II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1070 

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to fund demonstration projects to improve recruitment and retention of child welfare workers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 9, 2019 

Mr. KAINE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to fund demonstration projects to improve recruitment 

and retention of child welfare workers. 

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 Support Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to demonstrate the impact 

8 of recruitment and retention strategies in the child welfare 

9 workforce and identify effective evidence-based strategies 


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1 for improved worker recruitment, retention, and advance2 ment. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act— 

5 (1) the term ‘‘caseworker’’ means an individual 

6 employed or contracted by a State who works in the 

7 field of prevention, identification, and treatment of 

8 child abuse and neglect; 

9 (2) the term ‘‘child welfare workforce’’ means 

10 professional and paraprofessional personnel em11 ployed by, or affiliated with, a State in the fields of 

12 health care, medicine, law enforcement, judiciary, so13 cial work and child protection, education, child care, 

14 and other relevant fields, or individuals such as 

15 court appointed special advocates or guardian ad 

16 litem, who are engaged in, or intend to work in, the 

17 field of prevention, identification, and treatment of 

18 child abuse and neglect; 

19 (3) the term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ has the meaning 

20 given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in section 4 of the In21 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

22 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b); 

23 (4) the term ‘‘secondary trauma’’ means the 

24 secondary traumatic stress or vicarious trauma that 

25 can occur when a professional experiences stress or 


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1 symptoms of trauma when working with children 

2 and families who are experiencing abuse, neglect, or 

3 family violence; 

4 (5) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

5 of Health and Human Services; and 

6 (6) the term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given 

7 such term in section 3 of the Child Abuse Preven8 tion and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note). 

9 SEC. 4. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 5- 

11 year demonstration program under which the Secretary 

12 awards, on a competitive basis, grants to eligible entities 

13 to plan and implement activities to achieve the strategic 

14 objectives described in subsection (d) with respect to the 

15 child welfare workforce. 

16 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 

17 grant under this section, an entity shall be a State or local 

18 governmental agency, Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, 

19 a nonprofit entity, or the lead entity administering a grant 

20 to the applicable State or Indian Tribe under title II of 

21 the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 5116 et seq.). 

23 (c) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity desiring a 

24 grant under this section shall submit an application to the 

25 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 


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1 such information as the Secretary may require, includ2 ing— 

3 (1) a description of the strategic objectives de4 scribed in subsection (d) that the eligible entity in5 tends to strengthen the child welfare workforce; 

6 (2) a description of the eligible entity and evi7 dence of the eligible entity’s capacity to carry out ac8 tivities to achieve the strategic objectives as de9 scribed under paragraph (1); 

10 (3) an analysis of child welfare workforce needs 

11 of the State, and barriers to recruitment and reten12 tion of such workforce, including the impact of case13 loads, salaries, and workplace violence prevention 

14 plans on retention, and which may include consider15 ation of any employee surveys on the organizational 

16 structure of relevant entities; 

17 (4) a description of the current or prospective 

18 employees that will be targeted or recruited by the 

19 strategic objectives selected from subsection (d), in20 cluding an analysis of the demographic characteris21 tics of the child welfare workforce; 

22 (5) a description of the activities the eligible en23 tity intends to undertake to sustainable progress to24 wards achieving such strategic objectives; 


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1 (6) a description of the performance measures 

2 the eligible entity intends to use to measure progress 

3 towards achieving such strategic objectives; 

4 (7) a description of the eligible entity’s pre5 service training and continuum of support that such 

6 entity intends to use for the child welfare workforce, 

7 including professionalization of the supervisory 

8 workforce; 

9 (8) a description of the Federal and non-Fed10 eral resources, available under provisions of law 

11 other than this section and the Child Abuse Preven12 tion and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.), 

13 that will be leveraged in support of the activities 

14 under the grant; 

15 (9) a timeline for implementing and making 

16 progress towards achieving such strategic objectives, 

17 and assurances that the eligible entity will provide 

18 periodic reports to the Secretary on such progress, 

19 as the Secretary may require; and 

20 (10) an identification of technology infrastruc21 ture updates the eligible entity intends to employ in 

22 order to improve case worker support. 

