I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 618 

To require the President to call a White House Conference on Children 

and Youth in 2010. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 21, 2009 

Mr. FATTAH (for himself, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, 

Mr. STARK, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. 

PLATTS, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. COOPER, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. 

BORDALLO, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. POLIS of Colorado, Mr. KUCINICH, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. 

WEXLER, and Mr. CARDOZA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To require the President to call a White House Conference 

on Children and Youth in 2010. 

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 ‘‘White House Con5 ference on Children and Youth in 2010 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
2 

•HR 618 IH

1 (1) In 2006 there were over 3,000,000 reports 

2 of child abuse and neglect. Only 60 percent of the 

3 children from the substantiated reports received fol4 low-up services, and 20 percent of such children 

5 were placed in foster care as a result of an investiga6 tion. 

7 (2) Each year there are nearly 900,000 sub8 stantiated reports of child abuse and neglect. 

9 (3) Each year approximately 60 percent of such 

10 substantiated reports are reports of neglect, 30 per11 cent are physical or sexual abuse reports, and more 

12 than 20 percent are reports that involve other forms 

13 of abuse. 

14 (4) Each year child abuse and neglect costs the 

15 United States an estimated $104 billion. 

16 (5) Over 500,000 children (including youth) 

17 were in foster care at the end of fiscal year 2006 

18 and nearly 800,000 spent at least some time in fos19 ter care during the year. 

20 (6) While 51,000 children are adopted from the 

21 foster care system each year, more than 125,000 

22 children are waiting to be adopted. 

23 (7) Each year approximately 25,000 youth 

24 leave the foster care system not because they have 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
3 

•HR 618 IH

1 found permanent placements, but because they have 

2 reached the age at which foster care ends. 

3 (8) The child welfare system includes State and 

4 local governments, tribal governments, child welfare 

5 agencies, child welfare caseworkers, private agencies, 

6 social workers, the courts, volunteer court-appointed 

7 special advocates, mental health, public health and 

8 health care professionals, educators, and advocates. 

9 (9) There is an overrepresentation of certain 

10 populations, including Native Americans, African11 Americans and Hispanic populations, in the child 

12 welfare system. 

13 (10) Rural communities face special barriers to 

14 addressing human service needs including a lack of 

15 providers, the challenge posed by attempting to serve 

16 a widely dispersed population over a large geo17 graphic area and cultural differences. 

18 (11) The number of children being raised by 

19 grandparents and other relatives is increasing and 

20 exceeds 6,000,000 children. The Government recog21 nized that kinship care is a permanency option 

22 through the enactment of the Adoption and Safe 

23 Families Act of 1997. 

24 (12) The State courts make key decisions in the 

25 lives of children involved in the child welfare system, 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
4 

•HR 618 IH

1 including decisions about whether children have been 

2 victims of child abuse, whether parental rights 

3 should be terminated, and whether children should 

4 be reunified with their families, adopted, or placed 

5 in other settings. 

6 (13) The child welfare system will never fully 

7 address its primary mission unless the courts are an 

8 integral and functioning component of a statewide 

9 system of care and protection. 

10 (14) The child welfare system has an important 

11 role to play in preventing abuse and neglect from oc12 curring in the first place, but is often unable to sup13 port prevention efforts due to funding and regu14 latory constraints. 

15 (15) Key indicators of child health indicators 

16 demonstrate declining health of our Nation’s chil17 dren including increased rates of chronic disease 

18 among children, preventable deaths from childhood 

19 injury, and the potential for children born in this 

20 generation to not live as long as their parents. 

