II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3492 

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

follow best policies and practices for supporting and retaining foster 

parents and to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to award grants to States to improve the empowerment, leadership, 

support, training, recruitment, and retention of foster care, kinship care, 

and adoptive parents. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 

Mrs. LINCOLN (for herself, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. LANDRIEU, 

Mr. BAYH, Mr. CASEY, and Mr. JOHNSON) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

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

to ensure States follow best policies and practices for 

supporting and retaining foster parents and to require 

the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award 

grants to States to improve the empowerment, leadership, support, training, recruitment, and retention of foster care, kinship care, and adoptive parents. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Resource Family Re3 cruitment and Retention Act of 2008’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES TO RESOURCE FAMI5 LIES. 

6 Section 471(a)(22) of the Social Security Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 671(a)(22)) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘that, not’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘that— 

10 ‘‘(A) not’’; 

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

12 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(B) not later than January 1, 2009, such 

15 standards require each public and private place16 ment agency, subject to the renewal of the 

17 agency’s license or other State approval, to an18 nually certify to the State that the agency pro19 vides foster parents with the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) Notification of scheduled meet21 ings concerning the child placed with the 

22 foster parents in order to allow the foster 

23 parents the opportunity to actively partici24 pate and have input in the case planning 

25 and decision-making process regarding the 

26 placement of the child in their home. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Support services to assist with 

2 the care of the child, consistent with the 

3 child’s approved permanency plan. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Open, complete, and timely re5 sponses from the agency when contacted 

6 by foster parents. 

7 ‘‘(iv) Consistent with the requirements 

8 under section 475(5)(D), information 

9 about the child’s medical history, edu10 cational history, general behaviors, and life 

11 experiences, the placement circumstances 

12 of the child, and the relationship between 

13 the children and the child’s parents as 

14 soon as that information is obtained by the 

15 agency. 

16 ‘‘(v) Timely and complete information 

17 about all permanency options available to 

18 the child and the benefits, rights, and re19 sponsibilities associated with each such op20 tion, including as appropriate (but not lim21 ited to) the availability of adoption assist22 ance payments and payments for non23 recurring adoption expenses under an 

24 adoption agreement entered into under sec25 tion 473, the potential eligibility of the inVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:06 Sep 18, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3492.IS S3492

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1 dividual for a Federal tax credit (under 

2 section 23 of the Internal Revenue Code) 

3 for adoption-related expenses, the avail4 ability of medical coverage for the child, 

5 the availability of post-permanency serv6 ices, and the availability of tuition support 

7 for the child. 

8 ‘‘(vi) Consultation with the foster par9 ents in the decision to release the foster 

10 parents’ address to the parents of the child 

11 and notification when that information has 

12 been provided to the child’s parents. 

13 ‘‘(vii) Assistance with the coordination 

14 of services for dealing with family loss and 

15 separation when a child leaves the foster 

16 home and when relocation is not the result 

17 of an immediate threat to the health and 

18 safety of the child caused by the foster 

19 parent or a member of the foster parent’s 

20 family. 

21 ‘‘(viii) Information on agency policies 

22 and procedures that relate to the role of a 

23 foster parent. 

24 ‘‘(ix) Consistent with the requirements 

25 of paragraph (24), appropriate training 


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1 that will enhance skills and ability of the 

2 foster parent. 

3 ‘‘(x) Information on how to receive 

4 services and reach agency personnel on a 

5 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week basis. 

6 ‘‘(xi) Confidentiality regarding allega7 tions of abuse involving a member of the 

8 foster parent’s family and an assurance 

9 that the provision of such confidentiality 

10 shall not interfere with the health or safety 

11 of the child. 

12 ‘‘(xii) The opportunity to be heard re13 garding agency decisions or practices and 

14 an assurance that the agency shall not dis15 charge, threaten, or otherwise discriminate 

16 or retaliate against a foster parent for 

17 questioning the decisions or practices of 

18 the agency. 

19 ‘‘(xiii) The provision to each foster 

20 parent of— 

21 ‘‘(I) consistent with section 

22 475(5)(G), notice of, and an oppor23 tunity to be heard at, all court pro24 ceedings (including reviews and hear25 ings) that are held with respect to a 


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1 foster child placed in the foster par2 ent’s care; and 

3 ‘‘(II) support for participating in 

4 such proceedings, including (but not 

5 limited to) training and assisting with 

6 transportation to and from the pro7 ceedings;’’. 

8 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO IMPROVE THE EMPOWERMENT, LEAD9 ERSHIP, SUPPORT, TRAINING, RECRUITMENT, 

10 AND RETENTION OF FOSTER CARE, KINSHIP 

11 CARE, AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS. 

12 Subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security 

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

14 end the following new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 429B. GRANTS TO IMPROVE THE EMPOWERMENT, 

16 LEADERSHIP, SUPPORT, TRAINING, RECRUIT17 MENT, AND RETENTION OF FOSTER CARE, 

18 KINSHIP CARE, AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS. 

19 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS.—The Sec20 retary shall award grants to eligible States for the purpose 

21 of carrying out innovative programs to empower, provide 

22 leadership for, and improve the recruitment, support, 

23 training, and retention of foster care, kinship care, and 

24 adoptive parents (in this section referred to as ‘resource 

25 parents’). 


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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State is eligible for a 

2 grant under this section if the State— 

3 ‘‘(1) submits an application for the grant that 

4 includes the information described in subsection (c); 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(2) has approved State plans under this sub7 part, subpart 2 of this part, and part E. 

8 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes 

9 of subsection (b)(1), the information described in this sub10 section is the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAMS.—A descrip12 tion of the programs the State proposes to imple13 ment with funds awarded under this section that are 

14 consistent with the purposes described in subsection 

15 (a) and that may include any or all of the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) EMPOWERMENT AND LEADERSHIP.— 

17 The establishment of, or increased support 

18 for— 

19 ‘‘(i) a Resource Parent Ombudsman 

20 who would advocate on behalf of resource 

21 parents; 

22 ‘‘(ii) programs to provide recognition 

23 of resource parents as key partners in the 

24 child welfare system; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) programs to provide career-path 

2 acknowledgment for long-term master re3 source parents; 

4 ‘‘(iv) initiatives for courts to recognize 

5 the role of the resource parent on a child’s 

6 service team; 

7 ‘‘(v) flexible spending options that 

8 permit States to purchase items that will 

9 help resource parents do their jobs better 

10 and help the children placed in their care, 

11 such as computers, bedroom furnishings, 

12 transportation, and after-school supports; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(vi) programs to involve resource 

15 parents to a greater degree in assessment 

16 and case planning activities. 

17 ‘‘(B) FAMILY SUPPORT.—The establish18 ment of, or increased support for— 

19 ‘‘(i) peer-to-peer support and men20 toring groups for resource parents; 

21 ‘‘(ii) programs to assist resource par22 ents in caring for children with special 

23 needs; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) programs to provide reliable and 

2 accessible respite care to help resource par3 ents recharge and avoid burnout; 

4 ‘‘(iv) a 24-hour emergency hotline for 

5 resource parents; 

6 ‘‘(v) a Medicaid hotline to secure med7 ical services under the State plan under 

8 title XIX or the State child health plan 

9 under title XXI (as appropriate) for chil10 dren under the care of resource parents; 

11 ‘‘(vi) family preservation services for 

12 crises situations; 

13 ‘‘(vii) direct services, including ongo14 ing in-service psychological and education 

15 and support, that address child behavior 

16 issues common among foster care and 

17 adopted children and caregiver interests 

18 and concerns; and 

19 ‘‘(viii) experienced parent advocates 

20 who can serve as liaisons to other resource 

21 parents and provide information and sup22 port as needed. 

