105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H.R. 867

AMENDMENT

TO

SENATE AMENDMENT
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

November 13, 1997.

Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of the

Senate to the bill (H.R. 867) entitled ‘‘An Act to promote the

adoption of children in foster care.’’, with the following

AMENDMENT:

In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Senate, insert the following:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

3 ‘‘Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997’’.

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this

5 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—REASONABLE EFFORTS AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR

FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION PLACEMENTS

Sec. 101. Clarification of the reasonable efforts requirement.

Sec. 102. Including safety in case plan and case review system requirements.

Sec. 103. States required to initiate or join proceedings to terminate parental

rights for certain children in foster care.

Sec. 104. Notice of reviews and hearings; opportunity to be heard.

Sec. 105. Use of the Federal Parent Locator Service for child welfare services.

Sec. 106. Criminal records checks for prospective foster and adoptive parents.

Sec. 107. Documentation of efforts for adoption or location of a permanent home.

TITLE II—INCENTIVES FOR PROVIDING PERMANENT FAMILIES FOR

CHILDREN

Sec. 201. Adoption incentive payments.

Sec. 202. Adoptions across State and county jurisdictions.

Sec. 203. Performance of States in protecting children.
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TITLE III—ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS AND REFORMS

Sec. 301. Authority to approve more child protection demonstration projects.

Sec. 302. Permanency hearings.

Sec. 303. Kinship care.

Sec. 304. Clarification of eligible population for independent living services.

Sec. 305. Reauthorization and expansion of family preservation and support

services.

Sec. 306. Health insurance coverage for children with special needs.

Sec. 307. Continuation of eligibility for adoption assistance payments on behalf

of children with special needs whose initial adoption has been

dissolved.

Sec. 308. State standards to ensure quality services for children in foster care.

TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 401. Preservation of reasonable parenting.

Sec. 402. Reporting requirements.

Sec. 403. Sense of Congress regarding standby guardianship.

Sec. 404. Temporary adjustment of Contingency Fund for State Welfare Programs.

Sec. 405. Coordination of substance abuse and child protection services.

Sec. 406. Purchase of American-made equipment and products.

TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 501. Effective date.

1 TITLE I—REASONABLE EFFORTS

2 AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

3 FOR FOSTER CARE AND ADOP4 TION PLACEMENTS

5 SEC. 101. CLARIFICATION OF THE REASONABLE EFFORTS

6 REQUIREMENT.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(15) of the Social Se8 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(15)) is amended to read as

9 follows:

10 ‘‘(15) provides that—

11 ‘‘(A) in determining reasonable efforts to be

12 made with respect to a child, as described in this

13 paragraph, and in making such reasonable ef-
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1 forts, the child’s health and safety shall be the

2 paramount concern;

3 ‘‘(B) except as provided in subparagraph

4 (D), reasonable efforts shall be made to preserve

5 and reunify families—

6 ‘‘(i) prior to the placement of a child

7 in foster care, to prevent or eliminate the

8 need for removing the child from the child’s

9 home; and

10 ‘‘(ii) to make it possible for a child to

11 safely return to the child’s home;

12 ‘‘(C) if continuation of reasonable efforts of

13 the type described in subparagraph (B) is deter14 mined to be inconsistent with the permanency

15 plan for the child, reasonable efforts shall be

16 made to place the child in a timely manner in

17 accordance with the permanency plan, and to

18 complete whatever steps are necessary to finalize

19 the permanent placement of the child;

20 ‘‘(D) reasonable efforts of the type described

21 in subparagraph (B) shall not be required to be

22 made with respect to a parent of a child if a

23 court of competent jurisdiction has determined

24 that—
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1 ‘‘(i) the parent has subjected the child

2 to aggravated circumstances (as defined in

3 State law, which definition may include but

4 need not be limited to abandonment, tor5 ture, chronic abuse, and sexual abuse);

6 ‘‘(ii) the parent has—

7 ‘‘(I) committed murder (which

8 would have been an offense under sec9 tion 1111(a) of title 18, United States

10 Code, if the offense had occurred in the

11 special maritime or territorial juris12 diction of the United States) of another

13 child of the parent;

14 ‘‘(II) committed voluntary man15 slaughter (which would have been an

16 offense under section 1112(a) of title

17 18, United States Code, if the offense

18 had occurred in the special maritime

19 or territorial jurisdiction of the United

20 States) of another child of the parent;

21 ‘‘(III) aided or abetted, attempted,

22 conspired, or solicited to commit such

23 a murder or such a voluntary man24 slaughter; or
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1 ‘‘(IV) committed a felony assault

2 that results in serious bodily injury to

3 the child or another child of the parent;

4 or

5 ‘‘(iii) the parental rights of the parent

6 to a sibling have been terminated involun7 tarily;

8 ‘‘(E) if reasonable efforts of the type de9 scribed in subparagraph (B) are not made with

10 respect to a child as a result of a determination

11 made by a court of competent jurisdiction in ac12 cordance with subparagraph (D)—

13 ‘‘(i) a permanency hearing (as de14 scribed in section 475(5)(C)) shall be held

15 for the child within 30 days after the deter16 mination; and

17 ‘‘(ii) reasonable efforts shall be made to

18 place the child in a timely manner in ac19 cordance with the permanency plan, and to

20 complete whatever steps are necessary to fi21 nalize the permanent placement of the child;

22 and

23 ‘‘(F) reasonable efforts to place a child for

24 adoption or with a legal guardian may be made
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1 concurrently with reasonable efforts of the type

2 described in subparagraph (B);’’.

3 (b) DEFINITION OF LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP.—Section

4 475 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended by adding at

5 the end the following:

6 ‘‘(7) The term ‘legal guardianship’ means a judi7 cially created relationship between child and care8 taker which is intended to be permanent and self-sus9 taining as evidenced by the transfer to the caretaker

10 of the following parental rights with respect to the

11 child: protection, education, care and control of the

12 person, custody of the person, and decisionmaking.

13 The term ‘legal guardian’ means the caretaker in such

14 a relationship.’’.

15 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 472(a)(1) of

16 such Act (42 U.S.C. 672(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘for

17 a child’’ before ‘‘have been made’’.

18 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Part E of title IV of

19 such Act (42 U.S.C. 670–679) is amended by inserting after

20 section 477 the following:

21 ‘‘SEC. 478. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

22 ‘‘Nothing in this part shall be construed as precluding

23 State courts from exercising their discretion to protect the

24 health and safety of children in individual cases, including

25 cases other than those described in section 471(a)(15)(D).’’.
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1 SEC. 102. INCLUDING SAFETY IN CASE PLAN AND CASE RE2 VIEW SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.

