I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4431 
To provide for competitive grants for the establishment and expansion of 
programs that use networks of public, private, and faith-based organiza-
tions to recruit and train foster and adoptive parents and provide support 
services to foster children and their families. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 20, 2004 
Mr. COOPER (for himself, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. CARDOZA, and Mr. DAVIS of 
Tennessee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To provide for competitive grants for the establishment and 
expansion of programs that use networks of public, pri-
vate, and faith-based organizations to recruit and train 
foster and adoptive parents and provide support services 
to foster children and their families. 
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 ‘‘One Church, One Child 
Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Many States are facing serious shortages of 
qualified foster parents and qualified adoptive par-
ents. 
(2) A 2002 report by the National Conference 
of State Legislatures found that, while the number 
of children in foster care increased by 68 percent be-
tween 1984 and 1995, the number of foster parents 
decreased by 4 percent during the same period. 
(3) The shortage of adoptive parents is equally 
dire—while only 50,000 children were adopted out 
of foster care in 2001, as many as 126,000 children 
were awaiting adoption. On average, each of these 
waiting children had been in foster care for 44 
months. 
(4) The rapid increase in the annual number of 
adoptions from foster care since the enactment of 
the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 has cre-
ated a growing need for post-adoption services and 
for service providers with the knowledge and skills 
required to address the unique issues adoptive fami-
lies and children may face. 
(5) One Church, One Child is a national faith 
and community-based foster care and adoption min-
istry established in Chicago, Illinois, in 1980 by Fa-
ther George Clements, whose mission is to provide
comprehensive services that promote the well-being 
of at-risk children and the strengthening and em-
powerment of adoptive, foster, and kinship families. 
Since its formation, the organization and programs 
based on its model have successfully placed more 
than 140,000 children in adoptive families nation-
wide. 
(6) Despite its success as a model for providing 
recruitment, training, and support services for cer-
tified foster and adoptive parents, One Church, One 
Child programs and programs based on this concept 
have received limited federal funding. 
(7) The creation of a federally-funded grant 
program to support the establishment and expansion 
of programs for the recruitment of foster parents 
and adoptive parents which are modeled on the One 
Church, One Child concept will benefit the Nation’s 
abused and neglected children by increasing the pool 
of qualified adoptive parents and qualified foster 
parents. 
SEC. 3. ONE CHURCH, ONE CHILD GRANTS. 
Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 670–679b) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
‘‘SEC. 479B. ONE CHURCH, ONE CHILD GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES 
TO CONDUCT ONE CHURCH, ONE CHILD FOSTER PAR-
ENT
AND
ADOPTION
PARENT
RECRUITMENT
PRO-
GRAMS.— 
‘‘(1) GRANT AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
make grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 
entities to support the establishment or expan-
sion of programs that use networks of public, 
private and faith-based organizations to recruit 
and train qualified foster parents and qualified 
adoptive parents and provide support services to 
adoptive and foster children and their families. 
‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, 
the term ‘eligible entity’ means a State or local 
government, local public agency, community- 
based or nonprofit organization, or private enti-
ty, including any charitable or faith-based orga-
nization, that submits to the Secretary, at such 
time, in such form, and in such manner as the 
Secretary may require, an application that con-
tains such information as the Secretary may re-
quire and the following: 
‘‘(i) PROJECT
DESCRIPTION.—A de-
scription of the programs or activities the
entity intends to carry out with funds pro-
vided under this section, including an esti-
mate of the number of children to be 
served under such programs or activities 
and a description of the services to be pro-
vided to prospective adoptive and foster 
parents, including post-placement sup-
portive services. 
‘‘(ii) COORDINATION OF EFFORTS.—A 
description of how the entity will coordi-
nate and cooperate with State and local 
entities responsible for carrying out pro-
grams related to the recruitment of foster 
parents and adoptive parents, and with the 
national clearinghouse established under 
section 479C. 
‘‘(iii) RECORDS, REPORTS, AND
AU-
DITS.—An agreement to maintain such 
records, submit such reports, and cooper-
ate with such reviews and audits as the 
Secretary finds necessary for purposes of 
oversight. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF STATE.—In this section, 
the term ‘State’ means each of the 50 States, the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, 
American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF AP-
PROPRIATIONS.—To carry out this section, there are 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary not 
more than $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 
through 2009. 
‘‘(4) 3-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF GRANT FUNDS.— 
An eligible entity to which a grant is made under 
this section for a fiscal year shall remit to the Sec-
retary any part of the grant that is not expended by 
the end of the second succeeding fiscal year, to-
gether with any earnings on such unexpended 
amount. 
‘‘(5) REDISTRIBUTION
OF
UNUSED
GRANT 
FUNDS.—The Secretary shall redistribute any funds 
remitted under paragraph (4) among eligible entities 
that the Secretary determines have a need for addi-
tional funds to carry out the programs and activities 
referred to in paragraph (1)(B)(i). 
‘‘(b) PROVISIONS RELATING TO RELIGIOUS ORGANI-
ZATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) NONDISCRIMINATION.—For the purpose of 
awarding grants under this section, the Secretary
shall consider religious organizations on the same 
basis as other nongovernmental organizations, so 
long as the grant is to be implemented in a manner 
consistent with the Establishment Clause of the 
First Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States. A State or local government receiving funds 
under this section shall not discriminate against an 
organization that seeks to participate in a program 
funded under this section on the basis that the orga-
nization has a religious character. 
‘‘(2) NONINTERFERENCE.—Neither the Federal 
Government nor a State or local government shall 
require a religious organization— 
‘‘(A) to alter its form of internal govern-
ance; or 
‘‘(B) to remove from its premises religious 
art, icons, scripture, or other symbols, 
in order to be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section or to participate in a program funded under 
this section. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.—Funds 
provided directly to a religious organization to carry 
out a program funded under this section shall not be 
expended for sectarian worship, instruction, or pros-
elytization.
community organizations to recruit and 
train prospective foster and adoptive par-
ents; and 
‘‘(iii) has extensive experience in es-
tablishing and working with programs 
based on the One Church, One Child 
model. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF AP-
PROPRIATIONS.—To carry out this subsection, there 
are authorized to be appropriated not more than 
$1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 
2009. 
‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date a grant is first made under section 479B and 
annually thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and sub-
mit to the Congress a report that includes the following 
with respect to the year involved: 
‘‘(1) A specification of the number of entities to 
which grants have been made under section 479B. 
‘‘(2) A specification of the number of foster 
parents and adoptive families recruited by the pro-
grams which have been supported with the grants. 
‘‘(3) A specification of the number of children 
placed with such foster parents and adoptive fami-
lies, and the outcomes of such placements.
‘‘(4) Any other information that the Secretary 
determines is relevant to the evaluation of the pro-
gram under section 479B.’’. 
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