21 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of Congress that— 

22 (1) the Government should work jointly with 

23 the States and their residents to develop rec24 ommendations and plans for action to meet the chal25 lenges and needs of children and families involved 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
5 

•HR 618 IH

1 with the child welfare system, consistent with this 

2 Act; 

3 (2) in developing such recommendations and 

4 plans, the persons involved should emphasize the 

5 role of the Government, State and local child welfare 

6 systems, State and local family court systems, State 

7 and local health departments, child welfare advo8 cates, child abuse prevention experts, guardians, 

9 parents and other key participants in such child wel10 fare systems, with a goal of enhancing and pro11 tecting the lives, health and well-being of children 

12 and families who are involved with such child welfare 

13 systems; and 

14 (3) Federal, State, and local programs and poli15 cies should be developed to reduce the number of 

16 children who are abused and neglected in the first 

17 place, to reduce the number of children in foster 

18 care, and to dramatically increase the number of 

19 children in permanent placements through family re20 unification, kinship placement, and adoption, and in21 crease the overall health and well-being of children. 

22 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF THE CONFERENCE. 

23 (a) AUTHORITY TO CALL THE CONFERENCE.—The 

24 President shall call a White House Conference on Children 

25 and Youth in 2010 (referred to in this Act as ‘‘the ConVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:30 Jan 22, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
6 

•HR 618 IH

1 ference’’), to be convened not later than 18 months after 

2 the selection of the last member of the Policy Committee 

3 established in section 4, to encourage improvements in 

4 each State and local child welfare system, and to develop 

5 recommendations for actions to implement the policy set 

6 forth in section 2(b). 

7 (b) PLANNING AND DIRECTION.—The Secretary shall 

8 plan, convene, and conduct the Conference in cooperation 

9 with the heads of other appropriate Federal entities, in10 cluding the Attorney General, the Secretary of Education, 

11 the Department of Agriculture and the Secretary of Hous12 ing and Urban Development. 

13 (c) PURPOSES OF THE CONFERENCE.—The purposes 

14 of the Conference are— 

15 (1) to identify the problems and challenges of 

16 child abuse and neglect, and the needs of the chil17 dren and families affected by decisions made 

18 through the child welfare system; 

19 (2) to strengthen the use of research-based best 

20 practices that can prevent child abuse and neglect 

21 with a special focus on younger children; 

22 (3) to strengthen the use of research-based best 

23 practices that can improve the health and well-being 

24 of children, including children with special health 

25 care needs; 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
7 

•HR 618 IH

1 (4) to strengthen the use of research-based best 

2 practices that can increase placement permanency 

3 for children removed from their homes, including 

4 practices involving family reunification, kinship 

5 placement, and adoption; 

6 (5) to promote the role of State and local fam7 ily courts in each State child welfare system; 

8 (6) to develop recommendations that will reduce 

9 the number of children who are in out-of-home care 

10 and who fail to leave foster care before the age of 

11 majority; 

12 (7) to make recommendations that will reduce 

13 the overrepresentation of certain populations includ14 ing but not limited to Native American, African15 American, and Hispanic populations in the child wel16 fare system; 

17 (8) to examine the role of the Government in 

18 building an equal partnership with State, local, and 

19 tribal entities in order to assist with, and encourage, 

20 State, local, and tribal coordination; 

21 (9) to develop such specific and comprehensive 

22 recommendations for State-level executive and legis23 lative action as may be appropriate for maintaining 

24 and improving the health and well-being of children 

25 in such system; and 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
8 

•HR 618 IH

1 (10) to review the status of recommendations 

2 regarding child welfare made by previous White 

3 House conferences. 

4 SEC. 4. POLICY COMMITTEE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Policy 

6 Committee, which shall be comprised of 17 members to 

7 be selected as follows: 

8 (1) PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES.—Nine mem9 bers shall be selected by the President and shall con10 sist of— 

11 (A) 3 members who are officers or employ12 ees of the Federal Government; and 

13 (B) 6 members, who may be officers or 

14 employees of the Federal Government, with ex15 perience in the continuum of child health and 

16 welfare services, from prevention, to interven17 tion, to treatment, including providers and chil18 dren directly affected by the child welfare sys19 tem. 

