I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4856

To provide States with improved incentives, more flexibility, and increased 

funds to develop child welfare services that meet the unique needs of 

children and families and enhance children’s prospects for safe and 

permanent living arrangements. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 19, 2004

Mr. HERGER (for himself, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. DELAY, Mr. 

LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. CAMP, and Mr. CANTOR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL

To provide States with improved incentives, more flexibility, 

and increased funds to develop child welfare services 

that meet the unique needs of children and families 

and enhance children’s prospects for safe and permanent 

living arrangements.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 ‘‘Child Safety, Adoption, and Family Enhancement (Child 

6 SAFE) Act of 2004’’. 
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. References. 

TITLE I—EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY FOR ADOPTION ASSISTANCE 

AND FOSTER CARE 

Sec. 101. Adoption assistance. 

Sec. 102. Foster care maintenance payments. 

Sec. 103. Eligibility of Indian tribes to receive Federal funds for foster care 

and adoption assistance. 

TITLE II—FLEXIBLE FUNDS TO IMPROVE PROTECTION FOR 

CHILDREN AND STRENGTHEN FAMILIES 

Sec. 201. Safe Children, Strong Families programs. 

Sec. 202. Challenge grants. 

TITLE III—ENHANCEMENTS TO CHILD WELFARE WAIVER 

AUTHORITY 

Sec. 301. Extension of authority to approve demonstration projects. 

Sec. 302. Elimination of limitation on number of waivers. 

Sec. 303. Elimination of limitation on number of States that may be granted 

waivers to conduct demonstration projects on same topic. 

Sec. 304. Elimination of limitation on number of waivers that may be granted 

to a single State for demonstration projects. 

Sec. 305. Streamlined process for consideration of amendments to and extensions of demonstration projects requiring waivers. 

Sec. 306. Availability of reports. 

TITLE IV—TANF AND SSI PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. TANF high performance bonus. 

Sec. 402. Review of State agency blindness and disability determinations. 

TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATE AND TRANSITION PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Effective date; transition rule.

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 The Congress finds as follows: 

5 (1) Foster care should be a temporary, short6 term placement for children until they can be reuni7 fied with their parents or placed with a safe, adop8 tive family. However, the 532,454 children in foster 
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1 care on September 30, 2002, have been in foster 

2 care for an average of almost 3 years (32 months). 

3 (2) At the end of fiscal year 2002, the case 

4 plan goal for over 34,000 foster care children was to 

5 remain in foster care until they turned 18. These 

6 children will leave the foster care system without the 

7 stability and permanency of a family. 

8 (3) Since 1995, the number of children adopted 

9 with child welfare agency involvement has more than 

10 doubled from 25,693 to 52,546 in 2002. Despite this 

11 achievement, there were 129,262 children waiting to 

12 be adopted on September 30, 2002. On average, 

13 these children have been waiting in foster care for 

14 almost 4 years (44 months). 

15 (4) On March 26, 2004, the Department of 

16 Health and Human Services completed an initial re17 view in every State of their child welfare programs. 

18 No State passed this review which assessed whether 

19 States were in compliance with Federal requirements 

20 to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of 

21 vulnerable children. 

22 (5) On May 18, 2004, the nonpartisan Pew 

23 Commission on Children in Foster Care composed of 

24 former Members of Congress of both parties and 

25 other child welfare experts recommended overhauling 
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1 the Nation’s foster care system to provide States a 

2 flexible, reliable source of Federal funding, as well 

3 as new options and incentives to seek safety and per4 manence for children in foster care. 

5 SEC. 3. REFERENCES. 

6 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

7 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

8 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi9 sion, the amendment or repeal shall be considered to be 

10 made to a section or other provision of the Social Security 

11 Act. 

12 TITLE I—EXPANDED ELIGI13 BILITY FOR ADOPTION AS14 SISTANCE AND FOSTER CARE 

15 SEC. 101. ADOPTION ASSISTANCE. 

16 (a) ELIMINATION OF INCOME ELIGIBILITY REQUIRE17 MENT.—Section 473(a) (42 U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended—

18 (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(2)(A) For purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(ii), a 

21 child meets the requirements of this paragraph if the 

22 child—

23 ‘‘(i)(I) at the time adoption proceedings 

24 were initiated, had been removed from his or 

25 her home—
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1 ‘‘(aa) pursuant to a voluntary place2 ment agreement with respect to which 

3 Federal payments are provided under sec4 tion 474; or 

5 ‘‘(bb) as a result of a judicial deter6 mination to the effect that continuation 

7 therein would be contrary to the welfare of 

8 the child, including such a determination 

9 made on account of a voluntary relinquish10 ment; 

11 ‘‘(II) is eligible for supplemental security 

12 income benefits under title XVI; or 

13 ‘‘(III) was residing in a foster family home 

14 or child care institution with the child’s minor 

15 parent as described in section 475(4)(B); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) has been determined by the State, 

17 pursuant to subsection (c), to be a child with 

18 special needs. 

19 ‘‘(B) A child who meets the requirements 

20 of subparagraph (A)(ii) of this paragraph, who 

21 was determined eligible for adoption assistance 

22 payments under this part with respect to a 

23 prior adoption, and who is available for adop24 tion because the prior adoption has been dis25 solved and the parental rights of the adoptive 
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1 parents have been terminated or because the 

2 child’s adoptive parents have died, shall be 

3 treated as meeting the requirements of this 

4 paragraph for purposes of paragraph 

5 (1)(B)(ii).’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(7)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

8 this subsection (except as provided in subparagraph 

9 (B)), payments may not be made under this part to 

10 parents with respect to—

11 ‘‘(i) a child who is adopted outside of the 

12 United States; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) a child who is adopted in the United 

14 States after having been been brought into the 

15 United States for the purpose of being adopted. 

16 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not be interpreted 

17 to prohibit payments for a child who is otherwise eli18 gible for adoption assistance payments under section 

19 473 and who, as a result of the disruption or dis20 solution (as determined by the State) of an adoption, 

21 or because of the death of the adoptive parents of 

22 the child, is subsequently available for adoption.’’. 

23 (b) REDUCTION IN FEDERAL MATCHING RATE TO

24 EXPAND ELIGIBILITY.—Section 474(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 
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1 674(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘85 percent of’’ before 

2 ‘‘the Federal’’. 

3 SEC. 102. FOSTER CARE MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS. 

4 (a) ELIMINATION OF INCOME ELIGIBILITY REQUIRE5 MENT.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 472(a) (42 U.S.C. 

7 672(a)) is amended—

8 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

9 by striking ‘‘child’’ and all that follows through 

10 ‘‘if’’ and inserting ‘‘child, if’’; 

11 (B) in paragraph (1)—

12 (i) by striking ‘‘from the home’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘of the child from his or her 

14 home’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘(effective October 1, 

16 1983)’’; 

17 (C) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of para18 graph (2); 

19 (D) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

20 and inserting a period; and 

21 (E) by striking all that follows paragraph 

22 (3). 

23 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 470 

24 (42 U.S.C. 670) is amended by striking ‘‘who other25 wise would have been eligible for assistance under 
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1 the State’s plan approved under part A (as such 

2 plan was in effect on June 1, 1995)’’. 

3 (b) REDUCTION IN FEDERAL MATCHING RATE TO

4 EXPAND ELIGIBILITY.—Section 474(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 

5 674(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘65 percent of’’ before 

6 ‘‘the Federal’’. 

7 (c) GUARANTEED FOSTER CARE MAINTENANCE PAY8 MENT LEVELS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 474 of such Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 674) is amended—

11 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘, 

12 subject to subsection (g)’’ before the semicolon; 

13 and 

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

15 ‘‘(g) GUARANTEED FOSTER CARE MAINTENANCE

16 PAYMENT LEVELS.—

17 ‘‘(1) FOSTER CARE MAINTENANCE PAYMENT

18 LEVELS.—The amount described in this paragraph 

19 is—

20 ‘‘(A) $1,836,000,000 in the case of fiscal 

21 year 2005; 

22 ‘‘(B) $1,882,000,000 in the case of fiscal 

23 year 2006, increased by the total of the 

24 amounts (if any) by which the levels set by 
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1 paragraph (3)(A) for the fiscal year are in2 creased by reason of paragraph (3)(A)(ii); 

3 ‘‘(C) $1,927,000,000 in the case of fiscal 

4 year 2007, increased by the total of the 

5 amounts (if any) by which the levels set by 

6 paragraph (3)(A) for the fiscal year are in7 creased by reason of paragraph (3)(A)(ii); 

8 ‘‘(D) $1,971,000,000 in the case of fiscal 

9 year 2008, increased by the total of the 

10 amounts (if any) by which the levels set by 

11 paragraph (3)(A) for the fiscal year are in12 creased by reason of paragraph (3)(A)(ii); 

13 ‘‘(E) $2,014,000,000 in the case of fiscal 

14 year 2009, increased by the total of the 

15 amounts (if any) by which the levels set by 

16 paragraph (3)(A) for the fiscal year are in17 creased by reason of paragraph (3)(A)(ii); 

18 ‘‘(F) $2,056,000,000 in the case of fiscal 

19 year 2010, increased by the total of the 

20 amounts (if any) by which the levels set by 

21 paragraph (3)(A) for the fiscal year are in22 creased by reason of paragraph (3)(A)(ii); 

23 ‘‘(G) $2,097,000,000 in the case of fiscal 

24 year 2011, increased by the total of the 

25 amounts (if any) by which the levels set by 
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1 paragraph (3)(A) for the fiscal year are in2 creased by reason of paragraph (3)(A)(ii); 

3 ‘‘(H) $2,136,000,000 in the case of fiscal 

4 year 2012, increased by the total of the 

5 amounts (if any) by which the levels set by 

6 paragraph (3)(A) for the fiscal year are in7 creased by reason of paragraph (3)(A)(ii); 

8 ‘‘(I) $2,173,000,000 in the case of fiscal 

9 year 2013, increased by the total of the 

10 amounts (if any) by which the levels set by 

11 paragraph (3)(A) for the fiscal year are in12 creased by reason of paragraph (3)(A)(ii); and 

13 ‘‘(J) $2,210,000,000 in the case of fiscal 

14 year 2014, increased by the total of the 

15 amounts (if any) by which the levels set by 

16 paragraph (3)(A) for the fiscal year are in17 creased by reason of paragraph (3)(A)(ii). 

