H. R. 4—174
‘‘(d) DUTIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each panel established under subsection
(a) shall, by examining specific cases, determine the extent
to which the State and local agencies responsible for carrying
out activities under this part are doing so in accordance with
the State plan, with the child protection standards set forth
in section 422(a)(12), and with any other criteria that the
panel considers important to ensure the protection of children.
‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The members and staff of any
panel established under subsection (a) shall not disclose to
any person or government any information about any specific
child protection case with respect to which the panel is provided
information.
‘‘(e) STATE ASSISTANCE.—Each State that establishes a panel
under subsection (a) shall afford the panel access to any information
on any case that the panel desires to review, and shall provide
the panel with staff assistance in performing its duties.
‘‘(f) REPORTS.—Each panel established under subsection (a)
shall make a public report of its activities after each meeting.
‘‘SEC. 427. DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.
‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORTS ON STATE CHILD WELFARE GOALS.—On
the date that is 3 years after the effective date of this part and
annually thereafter, each State to which a grant is made under
section 423 shall submit to the Secretary a report that contains
quantitative information on the extent to which the State is making
progress toward achieving the goals of the State child protection
program.
‘‘(b) STATE DATA REPORTS.—
‘‘(1) BIANNUAL REPORTS.—Each State to which a grant is
made under section 423 shall biannually submit to the Sec-
retary a report that includes the following disaggregated case
record information with respect to each child within the State
receiving publicly-supported child welfare services under the
State program funded under this part:
‘‘(A) Whether the child received services under the
program funded under this part.
‘‘(B) The age, race, gender, and family income of the
parents and child.
‘‘(C) The county of residence of the child.
‘‘(D) Whether the child was removed from the family.
‘‘(E) Whether the child entered foster care under the
responsibility of the State.
‘‘(F) The type of out-of-home care in which the child
was placed (including institutional care, group home care,
family foster care, or relative placement).
‘‘(G) The child’s permanency planning goal, such as
family reunification, kinship care, adoption, or independent
living.
‘‘(H) Whether the child was released for adoption.
‘‘(I) Whether the child exited from foster care, and,
if so, the reason for the exit, such as return to family,
placement with relatives, adoption, independent living, or
death.
‘‘(J) Other information as required by the Secretary
and agreed to by a majority of the States, including
information necessary to ensure that there is a smooth
H. R. 4—175
transition of data from the Adoption and Foster Care
Analysis and Reporting Systems and the National Center
on Abuse and Neglect Data System to the data reporting
system required under this section.
‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each State to which a grant is
made under section 423 shall annually submit to the Secretary
a report that includes the following information:
‘‘(A) The number of children reported to the State
during the year as alleged victims of abuse or neglect.
‘‘(B) The number of children for whom an investigation
of alleged maltreatment resulted in a determination of
substantiated abuse or neglect, the number for whom a
report of maltreatment was unsubstantiated, and the num-
ber for whom a report of maltreatment was determined
to be false.
‘‘(C) The number of families that received preventive
services.
‘‘(D) The number of infants abandoned during the year,
the number of such infants who were adopted, and the
length of time between abandonment and adoption.
‘‘(E) The number of deaths of children resulting from
child abuse or neglect.
‘‘(F) The number of deaths occurring while children
were in the custody of the State.
‘‘(G) The number of children served by the State
independent living program.
‘‘(H) 
Quantitative 
measurements 
demonstrating
whether the State is making progress toward the child
protection goals identified by the State.
‘‘(I) The types of maltreatment suffered by victims
of child abuse and neglect.
‘‘(J) The number of abused and neglected children
receiving services.
‘‘(K) The average length of stay of children in out-
of-home care.
‘‘(L) The response of the State to the findings and
recommendations of the citizen review panels established
under section 426.
‘‘(M) Other information as required by the Secretary
and agreed to by a majority of the States, including
information necessary to ensure that there is a smooth
transition of data from the Adoption and Foster Care
Analysis and Reporting Systems and the National Center
on Abuse and Neglect Data System to the data reporting
system required under this section.
‘‘(3) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall define
by regulation the information required to be included in the
reports submitted under paragraphs (1) and (2).
‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF STATES TO USE ESTIMATES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State may comply with a requirement
to provide precise numerical information described in subsection
(b) by submitting an estimate which is obtained through the
use of scientifically acceptable sampling methods.
‘‘(2) SECRETARIAL REVIEW OF SAMPLING METHODS.—The Sec-
retary shall periodically review the sampling methods used
by a State to comply with a requirement to provide information
described in subsection (b). The Secretary may require a State
H. R. 4—176
to revise the sampling methods so used if such methods do
not meet scientific standards and shall impose the penalty
described in section 423(f)(4) upon a State if a State has not
complied with such requirements.
