S. 2272

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,

the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand

An Act

To improve the administrative efficiency and effectiveness of the Nation’s abuse

and neglect courts and for other purposes consistent with the Adoption and

Safe Families Act of 1997.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Abuse and Neglect

Courts Act of 2000’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) Under both Federal and State law, the courts play

a crucial and essential role in the Nation’s child welfare system

and in ensuring safety, stability, and permanence for abused

and neglected children under the supervision of that system.

(2) The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public

Law 105–89; 111 Stat. 2115) establishes explicitly for the first

time in Federal law that a child’s health and safety must

be the paramount consideration when any decision is made

regarding a child in the Nation’s child welfare system.

(3) The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 promotes

stability and permanence for abused and neglected children

by requiring timely decisionmaking in proceedings to determine

whether children can safely return to their families or whether

they should be moved into safe and stable adoptive homes

or other permanent family arrangements outside the foster

care system.

(4) To avoid unnecessary and lengthy stays in the foster

care system, the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 specifically requires, among other things, that States move to terminate the parental rights of the parents of those children who

have been in foster care for 15 of the last 22 months.

(5) While essential to protect children and to carry out

the general purposes of the Adoption and Safe Families Act

of 1997, the accelerated timelines for the termination of

parental rights and the other requirements imposed under that

Act increase the pressure on the Nation’s already overburdened

abuse and neglect courts.

(6) The administrative efficiency and effectiveness of the

Nation’s abuse and neglect courts would be substantially

improved by the acquisition and implementation of computerized case-tracking systems to identify and eliminate existing

backlogs, to move abuse and neglect caseloads forward in a
S. 2272—2

timely manner, and to move children into safe and stable

families. Such systems could also be used to evaluate the

effectiveness of such courts in meeting the purposes of the

amendments made by, and provisions of, the Adoption and

Safe Families Act of 1997.

(7) The administrative efficiency and effectiveness of the

Nation’s abuse and neglect courts would also be improved by

the identification and implementation of projects designed to

eliminate the backlog of abuse and neglect cases, including

the temporary hiring of additional judges, extension of court

hours, and other projects designed to reduce existing caseloads.

(8) The administrative efficiency and effectiveness of the

Nation’s abuse and neglect courts would be further strengthened by improving the quality and availability of training for

judges, court personnel, agency attorneys, guardians ad litem,

volunteers who participate in court-appointed special advocate

(CASA) programs, and attorneys who represent the children

and the parents of children in abuse and neglect proceedings.

(9) While recognizing that abuse and neglect courts in

this country are already committed to the quality administration of justice, the performance of such courts would be even

further enhanced by the development of models and educational

opportunities that reinforce court projects that have already

been developed, including models for case-flow procedures, case

management, representation of children, automated interagency interfaces, and ‘‘best practices’’ standards.

(10) Judges, magistrates, commissioners, and other judicial

officers play a central and vital role in ensuring that proceedings in our Nation’s abuse and neglect courts are run

efficiently and effectively. The performance of those individuals

in such courts can only be further enhanced by training, seminars, and an ongoing opportunity to exchange ideas with their

peers.

(11) Volunteers who participate in court-appointed special

advocate (CASA) programs play a vital role as the eyes and

ears of abuse and neglect courts in proceedings conducted by,

or under the supervision of, such courts and also bring increased

public scrutiny of the abuse and neglect court system. The

Nation’s abuse and neglect courts would benefit from an expansion of this program to currently underserved communities.

(12) Improved computerized case-tracking systems, comprehensive training, and development of, and education on,

model abuse and neglect court systems, particularly with

respect to underserved areas, would significantly further the

purposes of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 by

reducing the average length of an abused and neglected child’s

stay in foster care, improving the quality of decision-making

and court services provided to children and families, and

increasing the number of adoptions.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) ABUSE AND NEGLECT COURTS.—The term ‘‘abuse and

neglect courts’’ means the State and local courts that carry

out State or local laws requiring proceedings (conducted by

or under the supervision of the courts)—
S. 2272—3

(A) that implement part B and part E of title IV

of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 620 et seq.; 670

et seq.) (including preliminary disposition of such proceedings);

(B) that determine whether a child was abused or

neglected;

(C) that determine the advisability or appropriateness

of placement in a family foster home, group home, or a

special residential care facility; or

(D) that determine any other legal disposition of a

child in the abuse and neglect court system.

