109 HR 5640 RH: To amend part B of title IV of the Social
U.S. House of Representatives
2006-07-12
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the Child
and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006
.
2.The Congress finds as follows:
(1)For Federal fiscal year 2004, child
protective services (CPS) staff nationwide reported investigating or assessing
an estimated 3,000,000 allegations of child maltreatment, and determined that
872,000 children had been abused or neglected by their parents or other
caregivers.
(2)Combined, the Child Welfare Services (CWS)
and Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) programs provide States about
$700,000,000 per year for services intended to ensure the safety, permanency,
and well-being of children. These programs are considered the largest source of
targeted Federal funding in the child protection system for prevention—that is,
for services to ensure that children are not abused or neglected and, whenever
possible, help children remain safely with their families.
(3)States have broad flexibility in directing
CWS dollars to protect children from abuse and neglect. Under the PSSF program,
States must invest significant portions of program funds in family preservation
services, family support services, time-limited reunification services, and
post-adoption support services.
(4)However, a 2003 report by the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) reported that little research is available on the
effectiveness of activities supported by CWS funds—evaluations of services
supported by PSSF funds have generally shown little or no effect.
(5)Further, the Department of Health and Human
Services recently completed initial Child and Family Service Reviews (CFSRs) in
each State. No State was in full compliance with all measures of the CFSRs. The
CFSRs also revealed that States need to work to prevent repeat abuse and
neglect of children, improve services provided to families to reduce the risk
of future harm (including by better monitoring the participation of families in
services), and strengthen upfront services provided to families to prevent
unnecessary family break-up and protect children who remain at home.
(6)Federal policy should ensure that States
are appropriately targeting CWS and PSSF funds to assist at-risk families and
protect abused and neglected children to address issues found in the CFSRs.
Encouraging States to invest their CWS and PSSF funds in services that promote
and protect the welfare of children, support strong, healthy families, and
reduce the reliance on out-of-home care, will help ensure all children are
raised in safe, loving families.
(7)CFSRs also found a strong correlation
between frequent caseworker visits with children and positive outcomes for
these children, such as timely achievement of permanency and other indicators
of child well-being.
(8)However, a December 2005 report by the
Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General found that
only 20 States were able to produce reports to show whether caseworkers
actually visited children in foster care on at least a monthly basis, despite
the fact that nearly all States had written standards suggesting monthly visits
were State policy. In fact, 7 of these 20 States indicated that fewer than half
of the children in foster care were visited on a monthly basis.
(9)The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 provided
$40,000,000 in fiscal year 2006 for the PSSF program which this Act ensures
will be available and which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will
increase mandatory budget authority by $40,000,000 each year from 2006 through
2015, for a total of $400,000,000.
(10)A 2003 GAO report found that the average
tenure for a child welfare caseworker is less than 2 years and this level of
turnover negatively affects safety and permanency for children.
(11)Targeting additional PSSF funds to ensure
children in foster care are visited on at least a monthly basis will promote
better outcomes for vulnerable children, including by preventing further abuse
and neglect.
3.Reauthorization of the
safe and stable families program
(a)Section 430 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629)
is amended by striking all through (b)
Purpose.—The
purpose
and inserting the following:
.
(b)Limitation on
administrative cost reimbursementSection 434 of such Act (42
U.S.C. 629d) is amended—
(1)in subsection (a), by
inserting , subject to subsection (d),
after
shall
; and
(2)by adding at the end the
following:
(d)Limitation on
reimbursement for administrative costsThe Secretary shall not make a payment to a
State under this section with respect to expenditures for administrative costs
during a fiscal year, to the extent that the total amount of the expenditures
exceeds 10 percent of the total expenditures of the State during the fiscal
year under the State plan approved under section
432.
.
(c)Funding of mandatory
grants at $345 million per fiscal yearSection 436(a) of such Act
(42 U.S.C. 629f(a)) is amended by striking for fiscal year 2006.
and all that follows and inserting for each of fiscal years 2007 through
2011.
.
(d)Funding of
discretionary grantsSection 437(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
629g(a)) is amended by striking 2002 through 2006
and inserting
2007 through 2011
.
