In the Senate of the United States,

November 8, 1997.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 867) entitled ‘‘An Act to promote the adoption

of children in foster care.’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pro3 motion of Adoption, Safety, and Support for Abused and

4 Neglected Children (PASS) Act’’.

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

6 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. Multidisciplinary/multiagency child death review teams.

Sec. 104. States required to initiate or join proceedings to terminate parental

rights for certain children in foster care.

Sec. 105. Notice of reviews and hearings; opportunity to be heard.

Sec. 106. Use of the Federal Parent Locator Service for child welfare services.
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Sec. 107. Criminal records checks for prospective foster and adoptive parents and

group care staff.

Sec. 108. 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. State performance in protecting children.

TITLE III—ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS AND REFORMS

Sec. 301. Expansion of child welfare demonstration projects.

Sec. 302. Permanency planning 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

disrupted.

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.

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—
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1 ‘‘(A) in determining reasonable efforts, as

2 described in this section, the child’s health and

3 safety shall be the paramount concern;

4 ‘‘(B) reasonable efforts shall be made to pre5 serve 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 when the child can be cared for at

10 home without endangering the child’s health

11 or safety; or

12 ‘‘(ii) to make it possible for the child

13 to safely return to the child’s home;

14 ‘‘(C) reasonable efforts shall not be required

15 on behalf of any parent—

16 ‘‘(i) if a court of competent jurisdiction

17 has made a determination that the parent

18 has—

19 ‘‘(I) committed murder (which

20 would have been an offense under sec21 tion 1111(a) of title 18, United States

22 Code, if the offense had occurred in the

23 special maritime or territorial juris24 diction of the United States) of another

25 child of the parent;
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1 ‘‘(II) committed voluntary man2 slaughter (which would have been an

3 offense under section 1112(a) of title

4 18, United States Code, if the offense

5 had occurred in the special maritime

6 or territorial jurisdiction of the United

7 States) of another child of the parent;

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

9 conspired, or solicited to commit such

10 murder or voluntary manslaughter; or

11 ‘‘(IV) committed a felony assault

12 that results in serious bodily injury to

13 the child or another child of the parent;

14 ‘‘(ii) if a court of competent jurisdic15 tion determines that returning the child to

16 the home of the parent would pose a serious

17 risk to the child’s health or safety (including

18 but not limited to cases of abandonment,

19 torture, chronic physical abuse, sexual

20 abuse, or a previous involuntary termi21 nation of parental rights with respect to a

22 sibling of the child); or

23 ‘‘(iii) if the State, through legislation,

24 has specified cases in which the State is not

25 required to make reasonable efforts because
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1 of serious circumstances that endanger a

2 child’s health or safety;

3 ‘‘(D) if reasonable efforts of the type de4 scribed in subparagraph (B) are not made as a

5 result of a determination made by a court of

6 competent jurisdiction in accordance with sub7 paragraph (C)—

8 ‘‘(i) a permanency planning hearing

9 (as described in section 475(5)(C)) shall be

10 held for the child within 30 days of such de11 termination; and

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

13 place the child in a timely manner in ac14 cordance with the permanency plan, and to

15 complete whatever steps are necessary to fi16 nalize the permanent placement of the child;

17 and

18 ‘‘(E) reasonable efforts to place a child for

19 adoption or with a legal guardian or custodian

20 may be made concurrently with reasonable ef21 forts of the type described in subparagraph

22 (B);’’.

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 472(a)(1) of

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

25 a child’’ before ‘‘have been made’’.
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1 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in part E of

2 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.),

3 as amended by this Act, shall be construed as precluding

4 State courts from exercising their discretion to protect the

5 health and safety of children in individual cases, when such

6 cases do not include aggravated circumstances, as defined

7 by State law.

8 SEC. 102. INCLUDING SAFETY IN CASE PLAN AND CASE RE9 VIEW SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.

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

11 seq.) is amended—

12 (1) in section 422(b)(10)(B) (as redesignated by

13 section 5592(a)(1)(A)(iii) of the Balanced Budget Act

14 of 1997 (Public Law 105–33; 111 Stat. 644))—

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

16 and’’ after ‘‘where’’; and

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

18 after ‘‘remain’’; and

19 (2) in section 475—

20 (A) in paragraph (1)—

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

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

23 (ii) in subparagraph (B)—

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

25 ‘‘child receives’’; and
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1 (II) by inserting ‘‘safe’’ after ‘‘re2 turn of the child to his own’’; and

3 (B) in paragraph (5)—

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

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

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

7 (ii) in subparagraph (B)—

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

9 child,’’ after ‘‘determine’’; and

10 (II) by inserting ‘‘and safely

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

12 SEC. 103. MULTIDISCIPLINARY/MULTIAGENCY CHILD

13 DEATH REVIEW TEAMS.

14 (a) STATE CHILD DEATH REVIEW TEAMS.—Section

15 471 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671) is amended

16 by adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(c)(1) In order to investigate and prevent child death

18 from fatal abuse and neglect, not later than 2 years after

19 the date of the enactment of this subsection, a State, in

20 order to be eligible for payments under this part, shall sub21 mit to the Secretary a certification that the State has estab22 lished and is maintaining, in accordance with applicable

23 confidentiality laws, a State child death review team, and

24 if necessary in order to cover all counties in the State, child
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1 death review teams on the regional or local level, that shall

2 review child deaths, including deaths in which—

3 ‘‘(A) there is a record of a prior report of child

4 abuse or neglect or there is reason to suspect that the

5 child death was caused by, or related to, child abuse

6 or neglect; or

7 ‘‘(B) the child who died was a ward of the State

8 or was otherwise known to the State or local child

9 welfare service agency.

