zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services for the 21st Century or the MOMS for the 21st Century Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Office on Women's Health to: (1) establish the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Promotion of Optimal Maternity Outcomes, and (2) develop and implement a consumer education campaign to promote understanding and acceptance of evidence-based maternity practices and models of care for optimal maternity outcomes among women of childbearing ages and their families.

Requires the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to make publicly available and update an online bibliographic database identifying systematic reviews, including an explanation of the level and quality of evidence, for the care of childbearing women and newborns.

Requires the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration to: (1) designate maternity care health professional shortage areas under the National Health Service Corps program, and (2) award planning and implementation grants to address workforce disparities for such professionals.

Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support the establishment of two additional Centers for Excellence on Optimal Maternity Outcomes to conduct research to improve maternity outcomes.

Requires the Secretary to convene an Interprofessional Maternity Provider Education Commission to discuss and make recommendations for: (1) a consensus standard physiologic maternity care curriculum that takes into account the core competencies for basic midwifery practice and the educational objectives for physicians practicing in obstetrics and gynecology, (2) suggestions for multidisciplinary use of the consensus physiologic curriculum, (3) strategies to integrate and coordinate education across maternity care disciplines, and (4) pilot demonstrations of interprofessional educational models.

Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover services provided by a supervised student midwife or an intern or resident-in-training under a teaching program under certain circumstances.

Date: 2013-06-06
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Health
Help Separated Families Act of 2013 - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to: (1) require state child protection standards to ensure that the immigration status alone of a parent, legal guardian, or relative shall not disqualify the parent, legal guardian, or relative from being a placement for a child; and (2) require the state procedures for criminal records checks to require the state to accept foreign identification documents as sufficient identification for purposes of initiating a criminal records check or a fingerprint-based check.

Requires the state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to notify relatives seeking placement of a child that their immigration status will not be questioned, except to the extent necessary in determining eligibility for relevant services or programs.

Includes as a compelling reason for a state not to file for termination of parental rights in foster care cases the removal of an otherwise fit and willing parent from the United States or the parent's involvement in an immigration proceeding (including detention). Requires a state (or local agency), before filing to terminate parental rights, to make reasonable efforts to notify any parent of the child who has been removed from the United States, and any adult relative of the child, including through the diplomatic or consular offices of the country to which the parent was removed, and to reunify the child with any such parent or relative.

Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and disseminate to state, county, and local child welfare agencies best practice guidance on specified activities that takes into account the best interest of the child, including a preference for family unity whenever appropriate.

Requires a state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to require the state to: (1) ensure that the case manager for a separated child is capable of communicating in the native language of the child and the family, or that an interpreter is provided at no cost; (2) coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to make every effort to ensure that parents who wish for their child to accompany them to their country of origin are given adequate time and assistance to obtain a passport, visa, and all relevant documents and other information; and (3) preserve the privacy and confidentiality of certain information in specified ways.

Date: 2013-06-28
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Rape Survivor Child Custody Act - Directs the Attorney General to make grants to states that have in place a law that allows the mother of any child that was conceived through rape to seek court-ordered termination of the parental rights of her rapist with regard to that child, which the court shall grant upon clear and convincing evidence of rape.

Limits such a grant to: (1) an amount that is not greater than 10% of the average of the total funding of the 3 most recent awards a state received under the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program and the Sexual Assault Services Program; and (2) a 1-year term, subject to renewal for not more than 3 additional years.

Requires a state that receives such a grant to use: (1) 25% of grant funds for permissible uses under the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program, and (2) 75% of funds for permissible uses under the Sexual Assault Services Program.

Date: 2013-07-22
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Child Tax Credit Integrity Preservation Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the identification requirements for the child tax credit to require taxpayers to provide valid identification numbers on their tax returns in addition to the names and identification numbers of each qualifying child.

Date: 2013-07-22
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Guardians for Children Act - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to declare that, in the event of the death or incapacity of the relative guardian, the eligibility of a child for a kinship guardian assistance payment shall not be affected by reason of the replacement of the relative guardian with a successor legal guardian named in the kinship guardianship assistance agreement.

Date: 2013-08-02
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Adoption Information Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require family planning service projects or programs, as a condition of receiving certain grants or contracts, to assure the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) that they will provide each person who inquires about their services with a pamphlet containing a comprehensive list of adoption centers in their state.

