H. R. 4—187
‘‘(H) protecting the rights of families, using adult rel-
atives as the preferred placement for children separated
from their parents where such relatives meet the relevant
State child protection standards; and
‘‘(I) providing services to individuals, families, or
communities, either directly or through referral, that are
aimed at preventing the occurrence of child abuse and
neglect.
‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION OF STATE LAW REQUIRING THE REPORT-
ING OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT.—A certification that the
State has in effect laws that require public officials and other
professionals to report, in good faith, actual or suspected
instances of child abuse or neglect.
‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION OF PROCEDURES FOR SCREENING, SAFETY
ASSESSMENT, AND PROMPT INVESTIGATION.—A certification that
the State has in effect procedures for receiving and responding
to reports of child abuse or neglect, including the reports
described in paragraph (2), and for the immediate screening,
safety assessment, and prompt investigation of such reports.
‘‘(4) CERTIFICATION OF STATE PROCEDURES FOR REMOVAL
AND PLACEMENT OF ABUSED OR NEGLECTED CHILDREN.—A cer-
tification that the State has in effect procedures for the removal
from families and placement of abused or neglected children
and of any other child in the same household who may also
be in danger of abuse or neglect.
‘‘(5) CERTIFICATION
OF
PROVISIONS
FOR
IMMUNITY
FROM
PROSECUTION.—A certification that the State has in effect laws
requiring immunity from prosecution under State and local
laws and regulations for individuals making good faith reports
of suspected or known instances of child abuse or neglect.
‘‘(6) CERTIFICATION OF PROVISIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR
EXPUNGEMENT OF CERTAIN RECORDS.—A certification that the
State has in effect laws and procedures requiring the facilita-
tion of the prompt expungement of any records that are acces-
sible to the general public or are used for purposes of employ-
ment or other background checks in cases determined to be
unsubstantiated or false.
‘‘(7) CERTIFICATION OF PROVISIONS AND PROCEDURES RELAT-
ING TO APPEALS.—A certification that not later then 2 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the State shall
have laws and procedures in effect affording individuals an
opportunity to appeal an official finding of abuse or neglect.
‘‘(8) CERTIFICATION OF STATE PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING
AND REVIEWING WRITTEN PLANS FOR PERMANENT PLACEMENT
OF REMOVED CHILDREN.—A certification that the State has in
effect procedures for ensuring that a written plan is prepared
for children who have been removed from their families. Such
plan shall specify the goals for achieving a permanent place-
ment for the child in a timely fashion, for ensuring that the
written plan is reviewed every 6 months (until such placement
is achieved), and for ensuring that information about such
children is collected regularly and recorded in case records,
and include a description of such procedures.
‘‘(9) CERTIFICATION
OF
STATE
PROGRAM
TO
PROVIDE
INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES.—A certification that the State
has in effect a program to provide independent living services,
for assistance in making the transition to self-sufficient adult-
H. R. 4—188
hood, to individuals in the child protection program of the
State who are 16, but who are not 20 (or, at the option of
the State, 22), years of age, and who do not have a family
to which to be returned.
‘‘(10) CERTIFICATION
OF
STATE
PROCEDURES
TO
RESPOND
TO REPORTING OF MEDICAL NEGLECT OF DISABLED INFANTS.—
A certification that the State has in place for the purpose
of responding to the reporting of medical neglect of infants
(including instances of withholding of medically indicated treat-
ment from disabled infants with life-threatening conditions),
procedures or programs, or both (within the State child protec-
tive services system), to provide for—
‘‘(A) coordination and consultation with individuals des-
ignated by and within appropriate health-care facilities;
‘‘(B) prompt notification by individuals designated by
and within appropriate health-care facilities of cases of
suspected medical neglect (including instances of withhold-
ing of medically indicated treatment from disabled infants
with life-threatening conditions); and
‘‘(C) authority, under State law, for the State child
protective service to pursue any legal remedies, including
the authority to initiate legal proceedings in a court of
competent jurisdiction, as may be necessary to prevent
the withholding of medically indicated treatment from dis-
abled infants with life-threatening conditions.
‘‘(11) IDENTIFICATION OF CHILD PROTECTION GOALS.—The
quantitative goals of the State child protection program.
