[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 415 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 415

 To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to require the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct research on 
                    indicators of child well-being.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 17, 2005

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to require the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct research on 
                    indicators of child well-being.

    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 ``State Child Well-Being Research Act 
of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The well-being of children is a paramount concern for 
        our Nation and for every State, and most programs for children 
        and families are managed at the State or local level.
            (2) Child well-being varies over time and across social, 
        economic, and geographic groups, and can be affected by changes 
        in the circumstances of families, by the economy, by the social 
        and cultural environment, and by public policies and programs 
        at both the Federal and State level.
            (3) States, including small States, need information about 
        child well-being that is specific to their State and that is 
        up-to-date, cost-effective, and consistent across States and 
        over time.
            (4) Regular collection of child well-being information at 
        the State level is essential so that Federal and State 
        officials can track child well-being over time.
            (5) Information on child well-being is necessary for all 
        States, particularly small States that do not have State-level 
        data in other federally supported data bases, such as the 
        Survey of Income and Program Participation.
            (6) Telephone surveys of parents, on the other hand, 
        represent a relatively cost-effective strategy for obtaining 
        information on child well-being at the State level for all 
        States, including small States.
            (7) Data from telephone surveys of the population are used 
        to monitor progress toward many important national goals, 
        including immunization of preschool children with the National 
        Immunization Survey, and the identification of health care 
        issues of children with special needs with the National Survey 
        of Children with Special Health Care Needs.
            (8) A State-level telephone survey can provide information 
        on a range of topics, including children's social and emotional 
        development, education, health, safety, family income, family 
        employment, and child care. Information addressing marriage and 
        family structure can also be obtained for families with 
        children. Information obtained from such a survey would not be 
        available solely for children or families participating in 
        programs but would be representative of the entire State 
        population and consequently, would not only inform welfare 
        policymaking, but policymaking on a range of other important 
        issues, such as child care, child welfare, and education.

SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON INDICATORS OF CHILD WELL-BEING.

    Section 413 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 613) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Indicators of Child Well-Being.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, through grants, 
        contracts, or interagency agreements shall develop 
        comprehensive indicators to assess child well-being in each 
        State.
            ``(2) Requirements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The indicators developed under 
                paragraph (1) shall include measures related to the 
                following:
                            ``(i) Education.
                            ``(ii) Social and emotional development.
                            ``(iii) Health and safety.
                            ``(iv) Family well-being, such as family 
                        structure, income, employment, child care 
                        arrangements, and family relationships.
                    ``(B) Other requirements.--The data collected with 
                respect to the indicators developed under paragraph (1) 
                shall be--
                            ``(i) statistically representative at the 
                        State level;
                            ``(ii) consistent across States;
                            ``(iii) collected on an annual basis for at 
                        least the 5 years following the first year of 
                        collection;
                            ``(iv) expressed in terms of rates or 
                        percentages;
                            ``(v) statistically representative at the 
                        national level;
                            ``(vi) measured with reliability;
                            ``(vii) current;
                            ``(viii) over-sampled, with respect to low-
                        income children and families; and
                            ``(ix) made publicly available.
                    ``(C) Consultation.--In developing the indicators 
                required under paragraph (1) and the means to collect 
                the data required with respect to the indicators, the 
                Secretary shall consult and collaborate with the 
                Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family 
                Statistics.
            ``(3) Advisory panel.--
                    ``(A) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish 
                an advisory panel to make recommendations regarding the 
                appropriate measures and statistical tools necessary 
                for making the assessment required under paragraph (1) 
                based on the indicators developed under that paragraph 
                and the data collected with respect to the indicators.
                    ``(B) Membership.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The advisory panel 
                        established under subparagraph (A) shall 
                        consist of the following:
                                    ``(I) One member appointed by the 
                                Secretary of Health and Human Services.
                                    ``(II) One member appointed by the 
                                Chairman of the Committee on Ways and 
                                Means of the House of Representatives.
                                    ``(III) One member appointed by the 
                                Ranking Member of the Committee on Ways 
                                and Means of the House of 
                                Representatives.
                                    ``(IV) One member appointed by the 
                                Chairman of the Committee on Finance of 
                                the Senate.
                                    ``(V) One member appointed by the 
                                Ranking Member of the Committee on 
                                Finance of the Senate.
                                    ``(VI) One member appointed by the 
                                Chairman of the National Governors 
                                Association, or the Chairman's 
                                designee.
                                    ``(VII) One member appointed by the 
                                President of the National Conference of 
                                State Legislatures or the President's 
                                designee.
                                    ``(VIII) One member appointed by 
                                the Director of the National Academy of 
                                Sciences, or the Director's designee.
                            ``(ii) Deadline.--The members of the 
                        advisory panel shall be appointed not later 
                        than 2 months after the date of enactment of 
                        the State Child Well-Being Research Act of 
                        2005.
                    ``(C) Meetings.--The advisory panel established 
                under subparagraph (A) shall meet--
                            ``(i) at least 3 times during the first 
                        year after the date of enactment of the State 
                        Child Well-Being Research Act of 2005; and
                            ``(ii) annually thereafter for the 3 
                        succeeding years.
            ``(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2006 
        through 2010, $15,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out this 
        subsection.''.
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