IV

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 327

Providing for the consideration of the bill H.R. 867 and the Senate

amendment thereto.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 13, 1997

Mr. SHAW submitted the following resolution; which was considered and

agreed to

RESOLUTION

Providing for the consideration of the bill H.R. 867 and

the Senate amendment thereto.

1 Resolved, That, upon the adoption of this resolution,

2 the House shall be considered to have taken from the

3 Speaker’s table the bill H.R. 867 and an amendment of

4 the Senate thereto and to have concurred in the amend5 ment of the Senate with an amendment as follows: in lieu

6 of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Senate, insert

7 the following:

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

10 ‘‘Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

2 this 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.

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.
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1 TITLE I—REASONABLE EFFORTS

2 AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

3 FOR FOSTER CARE AND

4 ADOPTION PLACEMENTS

5 SEC. 101. CLARIFICATION OF THE REASONABLE EFFORTS

6 REQUIREMENT.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(15) of the Social

8 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(15)) is amended to read

9 as follows:

10 ‘‘(15) provides that—

11 ‘‘(A) in determining reasonable efforts to

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

13 this paragraph, and in making such reasonable

14 efforts, the child’s health and safety shall be the

15 paramount concern;

16 ‘‘(B) except as provided in subparagraph

17 (D), reasonable efforts shall be made to pre18 serve and reunify families—

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

20 in foster care, to prevent or eliminate the

21 need for removing the child from the

22 child’s home; and

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

24 safely return to the child’s home;
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1 ‘‘(C) if continuation of reasonable efforts

2 of the type described in subparagraph (B) is de3 termined to be inconsistent with the perma4 nency plan for the child, reasonable efforts shall

5 be made to place the child in a timely manner

6 in accordance with the permanency plan, and to

7 complete whatever steps are necessary to final8 ize the permanent placement of the child;

9 ‘‘(D) reasonable efforts of the type de10 scribed in subparagraph (B) shall not be re11 quired to be made with respect to a parent of

12 a child if a court of competent jurisdiction has

13 determined that—

14 ‘‘(i) the parent has subjected the child

15 to aggravated circumstances (as defined in

16 State law, which definition may include but

17 need not be limited to abandonment, tor18 ture, chronic abuse, and sexual abuse);

19 ‘‘(ii) the parent has—

20 ‘‘(I) committed murder (which

21 would have been an offense under sec22 tion 1111(a) of title 18, United States

23 Code, if the offense had occurred in

24 the special maritime or territorial ju-
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1 risdiction of the United States) of an2 other child of the parent;

3 ‘‘(II) committed voluntary man4 slaughter (which would have been an

5 offense under section 1112(a) of title

6 18, United States Code, if the offense

7 had occurred in the special maritime

8 or territorial jurisdiction of the United

9 States) of another child of the parent;

10 ‘‘(III) aided or abetted, at11 tempted, conspired, or solicited to

12 commit such a murder or such a vol13 untary manslaughter; or

14 ‘‘(IV) committed a felony assault

15 that results in serious bodily injury to

16 the child or another child of the par17 ent; or

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

19 to a sibling have been terminated involun20 tarily;

21 ‘‘(E) if reasonable efforts of the type de22 scribed in subparagraph (B) are not made with

23 respect to a child as a result of a determination

24 made by a court of competent jurisdiction in ac25 cordance with subparagraph (D)—
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1 ‘‘(i) a permanency hearing (as de2 scribed in section 475(5)(C)) shall be held

3 for the child within 30 days after the de4 termination; and

5 ‘‘(ii) reasonable efforts shall be made

6 to place the child in a timely manner in ac7 cordance with the permanency plan, and to

8 complete whatever steps are necessary to

9 finalize the permanent placement of the

10 child; and

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

12 adoption or with a legal guardian may be made

13 concurrently with reasonable efforts of the type

14 described in subparagraph (B);’’.

15 (b) DEFINITION OF LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP.—Section

16 475 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended by adding

17 at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(7) The term ‘legal guardianship’ means a ju19 dicially created relationship between child and care20 taker which is intended to be permanent and self21 sustaining as evidenced by the transfer to the care22 taker of the following parental rights with respect to

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

24 the person, custody of the person, and decisionmak-
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1 ing. The term ‘legal guardian’ means the caretaker

2 in such a relationship.’’.

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 472(a)(1)

4 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672(a)(1)) is amended by inserting

5 ‘‘for a child’’ before ‘‘have been made’’.

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

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

8 after section 477 the following:

9 ‘‘SEC. 478. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

10 ‘‘Nothing in this part shall be construed as preclud11 ing State courts from exercising their discretion to protect

12 the health and safety of children in individual cases, in13 cluding cases other than those described in section

14 471(a)(15)(D).’’.

15 SEC. 102. INCLUDING SAFETY IN CASE PLAN AND CASE RE16 VIEW SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.

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

18 et seq.) is amended—

19 (1) in section 422(b)(10)(B)—

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

21 and’’ after ‘‘where’’; and

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

23 after ‘‘remain’’; and

24 (2) in section 475—

25 (A) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting

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

3 (ii) in subparagraph (B)—

4 (I) by inserting ‘‘safe and’’ after

5 ‘‘child receives’’; and

6 (II) by inserting ‘‘safe’’ after ‘‘re7 turn of the child to his own’’; and

8 (B) in paragraph (5)—

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

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

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

12 (ii) in subparagraph (B)—

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

14 child,’’ after ‘‘determine’’; and

15 (II) by inserting ‘‘and safely

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

17 SEC. 103. STATES REQUIRED TO INITIATE OR JOIN PRO18 CEEDINGS TO TERMINATE PARENTAL

19 RIGHTS FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN IN FOSTER

20 CARE.

21 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR PROCEEDINGS.—Section

22 475(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)) is

23 amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara25 graph (C);
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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub2 paragraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