‘‘(12) CERTIFICATION OF CHILD PROTECTION STANDARDS.—
With respect to fiscal years beginning on or after April 1,
1996, a certification that the State—
‘‘(A) has completed an inventory of all children who,
before the inventory, had been in foster care under the
responsibility of the State for 6 months or more, which
determined—
‘‘(i) the appropriateness of, and necessity for, the
foster care placement;
‘‘(ii) whether the child could or should be returned
to the parents of the child or should be freed for
adoption or other permanent placement; and
‘‘(iii) the services necessary to facilitate the return
of the child or the placement of the child for adoption
or legal guardianship;
‘‘(B) is operating, to the satisfaction of the Secretary—
‘‘(i) a statewide information system from which
can be readily determined the status, demographic
characteristics, location, and goals for the placement
of every child who is (or, within the immediately
preceding 12 months, has been) in foster care;
‘‘(ii) a case review system for each child receiving
foster care under the supervision of the State;
‘‘(iii) a service program designed to help children—
‘‘(I) where appropriate, return to families from
which they have been removed; or
‘‘(II) be placed for adoption, with a legal guard-
ian, or if adoption or legal guardianship is deter-
mined not to be appropriate for a child, in some
other planned, permanent living arrangement; and
H. R. 4—189
‘‘(iv) a preplacement preventive services program
designed to help children at risk for foster care place-
ment remain with their families; and
‘‘(C)(i) has reviewed (or not later than October 1, 1997,
will review) State policies and administrative and judicial
procedures in effect for children abandoned at or shortly
after birth (including policies and procedures providing for
legal representation of such children); and
‘‘(ii) is implementing (or not later than October 1, 1997,
will implement) such policies and procedures as the State
determines, on the basis of the review described in clause
(i), to be necessary to enable permanent decisions to be
made expeditiously with respect to the placement of such
children.
‘‘(13) CERTIFICATION
OF
REASONABLE
EFFORTS
BEFORE
PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.—A certification that
the State in each case will—
‘‘(A) make reasonable efforts prior to the placement
of a child in foster care, to prevent or eliminate the need
for removal of the child from the child’s home, and to
make it possible for the child to return home; and
‘‘(B) with respect to families in which abuse or neglect
has been confirmed, provide services or referral for services
for families and children where the State makes a deter-
mination that the child may safely remain with the family.
‘‘(14) CERTIFICATION OF INFORMATION DISCLOSURE PROVI-
SIONS.—A certification that the State has in effect and oper-
ational—
‘‘(A) requirements for the prompt disclosure of all rel-
evant information to any Federal, State, or local govern-
ment entity, citizens review panel, child fatality review
panel, or any agent of such government entity determined
by the State to have a need for such information in order
to carry out its responsibilities under law to protect chil-
dren from abuse or neglect; and
‘‘(B) provisions that allow for the public disclosure of
the findings of information about a case of child abuse
or neglect which has resulted in a child fatality or near-
fatality, except that the public disclosure of such informa-
tion shall be made in a manner that protects the privacy
rights of individuals involved in the case, unless such
individuals have waived such rights or criminal court
proceedings have been initiated.
‘‘(b) DETERMINATIONS.—The Secretary shall determine whether
a plan submitted pursuant to subsection (a) contains the material
required by subsection (a), other than the material described in
paragraph (10) of such subsection. The Secretary may not require
a State to include in such a plan any material not described in
subsection (a).
‘‘SEC. 103. DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.
‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORTS ON STATE CHILD WELFARE GOALS.—On
the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act
and annually thereafter, each State to which a grant is made
under section 101 shall submit to the Secretary a report that
contains quantitative information on the extent to which the State
is making progress toward achieving the purposes of this Act.
H. R. 4—190
‘‘(b) STATE DATA REPORTS.—
‘‘(1) BIANNUAL REPORTS.—Each State to which a grant is
made under section 101 shall biannually submit to the Sec-
retary a report that includes the following disaggregated case
record information with respect to each child within the State
receiving publicly-supported child welfare services under the
State program funded under this Act:
‘‘(A) Whether the child received services under the
program funded under this Act.
‘‘(B) The age, race, gender, and family income of the
parents and child.
‘‘(C) The county of residence of the child.
‘‘(D) Whether the child was removed from the family.
‘‘(E) Whether the child entered foster care under the
responsibility of the State.
‘‘(F) The type of out-of-home care in which the child
was placed (including institutional care, group home care,
family foster care, or relative placement).
‘‘(G) The child’s permanency planning goal, such as
family reunification, kinship care, adoption, or independent
living.
‘‘(H) Whether the child was released for adoption.
