I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3461 
To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to require States 
to comply with Federal standards established under the Indian Child 
Welfare Act of 1978. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 18, 2023 
Mr. BACON (for himself, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. LAMALFA, Ms. DAVIDS of 
Kansas, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. PELTOLA, Mr. COLE, and Ms. CHU) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 
and Means 
A BILL 
To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act 
to require States to comply with Federal standards es-
tablished under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. 
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 ‘‘Strengthening Tribal 
Families Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. STATE PLAN REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) STATE
PLAN
REQUIREMENT
RELATING
TO 
CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.—Section 422(b)(9) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 622(b)(9)) is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(9)’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘Act;’’ and inserting ‘‘Act of 
1978; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(B) provide that the agency administering or 
supervising the administration of the plan shall com-
ply with Federal standards established under the In-
dian Child Welfare Act of 1978;’’. 
(b) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT RELATING TO PRO-
MOTING SAFE AND STABLE FAMILIES.—Section 432(a) of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 629b(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(11) provides that the agency administering or 
supervising the administration of the plan shall com-
ply with Federal standards established under the In-
dian Child Welfare Act of 1978.’’. 
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(c) MEASURING COMPLIANCE.—Subpart 3 of part B 
of title IV of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629m) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 441. MEASURING COMPLIANCE WITH THE INDIAN 
CHILD WELFARE ACT OF 1978. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 2024, 
the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior, in con-
sultation with Indian tribal organizations and States, shall 
develop a memorandum of understanding that specifies 
the factors to be used in measuring compliance by State 
agencies with sections 422(b)(9) and 432(a)(11) of this 
title, which shall include requirements sufficient to assess 
State strengths and areas for improvement in imple-
menting the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, including 
the following: 
‘‘(1) Timely identification of Indian children 
and extended family members. 
‘‘(2) Timely tribal notice of State child custody 
proceedings. 
‘‘(3) Quantitative agency reports of cases under 
such Act in which a transfer of jurisdiction (as de-
fined by such Act) was granted or was not granted, 
and whether good cause (as defined in such Act) was 
applied. 
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‘‘(4) Quantitative agency reports on how many 
times a court returned such a case to the agency 
based on insufficient active efforts (as defined by 
such Act). 
‘‘(5) Foster care or adoptive placements in such 
cases (as defined by such Act). 
‘‘(6) Quantitative agency reports on how many 
times a court terminated parental rights in such 
cases. 
‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—On request of the Secretary, 
the Secretary of the Interior shall provide the Secretary 
with such guidance as may be necessary to facilitate in-
forming States and public child welfare agencies on how 
to correctly and efficiently comply with sections 422(b)(9) 
and 432(a)(11).’’. 
(d) BIENNIAL REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS.—Sec-
tion 422 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 622) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) BIENNIAL REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS.—The 
Secretary shall biennially submit to the Committee on 
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Finance of the Senate a written report on 
how the States and the Secretary are addressing the re-
quirement in subsection (b)(9).’’. 
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SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
take effect on the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter that 
begins after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE-
QUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
determines that State legislation (other than legislation 
appropriating funds) is required in order for a State plan 
developed pursuant to part B of title IV of the Social Se-
curity Act to meet the additional requirements imposed 
by the amendments made by this Act, the plan shall not 
be regarded as failing to meet any of the additional re-
quirements before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter 
beginning after the first regular session of the State legis-
lature that begins after the date the Secretary publishes 
the memorandum of understanding required by section 
441 of the Social Security Act. For purposes of the pre-
ceding sentence, if the State has a 2-year legislative ses-
sion, each year of the session is deemed to be a separate 
regular session of the State legislature. 
Æ 
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