(e)Increase in set-asides
for Indian tribes
(1)Section 436(b)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629f(b)(3)) is
amended by striking 1
and inserting 3
.
(2)Section 437(b)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629g(b)(3)) is
amended by striking 2
and inserting 3
.
(f)Collection of data on
tribal promoting safe and stable families plansSection 432(b)(2)
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629b(b)(2)) is amended—
(1)by striking subparagraph
(A); and
(2)in subparagraph (B), by
striking Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the
and inserting The
.
(g)Authority of
intertribal consortia To apply for grantsSection 432(b)(2) of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 629(b)(b)(2)), as amended by subsection (f) of this
section, is amended—
(1)by inserting before
subparagraph (B) the following:
(A)This subpart shall not be interpreted to preclude the
development and submission of a single tribal plan under this subpart by the
participating tribes of an intertribal
consortium.
;
and
(2)in subparagraph
(B)—
(A)by inserting or
tribal consortium
after Indian tribe
; and
(B)by inserting and
tribal consortia
after Indian tribes
.
(h)Section 431(a)(6) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)(6))
is amended by striking 1986
and inserting
1996
.
4.Targeting of increased
safe and stable families program resources to support monthly caseworker
visits
(a)Reservation and use of
funds
(1)Section 436(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
629f(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(4)Support for
monthly caseworker visits
(A)In
the case of each of fiscal years 2006 through 2011, the Secretary shall reserve
$40,000,000 for allotment in accordance with section 433(e).
(B)
(i)A State to which an amount is paid from amounts reserved
under subparagraph (A) shall use the amount to support monthly caseworker
visits with children who are in foster care under the responsibility of the
State, with a primary emphasis on activities designed to improve caseworker
retention, recruitment, training, and ability to access the benefits of
technology.
(ii)A State to which an amount is paid from
amounts reserved pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall not use the amount to
supplant any Federal funds paid to the State under part E that could be used as
described in clause
(i).
.
(2)Effect on amounts
reserved for Indian tribesSection 436(b)(3) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 629b(b)(3)) is amended by striking The
and inserting
After applying paragraph (4) (but before applying paragraphs (1) or
(2)), the
.
(b)Section 433 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629c) is amended—
(1)in subsection (d), by
inserting subsection (a), (b), or (c) of
before this
section
the 1st and 2nd places it appears; and
(2)by adding at the end the
following:
(e)Special rules
applicable to funds reserved To support monthly caseworker visits
(1)
(A)From
the amount reserved pursuant to section 436(b)(4)(A) for fiscal year 2006 or
any succeeding fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each jurisdiction
specified in subsection (b) of this section that meets the requirements of
paragraph (2) of this subsection for the fiscal year an amount determined in
the same manner as the allotment to each of such jurisdictions is determined
under section 423 (without regard to the initial allotment of $70,000 to each
State).
(B)From the amount reserved pursuant to section 436(b)(4)(A)
for fiscal year 2006 or any succeeding fiscal year that remains after applying
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph for the fiscal year, the Secretary shall
allot to each State (other than an Indian tribe) not specified in subsection
(b) of this section that meets the requirements of paragraph (2) of this
subsection for the fiscal year an amount equal to such remaining amount
multiplied by the food stamp percentage of the State (as defined in subsection
(c)(2) of this section) for the fiscal year, except that in applying subsection
(c)(2)(A) of this section, subsection (e)(1)(B)
shall be
substituted for such paragraph (1)
.
(2)The
requirements of this paragraph are the following:
(A)Amounts allotted
for fiscal year 2007In the
case of amounts reserved pursuant to section 436(b)(4)(A) for fiscal year 2007,
the State has provided to the Secretary data which shows, for the most recent
fiscal year for which such information is available—
(i)the percentage of
children in foster care under the responsibility of the State who were visited
by the caseworker handling the case of the child at least once each month while
the child was in such care; and
(ii)the percentage of
the visits that occurred in the residence of the child.
