I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5466 

To improve outcomes for vulnerable children by investing in families, improving accountability in the child welfare system, and finding safe, stable, 

and permanent homes for foster children. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2008 

Mr. MCDERMOTT (for himself, Mr. STARK, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Ms. DELAURO, and Mr. FATTAH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means 

A BILL 

To improve outcomes for vulnerable children by investing 

in families, improving accountability in the child welfare 

system, and finding safe, stable, and permanent homes 

for foster children. 

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 ‘‘Investment in Kids’ 

5 Instruction, Development and Support Act’’ or the ‘‘Invest 

6 in KIDS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—PROVIDING SERVICES TO STRENGTHEN FAMILIES AND 

REDUCE THE NEED FOR FOSTER CARE 

Sec. 101. Child and family services program. 

TITLE II—ENSURING FEDERAL FOSTER COVERAGE FOR ALL 

CHILDREN IN NEED 

Sec. 201. Expanded eligibility for foster care and adoption assistance. 

Sec. 202. Flexibility to establish separate standards for relative foster family 

homes. 

Sec. 203. Application of standards to all children. 

TITLE III—SUPPORTING A QUALIFIED CHILD WELFARE 

WORKFORCE 

Sec. 301. Child welfare service quality improvement grants. 

Sec. 302. Increase in payment rate for States for expenditures for short term 

training of staff of certain child welfare agencies and court personnel. 

TITLE IV—CONNECTING CHILDREN TO SUPPORT, FAMILY, 

HEALTH CARE, AND SCHOOL 

Subtitle A—Connection to Support 

Sec. 401. State option for children in foster care after attaining age 18. 

Subtitle B—Connections to Family 

Sec. 411. Kinship guardianship assistance payments for children. 

Sec. 412. Family connection grants. 

Sec. 413. Information on adoption tax credit. 

Sec. 414. Adoption incentives program. 

Sec. 415. Sibling placement. 

Subtitle C—Connections to Health Care 

Sec. 421. Health oversight and coordination plan. 

Subtitle D—Connections to School 

Sec. 431. Educational stability. 


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1 TITLE I—PROVIDING SERVICES 

2 TO STRENGTHEN FAMILIES 

3 AND REDUCE THE NEED FOR 

4 FOSTER CARE 

5 SEC. 101. CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES PROGRAM. 

6 (a) CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES COMPONENT OF

7 STATE PLAN.—Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act 

8 (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended— 

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

10 (26); 

11 (2) by striking the period at the end of para12 graph (27) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(28) at the option of the State, includes a 

15 child and family services component that describes 

16 in detail— 

17 ‘‘(A) how the State intends to spend the 

18 funds provided under section 474(a)(5), and an 

19 assurance that the State will submit to the Sec20 retary reports on annual spending of the funds 

21 in accordance with a detailed, uniform system 

22 which shall be developed by the Secretary; 

23 ‘‘(B) the goals the State intends to achieve 

24 with the expenditure of the funds; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the process by which the State in2 tends to assess the effects of the expenditure of 

3 the funds on— 

4 ‘‘(i) the goals referred to in subpara5 graph (B) of this paragraph; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) other indicators of child welfare 

7 performance; and 

8 ‘‘(D) whether the State intends to spend 

9 funds provided under section 474(a)(5) to im10 plement, in whole or in part, a corrective action 

11 plan referred to in subsection (b)(2)(B) of this 

12 section.’’. 

13 (b) APPROVAL OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES

14 COMPONENT.—Section 471(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 671(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(b)(1) The Secretary shall approve any plan which 

17 complies with subsection (a), subject to paragraph (2) of 

18 this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary may not approve the child and 

20 family services component of a plan submitted pursuant 

21 to this part if there is in effect a final determination under 

22 section 1123A that a State program under part B or this 

23 part has failed to substantially conform with the require24 ments, regulations, and plans referred to in section 

25 1123A(a) that apply to the program, unless the State is 


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1 implementing a corrective action plan referred to in sec2 tion 1123A(b)(4)(A) with respect to the failure. The Sec3 retary may disapprove the component if the State is not 

4 making meaningful progress in ending the failure to so 

5 conform. 

6 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may disapprove the child and 

7 family services component of a plan submitted pursuant 

8 to this part if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the component describes an intention of the 

10 State to expend funds using a method that is sub11 stantially similar to a specific method used by the 

12 State to expend funds pursuant to the State plan 

13 approved under this part in not less than 2 of the 

14 5 most recently preceding fiscal years; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the prior spending failed to result in mean16 ingful progress towards achieving the goals described 

17 in the plan pursuant to subsection (a)(28)(B), deter18 mined on the basis of the process referred to in sub19 section (a)(28)(C).’’. 

20 (c) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—Section 474(a) of such 

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

22 (1) by striking the period at the end of para23 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; plus’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(5) an amount equal to the Federal medical 

2 assistance percentage (as defined in section 1905(b)) 

3 of the total amount expended during such quarter to 

4 provide (and evaluate the provision of) services 

5 which seek to— 

6 ‘‘(A) safely reduce the number of children 

7 in foster care; 

8 ‘‘(B) safely reduce the length of stay for 

9 children in foster care; 

10 ‘‘(C) increase the percentage of foster chil11 dren who are cared for in family-like settings; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(D) improve the well-being of children in 

14 foster care, in an adoption eligible for payments 

15 under section 473, or in a kinship guardianship 

16 arrangement eligible for payments under section 

17 473(d); and’’. 

18 (d) APPLICABILITY TO INDIAN TRIBES.—Section 

19 479B(b)(2)(A)(i) of such Act, as added by section 

20 201(e)(2) of this Act, is amended by striking ‘‘(1) and 

21 (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1), (2), and (5)’’. 

22 (e) NONSUPPLANTATION.—Section 474 of such Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 674) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(g) A State to which funds are paid under sub2 section (a)(5) shall use those funds to supplement and not 

3 supplant any Federal, State or local funds used for serv4 ices described in such subsection.’’. 

5 TITLE II—ENSURING FEDERAL 

6 FOSTER COVERAGE FOR ALL 

7 CHILDREN IN NEED 

8 SEC. 201. EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY FOR FOSTER CARE AND 

9 ADOPTION ASSISTANCE. 

10 (a) FOSTER CARE.— 

11 (1) ELIMINATION OF INCOME ELIGIBILITY RE12 QUIREMENT.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 472(a) of the 

14 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 672(a)) is 

15 amended— 

16 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 

17 ‘‘specified’’ and all that follows and insert18 ing ‘‘or caretaker into foster care if the re19 moval and foster care placement met, and 

20 continues to meet, the requirements of 

21 paragraph (2).’’; and 

22 (ii) by striking paragraphs (3) and 

23 (4). 

24 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

25 470 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 670) is amended by 


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1 striking ‘‘who otherwise would have been eligi2 ble for assistance under the State’s plan ap3 proved under part A (as such plan was in effect 

4 on June 1, 1995)’’. 

