II 

Calendar No. 972 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3038 

[Report No. 110–467] 

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

adoption incentives program, to authorize States to establish a relative 

guardianship program, to promote the adoption of children with special 

needs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 20, 2008 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Ms. COLLINS, 

Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. SUNUNU, Mr. DORGAN, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. 

HATCH, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. BROWN, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. BAYH, Mr. 

JOHNSON, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. NELSON of 

Nebraska) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 

Reported by Mr. BAUCUS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

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

to extend the adoption incentives program, to authorize 

States to establish a relative guardianship program, to 

promote the adoption of children with special needs, and 

for other purposes. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Improved Adoption Incentives and Relative Guardianship 

6 Support Act of 2008’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—Table of contents for this 

8 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—EXTENSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF ADOPTION 

INCENTIVES 

Sec. 101. Extension of adoption incentives program. 

Sec. 102. Promotion of adoption of children with special needs. 

TITLE II—SUPPORT FOR RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIPS 

Sec. 201. Relative guardianship assistance payments for children. 

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 301. Authority for comparisons and disclosures of information in the Federal Parent Locator Service for child welfare, foster care, and 

adoption assistance program purposes. 

9 TITLE I—EXTENSION AND IM10 PROVEMENT OF ADOPTION 

11 INCENTIVES 

12 SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF ADOPTION INCENTIVES PRO13 GRAM. 

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

5 fiscal year’’; and 

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

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

8 (b) ADDITIONAL INCENTIVE PAYMENT FOR EXCEED9 ING THE HIGHEST EVER FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION

10 RATE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 473A(d) of such Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 673b(b)(1)) is amended— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre14 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘para15 graph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and 

16 (3)’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘this sec18 tion’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘para19 graph (1)’’; and 

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

21 paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(3) INCREASED INCENTIVE PAYMENT FOR EX23 CEEDING THE HIGHEST EVER FOSTER CHILD ADOP24 TION RATE.— 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If— 


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1 ‘‘(i) for fiscal year 2009 or any fiscal 

2 year thereafter the total amount of adop3 tion incentive payments payable under 

4 paragraph (1) are less than the amount 

5 appropriated under subsection (h) for the 

6 fiscal year; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) a State’s foster child adoption 

8 rate for that fiscal year exceeds the highest 

9 ever foster child adoption rate determined 

10 for the State, 

11 then the adoption incentive payment otherwise 

12 determined under paragraph (1) for the State 

13 shall be increased, subject to subparagraph (C), 

14 by the amount determined for the State under 

15 subparagraph (B). 

16 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF INCREASE.—For pur17 poses of subparagraph (A), the amount deter18 mined under this subparagraph with respect to 

19 a State and a fiscal year is the amount equal 

20 to the product of— 

21 ‘‘(i) $1,000; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the excess of— 

23 ‘‘(I) the number of foster child 

24 adoptions in the State in the fiscal 

25 year; over 


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1 ‘‘(II) the product (rounded to the 

2 nearest whole number) of— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the highest ever foster 

4 child adoption rate determined 

5 for the State; and 

6 ‘‘(bb) the number of chil7 dren in foster care under the su8 pervision of the State on the last 

9 day of the preceding fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(C) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT IF INSUFFI11 CIENT FUNDS AVAILABLE.—For any fiscal year, 

12 if the total amount of increases in adoption in13 centive payments otherwise payable under this 

14 paragraph for a fiscal year exceeds the amount 

15 available for such increases for the fiscal year, 

16 the amount of the increase payable to each 

17 State under this paragraph for the fiscal year 

18 shall be— 

19 ‘‘(i) the amount of the increase that 

20 would otherwise be payable to the State 

21 under this paragraph for the fiscal year; 

22 multiplied by 

23 ‘‘(ii) the percentage represented by 

24 the amount so available for the fiscal year, 

25 divided by the total amount of increases 


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1 otherwise payable under this paragraph for 

2 the fiscal year.’’. 

3 (2) DEFINITIONS.—Subsection (g) of section 

4 473A of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b) is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(7) HIGHEST EVER FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION

7 RATE.—The term ‘highest ever foster child adoption 

8 rate’ means, with respect to any fiscal year, the 

9 highest foster child adoption rate determined for any 

10 fiscal year in the period that begins with fiscal year 

11 1998 and ends with the preceding fiscal year. 

12 ‘‘(8) FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION RATE.—The 

13 term ‘foster child adoption rate’ means, with respect 

14 to a State and a fiscal year, the percentage deter15 mined by dividing— 

16 ‘‘(A) the number of foster child adoptions 

17 finalized in the State during the fiscal year; by 

18 ‘‘(B) the number of children in foster care 

19 under the supervision of the State on the last 

20 day of the preceding fiscal year.’’. 

21 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (A) STATE ELIGIBILITY.—Section 

23 473A(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(b)(2)) 

24 is amended— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

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

5 and 

6 (iii) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(C) the State’s foster child adoption rate for 

9 the fiscal year exceeds the highest ever foster child 

10 adoption rate determined for the State;’’. 

11 (B) DATA.—Section 473A(c)(2) of such 

12 Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(c)(2)), as amended by 

13 subsection (a)(3), is amended by inserting ‘‘, 

14 and the foster child adoption rate for the State 

15 for the fiscal year,’’ after ‘‘during a fiscal 

16 year,’’. 

17 (c) INCREASE IN INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR SPE18 CIAL NEEDS ADOPTIONS AND OLDER CHILD ADOP19 TIONS.—Section 473A(d)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 673b(d)(1)) is further amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (C), as redesignated by 

22 subsection (b), by striking ‘‘$2,000’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘$3,000’’; and 

24 (2) in subparagraph (D), as so redesignated, by 

25 striking ‘‘$4,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$8,000’’. 


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1 (d) UPDATING OF FISCAL YEAR USED IN DETER2 MINING BASE NUMBERS OF ADOPTIONS.—Section 

3 473A(g) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(g)) is amended— 

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

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

6 to any fiscal year, the number of foster child adop7 tions in the State in fiscal year 2007.’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

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

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

11 (B) by striking ‘‘means’’ and all that fol12 lows and inserting ‘‘means, with respect to any 

13 fiscal year, the number of special needs adop14 tions that are not older child adoptions in the 

15 State in fiscal year 2007.’’; and 

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

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

18 to any fiscal year, the number of older child adop19 tions in the State in fiscal year 2007.’’. 

20 (e) 24-MONTH AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS TO

21 STATES.—Section 473A(e) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 673b(e)) is amended— 

23 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘2- 

24 YEAR’’ and inserting ‘‘24-MONTH’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘through the end of the suc2 ceeding fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘for a period of 

3 24 months beginning with the month in which the 

4 payments are made’’. 

5 SEC. 102. PROMOTION OF ADOPTION OF CHILDREN WITH 

6 SPECIAL NEEDS. 

7 (a) ELIMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY BASED ON AFDC 

8 AND SSI INCOME STANDARDS.—Section 473(a)(2) of the 

9 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)(2)) is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking clauses (i) 

11 and (ii) and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(i)(I) at the time of termination of parental 

13 rights was in the care of a public or licensed private 

14 child placement agency or Indian tribal organization 

15 pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement, relin16 quishment, or involuntary removal of the child from 

17 the home, and the State has determined, pursuant 

18 to criteria established by the State (which may, but 

19 need not, include a judicial determination), that con20 tinuation in the home would be contrary to the safe21 ty or welfare of such child; 

22 ‘‘(II) meets all medical or disability require23 ments of title XVI with respect to eligibility for sup24 plemental security income benefits; or 


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1 ‘‘(III) was residing in a foster family home or 

2 child care institution with the child’s minor parent, 

3 provided that the child’s minor parent was in such 

4 foster family home or child care institution pursuant 

5 to a voluntary placement agreement, relinquishment, 

6 or involuntary removal of the child from the home, 

7 and the State has determined, pursuant to criteria 

8 established by the State (which may, but need not, 

9 include judicial determination), that continuation in 

10 the home would be contrary to the safety or welfare 

11 of such child; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) has been determined by the State, pursu13 ant to subsection (c), to be a child with special 

14 needs, which needs shall be considered by the State, 

15 together with the circumstances of the adopting par16 ents, in determining the amount of any payments to 

17 be made to the adopting parents.’’; and 

18 (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(C) A child who meets the requirements of subpara21 graph (A), who was determined eligible for adoption as22 sistance payments under this part with respect to a prior 

23 adoption (or who would have been determined eligible for 

24 such payments had the Adoption and Safe Families Act 

25 of 1997 been in effect at the time that such determination 


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1 would have been made), and who is available for adoption 

2 because the prior adoption has been dissolved and the pa3 rental rights of the adoptive parents have been terminated 

4 or because the child’s adoptive parents have died, shall be 

5 treated as meeting the requirements of this paragraph for 

6 purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(ii).’’. 

7 (b) EXCEPTION.—Section 473(a) of the Social Secu8 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

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

11 subsection, no payment may be made to parents with re12 spect to any child that— 

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

14 needs under subsection (c); 

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

16 States; and 

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

18 or was brought into the United States for the pur19 pose of being adopted. 

20 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed as pro21 hibiting payments under this part for a child described 

22 in subparagraph (A) that is placed in foster care subse23 quent to the failure, as determined by the State, of the 

24 initial adoption of such child by the parents described in 

25 such subparagraph.’’. 


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

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

3 673(a)), as amended by subsection (b), is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following: 

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

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

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

8 on and after the effective date of the amendments to such 

9 paragraph made by section 102(a) of the Improved Adop10 tion Incentives and Relative Guardianship Support Act of 

11 2008 to provide to children or families any service (includ12 ing post-adoption services) that may be provided under 

13 this part or part B.’’. 

14 (d) DETERMINATION OF A CHILD WITH SPECIAL

15 NEEDS.—Section 473(c) of the Social Security Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 673(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(c) For purposes of this section, a child shall not 

18 be considered a child with special needs unless— 

19 ‘‘(1) the State has determined, pursuant to a 

20 criteria established by the State (which may or may 

21 not include a judicial determination), that the child 

22 cannot or should not be returned to the home of his 

23 parents; and 

24 ‘‘(2) the State has determined— 


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1 ‘‘(A) that there exists with respect to the 

2 child a specific factor or condition (such as eth3 nic background, age, or membership in a minor4 ity or sibling group, or the presence of factors 

5 such as medical conditions or physical, mental, 

6 or emotional handicaps) because of which it is 

7 reasonable to conclude that the child cannot be 

8 placed with adoptive parents without providing 

9 adoption assistance under this section and med10 ical assistance under title XIX; and 

11 ‘‘(B) that except where it would be against 

12 the best interests of the child because of such 

13 factors as the existence of significant emotional 

14 ties with prospective adoptive parents while in 

15 the care of such parents as a foster child, a rea16 sonable, but unsuccessful, effort has been made 

17 to place the child with appropriate adoptive 

18 parents without providing adoption assistance 

19 under this section or medical assistance under 

20 title XIX. 

21 A child who meets all medical or disability require22 ments of title XVI with respect to eligibility for sup23 plemental security income benefits shall be deemed 

24 to be a child for whom the determination required 


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1 by subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) has been 

2 made.’’. 

3 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall take effect on October 1, 2008, and shall 

5 apply to adoption assistance agreements executed on or 

6 after that date. 

7 TITLE II—SUPPORT FOR 

8 RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIPS 

9 SEC. 201. RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAY10 MENTS FOR CHILDREN. 

11 (a) OPTION FOR STATES TO ENHANCE AND SUB12 SIDIZE A RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP PROGRAM.— 

13 (1) STATE PLAN AMENDMENT.—Section 

14 471(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 671(a)(1)) is amended— 

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘provides’’; 

17 (B) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

18 and 

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

20 ‘‘(B) at the option of the State, provides for rel21 ative guardianship assistance payments in accord22 ance with subsection (d) of section 473;’’. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 473 of such Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 673) is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(d) RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAY2 MENTS FOR CHILDREN.— 

3 ‘‘(1) RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE

4 AGREEMENT.— 

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

6 payments under section 474(a)(5), a State 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) negotiate and enter into a writ9 ten, binding relative guardianship assist10 ance agreement with the relative guardian 

11 of a child who meets the requirements of 

12 paragraph (3)(B); 

13 ‘‘(ii) provide the relative guardian 

14 with a copy of the agreement; and 

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

16 behalf relative guardianship assistance 

17 payments are made under the agreement 

18 shall be provided medical assistance under 

19 title XIX in accordance with section 

20 1902(a)(10)(A)(i)(I). 

21 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The 

22 agreement shall specify, at a minimum— 

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

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1 ance payment will be provided under the 

2 agreement; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the additional services and assist4 ance that the child and relative guardian 

5 will be eligible for under the agreement; 

6 ‘‘(iii) the procedure by which the rel7 ative guardian may apply for additional 

8 services as needed, provided the agency 

9 and relative guardian agree on the addi10 tional services as specified in the agree11 ment; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) that the State will pay up to 

13 $2,000 of nonrecurring expenses associated 

14 with obtaining legal guardianship of the 

15 child. 

16 ‘‘(C) INTERSTATE APPLICATION.—The 

17 agreement shall provide that the agreement 

18 shall remain in effect without regard to the 

19 State residency of the relative guardian. 

20 ‘‘(D) FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT OF NON21 RECURRING EXPENSES.—A State’s payment of 

22 nonrecurring guardianship expenses under a 

23 relative guardianship assistance agreement in 

24 accordance with subparagraph (B)(iv) shall be 

25 treated as a direct expenditure made for the 


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1 proper and efficient administration of the State 

2 plan for purposes of section 474(a)(3)(E). 

3 ‘‘(2) RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE

4 PAYMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara6 graphs (B) and (C), the relative guardianship 

7 assistance payment shall be based on consider8 ation of the circumstances of the relative guard9 ian and the needs of the child. 

10 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM PAY11 MENT.—A relative guardianship assistance pay12 ment shall not be less than the adoption assist13 ance payment the State would have made on 

14 behalf of the child under an adoption assistance 

15 agreement entered into under subsection (a) 

16 and shall not exceed the foster care mainte17 nance payment which would have been paid if 

18 the child had remained in a foster family home. 

19 ‘‘(C) PERIODIC ADJUSTMENTS.—A relative 

20 guardianship assistance payment may be read21 justed periodically, with the concurrence of the 

22 relative guardian (which may be specified in the 

23 relative guardianship assistance agreement), de24 pending upon changes in the circumstances of 

25 the relative guardian and the needs of the child. 


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1 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION.—No relative guardian2 ship assistance payment may be made to a rel3 ative guardian for any child who has attained 

4 18 years of age. 

5 ‘‘(3) CHILD’S ELIGIBILITY FOR A RELATIVE

6 GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAYMENT.— 

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

8 a relative guardianship assistance payment 

9 under this subsection if the State agency deter10 mines the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) The child— 

12 ‘‘(I) has been removed from his 

13 or her home pursuant to a voluntary 

14 placement agreement or as a result of 

15 a judicial determination to the effect 

16 that continuation in the home would 

17 be contrary to the welfare of the child; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(II) in the month prior to the 

20 establishment of the legal guardian21 ship, is eligible for foster care mainte22 nance payments under section 472. 

23 ‘‘(ii) Being returned home or adopted 

24 are not appropriate permanency options 

25 for the child. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) The child demonstrates a strong 

2 attachment to the relative guardian and 

3 the relative guardian has a strong commit4 ment to caring permanently for the child. 

5 ‘‘(iv) The relative guardian satisfies 

6 the requirements of subparagraph (B). 

7 ‘‘(v) With respect to a child who has 

8 attained 14 years of age, the child has 

9 been consulted regarding the relative 

10 guardianship arrangement. 

11 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR RELATIVE

12 GUARDIANS.—A relative guardian satisfies the 

13 requirements of this subparagraph if the rel14 ative— 

15 ‘‘(i) is the grandparent or other rel16 ative of a child on whose behalf relative 

17 guardianship assistance payments are to 

18 be made; 

19 ‘‘(ii) has satisfied the background 

20 checks required under section 471(a)(20); 

21 ‘‘(iii) has met the State’s require22 ments established under section 471(a)(10) 

23 to be a foster family home; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) assumes legal guardianship of 

2 such child and commits to caring for the 

3 child on a permanent basis. 