20 (2) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AP21 POINTEES.— 

22 (A) MAJORITY APPOINTEES.—Two mem23 bers shall be selected by the Speaker of the 

24 House of Representatives, after consultation 

25 with the chairpersons of the Committee on 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
9 

•HR 618 IH

1 Education and Labor, and the Committee on 

2 Ways and Means, of the House of Representa3 tives. 

4 (B) MINORITY APPOINTEES.—Two mem5 bers shall be selected by the minority leader of 

6 the House of Representatives, after consultation 

7 with the ranking minority members of such 

8 committees. 

9 (3) SENATE APPOINTEES.— 

10 (A) MAJORITY APPOINTEES.—Two mem11 bers shall be selected by the majority leader of 

12 the Senate, after consultation with the chair13 persons of the Committee on Health, Edu14 cation, Labor, and Pensions, and the Com15 mittee on Finance, of the Senate. 

16 (B) MINORITY APPOINTEES.—Two mem17 bers shall be selected by the minority leader of 

18 the Senate, after consultation with the ranking 

19 minority members of such committees. 

20 (b) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—Mem21 bers shall be appointed for the life of the Policy Com22 mittee. Any vacancy in the Policy Committee shall not af23 fect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner as 

24 the original appointment. 

25 (c) VOTING; CHAIRPERSON.— 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
10 

•HR 618 IH

1 (1) VOTING.—The Policy Committee shall act 

2 by the vote of a majority of the members present. 

3 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall select 

4 a chairperson from among the members of the Pol5 icy Committee. The chairperson may vote only to 

6 break a tie vote of the other members of the Policy 

7 Committee. 

8 (d) DUTIES OF POLICY COMMITTEE.— 

9 (1) MEETINGS.—The Policy Committee shall 

10 hold its first meeting at the call of the Secretary, 

11 not later than 30 days after the last member is se12 lected. Subsequent meetings of the Policy Committee 

13 shall be held at the call of the chairperson of the 

14 Policy Committee. 

15 (2) GENERAL DUTIES.—Through meetings, 

16 hearings, and working sessions, the Policy Com17 mittee shall— 

18 (A) make recommendations to the Sec19 retary to facilitate the timely convening of the 

20 Conference; 

21 (B) submit to the Secretary a proposed 

22 agenda for the Conference not later than 90 

23 days after the first meeting of the Policy Com24 mittee; 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
11 

•HR 618 IH

1 (C) determine the number of delegates to 

2 be selected in accordance with section 5 and the 

3 manner by which the delegates are to be se4 lected in accordance with such section; 

5 (D) select delegates for the Conference; 

6 and 

7 (E) establish other advisory committees as 

8 needed to facilitate Conference participation 

9 of— 

10 (i) professionals with direct experience 

11 providing services to children and families 

12 in the child welfare system; 

13 (ii) prevention experts, including pro14 fessionals with direct experience providing 

15 services to prevent child abuse and neglect; 

16 (iii) child health experts, including 

17 health services and public health profes18 sionals working to improve the health of 

19 children nationwide; and 

20 (iv) children and families in the child 

21 welfare system. 

22 (e) POWERS OF THE POLICY COMMITTEE.— 

23 (1) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

24 The Policy Committee may secure directly from any 

25 Federal department or agency such information as 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
12 

•HR 618 IH

1 the Policy Committee considers necessary to carry 

2 out this Act. Upon request of the chairperson of the 

3 Policy Committee, the head of such department or 

4 agency shall furnish such information to the Policy 

5 Committee. 

6 (2) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Policy Committee 

7 may use the United States mails in the same man8 ner and under the same conditions as other depart9 ments and agencies of the Federal Government. 

10 (f) PERSONNEL.— 

11 (1) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the 

12 Council shall not receive compensation for the per13 formance of services for the Council, but shall be al14 lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

15 subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of 

16 agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 

17 United States Code, while away from their homes or 

18 regular places of business in the performance of 

19 services for the Council. Notwithstanding section 

20 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Secretary 

21 may accept the voluntary and uncompensated serv22 ices of members of the Council. 