3 Title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et

4 seq.) is amended—

5 (1) in section 422(b)(10)(B)—

6 (A) in clause (iii)(I), by inserting ‘‘safe

7 and’’ after ‘‘where’’; and

8 (B) in clause (iv), by inserting ‘‘safely’’

9 after ‘‘remain’’; and

10 (2) in section 475—

11 (A) in paragraph (1)—

12 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting

13 ‘‘safety and’’ after ‘‘discussion of the’’; and

14 (ii) in subparagraph (B)—

15 (I) by inserting ‘‘safe and’’ after

16 ‘‘child receives’’; and

17 (II) by inserting ‘‘safe’’ after ‘‘re18 turn of the child to his own’’; and

19 (B) in paragraph (5)—

20 (i) in subparagraph (A), in the matter

21 preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘a safe

22 setting that is’’ after ‘‘placement in’’; and

23 (ii) in subparagraph (B)—

24 (I) by inserting ‘‘the safety of the

25 child,’’ after ‘‘determine’’; and
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1 (II) by inserting ‘‘and safely

2 maintained in’’ after ‘‘returned to’’.

3 SEC. 103. STATES REQUIRED TO INITIATE OR JOIN PRO4 CEEDINGS TO TERMINATE PARENTAL RIGHTS

5 FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.

6 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR PROCEEDINGS.—Section

7 475(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)) is

8 amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara10 graph (C);

11 (2) by striking the period at the end of subpara12 graph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

14 ‘‘(E) in the case of a child who has been in

15 foster care under the responsibility of the State

16 for 15 of the most recent 22 months, or, if a

17 court of competent jurisdiction has determined a

18 child to be an abandoned infant (as defined

19 under State law) or has made a determination

20 that the parent has committed murder of another

21 child of the parent, committed voluntary man22 slaughter of another child of the parent, aided or

23 abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to com24 mit such a murder or such a voluntary man25 slaughter, or committed a felony assault that has
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1 resulted in serious bodily injury to the child or

2 to another child of the parent, the State shall file

3 a petition to terminate the parental rights of the

4 child’s parents (or, if such a petition has been

5 filed by another party, seek to be joined as a

6 party to the petition), and, concurrently, to

7 identify, recruit, process, and approve a quali8 fied family for an adoption, unless—

9 ‘‘(i) at the option of the State, the child

10 is being cared for by a relative;

11 ‘‘(ii) a State agency has documented in

12 the case plan (which shall be available for

13 court review) a compelling reason for deter14 mining that filing such a petition would

15 not be in the best interests of the child; or

16 ‘‘(iii) the State has not provided to the

17 family of the child, consistent with the time

18 period in the State case plan, such services

19 as the State deems necessary for the safe re20 turn of the child to the child’s home, if rea21 sonable efforts of the type described in sec22 tion 471(a)(15)(B)(ii) are required to be

23 made with respect to the child.’’.
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1 (b) DETERMINATION OF BEGINNING OF FOSTER

2 CARE.—Section 475(5) of the Social Security Act (42

3 U.S.C. 675(5)), as amended by subsection (a), is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara5 graph (D);

6 (2) by striking the period at the end of subpara7 graph (E) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

9 ‘‘(F) a child shall be considered to have en10 tered foster care on the earlier of—

11 ‘‘(i) the date of the first judicial find12 ing that the child has been subjected to child

13 abuse or neglect; or

14 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 60 days after the

15 date on which the child is removed from the

16 home.’’.

17 (c) TRANSITION RULES.—

18 (1) NEW FOSTER CHILDREN.—In the case of a

19 child who enters foster care (within the meaning of

20 section 475(5)(F) of the Social Security Act) under

21 the responsibility of a State after the date of the en22 actment of this Act—

23 (A) if the State comes into compliance with

24 the amendments made by subsection (a) of this

25 section before the child has been in such foster
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1 care for 15 of the most recent 22 months, the

2 State shall comply with section 475(5)(E) of the

3 Social Security Act with respect to the child

4 when the child has been in such foster care for

5 15 of the most recent 22 months; and

6 (B) if the State comes into such compliance

7 after the child has been in such foster care for 15

8 of the most recent 22 months, the State shall

9 comply with such section 475(5)(E) with respect

10 to the child not later than 3 months after the end

11 of the first regular session of the State legislature

12 that begins after such date of enactment.

13 (2) CURRENT FOSTER CHILDREN.—In the case of

14 children in foster care under the responsibility of the

15 State on the date of the enactment of this Act, the

16 State shall—

17 (A) not later than 6 months after the end

18 of the first regular session of the State legislature

19 that begins after such date of enactment, comply

20 with section 475(5)(E) of the Social Security Act

with respect to not less than 1 21 ⁄3 of such children

22 as the State shall select, giving priority to chil23 dren for whom the permanency plan (within the

24 meaning of part E of title IV of the Social Secu-
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1 rity Act) is adoption and children who have been

2 in foster care for the greatest length of time;

3 (B) not later than 12 months after the end

4 of such first regular session, comply with such

section 475(5)(E) with respect to not less than 2 5 ⁄3

6 of such children as the State shall select; and

7 (C) not later than 18 months after the end

8 of such first regular session, comply with such

9 section 475(5)(E) with respect to all of such chil10 dren.

11 (3) TREATMENT OF 2-YEAR LEGISLATIVE SES12 SIONS.—For purposes of this subsection, in the case of

13 a State that has a 2-year legislative session, each year

14 of the session is deemed to be a separate regular ses15 sion of the State legislature.

16 (4) REQUIREMENTS TREATED AS STATE PLAN

17 REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of part E of title IV

18 of the Social Security Act, the requirements of this

19 subsection shall be treated as State plan requirements

20 imposed by section 471(a) of such Act.

21 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section

22 or in part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

23 670 et seq.), as amended by this Act, shall be construed as

24 precluding State courts or State agencies from initiating

25 the termination of parental rights for reasons other than,
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1 or for timelines earlier than, those specified in part E of

2 title IV of such Act, when such actions are determined to

3 be in the best interests of the child, including cases where

4 the child has experienced multiple foster care placements

5 of varying durations.