4 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF SIBLINGS.—With re5 spect to a child described in subparagraph (A) 

6 whose sibling or siblings are not so described— 

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

8 child shall be placed in the same relative 

9 guardianship arrangement unless it can be 

10 demonstrated that it is inappropriate to do 

11 so; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) relative guardianship assistance 

13 payments may be paid for the child and 

14 each sibling so placed.’’. 

15 (c) PAYMENTS TO STATES.— 

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

17 (42 U.S.C. 674(a)) is amended— 

18 (A) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘fos19 ter or adoptive parents and the members of the 

20 staff of State-licensed or State-approved child 

21 care institutions providing care to foster and 

22 adopted children receiving assistance under this 

23 part, in ways that increase the ability of such 

24 current or prospective parents, staff members, 

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1 ance to foster and adopted children,’’ and in2 serting ‘‘foster parents, adoptive parents, or rel3 ative guardians and the members of the staff of 

4 State-licensed or State-approved child care in5 stitutions providing care to foster children, 

6 adoptive children, or children living with a rel7 ative guardian, who are receiving assistance 

8 under this part, in ways that increase the abil9 ity of such current or prospective parents, rel10 ative guardians, staff members, and institutions 

11 to provide support and assistance to foster chil12 dren, adoptive children, or children living with 

13 a relative guardian,’’; 

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

15 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; plus’’; and 

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

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

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

19 of the total amount expended during such quarter as 

20 relative guardianship assistance payments under sec21 tion 473(d) pursuant to relative guardianship assist22 ance agreements.’’. 

23 (2) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR RELATIVE

24 GUARDIANSHIP PLACEMENT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 473A of the 

2 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673b) is amend3 ed by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(j) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR RELATIVE GUARD5 IANSHIP PLACEMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) USE OF UNAWARDED ADOPTION INCEN7 TIVE FUNDS TO MAKE RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP IN8 CENTIVE PAYMENTS.—If in any fiscal year the total 

9 amount of adoption incentive payments payable 

10 under subsection (d) are less than the amount ap11 propriated under subsection (h) for the fiscal year, 

12 States that have established a relative guardianship 

13 assistance program under section 471(a)(1)(B) shall 

14 be awarded, in addition to any adoption incentive 

15 payments made to such States under subsection (d), 

16 relative guardianship incentive payments from the 

17 portion of such amount that is in excess of the total 

18 amount of adoption incentive payments to be made 

19 under such subsection for such fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—Subject to paragraph 

21 (3), the relative guardianship incentive payment pay22 able to a State for a fiscal year under this sub23 section shall be equal to— 

24 ‘‘(A) in the case of the first fiscal year in 

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1 ship assistance program under section 

2 471(a)(1)(B), the product of $1,000 and the 

3 number of relative guardianship assistance 

4 agreements entered into under section 473(d) 

5 in the State during that fiscal year; and 

6 ‘‘(B) in the case of any succeeding fiscal 

7 year, the product of $1,000 and the amount (if 

8 any) by which the number of relative guardian9 ship assistance agreements entered into under 

10 section 473(d) in the State for the fiscal year 

11 exceed the base number of relative guardianship 

12 assistance agreements in the State for the fiscal 

13 year. 

14 ‘‘(3) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT IF INSUFFICIENT

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

16 amount of relative guardianship incentive payments 

17 otherwise payable under this subsection for a fiscal 

18 year exceeds the amount available for such payments 

19 for the fiscal year, the amount of the relative guard20 ianship incentive payment payable to each State 

21 under this subsection for the fiscal year shall be— 

22 ‘‘(A) the amount of the relative guardian23 ship incentive payment that would otherwise be 

24 payable to the State under this subsection for 

25 the fiscal year; multiplied by 


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1 ‘‘(B) the percentage represented by the 

2 amount so available for the fiscal year, divided 

3 by the total amount of relative guardianship in4 centive payments otherwise payable under this 

5 section for the fiscal year.’’. 

6 (B) DEFINITION OF BASE NUMBER OF

7 RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE AGREE8 MENTS.—Subsection (g) of section 473A of 

9 such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b), as amended by sec10 tion 101(b)(2), is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following: 

12 ‘‘(9) BASE NUMBER OF RELATIVE GUARDIAN13 SHIP ASSISTANCE AGREEMENTS.—The term ‘base 

14 number of relative guardianship assistance agree15 ments’ means, with respect to a fiscal year, the 

16 number of relative guardianship assistance agree17 ments entered into under section 473(d) in the State 

18 in the fiscal year for which the number is the great19 est in the period that begins with the first fiscal year 

20 in which the State establishes a relative guardian21 ship assistance program under section 471(a)(1)(B) 

22 and ends with the preceding fiscal year.’’. 

23 (C) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Sub24 section (f) of section 473A of such Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 673b) is amended by inserting ‘‘and relVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:40 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038

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1 ative navigator and support services’’ after 

2 ‘‘post-adoption services’’. 

3 (d) MAINTAINING ELIGIBILITY FOR ADOPTION AS4 SISTANCE PROGRAM.—Section 473(a) of the Social Secu5 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)), as amended by subsections 

6 (b) and (c) of section 102, is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following: 

8 ‘‘(9) A child on whose behalf relative guardianship 

9 assistance payments have been made under section 473(d) 

10 and who pursuant to subsection (c) has been determined 

11 to be a child with special needs, shall be eligible for adop12 tion assistance as if no relative guardianship agreement 

13 or payments had been made. The State shall make pay14 ments of nonrecurring adoption expenses under this sec15 tion to the adoptive parents of such a child.’’. 

16 (e) ELIGIBILITY FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING SERV17 ICES AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING VOUCHERS FOR

18 CHILDREN WHO EXIT FOSTER CARE FOR RELATIVE

19 GUARDIANSHIP OR ADOPTION AFTER AGE 16.— 

20 (1) INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES.—Section 

21 477(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 677(a)) is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para23 graph (5); 

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

25 paragraph (6) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(7) to provide the services referred to in this 

3 subsection to children who, after attaining 16 years 

4 of age, have left foster care for relative guardianship 

5 or adoption.’’. 

6 (2) EDUCATION AND TRAINING VOUCHERS.— 

7 Section 477(i)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 677(i)(2)) 

8 is amended by striking ‘‘from foster care after at9 taining age 16’’ and inserting ‘‘or entering relative 

10 guardianship from foster care after attaining 16 

11 years of age’’. 

12 (f) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) IV-E STATE PLAN REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (A) NOTICE TO RELATIVES.—Section 

15 471(a)(19) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(19)) 

16 is amended— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘that the State’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘that— 

19 ‘‘(A) the State’’; and 

20 (ii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(B) within 60 days of the removal of the 

23 child from the custody of the child’s parent or 

24 parents, the State shall exercise due diligence to 

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1 parents and other adult relatives of the child 

2 (including any other adult relatives suggested 

3 by the parents), subject to exceptions due to 

4 family or domestic violence, that— 

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

6 or is being removed from the custody of 

7 the child’s parent or parents; 

8 ‘‘(ii) explains the options the relative 

9 has under Federal, State, and local law to 

10 participate in the child’s care and place11 ment, including any options that may be 

12 lost by failing to respond to the notice; 

13 ‘‘(iii) describes the requirements 

14 under section 471(a)(10) to become a fos15 ter family home and the additional services 

16 and supports that are available for children 

17 placed in such a home; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) if the State has elected the op19 tion to make relative guardianship assist20 ance payments under paragraph (1)(B), 

21 describes how the relative may enter into 

22 an agreement with the State under section 

23 473(d) to receive such payments; and 

24 ‘‘(C) with respect to any minor child (ex25 cluding minor heads of households and their 


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1 spouses) receiving assistance under the State 

2 program funded under part A (or under a State 

3 program funded with qualified State expendi4 tures (as defined in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i))) 

5 who is in the care of a nonparent caretaker rel6 ative as a result of interaction with the State 

7 agency responsible for administering the pro8 gram authorized under this part, and who does 

9 not have a parent in the home, the State shall 

10 provide the nonparent caretaker relative with 

11 notice that— 

12 ‘‘(i) explains the options the relative 

13 has under Federal, State, and local law to 

14 participate in the child’s care and place15 ment, including any options that may be 

16 lost by failing to respond to the notice; 

17 ‘‘(ii) describes the requirements under 

18 section 471(a)(10) to become a foster fam19 ily home and the additional services and 

20 supports that are available for children 

21 placed in such a home; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) if the State has elected the op23 tion to make relative guardianship assist24 ance payments under paragraph (1)(B), 

25 describes how the relative may enter into 


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1 an agreement under section 473(d) with 

2 the State to receive such payments;’’. 

3 (B) INFORMATION ON ADOPTION TAX

4 CREDIT.—Section 471(a) of such Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

7 paragraph (26); 

8 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

9 of paragraph (27) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

10 and 

11 (iii) by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(28) provides that the State will inform any 

14 individual who is adopting, or whom the State is 

15 made aware is considering adopting, a child who is 

16 in foster care under the responsibility of the State 

17 of the potential eligibility of the individual for a 

18 Federal tax credit (under section 23 of the Internal 

19 Revenue Code) without the need to document any 

20 adoption-related expenses.’’. 

21 (2) TANF PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE

22 NOTICE.—Section 409(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 609(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(16) PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE WITH

2 NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR RELATIVES UNDER

3 PART E.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter5 mines that a State to which a grant is made 

6 under section 403 in a fiscal year has not exer7 cised the due diligence required under section 

8 471(a)(19)(C) during the fiscal year, the Sec9 retary shall reduce the grant payable to the 

10 State under section 403(a)(1) for the imme11 diately succeeding fiscal year by an amount 

12 equal to not less than 1 percent and not more 

13 than 5 percent of the State family assistance 

14 grant. 

15 ‘‘(B) PENALTY BASED ON SEVERITY OF

16 FAILURE.—The Secretary shall impose reduc17 tions under subparagraph (A) with respect to a 

18 fiscal year based on the degree of noncompli19 ance.’’. 

20 (g) CASE PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—Section 475(1) of 

21 such Act (42 U.S.C. 675(1)) is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following: 

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

24 whom the permanency plan is placement with a 

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1 sistance payments under section 473(d), a de2 scription of— 

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

4 taken to determine that it is not appro5 priate for the child to be returned home or 

6 adopted; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the reasons why a permanent 

8 placement with a fit and willing relative 

9 through a relative guardianship assistance 

10 arrangement is in the child’s best interests; 

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

12 meets the eligibility requirements for a rel13 ative guardianship assistance payment; 

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

15 to discuss adoption by the child’s relative 

16 guardian who is to receive such payments 

17 as a more permanent alternative to legal 

18 guardianship and, in the case of such a rel19 ative guardian who has chosen not to pur20 sue adoption, documentation of the reasons 

21 therefor; and 

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

23 agency to secure the consent of the child’s 

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1 ship assistance arrangement, or the rea2 sons why the efforts were not made.’’. 

3 (h) REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT CRIMINAL

4 RECORDS AND CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT REGISTRY

5 CHECKS.—Section 471(a)(20) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 671(a)(20)) is amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (A), in the matter pre8 ceding clause (i) by striking ‘‘foster or adoptive par9 ent before the foster or adoptive parent may be fi10 nally approved for placement of a child on whose be11 half foster care maintenance payments or adoption 

12 assistance payments’’ and inserting ‘‘foster parent, 

13 adoptive parent, or relative guardian before the fos14 ter parent, adoptive parent, or relative guardian may 

15 be finally approved for placement of a child on 

16 whose behalf foster care maintenance payments, 

17 adoption assistance payments, or relative guardian18 ship assistance payments’’; and 

19 (2) in subparagraph (B)(i) (as redesignated by 

20 section 152(b)(2) of Public Law 109–248), by strik21 ing ‘‘prospective foster or adoptive parent and on 

22 any other adult living in the home’’ and all that fol23 lows through ‘‘adoption assistance payments’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘prospective foster parent, adoptive parent, 

25 or relative guardian and on any other adult living in 


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1 the home of such a prospective parent or relative 

2 guardian, and request any other State in which any 

3 such prospective parent, relative guardian, or other 

4 adult has resided in the preceding 5 years, to enable 

5 the State to check any child abuse and neglect reg6 istry maintained by such other State for such infor7 mation, before the prospective foster parent, adop8 tive parent, or relative may be finally approved for 

9 placement of a child, regardless of whether foster 

10 care maintenance payments, adoption assistance 

11 payments, or relative guardianship assistance pay12 ments’’. 

13 (i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

14 this section shall take effect on October 1, 2008, and shall 

15 apply to relative guardianship agreements executed on or 

16 after that date. 

17 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

18 SEC. 301. AUTHORITY FOR COMPARISONS AND DISCLO19 SURES OF INFORMATION IN THE FEDERAL 

20 PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE FOR CHILD WEL21 FARE, FOSTER CARE, AND ADOPTION ASSIST22 ANCE PROGRAM PURPOSES. 

23 Section 453(j)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 653(j)(3)) 

24 is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

25 by inserting ‘‘, part B, part E,’’ after ‘‘this part’’. 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Im3 proved Adoption Incentives and Relative Guardianship 

4 Support Act of 2008’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—Table of contents for this 

6 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—EXTENSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF ADOPTION 

INCENTIVES 

Sec. 101. Extension of adoption incentives program. 

Sec. 102. Promotion of adoption of children with special needs. 

TITLE II—SUPPORT FOR RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIPS 

Sec. 201. Relative guardianship assistance payments for children. 

Sec. 202. Demonstration projects regarding licensing of immediate relative foster 

parents. 

Sec. 203. Grants to carry out kinship navigator programs. 

Sec. 204. Authority for comparisons and disclosures of information in the Federal 

Parent Locator Service for child welfare, foster care, and adoption assistance program purposes. 

TITLE III—TRIBAL FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION ACCESS 

Sec. 301. Equitable access for foster care and adoption services for Indian children in tribal areas. 

Sec. 302. Grants to States that successfully collaborate with and support Tribes 

to improve permanency outcomes for Indian children. 

Sec. 303. Establishment of National Child Welfare Resource Center for Tribes. 

TITLE IV—SUPPORT FOR OLDER CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE AND 

OTHER PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. State option for children in foster care, and certain children in an 

adoptive or guardianship placement, after attaining age 18. 

Sec. 402. Transition plan for children aging out of foster care. 

Sec. 403. Educational stability. 

TITLE V—REVENUE PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Clarification of uniform definition of child. 

Sec. 502. Collection of unemployment compensation debts resulting from fraud. 

Sec. 503. Investment of operating cash. 


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1 TITLE I—EXTENSION AND IM2 PROVEMENT OF ADOPTION 

3 INCENTIVES 

4 SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF ADOPTION INCENTIVES PROGRAM. 

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

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

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

8 of fiscal years 2001 through 2007,’’; 

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

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

11 (3) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘each of fis12 cal years 2002 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘a fiscal 

13 year’’; and 

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

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

16 (b) ADDITIONAL INCENTIVE PAYMENT FOR EXCEEDING

17 THE HIGHEST EVER FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION RATE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 473A(d) of such Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 673b(b)(1)) is amended— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre21 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘para22 graph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and 

23 (3)’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘this sec2 tion’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘para3 graph (1)’’; and 

4 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(3) INCREASED INCENTIVE PAYMENT FOR EX7 CEEDING THE HIGHEST EVER FOSTER CHILD ADOP8 TION RATE.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If— 

10 ‘‘(i) for fiscal year 2009 or any fiscal 

11 year thereafter the total amount of adoption 

12 incentive payments payable under para13 graph (1) are less than the amount appro14 priated under subsection (h) for the fiscal 

15 year; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) a State’s foster child adoption 

17 rate for that fiscal year exceeds the highest 

18 ever foster child adoption rate determined 

19 for the State, 

20 then the adoption incentive payment otherwise 

21 determined under paragraph (1) for the State 

22 shall be increased, subject to subparagraph (C), 

23 by the amount determined for the State under 

24 subparagraph (B). 