5 (2) FOSTER CARE MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS

6 MATCH RATE.—Section 474 (42 U.S.C. 674), as 

7 amended by section 101(e) of this Act, is amended— 

8 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘, 

9 subject to subsection (h)(1)’’ before the semi10 colon; and 

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

12 ‘‘(h)(1)(A) The Secretary shall reduce the percentage 

13 by which expenditures referred to in subsection (a)(1) are 

14 reimbursed, by such equal percentage for all States as may 

15 be necessary to ensure that— 

16 ‘‘(i) the ratio, for any calendar quarter, of 

17 the total of the amounts payable to States 

18 under such subsection to the total of all 

19 amounts expended by the States as foster care 

20 maintenance payments (whether or not eligible 

21 for reimbursement under this part), excluding 

22 any expenditure made from other funds pro23 vided by the Federal Government; equals 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the average such ratio for the 12 

2 quarters most recently preceding the effective 

3 date of this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary shall establish procedures to 

5 allow States to submit to the Secretary supplemental 

6 claims for reimbursement of expenditures referred to in 

7 subsection (a)(1) incurred during the 3-year period begin8 ning with the effective date of this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(ii) A supplemental claim for reimbursement of ex10 penditures referred to in subsection (a)(1) that is sub11 mitted by a State may be for an amount that does not 

12 exceed the amount (if any) by which— 

13 ‘‘(I) the maximum amount the State lawfully 

14 could have claimed under this section with respect to 

15 the expenditures, if this subsection had not been en16 acted; exceeds 

17 ‘‘(II) the amount the State otherwise claims 

18 under this section with respect to the expenditures. 

19 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall pay to a State that submits 

20 a supplemental claim in accordance with this subpara21 graph the total amount claimed. 

22 ‘‘(C) For each State with respect to which a claim 

23 has been paid under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, 

24 the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) calculate the overall rate at which the ex2 penditures referred to in subsection (a)(1) have been 

3 reimbursed under this part during the 3-year period 

4 described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) for each subsequent calendar quarter, re7 imburse the expenditures at the overall rate.’’. 

8 (b) ADOPTION ASSISTANCE.— 

9 (1) ELIMINATION OF INCOME ELIGIBILITY RE10 QUIREMENT.—Section 473(a)(2) of such Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 673(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

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

13 child meets the requirements of this paragraph if the 

14 child— 

15 ‘‘(i)(I) at the time adoption proceedings 

16 were initiated, had been removed from his or 

17 her home— 

18 ‘‘(aa) pursuant to a voluntary place19 ment agreement with respect to which 

20 Federal payments are provided under sec21 tion 474; or 

22 ‘‘(bb) as a result of a judicial deter23 mination to the effect that continuation 

24 therein would be contrary to the welfare of 

25 the child; 


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1 ‘‘(II) is eligible for supplemental security 

2 income benefits under title XVI; or 

3 ‘‘(III) is a child whose costs in a foster 

4 family home or child-care institution are cov5 ered by the foster care maintenance payments 

6 being made with respect to the minor parent of 

7 the child as described in section 475(4)(B); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) has been determined by the State, 

9 pursuant to subsection (c), to be a child with 

10 special needs. 

11 ‘‘(B) A child who meets the requirements 

12 of subparagraph (A)(ii) of this paragraph, who 

13 was determined eligible for adoption assistance 

14 payments under this part with respect to a 

15 prior adoption, and who is available for adop16 tion because the prior adoption has been dis17 solved and the parental rights of the adoptive 

18 parents have been terminated or because the 

19 child’s adoptive parents have died, shall be 

20 treated as meeting the requirements of this 

21 paragraph for purposes of paragraph 

22 (1)(B)(ii).’’. 

23 (2) ADOPTION ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS MATCH

24 RATE.—Section 474 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 674) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (A) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting ‘‘, 

2 subject to subsection (h)(2)’’ before the semi3 colon; and 

4 (B) by adding at the end of subsection (h) 

5 (as added by subsection (a)(2)(B) of this sec6 tion) the following: 

7 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall reduce the percentage by 

8 which the expenditures referred to in subsection (a)(2) are 

9 reimbursed, by such equal percentage for all States as may 

10 be necessary to ensure that— 

11 ‘‘(i) the ratio, for any calendar quarter, of the 

12 total of the amounts payable to States under such 

13 subsection to the total of all amounts expended by 

14 the States as adoption assistance payments (whether 

15 or not eligible for reimbursement under this part), 

16 excluding any expenditure made from other funds 

17 provided by the Federal Government; equals 

18 ‘‘(ii) the average such ratio for the 12 quarters 

19 most recently preceding the effective date of this 

20 subsection. 

21 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary shall establish procedures to 

22 allow States to submit to the Secretary supplemental 

23 claims for reimbursement of expenditures referred to in 

24 subsection (a)(2) incurred during the 3-year period begin25 ning with the effective date of this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) A supplemental claim for reimbursement of ex2 penditures referred to in subsection (a)(2) that is sub3 mitted by a State may be for an amount that does not 

4 exceed the amount (if any) by which— 

5 ‘‘(I) the maximum amount the State lawfully 

6 could have claimed under this section with respect to 

7 the expenditures, if this subsection had not been en8 acted; exceeds 

9 ‘‘(II) the amount the State otherwise claims 

10 under this section with respect to the expenditures. 

11 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall pay to a State that submits 

12 a supplemental claim in accordance with this subpara13 graph the total amount claimed. 

14 ‘‘(C) For each State with respect to which a claim 

15 has been paid under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, 

16 the Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) calculate the overall rate at which the ex18 penditures referred to in subsection (a)(2) have been 

19 reimbursed under this part during the 3-year period 

20 described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) for each subsequent calendar quarter, re23 imburse the expenditures at the overall rate.’’. 

24 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 474 of such Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 674) is amended— 

3 (A) in subsection (a)(3)(E), by inserting ‘‘, 

4 subject to subsection (h)(3)’’ after ‘‘expendi5 tures’’; and 

6 (B) by adding at the end of subsection (h) 

7 (as added by subsection (a)(2)(B) of this sec8 tion) the following: 

9 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary shall reduce the percentage by 

10 which the expenditures referred to in subsection (a)(3)(E) 

11 are reimbursed, by such equal percentage for all States 

12 as may be necessary to ensure that— 

13 ‘‘(i) the ratio, for any calendar quarter, of the 

14 total of the amounts payable to States under sub15 section (a)(3)(E) to the total of all amounts ex16 pended by the States for expenditures referred to in 

17 such subsection (whether or not eligible for reim18 bursement under this part), excluding any expendi19 ture made from other funds provided by the Federal 

20 Government; equals 

21 ‘‘(ii) the average such ratio for the 12 quarters 

22 most recently preceding the effective date of this 

23 subsection. 

24 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall establish procedures to 

25 allow States to submit to the Secretary supplemental 


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1 claims for reimbursement of expenditures referred to in 

2 subsection (a)(3)(E) incurred during the 3-year period be3 ginning with the effective date of this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall pay a claim submitted pur5 suant to subparagraph (B) with respect to an expenditure, 

6 to the extent that, in the absence of this paragraph, an 

7 amount would be payable under this part with respect to 

8 the expenditure. 