(2) AGENCY ATTORNEY.—The term ‘‘agency attorney’’ means

an attorney or other individual, including any government

attorney, district attorney, attorney general, State attorney,

county attorney, city solicitor or attorney, corporation counsel,

or privately retained special prosecutor, who represents the

State or local agency administrating the programs under parts

B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

620 et seq.; 670 et seq.) in a proceeding conducted by, or

under the supervision of, an abuse and neglect court, including

a proceeding for termination of parental rights.

SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATE COURTS AND LOCAL COURTS TO AUTOMATE THE DATA COLLECTION AND TRACKING OF PROCEEDINGS IN ABUSE AND NEGLECT COURTS.

(a) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS.—

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

General, acting through the Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention of the Office of Justice Programs, shall

award grants in accordance with this section to State courts

and local courts for the purposes of—

(A) enabling such courts to develop and implement

automated data collection and case-tracking systems for

proceedings conducted by, or under the supervision of, an

abuse and neglect court;

(B) encouraging the replication of such systems in

abuse and neglect courts in other jurisdictions; and

(C) requiring the use of such systems to evaluate a

court’s performance in implementing the requirements of

parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42

U.S.C. 620 et seq.; 670 et seq.).

(2) LIMITATIONS.— (A) NUMBER OF GRANTS.—Not less than 20 nor more

than 50 grants may be awarded under this section.

(B) PER STATE LIMITATION.—Not more than 2 grants

authorized under this section may be awarded per State.

(C) USE OF GRANTS.—Funds provided under a grant

made under this section may only be used for the purpose

of developing, implementing, or enhancing automated data

collection and case-tracking systems for proceedings conducted by, or under the supervision of, an abuse and neglect

court.

(b) APPLICATION.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—A State court or local court may submit

an application for a grant authorized under this section at

such time and in such manner as the Attorney General may

determine.
S. 2272—4

(2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—An application for a grant

authorized under this section shall contain the following:

(A) A description of a proposed plan for the development, implementation, and maintenance of an automated

data collection and case-tracking system for proceedings

conducted by, or under the supervision of, an abuse and

neglect court, including a proposed budget for the plan

and a request for a specific funding amount.

(B) A description of the extent to which such plan

and system are able to be replicated in abuse and neglect

courts of other jurisdictions that specifies the common casetracking data elements of the proposed system, including,

at a minimum—

(i) identification of relevant judges, court, and

agency personnel;

(ii) records of all court proceedings with regard

to the abuse and neglect case, including all court

findings and orders (oral and written); and

(iii) relevant information about the subject child,

including family information and the reason for court

supervision.

(C) In the case of an application submitted by a local

court, a description of how the plan to implement the

proposed system was developed in consultation with related

State courts, particularly with regard to a State court

improvement plan funded under section 13712 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 670 note)

if there is such a plan in the State.

(D) In the case of an application that is submitted

by a State court, a description of how the proposed system

will integrate with a State court improvement plan funded

under section 13712 of such Act if there is such a plan

in the State.

(E) After consultation with the State agency responsible for the administration of parts B and E of title IV

of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 620 et seq.; 670

et seq.)—

(i) a description of the coordination of the proposed

system with other child welfare data collection systems,

including the statewide automated child welfare

information system (SACWIS) and the adoption and

foster care analysis and reporting system (AFCARS)

established pursuant to section 479 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679); and

(ii) an assurance that such coordination will be

implemented and maintained.

(F) Identification of an independent third party that

will conduct ongoing evaluations of the feasibility and

implementation of the plan and system and a description

of the plan for conducting such evaluations.

(G) A description or identification of a proposed funding

source for completion of the plan (if applicable) and maintenance of the system after the conclusion of the period

for which the grant is to be awarded.

(H) An assurance that any contract entered into

between the State court or local court and any other entity
S. 2272—5

that is to provide services for the development, implementation, or maintenance of the system under the proposed

plan will require the entity to agree to allow for replication

of the services provided, the plan, and the system, and

to refrain from asserting any proprietary interest in such

services for purposes of allowing the plan and system to

be replicated in another jurisdiction.

(I) An assurance that the system established under

the plan will provide data that allows for evaluation (at

least on an annual basis) of the following information:

(i) The total number of cases that are filed in

the abuse and neglect court.

(ii) The number of cases assigned to each judge

who presides over the abuse and neglect court.

(iii) The average length of stay of children in foster

care.

(iv) With respect to each child under the jurisdiction of the court—

(I) the number of episodes of placement in

foster care;

(II) the number of days placed in foster care

and the type of placement (foster family home,

group home, or special residential care facility);

(III) the number of days of in-home supervision; and

(IV) the number of separate foster care placements.

(v) The number of adoptions, guardianships, or

other permanent dispositions finalized.