18 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR THE TERRI19 TORIES AND INDIAN TRIBES.—For each fiscal year, 

20 from the dollar amount specified in paragraph (1) of 

21 this subsection for the fiscal year, the Secretary 

22 shall reserve for payments under this part—

23 ‘‘(A) for Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern 

24 Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the 

25 United States Virgin Islands, a total sum equal 
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1 to 0.9 percent of the dollar amount so specified; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) for Indian tribes, a total sum equal 

4 to 0.9 percent of the dollar amount so specified, 

5 increased by the amount (if any) by which the 

6 total sum reserved under this subparagraph for 

7 the preceding fiscal year exceeds the total of the 

8 amounts payable to Indian tribes under sub9 section (a)(1) for the preceding fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(3) FUNDS FOR THE STATES.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The aggregate of the 

12 amounts payable to a State under subsection 

13 (a)(1) for a fiscal year shall not exceed the sum 

14 of—

15 ‘‘(i)(I) in the case of a State not spec16 ified in paragraph (2)(A) of this sub17 section, the State share of the dollar 

18 amount specified in paragraph (1) of this 

19 subsection for the fiscal year that remains 

20 after applying paragraph (2) of this sub21 section; or 

22 ‘‘(II) in the case of a State specified 

23 in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection, the 

24 State share of the total sum described in 
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1 such paragraph (2)(A) for the fiscal year; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) if the State does not make the 

4 election provided for in subparagraph (C) 

5 of this paragraph for the fiscal year, the 

6 amount (if any) by which the level set by 

7 this subparagraph with respect to the 

8 State for the preceding fiscal year exceeds 

9 the total amount payable to the State 

10 under subsection (a)(1) for such preceding 

11 fiscal year. 

12 ‘‘(B) STATE SHARE DEFINED.—In sub13 paragraph (A) of this paragraph, the term 

14 ‘State share’ means, with respect to a State, 

15 the percentage that equals—

16 ‘‘(i) in the case of a State not speci17 fied in paragraph (2)(A) of this sub18 section—

19 ‘‘(I) the aggregate of the 

20 amounts payable to the State under 

21 subsection (a)(1) for all calendar 

22 quarters in fiscal year 2003; divided 

23 by 
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1 ‘‘(II) the aggregate of the 

2 amounts so payable to all States not 

3 so specified; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a State specified in 

5 paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection—

6 ‘‘(I) the total number of children 

7 in the State who have not attained 21 

8 years of age; divided by 

9 ‘‘(II) the total number of such 

10 children in all States so specified. 

11 ‘‘(C) ELECTION TO SPEND EXCESS FOSTER

12 CARE FUNDS ON CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.—

13 A State may elect to require the Secretary to 

14 add the amount of the excess (if any) described 

15 in subparagraph (A)(ii) with respect to the 

16 State for a fiscal year to the State allotment 

17 under section 423 for the next fiscal year and 

18 to the amount otherwise available for payment 

19 to the State under section 424 for the next fis20 cal year. 

21 ‘‘(4) FUNDS FOR INDIAN TRIBES.—The aggre22 gate of the amounts payable to Indian tribes under 

23 subsection (a)(1) for a fiscal year shall not exceed 

24 the amount reserved under paragraph (2)(B) of this 

25 subsection for the fiscal year.’’. 
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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

2 (A) Section 1101(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 

3 1301(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: ‘‘Such term when used in part E 

5 of title IV also includes the Northern Mariana 

6 Islands.’’. 

7 (B) Section 1108 (42 U.S.C. 1308) is 

8 amended in each of subsections (a) and (b)(1), 

9 by striking ‘‘parts A and E’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘part A’’. 

11 (d) AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR

12 STATES EXPERIENCING A SEVERE FOSTER CARE CRI13 SIS.—Section 474 (42 U.S.C. 674), as amended by sub14 section (c)(1)(B) of this section, is amended by adding at 

15 the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(h) AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR

17 STATES EXPERIENCING A SEVERE FOSTER CARE CRI18 SIS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On request of a State with 

20 a plan approved under part E for a fiscal year, the 

21 Secretary shall, subject to paragraph (4) of this sub22 section, pay to the State from the Contingency Fund 

23 established under section 403(b) an amount equal to 

24 the Federal share of a sum certain if—
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1 ‘‘(A) the State is experiencing a severe fos2 ter care crisis, as determined by the Secretary 

3 from the documentation and certifications re4 ferred to in subparagraph (B) of this para5 graph; 

6 ‘‘(B) the Governor of the State (or an au7 thorized designee of the Governor) provides the 

8 documentation and certifications described in 

9 paragraph (3) of this subsection with respect to 

10 the circumstances constituting the severe foster 

11 care crisis in the State; 

12 ‘‘(C) the State makes a binding commit13 ment to the Secretary to expend from State or 

14 local sources during the fiscal year an amount 

15 equal to the State share of the sum certain in 

16 a manner consistent with the child welfare pur17 poses of part B and this part; 

18 ‘‘(D) the amount so payable to the State 

19 does not exceed 20 percent of the total amount 

20 payable to the State under section 474(a)(1) for 

21 the fiscal year; and 

22 ‘‘(E) the State has expended, for foster 

23 care maintenance payments under section 472 

24 for children in foster family homes or child-care 
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1 institutions, all amounts paid to the State 

2 under section 474(a)(1). 

3 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In paragraph (1): 

4 ‘‘(A) SEVERE FOSTER CARE CRISIS.—The 

5 term ‘severe foster care crisis’ means, with re6 spect to a State, that—

7 ‘‘(i)(I) the average number of children 

8 in foster care under the responsibility of 

9 the State on the last day of the most re10 cent 6-month period for which such infor11 mation is available has increased by a total 

12 of at least 15 percent over the greatest av13 erage for the corresponding period in cal14 endar year 2004 or thereafter; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the average total number of chil16 dren in the United States who are in foster 

17 care under the responsibility of any State 

18 on the last day of the most recent 6-month 

19 period for which such information is avail20 able has increased by a total of at least 10 

21 percent over the greatest average for the 

22 corresponding period in calendar year 2004 

23 or thereafter; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) the average number described in 

25 clause (i)(I) has increased by a total of at 
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1 least 20 percent over the greatest average 

2 for the corresponding period in calendar 

3 year 2004 or thereafter. 

4 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL SHARE.—The term ‘Fed5 eral share’ means 65 percent of the Federal 

6 medical assistance percentage (as defined in 

7 section 1905(b)). 

8 ‘‘(C) STATE SHARE.—The term ‘State 

9 share’ means 100 percent minus the Federal 

10 share. 

11 ‘‘(3) DOCUMENTATION AND CERTIFICATIONS.—

12 The documentation and certifications described in 

13 this clause are the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) Documentation which demonstrates 

15 that the State is experiencing a severe foster 

16 care crisis. 

17 ‘‘(B) Documentation of the nature and 

18 cause of the circumstances constituting the se19 vere foster care crisis. 

20 ‘‘(C) Documentation of the measures that 

21 were taken by the State, before seeking funds 

22 from the Contingency Fund for State Welfare 

23 Programs, to avoid or address the cir24 cumstances constituting the severe foster care 

25 crisis. 
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1 ‘‘(D) Documentation of the manner in 

2 which any funds provided to the State under 

3 this section from the Contingency Fund for 

4 State Welfare Programs and State matching 

5 funds described in paragraph (1)(C) will be 

6 used to address the circumstances constituting 

7 the severe foster care crisis in the State. 

8 ‘‘(E) A certification that any funds pro9 vided to the State under this subsection from 

10 the Contingency Fund for State Welfare Pro11 grams will be used in a manner consistent with 

12 this part. 

13 ‘‘(4) MAXIMUM CONTINGENCY FUND PAY14 MENTS.—The total of the amounts payable to all 

15 States under this subsection shall not exceed the 

16 total amount appropriated under section 403(b)(2) 

17 minus the total amount (if any) paid to States under 

18 section 403(b)(3)(A).’’. 

19 (e) FLEXIBILITY TO ESTABLISH SEPARATE STAND20 ARDS FOR RELATIVE FOSTER FAMILY HOMES.—Section 

21 471(a)(10) (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(10)) is amended by insert22 ing before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, and that the au23 thority or authorities may— 

24 ‘‘(A) establish and maintain separate standards 

25 for foster family homes in which a foster parent is 
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1 a relative of the foster child, that, at a minimum, 

2 protect the safety of the child and provide for crimi3 nal records checks as described in paragraph (20); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(B) apply the standards referred to in sub6 paragraph (A) of this paragraph to any such relative 

7 foster care provider to whom funds are paid pursu8 ant to section 472 or part B in lieu of the standards 

9 that would otherwise apply to a foster family 

10 home.’’. 

11 (f) CHILD WELL-BEING ASSESSMENTS FOR FOSTER

12 CHILDREN.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 475(5) (42 U.S.C. 

14 675(5)) is amended—

15 (A) in subparagraph (C)—

16 (i) by striking ‘‘(F)’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘(G)’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(B)(ii)’’; 

20 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

21 ‘‘(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1)(C)’’; 

22 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

23 through (G) as subparagraphs (B) through (H), 

24 respectively; and 
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1 (D) by inserting before such subpara2 graphs the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) within 30 days after being removed 

4 from his or her home, each child will have had 

5 an assessment of his or her physical and mental 

6 health needs, to identify, at a minimum, phys7 ical or emotional trauma, substance abuse, or 

8 other issues that are to be addressed as part of 

9 the child’s case plan to ensure the child’s posi10 tive development and well-being;’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

12 471(a) (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended—

13 (A) in paragraph (15)(E)(i), by striking 

14 ‘‘475(5)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘475(5)(D)’’; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (16), by striking 

16 ‘‘475(5)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘475(5)(C)’’. 

17 (g) MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY FOR FOSTER CHIL18 DREN.—The first sentence of section 472(h)(1) (42 

19 U.S.C. 672(h)(1)) is amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘are made under this section’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘have been made under this section 

22 since before October 1, 2004, and without interrup23 tion thereafter’’; and 

24 (2) by inserting ‘‘, and any other child with re25 spect to whom such payments are made whose re-
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1 sources (determined pursuant to section 

2 402(a)(7)(B), as so in effect) have a combined value 

3 of not more than $10,000 shall be considered to be 

4 a child whose resources have a combined value of 

5 not more than $1,000 (or such lower amount as the 

6 State may determine for purposes of such section 

7 402(a)(7)(B))’’ before the period. 

8 SEC. 103. ELIGIBILITY OF INDIAN TRIBES TO RECEIVE FED9 ERAL FUNDS FOR FOSTER CARE AND ADOP10 TION ASSISTANCE. 

11 (a) CHILDREN PLACED IN TRIBAL CUSTODY ELIGI12 BLE FOR FOSTER CARE FUNDING.—Section 472(a)(2) 

13 (42 U.S.C. 672(a)(2)) is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘or (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘(B)’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) by inserting before the semicolon the fol17 lowing: ‘‘, or (C) an Indian tribe (as defined in sec18 tion 479B(d)) or an intertribal consortium if the In19 dian tribe or consortium is not operating a program 

20 pursuant to section 479B and (i) has a cooperative 

21 agreement with a State pursuant to section 

22 479B(c)(5) or (ii) submits to the Secretary a de23 scription of the arrangements (jointly developed or 

24 developed in consultation with the State) made by 

25 the Indian tribe or consortium for the payment of 
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1 funds and the provision of the child welfare services 

2 and protections required by this title’’. 