23 (2) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.— 

24 Any Federal Government employee may be detailed 

25 to the Council without reimbursement, and such deVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:30 Jan 22, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
13 

•HR 618 IH

1 tail shall be without interruption or loss of civil serv2 ice status or privilege. 

3 SEC. 5. CONFERENCE DELEGATES. 

4 To carry out the purposes of the Conference, the Sec5 retary shall convene delegates for the conference, who 

6 shall be fairly balanced in terms of geography, their points 

7 of view with respect to child welfare, without regard to 

8 political affiliation or past partisan activity, who shall in9 clude— 

10 (1) the directors of child welfare systems of the 

11 States; 

12 (2) members of the State and local family court 

13 systems, representatives of the State bar associa14 tions, and attorneys specializing in family law; 

15 (3) elected officials of State and local govern16 ments; and 

17 (4) advocates (including national and State or18 ganizations), guardians, experts in the field of child 

19 welfare, experts in the field of child abuse preven20 tion, health and mental health professionals, edu21 cators, families and children (including youth) af22 fected by the child welfare system, and the general 

23 public. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
14 

•HR 618 IH

1 SEC. 6. CONFERENCE ADMINISTRATION. 

2 (a) ADMINISTRATION.—In conducting and planning 

3 the Conference, the Secretary shall— 

4 (1) request the cooperation and assistance of 

5 the heads of such other Federal entities as may be 

6 appropriate, including the detailing of personnel; 

7 (2) furnish all reasonable assistance, including 

8 financial assistance, not less than 18 months before 

9 the Secretary convenes the Conference, to State 

10 child welfare systems, State and local family court 

11 systems, child abuse prevention organizations, State 

12 and local health departments, child health and well13 being organizations, and other appropriate organiza14 tions, to enable them to organize and conduct State15 level child welfare conferences in conjunction with 

16 and in preparation for participation in the Con17 ference; 

18 (3) prepare and make available for public com19 ment a proposed agenda, for the Conference, that 

20 reflects to the greatest extent possible the major 

21 child welfare issues facing child welfare systems and 

22 the courts, consistent with the policy set forth in 

23 section 2(b); 

24 (4) prepare and make available background ma25 terials that the Secretary determines to be necessary 

26 for the use of delegates to the Conference; and 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
15 

•HR 618 IH

1 (5) employ such additional personnel as may be 

2 necessary to carry out this Act without regard to 

3 provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 

4 appointments in the competitive service, and without 

5 regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 

6 53 of such title, relating to classification and Gen7 eral Schedule pay rates. 

8 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the Secretary’s respon9 sibilities and functions under this section, the Secretary 

10 shall ensure that— 

11 (1) the conferences held under subsection (a)(2) 

12 will— 

13 (A) be conducted so as to ensure broad 

14 participation of individuals and groups; and 

15 (B) include conferences on Native Ameri16 cans— 

17 (i) to identify conditions that ad18 versely affect Native American children in 

19 the child welfare system and to identify 

20 Native American families who are at risk 

21 of entering such system; 

22 (ii) to propose solutions to ameliorate 

23 such conditions; and 

24 (iii) to provide for the exchange of in25 formation relating to the delivery of servVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:30 Jan 22, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
16 

•HR 618 IH

1 ices to Native American children in the 

2 child welfare system and to Native Amer3 ican families who are at risk of entering 

4 such system; 

5 (2) the proposed agenda for the Conference 

6 under subsection (a)(3) is— 

7 (A) published in the Federal Register not 

8 less than 180 days before the Conference is 

9 convened; and 

10 (B) made available for public comment for 

11 a period of not less than 60 days; 

12 (3) the final agenda for the Conference, pre13 pared after the Secretary takes into consideration 

