II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2837 

To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to examine and 

improve the child welfare workforce, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 4, 2009 

Mrs. LINCOLN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 

to examine and improve the child welfare workforce, and 

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Welfare Work5 force Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1)(A) Research indicates that child welfare 

9 staff face a variety of obstacles that hinder their ef10 fective work with children and families in the child 


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1 welfare system. These obstacles include barriers de2 scribed in subparagraphs (B) through (D). 

3 (B) High caseload and high workload levels pre4 vent child welfare staff from working intensively 

5 with children and families and monitoring their 

6 progress carefully. 

7 (C) Child welfare staff report an absence of suf8 ficient access to supervision, mentoring, and profes9 sional advancement. A lack of access to supervision, 

10 mentoring, and professional advancement contrib11 utes to staff burnout and turnover. 

12 (D) States report difficulty hiring and retaining 

13 quality child welfare staff. The average tenure of 

14 such a staff member is less than 2 years. In addition 

15 to the increased cost of hiring and training new 

16 child welfare staff, high turnover rates among such 

17 staff are associated with multiple placements of chil18 dren in foster care, longer lengths of stays in foster 

19 care, lower rates of permanency, and failed efforts at 

20 family reunification. Lengthy periods of foster care 

21 increase costs for child welfare agencies, as main22 taining children in foster care is more expensive 

23 than adoption, reunification, or other permanency 

24 options. 


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1 (2) Supervision, staff preparation and training, 

2 caseloads, workloads, data and accountability, work3 ing conditions, cultural competence, and leadership 

4 are key components of an effective child welfare 

5 workforce. There are few incentives in Federal law 

6 that encourage improvements in these key areas. 

7 (3) Current restrictions on Federal funding 

8 under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 

9 for training of child welfare staff create barriers to 

10 staff and children fully benefitting from this impor11 tant program. The related Federal funding proce12 dures are linked to an outdated income eligibility re13 quirement and administered in a way that fails to 

14 recognize the scope of work and types of staff who 

15 are working with children in the child welfare sys16 tem. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

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

19 675) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(9) The term ‘child welfare staff’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) employees of State, tribal, or local 

22 child welfare agencies, who are working with 

23 children and families that have contact with 

24 such a child welfare agency, in order to promote 


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1 safety, permanence, and well-being for children 

2 and families; and 

3 ‘‘(B) employees of State-licensed or State4 approved nonprofit private agencies, who are 

5 working with children and families that have 

6 contact with a State, tribal, or local child wel7 fare agency in order to promote safety, perma8 nence, and well-being for children and families. 

9 ‘‘(10) The term ‘related professionals’, used 

10 with respect to child welfare staff, means individuals 

11 employed by public or nonprofit private agencies in 

12 child- and family-serving fields including education, 

13 health, mental health, substance abuse prevention 

14 and treatment, juvenile justice, law enforcement, and 

15 domestic violence, who work with children and fami16 lies that have contact with a State, tribal, or local 

17 child welfare agency.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION AND RESEARCH TO INCREASE 

19 ACCOUNTABILITY FOR OUTCOMES FOR CHIL20 DREN. 

21 Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

23 479B the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 479C. DATA COLLECTION AND RESEARCH TO IN2 CREASE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR OUTCOMES 

3 FOR CHILDREN. 

4 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL CHILD WELFARE STAFF STUDY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) STUDY AND REPORT.—The Secretary shall 

6 enter into an agreement with the National Academy 

7 of Sciences, under which the National Academy of 

8 Sciences shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) conduct a national study of child wel10 fare staff, highlighting promising approaches, 

11 to— 

12 ‘‘(i) examine and provide findings re13 lated to the demographic and other charac14 teristics of child welfare staff, including 

15 compensation, academic degrees held, edu16 cation and training received, and turnover; 

17 ‘‘(ii) examine and provide findings re18 garding factors contributing to child wel19 fare staff turnover and strategies that have 

20 been effective in reducing the turnover by 

21 type of child welfare services, including 

22 preventive, protective, foster care, inde23 pendent living, adoption, and kinship care 

24 services; 

