II 
Calendar No. 463 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5403 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
MAY 24, 2006 
Received 
MAY 26, 2006 
Read the first time 
JUNE 5, 2006 
Read the second time and placed on the calendar 
AN ACT 
To improve protections for children and to hold States ac-
countable for the safe and timely placement of children 
across State lines, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe and Timely Inter-
state Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of the Congress that— 
(1) the States should expeditiously ratify the re-
vised Interstate Compact for the Placement of Chil-
dren recently promulgated by the American Public 
Human Services Association; 
(2) this Act and the revised Interstate Compact 
for the Placement of Children should not apply to 
those seeking placement in a licensed residential fa-
cility primarily to access clinical mental heath serv-
ices; 
(3) the States should recognize and implement 
the deadlines for the completion and approval of 
home studies as provided in section 4 to move chil-
dren more quickly into safe, permanent homes; and 
(4) Federal policy should encourage the safe 
and expedited placement of children into safe, per-
manent homes across State lines. 
SEC. 3. ORDERLY AND TIMELY PROCESS FOR INTERSTATE 
PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN. 
Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
671(a)) is amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(23); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (24) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(25) provide that the State shall have in effect 
procedures for the orderly and timely interstate 
placement of children; and procedures implemented 
in accordance with an interstate compact, if incor-
porating with the procedures prescribed by para-
graph (26), shall be considered to satisfy the re-
quirement of this paragraph.’’. 
SEC. 4. HOME STUDIES. 
(a) ORDERLY PROCESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is further amend-
ed— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (24); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (25) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(26) provides that— 
‘‘(A)(i) within 60 days after the State re-
ceives from another State a request to conduct 
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a study of a home environment for purposes of 
assessing the safety and suitability of placing a 
child in the home, the State shall, directly or by 
contract— 
‘‘(I) conduct and complete the study; 
and 
‘‘(II) return to the other State a re-
port on the results of the study, which 
shall address the extent to which place-
ment in the home would meet the needs of 
the child; and 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a home study begun on 
or before September 30, 2008, if the State fails 
to comply with clause (i) within the 60-day pe-
riod as a result of circumstances beyond the 
control of the State (such as a failure by a Fed-
eral agency to provide the results of a back-
ground check, or the failure by any entity to 
provide completed medical forms, requested by 
the State at least 45 days before the end of the 
60-day period), the State shall have 75 days to 
comply with clause (i) if the State documents 
the circumstances involved and certifies that 
completing the home study is in the best inter-
ests of the child; except that 
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‘‘(iii) this subparagraph shall not be con-
strued to require the State to have completed, 
within the applicable period, the parts of the 
home study involving the education and train-
ing of the prospective foster or adoptive par-
ents; 
‘‘(B) the State shall treat any report de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) that is received 
from another State or an Indian tribe (or from 
a private agency under contract with another 
State) as meeting any requirements imposed by 
the State for the completion of a home study 
before placing a child in the home, unless, with-
in 14 days after receipt of the report, the State 
determines, based on grounds that are specific 
to the content of the report, that making a de-
cision in reliance on the report would be con-
trary to the welfare of the child; and 
‘‘(C) the State shall not impose any re-
striction on the ability of a State agency admin-
istering, or supervising the administration of, a 
State program operated under a State plan ap-
proved under this part to contract with a pri-
vate agency for the conduct of a home study de-
scribed in subparagraph (A).’’. 
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