10 ‘‘(2) A citizen review panel established in accordance

11 with section 106(c) of the Child Abuse Prevention and

12 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(c)) or a foster care review

13 board may be a State, regional, or local child death review

14 team for purposes of satisfying the requirements of para15 graph (1).’’.

16 (b) FEDERAL CHILD DEATH REVIEW TEAM.—Section

17 471 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671), as amended

18 by subsection (a), is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing:

20 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary shall establish a Federal child

21 death review team that shall consist of at least the following:

22 ‘‘(A) Representatives of the following Federal

23 agencies who have expertise in the prevention or

24 treatment of child abuse and neglect:
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1 ‘‘(i) Department of Health and Human

2 Services.

3 ‘‘(ii) Department of Justice.

4 ‘‘(iii) Bureau of Indian Affairs.

5 ‘‘(iv) Department of Defense.

6 ‘‘(v) Bureau of the Census.

7 ‘‘(B) Representatives of national child-serving

8 organizations who have expertise in the prevention or

9 treatment of child abuse and neglect and that, at a

10 minimum, represent the health, child welfare, social

11 services, and law enforcement fields.

12 ‘‘(2) The Federal child death review team established

13 under this subsection shall—

14 ‘‘(A) review reports of child deaths on military

15 installations and other Federal lands, and coordinate

16 with Indian tribal organizations in the review of

17 child deaths on Indian reservations;

18 ‘‘(B) upon request, provide guidance and tech19 nical assistance to States and localities seeking to ini20 tiate or improve child death review teams and to pre21 vent child fatalities; and

22 ‘‘(C) develop recommendations on related policy

23 and procedural issues for Congress, relevant Federal

24 agencies, and States and localities for the purpose of

25 preventing child fatalities.’’.
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1 SEC. 104. STATES REQUIRED TO INITIATE OR JOIN PRO2 CEEDINGS TO TERMINATE PARENTAL RIGHTS

3 FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.

4 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR PROCEEDINGS.—Section

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

6 amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara8 graph (C);

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of subpara10 graph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

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

13 foster care under the responsibility of the State

14 for 12 of the most recent 18 months, or, if a

15 court of competent jurisdiction has determined

16 an infant to have been abandoned (as defined

17 under State law), or made a determination that

18 the parent has committed murder of another

19 child of such parent, committed voluntary man20 slaughter of another child of such parent, aided

21 or abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to

22 commit such murder or voluntary manslaughter,

23 or committed a felony assault that results in se24 rious bodily injury to the surviving child or to

25 another child of such parent, the State shall file

26 a petition to terminate the parental rights of the
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1 child’s parents (or, if such a petition has been

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

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

4 identify, recruit, process, and approve a quali5 fied family for an adoption, unless—

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

7 is being cared for by a relative;

8 ‘‘(ii) a State agency has documented to

9 a State court a compelling reason for deter10 mining that filing such a petition would

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

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

13 family of the child such services as the State

14 deems necessary for the safe return of the

15 child to the child’s home.’’.

16 (b) DETERMINATION OF BEGINNING OF FOSTER

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

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

19 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara20 graph (D);

21 (2) by striking the period at the end of subpara22 graph (E) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

24 ‘‘(F) a child shall be considered to have en25 tered foster care on the earlier of—
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1 ‘‘(i) the date of the first judicial hear2 ing on removal of the child from the home;

3 or

4 ‘‘(ii) that date that is 30 days after the

5 date on which the child is removed from the

6 home.’’.

7 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in part E of

8 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.),

9 as amended by this Act, shall be construed as precluding

10 State courts or State agencies from initiating the termi11 nation of parental rights for reasons other than, or for

12 timelines earlier than, those specified in part E of title IV

13 of such Act, when such actions are determined to be in the

14 best interests of the child, including cases where the child

15 has experienced multiple foster care placements of varying

16 durations .

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graphs (2) and (3), the amendments made by this sec20 tion shall apply to children entering foster care under

21 the responsibility of the State after the date of enact22 ment of this Act.

23 (2) TRANSITION RULE FOR CURRENT AND

24 FORMER FOSTER CARE CHILDREN.—Subject to para25 graph (3), the amendments made by subsection (a)
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1 shall apply to children in foster care under the re2 sponsibility of the State on or before the date of enact3 ment of this Act as though those children first entered

4 foster care on the date of enactment of this Act.

5 (3) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

6 REQUIRED.—The provisions of section 501(b) shall

7 apply to the effective date of the amendments made by

8 this section.

9 SEC. 105. NOTICE OF REVIEWS AND HEARINGS; OPPOR10 TUNITY TO BE HEARD.

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

12 675(5)), as amended by section 104(b), is amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara14 graph (E);

15 (2) by striking the period at the end of subpara16 graph (F) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

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

19 and any preadoptive parent, relative providing

20 care for the child, or any other individual who

21 has provided substitute care for the child are

22 provided with notice of, and an opportunity to

23 be heard in, any review or hearing to be held

24 with respect to the child, except that this sub25 paragraph shall not be construed to require that
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1 any foster parent, preadoptive parent, relative

2 providing care for the child, or other individual

3 who has provided substitute care for the child be

4 made a party to such a review or hearing solely

5 on the basis of such notice and opportunity to be

6 heard.’’.