9 ‘‘(D) For each State with respect to which a claim 

10 has been paid under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, 

11 the Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) calculate the overall rate at which the ex13 penditures referred to in subsection (a)(3)(E) have 

14 been reimbursed under this part during the 3-year 

15 period described in subparagraph (B) of this para16 graph; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) for each subsequent calendar quarter, re18 imburse the expenditures at the overall rate.’’. 

19 (2) LIMITATION ON EXPENDITURES NOT RE20 LATED TO PLACEMENT OR CASE MANAGEMENT AC21 TIVITIES.—Section 474 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 674), 

22 as amended by the preceding provisions of this sec23 tion, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(i) A State shall not use more than 15 percent of 

25 the amounts paid to the State under subsection (a)(3)(E) 


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1 for expenditures relating to determining eligibility, setting 

2 rates for foster care homes and institutions, and the pro3 portionate share of related agency overhead.’’. 

4 (d) REMOVAL OF TITLE IV–E FROM FUNDING CAP

5 FOR THE TERRITORIES.—Section 1108 of such Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 1308) is amended in each of subsections (a)(1) and 

7 (b)(1), by striking ‘‘parts A and E’’ and inserting ‘‘part 

8 A’’. 

9 (e) AUTHORITY OF INDIAN TRIBES TO RECEIVE

10 FEDERAL FUNDS FOR FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION AS11 SISTANCE.— 

12 (1) CHILDREN PLACED IN TRIBAL CUSTODY EL13 IGIBLE FOR FOSTER CARE FUNDING.—Section 

14 472(a)(2)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672(a)(2)(B)) 

15 is amended— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause 

17 (i); 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ and inserting ‘‘or’’ 

19 at the end of clause (ii); and 

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

21 ‘‘(iii) an Indian tribe or tribal organi22 zation (as defined in section 479B(e)) or 

23 an intertribal consortium, if the Indian 

24 tribe, tribal organization, or consortium— 


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1 ‘‘(I) is operating a program pur2 suant to section 479B; 

3 ‘‘(II) has a cooperative agree4 ment with a State pursuant to section 

5 479B(c); or 

6 ‘‘(III) submits to the Secretary a 

7 description of the arrangements 

8 (jointly developed or developed in con9 sultation with the State) made by the 

10 Indian tribe, tribal organization, or 

11 consortium for the payment of funds 

12 and the provision of the child welfare 

13 services and protections required by 

14 this title; and’’. 

15 (2) PROGRAMS OPERATED BY INDIAN TRIBAL

16 ORGANIZATIONS.—Part E of title IV of such Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 479B. PROGRAMS OPERATED BY INDIAN TRIBAL OR20 GANIZATIONS. 

21 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—Except as provided in sub22 section (b), this part shall apply to an Indian tribe or trib23 al organization that elects to operate a program under this 

24 part in the same manner as this part applies to a State. 

25 ‘‘(b) MODIFICATION OF PLAN REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) SERVICE AREA; STANDARDS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara3 graph (B), in the case of an Indian tribe or 

4 tribal organization submitting a plan for ap5 proval under section 471, the plan shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) in lieu of the requirement of sec7 tion 471(a)(3), identify the service area or 

8 areas and population to be served by the 

9 Indian tribe or tribal organization; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) in lieu of the requirement of sec11 tion 471(a)(10), provide for the approval 

12 of foster homes pursuant to tribal stand13 ards and in a manner that ensures the 

14 safety of, and accountability for, children 

15 placed in foster care. 

16 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—With respect to an 

17 Indian tribe located in the State of Alaska— 

18 ‘‘(i) subparagraph (A)(ii) of this para19 graph shall not apply; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the requirement of section 

21 471(a)(10) shall apply to a plan submitted 

22 by the tribe. 

23 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF FEDERAL SHARE.— 

24 ‘‘(A) PER CAPITA INCOME.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

2 determining the Federal medical assistance 

3 percentage applicable to an Indian tribe or 

4 tribal organization under paragraphs (1) 

5 and (2) of section 474(a), the calculation 

6 of an Indian tribe’s or tribal organization’s 

7 per capita income shall be based on the 

8 service population of the Indian tribe or 

9 tribal organization as defined in its plan in 

10 accordance with paragraph (1)(A) of this 

11 subsection. 

12 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATION OF OTHER IN13 FORMATION.—An Indian tribe or tribal or14 ganization may submit to the Secretary 

15 such information as the Indian tribe or 

16 tribal organization considers relevant to 

17 the calculation of the per capita income of 

18 the Indian tribe or tribal organization, and 

19 the Secretary shall consider such informa20 tion before making the calculation. 

21 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDITURES.— 

22 The Secretary shall, by regulation, determine 

23 the percentages to be paid to Indian tribes and 

24 tribal organizations pursuant to section 

25 474(a)(3), which shall not be less than the corVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:15 Feb 16, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5466.IH H5466

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1 responding percentages specified for a State in 

2 that section. 

3 ‘‘(C) SOURCES OF NON-FEDERAL

4 SHARE.—The Secretary shall make payments 

5 under section 474 with respect to expenditures 

6 of an Indian tribe or tribal organization, with7 out regard to the source of the funds used for 

8 the expenditure. 

9 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATION OF OTHER REQUIRE10 MENTS.—Upon the request of an Indian tribe, a 

11 tribal organization, or a consortium of tribes or trib12 al organizations, the Secretary may modify any re13 quirement under this part if, after consulting with 

14 the Indian tribe, tribal organization, or consortium, 

15 the Secretary determines that modification of the re16 quirement would advance the best interests and the 

17 safety of children served by the Indian tribe, tribal 

18 organization, or consortium. 

19 ‘‘(4) CONSORTIUM.—The participating Indian 

20 tribes or tribal organizations of an intertribal con21 sortium may develop and submit a single plan under 

22 section 471 that meets the requirements of this sec23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—An Indian tribe, 

25 tribal organization, or intertribal consortium and a State 


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1 may enter into a cooperative agreement for the adminis2 tration or payment of funds pursuant to this part. In any 

3 case where an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or inter4 tribal consortium and a State enter into a cooperative 

5 agreement that incorporates any of the provisions of this 

6 section, those provisions shall be valid and enforceable. 

7 Any such cooperative agreement that is in effect as of the 

8 date of the enactment of this section, shall remain in full 

9 force and effect subject to the right of either party to the 

10 agreement to revoke or modify the agreement pursuant 

11 to the terms of the agreement. 

12 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

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

14 in full consultation with Indian tribes and tribal organiza15 tions, promulgate regulations to carry out this section. 

16 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS OF INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGA17 NIZATION.—In this section, the terms ‘Indian tribe’ and 

18 ‘tribal organization’ have the meanings given those terms 

19 in subsections (e) and (l) of section 4 of the Indian Self20 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

21 450b), respectively, except that, with respect to the State 

22 of Alaska, the term ‘Indian tribe’ has the meaning given 

23 that term in section 419(4)(B) of this Act.’’. 

