guardian and the relative guardian has a 
strong commitment to caring permanently 
for the child. 
‘‘(iv) With respect to a child who has 
attained 14 years of age, the child has 
been consulted regarding the kinship 
guardianship arrangement. 
‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF SIBLINGS.—With re-
spect to a child described in subparagraph (A) 
whose sibling or siblings are not so described— 
‘‘(i) the child and any sibling of the 
child may be placed in the same kinship 
guardianship arrangement if the State 
agency and the relative agree on the appro-
priateness of the arrangement for the sib-
lings; and 
‘‘(ii) kinship guardianship assistance 
payments may be paid for the child and 
each sibling so placed.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(20) of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) is amended— 
(i) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (C); and 
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(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(D) provides procedures for criminal 
records 
checks, 
including 
fingerprint-based 
checks of national crime information databases 
(as defined in section 534(e)(3)(A) of title 28, 
United States Code), for any relative guardian 
before the relative guardian may be finally ap-
proved for placement of a child regardless of 
whether kinship guardianship assistance pay-
ments are to be made on behalf of the child 
under the State plan under this part;’’. 
(B) REDESIGNATION OF NEW PROVISION 
AFTER
AMENDMENT
MADE
BY
PRIOR
LAW 
TAKES EFFECT.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(20) 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
671(a)(20)) is amended by redesignating 
subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (C). 
(ii) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—The amend-
ment made by clause (i) shall take effect 
immediately after the amendments made 
by section 152 of Public Law 109–248 
take effect. 
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(2) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—Section 474(a) of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 674(a)) is amended— 
(A) by striking the period at the end and 
inserting ‘‘; plus’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) an amount equal to the percentage by 
which the expenditures referred to in paragraph (2) 
are reimbursed (after applying the reduction re-
quired by subsection (h)(2)(A) of this section) of the 
total amount expended during such quarter as kin-
ship guardianship assistance payments under section 
473(d) pursuant to kinship guardianship assistance 
agreements.’’. 
(3) DEFINITIONS.—Section 475(1) of such Act 
(42 U.S.C. 675(1)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(F) In the case of a child with respect to 
whom the permanency plan is placement with a 
relative and receipt of kinship guardianship as-
sistance payments under section 473(d), a de-
scription of— 
‘‘(i) the steps that the agency has 
taken to determine that it is not appro-
priate for the child to be returned home or 
adopted; 
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‘‘(ii) the reasons why a permanent 
placement with a fit and willing relative 
through a kinship guardianship assistance 
arrangement is in the child’s best interests; 
‘‘(iii) the ways in which the child 
meets the eligibility requirements for a kin-
ship guardianship assistance payment; 
‘‘(iv) the efforts the agency has made 
to discuss adoption by the child’s relative 
foster parent as a more permanent alter-
native to legal guardianship and, in the 
case of a relative foster parent who has 
chosen not to pursue adoption, documenta-
tion of the reasons therefor; and 
‘‘(v) the efforts made by the State 
agency to secure the consent of the child’s 
parent or parents to the kinship guardian-
ship assistance arrangement, or the rea-
sons why the efforts were not made.’’. 
SEC. 412. FAMILY CONNECTION GRANTS. 
Part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 620–629i), as amended by section 301 of this Act, 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘Subpart 4—Family Connection Grants 
‘‘SEC. 445. FAMILY CONNECTION GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services may make matching grants to State, 
local, or tribal child welfare agencies, and private non-
profit organizations that have experience in working with 
foster children or children in kinship care arrangements, 
for the purpose of helping children who are in, or at risk 
of entering, foster care reconnect with family members 
through the implementation of— 
‘‘(1) kinship navigator programs designed to as-
sist kinship care givers in navigating their way 
through programs and services, and to help the care 
givers learn about and obtain assistance to meet the 
needs of the children they are raising and their own 
needs; 
‘‘(2) intensive family-finding efforts that utilize 
search technology to find biological family members 
for children in the child welfare system, and once 
identified, work to reestablish relationships and ex-
plore ways to find a permanent family placement for 
the children; or 
‘‘(3) family group decision-making meetings for 
children in the child welfare system that engage and 
empower families to make decisions and develop 
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plans that protect and nurture children from endur-
ing further abuse and neglect. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—An entity desiring to receive a 
matching grant under this section shall submit to the Sec-
retary an application, at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary may require, 
including— 
‘‘(1) a description of how the grant will be used 
to implement 1 or more of the activities described in 
subsection (a); 
‘‘(2) a description of the types of children and 
families to be served, including how the children and 
families will be identified and recruited, and an ini-
tial projection of the number of children and families 
to be served; 
‘‘(3) if the entity is a private organization, doc-
umentation of support from the relevant local or 
State child welfare agency; 
‘‘(4) an assurance that the entity will cooperate 
fully with any evaluation provided for by the Sec-
retary under this section; and 
‘‘(5) a commitment by the applicant that, if a 
grant is awarded to the applicant under this section 
for a period of— 
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‘‘(A) 2 years, the applicant will expend 
from non-Federal sources, for the activities for 
which the grant is awarded, in the 2nd year of 
the grant period, an amount equal to not less 
than 1⁄3 of the amount of the grant payment re-
ceived by the applicant under this section for 
that year; or 
‘‘(B) 3 years, the applicant will expend, 
from non-Federal sources, for the activities 
which the grant is awarded— 
‘‘(i) in the 2nd year of the grant pe-
riod, an amount equal to not less than 1⁄3 
of the grant payment received by the appli-
cant under this section for that year; and 
‘‘(ii) in the 3rd year of the grant pe-
riod, an amount equal to the grant pay-
ment received by the applicant under this 
section for that year. 
‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) GRANT
DURATION.—The Secretary may 
award a grant under this section for a period of not 
less than 1 year and not more than 3 years. 
‘‘(2) NUMBER
OF
GRANT
PAYMENTS
PER 
YEAR.—The aggregate number of payments the Sec-
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retary may make in a fiscal year to all grantees 
under this section shall not exceed 20. 
‘‘(d) FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.—The amount of a 
grant payment to be made to a grantee under this section 
during each year in the grant period shall be the following 
percentage of the grant amount approved by the Sec-
retary: 
‘‘(1) 100 percent, if the payment is for the 1st 
year of the grant period. 
‘‘(2) 75 percent, if the payment is for the 2nd 
year of the grant period. 
‘‘(3) 50 percent, if the payment is for the 3rd 
year of the grant period. 
‘‘(e) FORM OF GRANTEE CONTRIBUTION.—A grantee 
under this section may provide not more than 50 percent 
of the amount which the grantee is required to expend 
to carry out the activities for which a grant is awarded 
under this section in kind, fairly evaluated, including 
plant, equipment, or services. 
‘‘(f) USE OF GRANT.—A grantee under this section 
shall use the grant in accordance with the approved appli-
cation for the grant. 
‘‘(g) RESERVATIONS OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall reserve 
3 percent of the funds made available under sub-
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section (h) for each fiscal year for the conduct of a 
rigorous evaluation of the activities funded with 
grants under this section. 
‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 
may reserve 2 percent of the funds made available 
under subsection (h) for each fiscal year to provide 
technical assistance to recipients of grants under 
this section. 
‘‘(h) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO-
PRIATIONS.—To carry out this section, there are author-
ized to be appropriated to the Secretary not more than 
$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013.’’. 
SEC. 413. INFORMATION ON ADOPTION TAX CREDIT. 
Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
671(a)), as amended by sections 101(a) and 411(a) of this 
Act, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(28); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (29) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(30) provides that the State will inform any 
individual who is adopting, or whom the State is 
made aware is considering adopting, a child who is 
in foster care under the responsibility of the State 
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of the potential eligibility of the individual for a 
Federal tax credit (under section 23 of the Internal 
Revenue Code) without the need to document any 
adoption-related expenses.’’. 
SEC. 414. ADOPTION INCENTIVES PROGRAM. 
(a) 5-YEAR EXTENSION.—Section 473A of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673b) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(4), by striking ‘‘in the 
case of fiscal years 2001 through 2007,’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ‘‘1998 
through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2008 through 2012’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘each of 
fiscal years 2002 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘a 
fiscal year’’; and 
(4) in each of subsections (h)(1)(D), and (h)(2), 
by striking ‘‘2008’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 
(b) UPDATING OF FISCAL YEAR USED IN DETER-
MINING
BASE
NUMBERS
OF
ADOPTIONS.—Section 
473A(g) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(g)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘means’’ and 
all that follows and inserting ‘‘means, with respect 
to any fiscal year, the number of foster child adop-
tions in the State in fiscal year 2007.’’; 
(2) in paragraph (4)— 
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(A) by inserting ‘‘that are not older child 
adoptions’’ before ‘‘for a State’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘means’’ and all that fol-
lows and inserting ‘‘means, with respect to any 
fiscal year, the number of special needs adop-
tions that are not older adoptions in the State 
in fiscal year 2007.’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘means’’ and 
all that follows and inserting ‘‘means, with respect 
to any fiscal year, the number of older child adop-
tions in the State in fiscal year 2007.’’. 
(c) INCREASE IN INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR SPE-
CIAL NEEDS ADOPTIONS
AND OLDER CHILD ADOP-
TIONS.—Section 473A(d)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
673b(d)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘$2,000’’ 
and inserting ‘‘$4,000’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘$4,000’’ 
and inserting ‘‘$8,000’’. 