6 SEC. 104. NOTICE OF REVIEWS AND HEARINGS; OPPOR7 TUNITY TO BE HEARD.

8 Section 475(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

9 675(5)), as amended by section 103, is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara11 graph (E);

12 (2) by striking the period at the end of subpara13 graph (F) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

15 ‘‘(G) the foster parents (if any) of a child

16 and any preadoptive parent or relative provid17 ing care for the child are provided with notice of,

18 and an opportunity to be heard in, any review

19 or hearing to be held with respect to the child,

20 except that this subparagraph shall not be con21 strued to require that any foster parent,

22 preadoptive parent, or relative providing care for

23 the child be made a party to such a review or

24 hearing solely on the basis of such notice and op25 portunity to be heard.’’.
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1 SEC. 105. USE OF THE FEDERAL PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE

2 FOR CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.

3 Section 453 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653)

4 is amended—

5 (1) in subsection (a)(2)—

6 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph

7 (A), by inserting ‘‘or making or enforcing child

8 custody or visitation orders,’’ after ‘‘obliga9 tions,’’; and

10 (B) in subparagraph (A)—

11 (i) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause

12 (ii);

13 (ii) by striking the comma at the end

14 of clause (iii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

15 (iii) by inserting after clause (iii) the

16 following:

17 ‘‘(iv) who has or may have parental

18 rights with respect to a child,’’; and

19 (2) in subsection (c)—

20 (A) by striking the period at the end of

21 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

23 ‘‘(4) a State agency that is administering a pro24 gram operated under a State plan under subpart 1

25 of part B, or a State plan approved under subpart

26 2 of part B or under part E.’’.
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1 SEC. 106. CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS FOR PROSPECTIVE

2 FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS.

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

4 671(a)) is amended—

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

6 (18);

7 (2) by striking the period at the end of para8 graph (19) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

10 ‘‘(20)(A) unless an election provided for in sub11 paragraph (B) is made with respect to the State, pro12 vides procedures for criminal records checks for any

13 prospective foster or adoptive parent before the foster

14 or adoptive parent may be finally approved for place15 ment of a child on whose behalf foster care mainte16 nance payments or adoption assistance payments are

17 to be made under the State plan under this part, in18 cluding procedures requiring that—

19 ‘‘(i) in any case in which a record check re20 veals a felony conviction for child abuse or ne21 glect, for spousal abuse, for a crime against chil22 dren (including child pornography), or for a

23 crime involving violence, including rape, sexual

24 assault, or homicide, but not including other

25 physical assault or battery, if a State finds that

26 a court of competent jurisdiction has determined
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1 that the felony was committed at any time, such

2 final approval shall not be granted; and

3 ‘‘(ii) in any case in which a record check

4 reveals a felony conviction for physical assault,

5 battery, or a drug-related offense, if a State finds

6 that a court of competent jurisdiction has deter7 mined that the felony was committed within the

8 past 5 years, such final approval shall not be

9 granted; and

10 ‘‘(B) subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a

11 State plan if the Governor of the State has notified

12 the Secretary in writing that the State has elected to

13 make subparagraph (A) inapplicable to the State, or

14 if the State legislature, by law, has elected to make

15 subparagraph (A) inapplicable to the State.’’.

16 SEC. 107. DOCUMENTATION OF EFFORTS FOR ADOPTION OR

17 LOCATION OF A PERMANENT HOME.

18 Section 475(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

19 675(1)) is amended—

20 (1) in the last sentence—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘the case plan must also in22 clude’’; and

23 (B) by redesignating such sentence as sub24 paragraph (D) and indenting appropriately;

25 and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(E) In the case of a child with respect to

3 whom the permanency plan is adoption or place4 ment in another permanent home, documenta5 tion of the steps the agency is taking to find an

6 adoptive family or other permanent living ar7 rangement for the child, to place the child with

8 an adoptive family, a fit and willing relative, a

9 legal guardian, or in another planned perma10 nent living arrangement, and to finalize the

11 adoption or legal guardianship. At a minimum,

12 such documentation shall include child specific

13 recruitment efforts such as the use of State, re14 gional, and national adoption exchanges includ15 ing electronic exchange systems.’’.

16 TITLE II—INCENTIVES FOR PRO17 VIDING PERMANENT FAMI18 LIES FOR CHILDREN

19 SEC. 201. ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part E of title IV of the Social Se21 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 670–679) is amended by inserting

22 after section 473 the following:

23 ‘‘SEC. 473A. ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.

24 ‘‘(a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—Subject to the availability

25 of such amounts as may be provided in advance in appro-
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1 priations Acts for this purpose, the Secretary shall make

2 a grant to each State that is an incentive-eligible State for

3 a fiscal year in an amount equal to the adoption incentive

4 payment payable to the State under this section for the fis5 cal year, which shall be payable in the immediately succeed6 ing fiscal year.

7 ‘‘(b) INCENTIVE-ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State is an in8 centive-eligible State for a fiscal year if—

9 ‘‘(1) the State has a plan approved under this

10 part for the fiscal year;

11 ‘‘(2) the number of foster child adoptions in the

12 State during the fiscal year exceeds the base number

13 of foster child adoptions for the State for the fiscal

14 year;

15 ‘‘(3) the State is in compliance with subsection

16 (c) for the fiscal year;

17 ‘‘(4) in the case of fiscal years 2001 and 2002,

18 the State provides health insurance coverage to any

19 child with special needs (as determined under section

20 473(c)) for whom there is in effect an adoption assist21 ance agreement between a State and an adoptive par22 ent or parents; and

23 ‘‘(5) the fiscal year is any of fiscal years 1998

24 through 2002.

25 ‘‘(c) DATA REQUIREMENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State is in compliance

2 with this subsection for a fiscal year if the State has

3 provided to the Secretary the data described in para4 graph (2)—

5 ‘‘(A) for fiscal years 1995 through 1997 (or,

6 if the 1st fiscal year for which the State seeks a

7 grant under this section is after fiscal year 1998,

8 the fiscal year that precedes such 1st fiscal year);

9 and

10 ‘‘(B) for each succeeding fiscal year that

11 precedes the fiscal year.

12 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF NUMBERS OF ADOP13 TIONS.—

14 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATIONS BASED ON AFCARS

15 DATA.—Except as provided in subparagraph

16 (B), the Secretary shall determine the numbers of

17 foster child adoptions and of special needs adop18 tions in a State during each of fiscal years 1995

19 through 2002, for purposes of this section, on the

20 basis of data meeting the requirements of the sys21 tem established pursuant to section 479, as re22 ported by the State and approved by the Sec23 retary by August 1 of the succeeding fiscal year.

24 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE DATA SOURCES PER25 MITTED FOR FISCAL YEARS 1995 THROUGH
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1 1997.—For purposes of the determination de2 scribed in subparagraph (A) for fiscal years

3 1995 through 1997, the Secretary may use data

4 from a source or sources other than that specified

5 in subparagraph (A) that the Secretary finds to

6 be of equivalent completeness and reliability, as

7 reported by a State by November 30, 1997, and

8 approved by the Secretary by March 1, 1998.

9 ‘‘(3) NO WAIVER OF AFCARS REQUIREMENTS.—

10 This section shall not be construed to alter or affect

11 any requirement of section 479 or of any regulation

12 prescribed under such section with respect to report13 ing of data by States, or to waive any penalty for

14 failure to comply with such a requirement.