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1 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF INCREASE.—For purposes 

2 of subparagraph (A), the amount determined 

3 under this subparagraph with respect to a State 

4 and a fiscal year is the amount equal to the 

5 product of— 

6 ‘‘(i) $1,000; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the excess of— 

8 ‘‘(I) the number of foster child 

9 adoptions in the State in the fiscal 

10 year; over 

11 ‘‘(II) the product (rounded to the 

12 nearest whole number) of— 

13 ‘‘(aa) the highest ever foster 

14 child adoption rate determined for 

15 the State; and 

16 ‘‘(bb) the number of children 

17 in foster care under the super18 vision of the State on the last day 

19 of the preceding fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘(C) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT IF INSUFFI21 CIENT FUNDS AVAILABLE.—For any fiscal year, 

22 if the total amount of increases in adoption in23 centive payments otherwise payable under this 

24 paragraph for a fiscal year exceeds the amount 

25 available for such increases for the fiscal year, 


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1 the amount of the increase payable to each State 

2 under this paragraph for the fiscal year shall 

3 be— 

4 ‘‘(i) the amount of the increase that 

5 would otherwise be payable to the State 

6 under this paragraph for the fiscal year; 

7 multiplied by 

8 ‘‘(ii) the percentage represented by the 

9 amount so available for the fiscal year, di10 vided by the total amount of increases oth11 erwise payable under this paragraph for the 

12 fiscal year.’’. 

13 (2) DEFINITIONS.—Subsection (g) of section 

14 473A of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b) is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(7) HIGHEST EVER FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION

17 RATE.—The term ‘highest ever foster child adoption 

18 rate’ means, with respect to any fiscal year, the high19 est foster child adoption rate determined for any fis20 cal year in the period that begins with fiscal year 

21 1998 and ends with the preceding fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(8) FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION RATE.—The term 

23 ‘foster child adoption rate’ means, with respect to a 

24 State and a fiscal year, the percentage determined by 

25 dividing— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the number of foster child adoptions fi2 nalized in the State during the fiscal year; by 

3 ‘‘(B) the number of children in foster care 

4 under the supervision of the State on the last 

5 day of the preceding fiscal year.’’. 

6 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (A) STATE ELIGIBILITY.—Section 

8 473A(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(b)(2)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

11 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

12 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

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

14 and 

15 (iii) by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(C) the State’s foster child adoption rate for the 

18 fiscal year exceeds the highest ever foster child adop19 tion rate determined for the State;’’. 

20 (B) DATA.—Section 473A(c)(2) of such Act 

21 (42 U.S.C. 673b(c)(2)), as amended by subsection 

22 (a)(3), is amended by inserting ‘‘, and the foster 

23 child adoption rate for the State for the fiscal 

24 year,’’ after ‘‘during a fiscal year,’’. 


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1 (c) INCREASE IN INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR SPECIAL

2 NEEDS ADOPTIONS AND OLDER CHILD ADOPTIONS.—Sec3 tion 473A(d)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(d)(1)) is fur4 ther amended— 

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

6 and inserting ‘‘$3,000’’; and 

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

8 and inserting ‘‘$8,000’’. 

9 (d) UPDATING OF FISCAL YEAR USED IN DETER10 MINING BASE NUMBERS OF ADOPTIONS.—Section 473A(g) 

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

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

13 all that follows and inserting ‘‘means, with respect to 

14 any fiscal year, the number of foster child adoptions 

15 in the State in fiscal year 2007.’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

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

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

19 (B) by striking ‘‘means’’ and all that fol20 lows and inserting ‘‘means, with respect to any 

21 fiscal year, the number of special needs adop22 tions that are not older child adoptions in the 

23 State in fiscal year 2007.’’; and 

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

25 all that follows and inserting ‘‘means, with respect to 


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1 any fiscal year, the number of older child adoptions 

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

3 (e) 24-MONTH AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS TO

4 STATES.—Section 473A(e) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(e)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘2- 

7 YEAR’’ and inserting ‘‘24-MONTH’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘through the end of the suc9 ceeding fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘for a period of 24 

10 months beginning with the month in which the pay11 ments are made’’. 

12 SEC. 102. PROMOTION OF ADOPTION OF CHILDREN WITH 

13 SPECIAL NEEDS. 

14 (a) ELIMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY BASED ON AFDC 

15 AND SSI INCOME STANDARDS.—Section 473(a)(2) of the 

16 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)(2)) is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking clauses (i) 

18 and (ii) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(i)(I) at the time of termination of parental 

20 rights was in the care of a public or licensed private 

21 child placement agency or Indian tribal organization 

22 pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement, relin23 quishment, or involuntary removal of the child from 

24 the home, and the State has determined, pursuant to 

25 criterion or criteria established by the State (which 


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1 may, but need not, include a judicial determination), 

2 that continuation in the home would be contrary to 

3 the safety or welfare of such child; 

4 ‘‘(II) meets all medical or disability require5 ments of title XVI with respect to eligibility for sup6 plemental security income benefits; or 

7 ‘‘(III) was residing in a foster family home or 

8 child care institution with the child’s minor parent, 

9 provided that the child’s minor parent was in such 

10 foster family home or child care institution pursuant 

11 to a voluntary placement agreement, relinquishment, 

12 or involuntary removal of the child from the home, 

13 and the State has determined, pursuant to criterion 

14 or criteria established by the State (which may, but 

15 need not, include judicial determination), that con16 tinuation in the home would be contrary to the safety 

17 or welfare of such child; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) has been determined by the State, pursuant 

19 to subsection (c), to be a child with special needs.’’; 

20 and 

21 (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(C) A child who meets the requirements of subpara24 graph (A)(ii), who was determined eligible for adoption as25 sistance payments under this part with respect to a prior 


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1 adoption (or who would have been determined eligible for 

2 such payments had the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 

3 1997 been in effect at the time that such determination 

4 would have been made), and who is available for adoption 

5 because the prior adoption has been dissolved and the pa6 rental rights of the adoptive parents have been terminated 

7 or because the child’s adoptive parents have died, shall be 

8 treated as meeting the requirements of this paragraph for 

9 purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(ii).’’. 

10 (b) EXCEPTION.—Section 473(a) of the Social Security 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

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

14 subsection, no payment may be made to parents with re15 spect to any child that— 

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

17 needs under subsection (c); 

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

19 States; and 

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

21 or was brought into the United States for the purpose 

22 of being adopted. 

23 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed as pro24 hibiting payments under this part for a child described in 

25 subparagraph (A) that is placed in foster care subsequent 


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1 to the failure, as determined by the State, of the initial 

2 adoption of such child by the parents described in such sub3 paragraph.’’. 

4 (c) REQUIREMENT FOR USE OF STATE SAVINGS.—Sec5 tion 473(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)), 

6 as amended by subsection (b), is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following: 

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

9 amount of savings (if any) in State expenditures under this 

10 part resulting from the application of paragraph (2) on and 

11 after the effective date of the amendments to such paragraph 

12 made by section 102(a) of the Improved Adoption Incentives 

13 and Relative Guardianship Support Act of 2008 to provide 

14 to children or families any service (including post-adoption 

15 services) that may be provided under this part or part B.’’. 

16 (d) DETERMINATION OF A CHILD WITH SPECIAL

17 NEEDS.—Section 473(c) of the Social Security Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 673(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(c) For purposes of this section, a child shall not be 

20 considered a child with special needs unless— 

21 ‘‘(1) the State has determined, pursuant to a cri22 terion or criteria established by the State (which may, 

23 but need not, include a judicial determination), that 

24 the child cannot or should not be returned to the home 

25 of his parents; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the State has determined— 

2 ‘‘(A) that there exists with respect to the 

3 child a specific factor or condition (such as eth4 nic background, age, or membership in a minor5 ity or sibling group, or the presence of factors 

6 such as medical conditions or physical, mental, 

7 or emotional handicaps) because of which it is 

8 reasonable to conclude that the child cannot be 

9 placed with adoptive parents without providing 

10 adoption assistance under this section and med11 ical assistance under title XIX; and 

12 ‘‘(B) that except where it would be against 

13 the best interests of the child because of such fac14 tors as the existence of significant emotional ties 

15 with prospective adoptive parents while in the 

16 care of such parents as a foster child, a reason17 able, but unsuccessful, effort has been made to 

18 place the child with appropriate adoptive par19 ents without providing adoption assistance 

20 under this section or medical assistance under 

21 title XIX. 

22 A child who meets all medical or disability require23 ments of title XVI with respect to eligibility for sup24 plemental security income benefits shall be deemed to 


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1 be a child for whom the determination required by 

2 subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) has been made.’’. 

3 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the 

5 amendments made by this section shall apply to 

6 adoption assistance agreements entered into on or 

7 after October 1, 2012. 

8 (2) EARLIER PHASED-IN APPLICATION ON THE

9 BASIS OF AGE.—In the case of any adoption assist10 ance agreement entered into on or after— 

11 (A) October 1, 2010, the amendments made 

12 by this section shall apply to the agreement if 

13 the child on whose behalf the agreement is en14 tered into has attained age 12 on or before the 

15 date on which the agreement is executed; and 

16 (B) October 1, 2011, the amendments made 

17 by this section shall apply to the agreement if 

18 the child on whose behalf the agreement is en19 tered into has attained age 6 on or before the 

20 date on which the agreement is executed. 


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1 TITLE II—SUPPORT FOR 

2 RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIPS 

3 SEC. 201. RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAY4 MENTS FOR CHILDREN. 

5 (a) OPTION FOR STATES TO ENHANCE AND SUBSIDIZE

6 A RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP PROGRAM.— 

7 (1) STATE PLAN AMENDMENT.—Section 

8 471(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 671(a)(1)) is amended— 

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘provides’’; 

11 (B) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

12 and 

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

14 ‘‘(B) at the option of the State, provides for rel15 ative guardianship assistance payments in accord16 ance with subsection (d) of section 473;’’. 

17 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 473 of such Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 673) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(d) RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAY20 MENTS FOR CHILDREN.— 

21 ‘‘(1) RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE

22 AGREEMENT.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive pay24 ments under section 474(a)(5), a State shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) negotiate and enter into a written, 

2 binding relative guardianship assistance 

3 agreement with the relative guardian of a 

4 child who meets the requirements of para5 graph (3)(B); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) provide the relative guardian 

7 with a copy of the agreement. 

8 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The 

9 agreement shall specify, at a minimum— 

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

11 which, each relative guardianship assistance 

12 payment will be provided under the agree13 ment; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the additional services and assist15 ance that the child and relative guardian 

16 will be eligible for under the agreement; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the procedure by which the rel18 ative guardian may apply for additional 

19 services as needed, provided the agency and 

20 relative guardian agree on the additional 

21 services as specified in the agreement; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) that the State will pay up to 

23 $2,000 of nonrecurring expenses associated 

24 with obtaining legal guardianship of the 

25 child. 


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1 ‘‘(C) INTERSTATE APPLICATION.—The 

2 agreement shall provide that the agreement shall 

3 remain in effect without regard to the State resi4 dency of the relative guardian. 

5 ‘‘(D) FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT OF NON6 RECURRING EXPENSES.—A State’s payment of 

7 nonrecurring guardianship expenses under a rel8 ative guardianship assistance agreement in ac9 cordance with subparagraph (B)(iv) shall be 

10 treated as a direct expenditure made for the 

11 proper and efficient administration of the State 

12 plan for purposes of section 474(a)(3)(E). 

13 ‘‘(2) RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAY14 MENT.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara16 graphs (B) and (C), the relative guardianship 

17 assistance payment shall be based on consider18 ation of the circumstances of the relative guard19 ian and the needs of the child. 

20 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM PAYMENT.—A 

21 relative guardianship assistance payment shall 

22 not be less than the adoption assistance payment 

23 the State would have made on behalf of the child 

24 under an adoption assistance agreement entered 

25 into under subsection (a) and shall not exceed 


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1 the foster care maintenance payment which 

2 would have been paid if the child had remained 

3 in a foster family home. 

4 ‘‘(C) PERIODIC ADJUSTMENTS.—A relative 

5 guardianship assistance payment may be read6 justed periodically, with the concurrence of the 

7 relative guardian (which may be specified in the 

8 relative guardianship assistance agreement), de9 pending upon changes in the circumstances of 

10 the relative guardian and the needs of the child. 

11 ‘‘(3) CHILD’S ELIGIBILITY FOR A RELATIVE

12 GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAYMENT.— 

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

14 relative guardianship assistance payment under 

15 this subsection if the State agency determines the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(i) The child— 

18 ‘‘(I) has been removed from his or 

19 her home pursuant to a voluntary 

20 placement agreement or as a result of 

21 a judicial determination to the effect 

22 that continuation in the home would be 

23 contrary to the welfare of the child; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) in the month prior to the es2 tablishment of the legal guardianship, 

3 is eligible for foster care maintenance 

4 payments under section 472. 

5 ‘‘(ii)(I) Being returned home or adopt6 ed are not appropriate permanency options 

7 for the child. 

8 ‘‘(II) In the case of a child who has 

9 been removed from the home for reasons pri10 marily associated with parental substance 

11 abuse and addiction, attempts to engage the 

12 family in residential, comprehensive family 

13 treatment programs are inappropriate or 

14 have been unsuccessful or such programs are 

15 unavailable. 

16 ‘‘(iii) The child demonstrates a strong 

17 attachment to the relative guardian and the 

18 relative guardian has a strong commitment 

19 to caring permanently for the child. 

20 ‘‘(iv) The relative guardian satisfies 

21 the requirements of subparagraph (B). 

22 ‘‘(v) With respect to a child who has 

23 attained 14 years of age, the child has been 

24 consulted regarding the relative guardian25 ship arrangement. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR RELATIVE

2 GUARDIANS.—A relative guardian satisfies the 

3 requirements of this subparagraph if the rel4 ative— 

5 ‘‘(i) is the grandparent or other rel6 ative of a child on whose behalf relative 

7 guardianship assistance payments are to be 

8 made; 

9 ‘‘(ii) has satisfied the background 

10 checks required under section 471(a)(20); 

11 ‘‘(iii) has met the State’s requirements 

12 established under section 471(a)(10) to be a 

13 foster family home; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) assumes legal guardianship of 

15 such child and commits to caring for the 

16 child on a permanent basis. 

17 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF SIBLINGS.—With re18 spect to a child described in subparagraph (A) 

19 whose sibling or siblings are not so described— 

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

21 child shall be placed in the same relative 

22 guardianship arrangement unless it can be 

23 demonstrated that it is inappropriate to do 

24 so; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) relative guardianship assistance 

2 payments may be paid for the child and 

3 each sibling so placed.’’. 

4 (c) PAYMENTS TO STATES.— 

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

6 (42 U.S.C. 674(a)) is amended— 

7 (A) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘foster 

8 or adoptive parents and the members of the staff 

9 of State-licensed or State-approved child care in10 stitutions providing care to foster and adopted 

11 children receiving assistance under this part, in 

12 ways that increase the ability of such current or 

13 prospective parents, staff members, and institu14 tions to provide support and assistance to foster 

15 and adopted children,’’ and inserting ‘‘foster 

16 parents, adoptive parents, or relative guardians 

17 and the members of the staff of State-licensed or 

18 State-approved child care institutions providing 

19 care to foster children, adoptive children, or chil20 dren living with a relative guardian, who are re21 ceiving assistance under this part, in ways that 

22 increase the ability of such current or prospective 

23 parents, relative guardians, staff members, and 

24 institutions to provide support and assistance to 


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1 foster children, adoptive children, or children liv2 ing with a relative guardian,’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; plus’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(5) an amount equal to the Federal medical as7 sistance percentage (as defined in section 1905(b)) of 

8 the total amount expended during such quarter as rel9 ative guardianship assistance payments under section 

10 473(d) pursuant to relative guardianship assistance 

11 agreements.’’. 

12 (2) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR RELATIVE GUARD13 IANSHIP PLACEMENT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 473A of the So15 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673b) is amended 

16 by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(j) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR RELATIVE GUARDIAN18 SHIP PLACEMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) USE OF UNAWARDED ADOPTION INCENTIVE

20 FUNDS TO MAKE RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP INCENTIVE

21 PAYMENTS.—If in any fiscal year the total amount of 

22 adoption incentive payments payable under sub23 section (d) are less than the amount appropriated 

24 under subsection (h) for the fiscal year, States that 

25 have established a relative guardianship assistance 


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1 program under section 471(a)(1)(B) shall be awarded, 

2 in addition to any adoption incentive payments made 

3 to such States under subsection (d), relative guard4 ianship incentive payments from the portion of such 

5 amount that is in excess of the total amount of adop6 tion incentive payments to be made under such sub7 section for such fiscal year. 

