I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8814 
To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to establish a 
competitive grant program to enhance the ability of evidence-based child 
welfare programs to meet the research standards set by the Family 
First Prevention Services Clearinghouse, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 25, 2024 
Mr. FEENSTRA (for himself and Mr. KILDEE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act 
to establish a competitive grant program to enhance the 
ability of evidence-based child welfare programs to meet 
the research standards set by the Family First Preven-
tion Services Clearinghouse, 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 ‘‘Strengthening Evi-
dence-based Prevention Services Act of 2024’’. 
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SEC. 2. COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM. 
Section 435 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
629e) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) PREVENTION SERVICES EVALUATION PARTNER-
SHIPS.— 
‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 
is to authorize the Secretary to make competitive 
grants to support the timely evaluation of— 
‘‘(A) services and programs described in 
section 471(e); or 
‘‘(B) kinship navigator programs described 
in section 474(a)(7). 
‘‘(2) GRANTS.—In accordance with applications 
approved under this subsection, the Secretary may 
make grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible enti-
ties to carry out projects designed to evaluate a serv-
ice or program provided by the eligible entity or an 
entity in partnership with the eligible entity with re-
spect to the requirements for a promising practice, 
supported practice, or well-supported practice de-
scribed in section 471(e)(4)(C). 
‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may 
apply to the Secretary for a grant under this 
subsection to carry out a project that meets the 
following requirements: 
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‘‘(i) The project is designed in accord-
ance with paragraph (2). 
‘‘(ii) The project is to be carried out 
by the applicant in partnership with— 
‘‘(I) a State agency that admin-
isters, or supervises the administra-
tion of, the State plan approved under 
part E, or an agency administering 
the plan under the supervision of the 
State agency; and 
‘‘(II) if the applicant is unable or 
unwilling to do so, at least 1 external 
evaluator to carry out the evaluation 
of the service or program provided by 
the applicant. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The application shall 
contain the following, in a form and manner de-
termined by the Secretary: 
‘‘(i) A description of the project, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(I) a statement explaining why 
a grant is necessary to carry out the 
project; and 
‘‘(II) the amount of grant funds 
that would be disbursed to each entity 
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described in subparagraph (A)(ii) in 
partnership with the applicant. 
‘‘(ii) A certification from each entity 
described in subparagraph (A)(ii) that pro-
vides assurances that the individual or en-
tity is in partnership with the applicant 
and will fulfill the responsibilities of the 
entity specified in the description provided 
pursuant to clause (i) of this subpara-
graph. 
‘‘(iii) A certification from the appli-
cant that provides assurances that the ap-
plicant intends to comply with subpara-
graph (A)(ii)(II), if applicable. 
‘‘(iv) A certification from the appli-
cant that the applicant requires an exter-
nal evaluator secured by the Secretary pur-
suant to paragraph (5), if applicable. 
‘‘(v) Any additional information the 
Secretary may require. 
‘‘(4) PRIORITIES.—In approving applications 
under this subsection, the Secretary shall prioritize 
the following: 
‘‘(A) Addressing, with respect to the clear-
inghouse of practices described in section 
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476(d)(2), deficiencies or gaps identified by the 
Secretary in consultation with— 
‘‘(i) States, political subdivisions of a 
State, and tribal communities carrying out, 
or receiving the benefits of, a service or 
program; and 
‘‘(ii) child welfare experts, including 
experts with lived experience. 
‘‘(B) Maximizing the number of services or 
programs to be included in the clearinghouse of 
practices described in section 476(d)(2). 
‘‘(C) Timely completing evaluations and 
the production of evidence. 
‘‘(D) Supporting services or programs that 
are based on, or are adaptations to new popu-
lation settings of, a service or program with re-
liable evidence about the benefits and risks of 
the service or program, as determined by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(5) 
AVAILABILITY
OF
EXTERNAL
EVAL-
UATORS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before accepting ap-
plications under this subsection, the Secretary 
shall make reasonable efforts to secure at least 
1 entity to serve as an external evaluator for 
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any eligible entity that includes a certification 
under paragraph (3)(B)(iv) with an application 
under this subsection. 
‘‘(B) FEES FOR SERVICES.—The Secretary 
and each external evaluator described in sub-
paragraph (A) shall— 
‘‘(i) agree to and establish— 
‘‘(I) the fees that the external 
evaluator may charge to an eligible 
entity to carry out an evaluation of a 
service or program provided by the eli-
gible entity; and 
‘‘(II) the expected timeframe for 
the external evaluator to carry out the 
evaluation based on the needs of the 
eligible entity; and 
‘‘(ii) make publicly available a speci-
fication of the fees and timeframe before 
the Secretary accepts applications under 
this subsection. 
‘‘(C) NO EFFECT ON CONSIDERATION OF 
APPLICATION.—The Secretary may not consider 
whether an eligible entity is in partnership with 
an external evaluator described in paragraph 
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(A) in approving an application under this sub-
section submitted by the eligible entity. 
‘‘(6) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(A) BY
GRANT
RECIPIENTS.—Within 1 
year after receiving a grant under this sub-
section, and every year thereafter for the next 
5 years, the grant recipient shall submit to the 
Secretary a written report on— 
‘‘(i) the use of grant funds; 
‘‘(ii) whether the program or service 
evaluated by the project meets a require-
ment specified in section 471(e)(4)(C), in-
cluding information about— 
‘‘(I) how the program or service 
is being carried out in accordance 
with standards specified in the re-
quirement; 
‘‘(II) any outcomes of the pro-
gram or service; and 
‘‘(III) any outcome with respect 
to which the service or program com-
pares favorably to a comparison prac-
tice; and 
‘‘(iii) whether the Secretary has in-
cluded the program or service in an update 
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‘‘(7) RESTRICTION
ON
FUNDING.—The Sec-
retary may not make a grant under this subsection 
to an eligible entity that is a for-profit business. 
‘‘(8) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may pre-
scribe regulations to carry out this subsection. 
‘‘(9) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—There are author-
ized to be appropriated to carry out this sub-
section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 
through 2029. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.—Of the amounts avail-
able to carry out this subsection, the Secretary 
may use not more than 5 percent to provide 
technical assistance. 
‘‘(C) CARRYOVER.—Amounts made avail-
able to carry out this section shall remain avail-
able until expended. 
‘‘(10) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi-
ble entity’ means any of the following providing 
a service or program or, in the sole determina-
tion of the Secretary, able to provide a service 
or program if awarded a grant under this sub-
section: 
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