108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4504

AN ACT

To improve protections for children and to hold

purposes.ment of children across State lines, and for otherStates accountable for the safe and timely place-

108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4504

AN ACT

To improve protections for children and to hold States accountable for the safe and timely placement of children

across State lines, and for other purposes.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe and Timely Inter3 state Placement of Foster Children Act of 2004’’.

4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

5 (a) FINDING.—The Congress finds that the Inter6 state Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) was

7 drafted more than 40 years ago, is outdated, and is a bar8 rier to the timely placement of children across State lines.

9 (b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

10 the Congress that the States should expeditiously revise

11 the ICPC to better serve the interests of children and re12 duce unnecessary work, and that the revision should

13 include—

14 (1) limiting its applicability to children in foster

15 care under the responsibility of a State, except those

16 seeking placement in a licensed residential facility

17 primarily to access clinical mental health services;

18 and

19 (2) providing for deadlines for the completion

20 and approval of home studies as set forth in section

21 4.

22 SEC. 3. ORDERLY AND TIMELY PROCESS FOR INTERSTATE

23 PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN.

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

25 671(a)) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

2 (23);

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (24) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

6 ‘‘(25) provide that the State shall have in effect

7 procedures for the orderly and timely interstate

8 placement of children; and procedures implemented

9 in accordance with an interstate compact approved

10 by the Secretary, if incorporating with the proce11 dures prescribed by paragraph (26), shall be consid12 ered to satisfy the requirement of this paragraph.’’.

13 SEC. 4. HOME STUDIES.

14 (a) ORDERLY PROCESS.—

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

16 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is further

17 amended—

18 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para19 graph (24);

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

21 paragraph (25) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

23 ‘‘(26) provides that—

24 ‘‘(A)(i) within 60 days after the State re25 ceives from another State a request to conduct
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1 a study of a home environment for purposes of

2 assessing the appropriateness of placing a child

3 in the home, the State shall, directly or by

4 contract—

5 ‘‘(I) conduct and complete the study;

6 and

7 ‘‘(II) return to the other State a re8 port on the results of the study, which

9 shall address the extent to which place10 ment in the home would meet the needs of

11 the child; and

12 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a home study begun on

13 or before September 30, 2006, if the State fails

14 to comply with clause (i) within the 60-day pe15 riod as a result of circumstances beyond the

16 control of the State (such as a failure by a Fed17 eral agency to provide the results of a

18 background check, or the failure by any entity

19 to provide completed medical forms, requested

20 by the State at least 45 days before the end of

21 the 60-day period), the State shall have 75 days

22 to comply with clause (i) if the State documents

23 the circumstances involved and certifies that

24 completing the home study is in the best inter25 ests of the child; except that
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1 ‘‘(iii) this subparagraph shall not be con2 strued to require the State to have completed,

3 within the applicable period, the parts of the

4 home study involving the education and train5 ing of the prospective foster or adoptive par6 ents;

7 ‘‘(B) the State shall treat any report de8 scribed in subparagraph (A) that is received

9 from another State or an Indian tribe (or from

10 a private agency under contract with another

11 State) as meeting any requirements imposed by

12 the State for the completion of a home study

13 before placing a child in the home, unless, with14 in 14 days after receipt of the report, the State

15 determines, based on grounds that are specific

16 to the content of the report, that making a de17 cision in reliance on the report would be con18 trary to the welfare of the child; and

19 ‘‘(C) the State shall not impose any re20 striction on the ability of a State agency admin21 istering, or supervising the administration of, a

22 State program operated under a State plan ap23 proved under this part to contract with a pri24 vate agency for the conduct of a home study de25 scribed in subparagraph (A).’’.
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1 (2) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense

2 of the Congress that each State should—

3 (A) use private agencies to conduct home

4 studies when doing so is necessary to meet the

5 requirements of section 471(a)(26) of the Social

6 Security Act; and

7 (B) give full faith and credit to any home

8 study report completed by any other State or

9 an Indian tribe with respect to the placement of

10 a child in foster care or for adoption.