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

5 in foster care under the responsibility of the

6 State for 15 of the most recent 22 months, or,

7 if a court of competent jurisdiction has deter8 mined a child to be an abandoned infant (as de9 fined under State law) or has made a deter10 mination that the parent has committed murder

11 of another child of the parent, committed vol12 untary manslaughter of another child of the

13 parent, aided or abetted, attempted, conspired,

14 or solicited to commit such a murder or such a

15 voluntary manslaughter, or committed a felony

16 assault that has resulted in serious bodily in17 jury to the child or to another child of the par18 ent, the State shall file a petition to terminate

19 the parental rights of the child’s parents (or, if

20 such a petition has been filed by another party,

21 seek to be joined as a party to the petition),

22 and, concurrently, to identify, recruit, process,

23 and approve a qualified family for an adoption,

24 unless—
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1 ‘‘(i) at the option of the State, the

2 child is being cared for by a relative;

3 ‘‘(ii) a State agency has documented

4 in the case plan (which shall be available

5 for court review) a compelling reason for

6 determining that filing such a petition

7 would not be in the best interests of the

8 child; or

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

10 the family of the child, consistent with the

11 time period in the State case plan, such

12 services as the State deems necessary for

13 the safe return of the child to the child’s

14 home, if reasonable efforts of the type de15 scribed in section 471(a)(15)(B)(ii) are re16 quired to be made with respect to the

17 child.’’.

18 (b) DETERMINATION OF BEGINNING OF FOSTER

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

20 U.S.C. 675(5)), as amended by subsection (a), is amend21 ed—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara23 graph (D);

24 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub25 paragraph (E) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
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1 (3) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(F) a child shall be considered to have en3 tered foster care on the earlier of—

4 ‘‘(i) the date of the first judicial find5 ing that the child has been subjected to

6 child abuse or neglect; or

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

8 date on which the child is removed from

9 the home.’’.

10 (c) TRANSITION RULES.—

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

12 child who enters foster care (within the meaning of

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

14 the responsibility of a State after the date of the en15 actment of this Act—

16 (A) if the State comes into compliance

17 with the amendments made by subsection (a) of

18 this section before the child has been in such

19 foster care for 15 of the most recent 22

20 months, the State shall comply with section

21 475(5)(E) of the Social Security Act with re22 spect to the child when the child has been in

23 such foster care for 15 of the most recent 22

24 months; and
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1 (B) if the State comes into such compli2 ance after the child has been in such foster care

3 for 15 of the most recent 22 months, the State

4 shall comply with such section 475(5)(E) with

5 respect to the child not later than 3 months

6 after the end of the first regular session of the

7 State legislature that begins after such date of

8 enactment.

9 (2) CURRENT FOSTER CHILDREN.—In the case

10 of children in foster care under the responsibility of

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

12 the State shall—

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

14 of the first regular session of the State legisla15 ture that begins after such date of enactment,

16 comply with section 475(5)(E) of the Social Security Act with respect to not less than 1 17 ⁄3 of

18 such children as the State shall select, giving

19 priority to children for whom the permanency

20 plan (within the meaning of part E of title IV

21 of the Social Security Act) is adoption and chil22 dren who have been in foster care for the great23 est length of time;

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

25 of such first regular session, comply with such
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1 section 475(5)(E) with respect to not less than

2 2 ⁄3 of such children as the State shall select;

3 and

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

5 of such first regular session, comply with such

6 section 475(5)(E) with respect to all of such

7 children.

8 (3) TREATMENT OF 2-YEAR LEGISLATIVE SES9 SIONS.—For purposes of this subsection, in the case

10 of a State that has a 2-year legislative session, each

11 year of the session is deemed to be a separate regu12 lar session of the State legislature.

13 (4) REQUIREMENTS TREATED AS STATE PLAN

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

15 of the Social Security Act, the requirements of this

16 subsection shall be treated as State plan require17 ments imposed by section 471(a) of such Act.

18 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec19 tion or in part E of title IV of the Social Security Act

20 (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), as amended by this Act, shall

21 be construed as precluding State courts or State agencies

22 from initiating the termination of parental rights for rea23 sons other than, or for timelines earlier than, those speci24 fied in part E of title IV of such Act, when such actions

25 are determined to be in the best interests of the child,
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1 including cases where the child has experienced multiple

2 foster care placements of varying durations.

3 SEC. 104. NOTICE OF REVIEWS AND HEARINGS; OPPOR4 TUNITY TO BE HEARD.

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

6 675(5)), as amended by section 103, is amended—

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

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub10 paragraph (F) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

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

13 and any preadoptive parent or relative provid14 ing care for the child are provided with notice

15 of, and an opportunity to be heard in, any re16 view or hearing to be held with respect to the

17 child, except that this subparagraph shall not

18 be construed to require that any foster parent,

19 preadoptive parent, or relative providing care

20 for the child be made a party to such a review

21 or hearing solely on the basis of such notice and

22 opportunity to be heard.’’.
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1 SEC. 105. USE OF THE FEDERAL PARENT LOCATOR SERV2 ICE FOR CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.

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

4 653) 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

12 clause (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,

12 provides procedures for criminal records checks for

13 any prospective foster or adoptive parent before the

14 foster or adoptive parent may be finally approved for

15 placement of a child on whose behalf foster care

16 maintenance payments or adoption assistance pay17 ments are to be made under the State plan under

18 this part, including 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

22 children (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 deter-
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1 mined that the felony was committed at any

2 time, such final approval shall not be granted;

3 and

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

5 reveals a felony conviction for physical assault,

6 battery, or a drug-related offense, if a State

7 finds that a court of competent jurisdiction has

8 determined that the felony was committed with9 in the past 5 years, such final approval shall

10 not be granted; and

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

12 State plan if the Governor of the State has notified

13 the Secretary in writing that the State has elected

14 to make subparagraph (A) inapplicable to the State,

15 or if the State legislature, by law, has elected to

16 make subparagraph (A) inapplicable to the State.’’.

