[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1016 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1016

To recognize grandparents who serve as the primary caregivers to their 
  grandchildren and to provide assistance to such grandparents under 
                           certain programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                May 25 (legislative day, April 19), 1993

   Mr. Cohen introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To recognize grandparents who serve as the primary caregivers to their 
  grandchildren and to provide assistance to such grandparents under 
                           certain programs.

    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 ``Grandparents Raising Grandchildren 
Assistance Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) many grandparents throughout the United States are the 
        primary caregivers to their grandchildren and such grandparents 
        are essentially starting over as parents;
            (2) grandparents are acting as parents for a second time 
        primarily because of problems relating to the natural parents 
        of their grandchildren such as drug and alcohol addiction, 
        abuse, divorce, AIDS and other health problems, and teenage 
        pregnancy;
            (3) grandparents and the grandchildren for whom they 
        provide care often suffer legal, financial, emotional, and 
        bureaucratic hardships; and
            (4) it is desirable to develop national policies that 
        assist grandparents who are serving as the primary caregivers 
        to their grandchildren.

SEC. 3. GRANDCHILD SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS BASED ONLY ON DEPENDENCY.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (e) of section 216 of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 416) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``, but only if'' in the first sentence and 
        all that follows through ``such individual died''; and
            (2) by striking the last sentence.
    (b) Additional Requirements if Parents Are Alive.--Section 
202(d)(9) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(d)(9)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
    ``(C) If--
            ``(i) a child is treated as a child of an individual under 
        clause (3) of the first sentence of section 216(e), and
            ``(ii) a natural or adoptive parent of the child is living 
        at the time specified in paragraph (1)(C) of this subsection,
such child shall not be treated as dependent on such individual as of 
such time unless the period described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) is 
two years, and the natural or adoptive parent, if over the age of 18 
years, is not a dependent for whom a deduction is allowable under 
section 151 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to such individual.''.
    (c) Suspension of Benefits if Child Reunites With Parents.--Section 
202(d)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(d)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (F);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (G) 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (G) the following new 
        subparagraph:
            ``(H) in the case of a child described in paragraph (9)(C), 
        the first month during which such child lives with such child's 
        natural or adoptive parent who has attained the age of 18 and 
        who is not a dependent as described in such paragraph.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to benefits payable for months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, but only on the basis of applications filed after such date.

SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT OF OPTIONAL MODEL PROCEDURE FOR NOTIFYING RELATIVES 
              PRIOR TO PLACEMENT OF A CHILD IN FOSTER CARE.

    (a) In General.--Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 670 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 477 the 
following new section:

   ``development of model procedure for notifying relatives prior to 
                  placement of a child in foster care

    ``Sec. 478. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this section, the Secretary shall develop a model procedure to be 
used by any State with a plan approved under this part which ensures 
that reasonable efforts will be made prior to the placement of a child 
in foster care to give notice to a relative (including a maternal or 
fraternal grandparent, adult sibling, aunt, or uncle) who might be 
available to care for the child.''.
    (b) State Option to Establish Model Procedure.--Subsection (a) of 
section 471 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (16);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (17) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(18) at the option of the State, provides that the State 
        agency will establish the procedure developed by the Secretary 
        under section 478 or an alternate procedure for notifying 
        relatives prior to the placement of a child in foster care.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall be 
effective on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. MODEL STANDARDS FOR INSURANCE COVERAGE OF DEPENDENTS.

    (a) Development of Model Standards.--If, within 1-year after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the National Association of 
Insurance Commissioners has not developed model standards for the 
coverage of dependents under health insurance policies, the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services (hereafter in this section referred to as 
the ``Secretary''), shall develop such standards not later than 180 
days after the end of such 1-year period.
    (b) Distribution of Model Standards.--If the Secretary develops 
model standards under subsection (a), the Secretary shall distribute 
such standards to the commissioner of insurance, or any similar 
official, of each State.

SEC. 6. CENSUS DATA ON GRANDPARENTS AS PRIMARY CAREGIVERS FOR THEIR 
              GRANDCHILDREN.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary of Commerce (hereafter in this 
section referred to as the ``Secretary''), in carrying out the 
provisions of section 141 of title 13, United States Code, shall expand 
the data collection efforts of the Bureau of the Census (hereafter in 
this section referred to as the ``Bureau'') to enable the Bureau to 
collect statistically significant data, in connection with its 
decennial census and its mid-decade census, concerning the growing 
trend of grandparents who are the primary caregivers for their 
grandchildren.
    (b) Expanded Census Question.--In carrying out the provisions of 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall expand the Bureau's census question 
that details households which include both grandparents and their 
grandchildren. The expanded question shall be formulated to distinguish 
between the following households:
            (1) a household in which a grandparent temporarily provides 
        a home for a grandchild for a period of weeks or months during 
        periods of parental distress; and
            (2) a household in which a grandparent provides a home for 
        a grandchild and serves as the primary caregiver for the 
        grandchild.

SEC. 7. GRANTS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF A NATIONAL 
              RESOURCE CENTER FOR GRANDPARENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 202 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 
U.S.C. 3012) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f)(1) The Commissioner shall make grants to, or enter into 
contracts with, one eligible entity to establish and operate the 
National Resource Center for Grandparents (referred to in this 
subsection as the `Center') to serve as a central source of information 
and assistance to older individuals who--
            ``(A) raise their grandchildren;
            ``(B) encounter problems obtaining access to their 
        grandchildren for purposes of visitation; or
            ``(C) need financial, legal, emotional, or informational 
        assistance regarding their relationship with their 
        grandchildren.
    ``(2) The Center shall--
            ``(A) be staffed by employees and volunteers, including 
        such older individuals;
            ``(B) provide a toll-free telephone number to increase 
        access to the information and assistance available from the 
        Center;
            ``(C) collect and make available to such older individuals 
        information regarding programs, projects, and activities of 
        public and private entities (including governmental entities) 
        relating to the matters described in subparagraphs (A), (B), 
        and (C) of paragraph (1), including information on State law 
        regarding grandparent visitation and Federal assistance 
        available to such older individuals; and
            ``(D) refer individual grandparents to public and private 
        entities that provide information or assistance regarding the 
        rearing of grandchildren, including information regarding the 
        prevention of drug abuse and the promotion of good health and 
        nutrition.
    ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term `eligible entity' 
means a nonprofit private organization with a demonstrated record of 
experience in representing the concerns of older individuals with 
respect to their relationship to their grandchildren.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.

                                 <all>