Title: Supporting Adopted Children and Families Act of 2019
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Supporting Adopted Children and Families Act of 2019  This bill requires the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to award grants to states for post-adoption and post-legal guardianship mental health services. Specifically, grants may be used to implement statewide direct service programs such as educational support or counseling to aid adoptive parents and families in addressing common behavioral health issues among adopted children. Grants also may be used for activities such as peer-to-peer mentoring, crisis intervention, program evaluation, policy development, and research, among others uses.  The ACF must grant only one awards per state, or state-designated entity, and preference must be given to eligible entities that partner with a state's mental health agency and have demonstrated success at increasing adoption and legal guardianship competency.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3909 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3909

To amend subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to 
    authorize grants to eligible entities to develop and implement 
 statewide or tribal post-adoption and post-legal guardianship mental 
 health service programs for all children who are adopted or placed in 
              legal guardianship, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 2019

  Mr. Langevin (for himself, Ms. Bass, and Mr. Bacon) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to 
    authorize grants to eligible entities to develop and implement 
 statewide or tribal post-adoption and post-legal guardianship mental 
 health service programs for all children who are adopted or placed in 
              legal guardianship, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Supporting Adopted Children and 
Families Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM FOR POST-ADOPTION AND POST-LEGAL 
              GUARDIANSHIP MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