17 SEC. 107. DOCUMENTATION OF EFFORTS FOR ADOPTION

18 OR LOCATION OF A PERMANENT HOME.

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

20 675(1)) is amended—

21 (1) in the last sentence—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘the case plan must also

23 include’’; and

24 (B) by redesignating such sentence as sub25 paragraph (D) and indenting appropriately; 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

4 placement in another permanent home, docu5 mentation of the steps the agency is taking to

6 find an adoptive family or other permanent liv7 ing arrangement for the child, to place the child

8 with an adoptive family, a fit and willing rel9 ative, a legal guardian, or in another planned

10 permanent living arrangement, and to finalize

11 the adoption or legal guardianship. At a mini12 mum, such documentation shall include child

13 specific recruitment efforts such as the use of

14 State, regional, and national adoption ex15 changes including electronic exchange sys16 tems.’’.

17 TITLE II—INCENTIVES FOR PRO18 VIDING PERMANENT FAMI19 LIES FOR CHILDREN

20 SEC. 201. ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part E of title IV of the Social

22 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670–679) is amended by inserting

23 after section 473 the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 473A. ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.

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

3 of such amounts as may be provided in advance in appro4 priations Acts for this purpose, the Secretary shall make

5 a grant to each State that is an incentive-eligible State

6 for a fiscal year in an amount equal to the adoption incen7 tive payment payable to the State under this section for

8 the fiscal year, which shall be payable in the immediately

9 succeeding fiscal year.

10 ‘‘(b) INCENTIVE-ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State is an in11 centive-eligible State for a fiscal year if—

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

13 part for the fiscal year;

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

15 State during the fiscal year exceeds the base number

16 of foster child adoptions for the State for the fiscal

17 year;

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

19 (c) for the fiscal year;

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

21 the State provides health insurance coverage to any

22 child with special needs (as determined under sec23 tion 473(c)) for whom there is in effect an adoption

24 assistance agreement between a State and an adop25 tive parent or parents; and
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1 ‘‘(5) the fiscal year is any of fiscal years 1998

2 through 2002.

3 ‘‘(c) DATA REQUIREMENTS.—

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

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

6 provided to the Secretary the data described in para7 graph (2)—

8 ‘‘(A) for fiscal years 1995 through 1997

9 (or, if the 1st fiscal year for which the State

10 seeks a grant under this section is after fiscal

11 year 1998, the fiscal year that precedes such

12 1st fiscal year); and

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

14 precedes the fiscal year.

15 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF NUMBERS OF ADOP16 TIONS.—

17 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATIONS BASED ON AFCARS

18 DATA.—Except as provided in subparagraph

19 (B), the Secretary shall determine the numbers

20 of foster child adoptions and of special needs

21 adoptions in a State during each of fiscal years

22 1995 through 2002, for purposes of this sec23 tion, on the basis of data meeting the require24 ments of the system established pursuant to

25 section 479, as reported by the State and ap-
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1 proved by the Secretary by August 1 of the suc2 ceeding fiscal year.

3 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE DATA SOURCES PER4 MITTED FOR FISCAL YEARS 1995 THROUGH

5 1997.—For purposes of the determination de6 scribed in subparagraph (A) for fiscal years

7 1995 through 1997, the Secretary may use data

8 from a source or sources other than that speci9 fied in subparagraph (A) that the Secretary

10 finds to be of equivalent completeness and reli11 ability, as reported by a State by November 30,

12 1997, and approved by the Secretary by March

13 1, 1998.

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

15 This section shall not be construed to alter or affect

16 any requirement of section 479 or of any regulation

17 prescribed under such section with respect to report18 ing of data by States, or to waive any penalty for

19 failure to comply with such a requirement.

20 ‘‘(d) ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENT.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), the adoption incentive payment payable to

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

24 equal to the sum of—
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1 ‘‘(A) $4,000, multiplied by the amount (if

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

4 the base number of foster child adoptions for

5 the State for the fiscal year; and

6 ‘‘(B) $2,000, multiplied by the amount (if

7 any) by which the number of special needs

8 adoptions in the State during the fiscal year ex9 ceeds the base number of special needs adop10 tions for the State for the fiscal year.

11 ‘‘(2) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT IF INSUFFICIENT

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

13 amount of adoption incentive payments otherwise

14 payable under this section for a fiscal year exceeds

15 the amount appropriated pursuant to subsection (h)

16 for the fiscal year, the amount of the adoption incen17 tive payment payable to each State under this sec18 tion for the fiscal year shall be—

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

20 payment that would otherwise be payable to the

21 State under this section for the fiscal year; mul22 tiplied by

23 ‘‘(B) the percentage represented by the

24 amount so appropriated for the fiscal year, di25 vided by the total amount of adoption incentive
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1 payments otherwise payable under this section

2 for the fiscal year.

3 ‘‘(e) 2-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF INCENTIVE PAY4 MENTS.—Payments to a State under this section in a fis5 cal year shall remain available for use by the State

6 through the end of the succeeding fiscal year.

7 ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF INCENTIVE PAY8 MENTS.—A State shall not expend an amount paid to the

9 State under this section except to provide to children or

10 families any service (including post-adoption services) that

11 may be provided under part B or E. Amounts expended

12 by a State in accordance with the preceding sentence shall

13 be disregarded in determining State expenditures for pur14 poses of Federal matching payments under sections 423,

15 434, and 474.

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

17 ‘‘(1) FOSTER CHILD ADOPTION.—The term

18 ‘foster child adoption’ means the final adoption of a

19 child who, at the time of adoptive placement, was in

20 foster care under the supervision of the State.