3 (b) PROGRAMS OPERATED BY INDIAN TRIBAL ORGA4 NIZATIONS.—Part E of title IV (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 479B. PROGRAMS OPERATED BY INDIAN TRIBAL OR7 GANIZATIONS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise expressly 

9 provided in this part, this part shall apply to an Indian 

10 tribe that elects to operate a program under this part in 

11 the same manner as this part applies to a State. 

12 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—An Indian tribe shall not be eli13 gible for payments under paragraph (3) or (4) of section 

14 474(a), and section 477 shall not apply to an Indian tribe. 

15 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES.—

16 ‘‘(1) APPLICATIONS.—In order for an Indian 

17 tribe to be eligible for funds under this part for a 

18 fiscal year, the tribe (alone or as part of a consor19 tium of Indian tribes) shall—

20 ‘‘(A) submit to the Secretary an applica21 tion which, in addition to the matter required 

22 by section 471(a), contains—

23 ‘‘(i) a plan which, in lieu of the re24 quirement of section 471(a)(3), identifies 
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1 the service area or areas and population to 

2 be served by the Indian tribe; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) assurances that the tribe will—

4 ‘‘(I) operate a pre-placement pre5 ventive services program designed to 

6 help children at risk of foster care 

7 placement remain safely in their 

8 homes, and a foster care program for 

9 children who cannot remain at home 

10 safely; 

11 ‘‘(II) provide, or make arrange12 ments with a State or the Bureau of 

13 Indian Affairs to provide, a system for 

14 child abuse and neglect reporting and 

15 prevention, adoption assistance or 

16 other permanency supports, and inde17 pendent living services; 

18 ‘‘(III) use any funds provided to 

19 the tribe under this part to supple20 ment and not supplant non-Federal 

21 funds that would otherwise be avail22 able for the activities and purposes of 

23 the plan; and 

24 ‘‘(IV) submit to the Secretary 

25 case-level data on the children in fos-
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1 ter care or adopted with the involve2 ment of the agency carrying out the 

3 plan, consistent with the requirements 

4 under the data collection system im5 plemented under section 479; 

6 ‘‘(B) have in effect legal codes that govern 

7 tribal responsibility for the protection of chil8 dren, provide for tribal placement and care re9 sponsibility for children that cannot remain 

10 safely at home, and define tribal authority for 

11 judicial proceedings and judicial determinations 

12 that continuation in the home would be con13 trary to the welfare of a child, judicial deter14 minations regarding reasonable efforts de15 scribed in section 471(a)(15), and permanency 

16 decisions; and 

17 ‘‘(C) have not less than 3 years of financial 

18 stability and management as evidenced by hav19 ing no uncorrected significant and material 

20 audit exceptions under Federal grants or con21 tracts. 

22 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—The Secretary may approve 

23 an application and plan submitted pursuant to para24 graph (1) if the Secretary determines that the appli-
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1 cation meets the requirements of paragraph (1), con2 sistent with the purposes of this part. 

3 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY TO WAIVE OR MODIFY CER4 TAIN REQUIREMENTS.—

5 ‘‘(A) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—On the re6 quest of an Indian tribe, the Secretary may 

7 modify any requirement imposed by or under 

8 section 471 if, after consulting with the tribe, 

9 the Secretary determines that the modification 

10 would advance the best interests and the safety 

11 of children served by the tribe. 

12 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY TO MODIFY DATA RE13 PORTING REQUIREMENT.—In lieu of the re14 quirement for case-level data referred to in 

15 paragraph (1)(A)(ii)(IV) with respect to chil16 dren served by an Indian tribe pursuant to this 

17 part, the Secretary may require aggregate data 

18 with respect to children who are in foster care 

19 or adopted with the involvement of the agency 

20 administering the plan. 

21 ‘‘(4) CALCULATION OF PER CAPITA INCOME IN

22 DETERMINING FEDERAL SHARE.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of deter24 mining the Federal medical assistance percent25 age applicable to an Indian tribe under para-
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1 graphs (1) and (2) of section 474(a), the cal2 culation of the per capita income of the tribe 

3 shall be based upon the service population of 

4 the tribe as defined in its plan. 

5 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF OTHER INFOR6 MATION.—An Indian tribe may submit to the 

7 Secretary such information as the Indian tribe 

8 considers relevant to the calculation of the per 

9 capita income of the tribe, and the Secretary 

10 shall consider such information before making 

11 the calculation. 

12 ‘‘(5) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—An Indian 

13 tribe or intertribal consortium and a State may 

14 enter into a cooperative agreement for the adminis15 tration or payment of funds pursuant to this part. 

16 In any case where an Indian tribe or intertribal con17 sortium and a State enter into a cooperative agree18 ment that incorporates any of the provisions of this 

19 section, those provisions shall be valid and enforce20 able. Any such cooperative agreement that is in ef21 fect as of the date of enactment of this section, shall 

22 remain in full force and effect subject to the right 

23 of either party to the agreement to revoke or modify 

24 the agreement pursuant to the terms of the agree25 ment. 
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1 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS OF INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGA2 NIZATIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘Indian tribe’ and 

3 ‘tribal organization’ have the meanings given in para4 graphs (5) and (10), respectively, of section 430(a).’’. 

5 TITLE II—FLEXIBLE FUNDS TO 

6 IMPROVE PROTECTION FOR 

7 CHILDREN AND STRENGTHEN 

8 FAMILIES 

9 SEC. 201. SAFE CHILDREN, STRONG FAMILIES PROGRAMS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title IV (42 U.S.C. 

11 620–629i) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘PART B—SAFE CHILDREN, STRONG FAMILIES 

13 PROGRAMS 

14 ‘‘SEC. 421. PURPOSE. 

15 ‘‘The purpose of this part is to provide States and 

16 Indian tribes with the resources and flexibility to—

17 ‘‘(1) develop and provide child welfare services 

18 that ensure safety, permanence, and well-being for 

19 children; 

20 ‘‘(2) provide support and other services to fami21 lies to prevent the unnecessary removal of children 

22 from their homes; 

23 ‘‘(3) provide support and enhance the capacity 

24 of relatives to meet the needs of children in their 

25 care; 
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1 ‘‘(4) develop, establish, and operate coordinated 

2 programs of community-based family support serv3 ices, family preservation services, time-limited reuni4 fication services, and adoption promotion and sup5 port services; 

6 ‘‘(5) improve the quality of child welfare serv7 ices by providing for the training of individuals re8 sponsible for decisions related to the well-being of 

9 children including foster and adoptive parents, child 

10 welfare workers, and court personnel; 

11 ‘‘(6) operate a system for receiving reports of 

12 child abuse or neglect; 

13 ‘‘(7) improve the intake, assessment, screening, 

14 and investigation of reports of child abuse and ne15 glect; 

16 ‘‘(8) provide child placement services and make 

17 timely decisions about permanent living arrange18 ments for children who must be removed from or 

19 who cannot live with their families; and 

20 ‘‘(9) provide for the proper and efficient admin21 istration of the State or tribal plan under this part 

22 and part E. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 422. PLANS OF STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES. 

24 ‘‘(a) STATES.—In order to be eligible for a grant 

25 under this part for a fiscal year, a State shall have in 
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1 effect a plan to achieve the purposes of this part, which 

2 has been developed jointly by the Secretary and the State, 

3 after consultation by the State agency designated pursu4 ant to paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection with appro5 priate public and non-profit private agencies and commu6 nity-based organizations with experience in administering 

7 programs of services for children and families, and 

8 which—

9 ‘‘(1) provides that—

10 ‘‘(A) the agency that administers or super11 vises the administration of the State’s services 

12 program under title XX of this Act will admin13 ister or supervise the administration of the plan 

14 (except as otherwise provided in section 103(d) 

15 of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare 

16 Act of 1980); and 

17 ‘‘(B) to the extent that child welfare serv18 ices are furnished by the staff of the State 

19 agency or local agency administering the plan, 

20 a single organizational unit in such State or 

21 local agency, as the case may be, will be respon22 sible for furnishing such child welfare services; 

23 ‘‘(2) provides for coordination between the serv24 ices provided for children under the plan and the 

25 services and assistance provided under title XX of 
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1 this Act, under the State program funded under 

2 part A of this title, under the State plan approved 

3 under part E of this title, and under other State 

4 programs having a relationship to the program 

5 under this part, with a view to provision of welfare 

6 and related services which will best promote the wel7 fare of such children and their families; 

8 ‘‘(3) provides that the standards and require9 ments imposed with respect to child day care under 

10 title XX of this Act shall apply with respect to day 

11 care services under this part, except insofar as eligi12 bility for such services is involved; 

13 ‘‘(4) provides for the training and effective use 

14 of paid paraprofessional staff, with particular em15 phasis on the full-time or part-time employment of 

16 persons of low income, as community service aides, 

17 in the administration of the plan, and for the use of 

18 nonpaid or partially paid volunteers in providing 

19 services and in assisting any advisory committees es20 tablished by the State agency; 

21 ‘‘(5) contains a description of the steps which 

22 the State will take to provide child welfare services 

23 and to make progress in—

24 ‘‘(A) covering additional political subdivi25 sions, 
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•HR 4856 IH 

1 ‘‘(B) reaching additional children in need 

2 of services, and 

3 ‘‘(C) expanding and strengthening the 

4 range of existing services and developing new 

5 types of services, 

6 along with a description of the State’s child welfare 

7 services staff development and training plans; 

8 ‘‘(6) provides, in the development of services for 

9 children, for utilization of the facilities and experi10 ence of voluntary agencies in accordance with State 

11 and local programs and arrangements, as authorized 

12 by the State; 

13 ‘‘(7) provides that the agency administering or 

14 supervising the administration of the plan will fur15 nish such reports, containing such information, and 

16 participate in such evaluations, as the Secretary may 

17 require; 

18 ‘‘(8) provides for the diligent recruitment of po19 tential foster and adoptive families that reflect the 

20 ethnic and racial diversity of children in the State 

21 for whom foster and adoptive homes are needed; 

22 ‘‘(9) provides assurances that the State—

23 ‘‘(A) has completed an inventory of all 

24 children who, before the inventory, had been in 
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1 foster care under the responsibility of the State 

2 for 6 months or more, which determined—

3 ‘‘(i) the appropriateness of, and neces4 sity for, the foster care placement; 

5 ‘‘(ii) whether the child could or should 

6 be returned to the parents of the child or 

7 should be freed for adoption or other per8 manent placement; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) the services necessary to facili10 tate the return of the child or the place11 ment of the child for adoption or legal 

12 guardianship; 

13 ‘‘(B) is operating, to the satisfaction of the 

14 Secretary—

15 ‘‘(i) a statewide information system 

16 from which can be readily determined the 

17 status, demographic characteristics, loca18 tion, and goals for the placement of every 

19 child who is (or, within the immediately 

20 preceding 12 months, has been) in foster 

21 care; 

