Services determines that State legislation (other 
than legislation appropriating funds) is required in 
order for a State plan developed pursuant to subpart 
1 of part B or part E of title IV of the Social Secu-
rity Act to meet the additional requirements imposed 
by the amendments made by this section, the plan 
shall not be regarded as failing to meet any of the 
additional requirements 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 leg-
islative session, each year of the session is deemed 
to be a separate regular session of the State legisla-
ture. 
(3) APPLICATION TO PROGRAMS OPERATED BY 
INDIAN TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an 
Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium 
which the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
determines requires time to take action necessary to 
comply with the additional requirements imposed by 
the amendments made by this section (whether the 
tribe, organization, or tribal consortium has a plan 
under section 479B of the Social Security Act or a 
cooperative agreement or contract entered into with 
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a State), the Secretary shall provide the tribe, orga-
nization, or tribal consortium with such additional 
time as the Secretary determines is necessary for the 
tribe, organization, or tribal consortium to take the 
action to comply with the additional requirements 
before being regarded as failing to comply with the 
requirements. 
SEC. 3. GREATER FLEXIBILITY FOR STATES BEFORE PETI-
TIONING TO MODIFY PARENTAL RIGHTS. 
Section 475(5)(E) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 675(5)(E)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘15 of the most recent 22 
months’’ and inserting ‘‘24 consecutive months and 
who is not in the care of kin (including fictive kin), 
the State may consider filing or joining a petition 
for modification or termination of parental rights 
only after demonstrating by clear and convincing 
evidence that the State has provided to the family of 
the child such services, supports, and time needed to 
address the reasons for foster care and enable the 
family to safely reunify, and by demonstrating com-
pelling reasons why the modification or termination 
is in the best interest of the child, and if the child 
is living with a kinship (including fictive kinship) 
caregiver, the State agency shall provide a meaning-
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ful opportunity for the kinship (including fictive kin-
ship) caregiver to express whether modification or 
termination is or is not in the best interests of the 
child and shall document such in the case plan of 
the child’’; 
(2) by striking clause (i) and redesignating 
clauses (ii) and (iii) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec-
tively; 
(3) in clause (ii) (as so redesignated by para-
graph (2) of this section), by striking the semicolon 
and inserting a comma; and 
(4) by inserting after and below clause (ii) (as 
so redesignated) the following: 
‘‘except that, in the case of a child to whom 
this subparagraph applies solely because the 
child has been in foster care under the responsi-
bility of the State for 24 consecutive months 
and is not in the care of kin (including fictive 
kin), the State may not file or join such a peti-
tion if a parent of the child is actively engaged 
in services to address the reasons the child en-
tered care (including treatment for substance 
use disorder, mental health concerns, or par-
enting skills), if based principally on the incar-
ceration of a parent, or if based principally on 
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the detention of the parent by the Department 
of Homeland Security or the deportation of the 
parent;’’. 
SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF PURPOSES OF COURT IMPROVE-
MENT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 438 of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 629h) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(2)— 
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A), by striking ‘‘state’’ and inserting ‘‘State’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘and their families’’ 
before ‘‘in a timely and complete manner’’; 
and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘, as set forth in the 
Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 
(Public Law 105–89), including the re-
quirements in the Act related to concur-
rent planning’’; 
(C) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(D) in subparagraph (C), by adding ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; and 
(E) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(D) to increase access to high quality 
legal representation at all stages of a child wel-
fare case for all parties to the case, including 
the children, the parents of the children, and, 
where applicable, kinship care providers and In-
dian tribes;’’; and 
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—In order to be eligible to re-
ceive a grant under this section, a highest State court shall 
have in effect a rule requiring State courts to ensure that 
foster parents, pre-adoptive parents, and kinship (includ-
ing fictive kinship) caregivers of a child in foster care 
under the responsibility of the State are notified of any 
proceeding to be held with respect to the child, shall pro-
vide for the training of judicial officers, attorneys, and 
court and child welfare staff in child welfare cases on Fed-
eral child welfare policies and payment limitations with re-
spect to children in foster care who are placed in settings 
that are not a foster family home, and shall submit to 
the Secretary an application at such time, in such form, 
and including such information and assurances as the Sec-
retary may require, including— 
‘‘(1) a description of how courts and child wel-
fare agencies on the local and State levels will use 
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