[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 550 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 550

   To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to provide 
   equitable access for foster care and adoption services for Indian 
                       children in tribal areas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 15, 2001

   Mr. Daschle (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Baucus, Mr. 
 Cochran, and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following bill; which was 
          read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to provide 
   equitable access for foster care and adoption services for Indian 
                       children in tribal areas.

    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 ``Indian and Alaska Native Foster Care 
and Adoption Services Amendments of 2001''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF INDIAN TRIBES TO RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDS FOR FOSTER 
              CARE AND ADOPTION ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Children Placed in Tribal Custody Eligible for Foster Care 
Funding.--Section 472(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
672(a)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or (B)'' and inserting ``(B)''; and
            (2) by inserting before the semicolon the following: ``, or 
        (C) an Indian tribe (as defined in section 479B(e)) or an 
        intertribal consortium if the Indian tribe or consortium is not 
        operating a program pursuant to section 479B and (i) has a 
        cooperative agreement with a State pursuant to section 479B(c) 
        or (ii) submits to the Secretary a description of the 
        arrangements (jointly developed or developed in consultation 
        with the State) made by the Indian tribe or consortium for the 
        payment of funds and the provision of the child welfare 
        services and protections required by this title''.
    (b) Programs Operated by Indian Tribal Organizations.--Part E of 
title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 479B. PROGRAMS OPERATED BY INDIAN TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.

    ``(a) Application.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this part 
shall apply to an Indian tribe that elects to operate a program under 
this part in the same manner as this part applies to a State.
    ``(b) Modification of Plan Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the case of an Indian tribe 
        submitting a plan for approval under section 471, the plan 
        shall--
                    ``(A) in lieu of the requirement of section 
                471(a)(3), identify the service area or areas and 
                population to be served by the Indian tribe; and
                    ``(B) in lieu of the requirement of section 
                471(a)(10), provide for the approval of foster homes 
                pursuant to tribal standards and in a manner that 
                ensures the safety of, and accountability for, children 
                placed in foster care.
            ``(2) Determination of federal share.--
                    ``(A) Per capita income.--
                            ``(i) In general.--For purposes of 
                        determining the Federal medical assistance 
                        percentage applicable to an Indian tribe under 
                        paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 474(a), the 
                        calculation of an Indian tribe's per capita 
                        income shall be based upon the service 
                        population of the Indian tribe as defined in 
                        its plan in accordance with paragraph (1)(A).
                            ``(ii) Consideration of other 
                        information.--An Indian tribe may submit to the 
                        Secretary such information as the Indian tribe 
                        considers relevant to the calculation of the 
                        per capita income of the Indian tribe, and the 
                        Secretary shall consider such information 
                        before making the calculation.
                    ``(B) Administrative expenditures.--The Secretary 
                shall, by regulation, determine the proportions to be 
                paid to Indian tribes pursuant to section 474(a)(3), 
                except that in no case shall an Indian tribe receive a 
                lesser proportion than the corresponding amount 
                specified for a State in that section.
                    ``(C) Sources of non-federal share.--An Indian 
                tribe may use Federal or State funds to match payments 
                for which the Indian tribe is eligible under section 
                474.
            ``(3) Modification of other requirements.--Upon the request 
        of an Indian tribe or tribes, the Secretary may modify any 
        requirement under this part if, after consulting with the 
        Indian tribe or tribes, the Secretary determines that 
        modification of the requirement would advance the best 
        interests and the safety of children served by the Indian tribe 
        or tribes.
            ``(4) Consortium.--The participating Indian tribes of an 
        intertribal consortium may develop and submit a single plan 
        under section 471 that meets the requirements of this section.
    ``(c) Cooperative Agreements.--An Indian tribe or intertribal 
consortium and a State may enter into a cooperative agreement for the 
administration or payment of funds pursuant to this part. In any case 
where an Indian tribe or intertribal consortium and a State enter into 
a cooperative agreement that incorporates any of the provisions of this 
section, those provisions shall be valid and enforceable. Any such 
cooperative agreement that is in effect as of the date of enactment of 
this section, shall remain in full force and effect subject to the 
right of either party to the agreement to revoke or modify the 
agreement pursuant to the terms of the agreement.
    ``(d) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall, in full consultation 
with Indian tribes and tribal organizations, promulgate regulations to 
carry out this section.
    ``(e) Definitions of Indian Tribe; Tribal Organizations.--In this 
section, the terms `Indian tribe' and `tribal organization' have the 
meanings given those terms in subsections (e) and (l) of section 4 of 
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
450b), respectively.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section take 
effect on the date of enactment of this Act without regard to 
regulations to implement such amendments being promulgated by such 
date.
                                 <all>