II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1195

To promote the adoption of children in foster care, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 18, 1997

Mr. CHAFEE (for himself, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. JEFFORDS,

Mr. DEWINE, Mr. COATS, Mr. BOND, Ms. LANDRIEU, and Mr. LEVIN)

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

Committee on Finance

A BILL

To promote the adoption of children in foster care, 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 ‘‘Promotion of Adoption, Safety, and Support for Abused

6 and Neglected Children (PASS) Act’’.

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

8 this Act is as follows:
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—REASONABLE EFFORTS AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

FOR FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION PLACEMENTS

Sec. 101. Clarification of the reasonable efforts requirement.

Sec. 102. Including safety in case plan and case review system requirements.

Sec. 103. Multidisciplinary/multiagency child death review teams.

Sec. 104. States required to initiate or join proceedings to terminate parental

rights for certain children in foster care.

Sec. 105. Notice of reviews and hearings; opportunity to be heard.

Sec. 106. Use of the Federal Parent Locator Service for child welfare services.

Sec. 107. Criminal records checks for prospective foster and adoptive parents

and group care staff.

Sec. 108. Development of State guidelines to ensure safe, quality care to children in out-of-home placements.

Sec. 109. Documentation of efforts for adoption or location of a permanent

home.

TITLE II—INCENTIVES FOR PROVIDING PERMANENT FAMILIES

FOR CHILDREN

Sec. 201. Adoption incentive payments.

Sec. 202. Promotion of adoption of children with special needs.

Sec. 203. Technical assistance.

Sec. 204. Adoptions across State and county jurisdictions.

Sec. 205. Facilitation of voluntary mutual reunions between adopted adults and

birth parents and siblings.

Sec. 206. Annual report on State performance in protecting children.

TITLE III—ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS AND REFORMS

Sec. 301. Expansion of child welfare demonstration projects.

Sec. 302. Permanency planning hearings.

Sec. 303. Kinship care.

Sec. 304. Standby guardianship.

Sec. 305. Clarification of eligible population for independent living services.

Sec. 306. Coordination and collaboration of substance abuse treatment and

child protection services.

Sec. 307. Reauthorization and expansion of family preservation and support

services.

Sec. 308. Innovation grants to reduce backlogs of children awaiting adoption

and for other purposes.

TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 401. Preservation of reasonable parenting.

Sec. 402. Reporting requirements.

Sec. 403. Report on fiduciary obligations of State agencies receiving SSI payments.

Sec. 404. Allocation of administrative costs of determining eligibility for medicaid and TANF.

TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 501. Effective date.
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1 TITLE I—REASONABLE EFFORTS

2 AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

3 FOR FOSTER CARE AND

4 ADOPTION PLACEMENTS

5 SEC. 101. CLARIFICATION OF THE REASONABLE EFFORTS

6 REQUIREMENT.

7 Section 471(a)(15) of the Social Security Act (42

8 U.S.C. 671(a)(15)) is amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(15) provides that—

10 ‘‘(A) in determining reasonable efforts, as

11 described in this section, the child’s health and

12 safety shall be the paramount concern;

13 ‘‘(B) reasonable efforts shall be made to

14 preserve and reunify families when possible—

15 ‘‘(i) prior to the placement of a child

16 in foster care, to prevent or eliminate the

17 need for removing the child from the

18 child’s home when the child can be cared

19 for at home without endangering the

20 child’s health or safety; or

21 ‘‘(ii) to make it possible for the child

22 to safely return to the child’s home;

23 ‘‘(C) reasonable efforts shall not be re24 quired on behalf of any parent—
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1 ‘‘(i) if a court of competent jurisdic2 tion has made a determination that the

3 parent has—

4 ‘‘(I) committed murder of an5 other child of the parent;

6 ‘‘(II) committed voluntary man7 slaughter of another child of the par8 ent;

9 ‘‘(III) aided or abetted, at10 tempted, conspired, or solicited to

11 commit such murder or voluntary

12 manslaughter; or

13 ‘‘(IV) committed a felony assault

14 that results in serious bodily injury to

15 the child or another child of the par16 ent;

17 ‘‘(ii) if a court of competent jurisdic18 tion determines that returning the child to

19 the home of the parent would pose a seri20 ous risk to the child’s health or safety (in21 cluding but not limited to cases of aban22 donment, torture, chronic physical abuse,

23 sexual abuse, or a previous involuntary ter24 mination of parental rights with respect to

25 a sibling of the child); or
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1 ‘‘(iii) if the State, through legislation,

2 has specified cases in which the State is

3 not required to make reasonable efforts be4 cause of serious circumstances that endan5 ger a child’s health or safety;

6 ‘‘(D) if reasonable efforts to preserve or re7 unify a family are not made in accordance with

8 subparagraph (C), and placement with either

9 parent would pose a serious risk to the child’s

10 health or safety, or in any case in which a

11 State’s goal for the child is adoption or place12 ment in another permanent home, reasonable

13 efforts shall be made to place the child in a

14 timely manner with an adoptive family, with a

15 qualified relative or legal guardian, or in an16 other planned permanent living arrangement,

17 and to complete whatever steps are necessary to

18 finalize the adoption or legal guardianship; and

19 ‘‘(E) reasonable efforts of the type de20 scribed in subparagraph (D) may be made con21 currently with reasonable efforts of the type de22 scribed in subparagraph (B);’’.
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1 SEC. 102. INCLUDING SAFETY IN CASE PLAN AND CASE RE2 VIEW SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.

3 Title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601

4 et seq.) is amended—

5 (1) in section 422(b)(10)(B) (as redesignated

6 by section 5592(a)(1)(A)(iii) of the Balanced Budget

7 Act of 1997 (Public Law 105–33; 111 Stat. 644))—

8 (A) in clause (iii)(I), by inserting ‘‘safe

9 and’’ after ‘‘where’’; and

10 (B) in clause (iv), by inserting ‘‘safely’’

11 after ‘‘remain’’; and

12 (2) in section 475—

13 (A) in paragraph (1)—

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

15 ‘‘safety and’’ after ‘‘discussion of the’’; and

16 (ii) in subparagraph (B)—

17 (I) by inserting ‘‘safe and’’ after

18 ‘‘child receives’’; and

19 (II) by inserting ‘‘safe’’ after ‘‘re20 turn of the child to his own’’; and

21 (B) in paragraph (5)—

22 (i) in subparagraph (A), in the matter

23 preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘a safe

24 setting that is’’ after ‘‘placement in’’; and

25 (ii) in subparagraph (B)—
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1 (I) by inserting ‘‘the safety of the

2 child,’’ after ‘‘determine’’; and

3 (II) by inserting ‘‘and safely

4 maintained in’’ after ‘‘returned to’’.

5 SEC. 103. MULTIDISCIPLINARY/MULTIAGENCY CHILD

6 DEATH REVIEW TEAMS.

7 (a) STATE CHILD DEATH REVIEW TEAMS.—Section

8 471 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671) is amended

9 by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(c)(1) In order to investigate and prevent child

11 death from fatal abuse and neglect, not later than 2 years

12 after the date of the enactment of this subsection, a State,

13 in order to be eligible for payments under this part, shall

14 submit to the Secretary a certification that the State has

15 established and is maintaining, in accordance with applica16 ble confidentiality laws, a State child death review team,

17 and if necessary in order to cover all counties in the State,

18 child death review teams on the regional or local level, that

19 shall review child deaths, including deaths in which—

20 ‘‘(A) there is a record of a prior report of child

21 abuse or neglect or there is reason to suspect that

22 the child death was caused by, or related to, child

23 abuse or neglect; or
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1 ‘‘(B) the child who died was a ward of the

2 State or was otherwise known to the State or local

3 child welfare service agency.