15 ‘‘(d) ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENT.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), the adoption incentive payment payable to

18 a State for a fiscal year under this section shall be

19 equal to the sum of—

20 ‘‘(A) $4,000, multiplied by the amount (if

21 any) by which the number of foster child adop22 tions in the State during the fiscal year exceeds

23 the base number of foster child adoptions for the

24 State for the fiscal year; and
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1 ‘‘(B) $2,000, multiplied by the amount (if

2 any) by which the number of special needs adop3 tions in the State during the fiscal year exceeds

4 the base number of special needs adoptions for

5 the State for the fiscal year.

6 ‘‘(2) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT IF INSUFFICIENT

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

8 amount of adoption incentive payments otherwise

9 payable under this section for a fiscal year exceeds the

10 amount appropriated pursuant to subsection (h) for

11 the fiscal year, the amount of the adoption incentive

12 payment payable to each State under this section for

13 the fiscal year shall be—

14 ‘‘(A) the amount of the adoption incentive

15 payment that would otherwise be payable to the

16 State under this section for the fiscal year; mul17 tiplied by

18 ‘‘(B) the percentage represented by the

19 amount so appropriated for the fiscal year, di20 vided by the total amount of adoption incentive

21 payments otherwise payable under this section

22 for the fiscal year.

23 ‘‘(e) 2-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF INCENTIVE PAY24 MENTS.—Payments to a State under this section in a fiscal
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1 year shall remain available for use by the State through

2 the end of the succeeding fiscal year.

3 ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—

4 A State shall not expend an amount paid to the State under

5 this section except to provide to children or families any

6 service (including post-adoption services) that may be pro7 vided under part B or E. Amounts expended by a State

8 in accordance with the preceding sentence shall be dis9 regarded in determining State expenditures for purposes of

10 Federal matching payments under sections 423, 434, and

11 474.

12 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

13 ‘‘(1) FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION.—The term ‘foster

14 child adoption’ means the final adoption of a child

15 who, at the time of adoptive placement, was in foster

16 care under the supervision of the State.

17 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL NEEDS ADOPTION.—The term ‘spe18 cial needs adoption’ means the final adoption of a

19 child for whom an adoption assistance agreement is

20 in effect under section 473.

21 ‘‘(3) BASE NUMBER OF FOSTER CHILD ADOP22 TIONS.—The term ‘base number of foster child adop23 tions for a State’ means—
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1 ‘‘(A) with respect to fiscal year 1998, the

2 average number of foster child adoptions in the

3 State in fiscal years 1995, 1996, and 1997; and

4 ‘‘(B) with respect to any subsequent fiscal

5 year, the number of foster child adoptions in the

6 State in the fiscal year for which the number is

7 the greatest in the period that begins with fiscal

8 year 1997 and ends with the fiscal year preced9 ing such subsequent fiscal year.

10 ‘‘(4) BASE NUMBER OF SPECIAL NEEDS ADOP11 TIONS.—The term ‘base number of special needs adop12 tions for a State’ means—

13 ‘‘(A) with respect to fiscal year 1998, the

14 average number of special needs adoptions in the

15 State in fiscal years 1995, 1996, and 1997; and

16 ‘‘(B) with respect to any subsequent fiscal

17 year, the number of special needs adoptions in

18 the State in the fiscal year for which the number

19 is the greatest in the period that begins with fis20 cal year 1997 and ends with the fiscal year pre21 ceding such subsequent fiscal year.

22 ‘‘(h) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA23 TIONS.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For grants under subsection

25 (a), there are authorized to be appropriated to the
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1 Secretary $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999

2 through 2003.

3 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated

4 under paragraph (1) are authorized to remain avail5 able until expended, but not after fiscal year 2003.

6 ‘‘(i) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, directly

8 or through grants or contracts, provide technical as9 sistance to assist States and local communities to

10 reach their targets for increased numbers of adoptions

11 and, to the extent that adoption is not possible, alter12 native permanent placements, for children in foster

13 care.

14 ‘‘(2) DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER OF THE

15 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The technical assistance

16 provided under paragraph (1) may support the goal

17 of encouraging more adoptions out of the foster care

18 system, when adoptions promote the best interests of

19 children, and may include the following:

20 ‘‘(A) The development of best practice guide21 lines for expediting termination of parental

22 rights.

23 ‘‘(B) Models to encourage the use of concur24 rent planning.
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1 ‘‘(C) The development of specialized units

2 and expertise in moving children toward adop3 tion as a permanency goal.

4 ‘‘(D) The development of risk assessment

5 tools to facilitate early identification of the chil6 dren who will be at risk of harm if returned

7 home.

8 ‘‘(E) Models to encourage the fast tracking

9 of children who have not attained 1 year of age

10 into pre-adoptive placements.

11 ‘‘(F) Development of programs that place

12 children into pre-adoptive families without wait13 ing for termination of parental rights.

14 ‘‘(3) TARGETING OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO

15 THE COURTS.—Not less than 50 percent of any

16 amount appropriated pursuant to paragraph (4)

17 shall be used to provide technical assistance to the

18 courts.

19 ‘‘(4) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF AP20 PROPRIATIONS.—To carry out this subsection, there

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

22 Health and Human Services not to exceed

23 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1998 through

24 2000.’’.
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1 (b) DISCRETIONARY CAP ADJUSTMENT FOR ADOPTION

2 INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—

3 (1) SECTION 251 AMENDMENT.—Section

4 251(b)(2) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency

5 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)), as

6 amended by section 10203(a)(4) of the Balanced

7 Budget Act of 1997, is amended by adding at the end

8 the following new subparagraph:

9 ‘‘(G) ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—

10 Whenever a bill or joint resolution making ap11 propriations for fiscal year 1999, 2000, 2001,

12 2002, or 2003 is enacted that specifies an

13 amount for adoption incentive payments pursu14 ant to this part for the Department of Health

15 and Human Services—

16 ‘‘(i) the adjustments for new budget

17 authority shall be the amounts of new budg18 et authority provided in that measure for

19 adoption incentive payments, but not to ex20 ceed $20,000,000; and

21 ‘‘(ii) the adjustment for outlays shall

22 be the additional outlays flowing from such

23 amount.’’.

24 (2) SECTION 314 AMENDMENT.—Section 314(b) of

25 the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended by
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1 section 10114(a) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997,

2 is amended—

3 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para4 graph (4);

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

6 paragraph (5) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

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

8 ‘‘(6) in the case of an amount for adoption in9 centive payments (as defined in section 251(b)(2)(G)

10 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con11 trol Act of 1985) for fiscal year 1999, 2000, 2001,

12 2002, or 2003 for the Department of Health and

13 Human Services, an amount not to exceed

14 $20,000,000.’’.