21 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL NEEDS ADOPTION.—The term

22 ‘special needs adoption’ means the final adoption of

23 a child for whom an adoption assistance agreement

24 is in effect under section 473.
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1 ‘‘(3) BASE NUMBER OF FOSTER CHILD ADOP2 TIONS.—The term ‘base number of foster child

3 adoptions for a State’ means—

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

5 average number of foster child adoptions in the

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

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

8 year, the number of foster child adoptions in

9 the State in the fiscal year for which the num10 ber is the greatest in the period that begins

11 with fiscal year 1997 and ends with the fiscal

12 year preceding such subsequent fiscal year.

13 ‘‘(4) BASE NUMBER OF SPECIAL NEEDS ADOP14 TIONS.—The term ‘base number of special needs

15 adoptions for a State’ means—

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

17 average number of special needs adoptions in

18 the State in fiscal years 1995, 1996, and 1997;

19 and

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

21 year, the number of special needs adoptions in

22 the State in the fiscal year for which the num23 ber is the greatest in the period that begins

24 with fiscal year 1997 and ends with the fiscal

25 year preceding such subsequent fiscal year.
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1 ‘‘(h) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO2 PRIATIONS.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For grants under sub4 section (a), there are authorized to be appropriated

5 to the Secretary $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years

6 1999 through 2003.

7 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated

8 under paragraph (1) are authorized to remain avail9 able until expended, but not after fiscal year 2003.

10 ‘‘(i) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, di12 rectly or through grants or contracts, provide tech13 nical assistance to assist States and local commu14 nities to reach their targets for increased numbers of

15 adoptions and, to the extent that adoption is not

16 possible, alternative permanent placements, for chil17 dren in foster care.

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

19 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The technical assistance

20 provided under paragraph (1) may support the goal

21 of encouraging more adoptions out of the foster care

22 system, when adoptions promote the best interests of

23 children, and may include the following:
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1 ‘‘(A) The development of best practice

2 guidelines for expediting termination of paren3 tal rights.

4 ‘‘(B) Models to encourage the use of con5 current planning.

6 ‘‘(C) The development of specialized units

7 and expertise in moving children toward adop8 tion as a permanency goal.

9 ‘‘(D) The development of risk assessment

10 tools to facilitate early identification of the chil11 dren who will be at risk of harm if returned

12 home.

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

14 of children who have not attained 1 year of age

15 into pre-adoptive placements.

16 ‘‘(F) Development of programs that place

17 children into pre-adoptive families without wait18 ing for termination of parental rights.

19 ‘‘(3) TARGETING OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

20 TO THE COURTS.—Not less than 50 percent of any

21 amount appropriated pursuant to paragraph (4)

22 shall be used to provide technical assistance to the

23 courts.

24 ‘‘(4) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF AP25 PROPRIATIONS.—To carry out this subsection, there
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1 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary

2 of Health and Human Services not to exceed

3 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1998 through

4 2000.’’.

5 (b) DISCRETIONARY CAP ADJUSTMENT FOR ADOP6 TION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—

7 (1) SECTION 251 AMENDMENT.—Section

8 251(b)(2) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency

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

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

11 Budget Act of 1997, is amended by adding at the

12 end the following new subparagraph:

13 ‘‘(G) ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—

14 Whenever a bill or joint resolution making ap15 propriations for fiscal year 1999, 2000, 2001,

16 2002, or 2003 is enacted that specifies an

17 amount for adoption incentive payments pursu18 ant to this part for the Department of Health

19 and Human Services—

20 ‘‘(i) the adjustments for new budget

21 authority shall be the amounts of new

22 budget authority provided in that measure

23 for adoption incentive payments, but not to

24 exceed $20,000,000; 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)

5 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amend6 ed by section 10114(a) of the Balanced Budget Act

7 of 1997, 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 $20,000,000.’’.

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

22 (a) STATE PLAN FOR CHILD WELFARE SERVICES

23 REQUIREMENT.—Section 422(b) of the Social Security

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 622(b)) is amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

2 end;

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

4 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

6 ‘‘(12) contain assurances that the State shall

7 develop plans for the effective use of cross-jurisdic8 tional resources to facilitate timely adoptive or per9 manent placements for waiting children.’’.

10 (b) CONDITION OF ASSISTANCE.—Section 474 of

11 such Act (42 U.S.C. 674) is amended by adding at the

12 end the following:

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

14 be eligible for any payment under this section if the Sec15 retary finds that, after the date of the enactment of this

16 subsection, the State has—

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

18 for adoption when an approved family is available

19 outside of the jurisdiction with responsibility for

20 handling the case of the child; or

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

22 hearing, as described in section 471(a)(12), to an in23 dividual whose allegation of a violation of paragraph

24 (1) of this subsection is denied by the State or not
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1 acted upon by the State with reasonable prompt2 ness.’’.

3 (c) STUDY OF INTERJURISDICTIONAL ADOPTION IS4 SUES.—

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

6 the United States shall—

7 (A) study and consider how to improve

8 procedures and policies to facilitate the timely

9 and permanent adoptions of children across

10 State and county jurisdictions; and

11 (B) examine, at a minimum, interjurisdic12 tional adoption issues—

13 (i) concerning the recruitment of pro14 spective adoptive families from other

15 States and counties;

16 (ii) concerning the procedures to

17 grant reciprocity to prospective adoptive

18 family home studies from other States and

19 counties;

20 (iii) arising from a review of the com21 ity and full faith and credit provided to

22 adoption decrees and termination of paren23 tal rights orders from other States; and

24 (iv) concerning the procedures related

25 to the administration and implementation
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1 of the Interstate Compact on the Place2 ment of Children.