22 ‘‘(ii) a case review system for each 

23 child receiving foster care under the super24 vision of the State; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) a service program designed to 

2 help children—

3 ‘‘(I) where safe and appropriate, 

4 return to families from which they 

5 have been removed; or 

6 ‘‘(II) be placed for adoption, with 

7 a legal guardian, or if adoption or 

8 legal guardianship is determined not 

9 to be appropriate for a child, in some 

10 other planned, permanent living ar11 rangement; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) a preplacement preventive serv13 ices program designed to help children at 

14 risk of foster care placement remain safely 

15 with their families; and 

16 ‘‘(C)(i) has reviewed State policies and ad17 ministrative and judicial procedures in effect for 

18 children abandoned at or shortly after birth (in19 cluding policies and procedures providing for 

20 legal representation of such children); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) is implementing such policies and pro22 cedures as the State determines, on the basis of 

23 the review described in clause (i) of this sub24 paragraph, to be necessary to enable permanent 
34

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1 decisions to be made expeditiously with respect 

2 to the placement of such children; 

3 ‘‘(10) contains a description, developed after 

4 consultation with tribal organizations (as defined in 

5 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu6 cation Assistance Act) in the State, of the specific 

7 measures taken by the State to comply with the In8 dian Child Welfare Act; 

9 ‘‘(11) contains assurances that the State shall 

10 develop plans for the effective use of cross-jurisdic11 tional resources to facilitate timely adoptive or per12 manent placements for waiting children; 

13 ‘‘(12) contains a description of the activities 

14 that the State has undertaken for children adopted 

15 from other countries, including the provision of 

16 adoption and post-adoption services; 

17 ‘‘(13) provides that the State shall collect and 

18 report information on children who are adopted from 

19 other countries and who enter into State custody as 

20 a result of the disruption of a placement for adop21 tion or the dissolution of an adoption, including the 

22 number of children, the agencies who handled the 

23 placement or adoption, the plans for the child, and 

24 the reasons for the disruption or dissolution; 
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1 ‘‘(14)(A)(i) sets forth the goals intended to be 

2 accomplished under the plan by the end of the 5th 

3 fiscal year in which the plan is in operation in the 

4 State; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) is updated periodically to set forth the 

6 goals intended to be accomplished under the plan by 

7 the end of each 5th fiscal year thereafter; 

8 ‘‘(B) describes the methods to be used in meas9 uring progress toward accomplishment of the goals; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(C) contains assurances that the State—

12 ‘‘(i) after the end of each of the 1st 4 fis13 cal years covered by a set of goals, will perform 

14 an interim review of progress toward accom15 plishment of the goals, and on the basis of the 

16 interim review will revise the statement of goals 

17 in the plan, if necessary, to reflect changed cir18 cumstances; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) after the end of the last fiscal year 

20 covered by a set of goals, will perform a final 

21 review of progress toward accomplishment of 

22 the goals, and on the basis of the final review—

23 ‘‘(I) will prepare, transmit to the Sec24 retary, and make available to the public a 
36

•HR 4856 IH 

1 final report on progress toward accom2 plishment of the goals; and 

3 ‘‘(II) will develop (in consultation with 

4 appropriate public and non-profit private 

5 agencies and community-based organiza6 tions with experience in administering pro7 grams of services for children and families) 

8 and add to the plan a statement of the 

9 goals intended to be accomplished by the 

10 end of the 5th succeeding fiscal year; 

11 ‘‘(15) contains assurances that portions of the 

12 funds provided under this part will be expended by 

13 the State for programs of family preservation serv14 ices, community-based family support services, time15 limited family reunification services, and adoption 

16 promotion and support services; 

17 ‘‘(16) contains assurances that the State will—

18 ‘‘(A) annually prepare, furnish to the Sec19 retary, and make available to the public a de20 scription (including separate descriptions with 

21 respect to family preservation services, commu22 nity-based family support services, time-limited 

23 family reunification services, and adoption pro24 motion and support services) of—
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•HR 4856 IH 

1 ‘‘(i) the service programs to be made 

2 available under the plan in the immediately 

3 succeeding fiscal year; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the populations which the pro5 grams will serve; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) the geographic areas in the 

7 State in which the services will be avail8 able; and 

9 ‘‘(B) perform the activities described in 

10 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph—

11 ‘‘(i) in the case of the 1st fiscal year 

12 under the plan, at the time the State sub13 mits its initial plan; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) in the case of each succeeding 

15 fiscal year, by the end of the 3rd quarter 

16 of the immediately preceding fiscal year; 

17 ‘‘(17) provides for such methods of administra18 tion as the Secretary finds to be necessary for the 

19 proper and efficient operation of the plan; 

20 ‘‘(18)(A) contains assurances that Federal 

21 funds provided to the State under this part will not 

22 be used to supplant Federal or non-Federal funds 

23 for existing services and activities which promote the 

24 purposes of this part; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) provides that the State will furnish re2 ports to the Secretary, at such times, in such for3 mat, and containing such information as the Sec4 retary may require, that demonstrate the State’s 

5 compliance with the prohibition contained in sub6 paragraph (A) of this paragraph; and 

7 ‘‘(19) contains assurances that in administering 

8 and conducting service programs under the plan, the 

9 safety of the children to be served shall be of para10 mount concern. 

11 ‘‘(b) INDIAN TRIBES.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro13 vided in this subsection, subsection (a) shall apply to 

14 an Indian tribe in the same manner as this part ap15 plies to a State. 

16 ‘‘(2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

17 exempt a plan submitted by an Indian tribe from 

18 any requirement of subsection (a) that the Secretary 

19 determines would be inappropriate to apply to the 

20 tribe, taking into account the resources, needs, and 

21 other circumstances of the tribe. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 423. ALLOTMENTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) 50 STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.—

24 The allotment under this section for a fiscal year of any 
39

•HR 4856 IH 

1 State not specified in section 428(d)(1) with a plan ap2 proved under this part for the fiscal year is the sum of—

3 ‘‘(1) the amount that bears the same ratio to 

4 the sum of the amount specified in section 428(a) 

5 for the fiscal year that remains after applying sec6 tion 428(d) for the fiscal year and the amount (if 

7 any) appropriated under section 428(b) for the fiscal 

8 year, as the total amount payable to the State under 

9 part B (as in effect before the effective date of this 

10 part) and subparagraphs (A), (B), and (E) of sec11 tion 474(a)(3) (as so in effect) for fiscal years 2001 

12 through 2003 bears to the total amount so payable 

13 to all States not so specified; 

14 ‘‘(2) the amount (if any) by which the allotment 

15 under this section for the preceding fiscal year ex16 ceeds the total amount payable to the State under 

17 section 424 for the preceding fiscal year; and 

18 ‘‘(3) the amount (if any) that the Secretary is 

19 required under section 474(g)(3)(A)(ii) to add to the 

20 allotment of the State for the fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(b) TERRITORIES.—The allotment under this sec22 tion for a fiscal year of each State specified in section 

23 428(d)(1) with an application approved under this part 

24 for the fiscal year is the sum of—
40 

•HR 4856 IH 

1 ‘‘(1)(A) the sum described in such section; mul2 tiplied by 

3 ‘‘(B) the percentage that equals— 

4 ‘‘(i) the total number of children in the 

5 State who have not attained 21 years of age; di6 vided by 

7 ‘‘(ii) the total number of such children in 

8 all States so specified; and 

9 ‘‘(2) the amount (if any) that the Secretary is 

10 required under section 474(g)(3)(A)(ii) to add to the 

11 allotment of the State for the fiscal year. 

12 ‘‘(c) INDIAN TRIBES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The allotment under this 

14 section for a fiscal year of each Indian tribe with an 

15 application approved under this part for the fiscal 

16 year is an amount equal to— 

17 ‘‘(A) $10,000; plus 

18 ‘‘(B) the amount that bears the same ratio 

19 to the amount by which the sum described in 

20 section 428(d)(2) exceeds the total of the 

21 amounts allotted for the fiscal year under sub22 paragraph (A), as the number of children in the 

23 tribe who have not attained 21 years of age 

24 bears to the total number of such children in all 

25 Indian tribes. 
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1 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF THE NUMBER OF

2 CHILDREN IN A TRIBE.—In determining the number 

3 of children in an Indian tribe who have not attained 

4 21 years of age, the Secretary shall use—

5 ‘‘(A) the number of such children as deter6 mined by the Bureau of the Census in the most 

7 recent decennial census available; or 

8 ‘‘(B) if the tribe certifies to the Secretary 

9 a number which the Secretary deems to be a 

10 more accurate measure of the number of such 

11 children than the number referred to in sub12 paragraph (A), the number so certified. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 424. SAFE CHILDREN, STRONG FAMILIES GRANTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) STATES.—For each fiscal year, from the amount 

15 specified in section 428(a) for the fiscal year that remains 

16 after applying section 428(d) for the fiscal year (or, in 

17 the case of a State specified in section 428(d)(1), from 

18 the sum reserved under section 428(d)(1) and the sum (if 

19 any) reserved under section 428(e)(1)), the amount (if 

20 any) appropriated under section 428(b) for the fiscal year, 

21 and from any amounts subject to an election by the State 

22 under section 474(g)(3)(A)(ii) with respect to the fiscal 

23 year, each State that has a plan approved under this part 

24 for the fiscal year shall be entitled to receive from the Sec-
42

•HR 4856 IH 

1 retary, subject to section 425, a grant in an amount equal 

2 to the lesser of—

3 ‘‘(1) the allotment of the State under section 

4 423 for the fiscal year; or 

5 ‘‘(2) 68 percent of the total amount of qualified 

6 expenditures of the State during the fiscal year. 

7 ‘‘(b) INDIAN TRIBES.—For each fiscal year, from the 

8 sum reserved under section 428(d)(2) and the sum (if any) 

9 reserved under section 428(e)(2), each Indian tribe that 

10 has an application approved under this part for the fiscal 

11 year shall be entitled to receive from the Secretary, subject 

12 to section 425, a grant in an amount equal to the lesser 

13 of—

14 ‘‘(1) the allotment of the tribe under section 

15 423(c) for the fiscal year; or 

16 ‘‘(2) 68 percent of the total amount of qualified 

17 expenditures of the tribe during the fiscal year. 

18 ‘‘(c) METHOD OF COMPUTING AND MAKING PAY19 MENTS.—The method of computing and making payments 

20 under this section shall be as follows: 

21 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall, prior to the beginning 

22 of each period for which a payment is to be made, 

23 estimate the amount to be paid to the State or In24 dian tribe, as the case may be, for the period under 

25 this section. 
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•HR 4856 IH 

1 ‘‘(2) From the allotment available therefor, the 

2 Secretary shall pay the amount so estimated, re3 duced or increased, as the case may be, by any sum 

4 (not previously adjusted under this section) by which 

5 the Secretary finds that the estimate of the amount 

6 to be paid the State or Indian tribe, as the case may 

7 be, for any prior period under this section was great8 er or less than the amount which should have been 

9 so paid to the State or tribe, as the case may be. 