4 ‘‘(2) A child death review team established in accord5 ance with this subsection should have a membership that

6 will present a range of viewpoints that are independent

7 from any specific agency, and shall include representatives

8 from, at a minimum, specific fields of expertise, such as

9 law enforcement, health, mental health, and substance

10 abuse, and from the community.

11 ‘‘(3) A State child death review team shall—

12 ‘‘(A) provide support to a regional or local child

13 death review team;

14 ‘‘(B) make public an annual summary of case

15 findings;

16 ‘‘(C) provide recommendations for systemwide

17 improvements in services to investigate and prevent

18 future fatal abuse and neglect; and

19 ‘‘(D) if the State child death review team covers

20 all counties in the State on its own, carry out the

21 duties of a regional or local child death review team

22 described in paragraph (4).

23 ‘‘(4) A regional or local child death review team

24 shall—

25 ‘‘(A) conduct individual case reviews;
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1 ‘‘(B) recommend followup procedures for child

2 death cases; and

3 ‘‘(C) suggest and assist with system improve4 ments in services to investigate and prevent future

5 fatal abuse and neglect.’’.

6 (b) FEDERAL CHILD DEATH REVIEW TEAM.—Sec7 tion 471 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671), as

8 amended by subsection (a), is amended by adding at the

9 end the following:

10 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary shall establish a Federal child

11 death review team that shall consist of at least the follow12 ing:

13 ‘‘(A) Representatives of the following Federal

14 agencies who have expertise in the prevention or

15 treatment of child abuse and neglect:

16 ‘‘(i) Department of Health and Human

17 Services.

18 ‘‘(ii) Department of Justice.

19 ‘‘(iii) Bureau of Indian Affairs.

20 ‘‘(iv) Department of Defense.

21 ‘‘(v) Bureau of the Census.

22 ‘‘(B) Representatives of national child-serving

23 organizations who have expertise in the prevention

24 or treatment of child abuse and neglect and that, at
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1 a minimum, represent the health, child welfare, so2 cial services, and law enforcement fields.

3 ‘‘(2) The Federal child death review team established

4 under this subsection shall—

5 ‘‘(A) review reports of child deaths on military

6 installations and other Federal lands, and coordinate

7 with Indian tribal organizations in the review of

8 child deaths on Indian reservations;

9 ‘‘(B) upon request, provide guidance and tech10 nical assistance to States and localities seeking to

11 initiate or improve child death review teams and to

12 prevent child fatalities; and

13 ‘‘(C) develop recommendations on related policy

14 and procedural issues for Congress, relevant Federal

15 agencies, and States and localities for the purpose of

16 preventing child fatalities.’’.

17 SEC. 104. STATES REQUIRED TO INITIATE OR JOIN PRO18 CEEDINGS TO TERMINATE PARENTAL

19 RIGHTS FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN IN FOSTER

20 CARE.

21 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR PROCEEDINGS.—Section

22 475(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)) is

23 amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara25 graph (C);
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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub2 paragraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

4 ‘‘(E) in the case of a child who has been

5 in foster care under the responsibility of the

6 State for 12 of the most recent 18 months, or

7 for a lifetime total of 24 months, or, if a court

8 of competent jurisdiction has determined an in9 fant to have been abandoned (as defined under

10 State law), or made a determination that the

11 parent has committed murder of another child

12 of such parent, committed voluntary man13 slaughter of another child of such parent, aided

14 or abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to

15 commit such murder or voluntary man16 slaughter, or committed a felony assault that

17 results in serious bodily injury to the surviving

18 child or to another child of such parent, the

19 State shall file a petition to terminate the pa20 rental rights of the child’s parents (or, if such

21 a petition has been filed by another party, seek

22 to be joined as a party to the petition), and,

23 concurrently, to identify, recruit, process, and

24 approve a qualified family for an adoption, un25 less—
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1 ‘‘(i) at the option of the State, the

2 child is being cared for by a relative; or

3 ‘‘(ii) a State court or State agency

4 has documented a compelling reason for

5 determining that filing such a petition

6 would not be in the best interests of the

7 child.’’.

8 (b) DETERMINATION OF BEGINNING OF FOSTER

9 CARE.—Section 475(5) of the Social Security Act (42

10 U.S.C. 675(5)), as amended by subsection (a), is amend11 ed—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara13 graph (D);

14 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub15 paragraph (E) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

17 ‘‘(F) a child shall be considered to have en18 tered foster care on the latter of—

19 ‘‘(i) the first time the child is removed

20 from the home; or

21 ‘‘(ii) the date of the first judicial hear22 ing on removal of the child from the

23 home.’’.

24 (c) ELIMINATION OF UNNECESSARY COURT

25 DELAYS.—
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1 (1) ONE-YEAR STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR

2 APPEALS OF ORDERS TERMINATING PARENTAL

3 RIGHTS.—Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act

4 (42 U.S.C. 671(a)), as amended by section 5591(b)

5 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, is amended—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para7 graph (18);

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

9 paragraph (19) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

11 ‘‘(20) provides that an order terminating paren12 tal rights shall only be appealable during the 1-year

13 period that begins on the date the order is issued.’’.

14 (2) ONE-YEAR STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR

15 APPEALS OF ORDERS OF REMOVAL.—Section 471(a)

16 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)), as

17 amended by subsection (a), is amended—

18 (A) in paragraph (19), by striking ‘‘and’’

19 at the end;

20 (B) in paragraph (20), by striking the pe21 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

23 ‘‘(21) provides that a court-ordered removal of

24 a child shall only be appealable during the 1-year pe25 riod that begins on the date the order is issued.’’.
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1 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in part E of

2 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.),

3 as amended by this Act, shall be construed as precluding

4 State courts or State agencies from initiating or finalizing

5 the termination of parental rights for reasons other than,

6 or for timelines earlier than, those specified in part E of

7 title IV of such Act, when such actions are determined

8 to be in the best interests of the child.

9 (e) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graphs (2) and (3), the amendments made by this

12 section shall apply to children entering foster care

13 under the responsibility of the State after the date

14 of enactment of this Act.

15 (2) TRANSITION RULE FOR CURRENT FOSTER

16 CARE CHILDREN.—Subject to paragraph (3), with

17 respect to any child in foster care under the respon18 sibility of the State on or before the date of enact19 ment of this Act, the amendments made by this sec20 tion shall not apply to such child until the date that

21 is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

22 (3) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

23 REQUIRED.—The provisions of section 501(b) shall

24 apply to the effective date of the amendments made

25 by this section.
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1 SEC. 105. NOTICE OF REVIEWS AND HEARINGS; OPPOR2 TUNITY TO BE HEARD.

3 Section 475(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

4 675(5)), as amended by section 104(b), is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara6 graph (E);

7 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub8 paragraph (F) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

10 ‘‘(G) the foster parents (if any) of a child

11 and any relative providing care for the child are

12 provided with notice of, and an opportunity to

13 be heard in, any review or hearing to be held

14 with respect to the child, except that this sub15 paragraph shall not be construed to make any

16 foster parent or relative a party to such a re17 view or hearing solely on the basis of such no18 tice and opportunity to be heard.’’.