24 (f) CONFORMING CHANGES FOR FMAP FOR THE

25 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.—Section 474(a) of such Act (42 


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1 U.S.C. 674(a)) is amended in each of paragraphs (1) and 

2 (2) by striking ‘‘(as defined in section 1905(b) of this 

3 Act)’’ inserting ‘‘(which shall be as defined in section 

4 1905(b), in the case of a State other than the District 

5 of Columbia, or 70 percent, in the case of the District 

6 of Columbia)’’. 

7 SEC. 202. FLEXIBILITY TO ESTABLISH SEPARATE STAND8 ARDS FOR RELATIVE FOSTER FAMILY 

9 HOMES. 

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

11 U.S.C. 671(a)(10)) is amended by inserting before the 

12 semicolon the following: ‘‘, and, at the option of the State, 

13 that the authority or authorities may— 

14 ‘‘(A) establish and maintain separate 

15 standards for foster family homes in which a 

16 foster parent is a relative of the foster child, 

17 that, at a minimum, protect the safety of the 

18 child and provide for criminal records checks; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) apply the standards referred to in 

21 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph to any such 

22 relative foster care provider to whom funds are 

23 paid pursuant to section 472 or part B in lieu 

24 of the standards that would otherwise apply to 

25 a foster family home.’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. APPLICATION OF STANDARDS TO ALL CHILDREN. 

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

3 U.S.C. 671(a)(10)) is amended by striking ‘‘receiving 

4 funds under this part or part B of this title’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘caring for a child who is in the custody of the State’’. 

6 TITLE III—SUPPORTING A 

7 QUALIFIED CHILD WELFARE 

8 WORKFORCE 

9 SEC. 301. CHILD WELFARE SERVICE QUALITY IMPROVE10 MENT GRANTS. 

11 Part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 620–629i) is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘Subpart 3—Supporting Quality Front Line Workers 

15 ‘‘SEC. 441. CHILD WELFARE SERVICE QUALITY IMPROVE16 MENT GRANTS. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

18 the Administration of Children and Families, shall make 

19 grants to States to improve the quality of child welfare 

20 services by increasing the quality and capacity of their 

21 child welfare workforce or by increasing the coordination 

22 of their child welfare services. 

23 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) CONTENTS.—A State desiring to receive a 

25 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec26 retary an application that includes the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) PLAN.—A detailed description of how 

2 the State intends to expend funds provided 

3 under this part to improve the performance of 

4 the State in such indicators set forth in para5 graph (2) as the State may select. 

6 ‘‘(B) BASELINE DATA.—The data de7 scribed by each indicator selected by the State 

8 under paragraph (1), with respect to all child 

9 welfare agencies in the State, for the fiscal year 

10 preceding the first fiscal year for which the 

11 grant is requested. 

12 ‘‘(C) BUDGET.—A budget showing how the 

13 State would expend funds (including any grant 

14 funds provided under this section) for child wel15 fare services or the improvement of the services. 

16 ‘‘(D) ASSURANCE.—An assurance that the 

17 State will submit to the Secretary reports on 

18 annual expenditures of the funds, and the ef19 fects of the expenditures on improving the per20 formance described in subparagraph (A). 

21 ‘‘(2) INDICATORS.—The indicators set forth in 

22 this paragraph are the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) The average number of children or 

24 families, per caseworker— 


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1 ‘‘(i) for caseworkers who provide serv2 ices for abused or neglected children and 

3 their families; 

4 ‘‘(ii) for caseworkers who provide 

5 services to strengthen and preserve fami6 lies with children; 

7 ‘‘(iii) for caseworkers who provide 

8 adoption services; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) for caseworkers who provide 

10 family foster care services. 

11 ‘‘(B) The average rate at which super12 visory child welfare workers left employment, 

13 and at which nonsupervisory child welfare work14 ers left employment. 

15 ‘‘(C) The average duration of employment 

16 of supervisory child welfare workers and of non17 supervisory child welfare workers. 

18 ‘‘(D) The total number and percentage of 

19 supervisory child welfare workers and of non20 supervisory child welfare workers who have re21 ceived a bachelor’s or more advanced degree 

22 from an institution of higher education, in the 

23 aggregate, and broken down by field of study. 


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1 ‘‘(E) The average number of staff for 

2 whom supervisory child welfare workers are re3 sponsible. 

4 ‘‘(F) The range and scope of training op5 portunities, including numbers and percentage 

6 of supervisory child welfare staff and of non7 supervisory child welfare staff engaged in train8 ing programs. 

9 ‘‘(3) AMENDMENT OF APPLICATIONS.—A State 

10 may at any time submit to the Secretary an amend11 ment to the application of the State under this sub12 section. On approval of such an amendment, the ap13 plication shall be considered to include the amend14 ment. 

15 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION.—The Secretary may dis16 approve an application submitted pursuant to this 

17 subsection if— 

18 ‘‘(A) the application describes a method by 

19 which the State intends to expend funds using 

20 a method that is substantially similar to a spe21 cific method used by the State to expend funds 

22 pursuant to the State plan approved under this 

23 part in not less than 2 of the 5 most recently 

24 preceding fiscal years; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the prior spending failed to result in 

2 meaningful progress in improving the perform3 ance of the State in the indicators selected by 

4 the State pursuant to paragraph (1)(A). 

5 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On certification by the Sec7 retary that a State application for a grant under 

8 this section meets the requirements of subsection 

9 (b), and on approval by the Secretary of the applica10 tion, the State shall be eligible to receive a grant 

11 under this section for each fiscal year for which 

12 funds are available for such a grant. 

13 ‘‘(2) GRANT AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall 

14 make a grant to each State that is eligible to receive 

15 a grant under this section for a fiscal year, in an 

16 amount equal to the lesser of— 

17 ‘‘(A) the amount finally allotted to or re18 served for the State under this subsection for 

19 the fiscal year; or 

20 ‘‘(B) 3 times the amount that the State 

21 has committed to spend to carry out the activi22 ties described in the approved application. 

23 ‘‘(3) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) PUERTO RICO.—The Secretary shall 

25 reserve 1.75 percent of the funds appropriated 


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1 pursuant to subsection (j) for each fiscal year, 

2 for a grant to Puerto Rico under this section 

3 for the fiscal year. If, for a fiscal year, Puerto 

4 Rico does not submit to the Secretary an appli5 cation that meets the requirements of sub6 section (b), the funds so reserved shall be avail7 able for allotment under paragraph (4) of this 

8 subsection for the succeeding fiscal year or (if 

9 the succeeding fiscal year is fiscal year 2009) 

10 remitted to the Treasury of the United States. 

11 ‘‘(B) OTHER TERRITORIES.—The Sec12 retary shall reserve 0.3 percent of the funds ap13 propriated pursuant to subsection (j) for each 

14 fiscal year, for grants among the United States 

15 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and 

16 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is17 lands under this section in such amounts as the 

18 Secretary deems appropriate for the fiscal year. 

19 If, for a fiscal year, none of such territories 

20 submits to the Secretary an application that 

21 meets the requirements of subsection (b), the 

22 funds so reserved shall be available for allot23 ment under paragraph (4) of this subsection for 

24 the succeeding fiscal year or (if the succeeding 


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1 fiscal year is fiscal year 2009) remitted to the 

2 Treasury of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(C) INDIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary shall 

4 reserve 2 percent of the funds appropriated 

5 pursuant to subsection (j) for each fiscal year, 

6 for grants among Indian tribes under this sec7 tion in such amounts as the Secretary deems 

8 appropriate for the fiscal year. If, for a fiscal 

9 year, the Secretary does not receive from any 

10 Indian tribe an application that meets the re11 quirements of subsection (b), the funds so re12 served shall be available for allotment under 

13 paragraph (4) of this subsection for the suc14 ceeding fiscal year or (if the succeeding fiscal 

15 year is fiscal year 2009) remitted to the Treas16 ury of the United States. 