7 SEC. 106. USE OF THE FEDERAL PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE

8 FOR CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.

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

10 as amended by section 5534(a) of the Balanced Budget Act

11 of 1997, is amended—

12 (1) in subsection (a)(2)—

13 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph

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

15 custody or visitation orders,’’ after ‘‘obliga16 tions,’’; and

17 (B) in subparagraph (A)—

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

19 (ii);

20 (ii) by striking the comma at the end

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

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

23 following:

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

25 rights with respect to a child,’’; and
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1 (2) in subsection (c)—

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

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

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

5 ‘‘(4) a State agency that is administering a pro6 gram operated under a State plan under subpart 1

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

8 2 of part B or under part E.’’.

9 SEC. 107. CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS FOR PROSPECTIVE

10 FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS AND

11 GROUP CARE STAFF.

12 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR CRIMINAL RECORDS

13 CHECKS.—Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act (42

14 U.S.C. 671(a)), as amended by section 5591(b) of the Bal15 anced Budget Act of 1997, is amended—

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

17 (18);

18 (2) by striking the period at the end of para19 graph (19) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

21 ‘‘(20) provides procedures for Federal and State

22 criminal records checks for any prospective foster or

23 adoptive parent and any other adults residing in the

24 household of such parent, and any employee of a resi25 dential child-care institution before the foster parent
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1 or adoptive parent, or the residential child-care insti2 tution may be finally approved for placement of a

3 child on whose behalf foster care maintenance pay4 ments or adoption assistance payments are to be

5 made under the State plan under this part, including

6 procedures requiring that in any case in which a

7 record check reveals a criminal conviction of child

8 abuse or neglect, or of spousal abuse, a criminal con9 viction for crimes against children (including child

10 pornography), or a criminal conviction for a crime

11 involving violence, including rape, sexual or other

12 physical assault, battery, or homicide, approval shall

13 not be granted, and that, with respect to drug-related

14 offenses, if a State finds that a court of competent ju15 risdiction has determined that such an offense has

16 been committed within the past 5 years, approval

17 shall not be granted.’’.

18 (b) CONTINUED APPLICABILITY OF STATE LAWS.—The

19 amendment made by subsection (a) shall not be construed

20 to supersede any provision of State law that establishes, im21 plements, or continues in effect any standard or require22 ment relating to criminal records checks and other back23 ground checks for prospective foster and adoptive parents,

24 and for employees of a residential child-care institution, ex25 cept to the extent that such standard or requirement pre-
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1 vents the application of the requirements added by such

2 amendment.

3 SEC. 108. DOCUMENTATION OF EFFORTS FOR ADOPTION OR

4 LOCATION OF A PERMANENT HOME.

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

6 is amended—

7 (1) in paragraph (1)—

8 (A) in the last sentence—

9 (i) by striking ‘‘the case plan must also

10 include’’; and

11 (ii) by redesignating such sentence as

12 subparagraph (D) and indenting appro13 priately; and

14 (B) by adding at the end, the following:

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

16 whom the State’s plan is adoption or placement

17 in another permanent home, documentation of

18 the steps the agency is taking to find an adoptive

19 family or other permanent living arrangement

20 for the child, to place the child with an adoptive

21 family, a fit and willing relative, a legal guard22 ian, or in another planned permanent living ar23 rangement, and to finalize the adoption or legal

24 guardianship. At a minimum, such documenta25 tion shall include child specific recruitment ef-
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1 forts such as the use of State, regional, and na2 tional adoption exchanges including electronic

3 exchange systems.’’; and

4 (2) in paragraph (5)(B), by inserting ‘‘(includ5 ing the requirement specified in paragraph (1)(E))’’

6 after ‘‘case plan’’.

7 TITLE II—INCENTIVES FOR PRO8 VIDING PERMANENT FAMI9 LIES FOR CHILDREN

10 SEC. 201. ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part E of title IV of the Social Se12 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 670–679) is amended by inserting

13 after section 473 the following:

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

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

16 of such amounts as may be provided in advance in appro17 priations Acts for this purpose, the Secretary may make

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

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

20 payment payable to the State for the fiscal year under this

21 section, which shall be payable in the immediately succeed22 ing fiscal year.

23 ‘‘(b) INCENTIVE-ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State is an in24 centive-eligible State for a fiscal year if—
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1 ‘‘(1) the State has a plan approved under this

2 part for the fiscal year;

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

4 State during the fiscal year exceeds the base number

5 of foster child adoptions for the State for the fiscal

6 year;

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

8 (c) for the fiscal year;

9 ‘‘(4) the State provides health insurance coverage

10 to any child with special needs for whom there is in

11 effect an adoption assistance agreement between a

12 State and an adoptive parent or parents; and

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

14 through 2002.

15 ‘‘(c) DATA REQUIREMENTS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State is in compliance

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

18 provided to the Secretary the data described in para19 graph (2) for fiscal year 1997 (or, if later, the fiscal

20 year that precedes the 1st fiscal year for which the

21 State seeks a grant under this section) and for each

22 succeeding fiscal year.

