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order to reach prospective parents for chil-
dren awaiting adoption; and
‘‘(iii) demonstrate expeditious ways to
free children for adoption for whom it has
been determined that adoption is the ap-
propriate plan; and
‘‘(C) facilitating the identification and re-
cruitment of foster and adoptive families that
can meet children’s needs.
‘‘(4) To respond to the needs of children, in
particular those who are drug exposed or afflicted
with 
Acquired 
Immune 
Deficiency 
Syndrome
(AIDS), by supporting activities aimed at preventing
the abandonment of children, providing support to
children and their families, and facilitating the re-
cruitment and training of health and social service
personnel.
‘‘(5) To carry out any other activities as the
Secretary determines are consistent with this Act.
‘‘SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘As used in this Act:
‘‘(1) CHILD.—The term ‘child’ means a person
who has not attained the lesser of—
‘‘(A) the age of 18; or
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‘‘(B) except in the case of sexual abuse,
the age specified by the child protection law of
the State in which the child resides.
‘‘(2) CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT.—The term
‘child abuse and neglect’ means, at a minimum, any
recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent
or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical
or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or
an act or failure to act which presents an imminent
risk of serious harm.
‘‘(3) FAMILY
RESOURCE
AND
SUPPORT
PRO-
GRAMS.—The term ‘family resource and support
program’ means a community-based, prevention-fo-
cused entity that—
‘‘(A) provides, through direct service, the
core services required under this Act, includ-
ing—
‘‘(i) parent education, support and
leadership services, together with services
characterized by relationships between par-
ents and professionals that are based on
equality and respect, and designed to assist
parents in acquiring parenting skills, learn-
ing about child development, and respond-
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ing appropriately to the behavior of their
children;
‘‘(ii) services to facilitate the ability of
parents to serve as resources to one an-
other (such as through mutual support and
parent self-help groups);
‘‘(iii) early developmental screening of
children to assess any needs of children,
and to identify types of support that may
be provided;
‘‘(iv) 
outreach 
services 
provided
through voluntary home visits and other
methods to assist parents in becoming
aware of and able to participate in family
resources and support program activities;
‘‘(v) community and social services to
assist families in obtaining community re-
sources; and
‘‘(vi) followup services;
‘‘(B) provides, or arranges for the provi-
sion of, other core services through contracts or
agreements with other local agencies; and
‘‘(C) provides access to optional services,
directly or by contract, purchase of service, or
interagency agreement, including—
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‘‘(i) child care, early childhood devel-
opment and early intervention services;
‘‘(ii) self-sufficiency and life manage-
ment skills training;
‘‘(iii) education services, such as scho-
lastic tutoring, literacy training, and Gen-
eral Educational Degree services;
‘‘(iv) job readiness skills;
‘‘(v) child abuse and neglect preven-
tion activities;
‘‘(vi) services that families with chil-
dren with disabilities or special needs may
require;
‘‘(vii) community and social service re-
ferral;
‘‘(viii) peer counseling;
‘‘(ix) referral for substance abuse
counseling and treatment; and
‘‘(x) help line services.
‘‘(4) INDIAN
TRIBE
AND
TRIBAL
ORGANIZA-
TION.—The terms ‘Indian tribe’ and ‘tribal organi-
zation’ shall have the same meanings given such
terms in subsections (e) and (l), respectively, of sec-
tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e) and (l)).
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‘‘(5) RESPITE
SERVICES.—The term ‘respite
services’ means short-term care services provided in
the temporary absence of the regular caregiver (par-
ent, other relative, foster parent, adoptive parent, or
guardian) to children who—
‘‘(A) are in danger of abuse or neglect;
‘‘(B) have experienced abuse or neglect; or
‘‘(C) have disabilities, chronic, or terminal
illnesses.
Such services shall be provided within or outside the
home of the child, be short-term care (ranging from
a few hours to a few weeks of time, per year), and
be intended to enable the family to stay together and
to keep the child living in the home and community
of the child.
‘‘(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means
the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
‘‘(7) SEXUAL ABUSE.—The term ‘sexual abuse’
includes—
‘‘(A) the employment, use, persuasion, in-
ducement, enticement, or coercion of any child
to engage in, or assist any other person to en-
gage in, any sexually explicit conduct or simula-
tion of such conduct for the purpose of produc-
ing a visual depiction of such conduct; or
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‘‘(B) the rape, molestation, prostitution, or
other form of sexual exploitation of children, or
incest with children.