17 ‘‘(D) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EVAL18 UATIONS.—The Secretary shall reserve 1 per19 cent of the funds appropriated pursuant to sub20 section (j) for each fiscal year, to pay the costs 

21 of providing technical assistance and conducting 

22 evaluations under this section. 

23 ‘‘(4) ALLOTMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) INITIAL ALLOTMENT.—From the 

25 amount available to carry out this section for a 


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1 fiscal year that remains after applying para2 graph (3) for the fiscal year (including any 

3 amount available for allotment under this para4 graph for the fiscal year after applying para5 graph (3) for the preceding fiscal year), the 

6 Secretary shall initially allot to each State not 

7 described in paragraph (3) for a fiscal year an 

8 amount that bears the same ratio to the re9 maining amount as the number of individuals 

10 who reside in the State and have not attained 

11 18 years of age bears to the total number of 

12 such individuals in all States not described in 

13 paragraph (3) that are eligible for a grant 

14 under this section for such most recent fiscal 

15 year. 

16 ‘‘(B) FINAL ALLOTMENT.—The Secretary 

17 shall reduce the amount initially allotted to 

18 each State with an initial allotment under sub19 paragraph (A) of more than $300,000, on a pro 

20 rata basis, to the extent necessary to ensure 

21 that the amount finally allotted to each such 

22 State is not less than $300,000. 

23 ‘‘(d) USE OF GRANT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a grant 

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1 cordance with the approved application for the 

2 grant. 

3 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—A State that 

4 receives funds under this section shall remit to the 

5 Secretary any of such funds that remain unexpended 

6 by the State at the end of the 2-year period that be7 gins with the date of the receipt. 

8 ‘‘(3) NONSUPPLANTATION.—A State to which a 

9 grant is made under this section shall use the grant 

10 to supplement and not supplant any Federal, State, 

11 or local funds used for child welfare services or child 

12 welfare training. 

13 ‘‘(e) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall monitor the 

14 activities of grantees under this section to ensure compli15 ance with this section and any State plan of the grantee 

16 under subpart 1. 

17 ‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

18 provide technical assistance to any grantee to assist the 

19 grantee in improving the quality of child welfare services, 

20 including strategies to recruit, train, and retain high qual21 ity staff, and in complying with the provisions of law re22 ferred to in subsection (e). 

23 ‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines 

25 that, during a fiscal year, a grantee under this secVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:15 Feb 16, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5466.IH H5466

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1 tion has not complied with a requirement of this 

2 Act, the Secretary may— 

3 ‘‘(A) in the case of the 1st such determina4 tion of noncompliance, reduce by not less than 

5 5 percent the amount of the grant otherwise 

6 payable to the grantee under this section for 

7 the fiscal year; 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of the 2nd such deter9 mination of noncompliance, reduce by not less 

10 than 25 percent the amount of the grant other11 wise payable to the grantee under this section 

12 for the fiscal year; and 

13 ‘‘(C) in the case of the 3rd or any subse14 quent such determination of noncompliance, 

15 withhold the payment of a grant to the grantee 

16 under this section for any succeeding fiscal 

17 year, notwithstanding subsection (c). 

18 ‘‘(2) RECOVERY.—In the case of a determina19 tion under paragraph (1) of grantee noncompliance, 

20 to the extent that a penalty cannot be imposed 

21 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall require the 

22 grantee to remit to the Secretary the amount of the 

23 penalty not able to be so imposed. 

24 ‘‘(h) EVALUATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 

2 30, 2009, the Secretary shall conduct an interim 

3 evaluation to determine whether the grantees under 

4 this section have improved the provision of child wel5 fare services beyond the level reflected in the base6 line data set forth in the applications submitted by 

7 the grantees under this section. 

8 ‘‘(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than Sep9 tember 30, 2010, the Secretary shall submit to the 

10 Congress a written report that contains the final 

11 evaluation of the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

13 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this 

14 section, including regulations, developed in consultation 

15 with the States, representatives of the child welfare work16 force, and advocates for children and families, governing 

17 how to obtain baseline data for each indicator set forth 

18 in subsection (b)(2). 

19 ‘‘(j) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money in the 

20 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 

21 there are appropriated to the Secretary not more than 

22 $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013 

23 to carry out this section. 

24 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) ALASKA NATIVE ORGANIZATION.—The 

2 term ‘Alaska Native Organization’ means any orga3 nized group of Alaska Natives eligible to operate a 

4 Federal program under the Indian Self-Determina5 tion Act (25 U.S.C. 450f et seq.) or the designee of 

6 such a group. 

7 ‘‘(2) CHILD WELFARE AGENCY.—The term 

8 ‘child welfare agency’ means the State agency re9 sponsible for administering subpart 1, and any pub10 lic or private agency under contract with the State 

11 agency to provide child welfare services. 

12 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

13 means any Indian tribe, band, Nation or other orga14 nized group or community of Indians, including any 

15 Alaska Native Organization, that is recognized as el16 igible for the special programs and services provided 

17 by the United States to Indians because of their sta18 tus as Indians. 

19 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

20 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

21 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

22 Education Act of 1965. 

23 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

24 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 


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1 Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, American 

2 Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.’’. 

3 SEC. 302. INCREASE IN PAYMENT RATE FOR STATES FOR 

4 EXPENDITURES FOR SHORT TERM TRAINING 

5 OF STAFF OF CERTAIN CHILD WELFARE 

6 AGENCIES AND COURT PERSONNEL. 

7 Section 474(a)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 674(a)(3)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(B) 75 percent of so much of such ex10 penditures (including travel and per diem ex11 penses) as are for the short-term training of— 

12 ‘‘(i) current or prospective foster or 

13 adoptive parents or relative guardians, or 

14 the members of the staff of State-licensed 

15 or State-approved child care institutions 

16 providing care, or of State-licensed or 

17 State-approved child welfare agencies pro18 viding services, to foster or adopted chil19 dren, or children residing permanently with 

20 a relative guardian, on behalf of whom as21 sistance is provided pursuant to this part; 

22 ‘‘(ii) members of the staff of abuse 

23 and neglect courts, agency attorneys, attor24 neys representing children, parents, or 

25 guardians ad litem, or other court-apVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:15 Feb 16, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5466.IH H5466

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1 pointed special advocates representing chil2 dren in proceedings of such courts; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) persons employed by State, 

4 local, or private nonprofit child-serving 

5 agencies that are working with the State 

6 or local agency administering the State 

7 plan under this part to keep children safe 

8 and provide permanent families for chil9 dren, 

10 in ways that increase the ability of such current 

11 or prospective parents, guardians, staff mem12 bers, institutions, attorneys, advocates, and per13 sons to provide support and assistance to foster 

14 and adopted children and children residing per15 manently with a relative guardian, whether in16 curred directly by the State or by contract;’’. 

