114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4472 
AN ACT 
To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to require 
States to adopt a centralized electronic system to help 
expedite the placement of children in foster care or 
guardianship, or for adoption, across State lines, and 
to provide grants to aid States in developing such a 
system, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Modernizing the Inter-
state Placement of Children in Foster Care Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that— 
(1) when a child in foster care cannot return 
safely home, the child deserves to be placed in a set-
ting that is best for that child, regardless of whether 
it is in the child’s State or another State; 
(2) the Interstate Compact on the Placement of 
Children (ICPC) was established in 1960 to provide 
a uniform legal framework for the placement of chil-
dren across State lines in foster and adoptive homes; 
(3) frequently, children waiting to be placed 
with an adoptive family, relative, or foster parent in 
another State spend more time waiting for this to 
occur than children who are placed with an adoptive, 
family, relative, or foster parent in the same State, 
because of the outdated, administratively burden-
some ICPC process; 
(4) no child should have to wait longer to be 
placed in a loving home simply because the child 
must cross a State line;
(5) the National Electronic Interstate Compact 
Enterprise (NEICE) was launched in August 2014 
in Indiana, Nevada, Florida, South Carolina, Wis-
consin, and the District of Columbia, and is expected 
to be expanded into additional States to improve the 
administrative process by which children are placed 
with families across State lines; 
(6) States using this electronic interstate case- 
processing system have reduced administrative costs 
and the amount of staff time required to process 
these cases, and caseworkers can spend more time 
helping children instead of copying and mailing pa-
perwork between States; 
(7) since NEICE was launched, placement time 
has decreased by 30 percent for interstate foster 
care placements; and 
(8) on average, States using this electronic 
interstate case-processing system have been able to 
reduce from 24 business days to 13 business days 
the time it takes to identify a family for a child and 
prepare the paperwork required to start the ICPC 
process. 
SEC. 3. STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(25) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(25)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘provide’’ and insert ‘‘provides’’; 
and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘, which, not later than Octo-
ber 1, 2026, shall include the use of an electronic 
interstate case-processing system’’ before the 1st 
semicolon. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on the 1st day of the 
1st calendar quarter beginning on or after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to pay-
ments under part E of title IV of the Social Security 
Act for calendar quarters beginning on or after such 
date. 
(2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION 
REQUIRED.—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 E 
of title IV of the Social Security Act to meet the ad-
ditional requirement imposed by the amendments 
made by subsection (a), the plan shall not be re-
garded 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 legislature that begins after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. For purposes of the preceding 
sentence, if the State has a 2-year legislative session, 
each year of the session is deemed to be a separate 
regular session of the State legislature. 
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ELEC-
TRONIC INTERSTATE CASE-PROCESSING SYS-
TEM TO EXPEDITE THE INTERSTATE PLACE-
MENT OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE OR 
GUARDIANSHIP, OR FOR ADOPTION. 
Section 437 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
637) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) GRANTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ELEC-
TRONIC INTERSTATE CASE-PROCESSING SYSTEM TO EX-
PEDITE THE INTERSTATE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN IN 
FOSTER CARE OR GUARDIANSHIP, OR FOR ADOPTION.— 
‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 
is to facilitate the development of an electronic inter-
state case-processing system for the exchange of 
data and documents to expedite the placements of 
children in foster, guardianship, or adoptive homes 
across State lines. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION
REQUIREMENTS.—A State 
that desires a grant under this subsection shall sub-
mit to the Secretary an application containing the 
following: 
‘‘(A) A description of the goals and out-
comes to be achieved during the period for 
which grant funds are sought, which goals and 
outcomes must result in— 
‘‘(i) reducing the time it takes for a 
child to be provided with a safe and appro-
priate 
permanent 
living 
arrangement 
across State lines; 
‘‘(ii) improving administrative proc-
esses and reducing costs in the foster care 
system; and 
‘‘(iii) the secure exchange of relevant 
case files and other necessary materials in 
real time, and timely communications and 
placement decisions regarding interstate 
placements of children. 
‘‘(B) A description of the activities to be 
funded in whole or in part with the grant 
funds, including the sequencing of the activities. 
‘‘(C) A description of the strategies for in-
tegrating programs and services for children 
who are placed across State lines.
‘‘(D) Such other information as the Sec-
retary may require. 
‘‘(3) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 
make a grant to a State that complies with para-
graph (2). 
‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—A State to which a grant 
is made under this subsection shall use the grant to 
support the State in connecting with the electronic 
interstate case-processing system described in para-
graph (1). 
‘‘(5) EVALUATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 
after the final year in which grants are awarded 
under this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to 
the Congress, and make available to the general 
public by posting on a website, a report that con-
tains the following information: 
‘‘(A) How using the electronic interstate 
case-processing system developed pursuant to 
paragraph (4) has changed the time it takes for 
children to be placed across State lines. 
‘‘(B) The number of cases subject to the 
Interstate Compact on the Placement of Chil-
dren that were processed through the electronic 
interstate case-processing system, and the num-
ber of interstate child placement cases that
were processed outside the electronic interstate 
case-processing system, by each State in each 
year. 
‘‘(C) The progress made by States in im-
plementing the electronic interstate case-proc-
essing system. 
‘‘(D) How using the electronic interstate 
case-processing system has affected various 
metrics related to child safety and well-being, 
including the time it takes for children to be 
placed across State lines. 
‘‘(E) How using the electronic interstate 
case-processing system has affected administra-
tive costs and caseworker time spent on placing 
children across State lines. 
‘‘(6) DATA
INTEGRATION.—The Secretary, in 
consultation with the Secretariat for the Interstate 
Compact on the Placement of Children and the 
States, shall assess how the electronic interstate 
case-processing system developed pursuant to para-
graph (4) could be used to better serve and protect 
children that come to the attention of the child wel-
fare system, by— 
‘‘(A) connecting the system with other 
data systems (such as systems operated by
State law enforcement and judicial agencies, 
systems operated by the Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation for the purposes of the Innocence 
Lost National Initiative, and other systems); 
‘‘(B) simplifying and improving reporting 
related to paragraphs (34) and (35) of section 
471(a) regarding children or youth who have 
been identified as being a sex trafficking victim 
or children missing from foster care; and 
‘‘(C) improving the ability of States to 
quickly comply with background check require-
ments of section 471(a)(20), including checks of 
child abuse and neglect registries as required by 
section 471(a)(20)(B).’’. 
SEC. 5. CONTINUATION OF DISCRETIONARY FUNDING TO 
PROMOTE SAFE AND STABLE FAMILIES. 
Section 437(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
637(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2016’’ and inserting 
‘‘2017’’. 
SEC. 6. RESERVATION OF FUNDS TO IMPROVE THE INTER-
STATE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN. 
Section 437(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
637(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) IMPROVING THE INTERSTATE PLACEMENT 
OF
CHILDREN.—The 
Secretary 
shall 
reserve
$5,000,000 of the amount made available for fiscal 
year 2017 for grants under subsection (g), and the 
amount so reserved shall remain available through 
fiscal year 2021.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives March 22, 
2016. 
Attest: 
Clerk.