I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2558 
To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to require the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct research on indica-
tors of child well-being. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 21, 2009 
Mr. FATTAH (for himself and Mr. CAMP) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act 
to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
to conduct research on indicators of child well-being. 
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 ‘‘State Child Well-Being 
Research Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The well-being of children is a paramount 
concern for our Nation and for every State, and 
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most programs for children and families are man-
aged at the State or local level. 
(2) Child well-being varies over time and across 
social, economic, and geographic groups, and can be 
affected by changes in the circumstances of families, 
by the economy, by the social and cultural environ-
ment, and by public policies and programs at the 
Federal, State, and local level. 
(3) States, including small States, need infor-
mation about child well-being that is specific to their 
State and that is up-to-date, cost-effective, and con-
sistent across States and over time. 
(4) Regular collection of child well-being infor-
mation at the State level is essential so that Federal 
and State officials can track child well-being over 
time. 
(5) Information on child well-being is necessary 
for all States, particularly small States that do not 
have State-level data in other federally supported 
databases. Information is needed on the well-being 
of all children, not just children participating in 
Federal programs. 
(6) Telephone surveys of parents represent a 
relatively cost-effective strategy for obtaining infor-
mation on child well-being at the State level for all 
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States, including small States, and can be conducted 
alone or in mixed mode strategy with other survey 
techniques. 
(7) Data from telephone surveys of the popu-
lation are currently used to monitor progress toward 
many important national goals, including immuniza-
tion of preschool children with the National Immuni-
zation Survey, and the identification of health care 
issues of children with special needs with the Na-
tional Survey of Children with Special Health Care 
Needs. 
(8) A State-level telephone survey, alone or in 
combination with other techniques, can provide in-
formation on a range of topics, including children’s 
social and emotional development, education, health, 
safety, family income, family employment, and child 
care. Information addressing marriage and family 
structure can also be obtained for families with chil-
dren. Information obtained from such a survey 
would not be available solely for children or families 
participating in programs but would be representa-
tive of the entire State population and consequently, 
would inform welfare policymaking on a range of im-
portant issues, such as income support, child care, 
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child abuse and neglect, child health, family forma-
tion, and education. 
SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON INDICATORS OF CHILD WELL-BEING. 
Section 413 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
613) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(k) INDICATORS OF CHILD WELL-BEING.— 
‘‘(1) RENAMING OF SURVEY.—On and after the 
date of the enactment of this subsection, the Na-
tional Survey of Children’s Health conducted by the 
Director of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau 
of the Health Resources and Services Administration 
shall be known as the ‘Survey of Children’s Health 
and Well-Being’. 
‘‘(2) MODIFICATION OF SURVEY TO INCLUDE 
MATTERS RELATING TO CHILD WELL-BEING.—The 
Secretary shall modify the survey so that it may be 
used to better assess child well-being, as follows: 
‘‘(A) NEW
INDICATORS
INCLUDED.—The 
indicators with respect to which the survey col-
lects information shall include measures of 
child-well-being related to the following: 
‘‘(i) Education. 
‘‘(ii) Social and emotional develop-
ment. 
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‘‘(iii) Physical and mental health and 
safety. 
‘‘(iv) Family well-being, such as fam-
ily structure, income, employment, child 
care arrangements, and family relation-
ships. 
‘‘(B) COLLECTION
REQUIREMENTS.—The 
data collected with respect to the indicators de-
veloped under subparagraph (A) shall be— 
‘‘(i) statistically representative at the 
State and national level; 
‘‘(ii) consistent across States, except 
that data shall be collected in States other 
than the 50 States and the District of Co-
lumbia only if technically feasible; 
‘‘(iii) collected on an annual or ongo-
ing basis; 
‘‘(iv) measured with reliability; 
‘‘(v) current; 
‘‘(vi) over-sampled (if feasible), with 
respect to low-income children and fami-
lies, so that subgroup estimates can be 
produced by a variety of income categories 
(such as for 50, 100, and 200 percent of 
the poverty level, and for children of varied 
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ages, such as 0–5, 6–11, 12–17, and (if 
feasible) 18–21 years of age); and 
‘‘(vii) made publicly available. 