(B)Amounts allotted
for succeeding fiscal yearsIn the case of amounts reserved pursuant to
section 436(b)(4)(A) for fiscal year 2008 or any succeeding fiscal year:
(i)Data showing
frequency and location of caseworker visitsThe State has
provided to the Secretary data which shows, for the preceding fiscal year,
that—
(I)for at least 90 percent of the children in
foster care under the responsibility of the State—
- (aa)the caseworker
handling the case of the child visited the child at least once each month while
the child was in such care; and
- (bb)the
majority of the visits occurred in the residence of the child; or
(II)the State made
the requisite annual progress, as determined by the Secretary, to comply with
subclause (I) by October 1, 2011.
(ii)State ability
to verify frequency of caseworker visitsThe Secretary has verified that the State
has in effect such policies and standards as may be necessary to enable the
State to determine whether, for at least 90 percent of the children in foster
care under the responsibility of the State, a caseworker visited the child at
least once each month during the fiscal year.
(iii)Verification
of nonsupplantation complianceThe State has provided to the Secretary
such documentation as may be necessary to verify that the State has complied
with section 436(b)(4)(B)(ii) during the fiscal
year.
.
(c)Section 434(a) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 629d(a)), as amended by section 3(b)(1) of this Act, is amended
by striking the lesser of—
and all that follows and inserting
the following:
the sum
of—(1)the lesser
of—
(A)75 percent of the
total expenditures by the State for activities under the plan during the fiscal
year or the immediately succeeding fiscal year; or
(B)the allotment of the State under subsection
(a), (b), or (c) of section 433, whichever is applicable, for the fiscal year;
and
(2)the lesser
of—
(A)75 percent of the
total expenditures by the State in accordance with section 436(b)(4)(B) during
the fiscal year or the immediately succeeding fiscal year; or
(B)the allotment of
the State under section 433(e) for the fiscal
year.
.
5.Improvements to the
child welfare services program
(a)Subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 620–628b) is amended by striking sections 420
and 425 and inserting after section 424 the following:
425.Limitations on authorization of
appropriationsTo carry out this subpart, there are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary not more than $325,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2007 through
2011.
.
(b)Such subpart is
further amended—
(1)by striking section
424;
(2)by redesignating sections 421 and 423 as
sections 423 and 424, respectively, and by transferring section 423 (as so
redesignated) so that it appears after section 422; and
(3)by inserting after the
subpart heading the following:
421.The purpose of this subpart is to promote
State flexibility in the development and expansion of a coordinated child and
family services program that utilizes community-based agencies and ensures all
children are raised in safe, loving families, by—
(1)protecting and promoting the welfare of all
children;
(2)preventing the neglect, abuse, or
exploitation of children;
(3)supporting at-risk families through
services which allow children, where appropriate, to remain safely with their
families or return to their families in a timely manner;
(4)promoting the safety, permanence, and
well-being of children in foster care; and
(5)providing training, professional
development and support to ensure a well-qualified child welfare
workforce.
.
(c)Modification of State
plan requirementsSection 422 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 622) is
amended—
(1)in subsection (b)—
(A)by striking paragraphs
(3) through (5) and inserting the following:
(3)include a
description of the services and activities which the State will fund under the
State program carried out pursuant to this subpart, and how the services and
activities will achieve the purpose of this
subpart;
;
(B)by striking paragraph (6)
and inserting after paragraph (3) (as added by subparagraph (A) of this
paragraph) the following:
(4)contain a description of—
(A)the steps the
State will take to provide child welfare services statewide and to expand and
strengthen the range of existing services and develop and implement services to
improve child outcomes; and
(B)the child welfare
services staff development and training plans of the
State;
;
(C)by redesignating
paragraphs (7) through (9) as paragraphs (5) through (7), respectively;
(D)in paragraph (10)—
(i)by striking subparagraph
(A);
(ii)in subparagraph
(B)(iii)(II), by inserting , which may include a residential educational
program
after in some other planned, permanent living
arrangement
;
(iii)by redesignating
subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (A); and
(iv)by striking subparagraph
(C) and inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
(B)has in effect policies and administrative
and judicial procedures for children abandoned at or shortly after birth which
enable permanent decisions to be made expeditiously with respect to the
placement of the
children;
;
(E)in paragraph (14), by
striking and
at the end;
(F)in paragraph (15), by
striking the period and inserting a semicolon;
(G)by redesignating
paragraphs (10) through (15) as paragraphs (8) through (13), respectively;
and
(H)by adding at the end the
following:
(14)include assurances that not more than 10
percent of the expenditures of the State with respect to activities funded from
amounts provided under this subpart will be for administrative costs;
and
(15)outlines how the State will ensure that
physicians or other appropriate medical professionals are actively consulted
and involved in—
(A)assessing the
health and well-being of children in foster care under the responsibility of
the State; and
(B)determining
appropriate medical treatment for the
children.