15 SEC. 202. ADOPTIONS ACROSS STATE AND COUNTY JURIS16 DICTIONS.

17 (a) STATE PLAN FOR CHILD WELFARE SERVICES RE18 QUIREMENT.—Section 422(b) of the Social Security Act (42

19 U.S.C. 622(b)) is amended—

20 (1) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

21 end;

22 (2) in paragraph (11), by striking the period

23 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

24 (3) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(12) contain assurances that the State shall de2 velop plans for the effective use of cross-jurisdictional

3 resources to facilitate timely adoptive or permanent

4 placements for waiting children.’’.

5 (b) CONDITION OF ASSISTANCE.—Section 474 of such

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 674) is amended by adding at the end the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(e) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a State shall not

9 be eligible for any payment under this section if the Sec10 retary finds that, after the date of the enactment of this

11 subsection, the State has—

12 ‘‘(1) denied or delayed the placement of a child

13 for adoption when an approved family is available

14 outside of the jurisdiction with responsibility for han15 dling the case of the child; or

16 ‘‘(2) failed to grant an opportunity for a fair

17 hearing, as described in section 471(a)(12), to an in18 dividual whose allegation of a violation of paragraph

19 (1) of this subsection is denied by the State or not

20 acted upon by the State with reasonable prompt21 ness.’’.

22 (c) STUDY OF INTERJURISDICTIONAL ADOPTION IS23 SUES.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of

25 the United States shall—
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1 (A) study and consider how to improve pro2 cedures and policies to facilitate the timely and

3 permanent adoptions of children across State

4 and county jurisdictions; and

5 (B) examine, at a minimum, interjurisdic6 tional adoption issues—

7 (i) concerning the recruitment of pro8 spective adoptive families from other States

9 and counties;

10 (ii) concerning the procedures to grant

11 reciprocity to prospective adoptive family

12 home studies from other States and coun13 ties;

14 (iii) arising from a review of the com15 ity and full faith and credit provided to

16 adoption decrees and termination of paren17 tal rights orders from other States; and

18 (iv) concerning the procedures related

19 to the administration and implementation

20 of the Interstate Compact on the Placement

21 of Children.

22 (2) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Not later than

23 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

24 Comptroller General shall submit to the appropriate

25 committees of the Congress a report that includes—
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1 (A) the results of the study conducted under

2 paragraph (1); and

3 (B) recommendations on how to improve

4 procedures to facilitate the interjurisdictional

5 adoption of children, including interstate and

6 intercounty adoptions, so that children will be

7 assured timely and permanent placements.

8 SEC. 203. PERFORMANCE OF STATES IN PROTECTING CHIL9 DREN.

10 (a) ANNUAL REPORT ON STATE PERFORMANCE.—Part

11 E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et

12 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 479A. ANNUAL REPORT.

14 ‘‘The Secretary, in consultation with Governors, State

15 legislatures, State and local public officials responsible for

16 administering child welfare programs, and child welfare

17 advocates, shall—

18 ‘‘(1) develop a set of outcome measures (includ19 ing length of stay in foster care, number of foster care

20 placements, and number of adoptions) that can be

21 used to assess the performance of States in operating

22 child protection and child welfare programs pursuant

23 to parts B and E to ensure the safety of children;

24 ‘‘(2) to the maximum extent possible, the out25 come measures should be developed from data avail-
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1 able from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and

2 Reporting System;

3 ‘‘(3) develop a system for rating the performance

4 of States with respect to the outcome measures, and

5 provide to the States an explanation of the rating sys6 tem and how scores are determined under the rating

7 system;

8 ‘‘(4) prescribe such regulations as may be nec9 essary to ensure that States provide to the Secretary

10 the data necessary to determine State performance

11 with respect to each outcome measure, as a condition

12 of the State receiving funds under this part; and

13 ‘‘(5) on May 1, 1999, and annually thereafter,

14 prepare and submit to the Congress a report on the

15 performance of each State on each outcome measure,

16 which shall examine the reasons for high performance

17 and low performance and, where possible, make rec18 ommendations as to how State performance could be

19 improved.’’.

20 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE-BASED INCEN21 TIVE SYSTEM.—The Secretary of Health and Human Serv22 ices, in consultation with State and local public officials

23 responsible for administering child welfare programs and

24 child welfare advocates, shall study, develop, and rec25 ommend to Congress an incentive system to provide pay-
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•HR 867 EAH

1 ments under parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 620 et seq., 670 et seq.) to any State based

3 on the State’s performance under such a system. Such a

4 system shall, to the extent the Secretary determines feasible

5 and appropriate, be based on the annual report required

6 by section 479A of the Social Security Act (as added by

7 subsection (a) of this section) or on any proposed modifica8 tions of the annual report. Not later than 6 months after

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

10 submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House

11 of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the

12 Senate a progress report on the feasibility, timetable, and

13 consultation process for conducting such a study. Not later

14 than 15 months after such date of enactment, the Secretary

15 shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the

16 House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance

17 of the Senate the final report on a performance-based incen18 tive system. The report may include other recommendations

19 for restructuring the program and payments under parts

20 B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act.
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1 TITLE III—ADDITIONAL

2 IMPROVEMENTS AND REFORMS

3 SEC. 301. EXPANSION OF CHILD WELFARE DEMONSTRA4 TION PROJECTS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1130(a) of the Social Secu6 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–9) is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO APPROVE DEMONSTRATION

8 PROJECTS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may authorize

10 States to conduct demonstration projects pursuant to

11 this section which the Secretary finds are likely to

12 promote the objectives of part B or E of title IV.

13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may authorize

14 not more than 10 demonstration projects under para15 graph (1) in each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002.

16 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN TYPES OF PROPOSALS REQUIRED

17 TO BE CONSIDERED.—

18 ‘‘(A) If an appropriate application therefor

19 is submitted, the Secretary shall consider author20 izing a demonstration project which is designed

21 to identify and address barriers that result in

22 delays to adoptive placements for children in fos23 ter care.

24 ‘‘(B) If an appropriate application therefor

25 is submitted, the Secretary shall consider author-
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1 izing a demonstration project which is designed

2 to identify and address parental substance abuse

3 problems that endanger children and result in

4 the placement of children in foster care, includ5 ing through the placement of children with their

6 parents in residential treatment facilities (in7 cluding residential treatment facilities for post8 partum depression) that are specifically designed

9 to serve parents and children together in order to

10 promote family reunification and that can en11 sure the health and safety of the children in such

12 placements.

13 ‘‘(C) If an appropriate application therefor

14 is submitted, the Secretary shall consider author15 izing a demonstration project which is designed

16 to address kinship care.