‘‘(I) Whether the child exited from foster care, and,
if so, the reason for the exit, such as return to family,
placement with relatives, adoption, independent living, or
death.
‘‘(J) Other information as required by the Secretary
and agreed to by a majority of the States, including
information necessary to ensure that there is a smooth
transition of data from the Adoption and Foster Care
Analysis and Reporting Systems and the National Center
on Abuse and Neglect Data System to the data reporting
system required under this section.
‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each State to which a grant is
made under section 101 shall annually submit to the Secretary
a report that includes the following information:
‘‘(A) The number of children reported to the State
during the year as alleged victims of abuse or neglect.
‘‘(B) The number of children for whom an investigation
of alleged maltreatment resulted in a determination of
substantiated abuse or neglect, the number for whom a
report of maltreatment was unsubstantiated, and the num-
ber for whom a report of maltreatment was determined
to be false.
‘‘(C) The number of families that received preventive
services.
‘‘(D) The number of infants abandoned during the year,
the number of such infants who were adopted, and the
length of time between abandonment and adoption.
‘‘(E) The number of deaths of children resulting from
child abuse or neglect.
‘‘(F) The number of deaths occurring while children
were in the custody of the State.
‘‘(G) The number of children served by the State
independent living program.
H. R. 4—191
‘‘(H) 
Quantitative 
measurements 
demonstrating
whether the State is making progress toward the child
protection goals identified by the State.
‘‘(I) The types of maltreatment suffered by victims
of child abuse and neglect.
‘‘(J) The number of abused and neglected children
receiving services.
‘‘(K) The average length of stay of children in out-
of-home care.
‘‘(L) Other information as required by the Secretary
and agreed to by a majority of the States, including
information necessary to ensure that there is a smooth
transition of data from the Adoption and Foster Care
Analysis and Reporting Systems and the National Center
on Abuse and Neglect Data System to the data reporting
system required under this section.
‘‘(3) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall define
by regulation the information required to be included in the
reports submitted under paragraphs (1) and (2).
‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF STATES TO USE ESTIMATES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State may comply with a requirement
to provide precise numerical information described in subsection
(b) by submitting an estimate which is obtained through the
use of scientifically acceptable sampling methods.
‘‘(2) SECRETARIAL REVIEW OF SAMPLING METHODS.—The Sec-
retary shall periodically review the sampling methods used
by a State to comply with a requirement to provide information
described in subsection (b). The Secretary may require a State
to revise the sampling methods so used if such methods do
not meet scientific standards.
‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT BY THE SECRETARY.—Within 6 months
after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall prepare a
report based on information provided by the States for the fiscal
year pursuant to subsection (b), and shall make the report and
such information available to the Congress and the public.
‘‘(e) SCOPE OF STATE PROGRAM FUNDED UNDER THIS ACT.—
As used in subsection (b), the term ‘State program funded under
this Act’ includes any equivalent State program.
‘‘TITLE 
II—RESEARCH, 
DEMONSTRA-
TIONS, TRAINING, AND TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE
‘‘SEC. 201. RESEARCH GRANTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with appro-
priate Federal officials and recognized experts in the field, shall
award grants or contracts for the conduct of research in accordance
with subsection (b).
‘‘(b) RESEARCH.—Research projects to be conducted using
amounts received under this section—
‘‘(1) shall be designed to provide information to better pro-
tect children from abuse or neglect and to improve the well
being of abused or neglected children, with at least a portion
of any such research conducted under a project being field
initiated;
H. R. 4—193
‘‘(C) provide recommendations for modifications needed
to facilitate coordinated national and Statewide data collec-
tion with respect to child protection and child welfare.
‘‘SEC. 202. NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR INFORMATION RELATING
TO CHILD ABUSE.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall, through the Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services, or by one or more contracts
of not less than 3 years duration provided through a competition,
establish a national clearinghouse for information relating to child
abuse.
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary shall, through the clearing-
house established by subsection (a)—
‘‘(1) maintain, coordinate, and disseminate information on
all programs, including private programs, that show promise
of success with respect to the prevention, assessment, identifica-
tion, and treatment of child abuse and neglect;
‘‘(2) maintain and disseminate information relating to—
‘‘(A) the incidence of cases of child abuse and neglect
in the United States;
‘‘(B) the incidence of such cases in populations deter-
mined by the Secretary under section 105(a)(1) of the Child
Abuse Prevention, Adoption, and Family Services Act of
1988 (as such section was in effect on the day before
the date of enactment of this Act); and
‘‘(C) the incidence of any such cases related to alcohol
or drug abuse;
‘‘(3) disseminate information related to data collected and
reported by States pursuant to section 103;
‘‘(4) compile, analyze, and publish a summary of the
research conducted under section 201; and
‘‘(5) solicit public comment on the components of such
clearinghouse.
