I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 879 
To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act with respect to 
infants born with and identified as being affected by substance use 
or withdrawal symptoms, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, or Fetal Alco-
hol Spectrum Disorder, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2021 
Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself and Mr. GUTHRIE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act 
with respect to infants born with and identified as being 
affected by substance use or withdrawal symptoms, Neo-
natal Abstinence Syndrome, or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum 
Disorder, 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. GRANTS TO STATES. 
Paragraph (2) of section 106(b) of the Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)) is 
amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (B)— 
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(A) by striking clauses (ii) and (iii); and 
(B) by redesignating clauses (iv) through 
(xxv) as clauses (ii) through (xxiii), respectively; 
and 
(2) in subparagraph (D)— 
(A) by redesignating clauses (i) through 
(vi) as clauses (iii) through (viii), respectively; 
and 
(B) by inserting before clause (iii), as so 
redesignated: 
‘‘(i) policies and procedures (including 
appropriate referrals to child welfare serv-
ice systems and for other appropriate serv-
ices (including home visiting services and 
mutual support and parent partner pro-
grams) determined by a family assessment) 
to address the needs of infants born with 
and identified as being affected by sub-
stance use or withdrawal symptoms result-
ing from prenatal drug exposure, or a 
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, includ-
ing a requirement that health care pro-
viders involved in the delivery or care of 
such infants notify the child protective wel-
fare service system of the occurrence of 
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such condition in such infants, except 
that— 
‘‘(I) child protective services shall 
undertake an investigation only when 
the findings of a family assessment 
warrant such investigation; and 
‘‘(II) such notification shall not 
be construed to— 
‘‘(aa) establish a definition 
under Federal law of what con-
stitutes child abuse or neglect; or 
‘‘(bb) require prosecution for 
any illegal action; 
‘‘(ii) the development of a multi-dis-
ciplinary plan of safe care for the infant 
born and identified as being affected by 
substance use or withdrawal symptoms or 
a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder to en-
sure the safety and well-being of such in-
fant following release from the care of 
health care providers, including through— 
‘‘(I) using a risk-based approach 
to develop each plan of safe care; 
‘‘(II) addressing, through coordi-
nated service delivery, the health and 
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substance 
use 
disorder 
treatment 
needs of the infant and affected fam-
ily or caregiver as determined by a 
family assessment; and 
‘‘(III) the development and im-
plementation by the State of moni-
toring systems regarding the imple-
mentation of such plans of safe care 
to determine whether and in what 
manner local entities are providing, in 
accordance with State requirements, 
referrals to and delivery of appro-
priate services for the infant and af-
fected family or caregiver;’’. 
SEC. 2. GUIDANCE AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 
Section 114(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5108(1)) is amended— 
(1) in each of subparagraphs (A) and (B), by 
striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) include written guidance and tech-
nical assistance to support States, which shall 
include guidance on the requirements of this 
Act with respect to infants born with and iden-
tified as being affected by substance use or 
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withdrawal symptoms, Neonatal Abstinence 
Syndrome, or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, 
as described in clauses (i) and (ii) of section 
106(b)(2)(D), including by— 
‘‘(i) enhancing States’ understanding 
of requirements and flexibilities under the 
law, including by clarifying key terms; 
‘‘(ii) addressing State-identified chal-
lenges with developing, implementing, and 
monitoring plans of safe care; and 
‘‘(iii) disseminating best practices on 
implementation of plans of safe care, on 
such topics as differential response, col-
laboration and coordination, and identifica-
tion and delivery of services for different 
populations, while recognizing needs of dif-
ferent populations and varying community 
approaches across States; and 
‘‘(D) include the submission of a report to 
the Committee on Education and Labor of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 
the Senate not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act that contains a de-
scription of the activities taken by the Secretary 
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