I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5461 
To require the President to call a White House Conference on Children 
and Youth in 2010. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 14, 2008 
Mr. FATTAH (for himself, Mr. PORTER, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, 
Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. COOPER, 
Mr. STARK, Mr. FILNER, Mr. PLATTS, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of Cali-
fornia, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. ENGLISH 
of Pennsylvania, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. 
WOOLSEY, Ms. BORDALLO, Mrs. MALONEY
of New York, Mr. 
MCDERMOTT, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. TERRY, Mr. SESTAK, Mr. KENNEDY, 
Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. JEFFERSON, 
Ms. NORTON, Ms. KILPATRICK, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
Labor 
A BILL 
To require the President to call a White House Conference 
on Children and Youth in 2010. 
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 ‘‘White House Con-
ference on Children and Youth in 2010 Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 2005 there were over 3,000,000 reports 
of child abuse and neglect, and only 60 percent of 
the children from the substantiated reports received 
follow-up services and 20 percent were placed in fos-
ter care as a result of an investigation. 
(2) Each year there are nearly 900,000 sub-
stantiated reports of child abuse and neglect. 
(3) Each year approximately 60 percent of such 
substantiated reports are reports of neglect, 30 per-
cent are physical and sexual abuse reports, and more 
than 20 percent are reports that involve other forms 
of abuse. 
(4) Almost 500,000 children and youth were in 
foster care at the end of the Federal fiscal year 
2004 and nearly 800,000 spent at least some time 
in foster care throughout the year. 
(5) While 51,000 children are adopted from the 
foster care system each year, more than 117,000 
children are waiting to be adopted. 
(6) Each year approximately 22,000 youth 
leave the foster care system not because they have 
found permanent placements, but because they have 
reached the age at which foster care ends. 
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(7) The child welfare system includes State and 
local governments, tribal governments, child welfare 
agencies, child welfare caseworkers, private agencies, 
social workers, the courts, volunteer court appointed 
special advocates, mental health and health care pro-
fessionals, educators, and advocates. 
(8) There is an over-representation of certain 
populations, including Native Americans and Afri-
can-Americans, in the child welfare system. 
(9) The number of children being raised by 
grandparents and other relatives is increasing and 
exceeds more than 6,000,000 children cared for in 
this way, and the Government recognizes that kin-
ship care is a permanency option through the enact-
ment of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 
1997. 
(10) The State courts make key decisions in the 
lives of children involved in the child welfare system, 
including decisions of whether children have been 
victims of child abuse, whether parental rights 
should be terminated, and whether children should 
be reunified with their families, adopted, or placed 
in other settings. 
(11) The child welfare system will never fully 
address its primary mission unless the courts are an 
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integral and functioning component of a statewide 
system of care and protection. 
(b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the Congress that— 
(1) the Government should work jointly with 
the States and their residents to develop rec-
ommendations and plans for action to meet the chal-
lenges and needs of children and families involved 
with the child welfare system, consistent with this 
Act; 
(2) in developing such recommendations and 
plans, emphasis should be directed toward the role 
of the Government, State and local child welfare sys-
tems, State family courts systems, child welfare ad-
vocates, guardians, and other key participants in 
such child welfare systems, with a goal of enhancing 
and protecting the lives and well-being of children 
and families who are involved with such child welfare 
systems; and 
(3) Federal, State, and local programs and poli-
cies should be developed to reduce the number of 
children who are abused and neglected, to reduce the 
number of children in foster care, and to dramati-
cally increase the number of children in permanent 
placements through family reunification, kinship 
placement, and adoption. 
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SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF THE CONFERENCE. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO CALL THE CONFERENCE.—The 
President shall call a White House Conference on Children 
and Youth in 2010 (in this Act referred to as ‘‘the Con-
ference’’), to be convened not later than 18 months after 
the selection of the Policy Committee established in sec-
tion 4, to encourage improvements in each State and local 
child welfare system, and to develop recommendations for 
actions to implement the policy set forth in section 2(b). 
(b) PLANNING AND DIRECTION.—The Secretary shall 
plan, conduct, and convene the Conference in cooperation 
with the heads of other appropriate Federal entities, in-
cluding the heads of the Department of Justice, the De-
partment of Education, and the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development. 