19 SEC. 106. USE OF THE FEDERAL PARENT LOCATOR SERV20 ICE FOR CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.

21 Section 453 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

22 653), as amended by section 5534 of the Balanced Budget

23 Act of 1997, is amended—

24 (1) in subsection (a)(2)—

25 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph

26 (A), by inserting ‘‘or making or enforcing child
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1 custody or visitation orders’’ after ‘‘obliga2 tions,’’; and

3 (B) in subparagraph (A)—

4 (i) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of

5 clause (ii);

6 (ii) by striking the comma at the end

7 of clause (iii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

8 (iii) by inserting after clause (iii) the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(iv) who has or may have parental

11 rights with respect to a child,’’; and

12 (2) in subsection (c)—

13 (A) by striking the period at the end of

14 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

16 ‘‘(4) a State agency that is administering a pro17 gram operated under a State plan under subpart 1

18 of part B, or a State plan approved under subpart

19 2 of part B or under part E.’’.

20 SEC. 107. CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS FOR PROSPECTIVE

21 FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS AND

22 GROUP CARE STAFF.

23 Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

24 671(a)), as amended by section 104(c)(2), is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

2 (20);

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (21) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

6 ‘‘(22) provides procedures for criminal records

7 checks and checks of a State’s child abuse registry

8 for any prospective foster parent or adoptive parent,

9 and any employee of a residential child-care institu10 tion before the foster parent or adoptive parent, or

11 the residential child-care institution may be finally

12 approved for placement of a child on whose behalf

13 foster care maintenance payments or adoption as14 sistance payments are to be made under the State

15 plan under this part, including procedures requiring

16 that—

17 ‘‘(A) in any case in which a criminal

18 record check reveals a criminal conviction for

19 child abuse or neglect, or spousal abuse, a

20 criminal conviction for crimes against children,

21 or a criminal conviction for a crime involving vi22 olence, including violent drug-related offenses,

23 rape, sexual or other physical assault, battery,

24 or homicide, approval shall not be granted, un25 less the individual provides substantial evidence
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1 to local law enforcement officials and the State

2 child protection agency proving that there are

3 extraordinary circumstances which demonstrate

4 that approval should be granted; and

5 ‘‘(B) in any case in which a criminal

6 record check reveals a criminal conviction for a

7 felony or misdemeanor not involving violence, or

8 a check of any State child abuse registry indi9 cates that a substantiated report of abuse or

10 neglect exists, final approval may be granted

11 only after consideration of the nature of the of12 fense or incident, the length of time that has

13 elapsed since the commission of the offense or

14 the occurrence of the incident, the individual’s

15 life experiences during the period since the com16 mission of the offense or the occurrence of the

17 incident, and any risk to the child.’’.

18 SEC. 108. DEVELOPMENT OF STATE GUIDELINES TO EN19 SURE SAFE, QUALITY CARE TO CHILDREN IN

20 OUT-OF-HOME PLACEMENTS.

21 Section 471(a)(10) of the Social Security Act (42

22 U.S.C. 671(a)(10)) is amended—

23 (1) by inserting ‘‘and guidelines’’ after ‘‘stand24 ards’’ each place it appears; and
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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘ensuring quality services that

2 protect the safety and health of children in foster

3 care placements with nonprofit and for-profit agen4 cies,’’ after ‘‘related to’’.

5 SEC. 109. DOCUMENTATION OF EFFORTS FOR ADOPTION

6 OR LOCATION OF A PERMANENT HOME.

7 Section 475 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

8 675) is amended—

9 (1) in paragraph (1)—

10 (A) in the last sentence—

11 (i) by striking ‘‘the case plan must

12 also include’’; and

13 (ii) by redesignating such sentence as

14 subparagraph (D) and indenting appro15 priately; and

16 (B) by adding at the end, the following:

17 ‘‘(E) In the case of a child with respect to

18 whom the State’s goal is adoption or placement

19 in another permanent home, documentation of

20 the steps taken by the agency to find an adop21 tive family or other permanent living arrange22 ment for the child, to place the child with an

23 adoptive family, legal guardian, or in another

24 planned permanent living arrangement, and to

25 finalize the adoption or legal guardianship. At
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1 a minimum, such documentation shall include

2 child specific recruitment efforts such as the

3 use of State, regional, and national adoption ex4 changes including electronic exchange sys5 tems.’’; and

6 (2) in paragraph (5)(B), by inserting ‘‘(includ7 ing the requirement specified in paragraph (1)(E))’’

8 after ‘‘case plan’’.

9 TITLE II—INCENTIVES FOR PRO10 VIDING PERMANENT FAMI11 LIES FOR CHILDREN

12 SEC. 201. ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.

13 Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42

14 U.S.C. 670–679) is amended by inserting after section

15 473 the following:

16 ‘‘SEC. 473A. ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.

17 ‘‘(a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—Subject to the availability

18 of such amounts as may be provided in advance in appro19 priations Acts for this purpose, the Secretary may make

20 a grant to each State that is an incentive-eligible State

21 for a fiscal year in an amount equal to the adoption incen22 tive payment payable to the State for the fiscal year under

23 this section, which shall be payable in the immediately suc24 ceeding fiscal year.
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1 ‘‘(b) INCENTIVE-ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State is an in2 centive-eligible State for a fiscal year if—

3 ‘‘(1) the State has a plan approved under this

4 part for the fiscal year;

5 ‘‘(2) the number of foster child adoptions in the

6 State during the fiscal year exceeds the base number

7 of foster child adoptions for the State for the fiscal

8 year;

9 ‘‘(3) the State is in compliance with subsection

10 (c) for the fiscal year; and

11 ‘‘(4) the fiscal year is any of fiscal years 1998

12 through 2002.

13 ‘‘(c) DATA REQUIREMENTS.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State is in compliance

15 with this subsection for a fiscal year if the State has

16 provided to the Secretary the data described in para17 graph (2) for fiscal year 1997 (or, if later, the fiscal

18 year that precedes the first fiscal year for which the

19 State seeks a grant under this section) and for each

20 succeeding fiscal year.

21 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF NUMBERS OF ADOP22 TIONS.—

23 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATIONS BASED ON AFCARS

24 DATA.—Except as provided in subparagraph

25 (B), the Secretary shall determine the numbers
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1 of foster child adoptions and of special needs

2 adoptions in a State during each of fiscal years

3 1997 through 2002, for purposes of this sec4 tion, on the basis of data meeting the require5 ments of the system established pursuant to

6 section 479, as reported by the State in May of

7 the fiscal year and in November of the succeed8 ing fiscal year, and approved by the Secretary

9 by April 1 of the succeeding fiscal year.

10 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE DATA SOURCES PER11 MITTED FOR FISCAL YEAR 1997.—For purposes

12 of the determination described in subparagraph

13 (A) for fiscal year 1997, the Secretary may use

14 data from a source or sources other than that

15 specified in subparagraph (A) that the Sec16 retary finds to be of equivalent completeness

17 and reliability, as reported by a State by No18 vember 30, 1997, and approved by the Sec19 retary by March 1, 1998.

20 ‘‘(3) NO WAIVER OF AFCARS REQUIREMENTS.—

21 This section shall not be construed to alter or affect

22 any requirement of section 479 or any regulation

23 prescribed under such section with respect to report24 ing of data by States, or to waive any penalty for

25 failure to comply with the requirements.
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1 ‘‘(d) ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENT.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), the adoption incentive payment payable to

4 a State for a fiscal year under this section shall be

5 equal to the sum of—

6 ‘‘(A) $2,000, multiplied by amount (if any)

7 by which the number of foster child adoptions

8 in the State during the fiscal year exceeds the

9 base number of foster child adoptions for the

10 State for the fiscal year; and

11 ‘‘(B) $2,000, multiplied by the amount (if

12 any) by which the number of special needs

13 adoptions in the State during the fiscal year ex14 ceeds the base number of special needs adop15 tions for the State for the fiscal year.

