Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act

To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to improve plans of safe care for infants affected by illegal substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms, or a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act 2. State plans Section 106(b)(2)(B)(iii) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)(2)(B) (iii) policies and procedures that require— (I) the development of a plan of safe care for an infant born and identified as being affected by illegal substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms or a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder; and (II) the development and implementation by the State of monitoring systems regarding the plan of safe care to— (aa) ensure the safety and well-being of children; (bb) address the health, including mental health, needs of the child and family involved; and (cc) determine whether local entities are capable of providing referrals to and delivery of appropriate services for the child and family; . 3. Data reports (a) In general Section 106(d) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5106a(d) (18) The number of infants for whom a plan of safe care, as referred to in subsection (b)(2)(B)(iii), was developed. . (b) Rule of Construction In section 802(b)(2) of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 ( Public Law 114–22 adding at the end inserting after paragraph (16) 4. Monitoring Section 106 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5106a (g) Monitoring The Secretary shall conduct monitoring of States to ensure that each State is meeting the requirements of subsection (b)(2)(B)(iii) to improve outcomes among children who are most at risk for child abuse and neglect. . 5. Best practices for plans of safe care Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall issue guidance to States regarding the requirements and best practices for the development and implementation of plans of safe care, as referred to in section 106(b)(2)(B)(iii) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)(2)(B)(iii)

Summary: Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require a grant-receiving state plan for a child abuse or neglect prevention and treatment program to include policies and procedures requiring systems to monitor the multidisciplinary plan of safe care for an infant born affected by substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms or a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in order to: ensure the safety and well-being of children; address the health, including mental health and substance use disorder treatment, needs of the child, and of the family or affected caregiver, involved; and determine whether and to what extent local entities are capable of providing referrals to and delivery of appropriate services for the child and family. (Sec. 3) Each grant-receiving state shall work annually with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to produce a report including the total number of infants identified and the number of infants for whom a plan of safe care was developed. (Sec. 4) HHS shall: (1) monitor states to ensure that each one's policies and procedures meet requirements to improve outcomes among infants born and identified as being affected by substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms or a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and (2) issue guidance to states regarding the requirements and best practices for the development and implementation of plans of safe care.