;
and
(2)by adding at the end the
following:
(c)In
this subpart:
(1)The term
administrative costs means costs for the following, but only to
the extent incurred in administering the State plan developed pursuant to this
subpart: procurement, payroll management, personnel functions (other than the
portion of the salaries of supervisors attributable to time spent directly
supervising the provision of services by caseworkers), management, maintenance
and operation of space and property, data processing and computer services,
accounting, budgeting, auditing, and travel expenses (except those related to
the provision of services by caseworkers or the oversight of programs funded
under this subpart).
(2)For definitions of other terms used in this part, see
section
475.
.
(d)Provisions relating to
State allotmentsSection 423 of such Act, as so redesignated by
subsection (b)(2) of this section, is amended—
(1)in subsection (a)—
(A)by inserting
In
general.—
after (a)
;
(B)by striking
420
and inserting 425
; and
(C)by striking
He
and inserting The Secretary
;
(2)in subsection (b)—
(A)by inserting
Determination of
State allotment percentages.—
after
(b)
; and
(B)by striking per
centum
each place it appears and inserting
percent
;
(3)in subsection (c), by
inserting Promulgation of State allotment
percentages.—
after (c)
;
(4)in subsection (d)—
(A)by inserting
United States
defined.—
after (d)
; and
(B)by striking
fifty
and inserting 50
; and
(5)by adding at the end the
following:
(e)
(1)The amount of any allotment to a State for a fiscal year
under the preceding provisions of this section which the State certifies to the
Secretary will not be required for carrying out the State plan developed as
provided in section 422 shall be available for reallotment from time to time,
on such dates as the Secretary may fix, to other States which the Secretary
determines—
(A)need sums in excess of the amounts allotted
to such other States under the preceding provisions of this section, in
carrying out their State plans so developed; and
(B)will be able to so
use such excess sums during the fiscal year.
(2)The
Secretary shall make the reallotments on the basis of the State plans so
developed, after taking into consideration—
(A)the population
under 21 years of age;
(B)the per capita
income of each of such other States as compared with the population under 21
years of age; and
(C)the per capita
income of all such other States with respect to which such a determination by
the Secretary has been made.
(3)Amounts
reallotted to a State amounts deemed part of State allotmentAny
amount so reallotted to a State is deemed part of the allotment of the State
under this
section.
.
(e)
(1)Exclusion of
expenditures for child day care, foster care maintenance payments, and adoption
assistance payments from allowable expendituresSection 424 of
such Act, as so redesignated by subsection (b)(2) of this section, is
amended—
(A)in subsection (c)—
(i)in paragraph (1)—
(I)by striking
No
and inserting Except as provided in paragraph (2),
no
;
(II)by striking , for
any fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1979,
;
(III)in subparagraph (A), by
striking necessary
and all that follows through
living
; and
(IV)in subparagraph (C), by
striking , to the extent
and all that follows through
1979
; and
(ii)by striking paragraph
(2) and inserting the following:
(2)In the case of a State which demonstrates
to the Secretary that the State made an expenditure described in paragraph (1)
in fiscal year 2005, the Secretary shall not make a payment to the State under
this part for any fiscal year beginning after September 30, 2006, with respect
to the State expenditures so described, to the extent that the Federal payment
with respect to the expenditures so described for the fiscal year exceeds the
lesser of—
(A)the total amount of the Federal payment
under this part for fiscal year 1979; or
(B)the total amount of the Federal
payment with respect to the expenditures so described for fiscal year
2005.
;
and
(B)in subsection (d)—
(i)by striking
(excluding expenditures for activities specified in subsection
(c)(1))
; and
(ii)by striking such
activities
and inserting activities specified in subsection
(c)(1)
.
(2)Limitation on
administrative cost reimbursementSection 424 of such Act (42
U.S.C. 623), as so redesignated by subsection (b)(2) of this section, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
(e)Limitation on
reimbursement for administrative costsThe Secretary shall not make a payment to a
State under this section with respect to expenditures during a fiscal year for
administrative costs, to the extent that the total amount of the expenditures
exceeds 10 percent of the total expenditures of the State during the fiscal
year for activities funded from amounts provided under this
subpart.
.
(3)Section 424(a) of
such Act, as so redesignated by subsection (b)(2) of this section, is amended
by striking per centum
and inserting
percent
.
(f)Elimination of obsolete
provisionSection 426 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 626) is amended by
striking subsection (b) and redesignating subsection (c) as subsection
(b).
(g)
(1)Section 428(b) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 628(b)) is amended by striking 421
and inserting
423
.
(2)Section 429 of such Act
(42 U.S.C. 628a) is amended—
(A)(i)by striking the
following:
429.child welfare traineeshipsThe
Secretary
;
and
(ii)inserting the
following:
(c)Child welfare
traineeshipsThe
Secretary
;
and
(B)by transferring the
provision to the end of section 426 (as amended by subsection (f) of this
section).
(3)Section 429A of such Act
(42 U.S.C. 628b) is redesignated as section 429.
(4)Section 433(b) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 629c(b)) is amended by striking 421
and inserting
423
.
(5)Section 437(c)(2) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 629g(c)(2)) is amended by striking 421
and
inserting 423
.
6.Reauthorization of the
court improvement programSection 438 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 629h) is amended in each of subsections (c)(1)(A) and (d) by striking
2006
and inserting 2011
.
7.Reauthorization of
program for mentoring children of prisonersSection 439 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 629i) is amended—
(1)in subsection (c), by
striking 2002 through 2006
and inserting 2007 through
2011
; and
(2)in subsection (h), by
striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
(1)Limitations on
authorization of appropriations; reservation of certain
amountsTo carry out this section, there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years
2007 through
2011.
.
8.Availability of
additional promoting safe and stable families resources for fiscal year
2006
(a)Out of any money in the Treasury of the
United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the
Secretary of Health and Human Services $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to
carry out subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act, in
addition to any amount otherwise made available for fiscal year 2006 to carry
out such subpart.
(b)Notwithstanding section 434(b)(2) of such Act, the amounts
paid to States from the amount appropriated under subsection (a) of this
section shall remain available for expenditure by the States through fiscal
year 2008.
9.Section 435 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 629e) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(e)
(1)The
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate biennial reports
on—
(A)the level of expenditures, and the programs
and activities funded, under subpart 1 and this subpart by each State,
territory, and Indian tribe to which funds are paid under this part;
(B)the number of children and families served
by each such State, territory, and Indian tribe under the programs; and
(C)how spending under the programs has helped
achieve the goals identified by each such State, territory, and Indian tribe as
part of the annual planning process undertaken in developing plans pursuant to
this part.
(2)The
Secretary shall submit the biennial reports required by paragraph (1) not later
than July 1, 2008, and not later than July 1 of every other calendar year
thereafter.
.
10.
(a)Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
amendments made by this Act shall take effect on October 1, 2006, and shall
apply to payments under part B of title IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters
beginning on or after such date, without regard to whether regulations to
implement the amendments are promulgated by such date.
(b)Delay permitted if
State legislation requiredIf the Secretary of Health and Human
Services determines that State legislation (other than legislation
appropriating funds) is required in order for a State plan developed pursuant
to subpart 1 of part B, or a State plan approved under subpart 2 of part B, of
title IV of the Social Security Act to
meet the additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by this Act,
the plan shall not be regarded as failing to meet any of the additional
requirements before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter beginning after the
first regular session of the State legislature that begins after the date of
the enactment of this Act. If the State has a 2-year legislative session, each
year of the session is deemed to be a separate regular session of the State
legislature.
(c)Availability of
additional promoting safe and stable families resources for fiscal year
2006Section 8 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of
this Act.
July 12, 2006
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of
the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be
printed