11 (b) TIMELY INTERSTATE HOME STUDY INCENTIVE

12 PAYMENTS.—Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act

13 (42 U.S.C. 670–679b) is amended by inserting after sec14 tion 473A the following:

15 ‘‘SEC. 473B. TIMELY INTERSTATE HOME STUDY INCENTIVE

16 PAYMENTS.

17 ‘‘(a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall make

18 a grant to each State that is a home study incentive-eligi19 ble State for a fiscal year in an amount equal to the timely

20 interstate home study incentive payment payable to the

21 State under this section for the fiscal year, which shall

22 be payable in the immediately succeeding fiscal year.

23 ‘‘(b) HOME STUDY INCENTIVE-ELIGIBLE STATE.—

24 A State is a home study incentive-eligible State for a fiscal

25 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 State is in compliance with subsection

4 (c) for the fiscal year; and

5 ‘‘(3) based on data submitted and verified pur6 suant to subsection (c), the State has completed a

7 timely interstate home study during the fiscal year.

8 ‘‘(c) DATA REQUIREMENTS.—

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

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

11 provided to the Secretary a written report, covering

12 the preceding fiscal year, that specifies—

13 ‘‘(A) the total number of interstate home

14 studies requested by the State with respect to

15 children in foster care under the responsibility

16 of the State, and with respect to each such

17 study, the identity of the other State involved;

18 and

19 ‘‘(B) the total number of timely interstate

20 home studies completed by the State with re21 spect to children in foster care under the re22 sponsibility of other States, and with respect to

23 each such study, the identity of the other State

24 involved.
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1 ‘‘(2) VERIFICATION OF DATA.—In determining

2 the number of timely interstate home studies to be

3 attributed to a State under this section, the Sec4 retary shall check the data provided by the State

5 under paragraph (1) against complementary data so

6 provided by other States.

7 ‘‘(d) TIMELY INTERSTATE HOME STUDY INCENTIVE

8 PAYMENTS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The timely interstate home

10 study incentive payment payable to a State for a fis11 cal year shall be $1,500, multiplied by the number

12 of timely interstate home studies attributed to the

13 State under this section during the fiscal year, sub14 ject to paragraph (2).

15 ‘‘(2) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT IF INSUFFICIENT

16 FUNDS AVAILABLE.—If the total amount of timely

17 interstate home study incentive payments otherwise

18 payable under this section for a fiscal year exceeds

19 the total of the amounts made available pursuant to

20 subsection (h) for the fiscal year (reduced (but not

21 below zero) by the total of the amounts (if any) pay22 able under paragraph (3) of this subsection with re23 spect to the preceding fiscal year), the amount of

24 each such otherwise payable incentive payment shall

25 be reduced by a percentage equal to—
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1 ‘‘(A) the total of the amounts so made

2 available (as so reduced); divided by

3 ‘‘(B) the total of such otherwise payable

4 incentive payments.

5 ‘‘(3) APPROPRIATIONS AVAILABLE FOR UNPAID

6 INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR PRIOR FISCAL YEARS.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If payments under

8 this section are reduced under paragraph (2) or

9 subparagraph (B) of this paragraph for a fiscal

10 year, then, before making any other payment

11 under this section for the next fiscal year, the

12 Secretary shall pay each State whose payment

13 was so reduced an amount equal to the total

14 amount of the reductions which applied to the

15 State, subject to subparagraph (B) of this para16 graph.

17 ‘‘(B) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT IF INSUFFI18 CIENT FUNDS AVAILABLE.—If the total amount

19 of payments otherwise payable under subpara20 graph (A) of this paragraph for a fiscal year ex21 ceeds the total of the amounts made available

22 pursuant to subsection (h) for the fiscal year,

23 the amount of each such payment shall be re24 duced by a percentage equal to—
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1 ‘‘(i) the total of the amounts so made

2 available; divided by

3 ‘‘(ii) the total of such otherwise pay4 able payments.

5 ‘‘(e) TWO-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF INCENTIVE PAY6 MENTS.—Payments to a State under this section in a fis7 cal year shall remain available for use by the State

8 through the end of the next fiscal year.

9 ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF INCENTIVE PAY10 MENTS.—A State shall not expend an amount paid to the

11 State under this section except to provide to children or

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

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

14 by a State in accordance with the preceding sentence shall

15 be disregarded in determining State expenditures for pur16 poses of Federal matching payments under sections 423,

17 434, and 474.