16 ‘‘(2) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT IF INSUFFICIENT

17 FUNDS AVAILABLE.—For any fiscal year, if the total

18 amount of adoption incentive payments otherwise

19 payable under this section for a fiscal year exceeds

20 the amount appropriated for that fiscal year, the

21 amount of the adoption incentive payment payable to

22 each State under this section for the fiscal year shall

23 be—

24 ‘‘(A) the amount of the adoption incentive

25 payment that would otherwise be payable to the
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1 State under this section for the fiscal year; mul2 tiplied by

3 ‘‘(B) the percentage represented by the

4 amount appropriated for that year, divided by

5 the total amount of adoption incentive pay6 ments otherwise payable under this section for

7 the fiscal year.

8 ‘‘(e) 2-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF INCENTIVE PAY9 MENTS.—Payments to a State under this section in a fis10 cal year shall remain available for use by the State

11 through the end of the succeeding fiscal year.

12 ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF INCENTIVE PAY13 MENTS.—A State shall not expend an amount paid to the

14 State under this section except to provide to children or

15 families any service (including post adoption services) that

16 may be provided under part B or E. Amounts expended

17 by a State in accordance with the preceding sentence shall

18 be disregarded in determining State expenditures for pur19 poses of Federal matching payments under section 474.

20 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

21 ‘‘(1) FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION.—The term

22 ‘foster child adoption’ means the final adoption of a

23 child who, at the time of adoptive placement, was in

24 foster care under the supervision of the State.
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1 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL NEEDS ADOPTION.—The term

2 ‘special needs adoption’ means the final adoption of

3 a child for whom an adoption assistance agreement

4 is in effect under section 473.

5 ‘‘(3) BASE NUMBER OF FOSTER CHILD ADOP6 TIONS.—The term ‘base number of foster child

7 adoptions for a State’ means, with respect to a fiscal

8 year, the largest number of foster child adoptions in

9 the State in fiscal year 1997 (or, if later, the first

10 fiscal year for which the State has furnished to the

11 Secretary the data described in subsection (c)(2)) or

12 in any succeeding fiscal year preceding the fiscal

13 year.

14 ‘‘(4) BASE NUMBER OF SPECIAL NEEDS ADOP15 TIONS.—The term ‘base number of special needs

16 adoptions for a State’ means, with respect to a fiscal

17 year, the largest number of special needs adoptions

18 in the State in fiscal year 1997 (or, if later, the first

19 fiscal year for which the State has furnished to the

20 Secretary the data described in subsection (c)(2)) or

21 in any succeeding fiscal year preceding the fiscal

22 year.

23 ‘‘(h) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO24 PRIATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For grants under this sec2 tion, there are authorized to be appropriated to the

3 Secretary $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999

4 through 2003.

5 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated

6 under paragraph (1) are authorized to remain avail7 able until expended, but not after fiscal year 2003.’’.

8 SEC. 202. PROMOTION OF ADOPTION OF CHILDREN WITH

9 SPECIAL NEEDS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 473(a) of the Social Secu11 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended by striking para12 graph (2) and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘(2)(A) For purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(ii), a child

14 meets the requirements of this paragraph if such child—

15 ‘‘(i) prior to termination of parental rights and

16 the initiation of adoption proceedings was in the

17 care of a public or licensed private child care agency

18 or Indian tribal organization either pursuant to a

19 voluntary placement agreement (provided the child

20 was in care for not more than 180 days) or as a re21 sult of a judicial determination to the effect that

22 continuation in the home would be contrary to the

23 safety and welfare of such child, or was residing in

24 a foster family home or child care institution with

25 the child’s minor parent (either pursuant to such a
27

•S 1195 IS

1 voluntary placement agreement or as a result of

2 such a judicial determination); and

3 ‘‘(ii) has been determined by the State pursuant

4 to subsection (c) to be a child with special needs,

5 which needs shall be considered by the State, to6 gether with the circumstances of the adopting par7 ents, in determining the amount of any payments to

8 be made to the adopting parents.

9 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and

10 except as provided in paragraph (7), a child who is not

11 a citizen or resident of the United States and who meets

12 the requirements of subparagraph (A) and is otherwise de13 termined to be eligible for the receipt of adoption assist14 ance payments, shall be eligible for adoption assistance

15 payments under this part.

16 ‘‘(C) A child who meets the requirements of subpara17 graph (A) and who is otherwise determined to be eligible

18 for the receipt of adoption assistance payments shall con19 tinue to be eligible for such payments in the event that

20 the child’s adoptive parent dies or the child’s adoption is

21 dissolved, and the child is placed with another family for

22 adoption.’’.

23 (b) EXCEPTION.—Section 473(a) of the Social Secu24 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended by adding at the

25 end the following:
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•S 1195 IS

1 ‘‘(7)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this

2 subsection, no payment may be made to parents with re3 spect to any child that—

4 ‘‘(i) would be considered a child with special

5 needs under subsection (c);

6 ‘‘(ii) is not a citizen or resident of the United

7 States; and

8 ‘‘(iii) was adopted outside of the United States

9 or was brought into the United States for the pur10 pose of being adopted.

11 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed as pro12 hibiting payments under this part for a child described

13 in subparagraph (A) that is placed in foster care subse14 quent to the failure, as determined by the State, of the

15 initial adoption of such child by the parents described in

16 such subparagraph.’’.

17 (c) REQUIREMENT FOR USE OF STATE SAVINGS.—

18 Section 473(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

19 673(a)), as amended by subsection (b), is amended by

20 adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(8) A State shall spend an amount equal to the

22 amount of savings (if any) in State expenditures under

23 this part resulting from the application of paragraph (2)

24 on and after the effective date of the amendment to such

25 paragraph made by section 202(a) of the Promotion of
29

•S 1195 IS

1 Adoption, Safety, and Support for Abused and Neglected

2 Children (PASS) Act to provide to children or families any

3 service (including post-adoption services) that may be pro4 vided under this part or part B.’’.

5 SEC. 203. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and

7 Human Services may, directly or through grants or con8 tracts, provide technical assistance to assist States and

9 local communities to reach their targets for increased

10 numbers of adoptions and, to the extent that adoption is

11 not possible, alternative permanent placements, for chil12 dren in foster care.

13 (b) LIMITATIONS.—The technical assistance provided

14 under subsection (a) shall support the goal of encouraging

15 more adoptions out of the foster care system, when adop16 tions promote the best interests of children, and shall in17 clude the following:

18 (1) The development of best practice guidelines

19 for expediting termination of parental rights.

20 (2) Models to encourage the use of concurrent

21 planning.

22 (3) The development of specialized units and

23 expertise in moving children toward adoption as a

24 permanency goal.
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•S 1195 IS

1 (4) The development of risk assessment tools to

2 facilitate early identification of the children who will

3 be at risk of harm if returned home.

4 (5) Models to encourage the fast tracking of

5 children who have not attained 1 year of age into

6 adoptive and pre-adoptive placements.

7 (6) Development of programs that place chil8 dren in pre-adoptive families without waiting for ter9 mination of parental rights.

10 (7) Development of programs to recruit adop11 tive parents.

