Title: CONNECT Act
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
Childhood Outcomes Need New Efficient Community Teams or the CONNECT Act
This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make joint, competitive grants to state child-welfare and juvenile-justice agencies for the purpose of facilitating or enhancing collaboration between them in order to address the needs of youth who come into contact with both systems. HHS may offer training and technical assistance to the agencies regarding the development of programs and protocols.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1067 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1067

To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to allow the Secretary of 
   Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to enhance 
collaboration between State child welfare and juvenile justice systems.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 8, 2017

  Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to allow the Secretary of 
   Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to enhance 
collaboration between State child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

    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 ``Childhood Outcomes Need New 
Efficient Community Teams'' or the ``CONNECT Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO AWARD COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO ENHANCE COLLABORATION 
              BETWEEN STATE CHILD WELFARE AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 436 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
629f) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Authority To Award Grants to States To Enhance Collaboration 
Between State Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems.--
            ``(1) Purpose.--The purpose of this subsection is to 
        authorize the Secretary to make grants to State child welfare 
        and juvenile justice agencies to collaborate in the collection 
        of data relating to dual status youth and to develop practices, 
        policies, and protocols to confront the challenges presented 
        and experienced by dual status youth.
            ``(2) Authority to award grants.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary may award 
                competitive grants jointly to a State child welfare 
                agency and a State juvenile justice agency to 
                facilitate or enhance collaboration between the child 
                welfare and juvenile justice systems of the State in 
                order to carry out programs to address the needs of 
                dual status youth.
                    ``(B) Funding.--Any grants awarded under this 
                subsection shall be awarded from the amounts made 
                available under subsection (a) of this section, after 
                the application of subsection (b) of this section and 
                before the determination of allotments under section 
                433.
                    ``(C) Length of grants.--
                            ``(i) In general.--A grant shall be awarded 
                        under this subsection for a period of not less 
                        than 2, and not more than 5, fiscal years, 
                        subject to clause (ii).
                            ``(ii) Extension of grant.--On application 
                        of the grantee, the Secretary may extend for 
                        not more than 2 fiscal years the period for 
                        which a grant is awarded under this subsection.
            ``(3) Additional requirements.--
                    ``(A) Application.--In order for a State to be 
                eligible for a grant under this subsection, it shall 
                submit an application, to be approved by the Secretary, 
                that includes--
                            ``(i) a description of the proposed 
                        leadership collaboration group (including the 
                        membership of such group), and how such group 
                        will manage and oversee a review and analysis 
                        of current practices while working to jointly 
                        address enhanced practices to improve outcomes 
                        for dual status youth;
                            ``(ii) a description of how the State 
                        proposes to--
                                    ``(I) identify dual status youths;
                                    ``(II) identify individuals who are 
                                at risk of becoming dual status youths;
                                    ``(III) identify common 
                                characteristics shared by dual status 
                                youths in the State; and
                                    ``(IV) determine the prevalence of 
                                dual status youths in the State;
                            ``(iii) a description of current and 
                        proposed practices and procedures that the 
                        State intends to use to--
                                    ``(I) screen and assess dual status 
                                youths for risks and treatment needs;
                                    ``(II) provide targeted and 
                                evidence-based services, including 
                                educational, behavioral health, and 
                                pro-social treatment interventions for 
                                dual status youths; and
                                    ``(III) provide for a lawful 
                                process to enhance or ensure the 
                                abilities of the State and any relevant 
                                agencies to share information and data 
                                about dual status youths while 
                                maintaining confidentiality and privacy 
                                protections under State and Federal 
                                law; and
                            ``(iv) a certification that the State has 
                        involved local governments, as appropriate, in 
                        the development, expansion, modification, 
                        operation, or improvement of proposed policy 
                        and practice reforms to address the needs of 
                        dual status youths.
                    ``(B) No supplantation of other funds.--Any amounts 
                paid to a State under a grant under this subsection 
                shall be used to supplement and not supplant other 
                State expenditures on dual status youths or children 