(d) INCENTIVE
PAYMENTS
FOR
GUARDIANSHIP 
PLACEMENTS.— 
(1) ADDITIONAL AVENUE FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR 
PAYMENTS.—Section 473A(b)(2) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 673b(b)(2)) is amended— 
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(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (A); 
(B) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (B); and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) the number of guardianship place-
ments in the State during the fiscal year ex-
ceeds the base number of guardianship place-
ments in the State for the fiscal year;’’. 
(2) 
AMOUNT
OF
PAYMENT.—Section 
473A(d)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(d)(1)) is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (B); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
subparagraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) $4,000, multiplied by the amount (if 
any) by which the number of guardianship 
placements in the State during the fiscal year 
exceeds the base number of guardianship place-
ments for the State for the fiscal year.’’. 
(3) DEFINITIONS.—Section 473A(g) of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(g)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
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‘‘(7) GUARDIANSHIP
PLACEMENT.—The term 
‘guardianship placement’ means the placement of a 
child from foster care under the responsibility of a 
State into a legal guardianship. 
‘‘(8) BASE NUMBER OF GUARDIANSHIP PLACE-
MENTS.—The term ‘base number of guardianship 
placements for a State’ means, with respect to any 
fiscal year, the number of guardianship placements 
in the State in fiscal year 2007.’’. 
SEC. 415. SIBLING PLACEMENT. 
Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
671(a)), as amended by sections 101(a), 411(a), and 413 
of this Act, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(29); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (30) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(31) provides that reasonable efforts shall be 
made to place siblings removed from their home in 
the same foster care placement unless the State doc-
uments that such a joint placement would be con-
trary to the safety or well-being of any of the sib-
lings.’’. 
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Subtitle C—Connections to Health 
Care 
SEC. 421. HEALTH OVERSIGHT AND COORDINATION PLAN. 
Section 422(b)(15) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 622(b)(15)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(15)(A) provides that the State will develop, in 
coordination and collaboration with the State agency 
referred to in paragraph (1) and the State agency 
responsible for administering the State plan ap-
proved under title XIX, and in consultation with pe-
diatricians, other experts in health care, and experts 
in and recipients of child welfare services, a plan for 
the ongoing oversight and coordination of health 
care services for any child in a foster care place-
ment, which shall ensure a coordinated strategy to 
identify and respond to the health care needs of chil-
dren in foster care placements, including mental 
health and dental health needs, and shall include an 
outline of— 
‘‘(i) a schedule for initial and follow-up 
health screenings that meet reasonable stand-
ards of medical practice; 
‘‘(ii) how health needs identified through 
screenings will be monitored and treated; 
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‘‘(iii) how medical information for children 
in care will be updated and appropriately 
shared, which may include the development and 
implementation of an electronic health record; 
‘‘(iv) steps to ensure continuity of health 
care services, which may include the establish-
ment of a medical home for every child in care; 
‘‘(v) the oversight of prescription medi-
cines; and 
‘‘(vi) how the State actively consults with 
and involves physicians or other appropriate 
medical professionals in assessing the health 
and well-being of children in foster care and in 
determining appropriate medical treatment for 
the children; and 
‘‘(B) subparagraph (A) shall not be construed 
to reduce or limit the responsibility of the State 
agency responsible for administering the State plan 
approved under title XIX to provide care and serv-
ices for children with respect to whom services are 
provided under the State plan developed pursuant to 
this subpart;’’. 
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Subtitle D—Connections to School 
SEC. 431. EDUCATIONAL STABILITY. 
Section 475 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
675) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
clause (iv) and redesignating clauses (v) 
through (viii) as clauses (iv) through (vii), re-
spectively; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(F) A plan for ensuring the educational 
stability of the child while in foster care, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(i) assurances that the placement of 
the child in foster care takes into account 
proximity to the school in which the child 
is enrolled at the time of placement; and 
‘‘(ii)(I) a discussion of the efforts of 
the State agency to coordinate with appro-
priate local educational agencies (as de-
fined under section 9101 of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965) to ensure that the child remain in 
the school in which the child is enrolled at 
the time of placement; or 
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‘‘(II) if remaining in such school is 
not in the best interests of the child, a dis-
cussion of efforts to coordinate with the 
educational agencies to ensure immediate 
enrollment in a new school.’’; and 
(2) in the 1st sentence of paragraph (4)(A)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and reasonable’’ and in-
serting ‘‘reasonable’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, and reasonable travel 
for the child to remain in the school in which 
the child is enrolled at the time of placement’’ 
before the period. 
Æ 
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