 

12 with respect to such programs.’’. 

13 (e) FAMILY CONNECTION GRANTS.— 

14 (1) REAUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING FOR FIS15 CAL YEAR 2016.—Section 427(h) of the Social Secu16 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 627(h)) is amended by inserting 

17 ‘‘, and $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2016’’ after 

18 ‘‘2014’’. 

19 (2) INCLUSION OF OTHER FAMILY STABILITY

20 PROGRAMS.—Section 427(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 627(a)) is amended— 

22 (A) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

23 after the semicolon; 

24 (B) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking the 

25 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 


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1 (C) by inserting after paragraph (4)(B) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(5) other programs with evidence to support 

4 their effectiveness at preventing foster care place5 ment or supporting family stability post-permanency 

6 (or both).’’. 

7 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

9 amendments made by this Act take effect on October 1, 

10 2015. 

11 (b) TRANSITION RULE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a State plan 

13 under part B or E of title IV of the Social Security 

14 Act which the Secretary of Health and Human Serv15 ices determines requires State legislation (other than 

16 legislation appropriating funds) in order for the plan 

17 to meet the additional requirements imposed by the 

18 amendments made by this Act, the State plan shall 

19 not be regarded as failing to comply with the re20 quirements of such part solely on the basis of the 

21 failure of the plan to meet such additional require22 ments before the first day of the first calendar quar23 ter beginning after the close of the first regular ses24 sion of the State legislature that begins after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act. For purposes of the 


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1 previous sentence, in the case of a State that has a 

2 2-year legislative session, each year of such session 

3 shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of 

4 the State legislature. 

5 (2) APPLICATION TO PROGRAMS OPERATED BY

6 INDIAN TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an 

7 Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium 

8 which the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

9 determines requires time to take action necessary to 

10 comply with the additional requirements imposed by 

11 the amendments made by this Act (whether the 

12 tribe, organization, or tribal consortium has a plan 

13 under section 479B of the Social Security Act or a 

14 cooperative agreement or contract entered into with 

15 a State), the Secretary shall provide the tribe, orga16 nization, or tribal consortium with such additional 

17 time as the Secretary determines is necessary for the 

18 tribe, organization, or tribal consortium to take such 

19 action before being regarded as failing to comply 

20 with such requirements. 

Æ 


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