8 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—Subject to paragraph 

9 (3), the relative guardianship incentive payment pay10 able to a State for a fiscal year under this subsection 

11 shall be equal to— 

12 ‘‘(A) in the case of the first fiscal year in 

13 which the State establishes a relative guardian14 ship assistance program under section 

15 471(a)(1)(B), the product of $1,000 and the 

16 number of relative guardianship assistance 

17 agreements entered into under section 473(d) in 

18 the State during that fiscal year; and 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of any succeeding fiscal 

20 year, the product of $1,000 and the amount (if 

21 any) by which the number of relative guardian22 ship assistance agreements entered into under 

23 section 473(d) in the State for the fiscal year ex24 ceed the base number of relative guardianship 


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1 assistance agreements in the State for the fiscal 

2 year. 

3 ‘‘(3) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT IF INSUFFICIENT

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

5 amount of relative guardianship incentive payments 

6 otherwise payable under this subsection for a fiscal 

7 year exceeds the amount available for such payments 

8 for the fiscal year, the amount of the relative guard9 ianship incentive payment payable to each State 

10 under this subsection for the fiscal year shall be— 

11 ‘‘(A) the amount of the relative guardian12 ship incentive payment that would otherwise be 

13 payable to the State under this subsection for the 

14 fiscal year; multiplied by 

15 ‘‘(B) the percentage represented by the 

16 amount so available for the fiscal year, divided 

17 by the total amount of relative guardianship in18 centive payments otherwise payable under this 

19 section for the fiscal year.’’. 

20 (B) DEFINITION OF BASE NUMBER OF REL21 ATIVE GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE AGREE22 MENTS.—Subsection (g) of section 473A of such 

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 673b), as amended by section 

24 101(b)(2), is amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(9) BASE NUMBER OF RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP

2 ASSISTANCE AGREEMENTS.—The term ‘base number of 

3 relative guardianship assistance agreements’ means, 

4 with respect to a fiscal year, the number of relative 

5 guardianship assistance agreements entered into 

6 under section 473(d) in the State in the fiscal year 

7 for which the number is the greatest in the period that 

8 begins with the first fiscal year in which the State es9 tablishes a relative guardianship assistance program 

10 under section 471(a)(1)(B) and ends with the pre11 ceding fiscal year.’’. 

12 (C) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection 

13 (f) of section 473A of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b) 

14 is amended by inserting ‘‘and relative navigator 

15 and support services’’ after ‘‘post-adoption serv16 ices’’. 

17 (d) MAINTAINING ELIGIBILITY FOR ADOPTION ASSIST18 ANCE PROGRAM AND TITLE XIX.—Section 473 of the Social 

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

20 (1) in subsection (a), as amended by subsections 

21 (b) and (c) of section 102, by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(9) A child on whose behalf relative guardianship as24 sistance payments have been made under section 473(d) and 

25 who pursuant to subsection (c) has been determined to be 


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1 a child with special needs, shall be eligible for adoption as2 sistance as if no relative guardianship assistance agreement 

3 or payments had been made. The State shall make pay4 ments of nonrecurring adoption expenses under this section 

5 to the adoptive parents of such a child.’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (b)(3)— 

7 (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 

8 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

10 period at the end and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(C) with respect to whom relative guardianship 

13 assistance payments are being made under subsection 

14 (d).’’. 

15 (e) ELIGIBILITY FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES

16 AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING VOUCHERS FOR CHILDREN

17 WHO EXIT FOSTER CARE FOR RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP

18 OR ADOPTION AFTER AGE 16.— 

19 (1) INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES.—Section 

20 477(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 677(a)) is amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para22 graph (5); 

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

24 paragraph (6) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(7) to provide the services referred to in this 

2 subsection to children who, after attaining 16 years 

3 of age, have left foster care for relative guardianship 

4 or adoption.’’. 

5 (2) EDUCATION AND TRAINING VOUCHERS.—Sec6 tion 477(i)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 677(i)(2)) is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘from foster care after attaining 

8 age 16’’ and inserting ‘‘or entering relative guardian9 ship from foster care after attaining 16 years of age’’. 

10 (f) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 (1) IV–E STATE PLAN REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 (A) NOTICE TO RELATIVES.—Section 

13 471(a)(19) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(19)) is 

14 amended— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘that the State’’ and in16 serting ‘‘that— 

17 ‘‘(A) the State’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(B) within 60 days of the removal of the 

20 child from the custody of the child’s parent or 

21 parents, the State shall exercise due diligence to 

22 identify and provide notice to all adult grand23 parents and other adult relatives of the child (in24 cluding any other adult relatives suggested by 


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1 the parents), subject to exceptions due to family 

2 or domestic violence, that— 

3 ‘‘(i) specifies that the child has been or 

4 is being removed from the custody of the 

5 child’s parent or parents; 

6 ‘‘(ii) explains the options the relative 

7 has under Federal, State, and local law to 

8 participate in the child’s care and place9 ment, including any options that may be 

10 lost by failing to respond to the notice; 

11 ‘‘(iii) describes the requirements under 

12 paragraph (10) to become a foster family 

13 home and the additional services and sup14 ports that are available for children placed 

15 in such a home; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) if the State has elected the option 

17 to make relative guardianship assistance 

18 payments under paragraph (1)(B), de19 scribes how the relative may enter into an 

20 agreement with the State under section 

21 473(d) to receive such payments; and 

22 ‘‘(C) with respect to any minor child (ex23 cluding minor heads of households and their 

24 spouses) receiving assistance under the State 

25 program funded under part A (or under a State 


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1 program funded with qualified State expendi2 tures (as defined in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i))) 

3 who is in the care of a nonparent caretaker rel4 ative as a result of interaction with the State 

5 agency responsible for administering the pro6 gram authorized under this part, and who does 

7 not have a parent in the home, the State shall 

8 provide the nonparent caretaker relative with no9 tice that— 

10 ‘‘(i) explains the options the relative 

11 has under Federal, State, and local law to 

12 participate in the child’s care and place13 ment, including any options that may be 

14 lost by failing to respond to the notice; 

15 ‘‘(ii) describes the requirements under 

16 section 471(a)(10) to become a foster family 

17 home and the additional services and sup18 ports that are available for children placed 

19 in such a home; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) if the State has elected the option 

21 to make relative guardianship assistance 

22 payments under paragraph (1)(B), de23 scribes how the relative may enter into an 

24 agreement under section 473(d) with the 

25 State to receive such payments;’’. 


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1 (B) INFORMATION ON ADOPTION TAX CRED2 IT.—Section 471(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 671(a)) is amended— 

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

5 paragraph (26); 

6 (ii) by striking the period at the end of 

7 paragraph (27) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (iii) by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(28) provides that the State will inform any in11 dividual who is adopting, or whom the State is made 

12 aware is considering adopting, a child who is in fos13 ter care under the responsibility of the State of the 

14 potential eligibility of the individual for a Federal 

15 tax credit under section 23 of the Internal Revenue 

16 Code of 1986 (without the need to document any 

17 adoption-related expenses, in the case of the adoption 

18 of a child with special needs (as defined in section 

19 23(d)(3) of such Code)).’’. 

20 (2) TANF PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE

21 NOTICE.—Section 409(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 609(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(16) PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE WITH NO2 TICE REQUIREMENTS FOR RELATIVES UNDER PART

3 E.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter5 mines that a State to which a grant is made 

6 under section 403 in a fiscal year has not exer7 cised the due diligence required under section 

8 471(a)(19)(C) during the fiscal year, the Sec9 retary shall reduce the grant payable to the State 

10 under section 403(a)(1) for the immediately suc11 ceeding fiscal year by an amount equal to not 

12 less than 1 percent and not more than 3.5 per13 cent of the State family assistance grant. 

14 ‘‘(B) PENALTY BASED ON SEVERITY OF

15 FAILURE.—The Secretary shall impose reduc16 tions under subparagraph (A) with respect to a 

17 fiscal year based on the degree of noncompli18 ance.’’. 

19 (g) CASE PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—Section 475(1) of 

20 such Act (42 U.S.C. 675(1)) is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following: 

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

23 whom the permanency plan is placement with a 

24 relative and receipt of relative guardianship asVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:40 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038

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1 sistance payments under section 473(d), a de2 scription of— 

3 ‘‘(i) the steps that the agency has taken 

4 to determine that it is not appropriate for 

5 the child to be returned home or adopted; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the reasons why a permanent 

7 placement with a fit and willing relative 

8 through a relative guardianship assistance 

9 arrangement is in the child’s best interests; 

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

11 meets the eligibility requirements for a rel12 ative guardianship assistance payment; 

13 ‘‘(iv) the efforts the agency has made to 

14 discuss adoption by the child’s relative 

15 guardian who is to receive such payments 

16 as a more permanent alternative to legal 

17 guardianship and, in the case of such a rel18 ative guardian who has chosen not to pur19 sue adoption, documentation of the reasons 

20 therefor; and 

21 ‘‘(v) the efforts made by the State agen22 cy to secure the consent of the child’s parent 

23 or parents to the relative guardianship as24 sistance arrangement, or the reasons why 

25 the efforts were not made.’’. 


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1 (h) REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT CRIMINAL RECORDS

2 AND CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT REGISTRY CHECKS.— 

3 Section 471(a)(20) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding 

6 clause (i) by striking ‘‘foster or adoptive parent before 

7 the foster or adoptive parent may be finally approved 

8 for placement of a child regardless of whether foster 

9 care maintenance payments or adoption assistance 

10 payments’’ and inserting ‘‘foster parent, adoptive 

11 parent, or relative guardian before the foster parent, 

12 adoptive parent, or relative guardian may be finally 

13 approved for placement of a child regardless of wheth14 er foster care maintenance payments, adoption assist15 ance payments, or relative guardianship assistance 

16 payments’’; and 

17 (2) in subparagraph (B)(i) (as redesignated by 

18 section 152(b)(2) of Public Law 109–248), by striking 

19 ‘‘prospective foster or adoptive parent and on any 

20 other adult living in the home’’ and all that follows 

21 through ‘‘adoption assistance payments’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘prospective foster parent, adoptive parent, or rel23 ative guardian and on any other adult living in the 

24 home of such a prospective parent or relative guard25 ian, and request any other State in which any such 


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1 prospective parent, relative guardian, or other adult 

2 has resided in the preceding 5 years, to enable the 

3 State to check any child abuse and neglect registry 

4 maintained by such other State for such information, 

5 before the prospective foster parent, adoptive parent, 

6 or relative may be finally approved for placement of 

7 a child, regardless of whether foster care maintenance 

8 payments, adoption assistance payments, or relative 

9 guardianship assistance payments’’. 

10 (i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

11 section shall take effect on October 1, 2008, and shall apply 

12 to relative guardianship assistance agreements executed on 

13 or after that date. 

14 SEC. 202. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS REGARDING LICENS15 ING OF IMMEDIATE RELATIVE FOSTER PAR16 ENTS. 

17 Title XI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 

18 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1130A the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 1130B. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS REGARDING LI21 CENSING OF IMMEDIATE RELATIVE FOSTER 

22 PARENTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.—The term 

25 ‘children in foster care’ means children who are 


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1 placed in foster family homes receiving funds under 

2 part B or E of title IV. 

3 ‘‘(2) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—The term 

4 ‘demonstration projects’ means the projects conducted 

5 under this section. 

6 ‘‘(3) DIRECTLY FUNDED TRIBAL IV–E PRO7 GRAM.—The term ‘directly funded tribal IV–E pro8 gram’ means a program established under section 

9 479B by an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or trib10 al consortium (as defined in subsection (a) of such 

11 section). 

12 ‘‘(4) IMMEDIATE RELATIVE FOSTER PARENT.— 

13 The term ‘immediate relative foster parent’ means, 

14 with respect to a child in foster care, a foster parent 

15 of the child who is an adult sibling, grandparent, 

16 aunt, or uncle of the child. 

17 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any of the 

18 50 States or the District of Columbia with a State 

19 plan approved under section 471(a). 

20 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

21 not more than 10 demonstration projects to determine the 

22 extent to which flexibility in the application of certain li23 censing standards to foster family homes of immediate rel24 ative foster parents results in improved well-being and per25 manency outcomes for children in foster care. 


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1 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) NUMBER OF PROJECTS.—Of the demonstra3 tion projects conducted under this section, at least— 

4 ‘‘(A) 2 projects shall be conducted in States 

5 with a large number of rural areas, as deter6 mined by the Secretary; 

7 ‘‘(B) 1 project shall be conducted in a State 

8 in which the State plan under this part is ad9 ministered by a political subdivision of the 

10 State; and 

11 ‘‘(C) 1 project shall be conducted by a di12 rectly funded tribal IV–E program. 

13 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN LICENSING

14 STANDARDS.—For purposes of placing a child in fos15 ter care in the home of an immediate relative foster 

16 parent of the child, and determining whether the 

17 home satisfies standards established by a State or di18 rectly funded tribal IV–E program for purposes of 

19 complying with section 471(a)(10), a State or directly 

20 funded tribal IV–E program selected to conduct a 

21 demonstration project under this section may modify 

22 the extent to which the home is required to comply 

23 with any or all of the following standards in order to 

24 be a licensed foster family home for the child: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Standards relating to the number or 

2 size of bedrooms in the home, but only if the 

3 State or tribal program applies appropriate 

4 safeguards for age and gender. 

5 ‘‘(B) Standards relating to the number of 

6 bathrooms in the home, but only if the State or 

7 tribal program applies appropriate safeguards 

8 for age and gender. 

9 ‘‘(C) Standards relating to overall square 

10 footage of the home. 

11 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION; DURATION.—The dem12 onstration projects shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) begin not later than 1 year after the 

14 date of enactment of this section; and 

15 ‘‘(B) be conducted for a 2-year period. 

16 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

17 on which the projects are completed, the Secretary shall sub18 mit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 

19 of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the 

20 Senate a report that— 

21 ‘‘(1) evaluates, with respect to each State or di22 rectly funded tribal IV–E program conducting a 

23 project, the impact of the projects on the well-being of 

24 children in foster care and the extent to which the 

25 projects result in improved permanency outcomes for 


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1 children in foster care, based on the past performance 

2 of the State (or, in the case of a directly funded tribal 

3 IV–E program, based on the past performance of each 

4 State in which the program is conducted); and 

5 ‘‘(2) includes such recommendations for adminis6 trative or legislative action as the Secretary deter7 mines appropriate.’’. 

8 SEC. 203. GRANTS TO CARRY OUT KINSHIP NAVIGATOR 

9 PROGRAMS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title IV of the Social Se11 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 620–629i) is amended by inserting 

12 after section 426 the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 427. GRANTS TO CARRY OUT KINSHIP NAVIGATOR 

14 PROGRAMS. 

15 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this section are— 

16 ‘‘(1) to establish kinship navigator programs in 

17 States, large metropolitan areas, and tribal areas to 

18 assist kinship caregivers in navigating their way 

19 through programs and services, to help the caregivers 

20 learn about and obtain assistance to meet the needs 

21 of the children they are raising and their own needs; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(2) to promote effective partnerships among 

24 public and private agencies, including community25 based and faith-based agencies, to help the agencies 


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1 described in this paragraph more effectively and effi2 ciently serve kinship care families and address the 

3 fragmentation that creates barriers to meeting the 

4 needs of those families. 

5 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘Assist7 ant Secretary’ means the Assistant Secretary for Chil8 dren and Families of the Department of Health and 

9 Human Services. 

10 ‘‘(2) LARGE METROPOLITAN AREA.—The term 

11 ‘large metropolitan area’ means a metropolitan sta12 tistical area, as defined by the Bureau of the Census, 

13 with a population of not less than 1,000,000. 

14 ‘‘(3) METROPOLITAN AGENCY.—The term ‘metro15 politan agency’ means an agency serving a large met16 ropolitan area, or a county or political subdivision of 

17 a large metropolitan area. 

18 ‘‘(4) TRIBAL AREA.—The term ‘tribal area’ 

19 means the area served by a tribal organization. 

20 ‘‘(5) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘tribal 

21 organization’— 

22 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given that term in 

23 section 479B(a); and 

24 ‘‘(B) includes a consortium of tribal organi25 zations described in subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary may 

3 make grants to eligible entities to pay for the Federal 

4 share (as determined by the Assistant Secretary) of 

5 the cost of carrying out kinship navigator programs. 