10 ‘‘(d) DIRECT PAYMENTS TO TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS

11 OF INDIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary shall pay any amount 

12 to which an Indian tribe is entitled under this part directly 

13 to the tribal organization of the Indian tribe. 

14 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribe to 

16 which a grant is made under this section shall use 

17 the grant to carry out the plan developed in accord18 ance with section 422 by the State or tribe, as the 

19 case may be. 

20 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT THAT FUNDS BE SPENT

21 FOR CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.—A State or Indian 

22 tribe to which a grant is made under this section 

23 may not use the grant to provide foster care mainte24 nance payments. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 425. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT. 

2 ‘‘The Secretary shall reduce the amount otherwise 

3 payable to a State or Indian tribe under this part for a 

4 particular fiscal year by the amount (if any) by which the 

5 total amount of qualified expenditures of the State or 

6 tribe, as the case may be, from State and local sources 

7 or from tribal sources, as the case may be, in fiscal year 

8 2003 exceeds the total amount of qualified expenditures 

9 of the State or tribe, as the case may be, in the particular 

10 fiscal year. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 426. FUNDING FOR STATE COURTS TO ASSESS AND 

12 IMPROVE HANDLING OF PROCEEDINGS RE13 LATING TO FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

15 grants, in accordance with this section, to the highest 

16 State courts in States participating in the program under 

17 part E, for the purpose of enabling such courts—

18 ‘‘(1) to conduct assessments, in accordance with 

19 such requirements as the Secretary shall publish, of 

20 the role, responsibilities, and effectiveness of State 

21 courts in carrying out State laws requiring pro22 ceedings (conducted by or under the supervision of 

23 the courts)—

24 ‘‘(A) that implement this part and part E; 

25 ‘‘(B) that determine the advisability or ap26 propriateness of foster care placement; 
45 

•HR 4856 IH 

1 ‘‘(C) that determine whether to terminate 

2 parental rights; and 

3 ‘‘(D) that determine whether to approve 

4 the adoption or other permanent placement of 

5 a child; and 

6 ‘‘(2) to implement improvements the highest 

7 State courts deem necessary as a result of the as8 sessments, including— 

9 ‘‘(A) to provide for the safety, well-being, 

10 and permanence of children in foster care, as 

11 set forth in the Adoption and Safe Families Act 

12 of 1997 (Public Law 105–89); and 

13 ‘‘(B) to establish performance measures 

14 that track court performance with regards to 

15 ensuring safety, permanency, and well-being for 

16 children; 

17 ‘‘(C) to implement a corrective action plan, 

18 as necessary, resulting from reviews of child 

19 and family service programs under section 

20 1123A of this Act. 

21 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—In order to be eligible for a 

22 grant under this section, a highest State court shall sub23 mit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such 

24 form, and including such information and assurances as 

25 the Secretary shall require. 
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1 ‘‘(c) ALLOTMENTS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each highest State court 

3 which has an application approved under subsection 

4 (b), and is conducting assessment and improvement 

5 activities in accordance with this section, shall be en6 titled to payment, for each of fiscal years 2005 

7 through 2014, from the amount reserved pursuant 

8 to section 428(d)(3), of an amount equal to the sum 

9 of $85,000 plus the amount described in paragraph 

10 (2) of this subsection for the fiscal year. 

11 ‘‘(2) FORMULA.—The amount described in this 

12 paragraph for any fiscal year is the amount that 

13 bears the same ratio to the amount reserved pursu14 ant to section 428(d)(3) for the fiscal year (reduced 

15 by the dollar amount specified in paragraph (1) of 

16 this subsection for the fiscal year) as the number of 

17 individuals in the State who have not attained 21 

18 years of age bears to the total number of such indi19 viduals in all States the highest State courts of 

20 which have approved applications under subsection 

21 (b) of this section. 

22 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—Each highest State court 

23 which receives funds paid under this section may use such 

24 funds to pay not more than 75 percent of the cost of ac-
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•HR 4856 IH 

1 tivities under this section in each of fiscal years 2005 

2 through 2014. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 427. EVALUATIONS; RESEARCH; TECHNICAL ASSIST4 ANCE; CHILD WELFARE TRAINEESHIPS. 

5 ‘‘(a) EVALUATIONS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall evalu7 ate and report to the Congress biennially on the ef8 fectiveness of the programs carried out pursuant to 

9 this part in accomplishing the purposes of this part, 

10 and may evaluate any other Federal, State, or local 

11 program, regardless of whether federally assisted, 

12 that is designed to achieve the same purposes as the 

13 program under this part, in accordance with criteria 

14 established in accordance with paragraph (2). 

15 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA TO BE USED.—In developing the 

16 criteria to be used in evaluations under paragraph 

17 (1), the Secretary shall consult with appropriate par18 ties, such as—

19 ‘‘(A) State agencies administering pro20 grams under this part and part E; 

21 ‘‘(B) persons administering child and fam22 ily services programs for private, nonprofit or23 ganizations with an interest in child welfare; 

24 and 
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•HR 4856 IH 

1 ‘‘(C) other persons with recognized exper2 tise in the evaluation of child and family serv3 ices programs or other related programs. 

4 ‘‘(3) TIMING OF REPORT.—Not later than April 

5 1, 2006, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary 

6 shall submit the report required by paragraph (1), 

7 and shall include in each such report the funding 

8 level, the status of ongoing evaluations, findings to 

9 date, and the nature of any technical assistance pro10 vided to States under subsection (d). 

11 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION OF EVALUATIONS.—The Sec12 retary shall develop procedures to coordinate evaluations 

13 under this section, to the extent feasible, with evaluations 

14 by the States of the effectiveness of programs funded 

15 under this part. 

16 ‘‘(c) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION PRIORITIES.—The 

17 Secretary shall give priority consideration to the following 

18 topics for research and evaluation under this subsection, 

19 using rigorous evaluation methodologies where feasible: 

20 ‘‘(1) Promising program models in the service 

21 categories specified in paragraphs (1), (3), (4), and 

22 (9) of section 430(a), particularly time-limited reuni23 fication services and postadoption services. 
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•HR 4856 IH 

1 ‘‘(2) Multi-disciplinary service models designed 

2 to address parental substance abuse and to reduce 

3 its impacts on children. 

4 ‘‘(3) The efficacy of approaches directed at 

5 families with specific problems and with children of 

6 specific age ranges. 

7 ‘‘(4) The outcomes of adoptions finalized after 

8 enactment of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 

9 1997. 

10 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—To the extent funds 

11 are available therefor, the Secretary shall provide technical 

12 assistance that helps States and Indian tribes to achieve 

13 the purposes of this part and part E. 

14 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL OVERSIGHT OF TRIBAL ACTIVI15 TIES.—

16 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL ROLE.—The Secretary shall pro17 vide oversight (which may include on-site reviews) 

18 with respect to the implementation of tribal plans 

19 approved under this part and part E. 

20 ‘‘(2) TRIBAL ROLE.—An Indian tribe carrying 

21 out a plan approved under this part or part E 

22 shall—

23 ‘‘(A) cooperate with an on-site review by 

24 the Secretary appropriate to any areas of con-
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1 cern that the Secretary may identify with re2 spect to the plan; and 

3 ‘‘(B) if required by the Secretary, develop 

4 an improvement strategy to correct any defi5 ciencies in the conduct of the plan that are de6 termined by the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(f) GRANTS FOR TRAINING.—The Secretary may 

8 make grants to public or other nonprofit institutions of 

9 higher learning for special projects for training personnel 

10 for work in the field of child welfare, including 

11 traineeships described in subsection (g) with such stipends 

12 and allowances as may be permitted by the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(g) CHILD WELFARE TRAINEESHIPS.—The Sec14 retary may approve an application for a grant to a public 

15 or nonprofit institution for higher learning to provide 

16 traineeships with stipends under subsection (f) only if the 

17 application—

18 ‘‘(1) provides assurances that each individual 

19 who receives a stipend with such traineeship (in this 

20 subsection referred to as a ‘recipient’) agrees—

21 ‘‘(A) to participate in training at a public 

22 or private nonprofit child welfare agency on a 

23 regular basis (as determined by the Secretary) 

24 for the period of the traineeship; 
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1 ‘‘(B) to be employed for a period of years 

2 equivalent to the period of the traineeship, in a 

3 public or private nonprofit child welfare agency 

4 in any State, within a period of time (deter5 mined by the Secretary in accordance with reg6 ulations) after completing the postsecondary 

7 education for which the traineeship was award8 ed; 

9 ‘‘(C) to furnish to the institution and the 

10 Secretary evidence of compliance with subpara11 graphs (A) and (B); and 

12 ‘‘(D) if the recipient fails to comply with 

13 subparagraph (A) or (B) and does not qualify 

14 for any exception to this subparagraph which 

15 the Secretary may prescribe in regulations, to 

16 repay to the Secretary all (or an appropriately 

17 prorated part) of the amount of the stipend, 

18 plus interest, and, if applicable, reasonable col19 lection fees (in accordance with regulations pro20 mulgated by the Secretary); and 

21 ‘‘(2) provides assurances that the institution 

22 will—

23 ‘‘(A) enter into agreements with child wel24 fare agencies for onsite training of recipients; 
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1 ‘‘(B) permit an individual who is employed 

2 in the field of child welfare services to apply for 

3 a traineeship with a stipend if the traineeship 

4 furthers the progress of the individual toward 

5 the completion of degree requirements; and 

6 ‘‘(C) develop and implement a system that, 

7 for the 3-year period that begins on the date 

8 any recipient completes a child welfare services 

9 program of study, tracks the employment 

10 record of the recipient, for the purpose of deter11 mining the percentage of recipients who secure 

12 employment in the field of child welfare services 

13 and remain employed in the field. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 428. FUNDING. 

15 ‘‘(a) SAFE CHILDREN, STRONG FAMILIES GRANT

16 FUNDING LEVELS.—The amount specified in this sub17 section is—

18 ‘‘(1) $3,878,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

19 ‘‘(2) $4,005,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

20 ‘‘(3) $4,131,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

21 ‘‘(4) $4,259,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

22 ‘‘(5) $4,389,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

23 ‘‘(6) $4,515,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

24 ‘‘(7) $4,641,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

25 ‘‘(8) $4,765,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 
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•HR 4856 IH 

1 ‘‘(9) $4,888,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

2 ‘‘(10) $5,010,000,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

3 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—In addition to any 

4 amount appropriated pursuant to subsection (a), there are 

5 authorized to be appropriated for grants under section 

6 424 $525,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 

7 2014. 

8 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Funds ap9 propriated pursuant to this part shall remain available 

10 until expended. 