3 (2) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Not later

4 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this

5 Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the ap6 propriate committees of the Congress a report that

7 includes—

8 (A) the results of the study conducted

9 under paragraph (1); and

10 (B) recommendations on how to improve

11 procedures to facilitate the interjurisdictional

12 adoption of children, including interstate and

13 intercounty adoptions, so that children will be

14 assured timely and permanent placements.

15 SEC. 203. PERFORMANCE OF STATES IN PROTECTING CHIL16 DREN.

17 (a) ANNUAL REPORT ON STATE PERFORMANCE.—

18 Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

19 670 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the follow20 ing:

21 ‘‘SEC. 479A. ANNUAL REPORT.

22 ‘‘The Secretary, in consultation with Governors,

23 State legislatures, State and local public officials respon24 sible for administering child welfare programs, and child

25 welfare advocates, shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) develop a set of outcome measures (includ2 ing length of stay in foster care, number of foster

3 care placements, and number of adoptions) that can

4 be used to assess the performance of States in oper5 ating child protection and child welfare programs

6 pursuant to parts B and E to ensure the safety of

7 children;

8 ‘‘(2) to the maximum extent possible, the out9 come measures should be developed from data avail10 able from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis

11 and Reporting System;

12 ‘‘(3) develop a system for rating the perform13 ance of States with respect to the outcome meas14 ures, and provide to the States an explanation of the

15 rating system and how scores are determined under

16 the rating system;

17 ‘‘(4) prescribe such regulations as may be nec18 essary to ensure that States provide to the Secretary

19 the data necessary to determine State performance

20 with respect to each outcome measure, as a condi21 tion of the State receiving funds under this part;

22 and

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

24 prepare and submit to the Congress a report on the

25 performance of each State on each outcome meas-
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1 ure, which shall examine the reasons for high per2 formance and low performance and, where possible,

3 make recommendations as to how State performance

4 could be improved.’’.

5 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE-BASED IN6 CENTIVE SYSTEM.—The Secretary of Health and Human

7 Services, in consultation with State and local public offi8 cials responsible for administering child welfare programs

9 and child welfare advocates, shall study, develop, and rec10 ommend to Congress an incentive system to provide pay11 ments under parts B and E of title IV of the Social Secu12 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 620 et seq., 670 et seq.) to any State

13 based on the State’s performance under such a system.

14 Such a system shall, to the extent the Secretary deter15 mines feasible and appropriate, be based on the annual

16 report required by section 479A of the Social Security Act

17 (as added by subsection (a) of this section) or on any pro18 posed modifications of the annual report. Not later than

19 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

20 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Ways and

21 Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee

22 on Finance of the Senate a progress report on the feasibil23 ity, timetable, and consultation process for conducting

24 such a study. Not later than 15 months after such date

25 of enactment, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee
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1 on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and

2 the Committee on Finance of the Senate the final report

3 on a performance-based incentive system. The report may

4 include other recommendations for restructuring the pro5 gram and payments under parts B and E of title IV of

6 the Social Security Act.

7 TITLE III—ADDITIONAL

8 IMPROVEMENTS AND REFORMS

9 SEC. 301. EXPANSION OF CHILD WELFARE DEMONSTRA10 TION PROJECTS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1130(a) of the Social Se12 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–9) is amended to read as

13 follows:

14 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO APPROVE DEMONSTRATION

15 PROJECTS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may author17 ize States to conduct demonstration projects pursu18 ant to this section which the Secretary finds are

19 likely to promote the objectives of part B or E of

20 title IV.

21 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may author22 ize not more than 10 demonstration projects under

23 paragraph (1) in each of fiscal years 1998 through

24 2002.
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1 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN TYPES OF PROPOSALS REQUIRED

2 TO BE CONSIDERED.—

3 ‘‘(A) If an appropriate application therefor

4 is submitted, the Secretary shall consider au5 thorizing a demonstration project which is de6 signed to identify and address barriers that re7 sult in delays to adoptive placements for chil8 dren in foster care.

9 ‘‘(B) If an appropriate application therefor

10 is submitted, the Secretary shall consider au11 thorizing a demonstration project which is de12 signed to identify and address parental sub13 stance abuse problems that endanger children

14 and result in the placement of children in foster

15 care, including through the placement of chil16 dren with their parents in residential treatment

17 facilities (including residential treatment facili18 ties for post-partum depression) that are spe19 cifically designed to serve parents and children

20 together in order to promote family reunifica21 tion and that can ensure the health and safety

22 of the children in such placements.

23 ‘‘(C) If an appropriate application therefor

24 is submitted, the Secretary shall consider au-
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1 thorizing a demonstration project which is de2 signed to address kinship care.

3 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY.—The Sec4 retary may not authorize a State to conduct a dem5 onstration project under this section if the State

6 fails to provide health insurance coverage to any

7 child with special needs (as determined under sec8 tion 473(c)) for whom there is in effect an adoption

9 assistance agreement between a State and an adop10 tive parent or parents.

11 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENT TO CONSIDER EFFECT OF

12 PROJECT ON TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CERTAIN

13 COURT ORDERS.—In considering an application to

14 conduct a demonstration project under this section

15 that has been submitted by a State in which there

16 is in effect a court order determining that the

17 State’s child welfare program has failed to comply

18 with the provisions of part B or E of title IV, or

19 with the Constitution of the United States, the Sec20 retary shall take into consideration the effect of ap21 proving the proposed project on the terms and con22 ditions of the court order related to the failure to

23 comply.’’.

24 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the

25 amendment made by subsection (a) shall be construed as
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1 affecting the terms and conditions of any demonstration

2 project approved under section 1130 of the Social Security

3 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–9) before the date of the enactment

4 of this Act.

5 (c) AUTHORITY TO EXTEND DURATION OF DEM6 ONSTRATIONS.—Section 1130(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

7 1320a–9(d)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, unless in the judg8 ment of the Secretary, the demonstration project should

9 be allowed to continue’’ before the period.

