I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2866 
To review and improve licensing standards for placement in a relative foster 
family home. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 8, 2017 
Mr. SMUCKER (for himself and Ms. SEWELL of Alabama) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To review and improve licensing standards for placement 
in a relative foster family home. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reducing Barriers for 
Relative Foster Parents Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REVIEWING AND IMPROVING LICENSING STAND-
ARDS FOR PLACEMENT IN A RELATIVE FOS-
TER FAMILY HOME. 
(a) IDENTIFICATION
OF REPUTABLE MODEL LI-
CENSING STANDARDS.—Not later than October 1, 2018, 
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the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall identify 
reputable model licensing standards with respect to the li-
censing of foster family homes (as defined in section 
472(c)(1) of the Social Security Act). 
(b) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 471(a) of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (34)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (35)(B), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(36) provides that, not later than April 1, 
2019, the State shall submit to the Secretary infor-
mation addressing— 
‘‘(A) whether the State licensing standards 
are in accord with model standards identified 
by the Secretary, and if not, the reason for the 
specific deviation and a description as to why 
having a standard that is reasonably in accord 
with the corresponding national model stand-
ards is not appropriate for the State; 
‘‘(B) whether the State has elected to 
waive standards established in 471(a)(10)(A) 
for relative foster family homes (pursuant to 
waiver authority provided by 471(a)(10)(D)), a 
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description of which standards the State most 
commonly waives, and if the State has not 
elected to waive the standards, the reason for 
not waiving these standards; 
‘‘(C) if the State has elected to waive 
standards specified in subparagraph (B), how 
caseworkers are trained to use the waiver au-
thority and whether the State has developed a 
process or provided tools to assist caseworkers 
in waiving nonsafety standards per the author-
ity provided in 471(a)(10)(D) to quickly place 
children with relatives; and 
‘‘(D) a description of the steps the State is 
taking to improve caseworker training or the 
process, if any; and’’. 
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subject to subsection (b), 
the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
(b) TRANSITION RULE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a State plan 
under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 
which the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
determines requires State legislation (other than leg-
islation appropriating funds) in order for the plan to 
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meet the additional requirements imposed by the 
amendments made by this Act, the State plan shall 
not be regarded as failing to comply with the re-
quirements of such part solely on the basis of the 
failure of the plan to meet such additional require-
ments before the first day of the first calendar quar-
ter beginning after the close of the first regular ses-
sion of the State legislature that begins after the 
date of enactment of this Act. For purposes of the 
previous sentence, in the case of a State that has a 
2-year legislative session, each year of the session 
shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of 
the State legislature. 
(2) APPLICATION TO PROGRAMS OPERATED BY 
INDIAN TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an 
Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium 
which the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
determines requires time to take action necessary to 
comply with the additional requirements imposed by 
the amendments made by this Act (whether the 
tribe, organization, or tribal consortium has a plan 
under section 479B of the Social Security Act or a 
cooperative agreement or contract entered into with 
a State), the Secretary shall provide the tribe, orga-
nization, or tribal consortium with such additional 
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time as the Secretary determines is necessary for the 
tribe, organization, or tribal consortium to take the 
action to comply with the additional requirements 
before being regarded as failing to comply with the 
requirements. 
Æ 
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