17 TITLE IV—CONNECTING CHIL18 DREN TO SUPPORT, FAMILY, 

19 HEALTH CARE, AND SCHOOL 

20 Subtitle A—Connection to Support 

21 SEC. 401. STATE OPTION FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE 

22 AFTER ATTAINING AGE 18. 

23 (a) DEFINITION OF CHILD.—Section 475 of the So24 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended by adding 

25 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(8)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the term 

2 ‘child’ means an individual who has not attained 18 

3 years of age. 

4 ‘‘(B) At the option of a State, such term shall 

5 include an individual in foster care under the re6 sponsibility of the State who— 

7 ‘‘(i) has attained 18 years of age; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) has not attained 19, 20, or 21 years 

9 of age, as the State may elect.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF

11 CHILD-CARE INSTITUTION.—Section 472(c)(2) of such 

12 Act (42 U.S.C. 672(c)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, ex13 cept, in the case of a child who has attained 18 years of 

14 age, the term shall include a supervised setting in which 

15 the individual is living independently, in accordance with 

16 such conditions as the Secretary shall establish in regula17 tions’’ before the period. 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section take effect on October 1, 2008. 

20 Subtitle B—Connections to Family 

21 SEC. 411. KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS 

22 FOR CHILDREN. 

23 (a) STATE PLAN OPTION.—Section 471(a) of the So24 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)), as amended by sec25 tion 101(a) of this Act, is amended— 


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

2 (27); 

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (28) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(29) at the option of the State, provides for 

7 the State to enter into kinship guardianship assist8 ance agreements to provide kinship guardianship as9 sistance payments on behalf of children to grand10 parents and other relatives who have assumed legal 

11 guardianship of the children for whom they have 

12 cared as foster parents and for whom they have 

13 committed to care for on a permanent basis, as pro14 vided in section 473(d).’’. 

15 (b) IN GENERAL.—Section 473 of such Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 673) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(d) KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAY19 MENTS FOR CHILDREN.— 

20 ‘‘(1) KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE

21 AGREEMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive 

23 payments under section 474(a)(6), a State 

24 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) negotiate and enter into a writ2 ten, binding kinship guardianship assist3 ance agreement with the prospective rel4 ative guardian of a child who meets the re5 quirements of this paragraph; 

6 ‘‘(ii) provide the prospective relative 

7 guardian with a copy of the agreement; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(iii) certify that any child on whose 

10 behalf kinship guardianship assistance pay11 ments are made under the agreement shall 

12 be provided medical assistance under title 

13 XIX in accordance with section 

14 1902(a)(10)(A)(i)(I). 

15 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The 

16 agreement shall specify, at a minimum— 

17 ‘‘(i) the amount of, and manner in 

18 which, each kinship guardianship assist19 ance payment will be provided under the 

20 agreement; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the additional services and assist22 ance that the child and relative guardian 

23 will be eligible for under the agreement; 

24 ‘‘(iii) the procedure by which the rel25 ative guardian may apply for additional 


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1 services as needed, provided the agency 

2 and relative guardian agree on the addi3 tional services as specified in the case plan; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(iv) subject to subparagraph (D), 

6 that the State will pay the total cost of 

7 nonrecurring expenses associated with ob8 taining legal guardianship of the child. 

9 ‘‘(C) INTERSTATE APPLICATION.—The 

10 agreement shall provide— 

11 ‘‘(i) that the agreement shall remain 

12 in effect without regard to the State resi13 dency of the kinship guardian; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) for the protection of the interests 

15 of the child in any case where the kinship 

16 guardian and the child move to another 

17 State while the agreement is in effect. 

18 ‘‘(D) NO EFFECT ON FEDERAL REIM19 BURSEMENT.—Nothing in subparagraph (B)(iv) 

20 shall be construed as affecting the ability of the 

21 State to obtain reimbursement from the Fed22 eral Government for costs described in that 

23 subparagraph. 

24 ‘‘(2) KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAY25 MENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The kinship guardian2 ship assistance payment shall be based on con3 sideration of the needs of the relative guardian 

4 and of the child and shall be at least equal to 

5 the amount of the foster care maintenance pay6 ment for which the child would have been eligi7 ble if the child had remained in foster care, or, 

8 at State option, the amount of the adoption as9 sistance payment for which the child would 

10 have been eligible if the child had been adopted. 

11 The payment may be readjusted periodically 

12 based on relevant changes in such needs. 

13 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro15 vided in clause (ii), no kinship guardian16 ship assistance payment may be made to a 

17 relative guardian for any child who has at18 tained 18 years of age. 

19 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—At the option of 

20 the State, a kinship guardianship assist21 ance payment may be made to a relative 

22 guardian with respect to a child who elects 

23 to remain in the care of the guardian until 

24 the child attains 21 years of age. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CHILD’S ELIGIBILITY FOR A KINSHIP

2 GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAYMENT.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A child is eligible for 

4 a kinship guardianship assistance payment 

5 under this subsection if the State agency deter6 mines the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) The child has been— 

8 ‘‘(I) removed from his or her 

9 home pursuant to a voluntary place10 ment agreement or as a result of a ju11 dicial determination to the effect that 

12 continuation in the home would be 

13 contrary to the welfare of the child; 

14 ‘‘(II) under the care of the State 

15 agency for the 12-month period end16 ing on the date of the agency deter17 mination; and 

18 ‘‘(III) eligible for foster care 

19 maintenance payments under section 

20 472. 

21 ‘‘(ii) Being returned home or adopted 

22 are not appropriate permanency options 

23 for the child. 

24 ‘‘(iii) The child demonstrates a strong 

25 attachment to the prospective relative 


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1 guardian and the relative guardian has a 

2 strong commitment to caring permanently 

3 for the child. 

4 ‘‘(iv) With respect to a child who has 

5 attained 14 years of age, the child has 

6 been consulted regarding the kinship 

7 guardianship arrangement. 

8 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF SIBLINGS.—With re9 spect to a child described in subparagraph (A) 

10 whose sibling or siblings are not so described— 

11 ‘‘(i) the child and any sibling of the 

12 child may be placed in the same kinship 

13 guardianship arrangement if the State 

14 agency and the relative agree on the appro15 priateness of the arrangement for the sib16 lings; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) kinship guardianship assistance 

18 payments may be paid for the child and 

19 each sibling so placed.’’. 

20 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (1) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(20) of 

23 such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) is amended— 

24 (i) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub25 paragraph (C); and 


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1 (ii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(D) provides procedures for criminal 

4 records checks, including fingerprint-based 

5 checks of national crime information databases 

6 (as defined in section 534(e)(3)(A) of title 28, 

7 United States Code), for any relative guardian 

8 before the relative guardian may be finally ap9 proved for placement of a child regardless of 

10 whether kinship guardianship assistance pay11 ments are to be made on behalf of the child 

12 under the State plan under this part;’’. 