10 SEC. 302. PERMANENCY HEARINGS.

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

12 U.S.C. 675(5)(C)) is amended—

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

14 ‘‘permanency’’;

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

16 (3) by striking ‘‘original placement’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘date the child is considered to have entered fos18 ter care (as determined under subparagraph (F))’’;

19 and

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

21 follows through ‘‘(long term basis)’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘permanency plan for the child that includes wheth23 er, and if applicable when, the child will be returned

24 to the parent, placed for adoption and the State will

25 file a petition for termination of parental rights, or
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1 referred for legal guardianship, or (in cases where

2 the State agency has documented to the State court

3 a compelling reason for determining that it would

4 not be in the best interests of the child to return

5 home, be referred for termination of parental rights,

6 or be placed for adoption, with a fit and willing rel7 ative, or with a legal guardian) placed in another

8 planned permanent living arrangement’’.

9 SEC. 303. KINSHIP CARE.

10 (a) REPORT.—

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

12 Human Services shall—

13 (A) not later than June 1, 1998, convene

14 the advisory panel provided for in subsection

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

16 panel an initial report on the extent to which

17 children in foster care are placed in the care of

18 a relative (in this section referred to as ‘‘kin19 ship care’’); and

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

21 the Committee on Ways and Means of the

22 House of Representatives and the Committee

23 on Finance of the Senate a final report on the

24 matter described in subparagraph (A), which

25 shall—
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1 (i) be based on the comments submit2 ted by the advisory panel pursuant to sub3 section (b)(2) and other information and

4 considerations; and

5 (ii) include the policy recommenda6 tions of the Secretary with respect to the

7 matter.

8 (2) REQUIRED CONTENTS.—Each report re9 quired by paragraph (1) shall—

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

11 State, information on—

12 (i) the policy of the State regarding

13 kinship care;

14 (ii) the characteristics of the kinship

15 care providers (including age, income, eth16 nicity, and race, and the relationship of the

17 kinship care providers to the children);

18 (iii) the characteristics of the house19 hold of such providers (such as number of

20 other persons in the household and family

21 composition);

22 (iv) how much access to the child is

23 afforded to the parent from whom the

24 child has been removed;
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1 (v) the cost of, and source of funds

2 for, kinship care (including any subsidies

3 such as medicaid and cash assistance);

4 (vi) the permanency plan for the child

5 and the actions being taken by the State to

6 achieve the plan;

7 (vii) the services being provided to the

8 parent from whom the child has been re9 moved; and

10 (viii) the services being provided to

11 the kinship care provider; and

12 (B) specifically note the circumstances or

13 conditions under which children enter kinship

14 care.

15 (b) ADVISORY PANEL.—

16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health

17 and Human Services, in consultation with the Chair18 man of the Committee on Ways and Means of the

19 House of Representatives and the Chairman of the

20 Committee on Finance of the Senate, shall convene

21 an advisory panel which shall include parents, foster

22 parents, relative caregivers, former foster children,

23 State and local public officials responsible for admin24 istering child welfare programs, private persons in25 volved in the delivery of child welfare services, rep-
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1 resentatives of tribal governments and tribal courts,

2 judges, and academic experts.

3 (2) DUTIES.—The advisory panel convened pur4 suant to paragraph (1) shall review the report pre5 pared pursuant to subsection (a), and, not later than

6 October 1, 1998, submit to the Secretary comments

7 on the report.

8 SEC. 304. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE POPULATION FOR

9 INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES.

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

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

12 children with respect to whom such payments are no

13 longer being made because the child has accumulated as14 sets, not to exceed $5,000, which are otherwise regarded

15 as resources for purposes of determining eligibility for

16 benefits under this part)’’ before the comma.

17 SEC. 305. REAUTHORIZATION AND EXPANSION OF FAMILY

18 PRESERVATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

19 (a) REAUTHORIZATION OF FAMILY PRESERVATION

20 AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—

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

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

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

24 the end;
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1 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe2 riod and inserting a semicolon; and

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

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

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

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

7 (2) CONTINUATION OF RESERVATION OF CER8 TAIN AMOUNTS.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) of section

9 430(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

10 629(d)(1) and (2)) are each amended by striking

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

12 2001’’.

13 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section

14 13712 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of

15 1993 (42 U.S.C. 670 note) is amended—

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

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

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

19 1998’’ and inserting ‘‘1998, 1999, 2000, and

20 2001’’.

21 (b) EXPANSION FOR TIME-LIMITED FAMILY REUNI22 FICATION SERVICES AND ADOPTION PROMOTION AND

23 SUPPORT SERVICES.—
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1 (1) ADDITIONS TO STATE PLAN.—Section 432

2 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629b) is

3 amended—

4 (A) in subsection (a)—

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

6 community-based family support services’’

7 and inserting ‘‘, community-based family

8 support services, time-limited family reuni9 fication services, and adoption promotion

10 and support services,’’; and

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

12 ‘‘and community-based family support

13 services’’ and inserting ‘‘, community-based

14 family support services, time-limited family

15 reunification services, and adoption pro16 motion and support services’’; and

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

18 family support’’ and inserting ‘‘, family sup19 port, time-limited family reunification, and

20 adoption promotion and support’’.

21 (2) DEFINITIONS OF TIME-LIMITED FAMILY RE22 UNIFICATION SERVICES AND ADOPTION PROMOTION

23 AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—Section 431(a) of the So24 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is amended by

25 adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(7) TIME-LIMITED FAMILY REUNIFICATION

2 SERVICES.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘time-lim4 ited family reunification services’ means the

5 services and activities described in subpara6 graph (B) that are provided to a child that is

7 removed from the child’s home and placed in a

8 foster family home or a child care institution

9 and to the parents or primary caregiver of such

10 a child, in order to facilitate the reunification of

11 the child safely and appropriately within a time12 ly fashion, but only during the 15-month period

13 that begins on the date that the child, pursuant

14 to section 475(5)(F), is considered to have en15 tered foster care.