(vi) The number of terminations of parental rights.

(vii) The number of child abuse and neglect proceedings closed that had been pending for 2 or more

years.

(viii) With respect to each proceeding conducted

by, or under the supervision of, an abuse and neglect

court—

(I) the timeliness of each stage of the proceeding from initial filing through legal finalization

of a permanency plan (for both contested and

uncontested hearings);

(II) the number of adjournments, delays, and

continuances occurring during the proceeding,

including identification of the party requesting

each adjournment, delay, or continuance and the

reasons given for the request;

(III) the number of courts that conduct or

supervise the proceeding for the duration of the

abuse and neglect case;

(IV) the number of judges assigned to the proceeding for the duration of the abuse and neglect

case; and

(V) the number of agency attorneys, children’s

attorneys, parent’s attorneys, guardians ad litem,

and volunteers participating in a court-appointed

special advocate (CASA) program assigned to the

proceeding during the duration of the abuse and

neglect case.
S. 2272—6

(J) A description of how the proposed system will

reduce the need for paper files and ensure prompt action

so that cases are appropriately listed with national and

regional adoption exchanges, and public and private adoption services.

(K) An assurance that the data collected in accordance

with subparagraph (I) will be made available to relevant

Federal, State, and local government agencies and to the

public.

(L) An assurance that the proposed system is consistent

with other civil and criminal information requirements of

the Federal Government.

(M) An assurance that the proposed system will provide

notice of timeframes required under the Adoption and Safe

Families Act of 1997 (Public Law 105–89; 111 Stat. 2115)

for individual cases to ensure prompt attention and compliance with such requirements.

(c) CONDITIONS FOR APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.—

(1) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—A State court or local court awarded

a grant under this section shall expend $1 for every $3

awarded under the grant to carry out the development,

implementation, and maintenance of the automated data

collection and case-tracking system under the proposed

plan.

(B) WAIVER FOR HARDSHIP.—The Attorney General may

waive or modify the matching requirement described in

subparagraph (A) in the case of any State court or local

court that the Attorney General determines would suffer

undue hardship as a result of being subject to the requirement.

(C) NON-FEDERAL EXPENDITURES.— (i) CASH OR IN KIND.—State court or local court

expenditures required under subparagraph (A) may

be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant,

equipment, or services.

(ii) NO CREDIT FOR PRE-AWARD EXPENDITURES.— Only State court or local court expenditures made after

a grant has been awarded under this section may

be counted for purposes of determining whether the

State court or local court has satisfied the matching

expenditure requirement under subparagraph (A).

(2) NOTIFICATION TO STATE OR APPROPRIATE CHILD WELFARE

AGENCY.—No application for a grant authorized under this section may be approved unless the State court or local court

submitting the application demonstrates to the satisfaction of

the Attorney General that the court has provided the State,

in the case of a State court, or the appropriate child welfare

agency, in the case of a local court, with notice of the contents

and submission of the application.

(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In evaluating an application for a

grant under this section the Attorney General shall consider

the following:

(A) The extent to which the system proposed in the

application may be replicated in other jurisdictions.

(B) The extent to which the proposed system is consistent with the provisions of, and amendments made by,
S. 2272—7

the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public Law

105–89; 111 Stat. 2115), and parts B and E of title IV

of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 620 et seq.; 670

et seq.).

(C) The extent to which the proposed system is feasible

and likely to achieve the purposes described in subsection

(a)(1).

(4) DIVERSITY OF AWARDS.—The Attorney General shall

award grants under this section in a manner that results

in a reasonable balance among grants awarded to State courts

and grants awarded to local courts, grants awarded to courts

located in urban areas and courts located in rural areas, and

grants awarded in diverse geographical locations.

(d) LENGTH OF AWARDS.—No grant may be awarded under

this section for a period of more than 5 years.

(e) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds provided to a State court

or local court under a grant awarded under this section shall

remain available until expended without fiscal year limitation.

(f) REPORTS.—

(1) ANNUAL REPORT FROM GRANTEES.—Each State court

or local court that is awarded a grant under this section shall

submit an annual report to the Attorney General that

contains—

(A) a description of the ongoing results of the independent evaluation of the plan for, and implementation

of, the automated data collection and case-tracking system

funded under the grant; and

(B) the information described in subsection (b)(2)(I).

(2) INTERIM AND FINAL REPORTS FROM ATTORNEY GENERAL.—

(A) INTERIM REPORTS.—Beginning 2 years after the

date of enactment of this Act, and biannually thereafter

until a final report is submitted in accordance with

subparagraph (B), the Attorney General shall submit to

Congress interim reports on the grants made under this

section.