18 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

19 ‘‘(1) HOME STUDY.—The term ‘home study’

20 means a study of a home environment, conducted in

21 accordance with applicable requirements of the State

22 in which the home is located, for the purpose of as23 sessing whether placement of a child in the home

24 would be appropriate for the child.
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1 ‘‘(2) INTERSTATE HOME STUDY.—The term

2 ‘interstate home study’ means a home study con3 ducted by a State at the request of another State,

4 to facilitate an adoptive or relative placement in the

5 State.

6 ‘‘(3) TIMELY INTERSTATE HOME STUDY.—The

7 term ‘timely interstate home study’ means an inter8 state home study completed by a State if the State

9 provides to the State that requested the study, with10 in 30 days after receipt of the request, a report on

11 the results of the study. The preceding sentence

12 shall not be construed to require the State to have

13 completed, within the 30-day period, the parts of the

14 home study involving the education and training of

15 the prospective foster or adoptive parents.

16 ‘‘(h) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO17 PRIATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For payments under this

19 section, there are authorized to be appropriated to

20 the Secretary—

21 ‘‘(A) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;

22 ‘‘(B) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;

23 ‘‘(C) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and

24 ‘‘(D) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008.
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1 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated

2 under paragraph (1) are authorized to remain avail3 able until expended.’’.

4 (c) REPEALER.—Effective October 1, 2008, section

5 473B of the Social Security Act is repealed.

6 SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT TO COMPLETE BACKGROUND

7 CHECKS BEFORE APPROVAL OF ANY FOSTER

8 OR ADOPTIVE PLACEMENT AND TO CHECK

9 CHILD ABUSE REGISTRIES; SUSPENSION AND

10 SUBSEQUENT ELIMINATION OF OPT-OUT.

11 (a) REQUIREMENT TO COMPLETE BACKGROUND

12 CHECKS BEFORE APPROVAL OF ANY FOSTER OR ADOP13 TIVE PLACEMENT AND TO CHECK CHILD ABUSE REG14 ISTRIES; SUSPENSION OF OPT-OUT.—

15 (1) REQUIREMENT TO CHECK CHILD ABUSE

16 REGISTRIES.—Section 471(a)(20) of the Social Se17 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) is amended—

18 (A) in subparagraph (A)—

19 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i),

20 by striking ‘‘on whose behalf foster care

21 maintenance payments or adoption assist22 ance payments are to be made’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘regardless of whether foster care

24 maintenance payments or adoption assist-
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1 ance payments are to be made on behalf of

2 the child’’;

3 (ii) in each of clauses (i) and (ii), by

4 inserting ‘‘involving a child on whose be5 half such payments are to be so made’’

6 after ‘‘in any case’’; and

7 (iii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of

8 clause (ii); and

9 (B) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub10 paragraph (B); and

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

12 ‘‘(C) provides that the State shall—

13 ‘‘(i) check any child abuse and neglect

14 registry maintained by the State for infor15 mation on any prospective foster or adop16 tive parent and on any other adult living in

17 the home of such a prospective parent, and

18 request any other State in which any such

19 prospective parent or other adult has re20 sided in the preceding 5 years, to enable

21 the State to check any child abuse and ne22 glect registry maintained by such other

23 State for such information, before the pro24 spective foster or adoptive parent may be

25 finally approved for placement of a child,
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1 regardless of whether foster care mainte2 nance payments or adoption assistance

3 payments are to be made on behalf of the

4 child under the State plan under this part;

5 ‘‘(ii) comply with any request de6 scribed in clause (i) that is received from

7 another State; and

8 ‘‘(iii) have in place safeguards to pre9 vent the unauthorized disclosure of infor10 mation in any child abuse and neglect reg11 istry maintained by the State, and to pre12 vent any such information obtained pursu13 ant to this subparagraph from being used

14 for a purpose other than the conducting of

15 background checks in foster or adoptive

16 placement cases;’’.

17 (2) SUSPENSION OF OPT-OUT.—Section

18 471(a)(20)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

19 671(a)(20)(B)) is amended—

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘, on or before September

21 30, 2004,’’ after ‘‘plan if’’; and

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘, on or before such

23 date,’’ after ‘‘or if’’.
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1 (b) ELIMINATION OF OPT-OUT.—Section 471(a)(20)

2 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)), as amended by sub3 section (a) of this section, is amended—

4 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

5 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by

6 striking ‘‘unless an election provided for in sub7 paragraph (B) is made with respect to the

8 State,’’; and

9 (B) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause

10 (ii); and

11 (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and redesig12 nating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (B).

