Title: Using Data To Help Protect Children and Families Act
Policy area: Families

Summary:
Using Data To Help Protect Children and Families Act
This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants for predictive analytics pilot programs that develop strategies for risk and safety assessments relating to child abuse and neglect.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3039 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3039

To provide funding for the development of a predictive analytics pilot 
program to help children and families who come to the attention of the 
                         child welfare system.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 7, 2018

   Mr. Young introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide funding for the development of a predictive analytics pilot 
program to help children and families who come to the attention of the 
                         child welfare system.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Using Data To Help Protect Children 
and Families Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) 4 to 8 children in the United States die every day from 
        abuse or neglect at the hands of their parents or caretakers;
            (2) according to the 2016 Child Maltreatment report of the 
        Department of Health and Human Services, there were 1,700 
        fatalities resulting from child maltreatment reported in fiscal 
        year 2016, an increase of 7 percent from the previous year;
            (3) in 2016, approximately 676,000 children were victims of 
        abuse and neglect;
            (4) predictive analytics can be used as a tool in helping 
        to identify the children most at risk of maltreatment;
            (5) harnessing and analyzing administrative data can help 
        to drive better outcomes for children and families, as well as 
        assist child protective service workers in delivering much 
        needed services to children who are most at risk; and
            (6) we should explore every possible opportunity to do 
        better for our children, and predictive analytics tools provide 
        such an opportunity, if such tools are implemented with 
        appropriate oversights and safeguards.

SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS PILOT 
              PROGRAM TO HELP CHILDREN AND FAMILIES WHO COME TO THE 
              ATTENTION OF THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM.

