I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6307 
To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to assist 
children in foster care in developing or maintaining connections to family, 
community, support, health care, and school, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 19, 2008 
Mr. MCDERMOTT (for himself and Mr. WELLER of Illinois) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security 
Act to assist children in foster care in developing or 
maintaining connections to family, community, support, 
health care, and school, 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 ‘‘Fostering Connections 
to Success Act’’. 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In order to receive 
payments under section 474(a)(6), a State 
shall— 
‘‘(i) negotiate and enter into a writ-
ten, binding kinship guardianship assist-
ance agreement with the prospective rel-
ative guardian of a child who meets the re-
quirements of this paragraph; 
‘‘(ii) provide the prospective relative 
guardian with a copy of the agreement; 
and 
‘‘(iii) certify that any child on whose 
behalf kinship guardianship assistance pay-
ments are made under the agreement shall 
be provided medical assistance under title 
XIX 
in 
accordance 
with 
section 
1902(a)(10)(A)(i)(I). 
‘‘(B) 
MINIMUM
REQUIREMENTS.—The 
agreement shall specify, at a minimum— 
‘‘(i) the amount of, and manner in 
which, each kinship guardianship assist-
ance payment will be provided under the 
agreement; 
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‘‘(ii) the additional services and assist-
ance that the child and relative guardian 
will be eligible for under the agreement; 
‘‘(iii) the procedure by which the rel-
ative guardian may apply for additional 
services as needed; and 
‘‘(iv) subject to subparagraph (D), 
that the State will pay the total cost of 
nonrecurring expenses associated with ob-
taining legal guardianship of the child, to 
the extent the total cost does not exceed 
$2,000. 
‘‘(C) INTERSTATE
APPLICABILITY.—The 
agreement shall provide that the agreement 
shall remain in effect without regard to the 
State residency of the kinship guardian. 
‘‘(D) NO
EFFECT
ON
FEDERAL
REIM-
BURSEMENT.—Nothing in subparagraph (B)(iv) 
shall be construed as affecting the ability of the 
State to obtain reimbursement from the Fed-
eral Government for costs described in that 
subparagraph. 
‘‘(2) KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAY-
MENT.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The kinship guardian-
ship assistance payment shall be equal to the 
amount of the foster care maintenance payment 
for which the child would have been eligible if 
the child had remained in a foster family home, 
or, at State option, the amount of the adoption 
assistance payment for which the child would 
have been eligible if the child had been adopted, 
and may be readjusted periodically based on 
changes in the circumstances of the relative 
guardians involved and the needs of the child. 
Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the 
amount of the kinship guardianship assistance 
payment may not exceed the foster care mainte-
nance payment which would have been paid 
during the period involved if the child had been 
in a foster family home. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—A State may not make 
a kinship guardianship assistance payment to a 
relative guardian for any child who has attained 
18 years of age, or such greater age as the 
State may elect under section 475(8)(B)(iii). 
‘‘(3) CHILD’S
ELIGIBILITY
FOR
A
KINSHIP 
GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAYMENT.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A child is eligible for 
a kinship guardianship assistance payment 
under this subsection if the State agency deter-
mines the following: 
‘‘(i) The child has been— 
‘‘(I) removed from his or her 
home pursuant to a voluntary place-
ment agreement or as a result of a ju-
dicial determination to the effect that 
continuation in the home would be 
contrary to the welfare of the child; 
‘‘(II) under the care of the State 
agency for the 12-month period end-
ing on the date of the agency deter-
mination; 
‘‘(III) eligible for foster care 
maintenance payments under section 
472 while in the home of the prospec-
tive relative guardian; and 
‘‘(IV) residing for at least 6 
months with the prospective relative 
guardian. 
‘‘(ii) Being returned home or adopted 
are not appropriate permanency options 
for the child. 
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‘‘(iii) The child demonstrates a strong 
attachment to the prospective relative 
guardian and the relative guardian has a 
strong commitment to caring permanently 
for the child. 
‘‘(iv) With respect to a child who has 
attained 14 years of age, the child has 
been consulted regarding the kinship 
guardianship arrangement. 
‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF SIBLINGS.—With re-
spect to a child described in subparagraph (A) 
whose sibling or siblings are not so described— 
‘‘(i) the child and any sibling of the 
child may be placed in the same kinship 
guardianship arrangement if the State 
agency and the relative agree on the appro-
priateness of the arrangement for the sib-
lings; and 
‘‘(ii) kinship guardianship assistance 
payments may be paid for the child and 
each sibling so placed.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) ELIGIBILITY
FOR
ADOPTION
ASSISTANCE 
PAYMENTS.—Section 473(a)(2) of such Act (42 
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U.S.C. 673(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(D) In determining the eligibility for adoption 
assistance payments of a child in a legal guardian-
ship arrangement described in section 471(a)(28), 
the placement of the child with the relative guardian 
involved shall be considered never to have been 
made.’’. 
(2) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(20) of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) is amended— 
(i) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (C); and 
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(D) provides procedures for criminal 
records 
checks, 
including 
fingerprint-based 
checks of national crime information databases 
(as defined in section 534(e)(3)(A) of title 28, 
United States Code), on any relative guardian, 
and for checks described in subparagraph (C) 
of this paragraph on any relative guardian and 
any other adult living in the home of any rel-
ative guardian, before the relative guardian may 
be finally approved for placement of a child re-
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