                involved with either the child welfare or juvenile 
                justice systems.
                    ``(C) Report.--A State child welfare agency and a 
                State juvenile justice agency receiving a grant under 
                this subsection shall jointly submit to the Secretary 
                and to the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile 
                Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of 
                Justice a report on the activities carried out under 
                the grant at the end of each fiscal year during the 
                period of the grant. Such report shall include--
                            ``(i) a description of the scope and nature 
                        of the dual status youth population in the 
                        State, including the number of dual status 
                        youth;
                            ``(ii) a description of the evidence-based 
                        practices and procedures used by the agencies 
                        to carry out the activities described in 
                        subclauses (I) through (III) of subparagraph 
                        (A)(iii); and
                            ``(iii) an analysis of the effects of such 
                        practices and procedures, including information 
                        regarding--
                                    ``(I) the collection of data 
                                related to individual dual status 
                                youths;
                                    ``(II) aggregate data related to 
                                the dual status youth population, 
                                including--
                                            ``(aa) characteristics of 
                                        dual status youths in the 
                                        State;
                                            ``(bb) case processing 
                                        timelines; and
                                            ``(cc) information related 
                                        to case management, the 
                                        provision of targeted services, 
                                        and placements within the 
                                        foster care or juvenile justice 
                                        system; and
                                    ``(III) the extent to which such 
                                practices and procedures have 
                                contributed to--
                                            ``(aa) higher educational 
                                        attainment for dual status 
                                        youths;
                                            ``(bb) fewer delinquency 
                                        referrals for dual status 
                                        youths;
                                            ``(cc) shorter stays in 
                                        intensive restrictive 
                                        placements for dual status 
                                        youths; or
                                            ``(dd) such other outcomes 
                                        for dual status youths as the 
                                        State child welfare agency and 
                                        State juvenile justice agency 
                                        may identify.
            ``(4) Training and technical assistance.--The Secretary may 
        support State child welfare agencies and State juvenile justice 
        agencies by offering a program, developed in consultation with 
        organizations and agencies with subject matter expertise, of 
        training and technical assistance to assist the agencies in 
        developing programs and protocols--
                    ``(A) to facilitate or enhance collaboration 
                between State child welfare agencies and State juvenile 
                justice agencies; and
                    ``(B) for effectively working with Federal agencies 
                and child welfare and juvenile justice agencies from 
                other States.
            ``(5) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        enactment of this subsection, and every 3 years thereafter, the 
        Secretary and the Attorney General of the Department of Justice 
        shall jointly submit to the Committee on Finance and the 
        Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on 
        Ways and Means and the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
        of the House of Representatives, a report on the grants 
        provided under this subsection.
            ``(6) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Dual status youth.--The term `dual status 
                youth' means a child who has come into contact with 
                both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and 
                occupies various statuses in terms of the individual's 
                relationship to such systems.
                    ``(B) Leadership collaboration group.--The term 
                `leadership collaboration group' means a group composed 
                of senior officials from the State child welfare 
                agency, the State juvenile justice agency, and other 
                relevant youth and family-serving public agencies and 
                private organizations, including, to the extent 
                practicable, representatives from the State judiciary 
                branch.
                    ``(C) State juvenile justice agency.--The term 
                `State juvenile justice agency' means the agency of the 
                State or Indian tribe responsible for administering 
                grant funds awarded under the Juvenile Justice and 
                Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5601 et 
                seq.).
                    ``(D) State child welfare agency.--The term `State 
                child welfare agency' means the State agency 
                responsible for administering the program under subpart 
                1, or, in the case of a tribal organization that is 
                receiving payments under section 428, the tribal agency 
                responsible for administering such program.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Subsections (b) and (c) of section 433 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 633) are each amended by striking ``section 
436(b)'' and inserting ``subsections (b) and (c) of section 436''.
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