Directs the Secretary to prepare, annually update, and distribute such pamphlets to such projects or programs.

Date: 2013-08-02
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Health
Investing in Permanency for Youth in Foster Care Act - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to extend through FY2017 the Adoption Incentive Payment Program and rename it the Permanency Incentive Program.

Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine the number of foster child exits to reunification, adoption, and guardianship (currently, the number of foster child adoptions, special needs adoptions, and older child adoptions) in a state during a fiscal year based on AFCARS data.

Replaces adoption incentive payments with specified permanency incentive payments.

Date: 2013-09-18
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Children in Families First Act of 2013 - Establishes within the Department of State the Bureau of Vulnerable Children and Family Security which shall: (1) support the implementation in foreign countries of child welfare laws and policies; and (2) establish within the Bureau a Senior Coordinator for Permanence who shall lead the implementation of policies to ensure permanent family care for children living without families, including refugee and stateless children.

States that the Bureau shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary and have lead responsibility for representing the U.S. government in diplomatic contacts pertaining to intercountry adoptions.

Amends the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to carry out the functions prescribed by the Convention regarding the accreditation of U.S. adoption services providers.

Establishes data bases for: (1) internationally adopted children, and (2) adoption service providers.

Transfers from the Secretary of State to the Field Operations Directorate of USCIS specified adoption-related functions, including accreditation of agencies and approval of persons to provide adoption services and oversight of provider investigations.

Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through USCIS, to: (1) be responsible for processing and case-specific decision making on all intercountry adoption cases, (2) ensure that all intercountry adoption suitability and eligibility determinations of prospective adoptive parents are made in accordance with criteria that comply with the Hague Adoption Convention, (3) ensure that all non-Convention adoption cases undergo specified preprocessing, and (4) be responsible for all case processing steps in Convention and non-Convention adoption petitions on behalf of children whom U.S. parents propose to immigrate to the United States.

Directs the Secretary of State to submit an annual report to Congress regarding children living without families.

Establishes within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) a Center of Excellence on Children in Adversity.

Authorizes the President to provide assistance for programs in developing countries for nutrition, education, care, and protection of children.

Requires USAID to carry out a priority country demonstration program implementing the (December 2012) Action Plan for Children in Adversity over a period of five years in at least six countries.

Prohibits: (1) the authorization of appropriations to carry out this Act, and (2) funds from being awarded to the United Nations (U.N.) or any of its subsidiaries.

Date: 2013-10-23
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: International affairs
Amends part B (Child and Family Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act to make it a purpose of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program to promote efforts to prevent children from entering the foster care system through the provision of pre- and post-adoptive support services.

Extends adoption promotion and support services to those designed to support adoptions from other countries as well as domestic adoptions. Specifies related pre- and post-adoptive support services.

Amends SSA title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) to revise requirements for state expenditures for adoption support services.

Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award grants or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to develop and implement statewide or tribal post-adoption mental health service programs for all adopted children.

Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to direct the Secretary, as part of the child support and paternity data collection system, to promulgate final regulations requiring the states to collect and report information regarding children adopted within the United States or from other countries who enter into state custody as a result of the disruption of a placement for adoption or the dissolution of an adoption.

Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to report to Congress on how children are advertised for adoption, prospective parents, and support for adopting families.

Date: 2013-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Adoption Promotion Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure that any pregnancy options counseling funded through training grants for personnel to carry out family planning service programs under such Act: (1) includes adoption counseling, and (2) is provided by individuals who are licensed social workers or counselors in the states in which they practice and who have knowledge and experience in adoption practice. Requires that any training provided to an individual with respect to family planning include training on the adoption process.

Requires research in the biomedical, contraceptive development, behavioral, and program implementation fields related to family planning and population funded under such Act to include: (1) the collection of data on the number of pregnancy tests administered to individuals served by family planning service programs and the results of those tests; and (2) the evaluation of the quality, consistency, and outcomes of pregnancy options counseling.

Date: 2013-11-19
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Health
Amends the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 to repeal a provision ensuring governmental social service agencies with child protection responsibilities access to the national crime information databases only when investigating or responding to reports of child abuse, neglect, or exploitation.

Date: 2014-01-17
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Quality Foster Care Services Act of 2014 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to extend medical assistance coverage to therapeutic foster care services.