‘‘(8) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of
the several States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,
Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory
of the Pacific Islands.
‘‘(9) WITHHOLDING OF MEDICALLY INDICATED
TREATMENT.—The term ‘withholding of medically
indicated treatment’ means the failure to respond to
the infant’s life-threatening conditions by providing
treatment (including appropriate nutrition, hydra-
tion, and medication) which, in the treating physi-
cian’s or physicians’ reasonable medical judgment,
will be most likely to be effective in ameliorating or
correcting all such conditions, except that the term
does not include the failure to provide treatment
(other than appropriate nutrition, hydration, or
medication) to an infant when, in the treating physi-
cian’s or physicians’ reasonable medical judgment—
‘‘(A) the infant is chronically and irrevers-
ibly comatose;
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‘‘(B) the provision of such treatment
would—
‘‘(i) merely prolong dying;
‘‘(ii) not be effective in ameliorating
or correcting all of the infant’s life-threat-
ening conditions; or
‘‘(iii) otherwise be futile in terms of
the survival of the infant; or
‘‘(C) the provision of such treatment would
be virtually futile in terms of the survival of the
infant and the treatment itself under such cir-
cumstances would be inhumane.
‘‘TITLE I—GENERAL BLOCK
GRANT
‘‘SEC. 101. CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES BLOCK GRANTS.
‘‘(a) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary shall award
grants to eligible States that file a State plan that is ap-
proved under section 102 and that otherwise meet the eli-
gibility requirements for grants under this title.
‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of a grant
made to each State under subsection (a) for a fiscal year
shall be based on the population of children under the age
of 18 residing in each State that applies for a grant under
this section.
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‘‘(c) USE
OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts received by a
State under a grant awarded under subsection (a) shall
be used to carry out the purposes described in section 3.
‘‘SEC. 102. ELIGIBLE STATES.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As used in this title, the term
‘eligible State’ means a State that has submitted to the
Secretary, not later than October 1, 1996, and every 3
years thereafter, a plan which has been signed by the chief
executive officer of the State and that includes the follow-
ing:
‘‘(1) OUTLINE
OF
CHILD
PROTECTION
PRO-
GRAM.—A written document that outlines the activi-
ties the State intends to conduct to achieve the pur-
pose of this title, including the procedures to be used
for—
‘‘(A) receiving and assessing reports of
child abuse or neglect;
‘‘(B) investigating such reports;
‘‘(C) with respect to families in which
abuse or neglect has been confirmed, providing
services or referral for services for families and
children where the State makes a determination
that the child may safely remain with the fam-
ily;
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‘‘(D) protecting children by removing them
from dangerous settings and ensuring their
placement in a safe environment;
‘‘(E) providing training for individuals
mandated to report suspected cases of child
abuse or neglect;
‘‘(F) protecting children in foster care;
‘‘(G) promoting timely adoptions;
‘‘(H) protecting the rights of families,
using adult relatives as the preferred placement
for children separated from their parents where
such relatives meet the relevant State child pro-
tection standards; and
‘‘(I) providing services to individuals, fami-
lies, or communities, either directly or through
referral, that are aimed at preventing the occur-
rence of child abuse and neglect.
‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION OF STATE LAW REQUIRING
THE REPORTING OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT.—
A certification that the State has in effect laws that
require public officials and other professionals to re-
port, in good faith, actual or suspected instances of
child abuse or neglect.
‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION
OF
PROCEDURES
FOR
SCREENING, SAFETY ASSESSMENT, AND PROMPT IN-
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VESTIGATION.—A certification that the State has in
effect procedures for receiving and responding to re-
ports of child abuse or neglect, including the reports
described in paragraph (2), and for the immediate
screening, safety assessment, and prompt investiga-
tion of such reports.
‘‘(4) CERTIFICATION
OF
STATE
PROCEDURES
FOR REMOVAL AND PLACEMENT OF ABUSED OR NE-
GLECTED CHILDREN.—A certification that the State
has in effect procedures for the removal from fami-
lies and placement of abused or neglected children
and of any other child in the same household who
may also be in danger of abuse or neglect.