13 (B) REDESIGNATION OF NEW PROVISION

14 AFTER AMENDMENT MADE BY PRIOR LAW

15 TAKES EFFECT.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(20) 

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

18 671(a)(20)) is amended by redesignating 

19 subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (C). 

20 (ii) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amend21 ment made by clause (i) shall take effect 

22 immediately after the amendments made 

23 by section 152 of Public Law 109–248 

24 take effect. 


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1 (2) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—Section 474(a) of 

2 such Act (42 U.S.C. 674(a)) is amended— 

3 (A) by striking the period at the end and 

4 inserting ‘‘; plus’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(6) an amount equal to the percentage by 

7 which the expenditures referred to in paragraph (2) 

8 are reimbursed (after applying the reduction re9 quired by subsection (h)(2)(A) of this section) of the 

10 total amount expended during such quarter as kin11 ship guardianship assistance payments under section 

12 473(d) pursuant to kinship guardianship assistance 

13 agreements.’’. 

14 (3) DEFINITIONS.—Section 475(1) of such Act 

15 (42 U.S.C. 675(1)) is amended by adding at the end 

16 the following: 

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

18 whom the permanency plan is placement with a 

19 relative and receipt of kinship guardianship as20 sistance payments under section 473(d), a de21 scription of— 

22 ‘‘(i) the steps that the agency has 

23 taken to determine that it is not appro24 priate for the child to be returned home or 

25 adopted; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the reasons why a permanent 

2 placement with a fit and willing relative 

3 through a kinship guardianship assistance 

4 arrangement is in the child’s best interests; 

5 ‘‘(iii) the ways in which the child 

6 meets the eligibility requirements for a kin7 ship guardianship assistance payment; 

8 ‘‘(iv) the efforts the agency has made 

9 to discuss adoption by the child’s relative 

10 foster parent as a more permanent alter11 native to legal guardianship and, in the 

12 case of a relative foster parent who has 

13 chosen not to pursue adoption, documenta14 tion of the reasons therefor; and 

15 ‘‘(v) the efforts made by the State 

16 agency to secure the consent of the child’s 

17 parent or parents to the kinship guardian18 ship assistance arrangement, or the rea19 sons why the efforts were not made.’’. 

20 SEC. 412. FAMILY CONNECTION GRANTS. 

21 Part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 620–629i), as amended by section 301 of this Act, 

23 is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘Subpart 4—Family Connection Grants 

2 ‘‘SEC. 445. FAMILY CONNECTION GRANTS. 

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

4 Human Services may make matching grants to State, 

5 local, or tribal child welfare agencies, and private non6 profit organizations that have experience in working with 

7 foster children or children in kinship care arrangements, 

8 for the purpose of helping children who are in, or at risk 

9 of entering, foster care reconnect with family members 

10 through the implementation of— 

11 ‘‘(1) kinship navigator programs designed to as12 sist kinship care givers in navigating their way 

13 through programs and services, and to help the care 

14 givers learn about and obtain assistance to meet the 

15 needs of the children they are raising and their own 

16 needs; 

17 ‘‘(2) intensive family-finding efforts that utilize 

18 search technology to find biological family members 

19 for children in the child welfare system, and once 

20 identified, work to reestablish relationships and ex21 plore ways to find a permanent family placement for 

22 the children; or 

23 ‘‘(3) family group decision-making meetings for 

24 children in the child welfare system that engage and 

25 empower families to make decisions and develop 


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1 plans that protect and nurture children from endur2 ing further abuse and neglect. 

3 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—An entity desiring to receive a 

4 matching grant under this section shall submit to the Sec5 retary an application, at such time, in such manner, and 

6 containing such information as the Secretary may require, 

7 including— 

8 ‘‘(1) a description of how the grant will be used 

9 to implement 1 or more of the activities described in 

10 subsection (a); 

11 ‘‘(2) a description of the types of children and 

12 families to be served, including how the children and 

13 families will be identified and recruited, and an ini14 tial projection of the number of children and families 

15 to be served; 

16 ‘‘(3) if the entity is a private organization, doc17 umentation of support from the relevant local or 

18 State child welfare agency; 

19 ‘‘(4) an assurance that the entity will cooperate 

20 fully with any evaluation provided for by the Sec21 retary under this section; and 

22 ‘‘(5) a commitment by the applicant that, if a 

23 grant is awarded to the applicant under this section 

24 for a period of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) 2 years, the applicant will expend 

2 from non-Federal sources, for the activities for 

3 which the grant is awarded, in the 2nd year of 

4 the grant period, an amount equal to not less 

than 1 5 ⁄3 of the amount of the grant payment re6 ceived by the applicant under this section for 

7 that year; or 

8 ‘‘(B) 3 years, the applicant will expend, 

9 from non-Federal sources, for the activities 

10 which the grant is awarded— 

11 ‘‘(i) in the 2nd year of the grant period, an amount equal to not less than 1 12 ⁄3

13 of the grant payment received by the appli14 cant under this section for that year; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) in the 3rd year of the grant pe16 riod, an amount equal to the grant pay17 ment received by the applicant under this 

18 section for that year. 

19 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) GRANT DURATION.—The Secretary may 

21 award a grant under this section for a period of not 

22 less than 1 year and not more than 3 years. 

23 ‘‘(2) NUMBER OF GRANT PAYMENTS PER

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1 retary may make in a fiscal year to all grantees 

2 under this section shall not exceed 20. 

3 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.—The amount of a 

4 grant payment to be made to a grantee under this section 

5 during each year in the grant period shall be the following 

6 percentage of the grant amount approved by the Sec7 retary: 

8 ‘‘(1) 100 percent, if the payment is for the 1st 

9 year of the grant period. 

10 ‘‘(2) 75 percent, if the payment is for the 2nd 

11 year of the grant period. 

12 ‘‘(3) 50 percent, if the payment is for the 3rd 

13 year of the grant period. 

14 ‘‘(e) FORM OF GRANTEE CONTRIBUTION.—A grantee 

15 under this section may provide not more than 50 percent 

16 of the amount which the grantee is required to expend 

17 to carry out the activities for which a grant is awarded 

18 under this section in kind, fairly evaluated, including 

19 plant, equipment, or services. 

20 ‘‘(f) USE OF GRANT.—A grantee under this section 

21 shall use the grant in accordance with the approved appli22 cation for the grant. 

23 ‘‘(g) RESERVATIONS OF FUNDS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall reserve 

25 3 percent of the funds made available under subVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:15 Feb 16, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5466.IH H5466

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1 section (h) for each fiscal year for the conduct of a 

2 rigorous evaluation of the activities funded with 

3 grants under this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

5 may reserve 2 percent of the funds made available 

6 under subsection (h) for each fiscal year to provide 

7 technical assistance to recipients of grants under 

8 this section. 

9 ‘‘(h) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO10 PRIATIONS.—To carry out this section, there are author11 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary not more than 

12 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013.’’. 

