I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6128 
To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to ensure that 
immigration status alone does not disqualify a parent, legal guardian, 
or relative from being a placement for a foster child, to prohibit a 
State, county, or other political subdivision of a State from filing for 
termination of parental rights in foster care cases in which an otherwise 
fit and willing parent or legal guardian has been deported or is involved 
in (including detention pursuant to) an immigration proceeding, unless 
certain conditions have been met, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 13, 2012 
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 
to ensure that immigration status alone does not dis-
qualify a parent, legal guardian, or relative from being 
a placement for a foster child, to prohibit a State, coun-
ty, or other political subdivision of a State from filing 
for termination of parental rights in foster care cases 
in which an otherwise fit and willing parent or legal 
guardian has been deported or is involved in (including 
detention pursuant to) an immigration proceeding, unless 
certain conditions have been met, and for other purposes. 
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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 ‘‘Help Separated Fami-
lies Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. IMMIGRATION STATUS ALONE NOT A DISQUALI-
FICATION FROM BEING A PLACEMENT FOR A 
FOSTER CHILD. 
Section 471(a)(19) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 671(a)(19)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(19) provides that the State’’ 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(19) provides that— 
‘‘(A) the State’’; and 
(2) by adding after and below the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) such standards shall ensure that the 
immigration status alone of a parent, legal 
guardian, or relative shall not disqualify the 
parent, legal guardian, or relative from being a 
placement for a child;’’. 
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SEC. 3. STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT TO ACCEPT CERTAIN 
DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY FOREIGN ENTITIES 
AS SUFFICIENT IDENTIFICATION FOR PUR-
POSES OF INITIATING A CRIMINAL RECORDS 
CHECK OR A FINGERPRINT-BASED CHECK. 
Section 471(a)(20) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘which 
procedures shall require the State (including the 
State agency, the child welfare agency of any county 
or other political subdivision of the State, and case-
workers and supervisors of any such agency) to ac-
cept a foreign consulate identification card, a foreign 
passport, or such other foreign identification docu-
ment as may be allowed in regulations prescribed by 
the Secretary, as sufficient identification for pur-
poses of initiating a criminal records check or a fin-
gerprint-based check,’’ before ‘‘including proce-
dures’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘, which 
procedures shall require the State (including the 
State agency, the child welfare agency of any county 
or other political subdivision of the State, and case-
workers and supervisors of any such agency) to ac-
cept a foreign consulate identification card, a foreign 
passport, or such other foreign identification docu-
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ment as may be allowed in regulations prescribed by 
the Secretary, as sufficient identification for pur-
poses of initiating a criminal records check or a fin-
gerprint-based check’’ before the semicolon. 
SEC. 4. STATE CHILD WELFARE AGENCIES ENCOURAGED 
TO 
GRANT 
WAIVERS 
OF 
REQUIREMENTS 
THAT 
WOULD 
PREVENT 
A 
CHILD 
FROM 
BEING PLACED WITH A RELATIVE ON THE 
BASIS OF A MINOR LEGAL INFRACTION BY 
THE RELATIVE. 
It is the sense of the Congress that the child welfare 
agency of a State, or of any county or other political sub-
division of a State, should grant a waiver of any require-
ment which would prevent the placement of a child with 
a relative of the child, on the basis of a minor legal infrac-
tion, if the relative would otherwise be considered eligible 
for such a placement. 
SEC. 5. STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT TO NOTIFY RELATIVES 
SEEKING PLACEMENT OF A CHILD THAT 
THEIR IMMIGRATION STATUS WILL NOT BE 
QUESTIONED. 
Section 471(a)(29) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 671(a)(29)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (C); 
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(2) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (D); and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(E) the immigration status of any such 
relative seeking placement of the child with the 
relative shall not be questioned, except to the 
extent necessary in determining eligibility for 
relevant services or programs;’’. 
SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON STATE FILING FOR TERMINATION 
OF PARENTAL RIGHTS IN FOSTER CARE 
CASES IN WHICH OTHERWISE FIT AND WILL-
ING PARENT OR RELATIVE HAS BEEN DE-
PORTED OR IS INVOLVED IN AN IMMIGRA-
TION PROCEEDING, UNLESS CERTAIN CONDI-
TIONS HAVE BEEN MET. 
Section 475(5)(E) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 675(5)(E)) is amended by adding after and below 
the end the following flush text: 
‘‘except that the State, and a county or other polit-
ical subdivision of the State, shall not file (or join 
in the filing of such a petition) based on the removal 
of the parent from the United States or the involve-
ment of the parent in (including detention pursuant 
to) an immigration proceeding, unless (I) the State 
(or the county or other political subdivision of the 
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State, as the case may be) has made reasonable ef-
forts to identify, locate, and contact any parent of 
the child, who has been removed from the United 
States, and any adult relative of the child, referred 
to in section 471(a)(29), including through the dip-
lomatic or consular offices of the country to which 
the parent was removed, to notify such a parent or 
relative of the intent of the State (or the county or 
other political subdivision of the State, as the case 
may be) to file (or join in the filing of) such a peti-
tion, and to reunify the child with any such parent 
or relative; or (II) the parent is unfit or unwilling 
to be a parent of the child;’’. 
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by this 
Act shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st fiscal year 
beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and shall apply to payments under part E of title 
IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters begin-
ning on or after such date. 
(b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE-
QUIRED.—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 
approved under part E of title IV of the Social Security 
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Act to meet the additional requirements imposed by the 
amendments made by this Act, the plan shall not be re-
garded as failing to meet any of the additional require-
ments before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter be-
ginning after the 1st regular session of the State legisla-
ture 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. 
Æ 
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