12 SEC. 204. ADOPTIONS ACROSS STATE AND COUNTY JURIS13 DICTIONS.

14 (a) ELIMINATION OF GEOGRAPHIC BARRIERS TO

15 INTERSTATE ADOPTION.—Section 471(a) of the Social

16 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)), as amended by section

17 106, is amended—

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

19 (21);

20 (2) by striking the period at the end of para21 graph (22) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

23 ‘‘(23) provides that neither the State nor any

24 other entity in the State that receives funds from
31

•S 1195 IS

1 the Federal Government and is involved in adoption

2 or foster care placements may—

3 ‘‘(A) deny to any person the opportunity to

4 become an applicant for custody of a child, li5 censure as a foster or adoptive parent, or for

6 foster care maintenance payments or adoption

7 assistance payments under this part on the

8 basis of the geographic residence of the person

9 or of the child involved; or

10 ‘‘(B) delay or deny the placement of a

11 child for adoption, into foster care, or in the

12 child’s original home on the basis of the geo13 graphic residence of an adoptive or foster par14 ent or of the child involved.’’.

15 (b) STUDY OF INTERJURISDICTIONAL ADOPTION IS16 SUES.—

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

18 Human Services (in this subsection referred to as

19 the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall appoint an advisory panel

20 that shall—

21 (A) study and consider how to improve

22 procedures and policies to facilitate the timely

23 and permanent adoptions of children across

24 State and county jurisdictions;
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•S 1195 IS

1 (B) examine, at a minimum, interjurisdic2 tional adoption issues—

3 (i) concerning the recruitment of pro4 spective adoptive families from other

5 States and counties;

6 (ii) concerning the procedures to

7 grant reciprocity to prospective adoptive

8 family home studies from other States and

9 counties;

10 (iii) arising from a review of the com11 ity and full faith and credit provided to

12 adoption decrees and termination of paren13 tal rights orders from other States; and

14 (iv) concerning the procedures related

15 to the administration and implementation

16 of the Interstate Compact on the Place17 ment of Children; and

18 (C) not later than 12 months after the

19 final appointment to the advisory panel, submit

20 to the Secretary the report described in para21 graph (3).

22 (2) COMPOSITION OF ADVISORY PANEL.—In es23 tablishing the advisory panel required under para24 graph (1), the Secretary shall appoint members from

25 the general public who are individuals knowledgeable
33

•S 1195 IS

1 on adoption and foster care issues, and with due

2 consideration to representation of ethnic or racial

3 minorities and diverse geographic areas, and who, at

4 a minimum, include the following:

5 (A) Adoptive and foster parents.

6 (B) Public and private child welfare agen7 cies that place children in and out of home

8 care.

9 (C) Family court judges.

10 (D) Adoption attorneys.

11 (E) An Administrator of the Interstate

12 Compact on the Placement of Children and an

13 Administrator of the Interstate Compact on

14 Adoption and Medical Assistance.

15 (F) A representative cross-section of indi16 viduals from other organizations and individuals

17 with expertise or advocacy experience in adop18 tion and foster care issues.

19 (3) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report re20 quired under paragraph (1)(C) shall include the re21 sults of the study conducted under subparagraphs

22 (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) and recommendations

23 on how to improve procedures to facilitate the inter24 jurisdictional adoption of children, including inter-
34

•S 1195 IS

1 state and intercounty adoptions, so that children will

2 be assured timely and permanent placements.

3 (4) CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall submit a

4 copy of the report required under paragraph (1)(C)

5 to the appropriate committees of Congress, and, if

6 relevant, make recommendations for proposed legis7 lation.

8 SEC. 205. FACILITATION OF VOLUNTARY MUTUAL RE9 UNIONS BETWEEN ADOPTED ADULTS AND

10 BIRTH PARENTS AND SIBLINGS.

11 The Secretary of Health and Human Services, at no

12 net expense to the Federal Government, may use the fa13 cilities of the Department of Health and Human Services

14 to facilitate the voluntary, mutually requested reunion of

15 an adult adopted child who is 21 years of age or older

16 with—

17 (1) any birth parent of the adult child; or

18 (2) any adult adopted sibling who is 21 years

19 of age or older, of the adult child,

20 if all such persons involved in any such reunion have, on

21 their own initiative, expressed a desire for a reunion and

22 agree to keep confidential the name and location of the

23 other birth parent of the adult adopted child and any other

24 adult adopted sibling of the adult adopted child.
35

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1 SEC. 206. ANNUAL REPORT ON STATE PERFORMANCE IN

2 PROTECTING CHILDREN.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part E of title IV of the Social

4 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) is amended by adding

5 at the end the following:

6 ‘‘SEC. 479A. ANNUAL REPORT.

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue an an8 nual report containing ratings of the performance of each

9 State in protecting children who are placed in foster care,

10 for adoption, or with a relative or guardian. The report

11 shall include ratings on outcome measures for categories

12 related to safety and permanence for children.

13 ‘‘(b) OUTCOME MEASURES.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop

15 a set of outcome measures to be used in preparing

16 the report.

17 ‘‘(2) CATEGORIES.—In developing the outcome

18 measures, the Secretary shall develop measures that

19 can track performance over time for the following

20 categories:

21 ‘‘(A) The number of children placed annu22 ally for adoption, the number of placements of

23 children with special needs, and the number of

24 children placed permanently in a foster family

25 home, with a relative, or with a guardian who

26 is not a relative.
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•S 1195 IS

1 ‘‘(B) The number of children, including

2 those with parental rights terminated, that an3 nually leave foster care at the age of majority

4 without having been adopted or placed with a

5 guardian.

6 ‘‘(C) The median and mean length of stay

7 of children in foster care, for children with pa8 rental rights terminated, and children for whom

9 parental rights are retained by the biological or

10 adoptive parent.

11 ‘‘(D) The median and mean length of time

12 between a child having a plan of adoption and

13 termination of parental rights, between the

14 availability of a child for adoption and the

15 placement of the child in an adoptive family,

16 and between the placement of the child in such

17 a family and the finalization of the adoption.

18 ‘‘(E) The number of deaths of children in

19 foster care and other out-of-home care, includ20 ing kinship care, resulting from substantiated

21 child abuse and neglect.

22 ‘‘(F) The specific steps taken by the State

23 to facilitate permanence for children.

24 ‘‘(3) MEASURES.—In developing the outcome

25 measures, the Secretary shall use data from the
37

•S 1195 IS

1 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting

2 System established under section 479 to the maxi3 mum extent possible.

4 ‘‘(c) RATING SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall develop

5 a system (including using State census data and poverty

6 rates) to rate the performance of each State based on the

7 outcome measures.

8 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION.—In order to receive funds under

9 this part, a State shall annually provide to the Secretary

10 such adoption, foster care, and guardianship information

11 as the Secretary may determine to be necessary to issue

12 the report for the State.

13 ‘‘(e) PREPARATION AND ISSUANCE.—On October 1,

14 1998, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall pre15 pare, submit to Congress, and issue to the States the re16 port described in subsection (a). Each report shall rate

17 the performance of a State on each outcome measure de18 veloped under subsection (b), include an explanation of the

19 rating system developed under subsection (c) and the way

20 in which scores are determined under the rating system,

21 analyze high and low performances for the State, and

22 make recommendations to the State for improvement.’’.

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 471(a) of

24 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)), as amended

25 by section 204(a), is amended—
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•S 1195 IS

1 (1) in paragraph (22), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

2 end;

3 (2) in paragraph (23), by striking the period

4 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

6 ‘‘(24) provides that the State shall annually

7 provide to the Secretary the information required

8 under section 479A.’’.