‘‘(5) CERTIFICATION OF PROVISIONS FOR IMMU-
NITY FROM PROSECUTION.—A certification that the
State has in effect laws requiring immunity from
prosecution under State and local laws and regula-
tions for individuals making good faith reports of
suspected or known instances of child abuse or ne-
glect.
‘‘(6) CERTIFICATION OF PROVISIONS AND PRO-
CEDURES
RELATING
TO
APPEALS.—A certification
that not later than 2 years after the date of the en-
actment of this Act, the State shall have laws and
procedures in effect affording individuals an oppor-
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tunity to appeal an official finding of abuse or ne-
glect.
‘‘(7) CERTIFICATION
OF
STATE
PROCEDURES
FOR DEVELOPING AND REVIEWING WRITTEN PLANS
FOR PERMANENT PLACEMENT OF REMOVED CHIL-
DREN.—A certification that the State has in effect
procedures for ensuring that a written plan is pre-
pared for children who have been removed from their
families. Such plan shall specify the goals for achiev-
ing a permanent placement for the child in a timely
fashion, for ensuring that the written plan is re-
viewed every 6 months (until such placement is
achieved), and for ensuring that information about
such children is collected regularly and recorded in
case records, and include a description of such pro-
cedures.
‘‘(8) CERTIFICATION OF STATE PROGRAM TO
PROVIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES.—A cer-
tification that the State has in effect a program to
provide independent living services, for assistance in
making the transition to self-sufficient adulthood, to
individuals in the child protection program of the
State who are 16, but who are not 20 (or, at the op-
tion of the State, 22), years of age, and who do not
have a family to which to be returned.
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‘‘(9) CERTIFICATION
OF
STATE
PROCEDURES
TO RESPOND TO REPORTING OF MEDICAL NEGLECT
OF DISABLED INFANTS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A certification that
the State has in place for the purpose of re-
sponding to the reporting of medical neglect of
infants (including instances of withholding of
medically indicated treatment from disabled in-
fants with life-threatening conditions), proce-
dures or programs, or both (within the State
child protective services system), to provide
for—
‘‘(i) coordination and consultation
with individuals designated by and within
appropriate health-care facilities;
‘‘(ii) prompt notification by individ-
uals designated by and within appropriate
health-care facilities of cases of suspected
medical neglect (including instances of
withholding of medically indicated treat-
ment from disabled infants with life-threat-
ening conditions); and
‘‘(iii) authority, under State law, for
the State child protective service to pursue
any legal remedies, including the authority
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to initiate legal proceedings in a court of
competent jurisdiction, as may be nec-
essary to prevent the withholding of medi-
cally indicated treatment from disabled in-
fants with life-threatening conditions.
‘‘(B) WITHHOLDING OF MEDICALLY INDI-
CATED TREATMENT.—As used in subparagraph
(A), the term ‘withholding of medically indi-
cated treatment’ means the failure to respond
to the infant’s life-threatening conditions by
providing treatment (including appropriate nu-
trition, hydration, and medication) which, in the
treating physician’s or physicians’ reasonable
medical judgment, will be most likely to be ef-
fective in ameliorating or correcting all such
conditions, except that such term does not in-
clude the failure to provide treatment (other
than appropriate nutrition, hydration, or medi-
cation) to an infant when, in the treating physi-
cian’s or physicians’ reasonable medical judg-
ment—
‘‘(i) the infant is chronically and irre-
versibly comatose;
‘‘(ii) the provision of such treatment
would—
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‘‘(I) merely prolong dying;
‘‘(II) not be effective in amelio-
rating or correcting all of the infant’s
life-threatening conditions; or
‘‘(III) otherwise be futile in
terms of the survival of the infant; or
‘‘(iii) the provision of such treatment
would be virtually futile in terms of the
survival of the infant and the treatment it-
self under such circumstances would be in-
humane.
‘‘(10) IDENTIFICATION OF CHILD PROTECTION
GOALS.—The quantitative goals of the State child
protection program.