23 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF NUMBERS OF ADOP24 TIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATIONS BASED ON AFCARS

2 DATA.—Except as provided in subparagraph

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

4 foster child adoptions and of special needs adop5 tions in a State during each of fiscal years 1997

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

7 basis of data meeting the requirements of the sys8 tem established pursuant to section 479, as re9 ported by the State in May of the fiscal year and

10 in November of the succeeding fiscal year, and

11 approved by the Secretary by April 1 of the suc12 ceeding fiscal year.

13 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE DATA SOURCES PER14 MITTED FOR FISCAL YEAR 1997.—For purposes of

15 the determination described in subparagraph (A)

16 for fiscal year 1997, the Secretary may use data

17 from a source or sources other than that specified

18 in subparagraph (A) that the Secretary finds to

19 be of equivalent completeness and reliability, as

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

21 approved by the Secretary by March 1, 1998.

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

23 This section shall not be construed to alter or affect

24 any requirement of section 479 or any regulation pre25 scribed under such section with respect to reporting of
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1 data by States, or to waive any penalty for failure

2 to comply with the requirements.

3 ‘‘(d) ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENT.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2), the adoption incentive payment payable to

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

7 equal to the sum of—

8 ‘‘(A) $3,000, multiplied by amount (if any)

9 by which the number of foster child adoptions in

10 the State during the fiscal year exceeds the base

11 number of foster child adoptions for the State for

12 the fiscal year; and

13 ‘‘(B) $3,000, multiplied by the amount (if

14 any) by which the number of special needs adop15 tions in the State during the fiscal year exceeds

16 the base number of special needs adoptions for

17 the State for the fiscal year.

18 ‘‘(2) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT IF INSUFFICIENT

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

20 amount of adoption incentive payments otherwise

21 payable under this section for a fiscal year exceeds the

22 amount appropriated for that fiscal year, the amount

23 of the adoption incentive payment payable to each

24 State under this section for the fiscal year shall be—
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1 ‘‘(A) the amount of the adoption incentive

2 payment that would otherwise be payable to the

3 State under this section for the fiscal year; mul4 tiplied by

5 ‘‘(B) the percentage represented by the

6 amount appropriated for that year, divided by

7 the total amount of adoption incentive payments

8 otherwise payable under this section for the fiscal

9 year.

10 ‘‘(e) 2-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF INCENTIVE PAY11 MENTS.—Payments to a State under this section in a fiscal

12 year shall remain available for use by the State through

13 the end of the succeeding fiscal year.

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

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

16 this section except to provide to children or families any

17 service (including post-adoption services) that may be pro18 vided under part B or E. Amounts expended by a State

19 in accordance with the preceding sentence shall be dis20 regarded in determining State expenditures for purposes of

21 Federal matching payments under section 474.

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

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

24 child adoption’ means the final adoption of a child
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1 who, at the time of adoptive placement, was in foster

2 care under the supervision of the State.

3 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL NEEDS ADOPTION.—The term ‘spe4 cial needs adoption’ means the final adoption of a

5 child for whom an adoption assistance agreement is

6 in effect under section 473.

7 ‘‘(3) BASE NUMBER OF FOSTER CHILD ADOP8 TIONS.—The term ‘base number of foster child adop9 tions for a State’ means, with respect to a fiscal year,

10 the average number of foster child adoptions in the

11 State for the 3 most recent fiscal years.

12 ‘‘(4) BASE NUMBER OF SPECIAL NEEDS ADOP13 TIONS.—The term ‘base number of special needs adop14 tions for a State’ means, with respect to a fiscal year,

15 the average number of special needs adoptions in the

16 State for the 3 most recent fiscal years.

17 ‘‘(h) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA18 TIONS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For grants under this sec20 tion, there is authorized to be appropriated to the

21 Secretary $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999

22 through 2003.

23 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated

24 under paragraph (1) are authorized to remain avail25 able until expended, but not after fiscal year 2003.
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1 ‘‘(i) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall

2 provide, directly, or by grant, contract, or interagency

3 agreement, technical assistance upon request to assist States

4 and local communities to reach their targets for increased

5 numbers of adoptions.’’.

6 (b) DISCRETIONARY CAP ADJUSTMENT FOR ADOPTION

7 INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—

8 (1) SECTION 251 AMENDMENT.—Section

9 251(b)(2) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency

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

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

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

13 the following new subparagraph:

14 ‘‘(G) ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—

15 Whenever a bill or joint resolution making ap16 propriations for fiscal year 1999, 2000, 2001,

17 2002, or 2003 is enacted that specifies an

18 amount for adoption incentive payments for the

19 Department of Health and Human Services—

20 ‘‘(i) the adjustments for new budget

21 authority shall be the amounts of new budg22 et authority provided in that measure for

23 adoption incentive payments, but not to ex24 ceed $15,000,000; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the adjustment for outlays shall

2 be the additional outlays flowing from such

3 amount.’’.

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

5 the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended by

6 section 10114(a) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997,

7 is amended—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para9 graph (4);

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

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

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

13 ‘‘(6) in the case of an amount for adoption in14 centive payments (as defined in section 251(b)(2)(G)

15 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con16 trol Act of 1985) for fiscal year 1999, 2000, 2001,

17 2002, or 2003 for the Department of Health and

18 Human Services, an amount not to exceed

19 $15,000,000.’’.