23 (d) STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES.—The activities to be 

24 carried out under each grant awarded under this section 

25 shall be designed to achieve strategic objectives that— 


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1 (1) include— 

2 (A) analysis of the child welfare workforce 

3 needs in the applicable State, in order to reduce 

4 barriers to recruitment, development, and reten5 tion of such workforce, which may include con6 ducting a time study to determine how the child 

7 welfare workforce allocated working hours to8 ward required work activities; 

9 (B) planning for the recruitment, hiring, 

10 and pre-service training of prospective case11 workers and other members of the child welfare 

12 workforce, utilizing evidence-based, evidence-in13 formed, or other promising practices; 

14 (C) planning for ongoing professional de15 velopment opportunities and continuum of sup16 port to improve retention of child welfare work17 force; and 

18 (D) consideration of best practices to meet 

19 the unique needs and development of infants, 

20 children, and youth, including such individuals 

21 with disabilities and children under the age of 

22 3; and 

23 (2) may include updating technology infrastruc24 ture in child welfare work systems and data sharing 

25 across child-serving systems. 


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1 (e) AWARD REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (1) DURATION.—Each grant awarded under 

3 this section shall be for a period not to exceed 5 

4 years, subject to the availability of funds. 

5 (2) AMOUNT.—Each grant awarded under this 

6 section shall be in an amount that is not more than 

7 $100,000 per year for the duration of the grant pe8 riod. An eligible entity receiving a grant under this 

9 section may allocate not more than 5 percent of the 

10 funds awarded through a grant under this section to 

11 administrative expenses. 

12 (3) ALLOCATION OF AWARDS.—The Secretary 

13 shall award up to 10 grants to States or counties 

14 and up to 3 grants to Indian Tribes, and shall en15 sure that grantees are regionally diverse and serve 

16 both rural and urban populations. 

17 (4) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

18 section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible 

19 entities that have high rates of child welfare work20 force turnover. 

21 (f) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT ACTIVITIES.— 

22 (1) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—To achieve the 

23 strategic objectives identified in an eligible entity’s 

24 application under subsection (c)(3), each eligible en25 tity receiving a grant under this section shall carry 


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1 out the following activities, in a manner that inte2 grates services and funding sources to ensure effec3 tiveness of the activities and that uses the grant 

4 funds efficiently: 

5 (A) RECRUITMENT AND HIRING EF6 FORTS.—The eligible entity shall provide serv7 ices to expand awareness of, interest in, and 

8 preparation for, careers in the child welfare 

9 workforce, which— 

10 (i) shall include prioritizing recruit11 ment of nontraditional candidates (such as 

12 older workers transitioning from other 

13 fields or reentering the workforce after 

14 raising families; candidates whose race, 

15 ethnicity, and language capacity are reflec16 tive of communities they will be serving; or 

17 students); and 

18 (ii) may include— 

19 (I) updating child welfare work20 force marketing and recruitment ma21 terials; 

22 (II) developing partnerships be23 tween the State and institutions of 

24 higher education to implement train25 ing programs specific to the needs of 


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1 the child welfare workforce of the 

2 State; 

3 (III) providing internship and job 

4 shadowing opportunities for individ5 uals considering careers in the child 

6 welfare workforce; 

7 (IV) developing a competency8 based recruitment, screening, and se9 lection process that may include com10 pletion of realistic caseworker exer11 cises; 

12 (V) developing and using simula13 tion activities to share with potential 

14 new caseworkers during the applica15 tion process; 

16 (VI) creating materials depicting 

17 real job experiences and interactions 

18 with clients, emphasizing the direct 

19 impact that caseworker turnover has 

20 on children; and 

21 (VII) developing publicly avail22 able career opportunity hub and offer 

23 position matching services. 

24 (B) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The eligible en25 tity shall provide services to support the success 


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1 of individuals employed by a child welfare agen2 cy, which shall include the following: 

3 (i) EARLY EMPLOYMENT SERVICES.— 

4 Services provided to such individuals who 

5 are in their first 6 months of employment 

6 in the child welfare workforce, to ensure 

7 that such individuals succeed in such ca8 reers, including— 

9 (I) mentoring from colleague 

10 with 2 or more years of child welfare 

11 work experience and may include com12 pensation for mentors; 

13 (II) phased training and orienta14 tion over initial 6 months of employ15 ment, including explicit training re16 lated to identifying traumatic stress 

17 and secondary traumatic stress and 

18 support resources available to employ19 ees; 

20 (III) joint field visits with experi21 enced child welfare worker; and 

22 (IV) low-risk initial caseload as23 signment with gradual increase in 

24 caseload size and difficulty. 


