I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1868 

To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to require States 

to follow certain procedures in placing a child who has been removed 

from the custody of his or her parents. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 16, 2015 

Mr. CONYERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 

to require States to follow certain procedures in placing 

a child who has been removed from the custody of his 

or her parents. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rehab and Ahmed 

5 Amer Foster Care Improvement Act of 2015’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT THAT STATES FOLLOW CERTAIN 

2 PROCEDURES IN PLACING A CHILD RE3 MOVED FROM THE CUSTODY OF HIS OR HER 

4 PARENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(29) of the Social 

6 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(29)) is amended to read 

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘(29) provides that— 

9 ‘‘(A) within 30 days after the removal of 

10 a child from the custody of the parent or par11 ents of the child, the State shall exercise due 

12 diligence to identify and provide notice to all 

13 adult grandparents and other adult relatives of 

14 the child (including any other adult relatives 

15 suggested by the parents), subject to exceptions 

16 due to family or domestic violence, that— 

17 ‘‘(i) specifies that the child has been 

18 or is being removed from the custody of 

19 the parent or parents of the child; 

20 ‘‘(ii) explains the options the relative 

21 has under Federal, State, and local law to 

22 participate in the care and placement of 

23 the child, including any options that may 

24 be lost by failing to respond to the notice; 

25 ‘‘(iii) describes the requirements 

26 under paragraph (10) of this subsection to 

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1 become a foster family home and the addi2 tional services and supports that are avail3 able for children placed in such a home; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(iv) if the State has elected the op6 tion to make kinship guardianship assist7 ance payments under paragraph (28) of 

8 this subsection, describes how the relative 

9 guardian of the child may subsequently 

10 enter into an agreement with the State 

11 under section 473(d) to receive the pay12 ments; 

13 ‘‘(B) within 90 days after the State makes 

14 a placement decision with respect to the child, 

15 the State shall provide notice of the decision 

16 and the reasons therefor to each parent of the 

17 child, each relative who has expressed to the 

18 State an interest in caring for the child, the 

19 guardian, and the guardian ad litem for the 

20 child, the attorney for the child, the attorney 

21 for each parent of the child, the child (if the 

22 child is able to express an opinion regarding 

23 placement), and the prosecutor involved; and 

24 ‘‘(C) the State shall establish procedures 

25 to— 

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1 ‘‘(i) allow a person who receives a no2 tice pursuant to subparagraph (B) to re3 quest, in writing, within 5 days after re4 ceipt of the notice, documentation of the 

5 reasons for the decision involved; 

6 ‘‘(ii) allow the attorney for the child 

7 to petition the court involved to review the 

8 decision; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) require the court to— 

10 ‘‘(I) commence such a review 

11 within 7 days after receipt of a peti12 tion made pursuant to clause (ii); and 

13 ‘‘(II) conduct such a review on 

14 the record;’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 

17 subsection (a) shall take effect on the 1st day of the 

18 1st fiscal year beginning on or after the date of the 

19 enactment of this Act, and shall apply to payments 

20 under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 

21 for calendar quarters beginning on or after such 

22 date. 

23 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

24 REQUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human 

25 Services determines that State legislation (other 

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1 than legislation appropriating funds) is required in 

2 order for a State plan approved under part E of title 

3 IV of the Social Security Act to meet the additional 

4 requirements imposed by the amendment made by 

5 subsection (a), the plan shall not be regarded as fail6 ing to meet any of the additional requirements be7 fore the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter begin8 ning after the first regular session of the State legis9 lature that begins after the date of the enactment of 

10 this Act. For purposes of the preceding sentence, if 

11 the State has a 2-year legislative session, each year 

12 of the session is deemed to be a separate regular 

13 session of the State legislature. 

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