6 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re7 ceive a grant under this section, an entity shall be a 

8 State agency, metropolitan agency, or tribal organi9 zation, with experience in— 

10 ‘‘(A) addressing the needs of kinship care11 givers or children; and 

12 ‘‘(B) connecting the children or caregivers 

13 with appropriate services and assistance, such as 

14 services and assistance provided by— 

15 ‘‘(i) an area agency on aging under 

16 the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 

17 3001 et seq.); or 

18 ‘‘(ii) an agency with jurisdiction over 

19 child welfare, income-based financial assist20 ance, human services, or health matters, or 

21 a public entity that links family resource 

22 and support programs, for the State, large 

23 metropolitan area, or Indian tribe involved. 

24 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION OF GRANTS.—Of the funds 

25 made available for grants under this section for each 


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1 fiscal year, the Assistant Secretary shall use not less 

2 than 50 percent to make grants to State agencies. 

3 ‘‘(d) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal share 

4 of the cost may be provided in cash. Not more than 50 per5 cent of the non-Federal share of the cost may be provided 

6 in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or 

7 services. 

8 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

10 grant under this section, an entity shall submit an 

11 application to the Assistant Secretary at such time, 

12 in such manner, and containing such information as 

13 the Assistant Secretary may require, including, at a 

14 minimum, the information described in paragraph 

15 (2). 

16 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The application shall include 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) A description of the steps the entity 

19 will take during the first 6 months of the grant 

20 period to— 

21 ‘‘(i) identify gaps in services for kin22 ship care families in the State, large metro23 politan area, or tribal area to be served and 

24 the specific activities that are needed to 

25 bridge the gaps; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) convene a group of partners to as2 sist in the operation of the kinship navi3 gator program funded through the grant; 

4 ‘‘(iii) utilize or develop relevant tech5 nology; 

6 ‘‘(iv) conduct outreach to kinship care7 givers about the kinship navigator program; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(v) develop a plan for reaching kin10 ship caregivers, ensuring that the caregivers 

11 can access the kinship navigator program, 

12 and following up to ensure that the care13 givers actually receive necessary services 

14 and supports. 

15 ‘‘(B) An assurance that the entity will pro16 vide at least the core activities specified in sub17 paragraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (f)(2) for 

18 kinship care families through the kinship navi19 gator program. 

20 ‘‘(C) A description of the activities the enti21 ty expects to offer over the grant period and the 

22 entity’s initial projection of the number of chil23 dren and kinship caregivers likely to be served. 


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1 ‘‘(D) A description of how the entity will 

2 involve in the planning and operation of the kin3 ship navigator program, on an ongoing basis— 

4 ‘‘(i) kinship caregivers; 

5 ‘‘(ii) youth raised or being raised by 

6 kinship caregivers; 

7 ‘‘(iii) representatives of kinship care 

8 support organizations; 

9 ‘‘(iv) relevant government agencies (in10 cluding agencies with jurisdiction over mat11 ters relating to aging, mental health, mental 

12 retardation or developmental disabilities, 

13 substance abuse treatment, criminal justice, 

14 health, youth services, human services, edu15 cation, income-based financial assistance, 

16 child welfare, child custody, guardianship, 

17 adoption, or child support enforcement); 

18 ‘‘(v)(I) not-for-profit service providers, 

19 including community-based and faith-based 

20 agencies; and 

21 ‘‘(II) educational institutions; and 

22 ‘‘(vi) other State or local agencies or 

23 systems that promote service coordination 

24 or provide information and referral services, 

25 including the entities that provide the 2–1– 


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1 1 or 3–1–1 information systems where ap2 plicable. 

3 ‘‘(E) A description of— 

4 ‘‘(i) how the entity will coordinate its 

5 activities with other State or local agencies 

6 or systems that promote service coordina7 tion or provide information and referral 

8 services for children, families, or older indi9 viduals, including the entities that provide 

10 the 2–1–1 or 3–1–1 information systems 

11 where applicable, so as to avoid duplication 

12 of services and the fragmentation of services 

13 that prevents kinship care families from 

14 getting the help the families need; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) how the entity will encourage re16 gional cooperation among agencies, particu17 larly agencies serving border communities 

18 that may cross jurisdictional lines, to en19 sure that kinship care families will get help. 

20 ‘‘(F) An assurance that the entity will re21 port at least annually to the Assistant Secretary, 

22 in a manner prescribed by the Assistant Sec23 retary, to ensure comparability of data across 

24 States, on— 


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1 ‘‘(i) activities established with the 

2 funds made available through grants made 

3 under this section; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the numbers and ages of the chil5 dren and caregivers assisted through the 

6 grants; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the types of the assistance pro8 vided; 

9 ‘‘(iv) the outcomes achieved with the 

10 assistance; and 

11 ‘‘(v) the barriers identified to meeting 

12 the needs of kinship care families and plans 

13 for addressing the barriers. 

14 ‘‘(G) An assurance that the entity, not later 

15 than 3 months after the end of the final year of 

16 the grant period, will submit a final report to 

17 the Administration for Children and Families 

18 that describes— 

19 ‘‘(i) the numbers and ages of the chil20 dren and caregivers assisted through the 

21 grants; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the types of assistance provided; 

23 ‘‘(iii) the outcomes achieved with the 

24 assistance; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the barriers to meeting the needs 

2 of kinship care families that were addressed 

3 through the grants; 

4 ‘‘(v) the plans of the entity to continue 

5 the kinship navigator program after the 

6 grant period has ended; 

7 ‘‘(vi) lessons learned during the grant 

8 period; and 

9 ‘‘(vii) recommendations about the con10 siderations that should be taken into ac11 count as the program carried out under this 

12 section is expanded throughout the United 

13 States. 

14 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under 

15 this section, the Assistant Secretary shall give pref16 erence to agencies or organizations that can dem17 onstrate that the agencies and organizations will offer 

18 the full array of activities described in subsection 

19 (f)(2). 

20 ‘‘(f) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An entity that receives a 

22 grant under this title may use the funds made avail23 able through the grant directly, or through grants or 

24 contracts with other public or private agencies, in25 cluding community-based or faith-based agencies, that 


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1 have experience in connecting kinship caregivers with 

2 appropriate services and assistance. 

3 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a 

4 grant under this title may use the funds made avail5 able through the grant for activities that help to con6 nect kinship caregivers with the services and assist7 ance required to meet the needs of the children the 

8 caregivers are raising and their own needs, such as— 

9 ‘‘(A) establishing and maintaining informa10 tion and referral systems that— 

11 ‘‘(i) assist, through toll free access that 

12 includes access to a live operator, kinship 

13 caregivers, kinship care service providers, 

14 kinship care support group facilitators, and 

15 others to learn about and link to— 

16 ‘‘(I) local kinship care service pro17 viders, support groups, respite care 

18 programs, and special services for in19 carcerated parents; 

20 ‘‘(II) eligibility and enrollment 

21 information for Federal, State, and 

22 local benefits, such as— 

23 ‘‘(aa) education (including 

24 preschool, elementary, secondary, 


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1 postsecondary, and special edu2 cation); 

3 ‘‘(bb) family support services, 

4 early intervention services, mental 

5 health services, substance abuse 

6 prevention and treatment services, 

7 services to address domestic vio8 lence problems, services to address 

9 HIV or AIDS, legal services, child 

10 support, housing assistance, and 

11 child care; 

12 ‘‘(cc) the disability insurance 

13 benefits program established under 

14 title II; 

15 ‘‘(dd) the program of block 

16 grants to States for temporary as17 sistance for needy families estab18 lished under part A; 

19 ‘‘(ee) the supplemental secu20 rity income program established 

21 under title XVI; 

22 ‘‘(ff) the medicaid program 

23 established under title XIX; 


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1 ‘‘(gg) the State children’s 

2 health insurance program estab3 lished under title XXI; 

4 ‘‘(hh) the program of Federal 

5 payments for foster care and 

6 adoption assistance established 

7 under part E, including the pro8 gram of relative guardianship as9 sistance payments for children es10 tablished under section 473(d); 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the supplemental nutri13 tion assistance program estab14 lished under the Food and Nutri15 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 

16 seq.); 

17 ‘‘(III) relevant training to assist 

18 kinship caregivers in obtaining benefits 

19 and services and performing their 

20 caregiving activities; and 

21 ‘‘(IV) relevant legal assistance 

22 and help in obtaining access to legal 

23 services, including access to legal aid 

24 service providers and statewide elder 

25 law hotlines; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) provide outreach to kinship care 

2 families, in collaboration with schools, pedi3 atric care clinics, kinship care organiza4 tions, senior citizen centers, agencies with 

5 jurisdiction over child welfare or human 

6 services, and others to link the families to 

7 the kinship navigator program and to serv8 ices and assistance; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) establish, distribute, and regu10 larly update kinship care resource guides, 

11 websites, or other relevant outreach mate12 rials; 

13 ‘‘(B) promoting partnerships between public 

14 and private agencies, including community15 based and faith-based agencies— 

16 ‘‘(i) to help the agencies described in 

17 this paragraph more effectively and effi18 ciently meet the needs of kinship care fami19 lies; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) to familiarize the agencies about 

21 the special needs of kinship care families, 

22 policies that affect their eligibility for a 

23 range of education, health, mental health, 

24 social, child care, and child welfare services, 

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1 sistance, and other services and benefits, 

2 and the means for making policies more 

3 supportive of kinship care families; 

4 ‘‘(C) establishing and supporting a kinship 

5 care ombudsman who has the authority to ac6 tively intervene with State agency staff or service 

7 providers with which the State agency contracts 

8 to help ensure, through various appropriate 

9 means including working with individual fami10 lies in an ongoing manner, that kinship care11 givers get the services they need and for which 

12 they are eligible; and 

13 ‘‘(D) supporting other activities that are de14 signed to assist kinship caregivers in obtaining 

15 benefits, services, and activities designed to im16 prove their caregiving. 

17 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2)(D), the entity may not use any of the funds 

19 made available through the grant for direct services to 

20 children in kinship care families or to kinship care21 givers. 

22 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM.—In admin23 istering the program carried out under this section, the As24 sistant Secretary for Children and Families shall periodiVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:40 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00083 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038

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1 cally consult with the Assistant Secretary for Aging of the 

2 Department of Health and Human Services. 

3 ‘‘(h) RESERVATION.—The Assistant Secretary may re4 serve not more than 1 percent of the funds made available 

5 under this section for a fiscal year to provide technical as6 sistance to the recipients of grants under this section related 

7 to the purposes of the grants. 

8 ‘‘(i) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money in the 

9 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 

10 there are appropriated to the Secretary for purposes of mak11 ing grants under this section, $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 

12 years 2009 through 2013.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 425 of such 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 625) is amended by inserting ‘‘(other than 

15 sections 426, 427, and 429)’’ after ‘‘this subpart’’. 

16 SEC. 204. AUTHORITY FOR COMPARISONS AND DISCLO17 SURES OF INFORMATION IN THE FEDERAL 

18 PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE FOR CHILD WEL19 FARE, FOSTER CARE, AND ADOPTION ASSIST20 ANCE PROGRAM PURPOSES. 

21 Section 453(j)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 653(j)(3)) is 

22 amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by in23 serting ‘‘, part B, part E,’’ after ‘‘this part’’. 


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1 TITLE III—TRIBAL FOSTER CARE 

2 AND ADOPTION ACCESS 

3 SEC. 301. EQUITABLE ACCESS FOR FOSTER CARE AND 

4 ADOPTION SERVICES FOR INDIAN CHILDREN 

5 IN TRIBAL AREAS. 

6 (a) AUTHORITY FOR DIRECT PAYMENT OF FEDERAL

7 TITLE IV–E FUNDS FOR PROGRAMS OPERATED BY INDIAN

8 TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part E of title IV of the So10 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 479B. PROGRAMS OPERATED BY INDIAN TRIBAL OR13 GANIZATIONS. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS OF INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANI15 ZATIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘Indian tribe’ and 

16 ‘tribal organization’ have the meanings given those terms 

17 in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu18 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

19 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.—Except as otherwise provided in 

20 this section, this part shall apply in the same manner as 

21 this part applies to a State to an Indian tribe, tribal orga22 nization, or tribal consortium that elects to operate a pro23 gram under this part and has a plan approved by the Sec24 retary under section 471 in accordance with this section. 

25 ‘‘(c) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An Indian tribe, tribal orga2 nization, or tribal consortium that elects to operate a 

3 program under this part shall include with its plan 

4 submitted under section 471 the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT.—Evidence 

6 demonstrating that the tribe, organization, or 

7 consortium has not had any uncorrected signifi8 cant or material audit exceptions under Federal 

9 grants or contracts that directly relate to the ad10 ministration of social services for the 3-year pe11 riod prior to the date on which the plan is sub12 mitted. 

13 ‘‘(B) SERVICE AREAS AND POPULATIONS.— 

14 For purposes of complying with section 

15 471(a)(3), a description of the service area or 

16 areas and populations to be served under the 

17 plan and an assurance that the plan shall be in 

18 effect in all service area or areas and for all pop19 ulations served by the tribe, organization, or con20 sortium. 

21 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

23 (ii), an assurance that the plan will pro24 vide— 


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1 ‘‘(I) foster care maintenance pay2 ments under section 472 only on behalf 

3 of children who satisfy the eligibility 

4 requirements of subsection (a) of that 

5 section; 

6 ‘‘(II) adoption assistance pay7 ments under section 473 pursuant to 

8 adoption assistance agreements only on 

9 behalf of children who satisfy the eligi10 bility requirements for such payments 

11 under that section; and 

12 ‘‘(III) at the option of the tribe, 

13 organization, or consortium, relative 

14 guardianship assistance payments in 

15 accordance with section 473(d) only on 

16 behalf of children who meet the require17 ments of paragraph (3)(B) of that sec18 tion. 

19 ‘‘(ii) SATISFACTION OF FOSTER CARE

20 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes 

21 of determining whether a child whose place22 ment and care are the responsibility of an 

23 Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal 

24 consortium with a plan approved under sec25 tion 471 in accordance with this section 


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1 satisfies the requirements of section 472(a), 

2 the following shall apply: 

3 ‘‘(I) USE OF AFFIDAVITS, ETC.— 

4 Only with respect to the first 12 

5 months for which such plan is in effect, 

6 the requirement in paragraph (1) of 

7 section 472(a) shall not be interpreted 

8 so as to prohibit the use of affidavits or 

9 nunc pro tunc orders as verification 

10 documents in support of the reasonable 

11 efforts and contrary to the welfare of 

12 the child judicial determinations re13 quired under that paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(II) AFDC ELIGIBILITY RE15 QUIREMENT.—The State plan ap16 proved under section 402 (as in effect 

17 on July 16, 1996) of the State in 

18 which the child resides at the time of 

19 removal from the home shall apply to 

20 the determination of whether the child 

21 satisfies paragraph (3) of section 

22 472(a). 

23 ‘‘(D) OPTION TO CLAIM IN-KIND EXPENDI24 TURES FROM THIRD-PARTY SOURCES FOR NON25 FEDERAL SHARE OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND


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1 TRAINING COSTS DURING INITIAL IMPLEMENTA2 TION PERIOD.—Only for fiscal year quarters be3 ginning after September 30, 2009, and before Oc4 tober 1, 2014, a list of the in-kind expenditures 

5 (which shall be fairly evaluated, and may in6 clude plants, equipment, administration, or serv7 ices) and the third-party sources of such expendi8 tures that the tribe, organization, or consortium 

9 may claim as part of the non-Federal share of 

10 administrative or training expenditures attrib11 utable to such quarters for purposes of receiving 

12 payments under section 474(a)(3). The Secretary 

13 shall permit a tribe, organization, or consortium 

14 to claim in-kind expenditures from third party 

15 sources for such purposes during such quarters 

16 subject to the following: 

17 ‘‘(i) NO EFFECT ON AUTHORITY FOR

18 TRIBES, ORGANIZATIONS, OR CONSORTIA TO

19 CLAIM IN-KIND EXPENDITURES TO THE

20 SAME EXTENT STATES MAY CLAIM IN-KIND

21 EXPENDITURES.—Nothing in this subpara22 graph shall be construed as preventing a 

23 tribe, organization, or consortium from 

24 claiming any in-kind expenditures for pur25 poses of receiving payments under section 


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1 474(a) that a State with a plan approved 

2 under section 471(a) could claim for such 

3 purposes. 