13 SEC. 413. INFORMATION ON ADOPTION TAX CREDIT. 

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

15 671(a)), as amended by sections 101(a) and 411(a) of this 

16 Act, is amended— 

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

18 (28); 

19 (2) by striking the period at the end of para20 graph (29) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(30) provides that the State will inform any 

23 individual who is adopting, or whom the State is 

24 made aware is considering adopting, a child who is 

25 in foster care under the responsibility of the State 


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1 of the potential eligibility of the individual for a 

2 Federal tax credit (under section 23 of the Internal 

3 Revenue Code) without the need to document any 

4 adoption-related expenses.’’. 

5 SEC. 414. ADOPTION INCENTIVES PROGRAM. 

6 (a) 5-YEAR EXTENSION.—Section 473A of the Social 

7 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673b) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (b)(4), by striking ‘‘in the 

9 case of fiscal years 2001 through 2007,’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ‘‘1998 

11 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2008 through 2012’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘each of 

13 fiscal years 2002 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

14 fiscal year’’; and 

15 (4) in each of subsections (h)(1)(D), and (h)(2), 

16 by striking ‘‘2008’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

17 (b) UPDATING OF FISCAL YEAR USED IN DETER18 MINING BASE NUMBERS OF ADOPTIONS.—Section 

19 473A(g) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(g)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘means’’ and 

21 all that follows and inserting ‘‘means, with respect 

22 to any fiscal year, the number of foster child adop23 tions in the State in fiscal year 2007.’’; 

24 (2) in paragraph (4)— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘that are not older child 

2 adoptions’’ before ‘‘for a State’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘means’’ and all that fol4 lows and inserting ‘‘means, with respect to any 

5 fiscal year, the number of special needs adop6 tions that are not older adoptions in the State 

7 in fiscal year 2007.’’; and 

8 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘means’’ and 

9 all that follows and inserting ‘‘means, with respect 

10 to any fiscal year, the number of older child adop11 tions in the State in fiscal year 2007.’’. 

12 (c) INCREASE IN INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR SPE13 CIAL NEEDS ADOPTIONS AND OLDER CHILD ADOP14 TIONS.—Section 473A(d)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 673b(d)(1)) is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘$2,000’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘$4,000’’; and 

18 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘$4,000’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘$8,000’’. 

20 (d) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR GUARDIANSHIP

21 PLACEMENTS.— 

22 (1) ADDITIONAL AVENUE FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR

23 PAYMENTS.—Section 473A(b)(2) of such Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 673b(b)(2)) is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara2 graph (A); 

3 (B) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara4 graph (B); and 

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

6 ‘‘(C) the number of guardianship place7 ments in the State during the fiscal year ex8 ceeds the base number of guardianship place9 ments in the State for the fiscal year;’’. 

10 (2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—Section 

11 473A(d)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(d)(1)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub14 paragraph (B); 

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

16 subparagraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(D) $4,000, multiplied by the amount (if 

19 any) by which the number of guardianship 

20 placements in the State during the fiscal year 

21 exceeds the base number of guardianship place22 ments for the State for the fiscal year.’’. 

23 (3) DEFINITIONS.—Section 473A(g) of such 

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(g)) is amended by adding at 

25 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(7) GUARDIANSHIP PLACEMENT.—The term 

2 ‘guardianship placement’ means the placement of a 

3 child from foster care under the responsibility of a 

4 State into a legal guardianship. 

5 ‘‘(8) BASE NUMBER OF GUARDIANSHIP PLACE6 MENTS.—The term ‘base number of guardianship 

7 placements for a State’ means, with respect to any 

8 fiscal year, the number of guardianship placements 

9 in the State in fiscal year 2007.’’. 

10 SEC. 415. SIBLING PLACEMENT. 

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

12 671(a)), as amended by sections 101(a), 411(a), and 413 

13 of this Act, is amended— 

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

15 (29); 

16 (2) by striking the period at the end of para17 graph (30) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(31) provides that reasonable efforts shall be 

20 made to place siblings removed from their home in 

21 the same foster care placement unless the State doc22 uments that such a joint placement would be con23 trary to the safety or well-being of any of the sib24 lings.’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—Connections to Health 

2 Care 

3 SEC. 421. HEALTH OVERSIGHT AND COORDINATION PLAN. 

4 Section 422(b)(15) of the Social Security Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 622(b)(15)) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(15)(A) provides that the State will develop, in 

7 coordination and collaboration with the State agency 

8 referred to in paragraph (1) and the State agency 

9 responsible for administering the State plan ap10 proved under title XIX, and in consultation with pe11 diatricians, other experts in health care, and experts 

12 in and recipients of child welfare services, a plan for 

13 the ongoing oversight and coordination of health 

14 care services for any child in a foster care place15 ment, which shall ensure a coordinated strategy to 

16 identify and respond to the health care needs of chil17 dren in foster care placements, including mental 

18 health and dental health needs, and shall include an 

19 outline of— 

20 ‘‘(i) a schedule for initial and follow-up 

21 health screenings that meet reasonable stand22 ards of medical practice; 

23 ‘‘(ii) how health needs identified through 

24 screenings will be monitored and treated; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) how medical information for children 

2 in care will be updated and appropriately 

3 shared, which may include the development and 

4 implementation of an electronic health record; 

5 ‘‘(iv) steps to ensure continuity of health 

6 care services, which may include the establish7 ment of a medical home for every child in care; 

8 ‘‘(v) the oversight of prescription medi9 cines; and 

10 ‘‘(vi) how the State actively consults with 

11 and involves physicians or other appropriate 

12 medical professionals in assessing the health 

13 and well-being of children in foster care and in 

14 determining appropriate medical treatment for 

15 the children; and 

16 ‘‘(B) subparagraph (A) shall not be construed 

17 to reduce or limit the responsibility of the State 

18 agency responsible for administering the State plan 

19 approved under title XIX to provide care and serv20 ices for children with respect to whom services are 

21 provided under the State plan developed pursuant to 

22 this subpart;’’. 


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1 Subtitle D—Connections to School 

2 SEC. 431. EDUCATIONAL STABILITY. 

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

4 675) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

7 clause (iv) and redesignating clauses (v) 

8 through (viii) as clauses (iv) through (vii), re9 spectively; and 

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

11 ‘‘(F) A plan for ensuring the educational 

12 stability of the child while in foster care, includ13 ing— 

14 ‘‘(i) assurances that the placement of 

15 the child in foster care takes into account 

16 proximity to the school in which the child 

17 is enrolled at the time of placement; and 

18 ‘‘(ii)(I) a discussion of the efforts of 

19 the State agency to coordinate with appro20 priate local educational agencies (as de21 fined under section 9101 of the Elemen22 tary and Secondary Education Act of 

23 1965) to ensure that the child remain in 

24 the school in which the child is enrolled at 

25 the time of placement; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) if remaining in such school is 

2 not in the best interests of the child, a dis3 cussion of efforts to coordinate with the 

4 educational agencies to ensure immediate 

5 enrollment in a new school.’’; and 

6 (2) in the 1st sentence of paragraph (4)(A)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘and reasonable’’ and in8 serting ‘‘reasonable’’; and 

9 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and reasonable travel 

10 for the child to remain in the school in which 

11 the child is enrolled at the time of placement’’ 

12 before the period. 

Æ 


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