11 ‘‘(d) FUNDS FOR TERRITORIES, INDIAN TRIBES, 

12 COURTS, AND OTHER PURPOSES.—For each fiscal year, 

13 from the amount specified in subsection (a) of this section, 

14 the Secretary shall reserve— 

15 ‘‘(1) for grants under section 424(a) for the 

16 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern 

17 Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the United 

18 States Virgin Islands, a sum equal to 0.45 percent 

19 of the amount; 

20 ‘‘(2) for grants to Indian tribes under section 

21 424(b), a sum equal to 0.45 percent of the amount; 

22 ‘‘(3) for grants under section 426 (relating to 

23 entitlement funding for State courts to assess and 

24 improve handling of proceedings relating to foster 
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1 care and adoption), a sum equal to 0.45 percent of 

2 the amount; and 

3 ‘‘(4) for activities under sections 427 (relating 

4 to evaluations, research, technical assistance, and 

5 child welfare traineeships), a sum equal to 1.25 per6 cent of the amount. 

7 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR TERRITORIES AND IN8 DIAN TRIBES.—For each fiscal year, from the amount (if 

9 any) appropriated under subsection (b) of this section, the 

10 Secretary shall reserve—

11 ‘‘(1) for grants under section 424(a) to States 

12 specified in subsection (d)(1) of this section, a sum 

13 equal to 0.5 percent of the amount; and 

14 ‘‘(2) for grants to Indian tribes under section 

15 424(b), a sum equal to 0.5 percent of the amount. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 429. GRANTS FOR PROGRAMS FOR MENTORING CHIL17 DREN OF PRISONERS. 

18 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.—

19 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—

20 ‘‘(A) In the period between 1991 and 

21 1999, the number of children with a parent in22 carcerated in a Federal or State correctional fa23 cility increased by more than 100 percent, from 

24 approximately 900,000 to approximately 

25 2,000,000. In 1999, 2.1 percent of all children 
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1 in the United States had a parent in Federal or 

2 State prison. 

3 ‘‘(B) Prior to incarceration, 64 percent of 

4 female prisoners and 44 percent of male pris5 oners in State facilities lived with their children. 

6 ‘‘(C) Nearly 90 percent of the children of 

7 incarcerated fathers live with their mothers, 

8 and 79 percent of the children of incarcerated 

9 mothers live with a grandparent or other rel10 ative. 

11 ‘‘(D) Parental arrest and confinement lead 

12 to stress, trauma, stigmatization, and separa13 tion problems for children. These problems are 

14 coupled with existing problems that include pov15 erty, violence, parental substance abuse, high16 crime environments, intrafamilial abuse, child 

17 abuse and neglect, multiple care givers, and/or 

18 prior separations. As a result, these children 

19 often exhibit a broad variety of behavioral, emo20 tional, health, and educational problems that 

21 are often compounded by the pain of separa22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(E) Empirical research demonstrates that 

24 mentoring is a potent force for improving chil25 dren’s behavior across all risk behaviors affect-
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1 ing health. Quality, one-on-one relationships 

2 that provide young people with caring role mod3 els for future success have profound, life-chang4 ing potential. Done right, mentoring markedly 

5 advances youths’ life prospects. A widely cited 

6 1995 study by Public/Private Ventures meas7 ured the impact of one Big Brothers Big Sis8 ters program and found significant effects in 

9 the lives of youth—cutting first-time drug use 

10 by almost half and first-time alcohol use by 

11 about a third, reducing school absenteeism by 

12 half, cutting assaultive behavior by a third, im13 proving parental and peer relationships, giving 

14 youth greater confidence in their school work, 

15 and improving academic performance. 

16 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is 

17 to authorize the Secretary to make competitive 

18 grants to applicants in areas with substantial num19 bers of children of incarcerated parents, to support 

20 the establishment or expansion and operation of pro21 grams using a network of public and private commu22 nity entities to provide mentoring services for chil23 dren of prisoners. 

24 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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1 ‘‘(1) CHILDREN OF PRISONERS.—The term 

2 ‘children of prisoners’ means children one or both of 

3 whose parents are incarcerated in a Federal, State, 

4 or local correctional facility. The term is deemed to 

5 include children who are in an ongoing mentoring 

6 relationship in a program under this section at the 

7 time of their parents’ release from prison, for pur8 poses of continued participation in the program. 

9 ‘‘(2) MENTORING.—The term ‘mentoring’ 

10 means a structured, managed program in which chil11 dren are appropriately matched with screened and 

12 trained adult volunteers for one-on-one relationships, 

13 involving meetings and activities on a regular basis, 

14 intended to meet, in part, the child’s need for in15 volvement with a caring and supportive adult who 

16 provides a positive role model. 

17 ‘‘(3) MENTORING SERVICES.—The term ‘men18 toring services’ means those services and activities 

19 that support a structured, managed program of 

20 mentoring, including the management by trained 

21 personnel of outreach to, and screening of, eligible 

22 children; outreach to, education and training of, and 

23 liaison with sponsoring local organizations; screening 

24 and training of adult volunteers; matching of chil25 dren with suitable adult volunteer mentors; support 
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1 and oversight of the mentoring relationship; and es2 tablishment of goals and evaluation of outcomes for 

3 mentored children. 

4 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts 

5 appropriated under subsection (h) for a fiscal year that 

6 remain after applying subsection (h)(2), the Secretary 

7 shall make grants under this section for each of fiscal 

8 years 2005 through 2014 to State or local governments, 

9 tribal governments or tribal consortia, faith-based organi10 zations, and community-based organizations in areas that 

11 have significant numbers of children of prisoners and that 

12 submit applications meeting the requirements of this sec13 tion, in amounts that do not exceed $5,000,000 per grant. 

14 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—In order to be 

15 eligible for a grant under this section, the chief executive 

16 officer of the applicant must submit to the Secretary an 

17 application containing the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM DESIGN.—A description of the 

19 proposed program, including—

20 ‘‘(A) a list of local public and private orga21 nizations and entities that will participate in 

22 the mentoring network; 

23 ‘‘(B) the name, description, and qualifica24 tions of the entity that will coordinate and over25 see the activities of the mentoring network; 
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1 ‘‘(C) the number of mentor-child matches 

2 proposed to be established and maintained an3 nually under the program; 

4 ‘‘(D) such information as the Secretary 

5 may require concerning the methods to be used 

6 to recruit, screen support, and oversee individ7 uals participating as mentors, (which methods 

8 shall include criminal background checks on the 

9 individuals), and to evaluate outcomes for par10 ticipating children, including information nec11 essary to demonstrate compliance with require12 ments established by the Secretary for the pro13 gram; and 

14 ‘‘(E) such other information as the Sec15 retary may require. 

16 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY CONSULTATION; COORDINA17 TION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS.—A demonstration 

18 that, in developing and implementing the program, 

19 the applicant will, to the extent feasible and appro20 priate—

21 ‘‘(A) consult with public and private com22 munity entities, including religious organiza23 tions, and including, as appropriate, Indian 

24 tribal organizations and urban Indian organiza-
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1 tions, and with family members of potential cli2 ents; 

3 ‘‘(B) coordinate the programs and activi4 ties under the program with other Federal, 

5 State, and local programs serving children and 

6 youth; and 

7 ‘‘(C) consult with appropriate Federal, 

8 State, and local corrections, workforce develop9 ment, and substance abuse and mental health 

10 agencies. 

11 ‘‘(3) EQUAL ACCESS FOR LOCAL SERVICE PRO12 VIDERS.—An assurance that public and private enti13 ties and community organizations, including reli14 gious organizations and Indian organizations, will be 

15 eligible to participate on an equal basis. 

16 ‘‘(4) RECORDS, REPORTS, AND AUDITS.—An 

17 agreement that the applicant will maintain such 

18 records, make such reports, and cooperate with such 

19 reviews or audits as the Secretary may find nec20 essary for purposes of oversight of project activities 

21 and expenditures. 

22 ‘‘(5) EVALUATION.—An agreement that the ap23 plicant will cooperate fully with the Secretary’s on24 going and final evaluation of the program under the 

25 plan, by means including providing the Secretary ac-
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1 cess to the program and program-related records 

2 and documents, staff, and grantees receiving funding 

3 under the plan. 

4 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL SHARE.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant for a program 

6 under this section shall be available to pay a per7 centage share of the costs of the program up to—

8 ‘‘(A) 75 percent for the first and second 

9 fiscal years for which the grant is awarded; and 

10 ‘‘(B) 50 percent for the third and each 

11 succeeding such fiscal years. 

12 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

13 share of the cost of projects under this section may 

14 be in cash or in kind. In determining the amount of 

15 the non-Federal share, the Secretary may attribute 

16 fair market value to goods, services, and facilities 

17 contributed from non-Federal sources. 

18 ‘‘(f) CONSIDERATIONS IN AWARDING GRANTS.—In 

19 awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall 

20 take into consideration—

21 ‘‘(1) the qualifications and capacity of appli22 cants and networks of organizations to effectively 

23 carry out a mentoring program under this section; 

24 ‘‘(2) the comparative severity of need for men25 toring services in local areas, taking into consider-
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1 ation data on the numbers of children (and in par2 ticular of low-income children) with an incarcerated 

3 parents (or parents) in the areas; 

4 ‘‘(3) evidence of consultation with existing 

5 youth and family service programs, as appropriate; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(4) any other factors the Secretary may deem 

8 significant with respect to the need for or the poten9 tial success of carrying out a mentoring program 

10 under this section. 

11 ‘‘(g) EVALUATIONS.—The Secretary shall conduct 

12 evaluations of the programs conducted pursuant to this 

13 section, and submit to the Congress not later than April 

14 15, 2005, and biennially thereafter, a report on the find15 ings of the evaluation for the period involved. 

16 ‘‘(h) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO17 PRIATIONS; RESERVATION OF CERTAIN AMOUNTS.—

18 ‘‘(1) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF AP19 PROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be appro20 priated to carry out this section $67,000,000 for 

21 each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009, and such 

22 sums as may be necessary for each succeeding fiscal 

23 year. 

24 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION.—The Secretary shall re25 serve 2.5 percent of the amount appropriated for 
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1 each fiscal year under paragraph (1) for expenditure 

2 by the Secretary for research, technical assistance, 

3 and evaluation related to programs under this sec4 tion. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 430. DEFINITIONS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In this part: 

7 ‘‘(1) 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 families. 

15 ‘‘(2) CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘child wel17 fare services’ means social services which are 

18 directed toward the accomplishment of the fol19 lowing purposes: 

20 ‘‘(i) Protecting and promoting the 

21 welfare of all children, including handi22 capped, homeless, dependent, or neglected 

23 children. 

24 ‘‘(ii) Conducting timely assessments 

25 and investigation of reported child abuse 
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1 and neglect to ensure the safety of chil2 dren. 

3 ‘‘(iii) Preventing or remedying, or as4 sisting in the solution of problems which 

5 may result in, the neglect, abuse, exploi6 tation, or delinquency of children. 