9 TITLE III—ADDITIONAL

10 IMPROVEMENTS AND REFORMS

11 SEC. 301. EXPANSION OF CHILD WELFARE DEMONSTRA12 TION PROJECTS.

13 Section 1130(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

14 1320a–9(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘10’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘15’’.

16 SEC. 302. PERMANENCY PLANNING HEARINGS.

17 Section 475(5)(C) of the Social Security Act (42

18 U.S.C. 675(5)(C)) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘dispositional’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘permanency planning’’;

21 (2) by striking ‘‘no later than’’ and all that fol22 lows through ‘‘12 months’’ and inserting ‘‘not later

23 than 12 months after the original placement (and

24 not less frequently than every 6 months’’; and
39

•S 1195 IS

1 (3) by striking ‘‘future status of’’ and all that

2 follows through ‘‘long term basis)’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘permanency plans for the child (including whether

4 and, if applicable, when, the child will be returned

5 to the parent, referred for termination of parental

6 rights, placed for adoption, or referred for legal

7 guardianship, or other planned permanent living ar8 rangement)’’.

9 SEC. 303. KINSHIP CARE.

10 (a) REPORT.—

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

12 Human Services shall—

13 (A) not later than March 1, 1998, convene

14 the advisory panel provided for in subsection

15 (b)(1) and prepare and submit to the advisory

16 panel an initial report on the extent to which

17 children in foster care are placed in the care of

18 a relative (in this section referred to as ‘‘kin19 ship care’’); and

20 (B) not later than November 1, 1998, sub21 mit to the Committee on Ways and Means of

22 the House of Representatives and the Commit23 tee on Finance of the Senate a final report on

24 the matter described in subparagraph (A),

25 which shall—
40

•S 1195 IS

1 (i) be based on the comments submit2 ted by the advisory panel pursuant to sub3 section (b)(2) and other information and

4 considerations; and

5 (ii) include the policy recommenda6 tions of the Secretary with respect to the

7 matter.

8 (2) REQUIRED CONTENTS.—Each report re9 quired by paragraph (1) shall—

10 (A) include, to the extent available for each

11 State, information on—

12 (i) the policy of the State regarding

13 kinship care;

14 (ii) the characteristics of the kinship

15 care providers (including age, income, eth16 nicity, and race);

17 (iii) the characteristics of the house18 hold of such providers (such as number of

19 other persons in the household and family

20 composition);

21 (iv) how much access to the child is

22 afforded to the parent from whom the

23 child has been removed;
41

•S 1195 IS

1 (v) the cost of, and source of funds

2 for, kinship care (including any subsidies

3 such as medicaid and cash assistance);

4 (vi) the goal for a permanent living

5 arrangement for the child and the actions

6 being taken by the State to achieve the

7 goal;

8 (vii) the services being provided to the

9 parent from whom the child has been re10 moved; and

11 (viii) the services being provided to

12 the kinship care provider; and

13 (B) specifically note the circumstances or

14 conditions under which children enter kinship

15 care.

16 (b) ADVISORY PANEL REVIEW.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The advisory board on child

18 abuse and neglect established under section 102 of

19 the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42

20 U.S.C. 5102), or, if on the date of enactment of this

21 Act such advisory board does not exist, the advisory

22 panel authorized under paragraph (2), shall review

23 the report prepared pursuant to subsection (a) and

24 submit to the Secretary comments on the report not

25 later than July 1, 1998.
42

•S 1195 IS

1 (2) AUTHORIZATION FOR APPOINTMENTS.—

2 Subject to paragraph (1), the Secretary of Health

3 and Human Services, in consultation with the Chair4 man of the Committee on Ways and Means of the

5 House of Representatives and the Chairman of the

6 Committee on Finance of the Senate, may appoint

7 an advisory board for the purpose of reviewing and

8 commenting on the report prepared pursuant to sub9 section (a). Such advisory board shall include par10 ents, foster parents, former foster children, State

11 and local public officials responsible for administer12 ing child welfare programs, private persons involved

13 in the delivery of child welfare services, representa14 tives of tribal governments and tribal courts, judges,

15 and academic experts.

16 SEC. 304. STANDBY GUARDIANSHIP.

17 It is the sense of Congress that the States should

18 have in effect laws and procedures that permit any parent

19 who is chronically ill or near death, without surrendering

20 parental rights, to designate a standby guardian for the

21 parent’s minor children, whose authority would take effect

22 upon—

23 (1) the death of the parent;

24 (2) the mental incapacity of the parent; or
43

•S 1195 IS

1 (3) the physical debilitation and consent of the

2 parent.

3 SEC. 305. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE POPULATION FOR

4 INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES.

5 Section 477(a)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42

6 U.S.C. 677(a)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(including

7 children with respect to whom such payments are no

8 longer being made because the child has accumulated as9 sets, not to exceed $5,000, which are otherwise regarded

10 as resources for purposes of determining eligibility for

11 benefits under this part)’’ before the comma.

12 SEC. 306. COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION OF SUB13 STANCE ABUSE TREATMENT AND CHILD PRO14 TECTION SERVICES.

15 (a) STUDY AND REPORT ON SOURCES OF SUPPORT

16 FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

17 FOR PARENTS AND CHILDREN AND COLLABORATION

18 AMONG STATE AGENCIES.—

19 (1) STUDY.—Not later than 12 months after

20 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptrol21 ler General of the United States shall—

22 (A) prepare an inventory of all Federal

23 and State programs that may provide funds for

24 substance abuse prevention and treatment serv25 ices for families receiving services directly or
44

•S 1195 IS

1 through grants or contracts from public child

2 welfare agencies; and

3 (B) examine—

4 (i) the availability and results of joint

5 prevention and treatment activities con6 ducted by State substance abuse preven7 tion and treatment agencies and State

8 child welfare agencies; and

9 (ii) how such agencies (jointly or sepa10 rately) are responding to and addressing

11 the needs of infants who are exposed to

12 substance abuse.

13 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18

14 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the

15 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub16 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a re17 port on the study conducted under paragraph (1).

18 Such report shall include—

19 (A) a description of the extent to which cli20 ents of child welfare agencies have substance

21 abuse treatment needs, the nature of those

22 needs, and the extent to which those needs are

23 being met;

24 (B) a description of the barriers that pre25 vent the substance abuse treatment needs of cli-
45

•S 1195 IS

1 ents of child welfare agencies from being treat2 ed appropriately;

3 (C) a description of the collaborative activi4 ties of State child welfare and substance abuse

5 prevention and treatment agencies to jointly as6 sess clients’ needs, fund substance abuse pre7 vention and treatment, train and consult with

8 staff, and evaluate the effectiveness of pro9 grams serving clients in both agencies’ case10 loads;

11 (D) a summary of the available data on

12 the treatment and cost-effectiveness of sub13 stance abuse treatment services for clients of

14 child welfare agencies; and

15 (E) recommendations, including rec16 ommendations for Federal legislation, for ad17 dressing the needs and barriers, as described in

18 subparagraphs (A) and (B), and for promoting

19 further collaboration of the State child welfare

20 and substance abuse prevention and treatment

21 agencies in meeting the substance abuse treat22 ment needs of families.