(B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the

termination of all grants awarded under this section, the

Attorney General shall submit to Congress a final report

evaluating the automated data collection and case-tracking

systems funded under such grants and identifying successful models of such systems that are suitable for replication

in other jurisdictions. The Attorney General shall ensure

that a copy of such final report is transmitted to the highest

State court in each State.

(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized

to be appropriated to carry out this section, $10,000,000 for the

period of fiscal years 2001 through 2005.

SEC. 5. GRANTS TO REDUCE PENDING BACKLOGS OF ABUSE AND

NEGLECT CASES TO PROMOTE PERMANENCY FOR ABUSED

AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN.

(a) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS.—The Attorney General,

acting through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention of the Office of Justice Programs and in collaboration

with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall award
S. 2272—8

grants in accordance with this section to State courts and local

courts for the purposes of—

(1) promoting the permanency goals established in the

Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public Law 105–

89; 111 Stat. 2115); and

(2) enabling such courts to reduce existing backlogs of

cases pending in abuse and neglect courts, especially with

respect to cases to terminate parental rights and cases in

which parental rights to a child have been terminated but

an adoption of the child has not yet been finalized.

(b) APPLICATION.—A State court or local court shall submit

an application for a grant under this section, in such form and

manner as the Attorney General shall require, that contains a

description of the following:

(1) The barriers to achieving the permanency goals established in the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 that

have been identified.

(2) The size and nature of the backlogs of children awaiting

termination of parental rights or finalization of adoption.

(3) The strategies the State court or local court proposes

to use to reduce such backlogs and the plan and timetable

for doing so.

(4) How the grant funds requested will be used to assist

the implementation of the strategies described in paragraph

(3).

(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds provided under a grant awarded

under this section may be used for any purpose that the Attorney

General determines is likely to successfully achieve the purposes

described in subsection (a), including temporarily—

(1) establishing night court sessions for abuse and neglect

courts;

(2) hiring additional judges, magistrates, commissioners,

hearing officers, referees, special masters, and other judicial

personnel for such courts;

(3) hiring personnel such as clerks, administrative support

staff, case managers, mediators, and attorneys for such courts;

or

(4) extending the operating hours of such courts.

(d) NUMBER OF GRANTS.—Not less than 15 nor more than

20 grants shall be awarded under this section.

(e) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds awarded under a grant

made under this section shall remain available for expenditure

by a grantee for a period not to exceed 3 years from the date

of the grant award.

(f) REPORT ON USE OF FUNDS.—Not later than the date that

is halfway through the period for which a grant is awarded under

this section, and 90 days after the end of such period, a State

court or local court awarded a grant under this section shall submit

a report to the Attorney General that includes the following:

(1) The barriers to the permanency goals established in

the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 that are or have

been addressed with grant funds.

(2) The nature of the backlogs of children that were pursued

with grant funds.

(3) The specific strategies used to reduce such backlogs.

(4) The progress that has been made in reducing such

backlogs, including the number of children in such backlogs—
S. 2272—9

(A) whose parental rights have been terminated; and

(B) whose adoptions have been finalized.

(5) Any additional information that the Attorney General

determines would assist jurisdictions in achieving the permanency goals established in the Adoption and Safe Families

Act of 1997.

(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized

to be appropriated for the period of fiscal years 2001 and 2002

$10,000,000 for the purpose of making grants under this section.

SEC. 6. GRANTS TO EXPAND THE COURT-APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE PROGRAM IN UNDERSERVED AREAS.

(a) GRANTS TO EXPAND CASA PROGRAMS IN UNDERSERVED

AREAS.—The Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice shall make

a grant to the National Court-Appointed Special Advocate Association for the purposes of—

(1) expanding the recruitment of, and building the capacity

of, court-appointed special advocate programs located in the

15 largest urban areas;

(2) developing regional, multijurisdictional court-appointed

special advocate programs serving rural areas; and

(3) providing training and supervision of volunteers in

court-appointed special advocate programs.

(b) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDITURES.—Not more

than 5 percent of the grant made under this subsection may be

used for administrative expenditures.

(c) DETERMINATION OF URBAN AND RURAL AREAS.—For purposes

of administering the grant authorized under this subsection, the

Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention of the Department of Justice shall determine whether

an area is one of the 15 largest urban areas or a rural area

in accordance with the practices of, and statistical information

compiled by, the Bureau of the Census.

(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized

to be appropriated to make the grant authorized under this section,

$5,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2001 and 2002.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.