(c) PURPOSES OF THE CONFERENCE.—The purposes 
of the Conference are— 
(1) to identify the problems and challenges of 
child abuse and neglect, and the needs of the chil-
dren and families affected by decisions made 
through the child welfare system; 
(2) to strengthen the use of research-based best 
practices that can prevent child abuse and neglect 
with a special focus on younger children; 
(3) to strengthen the use of research-based best 
practices that can increase the placement perma-
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nency for children removed from their homes, includ-
ing practices involving family reunification, kinship 
placement, and adoption; 
(4) to promote the role of State family courts 
in each State child welfare system; 
(5) to develop recommendations that will reduce 
the number of children who are in out-of-home care 
and who fail to leave foster care before the age of 
majority, and to reduce the overrepresentation of 
certain populations in the child welfare system; 
(6) to examine the role of the Government in 
building an equal partnership in assisting and en-
couraging State, local, and tribal coordination; 
(7) to develop such specific and comprehensive 
recommendations for State-level executive and legis-
lative action as may be appropriate for maintaining 
and improving the well-being of children in such sys-
tem; and 
(8) to review the status of recommendations re-
garding child welfare made by previous White House 
conferences. 
SEC. 4. POLICY COMMITTEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a 
Policy Committee which shall be comprised of 17 members 
to be selected as follows: 
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(1) PRESIDENTIAL
APPOINTEES.—Nine mem-
bers shall be selected by the President and shall con-
sist of— 
(A) 3 members who are officers or employ-
ees of the United States; and 
(B) 6 members, who may be officers or 
employees of the United States, with experience 
in the field of child welfare, including providers 
and children directly affected by the child wel-
fare system. 
(2) 
HOUSE
OF
REPRESENTATIVE
AP-
POINTEES.— 
(A) Two members shall be selected by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives after 
consultation with the chairperson of the Com-
mittee on Education and Labor, and the chair-
person of the Committee on Ways and Means, 
of the House of Representatives. 
(B) Two members shall be selected by the 
minority leader of the House of Representa-
tives, after consultation with ranking minority 
members of such committees. 
(3) SENATE APPOINTEES.— 
(A) Two members shall be selected by the 
majority leader of the Senate, after consultation 
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with members of the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the Com-
mittee on Finance, of the Senate. 
(B) Two members shall be selected by the 
minority leader of the Senate, after consultation 
with members of such committees. 
(b) VOTING; CHAIRPERSON.— 
(1) VOTING.—The Policy Committee shall act 
by the vote of a majority of the members present. 
(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall select 
the chairperson from among the members of the 
Policy Committee. The chairperson may vote only to 
break a tie vote of the other members of the Policy 
Committee. 
(c) DUTIES
OF POLICY COMMITTEE.—The Policy 
Committee shall first meet at the call of the Secretary, 
not later than 30 days after the last member is selected. 
Subsequent meetings of the Policy Committee shall be 
held at the call of the chairperson of the Policy Committee. 
Through meetings, hearings, and working sessions, the 
Policy Committee shall— 
(1) make recommendations to the Secretary to 
facilitate the timely convening of the Conference; 
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(2) submit to the Secretary a proposed agenda 
for the Conference not later than 90 days after the 
first meeting of the Policy Committee; 
(3) make recommendations for delegates of the 
Conference; 
(4) establish the number of delegates to be se-
lected under section 5 and the manner by which they 
are to be selected in accordance with such section; 
and 
(5) establish other advisory committees as need-
ed to facilitate Conference participation of— 
(A) professionals with direct experience 
providing services to children and families in 
the child welfare system; and 
(B) children and families who are directly 
involved in the child welfare system. 
SEC. 5. CONFERENCE DELEGATES. 
To carry out the purposes of the Conference, the Sec-
retary shall bring together delegates representative of the 
spectrum of thought in the field of child welfare and the 
courts, without regard to political affiliation or past par-
tisan activity, who shall include— 
(1) the directors of child welfare systems of the 
States and tribal governments; 
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(2) members of the State and local judicial sys-
tems relating to families and children, representa-
tives of the State organization composed of members 
of the legal profession, and attorneys specializing in 
family law; 
(3) elected officials of State and local govern-
ments; and 
(4) advocates (including national and State or-
ganizations), guardians, experts in the field of child 
welfare, families, children, and youth affected by the 
child welfare system, and the general public. 