23 (b) PRIORITY IN PROVIDING SUBSTANCE ABUSE

24 TREATMENT.—Section 1927 of the Public Health Service

25 Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–27) is amended—
46

•S 1195 IS

1 (1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘AND CARE2 TAKER PARENTS’’ after ‘‘WOMEN’’; and

3 (2) in subsection (a)—

4 (A) in paragraph (1)—

5 (i) by inserting ‘‘all caretaker parents

6 who are referred for treatment by the

7 State or local child welfare agency and

8 who’’ after ‘‘referred for and’’; and

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘is given’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘are given’’; and

11 (B) in paragraph (2)—

12 (i) by striking ‘‘such women’’ and in13 serting ‘‘such pregnant women and care14 taker parents’’; and

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘the women’’ and in16 serting ‘‘the pregnant women and care17 taker parents’’.

18 (c) FOSTER CARE PAYMENTS FOR CHILDREN WITH

19 PARENTS IN RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES.—Section 472(b)

20 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 672(b)) is amend21 ed—

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the

23 end;

24 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and

25 inserting ‘‘, or’’; and
47

•S 1195 IS

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

2 ‘‘(3) placed with the child’s parent in a residen3 tial program that provides treatment and other nec4 essary services for parents and children, including

5 parenting services, when—

6 ‘‘(A) the parent is attempting to over7 come—

8 ‘‘(i) a substance abuse problem and is

9 complying with an approved treatment

10 plan;

11 ‘‘(ii) being a victim of domestic vio12 lence;

13 ‘‘(iii) homelessness;

14 ‘‘(iv) special needs resulting from

15 being a teenage parent; or

16 ‘‘(v) post-partum depression;

17 ‘‘(B) the safety of the child can be assured;

18 ‘‘(C) the range of services provided by the

19 program is designed to appropriately address

20 the needs of the parent and child;

21 ‘‘(D) the goal of the case plan for the child

22 is to try to reunify the child with the family

23 within a specified period of time;

24 ‘‘(E) the parent described in subparagraph

25 (A)(i) has not previously been treated in a resi-
48

•S 1195 IS

1 dential program serving parents and their chil2 dren together; and

3 ‘‘(F) the amount of foster care mainte4 nance payments made to the residential pro5 gram on behalf of such child do not exceed the

6 amount of such payments that would otherwise

7 be made on behalf of the child.’’.

8 SEC. 307. REAUTHORIZATION AND EXPANSION OF FAMILY

9 PRESERVATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

10 (a) REAUTHORIZATION OF FAMILY PRESERVATION

11 AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 430(b) of the Social

13 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629(b)) is amended—

14 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ at

15 the end;

16 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe17 riod and inserting a semicolon; and

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

19 ‘‘(6) for fiscal year 1999, $275,000,000;

20 ‘‘(7) for fiscal year 2000, $295,000,000;

21 ‘‘(8) for fiscal year 2001, $315,000,000;

22 ‘‘(9) for fiscal year 2002, $335,000,000; and

23 ‘‘(10) for fiscal year 2003, $355,000,000.’’.

24 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

25 430(d)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
49

•S 1195 IS

1 630(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘and 1998’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and

3 2003’’.

4 (b) EXPANSION FOR TIME-LIMITED FAMILY REUNI5 FICATION SERVICES.—

6 (1) ADDITION TO STATE PLAN; MINIMUM

7 SPENDING REQUIREMENT.—Section 432 of the So8 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629b) is amended—

9 (A) in subsection (a)—

10 (i) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and

11 community-based family support services

12 with significant portions’’ and inserting ‘‘,

13 community-based family support services,

14 and time-limited family reunification serv15 ices, with not less than 25 percent’’; and

16 (ii) in paragraph (5)(A), by striking

17 ‘‘and community-based family support

18 services’’ and inserting ‘‘, community-based

19 family support services, and time-limited

20 family reunification services’’; and

21 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘and

22 family support’’ and inserting ‘‘, family sup23 port, and family reunification services’’.
50

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1 (2) DEFINITION OF TIME-LIMITED FAMILY RE2 UNIFICATION SERVICES.—Section 431(a) of the So3 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 631(a)) is amended—

4 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and

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

6 (B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(5) TIME-LIMITED FAMILY REUNIFICATION

9 SERVICES.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘time-lim11 ited family reunification services’ means the

12 services and activities described in subpara13 graph (B) that are provided to a child that is

14 removed from the child’s home and placed in a

15 foster family home or a child care institution

16 and to the parents or primary caregiver of such

17 a child, in order to facilitate the reunification of

18 the child safely and appropriately within a time19 ly fashion, but only during the 1-year period

20 that begins on the date that the child is re21 moved from the child’s home.

22 ‘‘(B) SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES DE23 SCRIBED.—The services and activities described

24 in this subparagraph are the following:
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1 ‘‘(i) Individual, group, and family

2 counseling.

3 ‘‘(ii) Inpatient, residential, or out4 patient substance abuse treatment services.

5 ‘‘(iii) Mental health services.

6 ‘‘(iv) Assistance to address domestic

7 violence.

8 ‘‘(v) Transportation to or from any of

9 the services and activities described in this

10 subparagraph.’’.

11 (3) ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

12 (A) PURPOSES.—Section 430(a) of the So13 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629(a)) is amend14 ed by striking ‘‘and community-based family

15 support services’’ and inserting ‘‘, community16 based family support services, and time-limited

17 family reunification services’’.

18 (B) EVALUATIONS.—Subparagraphs (B)

19 and (C) of section 435(a)(2) of the Social Secu20 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 629d(a)(2)) are each

21 amended by striking ‘‘and family support’’ each

22 place it appears and inserting ‘‘, family support,

23 and family reunification’’.
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1 SEC. 308. INNOVATION GRANTS TO REDUCE BACKLOGS OF

2 CHILDREN AWAITING ADOPTION AND FOR

3 OTHER PURPOSES.

4 Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42

5 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section

6 477, the following:

7 ‘‘SEC. 478. INNOVATION GRANTS.

8 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.—The Secretary

9 may make grants, in amounts determined by the Sec10 retary, to States with approved applications described in

11 subsection (c), for the purpose of carrying out the innova12 tion projects described in subsection (b).

13 ‘‘(b) INNOVATION PROJECTS DESCRIBED.—The in14 novation projects described in this subsection are projects

15 that are designed to achieve 1 or more of the following

16 goals:

17 ‘‘(1) Reducing a backlog of children in long18 term foster care or awaiting adoption placement.

19 ‘‘(2) Ensuring, not later than 1 year after a

20 child enters foster care, a permanent placement for

21 the child.

22 ‘‘(3) Identifying and addressing barriers that

23 result in delays to permanent placements for chil24 dren in foster care, including inadequate representa25 tion of child welfare agencies in termination of pa-
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1 rental rights and adoption proceedings, and other

2 barriers to termination of parental rights.

3 ‘‘(4) Implementing or expanding community4 based permanency initiatives, particularly in commu5 nities where families reflect the ethnic and racial di6 versity of children in the State for whom foster and

7 adoptive homes are needed.

8 ‘‘(5) Developing and implementing community9 based child protection activities that involve partner10 ships among State and local governments, multiple

11 child-serving agencies, the schools, and community

12 leaders in an attempt to keep children free from

13 abuse and neglect.

14 ‘‘(6) Establishing new partnerships with busi15 nesses and religious organizations to promote safety

16 and permanence for children.

17 ‘‘(7) Assisting in the development and imple18 mentation of the State guidelines described in sec19 tion 471(a)(10).

20 ‘‘(8) Developing new staffing approaches to

21 allow the resources of several States to be used to

22 conduct recruitment, placement, adoption, and post23 adoption services on a regional basis.