‘‘SEC. 203. GRANTS FOR DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.
‘‘(a) AWARDING OF GENERAL GRANTS.—The Secretary may make
grants to, and enter into contracts with, public and nonprofit private
agencies or organizations (or combinations of such agencies or
organizations) for the purpose of developing, implementing, and
operating time limited, demonstration programs and projects for
the following purposes:
‘‘(1) INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.—The Secretary
may award grants to public agencies that demonstrate innova-
tion in responding to reports of child abuse and neglect includ-
ing programs of collaborative partnerships between the State
child protective service agency, community social service agen-
cies and family support programs, schools, churches and syna-
gogues, and other community agencies to allow for the
establishment of a triage system that—
‘‘(A) accepts, screens and assesses reports received to
determine which such reports require an intensive inter-
vention and which require voluntary referral to another
agency, program or project;
‘‘(B) provides, either directly or through referral, a
variety of community-linked services to assist families in
preventing child abuse and neglect; and
‘‘(C) provides further investigation and intensive inter-
vention where the child’s safety is in jeopardy.
H. R. 4—194
‘‘(2) KINSHIP
CARE
PROGRAMS
AND
PROJECTS.—The Sec-
retary may award grants to public entities to assist such enti-
ties in developing or implementing procedures using adult
relatives as the preferred placement for children removed from
their home, where such relatives are determined to be capable
of providing a safe nurturing environment for the child and
where, to the maximum extent practicable, such relatives com-
ply with relevant State child protection standards.
‘‘(3) ADOPTION OPPORTUNITIES.—The Secretary may award
grants to public entities to assist such entities in developing
or implementing programs to expand opportunities for the adop-
tion of children with special needs.
‘‘(4) FAMILY RESOURCE CENTERS.—The Secretary may award
grants to public or nonprofit private entities to provide for
the establishment of family resource programs and support
services that—
‘‘(A) develop, expand, and enhance Statewide networks
of community-based, prevention-focused centers, programs,
or services that provide comprehensive support for families;
‘‘(B) promote the development of parental competencies
and capacities in order to increase family stability;
‘‘(C) support the additional needs of families with chil-
dren with disabilities;
‘‘(D) foster the development of a continuum of preven-
tive services for children and families through State and
community-based collaborations and partnerships (both
public and private); and
‘‘(E) maximize funding for the financing, planning,
community 
mobilization, 
collaboration, 
assessment,
information and referral, start-up, training and technical
assistance, 
information 
management, 
reporting, 
and
evaluation costs for establishing, operating, or expanding
a Statewide network of community-based, prevention-
focused family resource and support services.
‘‘(5) OTHER
INNOVATIVE
PROGRAMS.—The Secretary may
award grants to public or private nonprofit organizations to
assist such entities in developing or implementing innovative
programs and projects that show promise of preventing and
treating cases of child abuse and neglect (such as Parents
Anonymous).
‘‘(b) GRANTS
FOR ABANDONED INFANT PROGRAMS.—The Sec-
retary may award grants to public and nonprofit private entities
to assist such entities in developing or implementing procedures—
‘‘(1) to prevent the abandonment of infants and young
children, including the provision of services to members of
the natural family for any condition that increases the prob-
ability of abandonment of an infant or young child;
‘‘(2) to identify and address the needs of abandoned infants
and young children;
‘‘(3) to assist abandoned infants and young children to
reside with their natural families or in foster care, as appro-
priate;
‘‘(4) to recruit, train, and retain foster families for aban-
doned infants and young children;
‘‘(5) to carry out residential care programs for abandoned
infants and young children who are unable to reside with
their families or to be placed in foster care;
H. R. 4—195
‘‘(6) to carry out programs of respite care for families and
foster families of infants and young children; and
‘‘(7) to recruit and train health and social services personnel
to work with families, foster care families, and residential care
programs for abandoned infants and young children.
‘‘(c) EVALUATION.—In making grants for demonstration projects
under this section, the Secretary shall require all such projects
to be evaluated for their effectiveness. Funding for such evaluations
shall be provided either as a stated percentage of a demonstration
grant or as a separate grant entered into by the Secretary for
the purpose of evaluating a particular demonstration project or
group of projects.