‘‘(11) CERTIFICATION OF CHILD PROTECTION
STANDARDS.—With respect to fiscal years beginning
on or after April 1, 1996, a certification that the
State—
‘‘(A) has completed an inventory of all
children who, before the inventory, had been in
foster care under the responsibility of the State
for 6 months or more, which determined—
‘‘(i) the appropriateness of, and neces-
sity for, the foster care placement;
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‘‘(ii) whether the child could or should
be returned to the parents of the child or
should be freed for adoption or other per-
manent placement; and
‘‘(iii) the services necessary to facili-
tate the return of the child or the place-
ment of the child for adoption or legal
guardianship;
‘‘(B) is operating, to the satisfaction of the
Secretary—
‘‘(i) a statewide information system
from which can be readily determined the
status, demographic characteristics, loca-
tion, and goals for the placement of every
child who is (or, within the immediately
preceding 12 months, has been) in foster
care;
‘‘(ii) a case review system for each
child receiving foster care under the super-
vision of the State;
‘‘(iii) a service program designed to
help children—
‘‘(I) where appropriate, return to
families from which they have been
removed; or
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‘‘(II) be placed for adoption, with
a legal guardian, or if adoption or
legal guardianship is determined not
to be appropriate for a child, in some
other planned, permanent living ar-
rangement; and
‘‘(iv) a preplacement preventive serv-
ices program designed to help children at
risk for foster care placement remain with
their families; and
‘‘(C)(i) has reviewed (or not later than Oc-
tober 1, 1997, will review) State policies and
administrative and judicial procedures in effect
for children abandoned at or shortly after birth
(including policies and procedures providing for
legal representation of such children); and
‘‘(ii) is implementing (or not later than Oc-
tober 1, 1997, will implement) such policies and
procedures as the State determines, on the
basis of the review described in clause (i), to be
necessary to enable permanent decisions to be
made expeditiously with respect to the place-
ment of such children.
‘‘(12) CERTIFICATION
OF
REASONABLE
EF-
FORTS BEFORE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN IN FOS-
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TER CARE.—A certification that the State in each
case will—
‘‘(A) make reasonable efforts prior to the
placement of a child in foster care, to prevent
or eliminate the need for removal of the child
from the child’s home, and to make it possible
for the child to return home; and
‘‘(B) with respect to families in which
abuse or neglect has been confirmed, provide
services or referral for services for families and
children where the State makes a determination
that the child may safely remain with the fam-
ily.
‘‘(13) CERTIFICATION
OF
CONFIDENTIALITY
AND
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
INFORMATION
DISCLO-
SURE.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A certification that
the State has in effect and operational—
‘‘(i) requirements ensuring that re-
ports and records made and maintained
pursuant to the purposes of this part shall
only be made available to—
‘‘(I) individuals who are the sub-
ject of the report;
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‘‘(II) Federal, State, or local gov-
ernment entities, or any agent of such
entities, having a need for such infor-
mation in order to carry out their re-
sponsibilities under law to protect
children from abuse and neglect;
‘‘(III) child abuse citizen review
panels;
‘‘(IV) child fatality review panels;
‘‘(V) a grand jury or court, upon
a finding that information in the
record is necessary for the determina-
tion of an issue before the court or
grand jury; and
‘‘(VI) other entities or classes of
individuals statutorily authorized by
the State to receive such information
pursuant to a legitimate State pur-
pose; and
‘‘(ii) provisions that allow for public
disclosure of the findings or information
about cases of child abuse or neglect that
have resulted in a child fatality or near fa-
tality.
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‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Disclosures made pur-
suant to clause (i) or (ii) shall not include the
identifying information concerning the individ-
ual initiating a report or complaint alleging sus-
pected instances of child abuse or neglect.
‘‘(C) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this
paragraph, the term ‘near fatality’ means an
act that, as certified by a physician, places the
child in serious or critical condition.
‘‘(b) DETERMINATIONS.—The Secretary shall deter-
mine whether a plan submitted pursuant to subsection (a)
contains the material required by subsection (a), other
than the material described in paragraph (9) of such sub-
section. The Secretary may not require a State to include
in such a plan any material not described in subsection
(a).
‘‘SEC. 103. DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.
‘‘(a) NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT DATA
SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall establish a national data
collection and analysis program—
‘‘(1) which, to the extent practicable, coordi-
nates existing State child abuse and neglect reports
and which shall include—
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‘‘(A) standardized data on substantiated,
as well as false, unfounded, or unsubstantiated
reports; and
‘‘(B) information on the number of deaths
due to child abuse and neglect; and
‘‘(2) which shall collect, compile, analyze, and
make available State child abuse and neglect report-
ing information which, to the extent practical, is uni-
versal and case-specific and integrated with other
case-based foster care and adoption data collected by
the Secretary.