16 ‘‘(B) SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES DE17 SCRIBED.—The services and activities described

18 in this subparagraph are the following:

19 ‘‘(i) Individual, group, and family

20 counseling.

21 ‘‘(ii) Inpatient, residential, or out22 patient substance abuse treatment services.

23 ‘‘(iii) Mental health services.

24 ‘‘(iv) Assistance to address domestic

25 violence.
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1 ‘‘(v) Services designed to provide tem2 porary child care and therapeutic services

3 for families, including crisis nurseries.

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

5 the services and activities described in this

6 subparagraph.

7 ‘‘(8) ADOPTION PROMOTION AND SUPPORT

8 SERVICES.—The term ‘adoption promotion and sup9 port services’ means services and activities designed

10 to encourage more adoptions out of the foster care

11 system, when adoptions promote the best interests of

12 children, including such activities as pre- and post13 adoptive services and activities designed to expedite

14 the adoption process and support adoptive fami15 lies.’’.

16 (3) ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

17 (A) PURPOSES.—Section 430(a) of the So18 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629(a)) is amend19 ed by striking ‘‘and community-based family

20 support services’’ and inserting ‘‘, community21 based family support services, time-limited fam22 ily reunification services, and adoption pro23 motion and support services’’.

24 (B) PROGRAM TITLE.—The heading of

25 subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Se-
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1 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 629 et seq.) is amended

2 to read as follows:

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

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

5 (1) REQUIRING ASSURANCES THAT THE SAFETY

6 OF CHILDREN SHALL BE OF PARAMOUNT CON7 CERN.—Section 432(a) of the Social Security Act

8 (42 U.S.C. 629b(a)) is amended—

9 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para10 graph (7);

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

12 paragraph (8); and

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

14 ‘‘(9) contains assurances that in administering

15 and conducting service programs under the plan, the

16 safety of the children to be served shall be of para17 mount concern.’’.

18 (2) DEFINITIONS OF FAMILY PRESERVATION

19 AND FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES.—Section 431(a) of

20 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is

21 amended—

22 (A) in paragraph (1)—

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

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

25 it appears; and
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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting

2 ‘‘safely’’ after ‘‘remain’’; and

3 (B) in paragraph (2)—

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

5 ‘‘well-being’’; and

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

7 ‘‘safe, stable,’’.

8 (d) CLARIFICATION OF MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT

9 REQUIREMENT.—

10 (1) DEFINITION OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—

11 Section 431(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

12 629a(a)), as amended by subsection (b)(2), is

13 amended by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(9) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—The term ‘non15 Federal funds’ means State funds, or at the option

16 of a State, State and local funds.’’.

17 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

18 by paragraph (1) takes effect as if included in the

19 enactment of section 13711 of the Omnibus Budget

20 Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–33; 107

21 Stat. 649).

22 SEC. 306. HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR CHILDREN

23 WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.

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

25 671(a)), as amended by section 106, is amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (19), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

2 end;

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

4 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

6 ‘‘(21) provides for health insurance coverage

7 (including, at State option, through the program

8 under the State plan approved under title XIX) for

9 any child who has been determined to be a child

10 with special needs, for whom there is in effect an

11 adoption assistance agreement (other than an agree12 ment under this part) between the State and an

13 adoptive parent or parents, and who the State has

14 determined cannot be placed with an adoptive parent

15 or parents without medical assistance because such

16 child has special needs for medical, mental health, or

17 rehabilitative care, and that with respect to the pro18 vision of such health insurance coverage—

19 ‘‘(A) such coverage may be provided

20 through 1 or more State medical assistance pro21 grams;

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

23 shall ensure that the medical benefits, including

24 mental health benefits, provided are of the same
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1 type and kind as those that would be provided

2 for children by the State under title XIX;

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

4 such coverage through a State medical assist5 ance program other than the program under

6 title XIX, and the State exceeds its funding for

7 services under such other program, any such

8 child shall be deemed to be receiving aid or as9 sistance under the State plan under this part

10 for purposes of section 1902(a)(10)(A)(i)(I);

11 and

12 ‘‘(D) in determining cost-sharing require13 ments, the State shall take into consideration

14 the circumstances of the adopting parent or

15 parents and the needs of the child being adopt16 ed consistent, to the extent coverage is provided

17 through a State medical assistance program,

18 with the rules under such program.’’.

19 SEC. 307. CONTINUATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR ADOPTION

20 ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS ON BEHALF OF CHIL21 DREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS WHOSE INITIAL

22 ADOPTION HAS BEEN DISSOLVED.

23 (a) CONTINUATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Section

24 473(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)(2))

25 is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Any child
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1 who meets the requirements of subparagraph (C), who was

2 determined eligible for adoption assistance payments

3 under this part with respect to a prior adoption, who is

4 available for adoption because the prior adoption has been

5 dissolved and the parental rights of the adoptive parents

6 have been terminated or because the child’s adoptive par7 ents have died, and who fails to meet the requirements

8 of subparagraphs (A) and (B) but would meet such re9 quirements if the child were treated as if the child were

10 in the same financial and other circumstances the child

11 was in the last time the child was determined eligible for

12 adoption assistance payments under this part and the

13 prior adoption were treated as never having occurred, shall

14 be treated as meeting the requirements of this paragraph

15 for purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(ii).’’.

16 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub17 section (a) shall only apply to children who are adopted

18 on or after October 1, 1997.

19 SEC. 308. STATE STANDARDS TO ENSURE QUALITY SERV20 ICES FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.

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

22 671(a)), as amended by sections 106 and 306, is amend23 ed—

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

25 end;
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1 (2) in paragraph (21), by striking the period

2 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

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

5 1999, the State shall develop and implement stand6 ards to ensure that children in foster care place7 ments in public or private agencies are provided

8 quality services that protect the safety and health of

9 the children.’’.