SEC. 6. CONFERENCE ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) ADMINISTRATION.—In conducting and planning 
the Conference, the Secretary shall— 
(1) request the cooperation and assistance of 
the heads of such other Federal entities as may be 
appropriate, including the detailing of personnel; 
(2) furnish all reasonable assistance, including 
financial assistance, not less than 18 months before 
the Secretary convenes the Conference, to State 
child welfare systems, heads of State courts and 
courts on family law, and to other appropriate orga-
nizations, to enable them to organize and conduct 
State-level child welfare conferences in conjunction 
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with and in preparation for participation in the Con-
ference; 
(3) prepare and make available for public com-
ment a proposed agenda for the Conference, which 
will reflect to the greatest extent possible the major 
issues facing child welfare systems and the courts, 
consistent with the policy set forth in section 2(b); 
(4) prepare and make available background ma-
terials that the Secretary deems necessary for the 
use of delegates to the Conference; and 
(5) employ such additional personnel as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act without regard to 
provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 
appointments in the competitive service, and without 
regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 
53 of such title relating to classification and General 
Schedule pay rates. 
(b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the Secretary’s respon-
sibilities and functions under this section, the Secretary 
shall ensure that— 
(1) the conferences held under subsection (a)(2) 
will— 
(A) be conducted to ensure broad partici-
pation of individuals and groups; and 
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(B) include conferences on Native Ameri-
cans— 
(i) to identify conditions that ad-
versely affect their children in the child 
welfare system and to identify Native 
American families who are at risk of enter-
ing such system; 
(ii) to propose solutions to ameliorate 
such conditions; and 
(iii) to provide for the exchange of in-
formation relating to the delivery of serv-
ices to their children in the child welfare 
system and to Native American families 
who are at risk of entering such system; 
and 
(2) the proposed agenda for the Conference as 
described in subsection (a)(3) is— 
(A) published in the Federal Register not 
less than 180 days before the Conference is 
convened; and 
(B) made available for public comment for 
a period of not less than 60 days; 
(3) the final agenda for the Conference, pre-
pared after the Secretary takes into consideration 
comments received under paragraph (2), is published 
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in the Federal Register and transmitted to the chief 
executive officers of the States not later than 30 
days after the close of the public comment period re-
quired by paragraph (2); 
(4) the personnel employed under subsection 
(a)(5) are fairly balanced in terms of point of view 
represented and are appointed without regard to po-
litical affiliation or previous partisan activities; 
(5) the recommendations of the Conference are 
not inappropriately influenced by any public official 
or special interest, but instead are the result of the 
independent and collective judgment of the delegates 
of the Conference; and 
(6) before the Conference is convened— 
(A) current and adequate statistical data 
(including decennial census data) and other in-
formation on the well-being of children in the 
United States; and 
(B) such information as may be necessary 
to evaluate Federal programs and policies relat-
ing to children; 
which the Secretary may obtain by making grants to 
or entering into an agreement with, public agencies 
or nonprofit organizations, are readily available in 
advance of the Conference to the delegates. 
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SEC. 7. REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE. 
(a) PROPOSED REPORT.—After consultation with the 
Policy Committee, the Secretary shall prepare— 
(1) a proposed report on the results of the Con-
ference, which shall include a statement of com-
prehensive coherent national policy on State child 
welfare systems (including the courts); and 
(2) recommendations for the implementation of 
such policy; 
which shall be published in the Federal Register and sub-
mitted to the chief executive officers of the States, not 
later than 60 days after the Conference adjourns. 
(b) RESPONSE TO PROPOSED REPORT.—After re-
viewing and soliciting recommendations and comments on 
the report of the Conference, the Secretary shall request 
that the chief executive officers of the States submit to 
the Secretary, not later than 180 days after receiving the 
report, their views and findings on the recommendations 
of the Conference. 
(c) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 
receiving the views and findings of the chief executive offi-
cers of the States under subsection (b), the Secretary 
shall— 
(1) prepare a final report of the Conference, 
which shall include a compilation of the views and 
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findings of the chief executive officers of the States; 
and 
(2) publish in the Federal Register, and trans-
mit to the President and to the Congress, the rec-
ommendations for the administrative action and the 
legislation necessary to implement the recommenda-
tions contained in such report. 
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services; and 
(2) the term ‘‘State’’ means any of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United 
States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Marianas, the Federated States of Micro-
nesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the 
Republic of Palau. 
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 
to carry out this Act. 
SEC. 10. LIMITATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
New spending authority or new authority to enter 
into contracts under which the United States is obligated 
to make outlays shall be effective only to the extent and 
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in such amounts as are provided in advance in appropria-
tions Acts. 
Æ 
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