13 SEC. 6. COURTS ALLOWED ACCESS TO THE FEDERAL PAR14 ENT LOCATOR SERVICE TO LOCATE PARENTS

15 IN FOSTER CARE OR ADOPTIVE PLACEMENT

16 CASES.

17 Section 453(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

18 653(c)) is amended—

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

20 (3);

21 (2) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘;

22 and’’; and

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

24 ‘‘(5) any court which has authority with respect

25 to the placement of a child in foster care or for
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1 adoption, but only for the purpose of locating a par2 ent of the child.’’.

3 SEC. 7. CASEWORKER VISITS.

4 (a) PURCHASE OF SERVICES IN INTERSTATE PLACE5 MENT CASES.—Section 475(5)(A)(ii) of the Social Secu6 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking

7 ‘‘or of the State in which the child has been placed’’ and

8 inserting ‘‘of the State in which the child has been placed,

9 or of a private agency under contract with either such

10 State’’.

11 (b) INCREASED VISITS.—Section 475(5)(A)(ii) of

12 such Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking

13 ‘‘12’’ and inserting ‘‘6’’.

14 SEC. 8. HEALTH AND EDUCATION RECORDS.

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

16 675) is amended—

17 (1) in paragraph (1)(C)—

18 (A) by striking ‘‘To the extent available

19 and accessible, the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’; and

20 (B) by inserting ‘‘the most recent informa21 tion available regarding’’ after ‘‘including’’; and

22 (2) in paragraph (5)(D)—

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘a copy of the record is’’

24 before ‘‘supplied’’; and
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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and is supplied to the

2 child at no cost at the time the child leaves fos3 ter care if the child is leaving foster care by

4 reason of having attained the age of majority

5 under State law’’ before the semicolon.

6 SEC. 9. RIGHT TO BE HEARD IN FOSTER CARE PRO7 CEEDINGS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 475(5)(G) of the Social

9 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(G)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘an opportunity’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘a right’’;

12 (2) by striking ‘‘and opportunity’’ and inserting

13 ‘‘and right’’; and

14 (3) by striking ‘‘review or hearing’’ each place

15 it appears and inserting ‘‘proceeding’’.

16 (b) NOTICE OF PROCEEDING.—Section 438(b) of

17 such Act (42 U.S.C. 638(b)) is amended by inserting

18 ‘‘shall have in effect a rule requiring State courts to notify

19 foster parents, pre-adoptive parents, and relative care20 givers of a child in foster care under the responsibility of

21 the State of any proceeding to be held with respect to the

22 child, and’’ after ‘‘highest State court’’.

23 SEC. 10. COURT IMPROVEMENT.

24 Section 438(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42

25 U.S.C. 629h(a)(1)) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara2 graph (C); and

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

4 ‘‘(E) that determine the best strategy to

5 use to expedite the interstate placement of chil6 dren, including—

7 ‘‘(i) requiring courts in different

8 States to cooperate in the sharing of infor9 mation;

10 ‘‘(ii) authorizing courts to obtain in11 formation and testimony from agencies

12 and parties in other States without requir13 ing interstate travel by the agencies and

14 parties; and

15 ‘‘(iii) permitting the participation of

16 parents, children, other necessary parties,

17 and attorneys in cases involving interstate

18 placement without requiring their inter19 state travel; and’’.

20 SEC. 11. REASONABLE EFFORTS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(15)(C) of the So22 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(15)(C)) is amended

23 by inserting ‘‘(including, if appropriate, through an inter24 state placement)’’ after ‘‘accordance with the permanency

25 plan’’.
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1 (b) PERMANENCY HEARING.—Section

2 471(a)(15)(E)(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(15)(E)(i))

3 is amended by inserting ‘‘, which considers in-State and

4 out-of-State permanent placement options for the child,’’

5 before ‘‘shall’’.

6 (c) CONCURRENT PLANNING.—Section

7 471(a)(15)(F) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(15)(F)) is

8 amended by inserting ‘‘, including identifying appropriate

9 out-of-State relatives and placements’’ before ‘‘may’’.