‘‘(b) ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE AND ANALYSIS
AND REPORTING SYSTEMS.—The Secretary shall imple-
ment a system for the collection of data relating to adop-
tion and foster care in the United States. Such data collec-
tion system shall—
‘‘(1) avoid unnecessary diversion of resources
from agencies responsible for adoption and foster
care;
‘‘(2) assure that any data that is collected is re-
liable and consistent over time and among jurisdic-
tions through the use of uniform definitions and
methodologies;
‘‘(3) provide comprehensive national informa-
tion with respect to—
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‘‘(A) the demographic characteristics of
adoptive and foster children and their biological
and adoptive or foster parents;
‘‘(B) the status of the foster care popu-
lation (including the number of children in fos-
ter care, length of placement, type of place-
ment, availability for adoption, and goals for
ending or continuing foster care);
‘‘(C) the number and characteristics of—
‘‘(i) children placed in or removed
from foster care;
‘‘(ii) children adopted or with respect
to whom adoptions have been terminated;
and
‘‘(iii) children placed in foster care
outside the State which has placement and
care responsibility; and
‘‘(D) the extent and nature of assistance
provided by Federal, State, and local adoption
and foster care programs and the characteris-
tics of the children with respect to whom such
assistance is provided; and
‘‘(4) utilize appropriate requirements and incen-
tives to ensure that the system functions reliably
throughout the United States.
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‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION.—The Secretary
may require the provision of additional information under
the data collection system established under subsection (b)
if the addition of such information is agreed to by a major-
ity of the States.
‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT BY THE SECRETARY.—Within
6 months after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary
shall prepare a report based on information provided by
the States for the fiscal year pursuant to this section, and
shall make the report and such information available to
the Congress and the public.
‘‘TITLE 
II—RESEARCH, 
DEM-
ONSTRATIONS, 
TRAINING,
AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
‘‘SEC. 201. RESEARCH GRANTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation
with appropriate Federal officials and recognized experts
in the field, shall award grants or contracts for the con-
duct of research in accordance with subsection (b).
‘‘(b) RESEARCH.—Research projects to be conducted
using amounts received under this section—
‘‘(1) shall be designed to provide information to
better protect children from abuse or neglect and to
improve the well-being of abused or neglected chil-
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dren, with at least a portion of any such research
conducted under a project being field initiated;
‘‘(2) shall at a minimum, focus on—
‘‘(A) the nature and scope of child abuse
and neglect;
‘‘(B) the causes, prevention, assessment,
identification, treatment, cultural and socio-
economic distinctions, and the consequences of
child abuse and neglect;
‘‘(C) appropriate, effective and culturally
sensitive investigative, administrative, and judi-
cial procedures with respect to cases of child
abuse; and
‘‘(D) the national incidence of child abuse
and neglect, including—
‘‘(i) the extent to which incidents of
child abuse are increasing or decreasing in
number and severity;
‘‘(ii) the incidence of substantiated
and unsubstantiated reported child abuse
cases;
‘‘(iii) the number of substantiated
cases that result in a judicial finding of
child abuse or neglect or related criminal
court convictions;
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‘‘(iv) the extent to which the number
of unsubstantiated, unfounded and false
reported cases of child abuse or neglect
have contributed to the inability of a State
to respond effectively to serious cases of
child abuse or neglect;
‘‘(v) the extent to which the lack of
adequate resources and the lack of ade-
quate training of reporters have contrib-
uted to the inability of a State to respond
effectively to serious cases of child abuse
and neglect;
‘‘(vi) the number of unsubstantiated,
false, or unfounded reports that have re-
sulted in a child being placed in substitute
care, and the duration of such placement;
‘‘(vii) the extent to which unsubstan-
tiated reports return as more serious cases
of child abuse or neglect;
‘‘(viii) the incidence and prevalence of
physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and
physical and emotional neglect in sub-
stitute care;
‘‘(ix) the incidence and outcomes of
abuse allegations reported within the con-
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text of divorce, custody, or other family
court proceedings, and the interaction be-
tween this venue and the child protective
services system; and
‘‘(x) the cases of children reunited
with their families or receiving family pres-
ervation services that result in subsequent
substantiated reports of child abuse and
neglect, including the death of the child;
and
‘‘(3) may include the appointment of an advi-
sory board to—
‘‘(A) provide recommendations on coordi-
nating Federal, State, and local child abuse and
neglect activities at the State level with similar
activities at the State and local level pertaining
to family violence prevention;
‘‘(B) consider specific modifications needed
in State laws and programs to reduce the num-
ber of unfounded or unsubstantiated reports of
child abuse or neglect while enhancing the abil-
ity to identify and substantiate legitimate cases
of abuse or neglect which place a child in dan-
ger; and
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‘‘(C) provide recommendations for modi-
fications needed to facilitate coordinated na-
tional and Statewide data collection with re-
spect to child protection and child welfare.