Requires a qualified therapeutic foster care program to be state-licensed and provide: (1) foster care children under 21 with structured daily activities, including the development of age-appropriate social, communication and behavioral skills, trauma-informed and gender-responsive services, crisis intervention and crisis support services, medication monitoring, counseling, and case management; and (2) foster care parents with specialized training and consultation in the management of children with mental illness, trauma, other emotional or behavioral disorders, medically fragile conditions, or developmental disabilities, and specific additional training on the needs of each child provided such services.

Date: 2014-02-06
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Health
Child Tax Credit Restoration Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the child tax credit, to increase, in taxable years beginning in 2014 or 2015: (1) the maximum amount of such credit per child to $2,000, and (2) the rate of the refundable portion of such credit from 15% to 30% of earned income.

Date: 2014-02-11
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Children in Families First Act of 2014 - Establishes within the Department of State the Bureau of Vulnerable Children and Family Security which shall: (1) support the implementation in foreign countries of child welfare laws and policies; and (2) establish within the Bureau a Senior Coordinator for Permanence who shall lead the implementation of policies to ensure permanent family care for children living without families, including refugee and stateless children.

States that the Bureau shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary and have lead responsibility for representing the U.S. government in diplomatic contacts pertaining to intercountry adoptions.

Amends the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to carry out the functions prescribed by the Convention regarding the accreditation of U.S. adoption services providers.

Establishes data bases for: (1) internationally adopted children, and (2) adoption service providers.

Transfers from the Secretary of State to the Field Operations Directorate of USCIS specified adoption-related functions, including accreditation of agencies and approval of persons to provide adoption services and oversight of provider investigations.

Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through USCIS, to: (1) be responsible for processing and case-specific decision making on all intercountry adoption cases, (2) ensure that all intercountry adoption suitability and eligibility determinations of prospective adoptive parents are made in accordance with criteria that comply with the Hague Adoption Convention, (3) ensure that all non-Convention adoption cases undergo specified preprocessing, and (4) be responsible for all case processing steps in Convention and non-Convention adoption petitions on behalf of children whom U.S. parents propose to immigrate to the United States.

Establishes within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) a Center of Excellence on Children in Adversity.

Authorizes the President to provide assistance for programs in developing countries for nutrition, education, care, and protection of children.

Requires USAID to carry out a priority country demonstration program implementing the (December 2012) Action Plan for Children in Adversity over a period of five years in at least six countries.

Prohibits: (1) the authorization of appropriations to carry out this Act, and (2) funds from being awarded to the United Nations (U.N.) or any of its subsidiaries.

Date: 2014-03-04
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: International affairs
Parental Protection Act - Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to withhold all monies from state agencies or entities, hospitals, and medical facilities that: (1) allow research presenting greater than minimal risk to minors, juveniles, or wards of the state; (2) deny Fourteenth Amendment rights to the parents or child; or (3) investigate parents or charge them with medical neglect, or remove children from the parents' custody when they disagree with a subjective diagnosis involving psychotropic drugs.

Date: 2014-04-29
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Health
Infant and Toddler Care Improvement Act - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to enable eligible states (including Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) to improve the quality of care for infants and toddlers, especially those from low-income families.

Authorizes the use of grant funds to: (1) make grants to organizations with expertise in providing child care and related technical assistance, to establish new staffed family child care networks or to operate existing staffed family child care networks or systems that offer, to family child care providers who are eligible infant and toddler care providers, technical assistance, training, administrative support, or direct services including monitoring visits to providers; (2) support a statewide network of infant and toddler care specialists; and (3) support initiatives to improve the quality of the provider workforce.

Allows the use of such funds also to: (1) develop infant and toddler components for the State's Quality Rating and Improvement System or a similar rating system, child care licensing regulations, or voluntary early learning guidelines; (2) improve the ability of parents to obtain information about high-quality infant and toddler care; or (3) assist eligible infant and toddler care providers seeking to increase their ranking on the state's Quality Rating and Improvement System or similar rating system, meet performance standards applicable to an Early Head Start agency, or become accredited by a national accrediting body.

Date: 2014-05-20
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Amends the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008 to include within the definition of "child exploitation" offering to engage or engaging in the transfer of permanent custody or control of a minor in contravention of a required legal procedure.