17 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY.—The Sec18 retary may not authorize a State to conduct a dem19 onstration project under this section if the State fails

20 to provide health insurance coverage to any child

21 with special needs (as determined under section

22 473(c)) for whom there is in effect an adoption assist23 ance agreement between a State and an adoptive par24 ent or parents.
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1 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENT TO CONSIDER EFFECT OF

2 PROJECT ON TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CERTAIN

3 COURT ORDERS.—In considering an application to

4 conduct a demonstration project under this section

5 that has been submitted by a State in which there is

6 in effect a court order determining that the State’s

7 child welfare program has failed to comply with the

8 provisions of part B or E of title IV, or with the Con9 stitution of the United States, the Secretary shall take

10 into consideration the effect of approving the proposed

11 project on the terms and conditions of the court order

12 related to the failure to comply.’’.

13 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the amend14 ment made by subsection (a) shall be construed as affecting

15 the terms and conditions of any demonstration project ap16 proved under section 1130 of the Social Security Act (42

17 U.S.C. 1320a–9) before the date of the enactment of this

18 Act.

19 (c) AUTHORITY TO EXTEND DURATION OF DEM20 ONSTRATIONS.—Section 1130(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

21 1320a–9(d)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, unless in the judg22 ment of the Secretary, the demonstration project should be

23 allowed to continue’’ before the period.
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1 SEC. 302. PERMANENCY HEARINGS.

2 Section 475(5)(C) of the Social Security Act (42

3 U.S.C. 675(5)(C)) is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘dispositional’’ and inserting

5 ‘‘permanency’’;

6 (2) by striking ‘‘eighteen’’ and inserting ‘‘12’’;

7 (3) by striking ‘‘original placement’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘date the child is considered to have entered foster

9 care (as determined under subparagraph (F))’’; and

10 (4) by striking ‘‘future status of’’ and all that

11 follows through ‘‘long term basis)’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘permanency plan for the child that includes whether,

13 and if applicable when, the child will be returned to

14 the parent, placed for adoption and the State will file

15 a petition for termination of parental rights, or re16 ferred for legal guardianship, or (in cases where the

17 State agency has documented to the State court a

18 compelling reason for determining that it would not

19 be in the best interests of the child to return home, be

20 referred for termination of parental rights, or be

21 placed for adoption, with a fit and willing relative,

22 or with a legal guardian) placed in another planned

23 permanent living arrangement’’.

24 SEC. 303. KINSHIP CARE.

25 (a) REPORT.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and

2 Human Services shall—

3 (A) not later than June 1, 1998, convene the

4 advisory panel provided for in subsection (b)(1)

5 and prepare and submit to the advisory panel

6 an initial report on the extent to which children

7 in foster care are placed in the care of a relative

8 (in this section referred to as ‘‘kinship care’’);

9 and

10 (B) not later than June 1, 1999, submit to

11 the Committee on Ways and Means of the House

12 of Representatives and the Committee on Fi13 nance of the Senate a final report on the matter

14 described in subparagraph (A), which shall—

15 (i) be based on the comments submitted

16 by the advisory panel pursuant to sub17 section (b)(2) and other information and

18 considerations; and

19 (ii) include the policy recommenda20 tions of the Secretary with respect to the

21 matter.

22 (2) REQUIRED CONTENTS.—Each report required

23 by paragraph (1) shall—

24 (A) include, to the extent available for each

25 State, information on—
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1 (i) the policy of the State regarding

2 kinship care;

3 (ii) the characteristics of the kinship

4 care providers (including age, income, eth5 nicity, and race, and the relationship of the

6 kinship care providers to the children);

7 (iii) the characteristics of the household

8 of such providers (such as number of other

9 persons in the household and family com10 position);

11 (iv) how much access to the child is af12 forded to the parent from whom the child

13 has been removed;

14 (v) the cost of, and source of funds for,

15 kinship care (including any subsidies such

16 as medicaid and cash assistance);

17 (vi) the permanency plan for the child

18 and the actions being taken by the State to

19 achieve the plan;

20 (vii) the services being provided to the

21 parent from whom the child has been re22 moved; and

23 (viii) the services being provided to the

24 kinship care provider; and
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1 (B) specifically note the circumstances or

2 conditions under which children enter kinship

3 care.

4 (b) ADVISORY PANEL.—

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health

6 and Human Services, in consultation with the Chair7 man of the Committee on Ways and Means of the

8 House of Representatives and the Chairman of the

9 Committee on Finance of the Senate, shall convene an

10 advisory panel which shall include parents, foster

11 parents, relative caregivers, former foster children,

12 State and local public officials responsible for admin13 istering child welfare programs, private persons in14 volved in the delivery of child welfare services, rep15 resentatives of tribal governments and tribal courts,

16 judges, and academic experts.

17 (2) DUTIES.—The advisory panel convened pur18 suant to paragraph (1) shall review the report pre19 pared pursuant to subsection (a), and, not later than

20 October 1, 1998, submit to the Secretary comments on

21 the report.

22 SEC. 304. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE POPULATION FOR

23 INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES.

24 Section 477(a)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42

25 U.S.C. 677(a)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(including
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1 children with respect to whom such payments are no longer

2 being made because the child has accumulated assets, not

3 to exceed $5,000, which are otherwise regarded as resources

4 for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits under

5 this part)’’ before the comma.

6 SEC. 305. REAUTHORIZATION AND EXPANSION OF FAMILY

7 PRESERVATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

8 (a) REAUTHORIZATION OF FAMILY PRESERVATION

9 AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 430(b) of the Social

11 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629(b)) is amended—

12 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ at

13 the end;

14 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the period

15 and inserting a semicolon; and

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

17 ‘‘(6) for fiscal year 1999, $275,000,000;

18 ‘‘(7) for fiscal year 2000, $295,000,000; and

19 ‘‘(8) for fiscal year 2001, $305,000,000.’’.

20 (2) CONTINUATION OF RESERVATION OF CERTAIN

21 AMOUNTS.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 430(d)

22 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629(d)(1) and

23 (2)) are each amended by striking ‘‘and 1998’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001’’.
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1 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 13712

2 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (42

3 U.S.C. 670 note) is amended—

4 (A) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘1998’’

5 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘2001’’; and

6 (B) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ‘‘and

7 1998’’ and inserting ‘‘1998, 1999, 2000, and

8 2001’’.