‘‘(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 subsection (b), and shall make the report and
such information available to the Congress and the public.
‘‘(e) SCOPE OF STATE PROGRAM FUNDED UNDER THIS PART.—
As used in subsection (b), the term ‘State program funded under
this part’ includes any equivalent State program.
‘‘SEC. 428. FUNDING FOR STUDIES OF CHILD WELFARE.
‘‘(a) NATIONAL RANDOM SAMPLE STUDY OF CHILD WELFARE.—
There are authorized to be appropriated and there are appropriated
to the Secretary for each of fiscal years 1996 through 2002—
‘‘(1) $6,000,000 to conduct a national study based on ran-
dom samples of children who are at risk of child abuse or
neglect, or are determined by States to have been abused or
neglected under section 208 of the Child and Family Services
Block Grant Act of 1995; and
‘‘(2) $10,000,000 for such other research as may be nec-
essary under such section.
‘‘(b) STATE COURTS ASSESSMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OF HAN-
DLING
OF PROCEEDINGS RELATING
TO FOSTER CARE
AND ADOP-
TION.—There are authorized to be appropriated and there are
appropriated to the Secretary for each of fiscal years 1996 through
1998 $10,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out section 13712
of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 670
note). All funds appropriated under this subsection shall be
expended not later than September 30, 1999.
‘‘SEC. 429. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘For purposes of this part, the following definitions shall apply:
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE
REVIEW.—The term ‘administrative
review’ means a review open to the participation of the parents
of the child, conducted by a panel of appropriate persons at
least one of whom is not responsible for the case management
of, or the delivery of services to, either the child or the parents
who are the subject of the review.
‘‘(2) ADOPTION ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT.—The term ‘adop-
tion assistance agreement’ means a written agreement, binding
on the parties to the agreement, between the State, other
relevant agencies, and the prospective adoptive parents of a
minor child which at a minimum—
‘‘(A) specifies the nature and amount of any payments,
services, and assistance to be provided under such agree-
ment; and
‘‘(B) stipulates that the agreement shall remain in
effect regardless of the State of which the adoptive parents
are residents at any given time.
The agreement shall contain provisions for the protection
(under an interstate compact approved by the Secretary or
otherwise) of the interests of the child in cases where the
adoptive parents and child move to another State while the
agreement is effective.
H. R. 4—177
‘‘(3) CASE PLAN.—The term ‘case plan’ means a written
document which includes at least the following:
‘‘(A) A description of the type of home or institution
in which a child is to be placed, including a discussion
of the appropriateness of the placement and how the agency
which is responsible for the child plans to carry out the
voluntary placement agreement entered into or judicial
determination made with respect to the child in accordance
with section 424(a)(1).
‘‘(B) A plan for assuring that the child receives proper
care and that services are provided to the parents, child,
and foster parents in order to improve the conditions in
the parents’ home, facilitate return of the child to his
or her own home or the permanent placement of the child,
and address the needs of the child while in foster care,
including a discussion of the appropriateness of the services
that have been provided to the child under the plan.
‘‘(C) To the extent available and accessible, the health
and education records of the child, including—
‘‘(i) the names and addresses of the child’s health
and educational providers;
‘‘(ii) the child’s grade level performance;
‘‘(iii) the child’s school record;
‘‘(iv) assurances that the child’s placement in foster
care takes into account proximity to the school in which
the child is enrolled at the time of placement;
‘‘(v) a record of the child’s immunizations;
‘‘(vi) the child’s known medical problems;
‘‘(vii) the child’s medications; and
‘‘(viii) any other relevant health and education
information concerning the child determined to be
appropriate by the State.
Where appropriate, for a child age 16 or over, the case
plan must also include a written description of the pro-
grams and services which will help such child prepare
for the transition from foster care to independent living.
‘‘(4) CASE REVIEW SYSTEM.—The term ‘case review system’
means a procedure for assuring that—
‘‘(A) each child has a case plan designed to achieve
placement in the least restrictive (most family like) and
most appropriate setting available and in close proximity
to the parents’ home, consistent with the best interest
and special needs of the child, which—
‘‘(i) if the child has been placed in a foster family
home or child-care institution a substantial distance
from the home of the parents of the child, or in a
State different from the State in which such home
is located, sets forth the reasons why such placement
is in the best interests of the child; and
‘‘(ii) if the child has been placed in foster care
outside the State in which the home of the parents
of the child is located, requires that, periodically, but
not less frequently than every 12 months, a caseworker
on the staff of the State in which the home of the
parents of the child is located, or of the State in which
the child has been placed, visit such child in such
home or institution and submit a report on such visit