Date: 2014-05-21
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Permanent Families for All Children Act - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to:

 limit to 36 the number of months for which foster care maintenance payments made on behalf of a child not in a legal guardianship or kinship guardian arrangement may be reimbursed; limit to 12 the number of months for which foster care maintenance payments made to child-care institutions on behalf of a child residing in the institution may be reimbursed; eliminate the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) income eligibility requirement for foster care maintenance payments; replace the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP, or federal matching rate) for foster care maintenance payments and related costs in a state with a foster care partnership rate for the quarter determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS); and make children in residential treatment programs eligible for 50% of regular foster care maintenance payments. Directs the Secretary to increase the proportion of the amounts expended by a state for caseworker training on child-focused recruitment and retention.

Increases the amount of spending for child welfare programs by the unused savings resulting from this Act.

Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the cancellation of Federal Direct Student Loans for a social worker employed in a public child or family service agency after the social worker has made 60 monthly payments on the eligible loan after the enactment of this Act.

Date: 2014-06-19
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Child Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the child tax credit, to: (1) increase from $110,00 to $150,000 ($75,000 for individual taxpayers and married taxpayers filing separately) the threshold amount applicable to married couples filing joint tax returns above which such tax credit is reduced, and (2) allow an inflation adjustment to the threshold amounts and the $1,000 credit amount beginning after 2014.

Requires taxpayers to include their social security numbers on their tax returns to claim the refundable portion of the child tax credit.

Prohibits the entry of the budgetary effects of this Act on any PAYGO (pay-as-you-go) scorecard.

Date: 2014-06-23
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Justina's Law - Prohibits the use of federal funds to conduct or support treatment or research involving a ward of the state in which the individual's health is subjected to greater than minimal risk with no or minimal prospect of direct benefit.

Date: 2014-06-26
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Health
Child Welfare Workforce Partnership Act - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to deem child welfare training expenditures made by public or private nonprofit education institutions to be made by the state if those expenditures would otherwise have been allowable if made by the state claiming federal reimbursement. (Thus allows a state to be federally reimbursed for child welfare training expenditures made by a nonprofit education institutions in the state.)

Date: 2014-07-17
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Social welfare
Empowering Families at Home and at Work Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a married taxpayer who files a joint tax return a tax deduction for 20% of the first $60,000 of the wages and self-employment income of the lesser earning spouse. Disallows such deduction for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $110,000.

Date: 2014-07-30
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to pay the fees charged by any governmental authority associated with obtaining the birth certificate or state residence identification card in order to obtain a replacement Social Security card for certain victims of domestic violence residing in a shelter and their dependents.

Date: 2014-07-31
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Marriage and Family Therapists for Veterans Act - Revises the eligibility criteria for appointment to a marriage and family therapist position with the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to require a person: (1) to hold a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, or a comparable degree in mental health, from an institution that is regionally accredited or approved by the VA Secretary (currently, approved by the Secretary); and (2) to have passed the Association of Marital and Family Therapy regulatory board examination in marital and family therapy or an examination for a marriage and family therapy license given by a state board of behavioral sciences (or its equivalent).

Date: 2014-08-01
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Child Support Assistance Act of 2014 - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act, with respect to the permissible purposes of consumer reports, to authorize a consumer reporting agency to furnish a consumer report in response to a request by the head of a state or local child support enforcement agency (or an authorized state or local government official), if the requester certifies that the report is needed for enforcing a child support order, award, agreement, or judgment.

Repeals: (1) the requirement for 10 days' prior notice to a consumer whose report is requested, and (2) the authorization for any consumer reporting agency to furnish a report to an agency administering a state plan for child and spousal support in order to set an initial or modified child support award.

Date: 2014-09-11
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Domestic Violence Safety Plan Grant Program Act of 2014 or the My Sister's Keeper Act of 2014 - Directs the Attorney General to establish a program to award grants to eligible state and local governments, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations to develop, promote, and teach the importance of the critical role that can be played by relatives, friends, and co-workers in combatting domestic violence.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
National Parents Corps Act of 2014 - Directs the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, subject to the availability of appropriations, to award a grant to a nonprofit entity (to be known as the NPCP Nonprofit Partner) to establish a National Parents Corps program to promote safety and combat youth violence and substance abuse in public middle or secondary schools.