10 SEC. 12. CASE PLANS.

11 Section 475(1)(E) of the Social Security Act (42

12 U.S.C. 675(1)(E)) is amended by inserting ‘‘to facilitate

13 orderly and timely in-State and interstate placements’’ be14 fore the period.

15 SEC. 13. CASE REVIEW SYSTEM.

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

17 U.S.C. 675(5)(C) is amended—

18 (1) by inserting ‘‘, in the case of a child who

19 will not be returned to the parent, the hearing shall

20 consider in-State and out-of-State placement op21 tions,’’ after ‘‘living arrangement’’; and

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘the hearing shall determine’’

23 before ‘‘whether the’’.
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1 SEC. 14. USE OF INTERJURISDICTIONAL RESOURCES.

2 Section 422(b)(12) of the Social Security Act (42

3 U.S.C. 622(b)(12)) is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘develop plans for the’’ and in5 serting ‘‘make’’;

6 (2) by inserting ‘‘(including through contracts

7 for the purchase of services)’’ after ‘‘resources’’; and

8 (3) by inserting ‘‘, and shall eliminate legal bar9 riers,’’ before ‘‘to facilitate’’.

10 SEC. 15. GAO STUDY ON CHILD WELFARE BACKGROUND

11 CHECKS.

12 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United

13 States shall conduct a study of background checks that

14 are performed for the purpose of determining the appro15 priateness of placing in a foster or adoptive home a child

16 who is under the custody of a State. The study shall re17 view the policies and practices of States in order to—

18 (1) identify the most common delays in the

19 background clearance process and where in the proc20 ess the delays occur;

21 (2) describe when background checks are initi22 ated;

23 (3) determine which of local, State, or Federal

24 (such as FBI) background checks are used, how

25 long it takes, on average, for each kind of check to

26 be processed, which crimes or other events are in-
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1 cluded in each kind of check, how the States differ

2 in classifying the crimes and other events checked,

3 and how the information revealed by the checks is

4 used in determining eligibility to act as a foster or

5 adoptive parent;

6 (4) examine the barriers child welfare agencies

7 face in accessing criminal background check infor8 mation;

9 (5) examine the use of the latest information10 sharing technology, including electronic

11 fingerprinting and participation in the Integrated

12 Automated Fingerprinting Information System;

13 (6) identify the varied uses of such technology

14 for child welfare purposes as opposed to criminal

15 justice purposes; and

16 (7) recommend best practices that can increase

17 the speed, efficiency, and accuracy of child welfare

18 background checks at all levels of government.

19 (b) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Within 12 months

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp21 troller General of the United States shall submit to the

22 Committees on Ways and Means and on Education and

23 the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the

24 Committees on Finance and on Health, Education, Labor,
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1 and Pensions of the Senate a report which contains the

2 results of the study required by subsection (a).

3 SEC. 16. EFFECTIVE DATE.

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

5 this section, the amendments made by this Act shall take

6 effect on October 1, 2004, and shall apply to payments

7 under parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security

8 Act for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date,

9 without regard to whether regulations to implement the

10 amendments are promulgated by such date.

11 (b) ELIMINATION OF OPT-OUT.—The amendments

12 made by section 5(b) shall take effect on October 1, 2006,

13 and shall apply to payments under part E of title IV of

14 the Social Security Act for calendar quarters beginning

15 on or after such date, without regard to whether regula16 tions to implement the amendments are promulgated by

17 such date.

18 (c) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE19 QUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human Services

20 determines that State legislation (other than legislation

21 appropriating funds) is required in order for a State plan

22 under part B or E of title IV of the Social Security Act

23 to meet the additional requirements imposed by the

24 amendments made by a provision of this Act, the plan

25 shall not be regarded as failing to meet any of the addi-
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1 tional requirements before the 1st day of the 1st calendar

2 quarter beginning after the first regular session of the

3 State legislature that begins after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act (or, in the case of the amendments made

5 by section 5(b), the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter

6 beginning after the first such regular session that begins

7 after the effective date of such section). If the State has

8 a 2-year legislative session, each year of the session is

9 deemed to be a separate regular session of the State legis10 lature.

Passed the House of Representatives October 5,

2004.

Attest:

Clerk.