25 ‘‘(iii)(I) examine and provide findings 

26 regarding strengths and challenges present 


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1 in the working relationship between child 

2 welfare staff, legal and court staff, and 

3 other related professionals; and 

4 ‘‘(II) make recommendations regard5 ing how this working relationship may be 

6 improved; 

7 ‘‘(iv) examine and provide findings, 

8 and make recommendations, regarding ap9 propriate overall workloads and caseloads 

10 for all child welfare staff, including appro11 priate workloads and caseloads for super12 visors, analyzed by type of child welfare 

13 staff member supervised, including those 

14 providing child welfare services, including 

15 preventive, protective, foster care, inde16 pendent living, adoption, and kinship care 

17 services, and appropriate measurement of 

18 such overall workloads and caseloads; 

19 ‘‘(v)(I) examine and provide findings 

20 related to policy and practice regarding 

21 education level and training requirements 

22 for child welfare staff by type of work, in23 cluding providing preventive, protective, 

24 foster care, adoption, and kinship care 

25 services; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) make recommendations regard2 ing appropriate education levels and train3 ing to ensure competent child welfare staff; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(vi)(I) examine and provide findings 

6 related to the kinds of data available to or 

7 collected by State or local child welfare 

8 agencies with regard to child welfare staff; 

9 ‘‘(II) examine the methods and kinds 

10 of data on child welfare staff that States 

11 report to the Secretary through the data 

12 collection systems authorized under section 

13 103(c)(1)(C) of the Child Abuse Preven14 tion and Treatment Act, section 477(f) of 

15 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677(f)), 

16 and section 479 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 679); 

18 ‘‘(III) make recommendations on how 

19 States might collect data on child welfare 

20 staff, including data on the type of work 

21 staff are performing, and report the data 

22 to the Secretary, regularly and in a man23 ner that enables the data to be linked to 

24 the outcomes achieved for individual chilVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:07 Dec 04, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2837.IS S2837

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1 dren served by the State or local child wel2 fare agency involved, which shall include— 

3 ‘‘(aa) a means of incorporating 

4 the data into the data collection sys5 tem authorized under section 479 of 

6 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 679); and 

8 ‘‘(bb) as appropriate, a means of 

9 linking the data to the information 

10 collected through the data collection 

11 systems authorized under section 

12 103(c)(1)(C) of the Child Abuse Pre13 vention and Treatment Act and under 

14 section 477(f) of the Social Security 

15 Act (42 U.S.C. 677(f)); and 

16 ‘‘(IV) examine and provide findings 

17 regarding the impact of data collection 

18 procedures and requirements on child wel19 fare staff, and make recommendations for 

20 collecting data on child welfare staff in 

21 such a way that the attention and time of 

22 child welfare staff are not diverted from 

23 providing services to children and families 

24 in order to meet data collection require25 ments; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) not later that 18 months after the 

2 date on which the Secretary and the National 

3 Academy of Sciences enter into the agreement, 

4 submit a report containing the results of the 

5 study, including the findings and recommenda6 tions described in subparagraph (A), to the Sec7 retary. 

8 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION WITH INDIAN TRIBES AND

9 TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—The agreement entered 

10 into by the Secretary and the National Academy of 

11 Sciences under paragraph (1) shall require that, in 

12 conducting the study described in that paragraph, 

13 the National Academy of Sciences shall consult with 

14 Indian tribes and tribal organizations (as defined in 

15 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu16 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) regarding 

17 any aspects of the study that will address tribal-spe18 cific or unique issues, concerns, or special cir19 cumstances with respect to Indian children and their 

20 families. 

21 ‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 

22 months after receiving the report submitted under 

23 paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall transmit the 

24 report to the appropriate committees of Congress, 

25 along with a description of how the Secretary plans 


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1 to consult with State administrators, Indian tribes 

2 and tribal organizations, child welfare staff, and 

3 other appropriate stakeholders to issue the proposed 

4 regulations described in subsection (b)(1). 

5 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

7 paragraph (1), $5,000,000 for fiscal years 2010 

8 through 2014. 

9 ‘‘(b) COLLECTION AND REPORTING OF DATA ON

10 CHILD WELFARE STAFF.— 

11 ‘‘(1) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—The Secretary 

12 shall consult with State administrators, child welfare 

13 staff, and other appropriate stakeholders and, not 

14 later than 12 months after receiving the report de15 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(B), shall issue proposed 

16 regulations, which shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) be based on the recommendations in 

18 the report; and 

19 ‘‘(B) require States to collect data on child 

20 welfare staff, and report the data to the Sec21 retary, regularly and in a manner that enables 

22 the data to be linked to the outcomes achieved 

23 for individual children served by the State or 

24 local child welfare agency involved, which shall 

25 include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a means of incorporating the data 

2 into the data collection system authorized 

3 under section 479 of the Social Security 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 679); and 

5 ‘‘(ii) as appropriate, a means of link6 ing the data to the information collected 

7 through the data collection systems author8 ized under section 103(c)(1)(C) of the 

9 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 

10 Act and under section 477(f) of the Social 

11 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677(f)). 

12 ‘‘(2) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 

13 years after receiving the report described in sub14 section (a)(1)(B), the Secretary shall issue final reg15 ulations that meet the requirements of subpara16 graphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1).’’. 

17 SEC. 5. REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO PROVIDING TRAINING 

18 FOR CHILD WELFARE STAFF AND RELATED 

19 PROFESSIONALS UNDER PARTS B AND E OF 

20 TITLE IV OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT. 

21 (a) REMOVAL OF CERTAIN FUNDING RESTRIC22 TIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 474 of the Social 

24 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 672) is amended by adding 

25 at the end the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(h) TRAINING EXPENDITURES TO DEVELOP AND

2 IMPROVE THE CHILD WELFARE WORKFORCE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) DE-LINKING OF AFDC ELIGIBILITY CRI4 TERIA.—The Secretary shall treat as necessary for 

5 the proper and efficient administration of the State 

6 plan all expenditures by a State for training activi7 ties described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of sub8 section (a)(3) without regard to whether individuals 

9 participating in such activities include individuals 

10 providing services or treatment to foster or adoptive 

11 children other than those on behalf of whom foster 

12 care maintenance payments, kinship guardianship 

13 assistance payments, or adoption assistance pay14 ments may be made under this part. 

15 ‘‘(2) REMOVAL OF PROHIBITION ON FUNDING

16 STATE SHARE FROM PRIVATE SOURCES FOR EX17 PENDITURES FOR TRAINING PARTNERSHIPS WITH

18 PRIVATE NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL INSTITU19 TIONS.—With respect to expenditures by a State for 

20 short- and long-term training at educational institu21 tions through grants to such institutions or by direct 

22 financial assistance to students enrolled in such in23 stitutions for which Federal payments are provided 

24 under subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(3) 

25 funds from private nonprofit educational institutions 


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1 may be considered as the State’s share in claiming 

2 Federal reimbursement for such expenditures with3 out regard to any requirement that the funds— 

4 ‘‘(A) be transferred to the State or local 

5 agency and under its administrative control; 

6 ‘‘(B) be donated without any restriction 

7 which would require their use for the training 

8 of a particular individual or at particular facili9 ties or institutions; or 

10 ‘‘(C) do not revert to the private source’s 

11 facility or use. 

12 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT.—A State shall spend an 

13 amount equal to the amount of savings (if any) in 

14 State expenditures under this part resulting from 

15 the application of paragraphs (1) and (2) to all ap16 plicable children for a fiscal year to provide for 

17 workforce improvements to benefit children in the 

18 child welfare system.’’. 

19 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

20 474(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 674(a)(3)) is amended— 

22 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

23 (A), by inserting ‘‘subsection (h) and’’ before 

24 ‘‘section 472(i)’’; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘per 

2 centum’’ and inserting ‘‘percent’’; and 

3 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘re4 ceiving assistance under this part’’. 

5 (b) DEFINITION OF CHILD WELFARE STAFF AND

6 RELATED PROFESSIONALS.—Section 474(a)(3) of the So7 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 674(a)(3)) is amended— 

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

9 by striking ‘‘for the provision of child placement 

10 services’’ and inserting ‘‘to ensure safety, perma11 nency, and well-being for children’’; 

12 (2) in subparagraph (A)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘personnel’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘child welfare staff’’; and 

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘or by State-licensed or 

16 State-approved nonprofit private agencies,’’ 

17 after ‘‘political subdivision,’’; and 

18 (3) in subparagraph (B) (as amended by sub19 section (a)(2)(C))— 

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(B)’’; 

21 (B) by adding ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘contract,’’; 

22 and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

24 subclause: 


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1 ‘‘(ii) 75 percent of so much of such ex2 penditures as are for the short-term training of 

3 related professionals to the extent that such 

4 training pertains to the way in which those re5 lated professionals work with children and fami6 lies that have contact with the State agency or 

7 the local agency administering the plan in the 

8 political subdivision,’’. 

9 (c) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT FOR ANNUAL EVAL10 UATION AND ASSESSMENT OF TRAINING AND STAFF DE11 VELOPMENT ACTIVITIES UNDER PARTS B AND E.—Sec12 tion 471(a)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 671(a)(7)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘will monitor’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘will— 

16 ‘‘(A) monitor’’; 

17 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 

18 (3) by adding the following new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(B) with respect to training activities for 

20 which Federal payments are provided under 

21 subparagraph (A) or (B) of 474(a)(3), establish 

22 and maintain a plan for evaluation of such ac23 tivities, and of the child welfare services staff 

24 development and training conducted by the 

25 State in accordance with section 422(b)(4)(B), 


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1 that includes at least an annual assessment of 

2 the nature of the such activities and such staff 

3 development and training, the types of staff 

4 trained and developed, and the intended and ac5 tual impact of the training and staff develop6 ment activities on participating staff, and on 

7 children and families;’’. 

8 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall take effect on the 1st day of the 

11 1st calendar quarter that begins on or after the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act, without regard to 

13 whether regulations to implement the amendment 

14 are promulgated by such date. 

15 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

16 REQUIRED.—In the case of a State plan approved 

17 under section 471 of the Social Security Act which 

18 requires State legislation (other than legislation ap19 propriating funds) in order for the plan to meet the 

20 additional requirements imposed by the amendment 

21 made by subsection (a) of this section, the State 

22 plan shall not be regarded as failing to comply with 

23 the additional requirements solely on the basis of the 

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1 ter beginning after the close of the first regular ses2 sion of the State legislature that begins after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act. For purposes of 

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

5 a 2-year legislative session, each year of such session 

6 shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of 

7 the State legislature. 

8 SEC. 6. COMPREHENSIVE CHILD WELFARE WORKFORCE IM9 PROVEMENT DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

10 Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), as amended by section 4, is amended 

12 by inserting after section 479C the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 479D. COMPREHENSIVE CHILD WELFARE WORK14 FORCE IMPROVEMENT DEMONSTRATION 

15 PROGRAM. 

16 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es17 tablish a competitive child welfare workforce improvement 

18 demonstration program to assist eligible entities in devel19 oping and implementing child welfare workforce improve20 ment plans to help facilitate implementation of the essen21 tial components of an effective child welfare workforce, 

22 throughout the child welfare continuum, from preventing 

23 child abuse and neglect through ensuring and supporting 

24 permanent families for children, in order to meet the needs 

25 of the children and families served by that workforce. Such 


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1 plans shall be designed to ensure that the child welfare 

2 workforce— 

3 ‘‘(1) is able to accurately assess and provide 

4 what children and families need; 

5 ‘‘(2) has the resources needed to support its 

6 work; and 

7 ‘‘(3) is connected to the communities and fami8 lies it serves. 

9 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires to 

10 receive a demonstration grant under this section shall sub11 mit to the Secretary, at such time and in such manner 

12 as the Secretary may require, an application that includes 

13 information regarding how the entity shall implement each 

14 of the components required under the planning and imple15 mentation phases described in subsection (c). 

16 ‘‘(c) PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION PHASES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) PHASE 1: REQUIRED PLANNING COMPO18 NENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHILD

20 WELFARE WORKFORCE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

21 TASK FORCE.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The eligible entity 

23 shall ensure that the State agency respon24 sible for administering programs under 

25 part B and this part establishes a Child 


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1 Welfare Workforce Quality Improvement 

2 Task Force (in this section referred to as 

3 the ‘Task Force’), with broad representa4 tion from those groups that have a stake 

5 in child welfare workforce improvements, 

6 including representatives of public and pri7 vate child welfare agencies, schools of so8 cial work and other educational institutions 

9 that prepare child welfare workers for em10 ployment, labor unions representing the 

11 child welfare workforce, court personnel, 

12 advocates for children and families, youth 

13 and parents who have been involved in the 

14 child welfare system, and, where possible, 

15 researchers who have studied the child wel16 fare workforce. 

17 ‘‘(ii) APPLICATION DESCRIPTION.— 

18 The application submitted under sub19 section (b) shall include a description of 

20 the members of the Task Force, the role of 

21 the Task Force in guiding the assessment 

22 of the child welfare workforce, and the de23 velopment, implementation, and ongoing 

24 monitoring of a plan for improving the 

25 quality of the child welfare workforce, and 


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1 whether the Task Force is a new stand2 alone entity, an already constituted entity, 

3 or a newly established entity that has been 

4 added to an overarching quality improve5 ment workforce group in the State. 

6 ‘‘(B) ASSESSMENT OF THE CHILD WEL7 FARE WORKFORCE.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The eligible entity, 

9 in collaboration with the Task Force, shall 

10 conduct an assessment of the adequacy of 

11 support for the child welfare workforce in 

12 each of the areas described in clause (iii) 

13 and shall propose improvements, with spe14 cific reference to the goals to be achieved. 

15 ‘‘(ii) APPLICATION DESCRIPTION.— 

16 The application submitted under sub17 section (b) shall include a description of 

18 how the assessment required under clause 

19 (i) is to be conducted and by whom, the ex20 tent to which staff and management will 

21 be involved in the assessment, and the 

22 amount of effort underway to support the 

23 workforce in each of the areas described in 

24 clause (iii). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) AREAS DESCRIBED.—The areas 

2 described in this clause are the following: 

3 ‘‘(I) AREA 1.—The ability of the 

4 child welfare workforce to accurately 

5 assess and provide what children and 

6 families need including provisions 

7 for— 

8 ‘‘(aa) education and training 

9 of child welfare staff prior to em10 ployment; 

11 ‘‘(bb) ongoing training and 

12 professional development activi13 ties; 

14 ‘‘(cc) supervision and men15 toring of staff; 

16 ‘‘(dd) compensation, includ17 ing salary and benefits; and 

18 ‘‘(ee) promotion of positive 

19 leadership and leadership skills to 

20 help workers carry out their re21 sponsibilities. 

22 ‘‘(II) AREA 2.—The adequacy of 

23 the resources necessary to support the 

24 child welfare workforce’s work with 

25 children and families including— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) the manageability of 

2 caseload and workloads carried 

3 by workers, supervisors and man4 agers; 

5 ‘‘(bb) the appropriateness of 

6 the organizational environment to 

7 the agency’s mission; 

8 ‘‘(cc) efforts being taken to 

9 promote recruitment, selection, 

10 and retention; 

11 ‘‘(dd) the effectiveness of 

12 oversight and accountability 

13 mechanisms in regularly assess14 ing performance; 

15 ‘‘(ee) the timeliness and ac16 curacy of data available to the 

17 child welfare staff for use in case 

18 management; 

19 ‘‘(ff) the quality of practice 

20 enhancing research and evalua21 tions available to the child wel22 fare staff; 

23 ‘‘(gg) access to services and 

24 resources available to children 

25 and families at the Federal, 


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1 State, and local levels and within 

2 and across child serving systems; 

3 ‘‘(hh) appropriate supports 

4 to address the physical and emo5 tional challenges facing staff, in6 cluding secondary trauma, and 

7 technological resources to assist 

8 the staff and enhance their safe9 ty; 

10 ‘‘(ii) safety and suitability of 

11 the working conditions encoun12 tered by staff; 

13 ‘‘(jj) funding for workforce 

14 improvements; and 

15 ‘‘(kk) the ability to monitor 

16 and evaluate workforce improve17 ments and their impact on the 

18 workforce. 

19 ‘‘(III) AREA 3.—The supports to 

20 help connect the child welfare work21 force to the children and families it 

22 serves including— 

23 ‘‘(aa) strategies to improve 

24 workers’ cultural competence and 

25 sensitivity; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the knowledge and 

2 skills necessary to engage and 

3 build on the strengths of children 

4 and families and the community 

5 to promote effective work with 

6 them; and 

7 ‘‘(cc) the capacity to work 

8 with and educate staff and others 

9 from community agencies and or10 ganizations (such as education, 

11 health, mental health, substance 

12 abuse prevention and treatment, 

13 juvenile justice, law enforcement, 

14 and domestic violence agencies 

15 and organizations, and courts) 

16 about the work of child welfare 

17 agencies with children and fami18 lies. 

19 ‘‘(C) REPORT ON THE NEEDS ASSESS20 MENT.—The application submitted under sub21 section (b) shall include an assurance that, if a 

22 grant is received, the eligible entity shall pro23 vide at the end of the planning year, a report 

24 on the assessment conducted under subpara25 graph (B), that includes the findings from the 


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1 assessment, the areas identified as needing im2 provement, the goals for making those improve3 ments, and the rationale for targeting those 

4 goals. 

5 ‘‘(D) PERMISSION TO BY-PASS THE PLAN6 NING PHASE.—An eligible entity that has al7 ready conducted a child welfare workforce needs 

8 assessment may submit a report that includes 

9 the information required under subparagraph 

10 (C) in lieu of receiving grant funds for con11 ducting the assessment required under subpara12 graph (B). 

13 ‘‘(2) PHASE 2: REQUIRED IMPLEMENTATION

14 COMPONENTS FOR CHILD WELFARE WORKFORCE IM15 PROVEMENTS.—An eligible entity that has completed 

16 the phase 1 required components described in para17 graph (1), or has bypassed the planning phase pur18 suant to subparagraph (D) of such paragraph, and 

19 that intends to continue to participate in the dem20 onstration program, shall submit a phase 2 applica21 tion that contains the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) REPORT ON NEEDS ASSESSMENT.—A 

23 copy of the report required under paragraph 

24 (1)(C). 


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1 ‘‘(B) STATEMENT OF GOALS.—A descrip2 tion of the annual and interim goals for improv3 ing the child welfare workforce that the eligible 

4 entity plans to achieve with funds awarded 

5 under the demonstration program, which shall 

6 include at least 1 goal for each of the areas 

7 identified in the report on needs assessment as 

8 needing improvement, unless the eligible entity 

9 can justify why a goal for the area is not nec10 essary. 

11 ‘‘(C) PROPOSED USE OF FUNDS.—A de12 scription of how the eligible entity proposes to 

13 use such funds to achieve the goals described in 

14 subparagraph (B) and how such activities are 

15 expected to improve the child welfare workforce 

16 and child outcomes, and which may include 

17 training and technical assistance, data and 

18 technological resources, recruitment and reten19 tion strategies, oversight and accountability 

20 mechanisms, monitoring and evaluation mecha21 nisms, community outreach activities, and other 

22 activities intended to improve the quality of the 

23 child welfare workforce in particular areas, im24 prove child outcomes and assist eligible entities 

25 with implementation of program improvement 


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1 plans and performance in the program reviews 

2 conducted under section 1123A. 

3 ‘‘(D) PROGRESS INDICATORS.—A descrip4 tion of what indicators will be used to measure 

5 progress in achieving the annual and interim 

6 goals specified in subparagraph (B) and how 

7 the Child Welfare Workforce Quality Improve8 ment Task Force established under paragraph 

9 (1)(A) shall be involved in monitoring such 

10 progress. 

11 ‘‘(d) NUMBER OF GRANTS; DURATION; AMOUNT AND

12 MATCHING REQUIREMENTS; PREFERENCES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award 

14 not more than 15 grants to carry out phase 1 under 

15 this subsection and not more than 15 grants to 

16 carry out phase 2. 

17 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—A phase 1 planning grant 

18 shall be awarded for a 1-year period. A phase 2 

19 grant shall be awarded for a period that is not less 

20 than 4 years but not more than 5 years. A phase 2 

21 grant may be terminated before the end of the pe22 riod for which the grant is awarded if the eligible en23 tity receiving the grant requests that it be termi24 nated or the Secretary determines that the entity 

25 has not made sufficient progress toward achieving 


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1 the annual and interim goals identified in the appli2 cation for the grant. 

3 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT AND MATCHING REQUIRE4 MENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) PHASE 1 PLANNING GRANTS.—A 

6 phase 1 planning grant awarded to an eligible 

7 entity shall not exceed $100,000 and the eligi8 ble entity shall be required to provide 25 per9 cent of the costs attributable to carrying out 

10 the activities specified in the grant application. 

11 ‘‘(B) PHASE 2 IMPLEMENTATION

12 GRANTS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A phase 2 imple14 mentation grant awarded to an eligible en15 tity shall be not less than $250,000 for 

16 each year for which the grant is awarded 

17 and the eligible entity shall be required to 

18 provide the applicable percentage of the 

19 costs attributable to carrying out the ac20 tivities specified in the grant application. 

21 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For 

22 purposes of clause (i), the applicable per23 centage specified in this clause is— 

24 ‘‘(I) in the first year for which 

25 the grant is awarded, 10 percent; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) in the second and third 

2 such years, 15 and 20 percent, respec3 tively; and 

4 ‘‘(III) in the fourth, and if appli5 cable, fifth such years, 25 percent. 

6 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF

7 NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION; LIMITATION ON

8 IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

10 (ii), non-Federal funds required to be pro11 vided under subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

12 may be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, 

13 including plant, equipment, or service. 

14 Amounts provided by the Federal Govern15 ment, and any portion of any service sub16 sidized by the Federal Government, may 

17 not be included in determining the amount 

18 of such non-Federal funds. 

19 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION ON IN-KIND CON20 TRIBUTIONS.—At least 50 percent of the 

21 non-Federal funds required to be provided 

22 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be 

23 in cash. 

24 ‘‘(iii) SOURCES.—An entity that an el25 igible entity has established a partnership 


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1 or collaboration with for purposes of car2 rying out activities under a grant awarded 

3 under this section may be a source of con4 tributions for the non-Federal funds the el5 igible entity is required to provide under 

6 subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

7 ‘‘(4) PREFERENCES.—In awarding grants 

8 under the demonstration program, the Secretary 

9 shall give preference to awarding grants to eligible 

10 entities that demonstrate in the grant application 

11 that the entity has established partnerships or col12 laborations with other entities, such as private non13 profit agencies, universities or colleges, and other en14 tities that advocate for improvements in the child 

15 welfare workforce to improve outcomes for children 

16 and families. 

17 ‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EVALUATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

20 request the National Child Welfare Workforce 

21 Institute to provide technical assistance to eligi22 ble entities awarded grants under the dem23 onstration program through the period for 

24 which such grants are awarded and, in pro25 viding such assistance, to collaborate with the 


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1 National Resource Center for Tribes established 

2 under the Administration for Children and 

3 Families of the Department of Health and 

4 Human Services with respect to activities car5 ried out under such grants that affect tribal 

6 welfare programs or Indian children and their 

7 families. 

8 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—The 

9 technical assistance provided in accordance with 

10 subparagraph (A) shall be designed to assist eli11 gible entities in assessing their child welfare 

12 workforce, identifying the improvements that 

13 have been made with respect to such workforce 

14 and those still needed, and developing and im15 plementing a work plan for implementing the 

16 components of an effective child welfare work17 force described in subsection (a). 

18 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall, by 

19 grant, contract, or interagency agreement, conduct 

20 an evaluation of the demonstration program estab21 lished under this section. Such evaluation shall in22 clude an assessment of the gains made by eligible 

23 entities in achieving an effective child welfare work24 force, the activities and methods used in making 


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1 such achievements, and the impact on outcomes for 

2 children and families. 