14 comments received under paragraph (2), is published 

15 in the Federal Register, and transmitted to the chief 

16 executive officers of the States, not later than 30 

17 days after the close of the public comment period re18 quired by paragraph (2); 

19 (4) the personnel employed under subsection 

20 (a)(5) are fairly balanced in terms of their points of 

21 view with respect to child welfare and are appointed 

22 without regard to political affiliation or past par23 tisan activity; 

24 (5) the recommendations of the Conference are 

25 not inappropriately influenced by any public official 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
17 

•HR 618 IH

1 or special interest, but instead are the result of the 

2 independent and collective judgment of the delegates 

3 of the Conference; and 

4 (6) before the Conference is convened— 

5 (A) current and adequate statistical data 

6 (including decennial census data) and other in7 formation on the well-being of children in the 

8 United States; and 

9 (B) such information as may be necessary 

10 to evaluate Federal programs and policies relat11 ing to children; 

12 which the Secretary may obtain by making grants to 

13 or entering into agreements with, public agencies or 

14 nonprofit organizations, are readily available in ad15 vance of the Conference to the delegates. 

16 SEC. 7. REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE. 

17 (a) PROPOSED REPORT.— 

18 (1) PREPARATION.—After consultation with the 

19 Policy Committee, the Secretary shall prepare a pro20 posed report of the Conference containing— 

21 (A) the results of the Conference, which 

22 shall include a statement of comprehensive co23 herent national policy on State child welfare 

24 systems (including the courts involved); 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
18 

•HR 618 IH

1 (B) recommendations of the Conference for 

2 the implementation of such policy; 

3 (C) recommendations to decrease the inci4 dence of child abuse or neglect from occurring; 

5 and 

6 (D) recommendations to improve health 

7 outcomes and measures of well-being for chil8 dren. 

9 (2) PUBLICATION AND SUBMISSION.—The pro10 posed report shall be published in the Federal Reg11 ister, and submitted to the chief executive officers of 

12 the States, not later than 60 days after the Con13 ference adjourns. 

14 (b) RESPONSE TO PROPOSED REPORT.—The Sec15 retary shall solicit recommendations about and other com16 ments on the proposed report, to be submitted not later 

17 than 180 days after the publication of the report. The Sec18 retary shall request that the chief executive officers of the 

19 States submit to the Secretary, not later than 180 days 

20 after receiving the proposed report, their views and find21 ings on the proposed report. 

22 (c) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 

23 receiving the comments, and the views and findings of the 

24 chief executive officers of the States, under subsection (b), 

25 the Secretary shall— 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
19 

•HR 618 IH

1 (1) prepare a final report of the Conference, 

2 which shall include— 

3 (A) a statement of the policy and rec4 ommendations of the Conference; 

5 (B) a compilation of the comments, and 

6 the views and findings of the chief executive of7 ficers of the States; and 

8 (C)(i) the recommendations of the Sec9 retary for a comprehensive coherent national 

10 policy on State child welfare systems (including 

11 the courts involved), after taking into consider12 ation the comments, views, and findings; and 

13 (ii) the recommendations of the Secretary 

14 for the administrative and legislative action nec15 essary to implement the recommendations de16 scribed in clause (i); and 

17 (2) publish the final report in the Federal Reg18 ister and transmit the report to the President and 

19 to Congress. 

20 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS AND REFERENCES. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

22 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

24 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 

25 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
20 

•HR 618 IH

1 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 

2 Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the 

3 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

4 (b) REFERENCES.—In this Act, a reference to a child 

5 welfare system of a State includes a reference to a child 

6 welfare system of a tribal government. 

7 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro9 priated $10,000,000 to carry out this Act. 

10 (b) LIMITATION ON APPROPRIATIONS.—Authority 

11 provided in this Act to make expenditures or to enter into 

12 contracts under which the United States is obligated to 

13 make outlays shall be effective only to the extent that 

14 amounts are provided, and only to the extent of the 

15 amounts provided, in advance in appropriations Acts. 

Æ 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS