[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 827 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 827

          To promote the adoption of children in foster care.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 3, 1997

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
          To promote the adoption of children in foster care.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Adoption Promotion 
Act of 1997''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Clarification of the reasonable efforts requirement.
Sec. 3. States required to initiate or join proceedings to terminate 
                            parental rights for certain children in 
                            foster care.
Sec. 4. Adoption incentive payments.
Sec. 5. Earlier status reviews and permanency hearings.
Sec. 6. Notice of reviews and hearings; opportunity to be heard.
Sec. 7. Documentation of reasonable efforts to adopt.
Sec. 8. Kinship care.
Sec. 9. Use of the Federal Parent Locator Service for child welfare 
                            services.
Sec. 10. Performance of States in protecting children.
Sec. 11. Authority to approve more child protection demonstration 
                            projects.
Sec. 12. Technical assistance.
Sec. 13. Coordination of substance abuse and child protection services.
Sec. 14. Clarification of eligible population for independent living 
                            services.
Sec. 15. Effective date.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF THE REASONABLE EFFORTS REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--Section 471(a)(15) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 671(a)(15)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(15)(A) provides that--
                    ``(i) except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), 
                reasonable efforts shall be made--
                            ``(I) before a child is placed in foster 
                        care, to prevent or eliminate the need to 
                        remove the child from the child's home; and
                            ``(II) to make it possible for the child to 
                        return home;
                    ``(ii) if continuation of reasonable efforts of the 
                type described in clause (i) is determined to be 
                inconsistent with the permanency plan for the child, 
                reasonable efforts of the type required by clause 
                (iii)(II) shall be made;
                    ``(iii) if a court of competent jurisdiction has 
                determined that the child has been subjected to 
                aggravated circumstances (as defined by State law, 
                which definition may include abandonment, torture, 
                chronic abuse, and sexual abuse) or parental conduct 
                described in section 106(b)(2)(A)(xii) of the Child 
                Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, or that the 
                parental rights of a parent with respect to a sibling 
                of the child have been terminated involuntarily--
                            ``(I) reasonable efforts of the type 
                        described in clause (i) shall not be required 
                        to be made with respect to any parent of the 
                        child who has been involved in subjecting the 
                        child to such circumstances or such conduct, or 
                        whose parental rights with respect to a sibling 
                        of the child have been terminated 
                        involuntarily; and
                            ``(II) if reasonable efforts of the type 
                        described in clause (i) are not made or are 
                        discontinued, reasonable efforts shall be made 
                        to place the child for adoption, with a legal 
                        guardian, or (if adoption or legal guardianship 
                        is determined not to be appropriate for the 
                        child) in some other planned, permanent living 
                        arrangement; and
                    ``(iv) reasonable efforts of the type described in 
                clause (iii)(II) may be made concurrently with 
                reasonable efforts of the type described in clause (i); 
                and
                    ``(B) in determining the reasonable efforts to be 
                made with respect to a child and in making such 
                reasonable efforts, the child's health and safety shall 
                be of paramount concern;''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 472(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
672(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ``for a child'' before ``have been 
made''.

SEC. 3. STATES REQUIRED TO INITIATE OR JOIN PROCEEDINGS TO TERMINATE 
              PARENTAL RIGHTS FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.

    (a) In General.--Section 475(5) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 675(5)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (C);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (D) 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) in the case of a child who has not attained 
                10 years of age and has been in foster care under the 
                responsibility of the State for 18 months of the most 
                recent 24 months, the State shall file a petition to 
                terminate the parental rights of the child's parents 
                (or, if such a petition has been filed by another 
                party, seek to be joined as a party to the petition), 
                unless--
                            ``(i) at the option of the State, the child 
                        is being cared for by a relative;
                            ``(ii) a State court or State agency has 
                        documented a compelling reason for determining 
                        that filing such a petition would not be in the 
                        best interests of the child; or
                            ``(iii) the State has not provided to the 
                        family of the child such services as the State 
                        deems appropriate, if reasonable efforts of the 
                        type described in section 471(a)(15)(A)(i) are 
                        required to be made with respect to the 
                        child.''.
    (b) Limitation on Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection 
(a) shall apply only to children entering foster care on or after 
October 1, 1997.

SEC. 4. ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.

    Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670-679) 
is amended by inserting after section 473 the following:

``SEC. 473A. ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.

    ``(a) Grant Authority.--Each State that is an incentive-eligible 
State for a fiscal year shall be entitled to receive from the Secretary 
in the immediately succeeding fiscal year a grant in an amount equal to 
the adoption incentive payment.
    ``(b) Incentive-Eligible State.--A State is an incentive-eligible 
State for a fiscal year if--
            ``(1) the State has a plan approved under this part for the 
        fiscal year;
            ``(2) the number of foster child adoptions in the State 
        during the fiscal year exceeds the base number of foster child 
        adoptions for the State for the fiscal year;
            ``(3) the State is in compliance with subsection (c) for 
        the fiscal year; and
            ``(4) the fiscal year is any of fiscal years 1998 through 
        2002.
    ``(c) Data Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--A State is in compliance with this 
        subsection for a fiscal year if the State has provided to the 
        Secretary the data described in paragraph (2) for fiscal year 
        1997 (or, if later, the fiscal year that precedes the 1st 
        fiscal year for which the State seeks a grant under this 
        section) and for each succeeding fiscal year.
            ``(2) Determination of numbers of adoptions.--
                    ``(A) Determinations based on afcars data.--Except 
                as provided in subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall 
                determine the numbers of foster child adoptions and of 
                special needs adoptions in a State during each of 
                fiscal years 1997 through 2002, for purposes of this 
                section, on the basis of data meeting the requirements 
                of the system established pursuant to section 479, as 
                reported by the State in May of the fiscal year and in 
                November of the succeeding fiscal year, and approved by 
                the Secretary by April 1 of the succeeding fiscal year.
                    ``(B) Alternative data sources permitted for fiscal 
                year 1997.--For purposes of the determination described 
                in subparagraph (A) for fiscal year 1997, the Secretary 
                may use data from a source or sources other than that 
                specified in subparagraph (A) that the Secretary finds 
                to be of equivalent completeness and reliability, as 
                reported by a State by November 30, 1997, and approved 
                by the Secretary by March 1, 1998.
            ``(3) No waiver of afcars requirements.--This section shall 
        not be construed to alter or affect any requirement of section 
        479 or any regulation prescribed under such section with 
        respect to reporting of data by States, or to waive any penalty 
        for failure to comply with the requirements.
    ``(d) Adoption Incentive Payment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        adoption incentive payment payable to a State for a fiscal year 
        under this section shall be equal to the sum of--
                    ``(A) $4,000, multiplied by amount (if any) by 
                which the number of foster child adoptions in the State 
                during the fiscal year exceeds the base number of 
                foster child adoptions for the State for the fiscal 
                year; and
                    ``(B) $2,000, multiplied by the amount (if any) by 
                which the number of special needs adoptions in the 
                State during the fiscal year exceeds the base number of 
                special needs adoptions for the State for the fiscal 
                year.
            ``(2) Pro rata adjustment if insufficient funds 
        available.--If the total amount of adoption incentive payments 
otherwise payable under this section for a fiscal year exceeds the 
amount then available for grants under this section, the amount of the 
adoption incentive payment payable to each State under this section for 
the fiscal year shall be--
                    ``(A) the amount of the adoption incentive payment 
                that would otherwise be payable to the State under this 
                section for the fiscal year; multiplied by
                    ``(B) the percentage represented by the amount then 
                available for grants under this section, divided by the 
                total amount of adoption incentive payments otherwise 
                payable under this section for the fiscal year.
    ``(e) 2-Year Availability of Incentive Payments.--Payments to a 
State under this section in a fiscal year shall remain available for 
use by the State through the end of the succeeding fiscal year.
    ``(f) Limitations on Use of Incentive Payments.--A State shall not 
expend an amount paid to the State under this section except to provide 
to children or families any service (including post adoption services) 
that may be provided under part B or E. Amounts expended by a State in 
accordance with the preceding sentence shall be disregarded in 
determining State expenditures for purposes of Federal matching 
payments under section 474.
    ``(g) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            ``(1) Foster child adoption.--The term `foster child 
        adoption' means the final adoption of a child who, at the time 
        of adoptive placement, was in foster care under the supervision 
        of the State.
            ``(2) Special needs adoption.--The term `special needs 
        adoption' means the final adoption of a child for whom an 
        adoption assistance agreement is in effect under section 473.
            ``(3) Base number of foster child adoptions.--The term 
        `base number of foster child adoptions for a State' means, with 
        respect to a fiscal year, the largest number of foster child 
        adoptions in the State in fiscal year 1997 (or, if later, the 
        1st fiscal year for which the State has furnished to the 
        Secretary the data described in subsection (c)(2)) or in any 
        succeeding fiscal year preceding the fiscal year.
            ``(4) Base number of special needs adoptions.--The term 
        `base number of special needs adoptions for a State' means, 
        with respect to a fiscal year, the largest number of special 
        needs adoptions in the State in fiscal year 1997 (or, if later, 
        the 1st fiscal year for which the State has furnished to the 
        Secretary the data described in subsection (c)(2)) or in any 
        succeeding fiscal year preceding the fiscal year.
    ``(h) Appropriation.--
            ``(1) In general.--Out of any money in the Treasury of the 
        United States not otherwise appropriated, there are 
        appropriated for fiscal years 1999 through 2003 such sums as 
        are necessary for grants under this section, in a total amount 
        not to exceed $108,000,000.
            ``(2) Availability.--Amounts appropriated under paragraph 
        (1) shall remain available until expended, but not after fiscal 
        year 2003.''.

SEC. 5. EARLIER STATUS REVIEWS AND PERMANENCY HEARINGS.

    Section 475(5)(C) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(C)) 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``eighteen months after'' and inserting 
        ``12 months after'';
            (2) by striking ``dispositional'' and inserting 
        ``permanency''; and
            (3) by striking ``future status of'' and all that follows 
        through ``long-term basis)'' and inserting ``permanency plan 
        for the child (including whether (and, if applicable, when) the 
        child will be returned to the parent, the child will be placed 
        for adoption and the State will file a petition to terminate 
        the parental rights of the parent, a legal guardian will be 
        appointed for the child, or the child will be placed in some 
        other planned, permanent living arrangement, including in the 
        custody of another fit and willing relative)''.

SEC. 6. NOTICE OF REVIEWS AND HEARINGS; OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD.

    Section 475(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)), as 
amended by section 3 of this Act, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (D);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (E) 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) the foster parents (if any) of a child and 
                any relative providing care for the child are provided 
                with notice of, and an opportunity to be heard in, any 
                review or hearing to be held with respect to the child, 
                except that this subparagraph shall not be construed to 
                make any foster parent a party to such a review or 
                hearing.''.

SEC. 7. DOCUMENTATION OF REASONABLE EFFORTS TO ADOPT.

    Section 475(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)), as 
amended by sections 3 and 6 of this Act, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (E);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (F) 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(G) in the case of a child with respect to whom 
                the State's goal is adoption or placement in another 
                permanent home, the steps taken by the State agency to 
                find an adoptive family or other permanent living 
                arrangement for the child, to place the child with an 
                adoptive family, a legal guardian, or in another 
                planned permanent living arrangement (including in the 
                custody of another fit and willing relative), and to 
                finalize the adoption or legal guardianship are 
                documented, and such documentation shall include 
                documentation of child specific recruitment efforts 
                such as the use of State, regional, and national 
                adoption information exchanges, including electronic 
                information exchange systems.''.

SEC. 8. KINSHIP CARE.

    (a) Report.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
        shall--
                    (A) not later than March 1, 1998, convene the 
                advisory panel provided for in subsection (b)(1) and 
                prepare and submit to the advisory panel an initial 
                report on the extent to which children in foster care 
                are placed in the care of a relative (in this section 
                referred to as ``kinship care''); and
                    (B) not later than November 1, 1998, submit to the 
                Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
                Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the 
                Senate a final report on the matter described in 
                subparagraph (A), which shall--
                            (i) be based on the comments submitted by 
                        the advisory panel pursuant to subsection 
                        (b)(2) and other information and 
                        considerations; and
                            (ii) include the policy recommendations of 
                        the Secretary with respect to the matter.
            (2) Required contents.--Each report required by paragraph 
        (1) shall--
                    (A) include, to the extent available for each 
                State, information on--
                            (i) the policy of the State regarding 
                        kinship care;
                            (ii) the characteristics of the kinship 
                        care providers (including age, income, 
                        ethnicity, and race);
                            (iii) the characteristics of the household 
                        of such providers (such as number of other 
                        persons in the household and family 
                        composition);
                            (iv) how much access to the child is 
                        afforded to the parent from whom the child has 
                        been removed;
                            (v) the cost of, and source of funds for, 
                        kinship care (including any subsidies such as 
                        medicaid and cash assistance);
                            (vi) the goal for a permanent living 
                        arrangement for the child and the actions being 
                        taken by the State to achieve the goal;
                            (vii) the services being provided to the 
                        parent from whom the child has been removed; 
                        and
                            (viii) the services being provided to the 
                        kinship care provider; and
                    (B) specifically note the circumstances or 
                conditions under which children enter kinship care.
    (b) Advisory Panel.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services, in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee on 
        Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Chairman 
        of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, shall convene an 
        advisory panel which shall include parents, foster parents, 
        former foster children, State and local public officials 
        responsible for administering child welfare programs, private 
        persons involved in the delivery of child welfare services, 
        representatives of tribal governments and tribal courts, 
        judges, and academic experts.
            (2) Duties.--The advisory panel convened pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall review the report prepared pursuant to 
        subsection (a), and, not later than July 1, 1998, submit to the 
        Secretary comments on the report.