‘‘SEC. 204. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
‘‘(a) CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide technical
assistance under this title to States to assist such States in
planning, improving, developing, and carrying out programs
and activities relating to the prevention, assessment identifica-
tion, and treatment of child abuse and neglect.
‘‘(2) EVALUATION.—Technical assistance provided under
paragraph (1) may include an evaluation or identification of—
‘‘(A) various methods and procedures for the investiga-
tion, assessment, and prosecution of child physical and
sexual abuse cases;
‘‘(B) ways to mitigate psychological trauma to the child
victim; and
‘‘(C) effective programs carried out by the States under
this Act.
‘‘(b) ADOPTION OPPORTUNITIES.—The Secretary shall provide,
directly or by grant to or contract with public or private nonprofit
agencies or organizations—
‘‘(1) technical assistance and resource and referral informa-
tion to assist State or local governments with termination of
parental rights issues, in recruiting and retaining adoptive
families, in the successful placement of children with special
needs, and in the provision of pre- and post-placement services,
including post-legal adoption services; and
‘‘(2) other assistance to help State and local governments
replicate successful adoption-related projects from other areas
in the United States.
‘‘SEC. 205. TRAINING RESOURCES.
‘‘(a) TRAINING PROGRAMS.—The Secretary may award grants
to public or private non-profit organizations—
‘‘(1) for the training of professional and paraprofessional
personnel in the fields of medicine, law, education, law enforce-
ment, social work, and other relevant fields who are engaged
in, or intend to work in, the field of prevention, identification,
and treatment of child abuse and neglect, including the links
between domestic violence and child abuse;
‘‘(2) to provide culturally specific instruction in methods
of protecting children from child abuse and neglect to children
and to persons responsible for the welfare of children, including
parents of and persons who work with children with disabilities;
and
‘‘(3) to improve the recruitment, selection, and training
of volunteers serving in private and public nonprofit children,
H. R. 4—196
youth and family service organizations in order to prevent
child abuse and neglect through collaborative analysis of cur-
rent recruitment, selection, and training programs and develop-
ment of model programs for dissemination and replication
nationally.
‘‘(b) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary may pro-
vide for and disseminate information relating to various training
resources available at the State and local level to—
‘‘(1) individuals who are engaged, or who intend to engage,
in the prevention, identification, assessment, and treatment
of child abuse and neglect; and
‘‘(2) appropriate State and local officials, including prosecu-
tors, to assist in training law enforcement, legal, judicial, medi-
cal, mental health, education, and child welfare personnel in
appropriate methods of interacting during investigative,
administrative, and judicial proceedings with children who have
been subjected to abuse.
‘‘SEC. 206. APPLICATIONS AND AMOUNTS OF GRANTS.
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF APPLICATION.—The Secretary may not
make a grant to a State or other entity under this title unless—
‘‘(1) an application for the grant is submitted to the Sec-
retary;
‘‘(2) with respect to carrying out the purpose for which
the grant is to be made, the application provides assurances
of compliance satisfactory to the Secretary; and
‘‘(3) the application otherwise is in such form, is made
in such manner, and contains such agreements, assurances,
and information as the Secretary determines to be necessary
to carry out this title.
‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The Secretary shall determine the
amount of a grant to be awarded under this title.
‘‘SEC. 207. PEER REVIEW FOR GRANTS.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PEER REVIEW PROCESS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in consultation with
experts in the field and other Federal agencies, establish a
formal, rigorous, and meritorious peer review process for pur-
poses of evaluating and reviewing applications for grants under
this title and determining the relative merits of the projects
for which such assistance is requested. The purpose of this
process is to enhance the quality and usefulness of research
in the field of child abuse and neglect.
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
MEMBERS.—In establishing the
process required by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall appoint
to the peer review panels only members who are experts in
the field of child abuse and neglect or related disciplines, with
appropriate expertise in the application to be reviewed, and
who are not individuals who are officers or employees of the
Administration for Children and Families. The panels shall
meet as often as is necessary to facilitate the expeditious review
of applications for grants and contracts under this title, but
may not meet less than once a year. The Secretary shall ensure
that the peer review panel utilizes scientifically valid review
criteria and scoring guidelines for review committees.
‘‘(b) REVIEW
OF APPLICATIONS
FOR ASSISTANCE.—Each peer
review panel established under subsection (a)(1) that reviews any
application for a grant shall—