7 ‘‘(iv) Preventing the unnecessary sep8 aration of children from their families by 

9 identifying family problems, assisting fami10 lies in resolving their problems, and pre11 venting breakup of the family where the 

12 prevention of child removal is desirable and 

13 possible. 

14 ‘‘(v) Restoring to their families chil15 dren who have been removed, by the provi16 sion of services to the child and the fami17 lies. 

18 ‘‘(vi) Placing children in suitable 

19 adoptive homes, in cases where restoration 

20 to the biological family is not possible or 

21 appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(vii) Assuring adequate care of chil23 dren away from their homes, in cases 

24 where the child cannot be returned home 

25 or has not been placed for adoption. 
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1 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—Funds expended by 

2 a State for any calendar quarter to comply with 

3 section 422(a)(9) or 476(b), and funds ex4 pended with respect to nonrecurring costs of 

5 adoption proceedings in the case of children 

6 placed for adoption with respect to whom as7 sistance is provided under a State plan for 

8 adoption assistance approved under part E, are 

9 deemed to have been expended for child welfare 

10 services. 

11 ‘‘(3) FAMILY PRESERVATION SERVICES.—The 

12 term ‘family preservation services’ means services 

13 for children and families designed to help families 

14 (including adoptive and extended families) at risk or 

15 in crisis, including—

16 ‘‘(A) service programs designed to help 

17 children—

18 ‘‘(i) where safe and appropriate, re19 turn to families from which they have been 

20 removed; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) be placed for adoption, with a 

22 legal guardian, or, if adoption or legal 

23 guardianship is determined not to be safe 

24 and appropriate for a child, in some other 

25 planned, permanent living arrangement; 
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1 ‘‘(B) preplacement preventive services pro2 grams, such as intensive family preservation 

3 programs, designed to help children at risk of 

4 foster care placement remain safely with their 

5 families; 

6 ‘‘(C) service programs designed to provide 

7 followup care to families to whom a child has 

8 been returned after a foster care placement; 

9 ‘‘(D) respite care of children to provide 

10 temporary relief for parents and other care11 givers (including foster parents); 

12 ‘‘(E) services designed to improve par13 enting skills (by helping parents to identify 

14 where improvement is needed and to obtain as15 sistance in improving those skills) with respect 

16 to matters such as child development, family 

17 budgeting, coping with stress, health, and nutri18 tion; and 

19 ‘‘(F) infant safe haven programs to pro20 vide a way for a parent to safely relinquish a 

21 newborn infant at a safe haven designated pur22 suant to a State law. 

23 ‘‘(4) FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES.—The term 

24 ‘family support services’ means community-based 

25 services to promote the safety and well-being of chil-
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1 dren and families designed to increase the strength 

2 and stability of families (including adoptive, foster, 

3 and extended families), to increase competence in 

4 parenting, to afford children a safe, stable, and sup5 portive family environment, to strengthen parental 

6 relationships and promote healthy marriages, and 

7 otherwise to enhance child development. 

8 ‘‘(5) INDIAN TRIBE.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Indian 

10 tribe’ means—

11 ‘‘(i) any tribe, band, nation, or other 

12 organized group or community of Indians 

13 that—

14 ‘‘(I) is recognized as eligible for 

15 the special programs and services pro16 vided by the United States to Indians 

17 because of their status as Indians; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(II) for which a reservation ex20 ists; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) any organized group of Alaska 

22 Natives eligible to operate a Federal pro23 gram under Public Law 93–638 or the 

24 designee of such a group. 
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1 ‘‘(B) RESERVATION.—In subparagraph 

2 (A), the term ‘reservation’ includes Indian res3 ervations, public domain Indian allotments, and 

4 former Indian reservations in Oklahoma. 

5 ‘‘(6) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—The term ‘non6 Federal funds’ means State funds, or at the option 

7 of a State, State and local funds. 

8 ‘‘(7) QUALIFIED EXPENDITURES.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

10 subparagraph (B), the term ‘qualified expendi11 tures’ means, with respect to a State or Indian 

12 tribe, any expenditure by the State or tribe, as 

13 the case may be, that is aimed at achieving the 

14 purposes of this part. 

15 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Such term shall not in16 clude any expenditure under a State or tribal 

17 program funded under part A. 

18 ‘‘(8) STATE AGENCY.—The term ‘State agency’ 

19 means the State agency responsible for admin20 istering, or supervising the administration of, the 

21 State program under this part. 

22 ‘‘(9) TIME-LIMITED FAMILY REUNIFICATION

23 SERVICES.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘time-lim25 ited family reunification services’ means the 
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1 services and activities described in subpara2 graph (B) that are provided to a child that is 

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

4 foster family home (as defined in section 

5 472(c)(1)) or a child-care institution (as defined 

6 in section 472(c)(2)) and to the parents or pri7 mary caregiver of such a child, in order to fa8 cilitate the reunification of the child safely and 

9 appropriately within a timely fashion, but only 

10 during the 15-month period that begins on the 

11 date that the child, pursuant to section 

12 475(5)(G), is considered to have entered foster 

13 care. 

14 ‘‘(B) SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES DE15 SCRIBED.—The services and activities described 

16 in this subparagraph are the following: 

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

18 counseling. 

19 ‘‘(ii) Inpatient, residential, or out20 patient substance abuse treatment services. 

21 ‘‘(iii) Mental health services. 

22 ‘‘(iv) Assistance to address domestic 

23 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 ‘‘(10) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘trib8 al organization’ means the recognized governing 

9 body of any Indian tribe. 

10 ‘‘(b) OTHER TERMS.—For definitions of other terms 

11 used in this part, see sections 475 and 1101(a).’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

13 (1) Section 409(a)(7)(B)(i) (42 U.S.C. 

14 609(a)(7)(B)(i)) is amended by adding at the end 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(V) EXCLUSION OF EXPENDI17 TURES UNDER PART B.—Such term 

18 does not include any expenditure 

19 under the State plan developed under 

20 part B.’’. 

21 (2) Section 454(33) (42 U.S.C. 654(33)) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘receives funding pursuant to 

23 section 428 and that’’. 
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1 (3) Section 470 (42 U.S.C. 670) is amended by 

2 striking ‘‘(commencing with the fiscal year which be3 gins October 1, 1980)’’. 

4 (4) Section 471(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(2)) is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘program authorized by sub6 part 1 of part B of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘State 

7 program under the State plan developed under part 

8 B’’. 

9 (5) Section 471(a)(14) (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(14)) 

10 is amended—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘on or before October 1, 

12 1982’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘(commencing with the fis14 cal year which begins on October 1, 1983)’’. 

15 (6) Section 471(a)(18) (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(18)) 

16 is amended by striking ‘‘not later than January 1, 

17 1997,’’. 

18 (7) Section 471(a)(22) (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(22)) 

19 is amended by striking ‘‘, not later than January 1, 

20 1999,’’. 

21 (8) Section 472(d) (42 U.S.C. 672(d)) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘422(b)(10)’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘422(a)(9)’’. 

24 (9) Section 473(a)(6) (42 U.S.C. 673(a)(6)) is 

25 amended—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘(6)(A)’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘(6)’’; and 

3 (B) by striking subparagraph (B). 

4 (10) Section 473(b) (42 U.S.C. 673(b)) is 

5 amended—

6 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(3)’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘(2)’’; and 

8 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and redesig9 nating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2). 

10 (11) Section 473A(f) (42 U.S.C. 673b(f)) is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘423, 434,’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘424’’. 

13 (12) Section 474(a) (42 U.S.C. 674(a)) is 

14 amended—

15 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

16 by striking ‘‘beginning after September 30, 

17 1980’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (3)—

19 (i) in the matter preceding subpara20 graph (A), by striking ‘‘as found’’ and all 

21 that follows through ‘‘State plan’’; 

22 (ii) in subpargraph (C)(iii), by strik23 ing ‘‘(for the purposes of facilitating 

24 verification of eligibility of foster chil25 dren)’’; 
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1 (iii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

2 ‘‘(C); and’’ and inserting ‘‘(A); plus’’; and 

3 (iv) by striking subparagraphs (A), 

4 (B), and (E) and redesignating subpara5 graphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (A) 

6 and (B), respectively. 

7 (13) Section 475 (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended 

8 by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(8) The term ‘child’ means—

10 ‘‘(A) an individual who has not attained 18 

11 years of age or the age of majority established 

12 by the State; and 

13 ‘‘(B) at the option of the State, an indi14 vidual who has not attained 19 years of age and 

15 is a full-time student in a secondary school (or 

16 in the equivalent level of vocational or technical 

17 training), if, before the individual attains 19 

18 years of age, the individual may reasonably be 

19 expected to complete the program of such sec20 ondary school (or such training).’’. 

21 (14) Section 1101(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 

22 1301(a)(1)), as amended by section 102(c)(2)(A) of 

23 this Act, is amended in the last sentence by striking 

24 ‘‘part E’’ and inserting ‘‘parts B and E’’. 
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1 (15) Section 1130(b)(1) (42 U.S.C. 1320a–

2 9(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘427’’ and all that 

3 follows through ‘‘or section’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘422(a)(9) or’’. 

5 (16) Section 1130(c) (42 U.S.C. 1320a–9(c)) is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘subpart 1 or 2 of’’. 

7 (17) Section 1130A (42 U.S.C. 1320a–10) is 

8 repealed. 

9 (18) Section 104(b)(3) of the Intercountry 

10 Adoption Act (42 U.S.C. 14914(b)(3)) is amended 

11 by striking ‘‘422(b)(14)’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘422(a)(13)’’. 

13 SEC. 202. CHALLENGE GRANTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title IV, as added by 

15 section 201(a) of this Act, is amended by redesignating 

16 section 430 as section 431 and inserting after section 429 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 430. CHALLENGE GRANTS TO REWARD EFFORTS TO 

19 MOVE CHILDREN SAFELY FROM FOSTER 

20 CARE AND PREVENT THE REMOVAL OF CHIL21 DREN FROM THEIR HOMES. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State shall be entitled to re23 ceive from the Secretary a grant for each fiscal year re24 ferred to in subsection (e) for which the State is an eligible 

25 State. 
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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE STATES.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec3 tion, a State is an eligible State for a fiscal year if—

4 ‘‘(A) in the case of fiscal year 2005, the 

5 State has significantly exceeded the national 

6 standard then in effect under paragraph (2) for 

7 at least 4 of the outcome measures described in 

8 paragraph (3), and has met the national stand9 ard then in effect for the other outcome meas10 ures so described; 

11 ‘‘(B) in the case of fiscal year 2006, the 

12 State has significantly exceeded the national 

13 standard then in effect under paragraph (2) for 

14 at least 5 of the outcome measures so de15 scribed, and has met the national standard then 

16 in effect for the other outcome measure so de17 scribed; and 

18 ‘‘(C) in the case of fiscal years 2007 and 

19 2008, the State has significantly exceeded the 

20 national standard then in effect under para21 graph (2) for all of the outcome measures so 

22 described. 