20 SEC. 202. ADOPTIONS ACROSS STATE AND COUNTY JURIS21 DICTIONS.

22 (a) ELIMINATION OF GEOGRAPHIC BARRIERS TO

23 INTERSTATE ADOPTION.—Section 471(a) of the Social Se24 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)), as amended by section 107,

25 is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

2 (19);

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (20) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

6 ‘‘(21) provides that neither the State nor any

7 other entity in the State that receives funds from the

8 Federal Government and is involved in adoption

9 may—

10 ‘‘(A) deny to any person the opportunity to

11 become an adoptive parent on the basis of the ge12 ographic residence of the person or of the child

13 involved; or

14 ‘‘(B) delay or deny the placement of a child

15 for adoption on the basis of the geographic resi16 dence of an adoptive parent or of the child in17 volved.’’.

18 (b) STUDY OF INTERJURISDICTIONAL ADOPTION IS19 SUES.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and

21 Human Services (in this subsection referred to as the

22 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall appoint an advisory panel that

23 shall—

24 (A) study and consider how to improve pro25 cedures and policies to facilitate the timely and
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1 permanent adoptions of children across State

2 and county jurisdictions;

3 (B) examine, at a minimum, interjurisdic4 tional adoption issues—

5 (i) concerning the recruitment of pro6 spective adoptive families from other States

7 and counties;

8 (ii) concerning the procedures to grant

9 reciprocity to prospective adoptive family

10 home studies from other States and coun11 ties;

12 (iii) arising from a review of the com13 ity and full faith and credit provided to

14 adoption decrees and termination of paren15 tal rights orders from other States; and

16 (iv) concerning the procedures related

17 to the administration and implementation

18 of the Interstate Compact on the Placement

19 of Children; and

20 (C) not later than 12 months after the final

21 appointment to the advisory panel, submit to the

22 Secretary the report described in paragraph (3).

23 (2) COMPOSITION OF ADVISORY PANEL.—In es24 tablishing the advisory panel required under para25 graph (1), the Secretary shall appoint members from
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1 the general public who are individuals knowledgeable

2 on adoption and foster care issues, and with due con3 sideration to representation of ethnic or racial mi4 norities and diverse geographic areas, and who, at a

5 minimum, include the following:

6 (A) Adoptive and foster parents.

7 (B) Public and private child welfare agen8 cies that place children in and out of home care.

9 (C) Family court judges.

10 (D) Adoption attorneys.

11 (E) An Administrator of the Interstate

12 Compact on the Placement of Children and an

13 Administrator of the Interstate Compact on

14 Adoption and Medical Assistance.

15 (F) A representative cross-section of indi16 viduals from other organizations and individuals

17 with expertise or advocacy experience in adop18 tion and foster care issues.

19 (3) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report required

20 under paragraph (1)(C) shall include the results of

21 the study conducted under subparagraphs (A) and

22 (B) of paragraph (1) and recommendations on how to

23 improve procedures to facilitate the interjurisdictional

24 adoption of children, including interstate and inter-
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1 county adoptions, so that children will be assured

2 timely and permanent placements.

3 (4) CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall submit a

4 copy of the report required under paragraph (1)(C) to

5 the appropriate committees of Congress, and, if rel6 evant, make recommendations for proposed legisla7 tion.

8 SEC. 203. STATE PERFORMANCE IN PROTECTING CHIL9 DREN.

10 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part E of title IV of the So12 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) is amended

13 by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘SEC. 479A. ANNUAL REPORT.

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue an an16 nual report containing ratings of the performance of each

17 State in protecting children who are placed in foster care,

18 for adoption, or with a relative or guardian. The report

19 shall include ratings on outcome measures for categories re20 lated to safety and permanence for children.

21 ‘‘(b) OUTCOME MEASURES.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta23 tion with the American Public Welfare Association,

24 the National Governors’ Association, the National

25 Conference of State Legislatures, and child welfare
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1 advocates, shall develop a set of outcome measures to

2 be used in preparing the report.

3 ‘‘(2) CATEGORIES.—In developing the outcome

4 measures, the Secretary shall develop measures that

5 can track performance over time for the following cat6 egories:

7 ‘‘(A) The number of children placed annu8 ally for adoption, the number of placements of

9 children with special needs, and the number of

10 children placed permanently in a foster family

11 home, with a relative, or with a guardian who

12 is not a relative.

13 ‘‘(B) The number of children, including

14 those with parental rights terminated, that an15 nually leave foster care at the age of majority

16 without having been adopted or placed with a

17 guardian.

18 ‘‘(C) The median and mean length of stay

19 of children in foster care, for children with pa20 rental rights terminated, and children for whom

21 parental rights are retained by the biological or

22 adoptive parent.

23 ‘‘(D) The median and mean length of time

24 between a child having a plan of adoption and

25 termination of parental rights, between the
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1 availability of a child for adoption and the

2 placement of the child in an adoptive family,

3 and between the placement of the child in such

4 a family and the finalization of the adoption.

5 ‘‘(E) The number of deaths of children in

6 foster care and other out-of-home care, including

7 kinship care, resulting from substantiated child

8 abuse and neglect.

9 ‘‘(F) The specific steps taken by the State to

10 facilitate permanence for children.

11 ‘‘(3) MEASURES.—In developing the outcome

12 measures, the Secretary shall use data from the Adop13 tion and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System

14 established under section 479 to the maximum extent

15 possible.

16 ‘‘(c) RATING SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall develop a

17 system (including using State census data and poverty

18 rates) to rate the performance of each State based on the

19 outcome measures.