SEC. 9. USE OF THE FEDERAL PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE FOR CHILD WELFARE 
              SERVICES.

    Section 453 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``or enforcing child custody or 
                visitation orders'' and inserting ``or making or 
                enforcing child custody or visitation orders''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking the comma at the end of 
                        subparagraph (C) and inserting ``; or''; and
                            (ii) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 
                        the following:
                    ``(D) who has or may have parental rights with 
                respect to a child,''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (3) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) a State agency that is administering a program 
        operated under a State plan under subpart 1 of part B, or a 
        State plan approved under subpart 2 of part B or under part 
        E.''.

SEC. 10. PERFORMANCE OF STATES IN PROTECTING CHILDREN.

    The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with 
the American Public Welfare Association, the National Governors' 
Association, and persons or organizations devoted to child advocacy, 
shall--
            (1) develop a set of outcome measures (including length of 
        stay in foster care, number of foster care placements, and 
        number of adoptions) that can be used to assess the performance 
        of States in operating child protection and child welfare 
        programs pursuant to parts B and E of title IV of the Social 
        Security Act to ensure the safety of children;
            (2) to the maximum extent possible, the outcome measures 
        should be developed from data available from the Adoption and 
        Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System;
            (3) develop a system for rating the performance of States 
        with respect to the outcome measures, and provide to the States 
        an explanation of the rating system and how scores are 
        determined under the rating system;
            (4) prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to 
        ensure that States provide to the Secretary the data necessary 
        to determine State performance with respect to each outcome 
        measure, as a condition of the State receiving funds under part 
        E of title IV of the Social Security Act;
            (5) on May 1, 1999, and annually thereafter, prepare and 
        submit to the Congress a report on the performance of each 
        State on each outcome measure, which shall examine the reasons 
        for high performance and low performance and, where possible, 
        make recommendations as to how State performance could be 
        improved.

SEC. 11. AUTHORITY TO APPROVE MORE CHILD PROTECTION DEMONSTRATION 
              PROJECTS.

    Section 1130(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-9(a)) 
is amended by striking ``10'' and inserting ``15''.

SEC. 12. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services may, 
directly or through grants or contracts, provide technical assistance 
to assist States and local communities to reach their targets for 
increased numbers of adoptions and, to the extent that adoption is not 
possible, alternative permanent placements, for children in foster 
care.
    (b) Limitations.--The technical assistance provided under 
subsection (a) shall support the goal of encouraging more adoptions out 
of the foster care system, when adoptions promote the best interests of 
children, and shall include the following:
            (1) The development of best practice guidelines for 
        expediting termination of parental rights.
            (2) Models to encourage the use of concurrent planning.
            (3) The development of specialized units and expertise in 
        moving children toward adoption as a permanency goal.
            (4) The development of risk assessment tools to facilitate 
        early identification of the children who will be at risk of 
        harm if returned home.
            (5) Models to encourage the fast tracking of children who 
        have not attained 1 year of age into pre-adoptive placements.
            (6) Development of programs that place children into pre-
        adoptive families without waiting for termination of parental 
        rights.
    (c) Limitations on Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out 
this section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services not to exceed $10,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 1998 through 2000.

SEC. 13. COORDINATION OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES.

    Within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, based on information from the 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the 
Administration for Children and Families in the Department of Health of 
Human Services, shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Ways and 
Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of 
the Senate a report which describes the extent and scope of the problem 
of substance abuse in the child welfare population, the types of 
services provided to such population, and the outcomes resulting from 
the provision of such services to such population. The report shall 
include recommendations for any legislation that may be needed to 
improve coordination in providing such services to such population.

SEC. 14. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE POPULATION FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING 
              SERVICES.

    Section 477(a)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
677(a)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting ``(including children with 
respect to whom such payments are no longer being made because the 
child has accumulated assets, not to exceed $5,000, which are otherwise 
regarded as resources for purposes of determining eligibility for 
benefits under this part)'' before the comma.

SEC. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 
on October 1, 1997.
    (b) Delay Permitted if State Legislation Required.--In the case of 
a State plan under part B or E of title IV of the Social Security Act 
which the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines requires 
State legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) in order 
for the plan to meet the additional requirements imposed by the 
amendments made by this Act, the State plan shall not be regarded as 
failing to comply with the requirements of such part solely on the 
basis of the failure of the plan to meet such additional requirements 
before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter beginning after the 
close of the 1st regular session of the State legislature that begins 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. For purposes of the 
previous sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year legislative 
session, each year of such session shall be deemed to be a separate 
regular session of the State legislature.
                                 <all>