‘‘(C) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(i) PUBLICATION.—The data col-
lected with respect to the indicators devel-
oped under subparagraph (A) shall be pub-
lished as absolute numbers and expressed 
in terms of rates or percentages. 
‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—A data 
file shall be made available to the public, 
subject to confidentiality requirements, 
that includes the indicators, demographic 
information, and ratios of income to pov-
erty. 
‘‘(iii) SAMPLE
SIZES.—Sample sizes 
used for the collected data shall be ade-
quate for microdata on the categories in-
cluded in subparagraph (B)(vi) to be made 
publicly available, subject to confidentiality 
requirements. 
‘‘(D) CONSULTATION.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In developing the 
indicators under subparagraph (A) and the 
means to collect the data required with re-
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spect to the indicators, the Secretary shall 
consult and collaborate with a sub-
committee of the Federal Interagency 
Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 
which shall include representatives with ex-
pertise on all the domains of child well- 
being described in subparagraph (A). The 
subcommittee shall have appropriate staff 
assigned to work with the Maternal and 
Child Health Bureau during the design 
phase of the survey. 
‘‘(ii) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall 
consult with the subcommittee referred to 
in clause (i) with respect to the design, 
content, and methodology for the develop-
ment of the indicators under subparagraph 
(A) and the collection of data regarding 
the indicators, and the availability or lack 
thereof of similar data through other Fed-
eral data collection efforts. 
‘‘(iii) COSTS.—Costs incurred by the 
subcommittee with respect to the develop-
ment of the indicators and the collection of 
data related to the indicators shall be 
treated as costs of the survey. 
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‘‘(3) ADVISORY PANEL.— 
‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in 
consultation with the Federal Interagency 
Forum on Child and Family Statistics, shall es-
tablish an advisory panel of experts to make 
recommendations regarding— 
‘‘(i) the additional matters to be ad-
dressed by the survey by reason of this 
subsection; and 
‘‘(ii) the methods, dissemination strat-
egies, and statistical tools necessary to 
conduct the survey as a whole. 
‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(i) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
advisory 
panel established under subparagraph (A) 
of this paragraph shall include experts on 
each of the domains of child well-being de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(A), experts on 
child indicators, experts from State agen-
cies and from nonprofit organizations that 
use child indicator data at the State level, 
and experts on survey methodology. 
‘‘(ii) DEADLINE.—The members of 
the advisory panel shall be appointed not 
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later than 2 months after the date of the 
enactment of this subsection. 
‘‘(C) MEETINGS.—The advisory panel es-
tablished under subparagraph (A) shall meet— 
‘‘(i) at least 3 times during the first 
year after the date of enactment of this 
subsection; and 
‘‘(ii) annually thereafter for the 4 suc-
ceeding years. 
‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated for each of 
fiscal years 2010 through 2014, $20,000,000 for the 
purpose of carrying out this subsection.’’. 
SEC. 4. GAO REPORT ON COLLECTION AND REPORTING OF 
DATA ON DEATHS OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER 
CARE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct a study to determine, and sub-
mit to the Congress a written report on the adequacy of, 
the methods of collecting and reporting data on deaths of 
children in the child welfare system. 
(b) MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In the study, 
the Comptroller General shall, for each year for which 
data are available, determine— 
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(1) the number of children eligible for services 
or benefits under part B or E of title IV of the So-
cial Security Act who States reported as having died 
due to abuse or neglect; 
(2) the number of children so eligible who died 
due to abuse or neglect but were not accounted for 
in State reports; and 
(3) the number of children in State child wel-
fare systems who died due to abuse or neglect and 
whose deaths are not included in the data described 
in paragraph (1) or (2). 
(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In the report, the Comp-
troller General shall include recommendations on how sur-
veys of children by the Federal Government and by State 
governments can be improved to better capture all data 
on the death of children in the child welfare system, so 
that the Congress can work with the States to develop bet-
ter policies to improve the well-being of children and re-
duce child deaths. 
Æ 
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