‘‘SEC. 202. NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR INFORMATION
RELATING TO CHILD ABUSE.
‘‘(a) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
Secretary 
shall,
through the Department of Health and Human Services,
or by one or more contracts of not less than 3 years dura-
tion provided through a competition, establish a national
clearinghouse for information relating to child abuse.
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary shall, through the
clearinghouse established by subsection (a)—
‘‘(1) maintain, coordinate, and disseminate in-
formation on all programs, including private pro-
grams, that show promise of success with respect to
the prevention, assessment, identification, and treat-
ment of child abuse and neglect;
‘‘(2) maintain and disseminate information re-
lating to—
‘‘(A) the incidence of cases of child abuse
and neglect in the United States;
‘‘(B) the incidence of such cases in popu-
lations determined by the Secretary under sec-
tion 105(a)(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention,
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Adoption, and Family Services Act of 1988 (as
such section was in effect on the day before the
date of enactment of this Act); and
‘‘(C) the incidence of any such cases relat-
ed to alcohol or drug abuse;
‘‘(3) disseminate information related to data
collected and reported by States pursuant to section
103;
‘‘(4) compile, analyze, and publish a summary
of the research conducted under section 201; and
‘‘(5) solicit public comment on the components
of such clearinghouse.
‘‘SEC. 203. GRANTS FOR DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.
‘‘(a) AWARDING OF GENERAL GRANTS.—The Sec-
retary may make grants to, and enter into contracts with,
public and nonprofit private agencies or organizations (or
combinations of such agencies or organizations) for the
purpose of developing, implementing, and operating time
limited, demonstration programs and projects for the fol-
lowing purposes:
‘‘(1) INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.—
The Secretary may award grants to public agencies
that demonstrate innovation in responding to reports
of child abuse and neglect including programs of col-
laborative partnerships between the State child pro-
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tective service agency, community social service
agencies and family support programs, schools,
churches and synagogues, and other community
agencies to allow for the establishment of a triage
system that—
‘‘(A) accepts, screens and assesses reports
received to determine which such reports re-
quire an intensive intervention and which re-
quire voluntary referral to another agency, pro-
gram or project;
‘‘(B) provides, either directly or through
referral, a variety of community-linked services
to assist families in preventing child abuse and
neglect; and
‘‘(C) provides further investigation and in-
tensive intervention where the child’s safety is
in jeopardy.
‘‘(2) 
KINSHIP
CARE
PROGRAMS
AND
PROJECTS.—The Secretary may award grants to
public entities to assist such entities in developing or
implementing procedures using adult relatives as the
preferred placement for children removed from their
home, where such relatives are determined to be ca-
pable of providing a safe nurturing environment for
the child and where, to the maximum extent prac-
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ticable, such relatives comply with relevant State
child protection standards.
‘‘(3) ADOPTION
OPPORTUNITIES.—The Sec-
retary may award grants to public entities to assist
such entities in developing or implementing pro-
grams to expand opportunities for the adoption of
children with special needs.