9 (b) EXPANSION FOR TIME-LIMITED FAMILY REUNIFI10 CATION SERVICES AND ADOPTION PROMOTION AND SUP11 PORT SERVICES.—

12 (1) ADDITIONS TO STATE PLAN.—Section 432 of

13 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629b) is amend14 ed—

15 (A) in subsection (a)—

16 (i) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and

17 community-based family support services’’

18 and inserting ‘‘, community-based family

19 support services, time-limited family reuni20 fication services, and adoption promotion

21 and support services,’’; and

22 (ii) in paragraph (5)(A), by striking

23 ‘‘and community-based family support serv24 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘, community-based

25 family support services, time-limited family
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1 reunification services, and adoption pro2 motion and support services’’; and

3 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘and

4 family support’’ and inserting ‘‘, family support,

5 time-limited family reunification, and adoption

6 promotion and support’’.

7 (2) DEFINITIONS OF TIME-LIMITED FAMILY RE8 UNIFICATION SERVICES AND ADOPTION PROMOTION

9 AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—Section 431(a) of the So10 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is amended by

11 adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(7) TIME-LIMITED FAMILY REUNIFICATION

13 SERVICES.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘time-limited

15 family reunification services’ means the services

16 and activities described in subparagraph (B)

17 that are provided to a child that is removed from

18 the child’s home and placed in a foster family

19 home or a child care institution and to the par20 ents or primary caregiver of such a child, in

21 order to facilitate the reunification of the child

22 safely and appropriately within a timely fash23 ion, but only during the 15-month period that

24 begins on the date that the child, pursuant to
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1 section 475(5)(F), is considered to have entered

2 foster care.

3 ‘‘(B) SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES DE4 SCRIBED.—The services and activities described

5 in this subparagraph are the following:

6 ‘‘(i) Individual, group, and family

7 counseling.

8 ‘‘(ii) Inpatient, residential, or out9 patient substance abuse treatment services.

10 ‘‘(iii) Mental health services.

11 ‘‘(iv) Assistance to address domestic vi12 olence.

13 ‘‘(v) Services designed to provide tem14 porary child care and therapeutic services

15 for families, including crisis nurseries.

16 ‘‘(vi) Transportation to or from any of

17 the services and activities described in this

18 subparagraph.

19 ‘‘(8) ADOPTION PROMOTION AND SUPPORT SERV20 ICES.—The term ‘adoption promotion and support

21 services’ means services and activities designed to en22 courage more adoptions out of the foster care system,

23 when adoptions promote the best interests of children,

24 including such activities as pre-and post-adoptive
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1 services and activities designed to expedite the adop2 tion process and support adoptive families.’’.

3 (3) ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

4 (A) PURPOSES.—Section 430(a) of the So5 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629(a)) is amended

6 by striking ‘‘and community-based family sup7 port services’’ and inserting ‘‘, community-based

8 family support services, time-limited family re9 unification services, and adoption promotion

10 and support services’’.

11 (B) PROGRAM TITLE.—The heading of sub12 part 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 629 et seq.) is amended to read

14 as follows:

15 ‘‘Subpart 2—Promoting Safe and Stable Families’’.

16 (c) EMPHASIZING THE SAFETY OF THE CHILD.—

17 (1) REQUIRING ASSURANCES THAT THE SAFETY

18 OF CHILDREN SHALL BE OF PARAMOUNT CONCERN.—

19 Section 432(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

20 629b(a)) is amended—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para22 graph (7);

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

24 paragraph (8); and

25 (C) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(9) contains assurances that in administering

2 and conducting service programs under the plan, the

3 safety of the children to be served shall be of para4 mount concern.’’.

5 (2) DEFINITIONS OF FAMILY PRESERVATION AND

6 FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES.—Section 431(a) of the

7 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is amend8 ed—

9 (A) in paragraph (1)—

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

11 ‘‘safe and’’ before ‘‘appropriate’’ each place

12 it appears; and

13 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting

14 ‘‘safely’’ after ‘‘remain’’; and

15 (B) in paragraph (2)—

16 (i) by inserting ‘‘safety and’’ before

17 ‘‘well-being’’; and

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘stable’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘safe, stable,’’.

20 (d) CLARIFICATION OF MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT RE21 QUIREMENT.—

22 (1) DEFINITION OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—Sec23 tion 431(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

24 629a(a)), as amended by subsection (b)(2), is amend25 ed by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(9) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—The term ‘non-Fed2 eral funds’ means State funds, or at the option of a

3 State, State and local funds.’’.

4 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

5 paragraph (1) takes effect as if included in the enact6 ment of section 13711 of the Omnibus Budget Rec7 onciliation Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–33; 107

8 Stat. 649).

9 SEC. 306. HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR CHILDREN

10 WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.

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

12 671(a)), as amended by section 106, is amended—

13 (1) in paragraph (19), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

14 end;

15 (2) in paragraph (20), by striking the period

16 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

18 ‘‘(21) provides for health insurance coverage (in19 cluding, at State option, through the program under

20 the State plan approved under title XIX) for any

21 child who has been determined to be a child with spe22 cial needs, for whom there is in effect an adoption as23 sistance agreement (other than an agreement under

24 this part) between the State and an adoptive parent

25 or parents, and who the State has determined cannot
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1 be placed with an adoptive parent or parents without

2 medical assistance because such child has special

3 needs for medical, mental health, or rehabilitative

4 care, and that with respect to the provision of such

5 health insurance coverage—

6 ‘‘(A) such coverage may be provided through

7 1 or more State medical assistance programs;

8 ‘‘(B) the State, in providing such coverage,

9 shall ensure that the medical benefits, including

10 mental health benefits, provided are of the same

11 type and kind as those that would be provided

12 for children by the State under title XIX;

13 ‘‘(C) in the event that the State provides

14 such coverage through a State medical assistance

15 program other than the program under title

16 XIX, and the State exceeds its funding for serv17 ices under such other program, any such child

18 shall be deemed to be receiving aid or assistance

19 under the State plan under this part for pur20 poses of section 1902(a)(10)(A)(i)(I); and

21 ‘‘(D) in determining cost-sharing require22 ments, the State shall take into consideration the

23 circumstances of the adopting parent or parents

24 and the needs of the child being adopted consist25 ent, to the extent coverage is provided through a
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1 State medical assistance program, with the rules

2 under such program.’’.

3 SEC. 307. CONTINUATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR ADOPTION

4 ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS ON BEHALF OF CHIL5 DREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS WHOSE INITIAL

6 ADOPTION HAS BEEN DISSOLVED.

7 (a) CONTINUATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Section

8 473(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)(2))

9 is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Any child

10 who meets the requirements of subparagraph (C), who was

11 determined eligible for adoption assistance payments under

12 this part with respect to a prior adoption, who is available

13 for adoption because the prior adoption has been dissolved

14 and the parental rights of the adoptive parents have been

15 terminated or because the child’s adoptive parents have

16 died, and who fails to meet the requirements of subpara17 graphs (A) and (B) but would meet such requirements if

18 the child were treated as if the child were in the same finan19 cial and other circumstances the child was in the last time

20 the child was determined eligible for adoption assistance

21 payments under this part and the prior adoption were

22 treated as never having occurred, shall be treated as meeting

23 the requirements of this paragraph for purposes of para24 graph (1)(B)(ii).’’.
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1 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub2 section (a) shall only apply to children who are adopted

3 on or after October 1, 1997.