    Section 437 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629g) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Post-Adoption and Post-Legal Guardianship Mental Health 
Services.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Administration for Children and Families, shall award grants or 
        cooperative agreements to eligible entities to--
                    ``(A) develop and implement statewide or tribal 
                post-adoption and post-legal guardianship mental health 
                service programs for all children who are adopted or 
                placed in legal guardianship and their families;
                    ``(B) support public organization and private 
                nonprofit organizations actively involved in statewide 
                or tribal post-adoption and post-legal guardianship 
                mental health service programs;
                    ``(C) collect and analyze data on State-sponsored 
                statewide or tribal post-adoption and post-legal 
                guardianship mental health service programs that can be 
                used to monitor the effectiveness of such services and 
                for research, technical assistance, and policy 
                development;
                    ``(D) develop and provide adoption and legal 
                guardianship competent educational and training 
                opportunities concerning the mental health needs of 
                children who are adopted or placed in legal 
                guardianship, and their families, for use by teachers, 
                social workers, and other community mental health 
                service providers;
                    ``(E) develop and provide materials for potential 
                adoptive parents and legal guardians, both for children 
                who already reside in the United States at the time of 
                the adoption or placement in legal guardianship and for 
                those who at such time reside in other countries, 
                describing the possible need for post-adoption and 
                post-legal guardianship mental health services and 
                available resources;
                    ``(F) develop and provide respite care services for 
                adoptive and legal guardian families; and
                    ``(G) support research on, and development of, 
                promising practices (as defined in section 
                471(e)(4)(C)(iii)) for post-adoption and post-legal 
                guardianship mental health services.
            ``(2) Eligible entity.--
                    ``(A) Definition.--In this subsection, the term 
                `eligible entity' means--
                            ``(i) a State;
                            ``(ii) a public organization or private 
                        nonprofit organization designated by a State to 
                        develop or direct the State-sponsored statewide 
                        post-adoption and post-legal guardianship 
                        mental health service program under a grant 
                        under this subsection; and
                            ``(iii) a federally recognized Indian tribe 
                        or tribal organization (as defined in the 
                        Indian Self-Determination and Education 
                        Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.)) or an 
                        urban Indian organization (as defined in the 
                        Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 
                        1601 et seq.)) that is actively involved in the 
                        development and continuation of a post-adoption 
                        and post-legal guardianship mental health 
                        service program.
                    ``(B) Limitation.--In carrying out this subsection, 
                the Secretary shall ensure that each State is awarded 
                only 1 grant or cooperative agreement under this 
                subsection. For purposes of the preceding sentence, a 
                State shall be considered to have been awarded a grant 
                or cooperative agreement if the eligible entity 
                involved is the State or an entity designated by the 
                State under subparagraph (A)(ii). Nothing in this 
                subparagraph shall be construed to apply to entities 
                described in subparagraph (A)(iii).
            ``(3) Preference.--In providing assistance under a grant or 
        cooperative agreement under this subsection, the Secretary 
        shall give preference to--
                    ``(A) eligible entities that have demonstrated 
                success in increasing the level of adoption and legal 
                guardianship competency among mental health providers, 
                adoption and legal guardianship lawyers, social 
                workers, case workers, adoptive parents, and legal 
                guardians; and
                    ``(B) eligible entities that plan to partner with 
                their State mental health agency in carrying out the 
                activities for which the grant or cooperative agreement 
                is made.
            ``(4) Requirement for direct services.--Not less than 85 
        percent of funds received under a grant or cooperative 
        agreement under this subsection shall be used to provide direct 
        services, of which not less than 5 percent shall be used for 
        activities authorized under paragraph (1)(C).
            ``(5) Coordination and collaboration.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In carrying out this subsection, 
                the Secretary shall collaborate with relevant Federal 
                agencies and adoption and legal guardianship-related 
                working groups to promote interaction between domestic 
                foster care agencies and private adoption agencies in 
                other countries.
                    ``(B) Consultation.--In carrying out this 
                subsection, the Secretary shall consult with--
                            ``(i) State and social service agencies 
                        engaged in the placement of children for 
                        adoption, domestically or from other countries;
                            ``(ii) local and national organizations 
                        that serve foster and adopted youth and youth 
                        placed in legal guardianship;
                            ``(iii) health and education specialists 
                        who focus on adoption, legal guardianship, and 
                        foster care medicine;
                            ``(iv) youth who have been in foster care, 
                        adopted, or in legal guardianship, domestically 
                        or from other countries, including youth who 
                        have experienced adoption or guardianship 
                        disruptions or dissolutions;
                            ``(v) families and friends of youth who 
                        have been in foster care, adopted, or in legal 
                        guardianship, domestically or from other 
                        countries, including foster and adoptive 
                        parents and legal guardians; and
                            ``(vi) qualified professionals who possess 
                        the specialized knowledge, skills, experience, 
                        and relevant attributes needed to serve 
                        children who are adopted or placed in legal 
                        guardianship and their families.
                    ``(C) Policy development.--In carrying out this 
                subsection, the Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) coordinate and collaborate on policy 
                        development with other relevant Department of 
                        Health and Human Services agencies and adoption 
                        and legal guardianship-related working groups; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) consult on policy development at the 
                        Federal level with those in the private sector 
                        engaged in the recruitment of foster and 
                        adoptive parents and legal guardians, the 
                        placement of children in foster care, for 
                        adoption, and in legal guardianship, and the 
                        provision of post-adoption and post-legal 
                        guardianship services.
            ``(6) Evaluation and report.--
                    ``(A) Evaluations by eligible entities.--Not later 
                than 18 months after receipt of a grant or cooperative 
                agreement under this subsection, an eligible entity 
                shall submit to the Secretary the results of an 
                evaluation to be conducted by the entity concerning the 
                effectiveness of the activities carried out under the 
                grant or agreement.
                    ``(B) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the 
                date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary 
                shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 
                a report concerning the results of--
                            ``(i) the evaluations conducted under 
                        subparagraph (A); and
                            ``(ii) an evaluation conducted by the 
                        Secretary to analyze the effectiveness and 
                        efficacy of the activities conducted with 
                        grants, collaborations, and consultations under 
                        this subsection.
            ``(7) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Adoption and legal guardianship competency.--
                The term `adoption and legal guardianship competency' 
                means an understanding of--
                            ``(i) the nature of adoption and legal 
                        guardianship as a form of family formation and 
                        the different types of adoption and legal 
                        guardianship;
                            ``(ii) relevant emotional and physical 
                        issues involved in the adoption and legal 
                        guardianship process, including issues relating 
                        to separation, loss, attachment, abuse, trauma, 
                        and neglect;
                            ``(iii) common developmental challenges 
                        associated with adoption and legal 
                        guardianship;
                            ``(iv) the characteristics and skills that 
                        allow for successful adoptive and legal 
                        guardian families;
                            ``(v) proper sensitivity with respect to 
                        the different geographic, ethnic, or cultural 
                        backgrounds of children who are adopted or 
                        placed in legal guardianship and their 
                        families; and
                            ``(vi) the necessary skills for effectively 
                        advocating on behalf of birth and adoptive and 
                        legal guardian families.
                    ``(B) Post-adoption and post-legal guardianship 
                mental health services.--The term `post-adoption and 
                post-legal guardianship mental health services' 
                includes--
                            ``(i) adoption and legal guardianship 
                        competent mental health direct services, 
                        including training, educational support, 
                        counseling, and other services for adoptive and 
                        legal guardian parents and families that 
                        address caregiver interests and concerns 
                        regarding child behavioral issues that are 
                        common among children who are adopted, placed 
                        in legal guardianship, or placed in foster 
                        care, including, as appropriate--
                                    ``(I) caring for a child who is 
                                adopted or placed in legal guardianship 
                                and has emotional, behavioral, or 
                                developmental health needs; and
                                    ``(II) providing for the emotional 
                                needs of a child who is adopted or 
                                placed in legal guardianship, including 
                                issues relating to attachment, 
                                identity, abandonment, cultural 
                                differences, grief, loss, and trauma;
                            ``(ii) peer-to-peer mentoring and support 
                        groups that permit a newly adoptive parent or 
                        legal guardian to communicate and learn from 
                        more experienced adoptive parents and legal 
                        guardians;
                            ``(iii) the provision of informational 
                        resources and available services for adoptive 
                        parents and legal guardians;
                            ``(iv) direct services, including 
                        counseling, peer-to-peer mentoring and support 
                        groups, and other services for children who are 
                        adopted or placed in legal guardianship that 
                        address common behavioral and adjustment 
                        issues, including, as appropriate--
                                    ``(I) support services for a child 
                                who is adopted or placed in legal 
                                guardianship with emotional, 
                                behavioral, or developmental health 
                                needs;
                                    ``(II) support services that 
                                address the emotional needs of a child 
                                who is adopted or placed in legal 
                                guardianship, including issues relating 
                                to attachment, identity, abandonment, 
                                cultural differences, grief, loss, and 
                                trauma; and
                                    ``(III) treatment services that are 
                                specialized for children who are 
                                adopted or placed in legal 
                                guardianship, including psychiatric 
                                residential services, outpatient mental 
                                health services, social skills 
                                training, intensive in-home supervision 
                                services, recreational therapy, suicide 
                                prevention, and substance abuse 
                                treatment;
                            ``(v) peer-to-peer mentoring and support 
                        groups that allow children who are adopted or 
                        placed in legal guardianship to communicate and 
                        socialize with other such children; and
                            ``(vi) crisis intervention and family 
                        preservation services.
            ``(8) Limitations on authorization of appropriations.--For 
        grants under this subsection, there are authorized to be 
        appropriated to the Secretary not more than $10,000,000 for 
        fiscal year 2020, to remain available until expended.''.
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