‘‘(4) FAMILY RESOURCE CENTERS.—The Sec-
retary may award grants to public or nonprofit pri-
vate entities to provide for the establishment of fam-
ily resource programs and support services that—
‘‘(A) develop, expand, and enhance state-
wide networks of community-based, prevention-
focused centers, programs, or services that pro-
vide comprehensive support for families;
‘‘(B) promote the development of parental
competencies and capacities in order to increase
family stability;
‘‘(C) support the additional needs of fami-
lies with children with disabilities;
‘‘(D) foster the development of a contin-
uum of preventive services for children and
families through State and community-based
collaborations and partnerships (both public
and private); and
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‘‘(E) maximize funding for the financing,
planning, community mobilization, collabora-
tion, assessment, information and referral,
startup, training and technical assistance, infor-
mation management, reporting, and evaluation
costs for establishing, operating, or expanding a
statewide network of community-based, preven-
tion-focused family resource and support serv-
ices.
‘‘(5) OTHER
INNOVATIVE
PROGRAMS.—The
Secretary may award grants to public or private
nonprofit organizations to assist such entities in de-
veloping or implementing innovative programs and
projects that show promise of preventing and treat-
ing cases of child abuse and neglect (such as Par-
ents Anonymous).
‘‘(b) GRANTS
FOR
ABANDONED
INFANT
PRO-
GRAMS.—The Secretary may award grants to public and
nonprofit private entities to assist such entities in develop-
ing or implementing procedures—
‘‘(1) to prevent the abandonment of infants and
young children, including the provision of services to
members of the natural family for any condition that
increases the probability of abandonment of an in-
fant or young child;
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‘‘(2) to identify and address the needs of aban-
doned infants and young children;
‘‘(3) to assist abandoned infants and young
children to reside with their natural families or in
foster care, as appropriate;
‘‘(4) to recruit, train, and retain foster families
for abandoned infants and young children;
‘‘(5) to carry out residential care programs for
abandoned infants and young children who are un-
able to reside with their families or to be placed in
foster care;
‘‘(6) to carry out programs of respite care for
families and foster families of infants and young
children; and
‘‘(7) to recruit and train health and social serv-
ices personnel to work with families, foster care fam-
ilies, and residential care programs for abandoned
infants and young children.
‘‘(c) EVALUATION.—In making grants for demonstra-
tion projects under this section, the Secretary shall require
all such projects to be evaluated for their effectiveness.
Funding for such evaluations shall be provided either as
a stated percentage of a demonstration grant or as a sepa-
rate grant entered into by the Secretary for the purpose
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of evaluating a particular demonstration project or group
of projects.
‘‘SEC. 204. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
‘‘(a) CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide
technical assistance under this title to States to as-
sist such States in planning, improving, developing,
and carrying out programs and activities relating to
the prevention, assessment identification, and treat-
ment of child abuse and neglect.
‘‘(2) EVALUATION.—Technical assistance pro-
vided under paragraph (1) may include an evalua-
tion or identification of—
‘‘(A) various methods and procedures for
the investigation, assessment, and prosecution
of child physical and sexual abuse cases;
‘‘(B) ways to mitigate psychological trau-
ma to the child victim; and
‘‘(C) effective programs carried out by the
States under this Act.
‘‘(b) ADOPTION
OPPORTUNITIES.—The Secretary
shall provide, directly or by grant to or contract with pub-
lic or private nonprofit agencies or organizations—
‘‘(1) technical assistance and resource and re-
ferral information to assist State or local govern-
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ments with termination of parental rights issues, in
recruiting and retaining adoptive families, in the
successful placement of children with special needs,
and in the provision of pre- and post-placement serv-
ices, including post-legal adoption services; and
‘‘(2) other assistance to help State and local
governments replicate successful adoption-related
projects from other areas in the United States.
‘‘SEC. 205. TRAINING RESOURCES.
‘‘(a) TRAINING
PROGRAMS.—The Secretary may
award grants to public or private nonprofit organiza-
tions—
‘‘(1) for the training of professional and para-
professional personnel in the fields of medicine, law,
education, law enforcement, social work, and other
relevant fields who are engaged in, or intend to work
in, the field of prevention, identification, and treat-
ment of child abuse and neglect, including the links
between domestic violence and child abuse;
‘‘(2) to provide culturally specific instruction in
methods of protecting children from child abuse and
neglect to children and to persons responsible for the
welfare of children, including parents of and persons
who work with children with disabilities; and
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‘‘(3) to improve the recruitment, selection, and
training of volunteers serving in private and public
nonprofit children, youth and family service organi-
zations in order to prevent child abuse and neglect
through collaborative analysis of current recruit-
ment, selection, and training programs and develop-
ment of model programs for dissemination and rep-
lication nationally.