20 ‘‘(d) PREPARATION AND ISSUANCE.—On May 1, 1999,

21 and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare, submit

22 to Congress, and issue to the States the report described in

23 subsection (a). Each report shall rate the performance of

24 a State on each outcome measure developed under sub25 section (b), include an explanation of the rating system de-
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1 veloped under subsection (c), and the way in which scores

2 are determined under the rating system, analyze high and

3 low performances for the State, and make recommendations

4 to the State for improvement.’’.

5 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 471(a)

6 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)), as

7 amended by section 202(a), is amended—

8 (A) in paragraph (20), by striking ‘‘and’’

9 at the end;

10 (B) in paragraph (21), by striking the pe11 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

13 ‘‘(22) provides that the State shall annually pro14 vide to the Secretary the information required under

15 section 479A.’’.

16 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE-BASED INCEN17 TIVE SYSTEM.—The Secretary of Health and Human Serv18 ices, in consultation with State and local public officials

19 responsible for administering child welfare programs and

20 child welfare advocates, shall develop and recommend to

21 Congress an incentive system to provide payments under

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

23 U.S.C. 620 et seq., 670 et seq.) to any State based on such

24 State’s performance under such a system. Such system shall,

25 to the extent the Secretary determines feasible and appro-
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1 priate, be based on the annual report required under section

2 479A of the Social Security Act (as added by subsection

3 (a) of this Act) or on any proposed modifications of such

4 annual report. Not later than 6 months after the date of

5 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall report on the new

6 system to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House

7 of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the

8 Senate.

9 TITLE III—ADDITIONAL

10 IMPROVEMENTS AND REFORMS

11 SEC. 301. EXPANSION OF CHILD WELFARE DEMONSTRA12 TION PROJECTS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1130(a) of the Social Secu14 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–9) is amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO APPROVE DEMONSTRATION

16 PROJECTS.—

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

18 States to conduct demonstration projects pursuant to

19 this section which the Secretary finds are likely to

20 promote the objectives of part B or E of title IV. Such

21 projects shall be designed to achieve 1 or more of the

22 following goals:

23 ‘‘(A) Reducing a backlog of children in

24 long-term foster care or awaiting adoption place25 ment.
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1 ‘‘(B) Ensuring, not later than 1 year after

2 a child enters foster care, an adoptive placement

3 for the child.

4 ‘‘(C) Identifying and addressing barriers

5 that result in delays to adoptive placements for

6 children in foster care.

7 ‘‘(D) Identifying and addressing parental

8 substance abuse problems that endanger children

9 and result in the placement of children in foster

10 care, including through the placement of children

11 with their parents in residential treatment fa12 cilities (including residential treatment facilities

13 for post-partum depression) that are specifically

14 designed to serve parents and children together

15 in order to promote family reunification and

16 that can ensure the health and safety of the chil17 dren in such placements.

18 ‘‘(E) Overcoming barriers to the adoption of

19 children with special needs resulting from a lack

20 of health insurance coverage for such children.

21 ‘‘(F) Any other goal that the Secretary has

22 approved for a demonstration project under this

23 section as of the date of enactment of the Pro24 motion of Adoption, Safety, and Support for
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1 Abused and Neglected Children (PASS) Act, or,

2 after such date, specifies by regulation.

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—In considering an appli4 cation to conduct a demonstration project under this

5 section that has been submitted by a State in which

6 there has been a court order determining that the

7 State’s child welfare program has failed to comply

8 with the provisions of part B or E of title IV or of

9 the Constitution, the Secretary shall take into consid10 eration the effect of approving the proposed project on

11 the terms and conditions of any court order related

12 to such failure to comply that is in effect in the

13 State.’’.

14 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the amend15 ments made by subsection (a) shall be construed as affecting

16 the terms and conditions of any demonstration projects

17 under section 1130 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

18 1320a–9) that have been approved by the Secretary as of

19 the date of enactment of this Act.

20 SEC. 302. PERMANENCY PLANNING HEARINGS.

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

22 U.S.C. 675(5)(C)) is amended—

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

24 ‘‘permanency planning’’;

25 (2) by striking ‘‘eighteen’’ and inserting ‘‘12’’;
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1 (3) by striking ‘‘original placement’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘date the child is considered to have entered foster

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

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

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

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

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

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

9 a petition for termination of parental rights, or re10 ferred for legal guardianship or custody, or (in cases

11 where the State agency has documented to the State

12 court a compelling reason for determining that it

13 would not be in the best interests of the child to re14 turn home, be referred for termination of parental

15 rights, or be placed for adoption, with a qualified rel16 ative, or with a legal guardian) placed in another

17 planned permanent living arrangement’’.

18 SEC. 303. KINSHIP CARE.

19 (a) REPORT.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and

21 Human Services shall—

22 (A) not later than March 1, 1998, convene

23 the advisory panel provided for in subsection

24 (b)(1) and prepare and submit to the advisory

25 panel an initial report on the extent to which
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1 children in foster care are placed in the care of

2 a relative (in this section referred to as ‘‘kinship

3 care’’); and

4 (B) not later than November 1, 1998, sub5 mit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the

6 House of Representatives and the Committee on

7 Finance of the Senate a final report on the mat8 ter described in subparagraph (A), which shall—

9 (i) be based on the comments submitted

10 by the advisory panel pursuant to sub11 section (b)(2) and other information and

12 considerations; and

13 (ii) include the policy recommenda14 tions of the Secretary with respect to the

15 matter.