Requires the NPCP Nonprofit Partner to: (1) select for program participation annually schools that agree to host a Parent Leader for a number of years equal to the number of grade levels they offer; and (2) employ, after a background check, a Parent Leader from among the parents of students enrolled in the lowest grade at each participating school to work on a full-time basis with students, other parents, and school officials to treat, prevent, and reduce violence and drug, alcohol, and tobacco addiction among students.

Urges participating schools to take the measures necessary to secure funding for the employment of Parent Leaders after federal funding becomes unavailable.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Education
Securing American Families Everywhere (SAFE Kids) Act - Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to report to Congress on: (1) the extent of adoption disruption and dissolution in the United States and efforts by state and local governments and private child welfare agencies to prevent the disruption and dissolution; and (2) set forth legislative options to require such agencies to track and report on disrupted or dissolved adoptions, and to prepare prospective adoptive parents and support them after an adoption.

Date: 2014-12-11
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Expresses the sense of the Senate that Congress should: (1) reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA); (2) renew the commitment of the United States to providing the resources necessary to combat all forms of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking; (3) build upon the success of VAWA in transforming the criminal justice and community-based response to abuse by bolstering and streamlining the programs, grants, and coalitions created by VAWA and expanding the reach of VAWA to meet the remaining needs of victims; (4) continue to provide the training, tools, and resources necessary for law enforcement officers and victim service providers to hold the perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence accountable and to keep victims safe; and (5) ensure that all victims of domestic and sexual violence receive the support and protections provided by VAWA.

Date: 2013-01-22
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Child Tax Credit Integrity Preservation Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the identification requirements for the child tax credit to require taxpayers to provide valid identification numbers on their tax returns in addition to the names and identification numbers of each qualifying child.

Date: 2013-01-23
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Child Care and Resources Education Act of 2013 - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reserve at least $1 million of annual child care and development block grant appropriations for operation of a national toll-free referral line and website to develop and disseminate child care consumer education information for parents and help them access safe, affordable, and quality child care in their community.

Date: 2013-02-27
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Child Care Public-Private Partnership Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a business-incentive grant program to provide child care through public-private partnerships.

Requires the Secretary to make such grants to: (1) states, on a competitive basis, to enable businesses and consortia to carry out certain activities; and (2) nonprofit business organizations with expertise in management issues of a high-quality child care center to provide technical information and assistance to enable businesses to provide child care services.

Specifies that grants to businesses and consortia are meant to enable them to: (1) pay start-up costs incurred to provide child care services, (2) assist with the costs of child care services needed by their employees, and (3) pay for training and professional development for staff that provide child care services.

Gives priority in grant selection to businesses with fewer than 100 full-time employees.

Date: 2013-03-04
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Child Care Protection Act of 2013 - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to require states that receive funds under such Act to: (1) require and conduct criminal background checks for staff members of child care providers; (2) prohibit the employment of a child care staff member who refuses to consent to a criminal background check, makes a false statement in connection with such background check, is registered as a sex offender, or is a convicted felon involving certain crimes; and (3) provide criminal background checks to child care providers upon request. Imposes a financial penalty on states that fail to comply substantially with the requirements of this Act.

Date: 2013-03-20
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Improving Access to Child Care for Homeless Families Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Congress has enacted successful policies to increase homeless children's access to and stability in public elementary and secondary schools and Head Start Programs; (2) in order to increase homeless families' access to and continuity in care, similar policies should be applied to federal child care programs; and (3) such policies will assist homeless parents in maintaining employment and regaining housing, and will provide critical interventions to support that vulnerable population of children.

Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to require the lead agency to coordinate the provision of services under such Act with social services programs that include: (1) Head Start and Early Head Start programs under the Head Start Act; (2) programs and services of partners that serve vulnerable populations; and (3) programs and services of entities receiving grants to provide homeless veterans with housing, employment-related services, or supportive services.

Revises state plan requirements to require consideration of homeless children in the use of funds for child care services and activities.

Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to carry out a pilot program of grants to states to identify and implement best practices for increasing access to and continuity of child care for homeless children.

Date: 2013-04-25
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Social welfare
Infant and Toddler Care Improvement Act - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to enable eligible states (including Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) to improve the quality of care for infants and toddlers, especially those from low-income families.