24 ‘‘(9) Any other goal that the Secretary specifies

25 by regulation.
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1 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An application for a grant

2 under this section may be submitted for fiscal year 1998

3 or 1999 and shall contain—

4 ‘‘(1) a plan, in such form and manner as the

5 Secretary may prescribe, for an innovation project

6 described in subsection (b) that will be implemented

7 by the State for a period of not more than 5 con8 secutive fiscal years, beginning with fiscal year 1998

9 or 1999, as applicable;

10 ‘‘(2) an assurance that no waivers from provi11 sions in law, as in effect at the time of the submis12 sion of the application, are required to implement

13 the innovation project; and

14 ‘‘(3) such other information as the Secretary

15 may require by regulation.

16 ‘‘(d) DURATION.—An innovation project approved

17 under this section shall be conducted for not more than

18 5 consecutive fiscal years, except that the Secretary may

19 terminate a project before the end of the period originally

20 approved if the Secretary determines that the State con21 ducting the project is not in compliance with the terms

22 of the plan and application approved by the Secretary

23 under this section.

24 ‘‘(e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—A State shall not

25 receive a grant under this section unless, for each year
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1 for which a grant is awarded, the State agrees to match

2 the grant with $1 for every $3 received.

3 ‘‘(f) NONSUPPLANTING.—Any funds received by a

4 State under a grant made under this section shall supple5 ment but not replace any other funds that may be avail6 able for the same purpose in the localities involved.

7 ‘‘(g) EVALUATIONS AND REPORTS.—

8 ‘‘(1) STATE EVALUATIONS.—Each State admin9 istering an innovation project under this section

10 shall—

11 ‘‘(A) provide for ongoing and retrospective

12 evaluation of the project, meeting such condi13 tions and standards as the Secretary may re14 quire; and

15 ‘‘(B) submit to the Secretary such reports,

16 at such times, in such format, and containing

17 such information as the Secretary may require.

18 ‘‘(2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary

19 shall, on the basis of reports received from States

20 administering projects under this section, submit in21 terim reports, and, not later than 6 months after the

22 conclusion of all projects administered under this

23 section, a final report to Congress. A report submit24 ted under this subparagraph shall contain an assess25 ment of the effectiveness of the State projects ad-
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1 ministered under this section and any recommenda2 tions for legislative action that the Secretary consid3 ers appropriate.

4 ‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 60 days after

5 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall

6 promulgate final regulations for implementing this section.

7 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

8 authorized to be appropriated to make grants under this

9 section not more than $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years

10 1998 through 2003.’’.

11 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

12 SEC. 401. PRESERVATION OF REASONABLE PARENTING.

13 Nothing in this Act is intended to disrupt the family

14 unnecessarily or to intrude inappropriately into family life,

15 to prohibit the use of reasonable methods of parental dis16 cipline, or to prescribe a particular method of parenting.

17 SEC. 402. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

18 Any information required to be reported under this

19 Act shall be supplied to the Secretary of Health and

20 Human Services through data meeting the requirements

21 of the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting

22 System established pursuant to section 479 of the Social

23 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679), to the extent such data is

24 available under that system. The Secretary shall make

25 such modifications to regulations issued under section 479
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1 of such Act with respect to the Adoption and Foster Care

2 Analysis and Reporting System as may be necessary to

3 allow States to obtain data that meets the requirements

4 of such system in order to satisfy the reporting require5 ments of this Act.

6 SEC. 403. REPORT ON FIDUCIARY OBLIGATIONS OF STATE

7 AGENCIES RECEIVING SSI PAYMENTS.

8 Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment

9 of this Act, the Commissioner of Social Security shall sub10 mit a report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance

12 of the Senate concerning State or local child welfare serv13 ice agencies that act as representative payees on behalf

14 of children under the care of such agencies for purposes

15 of receiving supplemental security income payments under

16 title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et

17 seq.) (including supplementary payments pursuant to an

18 agreement for Federal administration under section

19 1616(a) of the Social Security Act and payments pursuant

20 to an agreement entered into under section 212(b) of Pub21 lic Law 93–66) for the benefit of such children. Such re22 port shall include an examination of the extent to which

23 such agencies—
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1 (1) have complied with the fiduciary responsibil2 ities attendant to acting as a representative payee

3 under title XVI of such Act; and

4 (2) have received supplemental security income

5 payments on behalf of children that the agencies

6 cannot identify or locate, and if so, the disposition

7 of such payments.

8 SEC. 404. ALLOCATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS OF DE9 TERMINING ELIGIBILITY FOR MEDICAID AND

10 TANF.

11 (a) MEDICAID.—Section 1903 of the Social Security

12 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396b) is amended—

13 (1) in subsection (a)(7), by striking ‘‘section

14 1919(g)(3)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (x) and

15 section 1919(g)(3)(C)’’; and

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

17 ‘‘(x)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

18 for purposes of determining the amount to be paid to a

19 State under subsection (a)(7) for quarters in any fiscal

20 year, beginning with fiscal year 1997, amounts expended

21 for the proper and efficient administration of the State

22 plan under this title (including under any waiver of such

23 plan) shall not include common costs related to determin24 ing the eligibility under such State plan (or waiver) of in25 dividuals in a household applying for or receiving benefits
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1 under the State program under part A of title IV unless

2 the State elects the option described in paragraph (2).

3 ‘‘(2) A State that meets the requirements of para4 graph (3) may elect to allocate equally between the State

5 program under part A of title IV and the State plan under

6 this title (including any waiver of such plan) the adminis7 trative costs associated with such programs that are in8 curred in serving households and individuals eligible or ap9 plying for benefits under the State program under part

10 A of title IV and under the State plan (or under a waiver

11 of such plan) under this title.

12 ‘‘(3) A State meets the requirements of this para13 graph if the Secretary determines that—

14 ‘‘(A) the State conforms the eligibility rules and

15 procedures of, and integrates the administration of

16 the eligibility procedures of, the State program fund17 ed under part A of title IV and the State plan under

18 this title (including any waiver of such plan); and

19 ‘‘(B) the State uses the same application form

20 for assistance described in section 1931(e).’’.

21 (b) TANF.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 408(a) of the Social

23 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by add24 ing at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(12) DESIGNATION OF GRANTS UNDER THIS

2 PART IN ALLOCATING ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—

3 Subject to section 1903(x), a State to which a grant

4 is made under section 403 shall designate the pro5 gram funded under this part as the primary pro6 gram for the purpose of allocating common adminis7 trative costs incurred in serving households eligible

8 or applying for benefits under such program and any

9 other Federal means-tested public benefit program

10 administered by the State.’’.

11 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

12 by paragraph (1) to section 408 of the Social Secu13 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 608) shall take effect as if in14 cluded in the enactment of section 103(a) of the

15 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec16 onciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–193; 110

17 Stat. 2112).

18 TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATE

19 SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATE.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in

21 this Act, the amendments made by this Act shall take ef22 fect on October 1, 1997.

23 (b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE24 QUIRED.—In the case of a State plan under part B or

25 E of title IV of the Social Security Act which the Secretary
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1 of Health and Human Services determines requires State

2 legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) in

3 order for the plan to meet the additional requirements im4 posed by the amendments made by this Act, the State plan

5 shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the require6 ments of such part solely on the basis of the failure of

7 the plan to meet such additional requirements before the

8 first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the

9 close of the first regular session of the State legislature

10 that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act.

11 For purposes of the previous sentence, in the case of a

12 State that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of

13 such session shall be deemed to be a separate regular ses14 sion of the State legislature.

Æ