23 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL STANDARDS.—The Secretary 

24 shall prescribe, and from time to time update, a na-
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1 tional standard for each outcome measure described 

2 in paragraph (3). 

3 ‘‘(3) OUTCOME MEASURES.—The outcome 

4 measures described in this paragraph are the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(A) The percentage of children in foster 

7 care in a State during a year, who were the 

8 subject of substantiated or indicated maltreat9 ment by a foster parent or facility staff mem10 ber. 

11 ‘‘(B) The percentage of children reunified 

12 with their parents or caretakers at the time of 

13 discharge from foster care in a State during a 

14 year, who were so reunified less than 12 months 

15 after their latest removal from the home. 

16 ‘‘(C) The percentage of children entering 

17 foster care in a State during a year, who re-en18 tered foster care within 12 months after a prior 

19 discharge from foster care. 

20 ‘‘(D) The percentage of children exiting 

21 foster care in a State to a finalized adoption 

22 during a year, who so exited less than 24 

23 months after their latest removal from the 

24 home. 
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1 ‘‘(E) The percentage of children reported 

2 to be victims of substantiated or indicated child 

3 abuse or neglect in the State during the first 6 

4 months of a period being reviewed, who were 

5 the subject of another such report within 6 

6 months after the first report. 

7 ‘‘(F) The percentage of children in foster 

8 care for less than 12 months from the time of 

9 their latest removal from the home, who have 

10 been placed in not more than 2 settings. 

11 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATION OF STATE PERFORMANCE

12 WITH RESPECT TO A NATIONAL STANDARD.—For 

13 purposes of paragraph (1): 

14 ‘‘(A) MEETING A STANDARD.—A State 

15 shall be considered to have met the national 

16 standard for an outcome measure described in 

17 paragraph (3) if the percentage (referred to in 

18 the outcome measure) achieved by the State 

19 is—

20 ‘‘(i) in the case of an outcome meas21 ure described in subparagraph (A), (C), or 

22 (E) of paragraph (3), not more than the 

23 national standard; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an outcome meas25 ure described in subparagraph (B), (D), or 
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1 (F) of paragraph (3), not less than the na2 tional standard. 

3 ‘‘(B) SIGNIFICANTLY EXCEEDING A

4 STANDARD.—A State shall be considered to 

5 have significantly exceeded the national stand6 ard for an outcome measure described in para7 graph (3) if the percentage (referred to in the 

8 outcome measure) achieved by the State is—

9 ‘‘(i) in the case of an outcome meas10 ure described in subparagraph (A), (C), or 

11 (E) of paragraph (3), not more than 90 

12 percent of the national standard; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an outcome meas14 ure described in subparagraph (B), (D), or 

15 (F) of paragraph (3), not less than 110 

16 percent of the national standard. 

17 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION TO BE CONSIDERED.—

18 In determining the performance of a State with 

19 respect to an outcome measure described in 

20 paragraph (3), the Secretary shall use informa21 tion for the most recent year for which the rel22 evant information is available. 

23 ‘‘(c) GRANT AMOUNT.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the grant 

25 payable to an eligible State under this section for a 
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1 fiscal year is an amount equal to the State share of 

2 the dollar amount specified in subsection (e). 

3 ‘‘(2) STATE SHARE DEFINED.—In paragraph 

4 (1), the term ‘State share’ means, with respect to a 

5 State and a fiscal year, the percentage equal to—

6 ‘‘(A) the number of children residing in the 

7 State who have not attained 21 years of age, 

8 determined on the basis of the information 

9 available as of the beginning of the fiscal year; 

10 divided by 

11 ‘‘(B) the number of such children residing 

12 in all States, as so determined. 

13 ‘‘(d) USE OF GRANT.—A State to which a grant is 

14 made under this section shall use the grant for any pur15 pose under the State plan developed under this part or 

16 the State plan approved under part E. 

17 ‘‘(e) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money in the 

18 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 

19 there are appropriated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 

20 years 2005 through 2008 for grants under this section. 

21 ‘‘(f) BUDGET SCORING.—Notwithstanding section 

22 257(b)(2) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 

23 Contol Act of 1985, the baseline shall assume that no 

24 grant shall be made under this section after fiscal year 

25 2008.’’. 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Each of the fol2 lowing provisions is amended by striking ‘‘430(a)’’ and in3 serting ‘‘431(a)’’: 

4 (1) Section 427(c)(1), as added by section 

5 201(a) of this Act. 

6 (2) Section 479B(d), as added by section 

7 103(b) of this Act. 

8 TITLE III—ENHANCEMENTS TO 

9 CHILD WELFARE WAIVER AU10 THORITY 

11 SEC. 301. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO APPROVE DEM12 ONSTRATION PROJECTS. 

13 Section 1130(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 1320a–9(a)(2)) is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘2002’’ and inserting ‘‘2008’’. 

15 SEC. 302. ELIMINATION OF LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF 

16 WAIVERS. 

17 Section 1130(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 1320a–9(a)(2)) is 

18 amended by striking ‘‘not more than 10’’. 

19 SEC. 303. ELIMINATION OF LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF 

20 STATES THAT MAY BE GRANTED WAIVERS TO 

21 CONDUCT DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS ON 

22 SAME TOPIC. 

23 Section 1130 (42 U.S.C. 1320a–9) is amended by 

24 adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(h) NO LIMIT ON NUMBER OF STATES THAT MAY

2 BE GRANTED WAIVERS TO CONDUCT SAME OR SIMILAR

3 DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall not 

4 refuse to grant a waiver to a State under this section on 

5 the grounds that a purpose of the waiver or of the dem6 onstration project for which the waiver is necessary would 

7 be the same as or similar to a purpose of another waiver 

8 or project that is or may be conducted under this sec9 tion.’’. 

10 SEC. 304. ELIMINATION OF LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF 

11 WAIVERS THAT MAY BE GRANTED TO A SIN12 GLE STATE FOR DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. 

13 Section 1130 (42 U.S.C. 1320a–9) is further amend14 ed by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) NO LIMIT ON NUMBER OF WAIVERS GRANTED

16 TO, OR DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS THAT MAY BE CON17 DUCTED BY, A SINGLE STATE.—The Secretary shall not 

18 impose any limit on the number of waivers that may be 

19 granted to a State, or the number of demonstration 

20 projects that a State may be authorized to conduct, under 

21 this section.’’. 
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1 SEC. 305. STREAMLINED PROCESS FOR CONSIDERATION OF 

2 AMENDMENTS TO AND EXTENSIONS OF DEM3 ONSTRATION PROJECTS REQUIRING WAIV4 ERS. 

5 Section 1130 (42 U.S.C. 1320a–9) is further amend6 ed by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(j) STREAMLINED PROCESS FOR CONSIDERATION

8 OF AMENDMENTS AND EXTENSIONS.—The Secretary 

9 shall develop a streamlined process for consideration of 

10 amendments and extensions proposed by States to dem11 onstration projects conducted under this section.’’. 

12 SEC. 306. AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS. 

13 Section 1130 (42 U.S.C. 1320a–9) is further amend14 ed by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(k) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—The Secretary 

16 shall make available to any State or other interested party 

17 any report provided to the Secretary under subsection 

18 (f)(2), and any evaluation or report made by the Secretary 

19 with respect to a demonstration project conducted under 

20 this section, with a focus on information that may promote 

21 best practices and program improvements.’’. 

22 TITLE IV—TANF AND SSI 

23 PROVISIONS 

24 SEC. 401. TANF HIGH PERFORMANCE BONUS. 

25 Section 403(a)(4) (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(4)) is amend26 ed—
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1 (1) in subparagraph (D)(ii)—

2 (A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘each 

3 bonus year equals $200,000,000’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘bonus years 1999 through 2004 equals 

5 $200,000,000, and for bonus years 2005 

6 through 2014 equals $100,000,000’’; and 

7 (B) in subclause (II), by striking 

8 ‘‘$1,000,000,000’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘$2,200,000,000’’; 

10 (2) in subparagraph (E)(i), by striking ‘‘, 

11 2000’’ and all that follows through ‘‘2003’’ and in12 serting ‘‘through 2014’’; and 

13 (3) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ‘‘, and for 

14 fiscal years 2004 through 2014 $1,200,000,000,’’ 

15 after ‘‘$1,000,000,000’’. 

16 SEC. 402. REVIEW OF STATE AGENCY BLINDNESS AND DIS17 ABILITY DETERMINATIONS. 

18 Section 1633 (42 U.S.C. 1383b) is amended by add19 ing at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(e)(1) The Commissioner of Social Security shall re21 view determinations, made by State agencies pursuant to 

22 subsection (a) in connection with applications for benefits 

23 under this title on the basis of blindness or disability, that 

24 individuals who have attained 18 years of age are blind 

25 or disabled as of a specified onset date. The Commissioner 
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1 of Social Security shall review such a determination before 

2 any action is taken to implement the determination. 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Commis4 sioner of Social Security shall review—

5 ‘‘(i) at least 20 percent of all determinations re6 ferred to in paragraph (1) that are made in fiscal 

7 year 2004; 

8 ‘‘(ii) at least 40 percent of all such determina9 tions that are made in fiscal year 2005; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) at least 50 percent of all such determina11 tions that are made in fiscal year 2006 or thereafter. 

12 ‘‘(B) In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Commis13 sioner of Social Security shall, to the extent feasible, select 

14 for review the determinations which the Commissioner of 

15 Social Security identifies as being the most likely to be 

16 incorrect.’’. 

17 TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATE AND 

18 TRANSITION PROVISIONS 

19 SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION RULE. 

20 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), the amendments made by this Act shall 

23 take effect on October 1, 2004, and shall apply to 

24 payments under parts B and E of the Social Secu25 rity Act for calendar quarters beginning on or after 
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1 such date, without regard to whether regulations to 

2 implement the amendments are promulgated by such 

3 date. 

4 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

5 REQUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human 

6 Services determines that State legislation (other 

7 than legislation appropriating funds) is required in 

8 order for a State plan under part B or E of title IV 

9 of the Social Security Act to meet the additional re10 quirements imposed by the amendments made by 

11 this Act, the plan shall not be regarded as failing to 

12 meet any of the additional requirements before the 

13 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter beginning after 

14 the 1st regular session of the State legislature that 

15 begins after the effective date specified in paragraph 

16 (1). If the State has a 2-year legislative session, 

17 then each year of the session is deemed to be a sepa18 rate regular session of the State legislature. 

19 (b) TRANSITION RULE.—The amendments made by 

20 this Act shall not apply with respect to—

21 (1) powers, duties, functions, rights, claims, 

22 penalties, or obligations applicable to aid, assistance, 

23 services, or funds provided before the effective date 

24 of this Act under the provisions amended; or 
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1 (2) administrative actions and proceedings com2 menced, or authorized before such date to be com3 menced, under such provisions.

Æ