Authorizes the use of grant funds to: (1) make grants to organizations with expertise in providing child care and related technical assistance, to establish new staffed family child care networks or to operate existing staffed family child care networks or systems that offer, to family child care providers who are eligible infant and toddler care providers, technical assistance, training, administrative support, or direct services including monitoring visits to providers; (2) support a statewide network of infant and toddler care specialists; and (3) support initiatives to improve the quality of the provider workforce.

Allows the use of such funds also to: (1) develop infant and toddler components for the State's Quality Rating and Improvement System or a similar rating system, child care licensing regulations, or voluntary early learning guidelines; (2) improve the ability of parents to obtain information about high-quality infant and toddler care; or (3) assist eligible infant and toddler care providers seeking to increase their ranking on the state's Quality Rating and Improvement System or similar rating system, meet performance standards applicable to an Early Head Start agency, or become accredited by a national accrediting body.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Every Child Deserves a Family Act - Prohibits an entity that receives federal assistance and is involved in adoption or foster care placements from discriminating against prospective adoptive or foster parents solely on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identification, or marital status or on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child involved.

Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in order to ensure compliance with, and ensure understanding of the legal, practice, and culture changes required by this Act in making foster care and adoption placement decisions, to provide specified technical assistance to all entities covered by this Act.

Requires a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study of whether states have substantially complied with this Act in eliminating policies, practices, or statutes that deny adoption rights on the basis of these criteria.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Promoting Adoption and Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Act of 2013 - Amends part B (Child and Family Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish and maintain an automated National Responsible Father Registry.

Requires the Registry to: (1) contain specified kinds of information sufficient to identify a possible father, and (2) provide a mechanism for men to register such identifying information directly with the Registry.

Limits access to Registry information to eligible parties, including: (1) public and licensed private adoption or child placement agencies, (2) licensed attorneys representing a party in a planned or pending adoption or in the termination of rights of one or more possible fathers, (3) state agencies or entities responsible for the placement of children, and (4) state courts.

Directs the Secretary to establish a nationwide campaign designed to inform possible fathers, unwed mothers, possible adoptive parents, and eligible parties of the National Registry, the advantages of possible fathers registering either in the National Registry or State Responsible Father Registries, or both, the rights and responsibilities of such parties with regard to a proceeding, and the role of such Registries in a proceeding.

Directs the Secretary to use all reasonable efforts to encourage states to enter into agreements to establish automated State Responsible Father Registries and centers that make registration forms easily accessible to possible fathers.

Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant to a state to establish a State Registry or modify an existing one to meet the requirements of this Act.

Date: 2013-06-20
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Child Care Infant Mortality Prevention Act of 2013 - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to revise the requirements for a state plan to administer a child care development block grant.

Requires the minimum health and safety training appropriate to a child care provider mandatory under state or local law, and certified by the state plan, to include training on cardiopulmonary resuscitation, first aid, safe sleep practices, and other sudden unexpected infant death prevention strategies.

Date: 2013-09-11
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Removing Barriers to Adoption and Supporting Families Act of 2013 - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to reauthorize the adoption incentive payment program through FY2018.

Adds a new adoption incentive payment for states involved in sending and receiving interstate adoptions. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to pay each state that was a receiving state for an interstate adoptive placement for a fiscal year a pro rata share of the portion of the adoption incentive payment paid to the sending state.

Requires a state to report to the Secretary data on interstate adoptions.

Directs the Secretary to develop national standards for home studies for use in evaluating potential foster and adoptive parents.

Establishes a matching rate for states adopting home study in compliance with national standards.

Limits planned permanent living arrangements to children who have attained age 17.

Directs the Comptroller General to study: (1) the number of children in each state that are assigned a permanency goal of another planned permanent living arrangement for the most recent fiscal year for which data are available; (2) the ages, gender, race, and special needs of children whose permanency goal is another planned permanent living arrangement; (3) a review and analysis of court practices for determining that another planned permanent living arrangement is the appropriate placement for a child; (4) information with respect to foster youths' involvement in deciding to enter into a permanency goal of another planned permanent living arrangement; and (5) a summary of the reasons that reunification, adoption, kinship care, or guardianship were not found to be in the best interests of the child.

Requires a state to spend an amount equal to 20% of the amount of savings from adoption assistance de-linkage to provide post-adoption and post-permanency services to children and families.

Requires the state foster care and adoption assistance plan to: (1) commit the state to engage in public-private partnerships to promote evidence-based child-focused recruitment practices that focus measurable attention on the adoption of children out of foster care with an emphasis on those children most at risk of aging out of care, and (2) encourage placement of children with siblings.