16 (2) REQUIRED CONTENTS.—Each report required

17 by paragraph (1) shall—

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

19 State, information on—

20 (i) the policy of the State regarding

21 kinship care;

22 (ii) the characteristics of the kinship

23 care providers (including age, income, eth24 nicity, and race, and the relationship of the

25 kinship care providers to the children);
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1 (iii) the characteristics of the household

2 of such providers (such as number of other

3 persons in the household and family com4 position);

5 (iv) how much access to the child is af6 forded to the parent from whom the child

7 has been removed;

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

9 kinship care (including any subsidies such

10 as medicaid and cash assistance);

11 (vi) the permanency plan for the child

12 and the actions being taken by the State to

13 achieve the plan;

14 (vii) the services being provided to the

15 parent from whom the child has been re16 moved; and

17 (viii) the services being provided to the

18 kinship care provider; and

19 (B) specifically note the circumstances or

20 conditions under which children enter kinship

21 care.

22 (b) ADVISORY PANEL.—

23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health

24 and Human Services, in consultation with the Chair25 man of the Committee on Ways and Means of the
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1 House of Representatives and the Chairman of the

2 Committee on Finance of the Senate, shall convene an

3 advisory panel which shall include parents, foster

4 parents, relative caregivers, former foster children,

5 State and local public officials responsible for admin6 istering child welfare programs, private persons in7 volved in the delivery of child welfare services, rep8 resentatives of tribal governments and tribal courts,

9 judges, and academic experts.

10 (2) DUTIES.—The advisory panel convened pur11 suant to paragraph (1) shall review the report pre12 pared pursuant to subsection (a), and, not later than

13 July 1, 1998, submit to the Secretary comments on

14 the report.

15 SEC. 304. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE POPULATION FOR

16 INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES.

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

18 U.S.C. 677(a)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(including

19 children with respect to whom such payments are no longer

20 being made because the child has accumulated assets, not

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

22 for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits under

23 this part)’’ before the comma.
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1 SEC. 305. REAUTHORIZATION AND EXPANSION OF FAMILY

2 PRESERVATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

3 (a) REAUTHORIZATION OF FAMILY PRESERVATION

4 AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—

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

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

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

8 the end;

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

10 and inserting a semicolon; and

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

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

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

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

15 (2) CONTINUATION OF RESERVATION OF CERTAIN

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

17 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 630(d)) are each

18 amended by striking ‘‘and 1998’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001’’.

20 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 13712

21 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (42

22 U.S.C. 670 note) is amended—

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

24 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘2001’’; and
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1 (B) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ‘‘and

2 1998’’ and inserting ‘‘1998, 1999, 2000, and

3 2001’’.

4 (b) EXPANSION FOR TIME-LIMITED FAMILY REUNIFI5 CATION SERVICES AND ADOPTION PROMOTION AND SUP6 PORT SERVICES.—

7 (1) ADDITIONS TO STATE PLAN; MINIMUM SPEND8 ING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 432 of the Social Secu9 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 629b) is amended—

10 (A) in subsection (a)—

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

12 community-based family support services’’

13 and inserting ‘‘, community-based family

14 support services, time-limited family reuni15 fication services, and adoption promotion

16 and support services,’’; and

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

18 ‘‘and community-based family support serv19 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘, community-based

20 family support services, time-limited family

21 reunification services, and adoption pro22 motion and support services’’; and

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

24 family support’’ and inserting ‘‘, family support,
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1 family reunification, and adoption promotion

2 and support’’.

3 (2) DEFINITIONS OF TIME-LIMITED FAMILY RE4 UNIFICATION SERVICES AND ADOPTION PROMOTION

5 AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—Section 431(a) of the So6 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is amended by

7 adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(7) TIME-LIMITED FAMILY REUNIFICATION

9 SERVICES.—

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

11 family reunification services’ means the services

12 and activities described in subparagraph (B)

13 that are provided to a child that is removed from

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

15 home or a child care institution and to the par16 ents or primary caregiver of such a child, in

17 order to facilitate the reunification of the child

18 safely and appropriately within a timely fash19 ion, but only during the 1-year period that be20 gins on the date that the child is removed from

21 the child’s home.

22 ‘‘(B) SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES DE23 SCRIBED.—The services and activities described

24 in this subparagraph are the following:
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1 ‘‘(i) Individual, group, and family

2 counseling.

3 ‘‘(ii) Inpatient, residential, or out4 patient substance abuse treatment services.

5 ‘‘(iii) Mental health services.

6 ‘‘(iv) Assistance to address domestic vi7 olence.

8 ‘‘(v) Services designed to provide tem9 porary child care and therapeutic services

10 for families, including crisis nurseries.

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

12 the services and activities described in this

13 subparagraph.

14 ‘‘(8) ADOPTION PROMOTION AND SUPPORT SERV15 ICES.—The term ‘adoption promotion and support

16 services’ means services and activities designed to en17 courage more adoptions out of the foster care system,

18 when adoptions promote the best interests of children,

19 and shall include the following:

20 ‘‘(A) Models to encourage adoptions of spe21 cial needs children, including through the provi22 sion of medical assistance.