10 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

11 SEC. 401. PRESERVATION OF REASONABLE PARENTING.

12 Nothing in this Act is intended to disrupt the family

13 unnecessarily or to intrude inappropriately into family life,

14 to prohibit the use of reasonable methods of parental dis15 cipline, or to prescribe a particular method of parenting.

16 SEC. 402. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

17 Any information required to be reported under this

18 Act shall be supplied to the Secretary of Health and

19 Human Services through data meeting the requirements

20 of the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting

21 System established pursuant to section 479 of the Social

22 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679), to the extent such data is

23 available under that system. The Secretary shall make

24 such modifications to regulations issued under section 479

25 of such Act with respect to the Adoption and Foster Care
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1 Analysis and Reporting System as may be necessary to

2 allow States to obtain data that meets the requirements

3 of such system in order to satisfy the reporting require4 ments of this Act.

5 SEC. 403. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING STANDBY

6 GUARDIANSHIP.

7 It is the sense of Congress that the States should

8 have in effect laws and procedures that permit any parent

9 who is chronically ill or near death, without surrendering

10 parental rights, to designate a standby guardian for the

11 parent’s minor children, whose authority would take effect

12 upon—

13 (1) the death of the parent;

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

15 (3) the physical debilitation and consent of the

16 parent.

17 SEC. 404. TEMPORARY ADJUSTMENT OF CONTINGENCY

18 FUND FOR STATE WELFARE PROGRAMS.

19 (a) REDUCTION OF APPROPRIATION.—Section

20 403(b)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(b)(2))

21 is amended by inserting ‘‘, reduced by the sum of the dol22 lar amounts specified in paragraph (6)(C)(ii)’’ before the

23 period.
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1 (b) INCREASE IN STATE REMITTANCES.—Section

2 403(b)(6) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(b)(6)) is amended

3 by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENT OF STATE REMIT5 TANCES.—

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The amount oth7 erwise required by subparagraph (A) to be

8 remitted by a State for a fiscal year shall

9 be increased by the lesser of—

10 ‘‘(I) the total adjustment for the

11 fiscal year, multiplied by the adjust12 ment percentage for the State for the

13 fiscal year; or

14 ‘‘(II) the unadjusted net payment

15 to the State for the fiscal year.

16 ‘‘(ii) TOTAL ADJUSTMENT.—As used

17 in clause (i), the term ‘total adjustment’

18 means—

19 ‘‘(I) in the case of fiscal year

20 1998, $2,000,000;

21 ‘‘(II) in the case of fiscal year

22 1999, $9,000,000;

23 ‘‘(III) in the case of fiscal year

24 2000, $16,000,000; and
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1 ‘‘(IV) in the case of fiscal year

2 2001, $13,000,000.

3 ‘‘(iii) ADJUSTMENT PERCENTAGE.—

4 As used in clause (i), the term ‘adjustment

5 percentage’ means, with respect to a State

6 and a fiscal year—

7 ‘‘(I) the unadjusted net payment

8 to the State for the fiscal year; di9 vided by

10 ‘‘(II) the sum of the unadjusted

11 net payments to all States for the fis12 cal year.

13 ‘‘(iv) UNADJUSTED NET PAYMENT.—

14 As used in this subparagraph, the term,

15 ‘unadjusted net payment’ means with re16 spect to a State and a fiscal year—

17 ‘‘(I) the total amount paid to the

18 State under paragraph (3) in the fis19 cal year; minus

20 ‘‘(II) the amount that, in the ab21 sence of this subparagraph, would be

22 required by subparagraph (A) or by

23 section 409(a)(10) to be remitted by

24 the State in respect of the payment.’’.
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1 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE OPER2 ATION OF THE CONTINGENCY FUND.—Not later than

3 March 1, 1998, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv4 ices shall make recommendations to the Congress for im5 proving the operation of the Contingency Fund for State

6 Welfare Programs.

7 SEC. 405. COORDINATION OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND

8 CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES.

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

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

11 on information from the Substance Abuse and Mental

12 Health Services Administration and the Administration

13 for Children and Families in the Department of Health

14 and Human Services, shall prepare and submit to the

15 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate

17 a report which describes the extent and scope of the prob18 lem of substance abuse in the child welfare population, the

19 types of services provided to such population, and the out20 comes resulting from the provision of such services to such

21 population. The report shall include recommendations for

22 any legislation that may be needed to improve coordina23 tion in providing such services to such population.
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1 SEC. 406. PURCHASE OF AMERICAN-MADE EQUIPMENT AND

2 PRODUCTS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of the Congress

4 that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and

5 products purchased with funds made available under this

6 Act should be American-made.

7 (b) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—In providing financial

8 assistance to, or entering into any contract with, any en9 tity using funds made available under this Act, the head

10 of each Federal agency, to the greatest extent practicable,

11 shall provide to such entity a notice describing the state12 ment made in subsection (a) by the Congress.

13 TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATE

14 SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATE.

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

16 this Act, the amendments made by this Act take effect

17 on the date of enactment of this Act.

18 (b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE19 QUIRED.—In the case of a State plan under part B or

20 E of title IV of the Social Security Act which the Secretary

21 of Health and Human Services determines requires State

22 legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) in

23 order for the plan to meet the additional requirements im24 posed by the amendments made by this Act, the State plan

25 shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the require26 ments of such part solely on the basis of the failure of
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1 the plan to meet such additional requirements before the

2 first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the

3 close of the first regular session of the State legislature

4 that begins after the date of enactment of this Act. For

5 purposes of the previous sentence, in the case of a State

6 that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of such ses7 sion shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of

8 the State legislature.

Æ