4 ‘‘(ii) FISCAL YEAR 2010 OR 2011.— 

5 ‘‘(I) EXPENDITURES OTHER THAN

6 FOR TRAINING.—With respect to 

7 amounts expended during a fiscal year 

8 quarter beginning after September 30, 

9 2009, and before October 1, 2011, for 

10 which the tribe, organization, or con11 sortium is eligible for payments under 

12 subparagraph (C), (D), or (E) of sec13 tion 474(a)(3), not more than 25 per14 cent of such amounts may consist of 

15 in-kind expenditures from third-party 

16 sources specified in the list required 

17 under this subparagraph to be sub18 mitted with the plan. 

19 ‘‘(II) TRAINING EXPENDITURES.— 

20 With respect to amounts expended dur21 ing a fiscal year quarter beginning 

22 after September 30, 2009, and before 

23 October 1, 2011, for which the tribe, 

24 organization, or consortium is eligible 

25 for payments under subparagraph (A) 


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1 or (B) of section 474(a)(3), not more 

2 than 12 percent of such amounts may 

3 consist of in-kind expenditures from 

4 third-party sources that are specified 

5 in such list and described in subclause 

6 (III). 

7 ‘‘(III) SOURCES DESCRIBED.— 

8 For purposes of subclause (II), the 

9 sources described in this subclause are 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(aa) A State or local gov12 ernment. 

13 ‘‘(bb) An Indian tribe, tribal 

14 organization, or tribal consortium 

15 other than the tribe, organization, 

16 or consortium submitting the 

17 plan. 

18 ‘‘(cc) A public institution of 

19 higher education. 

20 ‘‘(dd) A Tribal College or 

21 University (as defined in section 

22 316 of the Higher Education Act 

23 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c)). 

24 ‘‘(ee) A private charitable or25 ganization. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) FISCAL YEAR 2012, 2013, OR

2 2014.— 

3 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro4 vided in subclause (II) and clause (v), 

5 with respect to amounts expended dur6 ing any fiscal year quarter beginning 

7 after September 30, 2011, and before 

8 October 1, 2014, for which the tribe, 

9 organization, or consortium is eligible 

10 for payments under any subparagraph 

11 of section 474(a)(3), the only in-kind 

12 expenditures from third-party sources 

13 that may be claimed by the tribe, orga14 nization, or consortium for purposes of 

15 determining the non-Federal share of 

16 such expenditures (without regard to 

17 whether the expenditures are specified 

18 on the list required under this sub19 paragraph to be submitted with the 

20 plan) are in-kind expenditures that are 

21 specified in regulations promulgated 

22 by the Secretary under section 

23 301(e)(2) of the Improved Adoption In24 centives and Relative Guardianship 

25 Support Act of 2008 and are from an 


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1 applicable third-party source specified 

2 in such regulations, and do not exceed 

3 the applicable percentage for claiming 

4 such in-kind expenditures specified in 

5 the regulations. 

6 ‘‘(II) TRANSITION PERIOD FOR

7 EARLY APPROVED TRIBES, ORGANIZA8 TIONS, OR CONSORTIA.—Subject to 

9 clause (v), if the tribe, organization, or 

10 consortium is an early approved tribe, 

11 organization, or consortium (as defined 

12 in subclause (III)), the Secretary shall 

13 not require the tribe, organization, or 

14 consortium to comply with such regu15 lations before October 1, 2013. Until 

16 the earlier of the date such tribe, orga17 nization, or consortium comes into 

18 compliance with such regulations or 

19 October 1, 2013, the limitations on the 

20 claiming of in-kind expenditures from 

21 third-party sources under clause (ii) 

22 shall continue to apply to such tribe, 

23 organization, or consortium (without 

24 regard to fiscal limitation) for pur25 poses of determining the non-Federal 


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1 share of amounts expended by the tribe, 

2 organization, or consortium during 

3 any fiscal year quarter that begins 

4 after September 30, 2011, and before 

5 such date of compliance or October 1, 

6 2013, whichever is earlier. 

7 ‘‘(III) DEFINITION OF EARLY AP8 PROVED TRIBE, ORGANIZATION, OR

9 CONSORTIUM.—For purposes of sub10 clause (II), the term ‘early approved 

11 tribe, organization, or consortium’ 

12 means an Indian tribe, tribal organi13 zation, or tribal consortium that had a 

14 plan approved under section 471 in ac15 cordance with this section for any 

16 quarter of fiscal year 2010 or 2011. 

17 ‘‘(iv) FISCAL YEAR 2015 AND THERE18 AFTER.—Subject to clause (v), with respect 

19 to amounts expended during any fiscal year 

20 quarter beginning after September 30, 2014, 

21 for which the tribe, organization, or consor22 tium is eligible for payments under any 

23 subparagraph of section 474(a)(3), in-kind 

24 expenditures from third-party sources may 

25 be claimed for purposes of determining the 


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1 non-Federal share of expenditures under 

2 any subparagraph of section 474(a)(3) only 

3 in accordance with the regulations promul4 gated by the Secretary under section 

5 301(e)(2) of the Improved Adoption Incen6 tives and Relative Guardianship Support 

7 Act of 2008. 

8 ‘‘(v) CONTINGENCY RULE.—If, at the 

9 time expenditures are made for a fiscal year 

10 quarter beginning after September 30, 2011, 

11 and before October 1, 2014, for which a 

12 tribe, organization, or consortium may re13 ceive payments for under section 474(a)(3), 

14 no regulations required to be promulgated 

15 under section 301(e)(2) of the Improved 

16 Adoption Incentives and Relative Guard17 ianship Support Act of 2008 are in effect, 

18 and no legislation has been enacted speci19 fying otherwise— 

20 ‘‘(I) in the case of any quarter of 

21 fiscal year 2012, 2013, or 2014, the 

22 limitations on claiming in-kind ex23 penditures from third-party sources 

24 under clause (ii) shall apply (without 

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1 poses of determining the non-Federal 

2 share of such expenditures; and 

3 ‘‘(II) in the case of any quarter of 

4 fiscal year 2015 or any fiscal year 

5 thereafter, no tribe, organization, or 

6 consortium may claim in-kind expend7 itures from third-party sources for 

8 purposes of determining the non-Fed9 eral share of such expenditures if a 

10 State with a plan approved under sec11 tion 471(a) could not claim in-kind ex12 penditures from third-party sources for 

13 such purposes. 

14 ‘‘(2) CLARIFICATION OF TRIBAL AUTHORITY TO

15 ESTABLISH STANDARDS FOR TRIBAL FOSTER FAMILY

16 HOMES AND TRIBAL CHILD CARE INSTITUTIONS.—For 

17 purposes of complying with section 471(a)(10), an In18 dian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium 

19 shall establish and maintain a tribal authority or au20 thorities which shall be responsible for establishing 

21 and maintaining tribal standards for tribal foster 

22 family homes and tribal child care institutions. 

23 ‘‘(3) CONSORTIUM.—The participating Indian 

24 tribes or tribal organizations of a tribal consortium 


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1 may develop and submit a single plan under section 

2 471 that meets the requirements of this section. 

3 ‘‘(d) DETERMINATION OF FEDERAL MEDICAL ASSIST4 ANCE PERCENTAGE FOR FOSTER CARE MAINTENANCE AND

5 ADOPTION ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PER CAPITA INCOME.—For purposes of de7 termining the Federal medical assistance percentage 

8 applicable to an Indian tribe, a tribal organization, 

9 or a tribal consortium under paragraphs (1), (2), and 

10 (5) of section 474(a), the calculation of the per capita 

11 income of the Indian tribe, tribal organization, or 

12 tribal consortium shall be based upon the service pop13 ulation of the Indian tribe, tribal organization, or 

14 tribal consortium, except that in no case shall an In15 dian tribe, a tribal organization, or a tribal consor16 tium receive less than the Federal medical assistance 

17 percentage for any State in which the tribe, organiza18 tion, or consortium is located. 

19 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION OF OTHER INFORMATION.— 

20 Before making a calculation under paragraph (1), the 

21 Secretary shall consider any information submitted 

22 by an Indian tribe, a tribal organization, or a tribal 

23 consortium that the Indian tribe, tribal organization, 

24 or tribal consortium considers relevant to making the 


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1 calculation of the per capita income of the Indian 

2 tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium. 

3 ‘‘(e) NONAPPLICATION TO COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS

4 AND CONTRACTS.—Any cooperative agreement or contract 

5 entered into between an Indian tribe, a tribal organization, 

6 or a tribal consortium and a State for the administration 

7 or payment of funds under this part that is in effect as 

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

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

10 agreement or contract to revoke or modify the agreement 

11 or contract pursuant to the terms of the agreement or con12 tract. Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting 

13 the authority for an Indian tribe, a tribal organization, or 

14 a tribal consortium and a State to enter into a cooperative 

15 agreement or contract for the administration or payment 

16 of funds under this part. 

17 ‘‘(f) JOHN H. CHAFEE FOSTER CARE INDEPENDENCE

18 PROGRAM.—Except as provided in section 477(j), sub19 section (b) of this section shall not apply with respect to 

20 the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program es21 tablished under section 477 (or with respect to payments 

22 made under section 474(a)(4) or grants made under section 

23 474(e)). 

24 ‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec25 tion shall be construed as affecting the application of subVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:40 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038

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1 section (h) of section 472 to a child on whose behalf pay2 ments are paid under such section, or the application of 

3 subsection (b) of section 473 to a child on whose behalf pay4 ments are made under that section pursuant to an adoption 

5 assistance agreement or a relative guardianship assistance 

6 agreement, by an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal 

7 consortium that elects to operate a foster care and adoption 

8 assistance program in accordance with this section.’’. 

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

10 472(a)(2)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672(a)(2)(B)) is 

11 amended— 

12 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

13 end; 

14 (B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

15 end and inserting ‘‘or’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(iii) an Indian tribe or a tribal orga18 nization (as defined in section 479B(a)) or 

19 a tribal consortium that has a plan ap20 proved under section 471 in accordance 

21 with section 479B; and’’. 

22 (b) AUTHORITY TO RECEIVE PORTION OF STATE AL23 LOTMENT AS PART OF AN AGREEMENT TO OPERATE THE

24 JOHN H. CHAFEE FOSTER CARE INDEPENDENCE PROVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:40 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038

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1 GRAM.—Section 477 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 677) is amend2 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(j) AUTHORITY FOR AN INDIAN TRIBE, TRIBAL ORGA4 NIZATION, OR TRIBAL CONSORTIUM TO RECEIVE AN AL5 LOTMENT.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An Indian tribe, tribal orga7 nization, or tribal consortium with a plan approved 

8 under section 479B, or which is receiving funding to 

9 provide foster care under this part pursuant to a co10 operative agreement or contract with a State, may 

11 apply for an allotment out of any funds authorized 

12 by paragraph (1) or (2) (or both) of subsection (h). 

13 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—A tribe, organization, or 

14 consortium desiring an allotment under paragraph 

15 (1) shall submit an application to the Secretary to di16 rectly receive such allotment that includes a plan 

17 which— 

18 ‘‘(A) satisfies such requirements of para19 graphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b) as the Sec20 retary determines are appropriate; 

21 ‘‘(B) contains a description of the tribe’s, 

22 organization’s, or consortium’s consultation 

23 process regarding the programs to be carried out 

24 under the plan with each State for which a por25 tion of an allotment under subsection (c) would 


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1 be redirected to the tribe, organization, or con2 sortium; and 

3 ‘‘(C) contains an explanation of the results 

4 of such consultation, particularly with respect 

5 to— 

6 ‘‘(i) determining the eligibility for ben7 efits and services of Indian children to be 

8 served under the programs to be carried out 

9 under the plan; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the process for consulting with the 

11 State in order to ensure the continuity of 

12 benefits and services for such children who 

13 will transition from receiving benefits and 

14 services under programs carried out under 

15 a State plan under subsection (b)(2) to re16 ceiving benefits and services under pro17 grams carried out under a plan under this 

18 subsection. 

19 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall pay an 

20 Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium 

21 with an application and plan approved under this 

22 subsection from the allotment determined for the tribe, 

23 organization, or consortium under paragraph (4) in 

24 the same manner as is provided in section 474(a)(4) 

25 (and, where requested, and if funds are appropriated, 


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1 section 474(e)) with respect to a State, or in such 

2 other manner as is determined appropriate by the 

3 Secretary, except that in no case shall an Indian 

4 tribe, a tribal organization, or a tribal consortium re5 ceive a lesser proportion of such funds than a State 

6 is authorized to receive under those sections. 

7 ‘‘(4) ALLOTMENT.—From the amounts allotted to 

8 a State under subsection (c) for a fiscal year, the Sec9 retary shall allot to each Indian tribe, tribal organi10 zation, or tribal consortium with an application and 

11 plan approved under this subsection for that fiscal 

12 year an amount equal to the tribal foster care ratio 

13 determined under paragraph (5) for the tribe, organi14 zation, or consortium multiplied by the allotment 

15 amount of the State within which the tribe, organiza16 tion, or consortium is located. The allotment deter17 mined under this paragraph is deemed to be a part 

18 of the allotment determined under section 477(c) for 

19 the State in which the Indian tribal organization, or 

20 tribal consortium is located. 

21 ‘‘(5) TRIBAL FOSTER CARE RATIO.—For pur22 poses of paragraph (4), the tribal foster care ratio 

23 means, with respect to an Indian tribe, tribal organi24 zation, or tribal consortium, the ratio of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the number of children in foster care 

2 under the responsibility of the Indian tribe, trib3 al organization, or tribal consortium (either di4 rectly or under supervision of the State), in the 

5 most recent fiscal year for which the information 

6 is available; to 

7 ‘‘(B) the sum of— 

8 ‘‘(i) the total number of children in 

9 foster care under the responsibility of the 

10 State within which the Indian tribe, tribal 

11 organization, or tribal consortium is lo12 cated; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the total number of children in 

14 foster care under the responsibility of all 

15 Indian tribes, tribal organizations, or tribal 

16 consortia in the State (either directly or 

17 under supervision of the State) that have a 

18 plan approved under this subsection.’’. 

19 (c) STATE AND TRIBAL COOPERATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a) of the Social 

21 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)), as amended by sec22 tion 201(f)(1)(B), is amended— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para24 graph (27); 


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

2 paragraph (28) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(29) provides that the State will negotiate in 

5 good faith with any Indian tribe, tribal organization 

6 or tribal consortium in the State that requests to de7 velop an agreement with the State to provide for pay8 ments under this part on behalf of Indian children 

9 who are under the authority of the tribe, organiza10 tion, or consortium, including foster care mainte11 nance payments on behalf of children who are place 

12 in tribally licensed foster family homes, adoption as13 sistance payments, and, if the State has elected to 

14 provide such payments, relative guardianship assist15 ance payments, and tribal access to resources for ad16 ministration, training, and data collection under this 

17 part.’’. 

18 (2) CHAFEE PROGRAM CONFORMING AMEND19 MENT.—Section 477(b)(3)(G) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 677(b)(3)(G)) is amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and that’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘that’’; and 

23 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

24 inserting ‘‘; and that the State will negotiate in 

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1 zation, or tribal consortium in the State that 

2 does not receive an allotment under subsection 

3 (j)(4) for a fiscal year and that requests to de4 velop an agreement with the State to administer, 

5 supervise, or oversee the programs to be carried 

6 out under the plan with respect to the Indian 

7 children who are eligible for such programs and 

8 who are under the authority of the tribe, organi9 zation, or consortium and to receive from the 

10 State an appropriate portion of the State allot11 ment under subsection (c) for the cost of such ad12 ministration, supervision, or oversight.’’. 