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1 (ii) EMPLOYMENT SERVICES.—Serv2 ices to ensure that such individuals em3 ployed by the State for more than 6 

4 months have access to ongoing professional 

5 development and support to increase job 

6 sustainability and long-term retention, 

7 which— 

8 (I) shall include— 

9 (aa) providing peer men10 toring, a crisis helpline, and on11 site crisis response to address 

12 traumatic stress and secondary 

13 traumatic stress for caseworkers; 

14 (bb) providing support for 

15 supervisory personnel, including 

16 by conducting interviews, to as17 sist employees in long-term ca18 reer planning and discuss oppor19 tunities for advancement within 

20 the child welfare workforce; 

21 (cc) developing best prac22 tices to address caseworker burn23 out and other areas known to in24 crease turnover; and 


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1 (dd) providing a system of 

2 career advancement with wage 

3 progression and opportunities to 

4 attain further education and pro5 fessional development; and 

6 (II) may include— 

7 (aa) creating additional posi8 tions to achieve manageable case9 loads that reflect industry stand10 ards such as coaches, mental 

11 health specialists, substance 

12 abuse specialists, homelessness 

13 specialist, developmental dis14 ability specialists, and child psy15 chiatrists; 

16 (bb) safety awareness train17 ing and supports in the field; 

18 (cc) providing multi-modal 

19 training opportunities (such as 

20 eLearning, blended classroom, 

21 video, webinar, and tools and job 

22 aids); and 

23 (dd) providing employee 

24 wellness programs and edu25 cational leave. 


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1 (2) TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE.—In addi2 tion to the activities under paragraph (1), an eligible 

3 entity receiving a grant under this section may use 

4 such grant funds to identify and act upon opportuni5 ties for technology infrastructure updates to State 

6 systems to support the child welfare workforce, 

7 which may include— 

8 (A) ensuring technological accessibility for 

9 child welfare workers and other systems serving 

10 children and families; 

11 (B) equipping caseworkers with smart 

12 phones, tablets, or laptop computers; 

13 (C) providing technology professional de14 velopment; 

15 (D) improving mobile and remote access 

16 capabilities for use of telehealth or similar serv17 ices; and 

18 (E) addressing other needs within States. 

19 (g) EVALUATION AND PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not 

20 later than 2 years after receiving a grant under this sec21 tion, and annually thereafter until the grant period ends, 

22 each eligible entity shall submit a report to the Secretary 

23 and to the governor of the State in which the eligible enti24 ty serves, that describes— 

25 (1) the activities funded by the grant; and 


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1 (2) the progress the eligible entity has made to2 wards achieving the strategic objectives identified 

3 under subsection (d)(3). 

4 (h) ADMINISTRATION BY THE SECRETARY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may use not 

6 more than 10 percent of the amount appropriated 

7 under subsection (i) for each fiscal year for adminis8 trative expenses to carry out this section, including 

9 the expenses of providing the technical assistance 

10 and oversight activities under paragraph (2). 

11 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; OVERSIGHT.—The 

12 Secretary shall provide technical assistance and 

13 oversight to assist eligible entities in applying for 

14 grants under this section and carrying out programs 

15 using grants awarded under this section. 

16 (3) EVALUATION AND REPORT.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

18 conduct an evaluation of each grant awarded 

19 under this section and submit to Congress a re20 port on such evaluation. Such report shall— 

21 (i) examine the results of the recruit22 ment and retention initiatives supported by 

23 the States on the outcomes of the activities 

24 under subsection (f); and 


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1 (ii) be completed not later than 180 

2 days after the date on which the Secretary 

3 receives the report under subsection (g) 

4 from an eligible entity. 

5 (B) DATA.—Recipients of grants under 

6 this section shall submit to the Secretary any 

7 data the Secretary may require for the evalua8 tion and report under this paragraph. 

9 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

11 necessary to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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