    Section 104(e)(3) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5105(e)(3)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting the 
        following:
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary'';
            (2) by striking ``of research-based strategies for risk and 
        safety assessments relating to child abuse and neglect'' and 
        inserting ``of--
                            ``(i) research-based strategies for risk 
                        and safety assessments relating to child abuse 
                        and neglect; and
                            ``(ii) the predictive analytics pilot 
                        program described in subparagraph (B).''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Predictive analytics pilot program.--
                            ``(i) Grants for predictive analytics pilot 
                        program.--The Secretary may award grants under 
                        this subparagraph to eligible entities to 
                        develop predictive analytics programs that 
                        provide for the development of research-based 
                        strategies for risk and safety assessments 
                        relating to child abuse and neglect, for the 
                        purpose of helping children and families who 
                        come to the attention of the child welfare 
                        system.
                            ``(ii) Eligible entities.--To be eligible 
                        to receive a grant under this subparagraph, an 
                        entity shall be a State, local governmental 
                        entity, or Indian tribe.
                            ``(iii) Application requirements.--An 
                        eligible entity (or partnership of entities) 
                        that seeks funding under this subparagraph 
                        shall submit to the Secretary--
                                    ``(I) a description of the 
                                predictive analytics pilot;
                                    ``(II) a description of the 
                                geographic area to be served;
                                    ``(III) the expected outcomes of 
                                the pilot;
                                    ``(IV) a description of the data 
                                intended for use, including how the 
                                standards for the predictive analytics 
                                model are valid, reliable, equitable, 
                                and useful;
                                    ``(V) a description of the extent 
                                to which the eligible entity has access 
                                to sufficient, available quality 
                                datasets to build and maintain an 
                                accurate predictive model;
                                    ``(VI) the technical resources, 
                                including staff training, needed to 
                                carry out the pilot;
                                    ``(VII) a description of how the 
                                predictive analytics tool will fit 
                                within and be complementary to the 
                                strategy of child protection work in 
                                the geographic area that the model 
                                serves;
                                    ``(VIII) a description of how the 
                                entity believes the use of predictive 
                                analytics will--
                                            ``(aa) assist the entity 
                                        (or partnership or entities) in 
                                        better identifying and 
                                        providing appropriate services 
                                        to children most at risk of 
                                        abuse and neglect;
                                            ``(bb) reduce bias based on 
                                        race, sex, religion, national 
                                        origin, age, and disability; 
                                        and
                                            ``(cc) prevent any 
                                        disparate treatment of children 
                                        and families based on such 
                                        characteristics;
                                    ``(IX) the procedures to monitor 
                                and prevent unintended bias in child 
                                protective practices as a result of the 
                                use of predictive analytics, including 
                                procedures on who has access to the 
                                tool, who intends to use the predictive 
                                model and its assessment, and how to 
                                ensure that the tool will not be used 
                                as the sole decisionmaker in 
                                determining risks to children;
                                    ``(X) a description of how the 
                                agency solicited and considered input 
                                from and collaborated with members of 
                                the community, child welfare 
                                organizations, relevant government 
                                agencies, privacy advocates, civil 
                                rights advocates, families who have 
                                previously had contact with the child 
                                welfare system, and relevant community-
                                based or faith-based organizations in 
                                developing, testing, and amending the 
                                model;
                                    ``(XI) assurances that there will 
                                be an open and transparent process to 
                                the public in the development and 
                                implementation of the program, 
                                including--
                                            ``(aa) the development of 
                                        the predictive analytics model;
                                            ``(bb) the determination of 
                                        what data will be used and the 
                                        relative importance of each 
                                        data point used to determine 
                                        risk; and
                                            ``(cc) the implications and 
                                        limitations of the pilot 
                                        program;
                                    ``(XII) assurance the pilot will 
                                comply with all privacy and civil 
                                rights laws; and
                                    ``(XIII) such other information as 
                                the Secretary may require.
                            ``(iv) Awarding grants.--The Secretary 
                        shall select up to 5 eligible entities (or 
                        partnership of entities) to participate in the 
                        pilot program under this subparagraph. In 
                        awarding grants under this subparagraph, the 
                        Secretary shall prioritize eligible entities 
                        that have not yet implemented a predictive 
                        analytics system for the purpose described in 
                        clause (i).
                            ``(v) Technical assistance, evaluations.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--The Secretary 
                                shall allocate up to 30 percent of 
                                amount reserved under clause (vi) for 
                                the purposes of evaluating pilots and 
                                providing technical assistance to 
                                eligible entities as follows:
                                            ``(aa) The eligible entity 
                                        (or partnership of entities) 
                                        may use amounts provided under 
                                        this subclause to enter into an 
                                        agreement with a third party to 
                                        provide technical assistance to 
                                        grantees on the development, 
                                        design, and testing of 
                                        predictive analytic model of 
                                        each eligible entity, including 
                                        compliance with all applicable 
                                        privacy laws.
                                            ``(bb) The eligible entity 
                                        (or partnership of entities) 
                                        may use amounts provided under 
                                        this subclause to enter into an 
                                        agreement with a third-party, 
                                        independent evaluator with 
                                        expertise in predictive 
                                        analytics in the social 
                                        sciences to evaluate each pilot 
                                        program to determine the impact 
                                        of such program, consistent 
                                        with subclauses (II) through 
                                        (V).
                                    ``(II) Evaluation scope.--Each 
                                evaluation under subclause (I)(bb) 
                                shall measure the impact of the pilot 
                                program on--
                                            ``(aa) the ability to 
                                        accurately predict which 
                                        children are most at risk of 
                                        further abuse or neglect;
                                            ``(bb) the ability of the 
                                        entity to more effectively 
                                        target services to the highest 
                                        risk families;
                                            ``(cc) rates of child abuse 
                                        and neglect;
                                            ``(dd) child fatalities;
                                            ``(ee) child removal and 
                                        reunification rates;
                                            ``(ff) reducing bias based 
                                        on race, sex, religion, 
                                        national origin, age, and 
                                        disability;
                                            ``(gg) preventing any 
                                        disparate treatment of children 
                                        and families based on such 
                                        characteristics;
                                            ``(hh) other measures of 
                                        child and family well-being; 
                                        and
                                            ``(ii) any other measures 
                                        deemed appropriate by the 
                                        independent third-party 
                                        evaluator in consultation with 
                                        the eligible entity.
                                    ``(III) Methodologies to be used.--
                                The evaluation under subclause (I)(bb) 
                                shall use experimental designs using 
                                random assignment or other reliable, 
                                evidence-based research methodologies 
                                that allow for the strongest possible 
                                causal inferences when random 
                                assignment is not feasible.
                                    ``(IV) Interim report.--Not later 
                                than 1 year after the pilot program has 
                                commenced, the independent evaluator 
                                described in subclause (I)(bb) shall 
                                submit to the Secretary, the Committee 
                                on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                                Pensions of the Senate, and the 
                                Committee on Education and the 
                                Workforce of the House of 
                                Representatives an interim report on 
                                the progress of such program.
                                    ``(V) Final report.--Not later than 
                                6 months after completion of the pilot 
                                program, the independent evaluator 
                                described in subclause (I)(bb) shall 
                                submit to the Secretary, the Committee 
                                on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                                Pensions of the Senate, and the 
                                Committee on Education and the 
                                Workforce of the House of 
                                Representatives a written report that 
                                includes the results of the evaluation 
                                and the conclusion of the evaluator as 
                                to whether the pilot program had a 
                                positive impact on children and 
                                families that come to the attention of 
                                the child welfare system of the 
                                applicable State, together with 
                                information on the unique factors that 
                                contributed to the success or failure 
                                of the pilot program, the challenges 
                                faced in attempting the pilot program, 
                                and information on the improved future 
                                delivery of this or similar predictive 
                                analytics pilot programs or other 
                                programs.
                            ``(vi) Reservation of funds.--Of the 
                        amounts made available under section 112 for 
                        fiscal year 2018, the Secretary shall reserve 
                        $10,000,000 for purposes of carrying out this 
                        subparagraph, and the amount so reserved shall 
                        remain available through the end of fiscal year 
                        2022.
                            ``(vii) Sunset.--The authority under this 
                        subparagraph shall cease to have force or 
                        effect on the day after the final report 
                        required under clause (v)(V) is submitted to 
                        the Secretary, the Committee on Health, 
                        Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, 
                        and the Committee on Education and the 
                        Workforce of the House of Representatives.''.
                                 <all>