Date: 2013-09-17
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Social welfare
Supporting Adoptive Families Act - Amends part B (Child and Family Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to make it a purpose of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program to promote efforts to prevent children from entering the foster care system through the provision of pre- and post-adoptive support services.

Extends adoption promotion and support services to those designed to support adoptions from other countries as well as domestic adoptions. Specifies related pre- and post-adoptive support services.

Amends SSAct title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) to revise requirements for state expenditures for adoption support services.

Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award grants or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to develop and implement state-sponsored statewide or tribal post-adoption mental health service programs for all adopted children.

Amends SSAct title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to direct the Secretary, as part of the child support and paternity data collection system, to promulgate final regulations requiring the states to collect and report information regarding children adopted within the United States or from other countries who enter into state custody as a result of the disruption of a placement for adoption or the dissolution of an adoption.

Date: 2013-09-19
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Families
Children in Families First Act of 2013 - Establishes within the Department of State the Bureau of Vulnerable Children and Family Security which shall: (1) support the implementation in foreign countries of child welfare laws and policies; and (2) establish within the Bureau a Senior Coordinator for Permanence who shall lead the implementation of policies to ensure permanent family care for children living without families, including refugee and stateless children.

States that the Bureau shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary and have lead responsibility for representing the U.S. government in diplomatic contacts pertaining to intercountry adoptions.

Amends the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to carry out the functions prescribed by the Convention regarding the accreditation of U.S. adoption services providers.

Establishes data bases for: (1) internationally adopted children, and (2) adoption service providers.

Transfers from the Secretary of State to the Field Operations Directorate of USCIS specified adoption-related functions, including accreditation of agencies and approval of persons to provide adoption services and oversight of provider investigations.

Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through USCIS, to: (1) be responsible for processing and case-specific decision-making on all intercountry adoption cases, (2) ensure that all intercountry adoption suitability and eligibility determinations of prospective adoptive parents are made in accordance with criteria that comply with the Hague Adoption Convention, (3) ensure that all non-Convention adoption cases undergo specified preprocessing, and (4) be responsible for all case-processing steps in Convention and non-Convention adoption petitions on behalf of children whom U.S. parents propose to immigrate to the United States.

Directs the Secretary of State to submit an annual report to Congress regarding children living without families.

Establishes within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) a Center of Excellence on Children in Adversity.

Authorizes the President to provide assistance for programs in developing countries for nutrition, education, care, and protection of children.

Requires USAID to carry out a priority country demonstration program implementing the (December 2012) Action Plan for Children in Adversity over a period of five years in at least six countries.

Date: 2013-09-19
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: International affairs
Adoption Information Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require family planning service projects or programs, as a condition of receiving certain grants or contracts, to assure the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) that they will provide each person who inquires about their services with a pamphlet containing a comprehensive list of adoption centers in their state.

Directs the Secretary to prepare, annually update, and distribute such pamphlets to such projects or programs.

Date: 2013-09-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Health
Parent Education and Family Engagement in Early Childhood Care and Education Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award competitive matching grants to states and, through them, competitive subgrants to local agencies to establish, expand, or enhance early childhood and elementary school parent education and family engagement programs.

Requires a state to use: (1) at least 83% of its grant for subgrants to programs serving children from birth through age 5 and their parents, and (2) no more than 15% of its grant for subgrants to programs assisting children between age 5 and 8 and their parents with the transition to elementary school.

Requires the programs to include:

 support for activities that enhance the skills of parents in providing for and understanding their children's learning processes and intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development; training and professional development for early childhood educators in engaging parents in parent education and discussing parenting, behavior management, and healthy child development; training for parent educators and early childhood educators in detecting challenges to children's development and improving child and family health, safety, and stability; and coordination between early childhood educators and instructional staff at elementary schools in the same geographic area as the local agency. Prohibits subgrantees from using their subgrants for routine child care or early childhood education program services that are not directly related to parent education or family engagement programs.

Directs the Secretaries to arrange for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to evaluate early childhood parent education and family engagement programs and disseminate information on the best practices of those programs.

Prohibits this Act's funding from supplanting other federal, state, and local funds for such programs.

Date: 2013-11-07
Topic: Law and Crime (Family Issues)
Subject: Education