‘‘(b) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec-
retary may provide for and disseminate information relat-
ing to various training resources available at the State and
local level to—
‘‘(1) individuals who are engaged, or who intend
to engage, in the prevention, identification, assess-
ment, and treatment of child abuse and neglect; and
‘‘(2) appropriate State and local officials, in-
cluding prosecutors, to assist in training law en-
forcement, legal, judicial, medical, mental health,
education, and child welfare personnel in appropriate
methods of interacting during investigative, adminis-
trative, and judicial proceedings with children who
have been subjected to abuse.
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‘‘SEC. 206. APPLICATIONS AND AMOUNTS OF GRANTS.
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT
OF APPLICATION.—The Sec-
retary may not make a grant to a State or other entity
under this title unless—
‘‘(1) an application for the grant is submitted
to the Secretary;
‘‘(2) with respect to carrying out the purpose
for which the grant is to be made, the application
provides assurances of compliance satisfactory to the
Secretary; and
‘‘(3) the application otherwise is in such form,
is made in such manner, and contains such agree-
ments, assurances, and information as the Secretary
determines to be necessary to carry out this title.
‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The Secretary shall de-
termine the amount of a grant to be awarded under this
title.
‘‘SEC. 207. PEER REVIEW FOR GRANTS.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PEER REVIEW PROCESS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in con-
sultation with experts in the field and other Federal
agencies, establish a formal, rigorous, and meritori-
ous peer review process for purposes of evaluating
and reviewing applications for grants under this title
and determining the relative merits of the projects
for which such assistance is requested. The purpose
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of this process is to enhance the quality and useful-
ness of research in the field of child abuse and ne-
glect.
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERS.—In estab-
lishing the process required by paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall appoint to the peer review panels
only members who are experts in the field of child
abuse and neglect or related disciplines, with appro-
priate expertise in the application to be reviewed,
and who are not individuals who are officers or em-
ployees of the Administration for Children and Fam-
ilies. The panels shall meet as often as is necessary
to facilitate the expeditious review of applications for
grants and contracts under this title, but may not
meet less than once a year. The Secretary shall en-
sure that the peer review panel utilizes scientifically
valid review criteria and scoring guidelines for re-
view committees.
‘‘(b) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE.—
Each peer review panel established under subsection
(a)(1) that reviews any application for a grant shall—
‘‘(1) determine and evaluate the merit of each
project described in such application;
‘‘(2) rank such application with respect to all
other applications it reviews in the same priority
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area for the fiscal year involved, according to the rel-
ative merit of all of the projects that are described
in such application and for which financial assist-
ance is requested; and
‘‘(3) make recommendations to the Secretary
concerning whether the application for the project
shall be approved.
The Secretary shall award grants under this title on the
basis of competitive review.
‘‘(c) NOTICE OF APPROVAL.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide
grants under this title from among the projects
which the peer review panels established under sub-
section (a)(1) have determined to have merit.
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT OF EXPLANATION.—In the
instance in which the Secretary approves an applica-
tion for a program under this title without having
approved all applications ranked above such applica-
tion, the Secretary shall append to the approved ap-
plication a detailed explanation of the reasons relied
on for approving the application and for failing to
approve each pending application that is superior in
merit.
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etary, legislative, administrative, planning, evaluation, and
legal functions) related to the activity.
(g) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REPORT.—Not
later than July 1, 1997, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall prepare and submit to the committees
described in subsection (b)(3), a report concerning the de-
terminations made by each Secretary under subsection (c).
Such report shall contain an analysis of the determina-
tions made by each Secretary under subsection (c) and
a determination as to whether further reductions in full-
time equivalent positions are appropriate.
SEC. 4802. REDUCTIONS IN FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall reduce the Federal workforce within
the Department of Health and Human Services by an
amount equal to the sum of—
(1) 75 percent of the full-time equivalent posi-
tions at such Department that relate to any direct
spending program, or any program funded through
discretionary spending, that has been converted into
a block grant program under this Act and the
amendments made by this Act; and
(2) an amount equal to 75 percent of that por-
tion of the total full-time equivalent departmental
management positions at such Department that