13 (d) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the 

14 amendments made by this section shall be construed as— 

15 (1) authorization to terminate funding to any 

16 Indian or Indian family receiving foster care mainte17 nance payments or adoption assistance payments on 

18 the date of enactment of this Act on behalf of a child 

19 and for which the State receives Federal matching 

20 payments under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 

21 474(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 674(a)), 

22 regardless of whether a cooperative agreement or con23 tract between the State and an Indian tribe, tribal 

24 organization, or tribal consortium is in effect on such 

25 date or an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal 


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1 consortium elects subsequent to such date to operate a 

2 program under section 479B of the Social Security 

3 Act (as added by subsection (a)); or 

4 (2) affecting the responsibility of a State— 

5 (A) as part of the plan approved under sec6 tion 471 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 671), to provide foster care maintenance pay8 ments, adoption assistance payments, and if the 

9 State elects, relative guardianship assistance 

10 payments, for Indian children who are eligible 

11 for such payments and who are not otherwise 

12 being served by an Indian tribe, tribal organiza13 tion, or tribal consortium pursuant to a pro14 gram under such section 479B or a cooperative 

15 agreement or contract entered into between an 

16 Indian tribe, a tribal organization, or a tribal 

17 consortium and a State for the administration 

18 or payment of funds under part E of title IV of 

19 such Act; or 

20 (B) as part of the plan approved under sec21 tion 477 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 677) to admin22 ister, supervise, or oversee programs carried out 

23 under that plan on behalf of Indian children who 

24 are eligible for such programs if such children 

25 are not otherwise being served by an Indian 


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1 tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium 

2 pursuant to an approved plan under section 

3 477(j) or a cooperative agreement or contract en4 tered into under section 477(b)(3)(G) of such 

5 Act. 

6 (e) REGULATIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), not later than 1 year after the date of en9 actment of this section, the Secretary of Health and 

10 Human Services, in consultation with Indian tribes, 

11 tribal organizations, tribal consortia, and affected 

12 States, shall promulgate interim final regulations to 

13 carry out this section and the amendments made by 

14 this section. Such regulations shall include procedures 

15 to ensure that a transfer of responsibility for the 

16 placement and care of a child under a State plan ap17 proved under section 471 of the Social Security Act 

18 to a tribal plan approved under section 471 of such 

19 Act in accordance with section 479B of such Act (as 

20 added by subsection (a)(1)) or to an Indian tribe, a 

21 tribal organization, or a tribal consortium that has 

22 entered into a cooperative agreement or contract with 

23 a State for the administration or payment of funds 

24 under part E of title IV of such Act does not affect 

25 the eligibility of, provision of services for, or the makVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:40 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038

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1 ing of payments on behalf of, such children under 

2 part E of title IV of such Act, or the eligibility of such 

3 children for medical assistance under title XIX of 

4 such Act. 

5 (2) IN-KIND EXPENDITURES FROM THIRD-PARTY

6 SOURCES FOR PURPOSES OF DETERMINING NON-FED7 ERAL SHARE OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND TRAINING EX8 PENDITURES.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph 

10 (B), not later than September 30, 2011, the Sec11 retary of Health and Human Services, in con12 sultation with Indian tribes, tribal organiza13 tions, and tribal consortia, shall promulgate in14 terim final regulations specifying the types of in15 kind expenditures, including plants, equipment, 

16 administration, and services, and the third17 party sources for such in-kind expenditures 

18 which may be claimed by tribes, organizations, 

19 and consortia with plans approved under section 

20 471 of the Social Security Act in accordance 

21 with section 479B of such Act, up to such per22 centages as the Secretary, in such consultation 

23 shall specify in such regulations, for purposes of 

24 determining the non-Federal share of adminis25 trative and training expenditures for which the 


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1 tribes, organizations, and consortia may receive 

2 payments for under any subparagraph of section 

3 474(a)(3) of such Act. 

4 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—In no event shall 

5 the regulations required to be promulgated under 

6 subparagraph (A) take effect prior to October 1, 

7 2011. 

8 (C) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense 

9 of the Senate that if the Secretary of Health and 

10 Human Services fails to publish in the Federal 

11 Register the regulations required under subpara12 graph (A), Congress should enact legislation 

13 specifying the types of in-kind expenditures and 

14 the third-party sources for such in-kind expendi15 tures which may be claimed by tribes, organiza16 tions, and consortia with plans approved under 

17 section 471 of the Social Security Act in accord18 ance with section 479B of such Act, up to spe19 cific percentages, for purposes of determining the 

20 non-Federal share of administrative and train21 ing expenditures for which the tribes, organiza22 tions, and consortia may receive payments for 

23 under any subparagraph of section 474(a)(3) of 

24 such Act. 


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1 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

2 section shall take effect on October 1, 2009, without regard 

3 to whether the regulations required under subsection (e)(1) 

4 have been promulgated by such date. 

5 SEC. 302. GRANTS TO STATES THAT SUCCESSFULLY COL6 LABORATE WITH AND SUPPORT TRIBES TO 

7 IMPROVE PERMANENCY OUTCOMES FOR IN8 DIAN CHILDREN. 

9 Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 670 et seq.), as amended by section 301(a)(1), is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 479C. GRANTS TO STATES THAT SUCCESSFULLY COL13 LABORATE WITH AND SUPPORT TRIBES TO 

14 IMPROVE PERMANENCY OUTCOMES FOR IN15 DIAN CHILDREN. 

16 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) GRANT YEAR.—The term ‘grant year’ means 

18 each of fiscal years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. 

19 ‘‘(2) INDIAN CHILDREN.—The term ‘Indian chil20 dren’ means children who are members of, enrolled in, 

21 or affiliated with, or eligible for membership, enroll22 ment, or affiliation with, an Indian tribe. 

23 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE, TRIBAL ORGANIZATION, 

24 TRIBAL CONSORTIUM.—The terms ‘Indian tribe, tribal 


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1 organization, and tribal consortium’ have the mean2 ing given those terms in section 479B(a). 

3 ‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any of the 

4 50 States or the District of Columbia with State 

5 plans approved under part B and this part that elect 

6 to apply for a grant under this section. 

7 ‘‘(5) SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION AND TRIBAL

8 SUPPORT STATE.—The term ‘Successful Collaboration 

9 and Tribal Support State’ means, with respect to any 

10 grant year, a State that the Secretary determines has 

11 demonstrated significant evidence of successful col12 laboration and Tribal support (as determined under 

13 subsection (c)) for the fiscal year preceding the grant 

14 year. 

15 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall make a grant pur16 suant to this paragraph to each State for each grant year 

17 for which the Secretary determines that the State is a Suc18 cessful Collaboration and Tribal Support State. 

19 ‘‘(c) SIGNIFICANT EVIDENCE OF SUCCESSFUL COL20 LABORATION AND TRIBAL SUPPORT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

22 (a)(5), significant evidence of successful collaboration 

23 and Tribal support shall be demonstrated through 

24 submission by a State of the following evidence to the 

25 Secretary: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Evidence of collaboration by the State 

2 with an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or 

3 tribal consortium to plan for and ensure access 

4 to services and supports for Indian children and 

5 their families which includes, at a minimum, 

6 evidence of the measures and activities required 

7 under sections 422(b)(9), 471(a)(29), and 

8 477(b)(3)(G). 

9 ‘‘(B) Evidence that the State has obtained 

10 from the Secretary, or is engaged in accessing 

11 (including through the National Child Welfare 

12 Resource Center for Tribes established under sec13 tion 479D), technical assistance to improve serv14 ices and permanency outcomes for Indian chil15 dren and their families, such as through im16 proved identification of Indian children, in17 creased recruitment of Indian foster family 

18 homes, and, consistent with the requirements of 

19 the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 

20 1901 et seq.), improved rates of family reunifica21 tion, legal or relative guardianships, or adoptive 

22 homes. 

23 ‘‘(C) Evidence of improved outcomes for In24 dian children and their families and such other 

25 data as the Secretary may require to verify that 


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1 an improvement in outcomes appropriate for In2 dian children and their families has been 

3 achieved. 

4 ‘‘(2) FORM AND MANNER.—The Secretary shall 

5 establish the form and manner in which a State that 

6 elects to apply for a grant under this section shall 

7 submit the evidence described in each subparagraph of 

8 paragraph (1). To the extent practicable, the require9 ments for such evidence shall be consistent with data 

10 requirements under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 

11 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.). 

12 ‘‘(d) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of the grant 

13 payable under this section to a Successful Collaboration and 

14 Tribal Support State for a grant year is equal to the prod15 uct of— 

16 ‘‘(1) the amount appropriated under subsection 

17 (e) for that year; and 

18 ‘‘(2) the ratio of— 

19 ‘‘(A) the number of Indian children in the 

20 State (as determined for purposes of making 

21 payments under section 428; to 

22 ‘‘(B) the sum of the number of such children 

23 determined for all Successful Collaboration and 

24 Tribal Support States for the grant year. 


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1 ‘‘(e) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money in the 

2 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 

3 there are appropriated to the Secretary for purposes of mak4 ing payments under this section, $5,000,000 for each of fis5 cal years 2010 through 2014.’’. 

6 SEC. 303. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CHILD WELFARE 

7 RESOURCE CENTER FOR TRIBES. 

8 Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 670 et seq.), as amended by section 302, is amended by add10 ing at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 479D. NATIONAL CHILD WELFARE RESOURCE CENTER 

12 FOR TRIBES. 

13 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

14 a National Child Welfare Resource Center for Tribes that 

15 is— 

16 ‘‘(1) specifically and exclusively dedicated to 

17 meeting the needs of Indian tribes, tribal organiza18 tions, (as defined in section 479B(a)), tribal con19 sortia, and States in improving services and perma20 nency outcomes for Indian children and their families 

21 through the provision of assistance described in sub22 section (b); and 

23 ‘‘(2) not part of any existing national child wel24 fare resource center. 

25 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE PROVIDED.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The National Child Welfare 

2 Resource Center for Tribes shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) provide information, advice, edu4 cational materials, and technical assistance to 

5 Indian tribes and tribal organizations with re6 spect to the types of services, administrative 

7 functions, data collection, program management, 

8 and reporting that are provided for under State 

9 plans under part B and this part; and 

10 ‘‘(B) assist and provide technical assistance 

11 to— 

12 ‘‘(i) Indian tribes, tribal organizations, 

13 and tribal consortia seeking to operate a 

14 program under part B or this part through 

15 direct application to the Secretary under 

16 section 479B; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) Indian tribes, tribal organiza18 tions, tribal consortia, and States seeking to 

19 develop cooperative agreements to provide 

20 for payments under this part or satisfy the 

21 requirements of section 422(b)(9), 

22 471(a)(29), or 477(b)(3)(G). 

23 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION AUTHORITY.—The Sec24 retary may provide the assistance described in para25 graph (1) either directly or through a grant or conVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:40 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00115 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038

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1 tract with public or private organizations knowledge2 able and experienced in the field of Indian tribal af3 fairs and child welfare. 

4 ‘‘(c) APPROPRIATIONS.—There is appropriated to the 

5 Secretary, out of any money in the Treasury of the United 

6 States not otherwise appropriated, $1,000,000 for each of 

7 fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to carry out this section.’’. 

8 TITLE IV—SUPPORT FOR OLDER 

9 CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE 

10 AND OTHER PROVISIONS 

11 SEC. 401. STATE OPTION FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE, 

12 AND CERTAIN CHILDREN IN AN ADOPTIVE OR 

13 GUARDIANSHIP PLACEMENT, AFTER ATTAIN14 ING AGE 18. 

15 (a) DEFINITION OF CHILD.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 475 of the Social Se17 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended by adding at 

18 the end the following: 

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

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

21 years of age. 

22 ‘‘(B) At the option of a State, the term shall in23 clude an individual— 

24 ‘‘(i)(I) who is in foster care under the re25 sponsibility of the State; 


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1 ‘‘(II) with respect to whom an adoption as2 sistance agreement is in effect under section 473 

3 if the child had attained 16 years of age before 

4 the agreement became effective; or 

5 ‘‘(III) with respect to whom a relative 

6 guardianship assistance agreement is in effect 

7 under section 473(d) if the child had attained 16 

8 years of age before the agreement became effec9 tive; 

10 ‘‘(ii) who has attained 18 years of age; 

11 ‘‘(iii) who has not attained 19, 20, or 21 

12 years of age, as the State may elect; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) who— 

14 ‘‘(I) is completing secondary education 

15 or a program leading to an equivalent cre16 dential; 

17 ‘‘(II) is enrolled in an institution 

18 which provides post-secondary or vocational 

19 education; 

20 ‘‘(III) is participating in a program 

21 or activity designed to promote, or remove 

22 barriers to, employment; 

23 ‘‘(IV) is employed for at least 80 hours 

24 per month; or 


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1 ‘‘(V) the State determines is particu2 larly vulnerable or a high-risk individual.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF

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

5 (42 U.S.C. 672(c)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, except, 

6 in the case of a child who has attained 18 years of age, 

7 the term shall include a supervised setting in which the in8 dividual is living independently, in accordance with such 

9 conditions as the Secretary shall establish in regulations’’ 

10 before the period. 

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO AGE LIMITS APPLI12 CABLE TO CHILDREN ELIGIBLE FOR ADOPTION ASSIST13 ANCE OR RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE.—Section 

14 473(a)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)(4)) is amended to 

15 read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(4)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

17 section, a payment may not be made pursuant to this sec18 tion to parents or relative guardians with respect to a 

19 child— 

20 ‘‘(i) who has attained— 

21 ‘‘(I) 18 years of age, or such greater age as 

22 the State may elect under section 475(8)(B)(iii); 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(II) 21 years of age, if the State deter25 mines that the child has a mental or physical 


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1 handicap which warrants the continuation of as2 sistance; 

3 ‘‘(ii) who has not attained 18 years of age, if the 

4 State determines that the parents or relative guard5 ians, as the case may be, are no longer legally respon6 sible for the support of the child; or 

7 ‘‘(iii) if the State determines that the child is no 

8 longer receiving any support from the parents or rel9 ative guardians, as the case may be. 

10 ‘‘(B) Parents or relative guardians who have been re11 ceiving adoption assistance payments or relative guardian12 ship assistance payments under this section shall keep the 

13 State or local agency administering the program under this 

14 section informed of circumstances which would, pursuant 

15 to this subsection, make them ineligible for the payments, 

16 or eligible for the payments in a different amount.’’. 

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

18 section shall take effect on October 1, 2010. 

19 SEC. 402. TRANSITION PLAN FOR CHILDREN AGING OUT OF 

20 FOSTER CARE. 

21 (a) TRANSITION PLAN FOR CHILDREN AGING OUT OF

22 FOSTER CARE.—Section 475(5) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 675) 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

25 at the end; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (G), by striking the period 

2 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(H) during the 90-day period immediately 

5 prior to the date of the legal emancipation of a 

6 child, whether during that period foster care 

7 maintenance payments are being made on the 

8 child’s behalf or the child is receiving benefits or 

9 services under section 477, a caseworker on the 

10 staff of the State agency, and, as appropriate, 

11 other representatives of the child provide the 

12 child with assistance and support in developing 

13 a transition plan that is personalized at the di14 rection of the child, includes specific options on 

15 housing, health insurance, education, local op16 portunities for mentors and continuing support 

17 services, and work force supports and employ18 ment services, and is as detailed as the child 

19 may elect.’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), the amendments made by this section shall 

23 take effect on October 1, 2008. 

24 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

25 REQUIRED.—In the case of a State plan approved 


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

2 Act which the Secretary of Health and Human Serv3 ices determines requires State legislation (other than 

4 legislation appropriating funds) in order for the plan 

5 to meet the additional requirements imposed by this 

6 Act, the State plan shall not be regarded as failing 

7 to comply with the requirements of such part solely 

8 on the basis of the failure of the plan to meet such 

9 additional requirements before the 1st day of the 1st 

10 calendar quarter beginning after the close of the 1st 

11 regular session of the State legislature that ends after 

12 the 1-year period beginning with the date of the en13 actment of this Act. For purposes of the preceding 

14 sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year leg15 islative session, each year of the session is deemed to 

16 be a separate regular session of the State legislature. 

17 SEC. 403. EDUCATIONAL STABILITY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 475 of the Social Security 

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 675), as amended by section 201(g) of this 

20 Act, is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking clause 

23 (iv) and redesignating clauses (v) through (viii) 

24 as clauses (iv) through (vii), respectively; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(G) A plan for ensuring the educational 

2 stability of the child while in foster care, includ3 ing— 

4 ‘‘(i) assurances that the placement of 

5 the child in foster care takes into account 

6 the appropriateness of the current edu7 cational setting and the proximity to the 

8 school in which the child is enrolled at the 

9 time of placement; and 

10 ‘‘(ii)(I) an assurance that the State 

11 agency has coordinated with appropriate 

12 local educational agencies (as defined under 

13 section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec14 ondary Education Act of 1965) to ensure 

15 that the child remains in the school in 

16 which the child is enrolled at the time of 

17 placement; or 

18 ‘‘(II) if remaining in such school is not 

19 in the best interests of the child, assurances 

20 by the State agency and the local edu21 cational agencies to provide immediate and 

22 appropriate enrollment in a new school, 

23 with all of the educational records of the 

24 child provided to the school.’’; and 

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


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘and reasonable’’ and in2 serting ‘‘reasonable’’; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and reasonable travel for 

4 the child to remain in the school in which the 

5 child is enrolled at the time of placement’’ before 

6 the period. 

