matter described in subparagraph (A), which
shall—
(i) be based on the comments submit-
ted by the advisory panel pursuant to sub-
section (b)(2) and other information and
considerations; and
(ii) include the policy recommenda-
tions of the Secretary with respect to the
matter.
(2) REQUIRED
CONTENTS.—Each report re-
quired by paragraph (1) shall—
(A) include, for each State, information
on—
(i) the policy of the State regarding
kinship care;
(ii) the characteristics of the kinship
care providers (such as age and income);
(iii) the characteristics of the house-
hold of such providers (such as number of
other persons in the household and family
composition);
(iv) how much access to the child is
afforded to the parent from whom the
child has been removed;
(v) the cost of, and source of funds
for, kinship care (including any subsidies
such as medicaid and cash assistance);
(vi) the goal for a permanent living
arrangement for the child and the actions
being taken by the State to achieve the
goal;
(vii) the services being provided to the
parent from whom the child has been re-
moved; and
(viii) the services being provided to
the kinship care provider; and
(B) specifically note the circumstances or
conditions under which children enter kinship
care.
(b) ADVISORY PANEL.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health
and Human Services, in consultation with the Chair-
man of the Committee on Ways and Means of the
House of Representatives and the Chairman of the
Committee on Finance of the Senate, shall convene
an advisory panel which shall include parents, foster
parents, former foster children, State and local pub-
lic officials responsible for administering child wel-
fare programs, private persons involved in the deliv-
ery of child welfare services, judges, and academic
experts.
(2) DUTIES.—The advisory panel convened pur-
suant to paragraph (1) shall review the report pre-
pared pursuant to subsection (a), and, not later than
February 1, 1998, submit to the Secretary com-
ments on the report.
SEC. 7. USE OF PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE IN TERMI-
NATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS PROCEED-
INGS.
Section 453 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
653) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) by striking ‘‘or enforcing child custody
or visitation orders’’ and inserting ‘‘enforcing
child custody or visitation orders, or terminat-
ing parental rights’’; and
(B) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by striking the comma at the end
of subparagraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; or’’;
and
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph
(C) the following:
‘‘(D) who has or may have parental rights
with respect to a child,’’; and
(2) in subsection (c)—
(A) by striking the period at the end of
paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) a State agency that is administering a pro-
gram operated under a State plan under subpart 1
of part B, or a State plan approved under subpart
2 of part B or under part E.’’.
SEC. 8. REPORTS ON PERFORMANCE OF STATES IN PRO-
TECTING CHILDREN.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in con-
sultation with the American Public Welfare Association,
the National Governors’ Association, and child advocacy
organizations, shall—
(1) develop a set of outcome measures (includ-
ing length of stay in foster care, number of foster
care placements, and number of adoptions) that can
be used to assess the performance of States in oper-
ating child protection programs pursuant to parts B
and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to en-
sure the safety of children;
(2) to the maximum extent possible, the out-
come measures should be developed from data avail-
able from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis
and Reporting System;
(3) develop a system for rating the performance
of States with respect to the outcome measures, and
provide to the States an explanation of the rating
system and how scores are determined under the
rating system;
(4) prescribe such regulations as may be nec-
essary to ensure that States provide to the Secretary
the data necessary to determine State performance
with respect to each outcome measure, as a condi-
tion of the State receiving funds under part E of
title IV of the Social Security Act;
(5) on October 1, 1998, and annually there-
after, prepare and submit to the Congress a report
on the performance of each State on each outcome
measure, which shall examine the reasons for high
performance and low performance and, where pos-
sible, make recommendations as to how State per-
formance could be improved.