4 SEC. 308. STATE STANDARDS TO ENSURE QUALITY SERV5 ICES FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.

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

7 671(a)), as amended by sections 106 and 306, is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (20), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

9 end;

10 (2) in paragraph (21), by striking the period

11 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

13 ‘‘(22) provides that, not later than January 1,

14 1999, the State shall develop and implement stand15 ards to ensure that children in foster care placements

16 in public or private agencies are provided quality

17 services that protect the safety and health of the chil18 dren.’’.

19 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

20 SEC. 401. PRESERVATION OF REASONABLE PARENTING.

21 Nothing in this Act is intended to disrupt the family

22 unnecessarily or to intrude inappropriately into family life,

23 to prohibit the use of reasonable methods of parental dis24 cipline, or to prescribe a particular method of parenting.
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1 SEC. 402. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

2 Any information required to be reported under this Act

3 shall be supplied to the Secretary of Health and Human

4 Services through data meeting the requirements of the Adop5 tion and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System estab6 lished pursuant to section 479 of the Social Security Act

7 (42 U.S.C. 679), to the extent such data is available under

8 that system. The Secretary shall make such modifications

9 to regulations issued under section 479 of such Act with

10 respect to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Re11 porting System as may be necessary to allow States to ob12 tain data that meets the requirements of such system in

13 order to satisfy the reporting requirements of this Act.

14 SEC. 403. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING STANDBY

15 GUARDIANSHIP.

16 It is the sense of Congress that the States should have

17 in effect laws and procedures that permit any parent who

18 is chronically ill or near death, without surrendering pa19 rental rights, to designate a standby guardian for the par20 ent’s minor children, whose authority would take effect

21 upon—

22 (1) the death of the parent;

23 (2) the mental incapacity of the parent; or

24 (3) the physical debilitation and consent of the

25 parent.
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1 SEC. 404. TEMPORARY ADJUSTMENT OF CONTINGENCY

2 FUND FOR STATE WELFARE PROGRAMS.

3 (a) REDUCTION OF APPROPRIATION.—Section

4 403(b)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(b)(2))

5 is amended by inserting ‘‘, reduced by the sum of the dollar

6 amounts specified in paragraph (6)(C)(ii)’’ before the pe7 riod.

8 (b) INCREASE IN STATE REMITTANCES.—Section

9 403(b)(6) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(b)(6)) is amended by

10 adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENT OF STATE REMIT12 TANCES.—

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The amount other14 wise required by subparagraph (A) to be re15 mitted by a State for a fiscal year shall be

16 increased by the lesser of—

17 ‘‘(I) the total adjustment for the

18 fiscal year, multiplied by the adjust19 ment percentage for the State for the

20 fiscal year; or

21 ‘‘(II) the unadjusted net payment

22 to the State for the fiscal year.

23 ‘‘(ii) TOTAL ADJUSTMENT.—As used in

24 clause (i), the term ‘total adjustment’

25 means—
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1 ‘‘(I) in the case of fiscal year

2 1998, $2,000,000;

3 ‘‘(II) in the case of fiscal year

4 1999, $9,000,000;

5 ‘‘(III) in the case of fiscal year

6 2000, $16,000,000; and

7 ‘‘(IV) in the case of fiscal year

8 2001, $13,000,000.

9 ‘‘(iii) ADJUSTMENT PERCENTAGE.—As

10 used in clause (i), the term ‘adjustment per11 centage’ means, with respect to a State and

12 a fiscal year—

13 ‘‘(I) the unadjusted net payment

14 to the State for the fiscal year; divided

15 by

16 ‘‘(II) the sum of the unadjusted

17 net payments to all States for the fiscal

18 year.

19 ‘‘(iv) UNADJUSTED NET PAYMENT.—As

20 used in this subparagraph, the term,

21 ‘unadjusted net payment’ means with re22 spect to a State and a fiscal year—

23 ‘‘(I) the total amount paid to the

24 State under paragraph (3) in the fiscal

25 year; minus
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1 ‘‘(II) the amount that, in the ab2 sence of this subparagraph, would be

3 required by subparagraph (A) or by

4 section 409(a)(10) to be remitted by the

5 State in respect of the payment.’’.

6 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE OPER7 ATION OF THE CONTINGENCY FUND.—Not later than March

8 1, 1998, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall

9 make recommendations to the Congress for improving the

10 operation of the Contingency Fund for State Welfare Pro11 grams.

12 SEC. 405. COORDINATION OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND

13 CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES.

14 Within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this

15 Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, based

16 on information from the Substance Abuse and Mental

17 Health Services Administration and the Administration for

18 Children and Families in the Department of Health of

19 Human Services, shall prepare and submit to the Commit20 tee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and

21 the Committee on Finance of the Senate a report which de22 scribes the extent and scope of the problem of substance

23 abuse in the child welfare population, the types of services

24 provided to such population, and the outcomes resulting

25 from the provision of such services to such population. The
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1 report shall include recommendations for any legislation

2 that may be needed to improve coordination in providing

3 such services to such population.

4 SEC. 406. PURCHASE OF AMERICAN-MADE EQUIPMENT AND

5 PRODUCTS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of the Congress that,

7 to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and prod8 ucts purchased with funds made available under this Act

9 should be American-made.

10 (b) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—In providing financial

11 assistance to, or entering into any contract with, any entity

12 using funds made available under this Act, the head of each

13 Federal agency, to the greatest extent practicable, shall pro14 vide to such entity a notice describing the statement made

15 in subsection (a) by the Congress.

16 TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATE

17 SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATE.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in

19 this Act, the amendments made by this Act take effect on

20 the date of enactment of this Act.

21 (b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE22 QUIRED.—In the case of a State plan under part B or E

23 of title IV of the Social Security Act which the Secretary

24 of Health and Human Services determines requires State

25 legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) in
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1 order for the plan to meet the additional requirements im2 posed by the amendments made by this Act, the State plan

3 shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the require4 ments of such part solely on the basis of the failure of the

5 plan to meet such additional requirements before the first

6 day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the close

7 of the first regular session of the State legislature that be8 gins after the date of enactment of this Act. For purposes

9 of the previous sentence, in the case of a State that has a

10 2-year legislative session, each year of such session shall be

11 deemed to be a separate regular session of the State legisla12 ture.

Attest:

Clerk.