7 (b) EDUCATIONAL ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT.—Sec8 tion 471(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)), 

9 as amended by sections 201(f)(1)(B) and 301(c)(1) of this 

10 Act, is amended— 

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

12 (28); 

13 (2) by striking the period at the end of para14 graph (29) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(30) provides assurances that each child who 

17 has attained the minimum age for compulsory school 

18 attendance under State law and with respect to whom 

19 there is eligibility for a payment under the State plan 

20 is a full-time elementary or secondary school student 

21 or has completed secondary school, and for purposes 

22 of this paragraph, the term ‘elementary or secondary 

23 school student’ means, with respect to a child, that the 

24 child is— 


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1 ‘‘(A) enrolled (or in the process of enrolling) 

2 in an institution which provides elementary or 

3 secondary education, as determined under the 

4 law of the State or other jurisdiction in which 

5 the institution is located; 

6 ‘‘(B) instructed in elementary or secondary 

7 education at home in accordance with a home 

8 school law of the State or other jurisdiction in 

9 which the home is located; 

10 ‘‘(C) in an independent study elementary or 

11 secondary education program in accordance with 

12 the law of the State or other jurisdiction in 

13 which the program is located, which is adminis14 tered by the local school or school district; or 

15 ‘‘(D) incapable of attending school on a 

16 full-time basis due to the medical condition of 

17 the child, which incapability is supported by reg18 ularly updated information included in the case 

19 plan of the child.’’. 

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), the amendments made by this section shall 

23 take effect on October 1, 2008. 

24 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

25 REQUIRED.—In the case of a State plan approved 


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

2 Act which the Secretary of Health and Human Serv3 ices determines requires State legislation (other than 

4 legislation appropriating funds) in order for the plan 

5 to meet the additional requirements imposed by this 

6 Act, the State plan shall not be regarded as failing 

7 to comply with the requirements of such part solely 

8 on the basis of the failure of the plan to meet such 

9 additional requirements before the 1st day of the 1st 

10 calendar quarter beginning after the close of the 1st 

11 regular session of the State legislature that ends after 

12 the 1-year period beginning with the date of the en13 actment of this Act. For purposes of the preceding 

14 sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year leg15 islative session, each year of the session is deemed to 

16 be a separate regular session of the State legislature. 

17 TITLE V—REVENUE PROVISIONS 

18 SEC. 501. CLARIFICATION OF UNIFORM DEFINITION OF 

19 CHILD. 

20 (a) CHILD MUST BE YOUNGER THAN CLAIMANT.— 

21 Section 152(c)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

22 is amended by inserting ‘‘is younger than the taxpayer 

23 claiming such individual as a qualifying child and’’ after 

24 ‘‘such individual’’. 


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1 (b) CHILD MUST BE UNMARRIED.—Section 152(c)(1) 

2 of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

3 subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end of sub4 paragraph (D) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at 

5 the end the following new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(E) who has not filed a joint return (other 

7 than only for a claim of refund) with the indi8 vidual’s spouse under section 6013 for the tax9 able year beginning in the calendar year in 

10 which the taxable year of the taxpayer begins.’’. 

11 (c) RESTRICT QUALIFYING CHILD TAX BENEFITS TO

12 CHILD’S PARENT.— 

13 (1) CHILD TAX CREDIT.—Subsection (a) of sec14 tion 24 of such Code is amended by inserting ‘‘for 

15 which the taxpayer is allowed a deduction under sec16 tion 151’’ after ‘‘of the taxpayer’’. 

17 (2) PERSONS OTHER THAN PARENTS CLAIMING

18 QUALIFYING CHILD.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 

20 152(c) of such Code is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(C) NO PARENT CLAIMING QUALIFYING

23 CHILD.—If the parents of an individual may 

24 claim such individual as a qualifying child but 

25 no parent so claims the individual, such indiVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:40 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00126 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038

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1 vidual may be claimed as the qualifying child of 

2 another taxpayer but only if the adjusted gross 

3 income of such taxpayer is higher than the high4 est adjusted gross income of any parent of the in5 dividual.’’. 

6 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (i) Subparagraph (A) of section 

8 152(c)(4) of such Code is amended by strik9 ing ‘‘Except’’ through ‘‘2 or more tax10 payers’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided 

11 in subparagraphs (B) and (C), if (but for 

12 this paragraph) an individual may be 

13 claimed as a qualifying child by 2 or more 

14 taxpayers’’. 

15 (ii) The heading for paragraph (4) of 

16 section 152(c) of such Code is amended by 

17 striking ‘‘CLAIMING’’ and inserting ‘‘WHO

18 CAN CLAIM THE SAME’’. 

19 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

20 section shall apply to taxable years beginning after Decem21 ber 31, 2008. 

22 SEC. 502. COLLECTION OF UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSA23 TION DEBTS RESULTING FROM FRAUD. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6402 of the Internal Rev25 enue Code of 1986 (relating to authority to make credits 


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1 or refunds) is amended by redesignating subsections (f) 

2 through (k) as subsections (g) through (l), respectively, and 

3 by inserting after subsection (e) the following new sub4 section: 

5 ‘‘(f) COLLECTION OF UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

6 DEBTS RESULTING FROM FRAUD.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving notice from 

8 any State that a named person owes a covered unem9 ployment compensation debt to such State, the Sec10 retary shall, under such conditions as may be pre11 scribed by the Secretary— 

12 ‘‘(A) reduce the amount of any overpayment 

13 payable to such person by the amount of such 

14 covered unemployment compensation debt; 

15 ‘‘(B) pay the amount by which such over16 payment is reduced under subparagraph (A) to 

17 such State and notify such State of such person’s 

18 name, taxpayer identification number, address, 

19 and the amount collected; and 

20 ‘‘(C) notify the person making such over21 payment that the overpayment has been reduced 

22 by an amount necessary to satisfy a covered un23 employment compensation debt. 

24 If an offset is made pursuant to a joint return, the 

25 notice under subparagraph (C) shall include informaVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:40 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00128 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038

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1 tion related to the rights of a spouse of a person sub2 ject to such an offset. 

3 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIES FOR OFFSET.—Any overpay4 ment by a person shall be reduced pursuant to this 

5 subsection— 

6 ‘‘(A) after such overpayment is reduced pur7 suant to— 

8 ‘‘(i) subsection (a) with respect to any 

9 liability for any internal revenue tax on the 

10 part of the person who made the overpay11 ment; 

12 ‘‘(ii) subsection (c) with respect to 

13 past-due support; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) subsection (d) with respect to 

15 any past-due, legally enforceable debt owed 

16 to a Federal agency; and 

17 ‘‘(B) before such overpayment is credited to 

18 the future liability for any Federal internal rev19 enue tax of such person pursuant to subsection 

20 (b). 

21 If the Secretary receives notice from a State or States 

22 of more than one debt subject to paragraph (1) or sub23 section (e) that is owed by a person to such State or 

24 States, any overpayment by such person shall be apVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:40 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00129 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038

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1 plied against such debts in the order in which such 

2 debts accrued. 

3 ‘‘(3) OFFSET PERMITTED ONLY AGAINST RESI4 DENTS OF STATE SEEKING OFFSET.—Paragraph (1) 

5 shall apply to an overpayment by any person for a 

6 taxable year only if the address shown on the Federal 

7 return for such taxable year of the overpayment is an 

8 address within the State seeking the offset. 

9 ‘‘(4) NOTICE; CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE.— 

10 No State may take action under this subsection until 

11 such State— 

12 ‘‘(A) notifies by certified mail with return 

13 receipt the person owing the covered unemploy14 ment compensation debt that the State proposes 

15 to take action pursuant to this section; 

16 ‘‘(B) provides such person at least 60 days 

17 to present evidence that all or part of such liabil18 ity is not legally enforceable or due to fraud; 

19 ‘‘(C) considers any evidence presented by 

20 such person and determines that an amount of 

21 such debt is legally enforceable and due to fraud; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(D) satisfies such other conditions as the 

24 Secretary may prescribe to ensure that the deter25 mination made under subparagraph (C) is valid 


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1 and that the State has made reasonable efforts to 

2 obtain payment of such covered unemployment 

3 compensation debt. 

4 ‘‘(5) COVERED UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

5 DEBT.—For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘cov6 ered unemployment compensation debt’ means a debt 

7 which resulted from a judgment rendered by a court 

8 of competent jurisdiction and which is no longer sub9 ject to judicial review in an amount equal to— 

10 ‘‘(A) a past-due debt for erroneous payment 

11 of unemployment compensation due to fraud 

12 which has become final under the law of a State 

13 certified by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to 

14 section 3304 and which remains uncollected; 

15 ‘‘(B) contributions due to the unemployment 

16 fund of a State for which the State has deter17 mined the person to be liable due to fraud; and 

18 ‘‘(C) any penalties and interest assessed on 

19 such debt. 

20 ‘‘(6) REGULATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

22 issue regulations prescribing the time and man23 ner in which States must submit notices of cov24 ered unemployment compensation debt and the 

25 necessary information that must be contained in 


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1 or accompany such notices. The regulations may 

2 specify the minimum amount of debt to which 

3 the reduction procedure established by paragraph 

4 (1) may be applied. 

5 ‘‘(B) FEE PAYABLE TO SECRETARY.—The 

6 regulations may require States to pay a fee to 

7 the Secretary, which may be deducted from 

8 amounts collected, to reimburse the Secretary for 

9 the cost of applying such procedure. Any fee paid 

10 to the Secretary pursuant to the preceding sen11 tence shall be used to reimburse appropriations 

12 which bore all or part of the cost of applying 

13 such procedure. 

14 ‘‘(C) SUBMISSION OF NOTICES THROUGH

15 SECRETARY OF LABOR.—The regulations may in16 clude a requirement that States submit notices of 

17 covered unemployment compensation debt to the 

18 Secretary via the Secretary of Labor in accord19 ance with procedures established by the Secretary 

20 of Labor. Such procedures may require States to 

21 pay a fee to the Secretary of Labor to reimburse 

22 the Secretary of Labor for the costs of applying 

23 this subsection. Any such fee shall be established 

24 in consultation with the Secretary of the Treas25 ury. Any fee paid to the Secretary of Labor may 


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1 be deducted from amounts collected and shall be 

2 used to reimburse the appropriation account 

3 which bore all or part of the cost of applying this 

4 subsection. 

5 ‘‘(7) ERRONEOUS PAYMENT TO STATE.—Any 

6 State receiving notice from the Secretary that an er7 roneous payment has been made to such State under 

8 paragraph (1) shall pay promptly to the Secretary, 

9 in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary 

10 may prescribe, an amount equal to the amount of 

11 such erroneous payment (without regard to whether 

12 any other amounts payable to such State under such 

13 paragraph have been paid to such State).’’. 

14 (b) DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION TO

15 STATES REQUESTING REFUND OFFSETS FOR LEGALLY EN16 FORCEABLE STATE UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION DEBT

17 RESULTING FROM FRAUD.— 

18 (1) GENERAL RULE.—Paragraph (3) of section 

19 6103(a) of such Code is amended by inserting ‘‘(10),’’ 

20 after ‘‘(6),’’. 

21 (2) DISCLOSURE TO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND

22 ITS AGENT.—Paragraph (10) of section 6103(l) of 

23 such Code is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘(c), (d), or (e)’’ each place 

2 it appears in the heading and text and inserting 

3 ‘‘(c), (d), (e), or (f)’’, 

4 (B) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ‘‘, to 

5 officers and employees of the Department of 

6 Labor for purposes of facilitating the exchange of 

7 data in connection with a request made under 

8 subsection (f)(5) of section 6402,’’ after ‘‘section 

9 6402’’, and 

10 (C) in subparagraph (B)— 

11 (i) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(B)’’; and 

12 (ii) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), return in14 formation disclosed to officers and employees of 

15 the Department of Labor may be accessed by 

16 agents who maintain and provide technological 

17 support to the Department of Labor’s Interstate 

18 Connection Network (ICON) solely for the pur19 pose of providing such maintenance and sup20 port.’’. 

21 (3) SAFEGUARDS.—Paragraph (4) of section 

22 6103(p) of such Code is amended— 

23 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

24 (A), by striking ‘‘(l)(16),’’ and inserting ‘‘(l)(10), 

25 (16),’’; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (F)(i), by striking 

2 ‘‘(l)(16),’’ and inserting ‘‘(l)(10), (16),’’; and 

3 (C) in the matter following subparagraph 

4 (F)(iii)— 

5 (i) in each of the first two places it ap6 pears, by striking ‘‘(l)(16),’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘(l)(10), (16),’’; 

8 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(10),’’ after ‘‘para9 graph (6)(A),’’; and 

10 (iii) in each of the last two places it 

11 appears, by striking ‘‘(l)(16)’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘(l)(10) or (16)’’. 

13 (c) EXPENDITURES FROM STATE FUND.—Section 

14 3304(a)(4) of such Code is amended— 

15 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

16 the semicolon; 

17 (2) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 

18 after the semicolon; and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub20 paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(G) with respect to amounts of covered un22 employment compensation debt (as defined in 

23 section 6402(f)(4)) collected under section 

24 6402(f)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) amounts may be deducted to pay 

2 any fees authorized under such section; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the penalties and interest de4 scribed in section 6402(f)(4)(B) may be 

5 transferred to the appropriate State fund 

6 into which the State would have deposited 

7 such amounts had the person owing the debt 

8 paid such amounts directly to the State;’’. 

9 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (1) Subsection (a) of section 6402 of such Code 

11 is amended by striking ‘‘(c), (d), and (e),’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘(c), (d), (e), and (f)’’. 

13 (2) Paragraph (2) of section 6402(d) of such 

14 Code is amended by striking ‘‘and before such over15 payment is reduced pursuant to subsection (e)’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘and before such overpayment is reduced 

17 pursuant to subsections (e) and (f)’’. 

18 (3) Paragraph (3) of section 6402(e) of such 

19 Code is amended in the last sentence by inserting ‘‘or 

20 subsection (f)’’ after ‘‘paragraph (1)’’. 

21 (4) Subsection (g) of section 6402 of such Code, 

22 as redesignated by subsection (a), is amended by 

23 striking ‘‘(c), (d), or (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘(c), (d), (e), 

24 or (f)’’. 


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1 (5) Subsection (i) of section 6402 of such Code, 

2 as redesignated by subsection (a), is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘subsection (c) or (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub4 section (c), (e), or (f)’’. 

5 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

6 section shall apply to refunds payable under section 6402 

7 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 on or after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 503. INVESTMENT OF OPERATING CASH. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 323 of title 31, United 

11 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘§ 323. Investment of operating cash 

13 ‘‘(a) To manage United States cash, the Secretary of 

14 the Treasury may invest any part of the operating cash 

15 of the Treasury for not more than 90 days. The Secretary 

16 may invest the operating cash of the Treasury in— 

17 ‘‘(1) obligations of depositories maintaining 

18 Treasury tax and loan accounts secured by pledged 

19 collateral acceptable to the Secretary; 

20 ‘‘(2) obligations of the United States Govern21 ment; and 

22 ‘‘(3) repurchase agreements with parties accept23 able to the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(b) Subsection (a) of this section does not require the 

2 Secretary to invest a cash balance held in a particular ac3 count. 

4 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall consider the prevailing market 

5 in prescribing rates of interest for investments under sub6 section (a)(1) of this section. 

7 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall submit 

8 each fiscal year to the appropriate committees a report de9 tailing the investment of operating cash under subsection 

10 (a) for the preceding fiscal year. The report shall describe 

11 the Secretary’s consideration of risks associated with invest12 ments and the actions taken to manage such risks. 

13 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘appro14 priate committees’ means the Committee on Ways and 

15 Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

16 on Finance of the Senate.’’. 

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub18 section (a) takes effect on October 1, 2008. 


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Calendar No. 972 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3038 

[Report No. 110–467] 

A BILL 

To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security 

dren with special needs, and for other purposes. ship program, to promote the adoption of chilauthorize States to establish a relative guardianAct to extend the adoption incentives program, to 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 

Reported with an amendment 


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