23 ‘‘(C) TRAINING.—The establishment of, or 

24 increased support for— 


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1 ‘‘(i) training programs on the court 

2 process, the role of court appointed special 

3 advocates (commonly referred to as 

4 ‘CASA’) and Guardians ad Litem; 

5 ‘‘(ii) training programs on caring for 

6 children with special needs; 

7 ‘‘(iii) high-quality initial and ongoing 

8 training for resource parents targeted spe9 cifically at understanding the needs and 

10 behaviors of foster care and adopted chil11 dren, as well as presenting specific tech12 niques for meeting a child’s special needs; 

13 ‘‘(iv) educational innovations (such as 

14 online learning and access to Internet 

15 websites) with credit given toward manda16 tory training for participation in the non17 traditional training, offered at no cost to 

18 the resource parents. 

19 ‘‘(D) RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.— 

20 The establishment of, or increased support 

21 for— 

22 ‘‘(i) innovative ways to provide out23 reach to increase participation of new re24 source parents; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) alliances with faith-based organi2 zations to improve the recruitment and 

3 support of resource parents; 

4 ‘‘(iii) programs to engage the business 

5 community and other community partners 

6 in the recruitment and retention of re7 source parents; 

8 ‘‘(iv) targeted recruitment efforts for 

9 local communities or neighborhoods; 

10 ‘‘(v) programs to provide convenient 

11 education and licensing options for re12 source parents; and 

13 ‘‘(vi) programs to mitigate language 

14 and cultural barriers to the recruitment 

15 and retention of resource parents, includ16 ing through the provision of culturally or 

17 linguistically specific materials. 

18 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—A 12-month plan 

19 detailing the strategies and process the State will 

20 use to develop such programs. 

21 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—A 48-month 

22 plan detailing the strategies and process the State 

23 will use to implement such programs. 

24 ‘‘(4) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS WITH SUP25 PORT ORGANIZATIONS.—An assurance that the State 


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1 will enter into cooperative agreements with nonprofit 

2 organizations that provide support for foster care, 

3 kinship care, or adoption, to assist with implementa4 tion of the programs carried out with funds awarded 

5 under this section. 

6 ‘‘(5) EVALUATION PLAN.—A plan for inde7 pendent evaluation of the programs carried out with 

8 such funds. 

9 ‘‘(d) ALLOTMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible State which 

11 has an application approved under this section shall 

12 be entitled to payment, for each of fiscal years 2009 

13 through 2013, from the amount appropriated under 

14 subsection (e) for such fiscal year, of an amount 

15 equal to the sum of $75,000 plus the amount de16 scribed in paragraph (2) for the fiscal year. 

17 ‘‘(2) PROPORTIONALLY BASED ON STATE

18 SHARE OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.—The 

19 amount described in this subparagraph for any fiscal 

20 year is the amount that bears the same ratio to the 

21 remainder of the amount appropriated under sub22 section (e) for such fiscal year, after the application 

23 of paragraph (1) for the fiscal year, as the number 

24 of children in foster care under the supervision of 

25 the State in the State who have not attained 18 


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1 years of age bears to the total number of such chil2 dren in all States which have approved applications 

3 under this section for such fiscal year. 

4 ‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON OTHER PAYMENTS UNDER

5 THIS SUBPART.—Amounts paid to an eligible State 

6 under this section for a fiscal year shall be in addi7 tion to any other amounts paid to the State under 

8 this subpart for this fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(e) APPROPRIATION; NONAPPLICATION.—Out of 

10 any money in the Treasury of the United States not other11 wise appropriated, there are appropriated to the Secretary 

12 for purposes of awarding grants under this section, 

13 $10,400,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013, 

14 to remain available until expended. Section 425 shall not 

15 apply to amounts appropriated under this subsection for 

16 a fiscal year.’’. 

Æ 


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