3 ‘‘(f) REWARD FOR SUCCESSFUL ACHIEVEMENT OF

4 IMPLEMENTATION GOALS.—If, upon the conclusion of the 

5 last year for which a phase 2 implementation grant is 

6 awarded to an eligible entity, the Secretary determines 

7 that the entity has successfully achieved the goals identi8 fied in subsection (c)(2)(B): 

9 ‘‘(1) INCREASE IN FEDERAL MATCHING

10 RATE.—If the entity is a State or Indian tribal orga11 nization or consortium, section 474(a)(3)(E) shall be 

12 applied to the State or Indian tribal organization or 

13 consortium, by substituting ‘53 percent’ for ‘one14 half’ with respect to amounts expended for fiscal 

15 year quarters during the 5-year period that begins 

16 with the first fiscal year quarter that begins after 

17 the end of the last fiscal year quarter for which a 

18 grant is awarded under this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) PAYMENTS TO COUNTIES.—If the entity is 

20 a county or a consortium of counties, the Secretary 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) require the State in which the county 

23 or consortium is located, as a condition for re24 ceiving payments under section 474(a)(3)(E) 

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1 riod described in paragraph (1), to include in 

2 the cost report submitted by the State for the 

3 quarter the aggregate administrative costs in4 curred by the county or consortium in carrying 

5 out the grant (for all years for which the grant 

6 was conducted by the county or consortium); 

7 ‘‘(B) increase the amount paid to the State 

8 under section 474(a)(3)(E) for such quarter by 

9 an amount equal to 53 percent of such aggre10 gate administrative costs; and 

11 ‘‘(C) require the State, as a condition for 

12 receiving payments under such section for such 

13 quarter, to pass-through the additional amount 

14 paid to the State under subparagraph (B) to 

15 the county or consortium. 

16 ‘‘(g) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec17 tion, the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 

18 ‘‘(1) for purposes of phase 1 of the demonstra19 tion program established under this section, the 

20 State agency responsible for administering part B 

21 and this part, or an Indian tribal organization or a 

22 consortium of such organizations with an approved 

23 plan under section 479B. Such term may include a 

24 county, or a consortium of counties, with more than 

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1 sponsible for administering part B and this part for 

2 the State in which the county is located does not 

3 submit an application to participate in such phase; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(2) for purposes of phase 2 of such dem6 onstration program, an eligible entity awarded a 

7 grant for phase 1 that successfully completed the re8 quired components of that phase or bypassed that 

9 phase pursuant to subsection (c)(1)(D). 

10 ‘‘(h) APPROPRIATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

12 and (3), out of any money in the Treasury of the 

13 United States not otherwise appropriated, there are 

14 appropriated to the Secretary for the purposes of 

15 awarding— 

16 ‘‘(A) phase 1 planning grants under the 

17 demonstration program established under this 

18 section. $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

19 ‘‘(B) phase 2 implementation grants for 

20 child welfare workforce improvements, 

21 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 

22 through 2014. 

23 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Not more than $1,000,000 

24 of the amount appropriated for fiscal year 2010 may 

25 be awarded to up to 4 eligible entities that pursuant 


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1 to subsection (c)(1)(D) submit a report in lieu of re2 ceiving grant funds for conducting the assessment 

3 required under subsection (c)(1)(B). 

4 ‘‘(3) RESERVATION.—The Secretary shall re5 serve an amount equal to 5 percent of the amount 

6 appropriated under paragraph (1)(B) for each fiscal 

7 year for purposes of conducting the technical assist8 ance, including technical assistance requested to be 

9 provided by the National Child Welfare Workforce 

10 Institute, and the evaluation required under sub11 section (e).’’. 

12 SEC. 7. APPLICATION TO INDIAN TRIBES AND TRIBAL OR13 GANIZATIONS. 

14 For purposes of applying this Act or any amendment 

15 made by this Act to an Indian tribe or tribal organization 

16 (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

17 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)), the Sec18 retary of Health and Human Services may waive or mod19 ify any provision of this Act or such an amendment if the 

20 Secretary determines that the waiver or modification 

21 would alleviate or prevent an undue burden on the Indian 

22 tribe or tribal organization, promote the health and safety 

23 of children, or otherwise advance the purposes of this Act. 

Æ 


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