[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5053 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5053

To offer States an incentive to improve decisions in contested adoption 
                                 cases.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2000

  Mr. Klink introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To offer States an incentive to improve decisions in contested adoption 
                                 cases.

    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 ``Defense of Children Adoption Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) every child deserves to have a permanent and loving 
        home;
            (2) adoption provides the joy of parenthood to parents who 
        may not otherwise be able to have children;
            (3) thousands of children await adoption every year;
            (4) many children wait for years before they are adopted;
            (5) all children deserved to be treated as individuals in 
        the adoption process; and
            (6) State courts often lack the resources to provide 
        children with adequate representation.
    (b) Statement of Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to help 
States provide well-trained advocates to represent the child's best 
interest in contested adoptions.

SEC. 3. GRANTS TO STATE COURTS FOR AID IN DECIDING CONTESTED ADOPTIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may make a grant to an eligible 
State court, in an amount determined under subsection (b), for the 
purpose of aiding State courts in handling contested adoption cases.
    (b) Amount of Grant; Matching Grant.--The amount of the grant to be 
made under this section to an eligible State court for a fiscal year 
shall be the lesser of--
            (1) 3 times the sum described in subsection (d)(1)(B); or
            (2) the amount that bears the same ratio to the amount 
        appropriated pursuant to subsection (e) for the fiscal year as 
        the number of individuals in the State who have not attained 18 
        years of age (determined on the basis of the most recently 
        available census data) bears to the total number of such 
        individuals in all States with an eligible State court for the 
        fiscal year.
    (c) Use of Grant.--An eligible State court to which a grant is made 
under this section in a fiscal year may use such funds to pay not more 
than 75 percent of the costs incurred by the courts of the State during 
the fiscal year to reduce the number of adoption cases pending in the 
State courts by providing child advocates, such as guardian ad litems, 
to represent children in the adoption process.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Eligible state court.--The term ``eligible State 
        court'' means, with respect to a State and a fiscal year, a 
        court that--
                    (A) is the highest court in a qualified State;
                    (B) that obtained from the State a commitment that 
                the State will provide a sum certain to the court for 
                the fiscal year which is to be used by the courts of 
                the State for the handling of contested adoption cases;
                    (C) has submitted to the Secretary, at such time, 
                in such form, and including such information and 
                assurances as the Secretary may require, an application 
                for a grant under this section; and
                    (D) whose application for the grant is approved by 
                the Secretary.
            (2) Qualified state.--The term ``qualified State'' means a 
        State that--
                    (A) has in effect a State plan approved under part 
                E of title IV of the Social Security Act; and
                    (B) has in effect such laws and procedures as may 
                be necessary to ensure that, in a contested adoption 
                case, the courts of the State are required to consider 
                all relevant factors, including--
                            (i) the importance of providing permanency, 
                        stability, and continuity of relationships for 
                        the child;
                            (ii) whether the child will be able to 
                        enter into a more stable and permanent family 
                        relationship, taking into account the 
                        conditions of the child's current placement, 
                        the likelihood of future placements, and the 
                        results of prior placements;
                            (iii) the age and health of the child at 
                        the time the best interest determination is 
                        made, and if applicable, at the time the child 
                        was removed from the home;
                            (iv) the wishes of the child in any case in 
                        which the child's age and maturity makes this 
                        feasible;
                            (v) the duration of the separation of the 
                        child from a parent;
                            (vi) the likelihood of safe reunification 
                        with a parent within a reasonable period of 
                        time;
                            (vii) the child interaction and 
                        relationship with the child's parents, 
                        siblings, and any other person who may 
                        significantly affect the child's best interest;
                            (viii) the child's adjustment to the 
                        child's current home, school, and community;
                            (ix) the mental and physical health of all 
                        persons involved in the situation; and
                            (x) whether any person involved in the 
                        situation--
                                    (I) has been convicted of, has 
                                pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to, 
                                has threatened to commit, or has been 
                                accused of a criminal offense involving 
                                an act that resulted in the abuse or 
                                neglect of a child, or of abusing or 
                                assaulting an individual who, at the 
                                time of the abuse or assault, was a 
                                member of the person's family or 
                                household; or
                                    (II) in a case in which a child has 
                                been adjudicated to have been abused or 
                                neglected, has been determined to have 
                                caused the abuse or neglect.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' shall have the same meaning 
        such term has in part E of title IV of the Social Security Act.
    (e) Limitations on Authorization of Appropriations.--For grants 
under this section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2003.
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