23 ‘‘(B) The development of best practice

24 guidelines for expediting termination of parental

25 rights.
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1 ‘‘(C) Models to encourage the use of concur2 rent planning.

3 ‘‘(D) The development of specialized units

4 and expertise in moving children toward adop5 tion as a part of a permanency plan.

6 ‘‘(E) The development of risk assessment

7 tools to facilitate early identification of the chil8 dren who will be at risk of harm if returned

9 home.

10 ‘‘(F) Models to encourage the fast tracking

11 of children who have not attained 1 year of age

12 into adoptive and preadoptive placements.

13 ‘‘(G) Development of programs that place

14 children in preadoptive families without waiting

15 for termination of parental rights.

16 ‘‘(H) Development of programs to recruit

17 adoptive parents.

18 ‘‘(I) Such other services or activities that

19 are designed to promote and support adoption as

20 the Secretary may approve.’’.

21 (3) ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

22 (A) PURPOSES.—Section 430(a) of the So23 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629(a)) is amended

24 by striking ‘‘and community-based family sup25 port services’’ and inserting ‘‘, community-based
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1 family support services, time-limited family re2 unification services, and adoption promotion

3 and support services’’.

4 (B) EVALUATIONS.—Subparagraphs (B)

5 and (C) of section 435(a)(2) of the Social Secu6 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 629d(a)(2)) are each amend7 ed by striking ‘‘and family support’’ each place

8 it appears and inserting ‘‘, family support, fam9 ily reunification, and adoption promotion and

10 support’’.

11 (C) 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 Adoptive, Safe, and Stable

16 Families’’.

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

18 (1) REQUIRING ASSURANCES THAT THE SAFETY

19 OF CHILDREN SHALL BE OF PARAMOUNT CONCERN.—

20 Section 432 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

21 629b) is amended—

22 (A) in paragraph (7)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’

23 at the end;

24 (B) by redesignating paragraph (8) as

25 paragraph (9); and
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1 (C) by inserting after paragraph (7), the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(8) contains assurances that in administering

4 and conducting service programs under the plan, the

5 safety of the children to be served shall be of para6 mount concern; and’’.

7 (2) DEFINITIONS OF FAMILY PRESERVATION AND

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

9 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is amend10 ed—

11 (A) in paragraph (1)—

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

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

14 it appears; and

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

16 ‘‘safely’’ after ‘‘remain’’; and

17 (B) in paragraph (2)—

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

19 ‘‘well-being’’; and

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

21 ‘‘safe, stable,’’.

22 (d) CLARIFICATION OF MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT RE23 QUIREMENT.—

24 (1) DEFINITION OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—Sec25 tion 431(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
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1 629a(a)), as amended by subsection (b)(2), is amend2 ed by adding at the end the following:

3 ‘‘(9) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—The term ‘non-Fed4 eral funds’ means State funds, or at the option of a

5 State, State and local funds.’’.

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

7 paragraph (1) takes effect as if included in the enact8 ment of section 13711 of the Omnibus Budget Rec9 onciliation Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–33; 107

10 Stat. 649).

11 SEC. 306. HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR CHILDREN

12 WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.

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

14 671(a)), as amended by section 203(a)(2), is amended—

15 (1) in paragraph (21), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

16 end;

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

18 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

20 ‘‘(23) provides for health insurance coverage for

21 any child who has been determined to be a child with

22 special needs, for whom there is in effect an adoption

23 assistance 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.’’.
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1 SEC. 307. CONTINUATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR ADOPTION

2 ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS ON BEHALF OF CHIL3 DREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS WHOSE INITIAL

4 ADOPTION HAS BEEN DISRUPTED.

5 (a) CONTINUATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Section

6 473(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)(2))

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

8 who has been determined to meet the requirements of sub9 paragraph (C), and who has previously been determined eli10 gible for adoption assistance payments under paragraph

11 (1)(B)(ii), who has again become available for adoption be12 cause a court has set aside the child’s previous adoption

13 or the child’s adoptive parents have died, and who fails to

14 meet the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) but

15 would meet such requirements if the child were treated as

16 if the child were in the same financial and other cir17 cumstances the child was in the last time the child was de18 termined eligible for adoption assistance payments and the

19 previous adoption were treated as having never occurred,

20 shall be treated as meeting the requirements of this para21 graph for purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(ii).’’.

22 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub23 section (a) shall only apply to children who become avail24 able for adoption because a court has set aside the child’s

25 previous adoption, or the child’s adoptive parents have died,
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1 and whose subsequent adoption occurs on or after October

2 1, 1997.

3 SEC. 308. STATE STANDARDS TO ENSURE QUALITY SERV4 ICES FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.

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

6 671(a)), as amended by section 306, is amended—

7 (1) in paragraph (22), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

8 end;

9 (2) in paragraph (23), by striking the period

10 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

12 ‘‘(24) provides that, not later than January 1,

13 1999, the State shall develop and implement stand14 ards to ensure that children in foster care placements

15 in public or private agencies are provided quality

16 services that protect the safety and health of the chil17 dren.’’.

18 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

19 SEC. 401. PRESERVATION OF REASONABLE PARENTING.

20 Nothing in this Act is intended to disrupt the family

21 unnecessarily or to intrude inappropriately into family life,

22 to prohibit the use of reasonable methods of parental dis23 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
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1 (3) the physical debilitation and consent of the

2 parent.

Attest:

Secretary.
105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 867

AMENDMENT
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