TITLE I—PREVENTION OF UNACCOMPANIED SITUATIONS AMONG 
CHILD WELFARE GROUPS 
Sec. 101. Curtailment of involuntary separation of children from their families. 
Sec. 102. Unaccompanied youth access to the child welfare system. 
Sec. 103. Discharge from child welfare system. 
TITLE II—EXTENSION OF CHILD WELFARE SERVICES TO OLDER 
YOUTH 
Sec. 201. Eligibility for foster care maintenance payments and adoption assist-
ance payments through age 20. 
Sec. 202. Improvements to John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Pro-
gram. 
TITLE III—YOUNG FAMILY CONCERNS 
Sec. 301. TANF State plan amendment. 
Sec. 302. Adult-supervised living arrangements. 
Sec. 303. Suspension of time limit for young adult parent involved in education 
or training. 
Sec. 304. Transitional compliance. 
Sec. 305. Sanction protections for minor parents. 
Sec. 306. Teen parent study and report. 
TITLE IV—WORK OPPORTUNITIES 
Sec. 401. Inclusion of homeless youth as qualified population for Work Oppor-
tunity Credit. 
TITLE I—PREVENTION OF UNAC-
COMPANIED 
SITUATIONS 
AMONG 
CHILD 
WELFARE 
GROUPS 
SEC. 101. CURTAILMENT OF INVOLUNTARY SEPARATION OF 
CHILDREN FROM THEIR FAMILIES. 
Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
671(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(26); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (27) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(28) provide that the State shall have in effect 
such laws and procedures as are necessary to ensure 
that— 
‘‘(A) a child may not be placed in foster 
care under the responsibility of the State solely 
because the family with which the child is living 
is homeless (as defined in paragraph (2) of sec-
tion 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As-
sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)) or living in 
substandard housing (as defined in section 
204(b)(11) of the National Housing Act) or a 
dwelling unit that is experiencing severe phys-
ical problems (as defined in subparagraph (F) 
of such section); and 
‘‘(B) the State will work with the family 
and State housing authorities to secure perma-
nent housing for any family that includes a 
minor child and is homeless or at risk of becom-
ing homeless.’’. 
SEC. 102. UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH ACCESS TO THE CHILD 
WELFARE SYSTEM. 
Within 12 months after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance 
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of the Senate a report on the policies and practices of the 
States regarding (1) access to child welfare services (in-
cluding services related to foster care and adoption) fi-
nanced pursuant to part B or E of title IV of the Social 
Security Act, by children who have attained 13 years of 
age, (2) and consideration of runaway and homeless situa-
tions as risk assessment factors for determining the appro-
priateness of placement in the child welfare system. The 
report shall include an inventory of the policies and prac-
tices, an assessment of the effectiveness of the policies and 
practices, and such recommendations for Federal or State 
legislative or regulatory action as may be appropriate. 
SEC. 103. DISCHARGE FROM CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM. 
(a) STATE PLANS REQUIRED TO DESCRIBE STATE 
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES REGARDING RUNAWAY OR 
MISSING FOSTER CHILDREN.—Section 471(a) of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)), as amended by sec-
tions 104(a) and 111(a)(3) of this Act, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(28); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (29) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(30) describes the written policies and proce-
dures of the State that are designed to reduce the 
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incidence of children missing or running away from 
foster care, and to locate and return such children 
to foster placements.’’. 
(b) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF PERMANENCY PLAN FOR 
CHILD LEAVING FOSTER CARE.—Section 475(5)(C) of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(C)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and (iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘(iii)’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘and 
(iv) procedural safeguards shall be applied to assure 
that the final permanency hearing regarding the 
transition of the child from foster care to a planned, 
permanent living arrangement or independent living 
is held in a family or juvenile court or another court 
(including a tribal court) of competent jurisdiction;’’. 
(c) REVIEW OF STEPS TAKEN TO ENSURE APPRO-
PRIATE
HOUSING
FOR
CHILDREN
LEAVING
FOSTER 
CARE.—Section 475(5)(C)(iii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
675(5)(C)(iii)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and reviews all 
documentation of the efforts to secure a permanent living 
arrangement for the child upon emancipation from foster 
care’’ before the semicolon. 
(d) MODIFICATION
OF
CASE
PLAN
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Section 475(1)(D) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
675(1)(D)) is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘(D) Where appropriate, for a child who 
has attained 14 years of age (and, at State op-
tion, any other child), a written description of 
the programs and services that will facilitate 
the transition of the child from foster care to 
independent living, including a discussion of the 
appropriateness of the services that have been 
provided to the child under the plan. The plan 
for these youth shall also include documentation 
of the steps the agency is taking to esnure a 
permanent placement with a family or other 
adult connection for the youth, and a perma-
nent living arrangement. In the case of a child 
who has attained 17 years of age or with a per-
manency goal of emancipation, the plan shall 
include documentation of the child’s permanent 
living arrangement upon emancipation.’’. 
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