[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5461 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5461

 To require the President to call a White House Conference on Children 
                           and Youth in 2010.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2008

Mr. Fattah (for himself, Mr. Porter, Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite of Florida, 
  Mr. Cardoza, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Payne, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Cooper, Mr. 
 Stark, Mr. Filner, Mr. Platts, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. 
      Ramstad, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. English of 
Pennsylvania, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Ms. Woolsey, 
Ms. Bordallo, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Lampson, Mr. 
 Terry, Mr. Sestak, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Young 
     of Alaska, Mr. Jefferson, Ms. Norton, Ms. Kilpatrick, and Ms. 
 Schakowsky) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the President to call a White House Conference on Children 
                           and Youth in 2010.

    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 ``White House Conference on Children 
and Youth in 2010 Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 2005 there were over 3,000,000 reports of child 
        abuse and neglect, and only 60 percent of the children from the 
        substantiated reports received follow-up services and 20 
        percent were placed in foster care as a result of an 
        investigation.
            (2) Each year there are nearly 900,000 substantiated 
        reports of child abuse and neglect.
            (3) Each year approximately 60 percent of such 
        substantiated reports are reports of neglect, 30 percent are 
        physical and sexual abuse reports, and more than 20 percent are 
        reports that involve other forms of abuse.
            (4) Almost 500,000 children and youth were in foster care 
        at the end of the Federal fiscal year 2004 and nearly 800,000 
        spent at least some time in foster care throughout the year.
            (5) While 51,000 children are adopted from the foster care 
        system each year, more than 117,000 children are waiting to be 
        adopted.
            (6) Each year approximately 22,000 youth leave the foster 
        care system not because they have found permanent placements, 
        but because they have reached the age at which foster care 
        ends.
            (7) The child welfare system includes State and local 
        governments, tribal governments, child welfare agencies, child 
        welfare caseworkers, private agencies, social workers, the 
        courts, volunteer court appointed special advocates, mental 
        health and health care professionals, educators, and advocates.
            (8) There is an over-representation of certain populations, 
        including Native Americans and African-Americans, in the child 
        welfare system.
            (9) The number of children being raised by grandparents and 
        other relatives is increasing and exceeds more than 6,000,000 
        children cared for in this way, and the Government recognizes 
        that kinship care is a permanency option through the enactment 
        of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997.
            (10) The State courts make key decisions in the lives of 
        children involved in the child welfare system, including 
        decisions of whether children have been victims of child abuse, 
        whether parental rights should be terminated, and whether 
        children should be reunified with their families, adopted, or 
        placed in other settings.
            (11) The child welfare system will never fully address its 
        primary mission unless the courts are an integral and 
        functioning component of a statewide system of care and 
        protection.
    (b) Policy.--It is the policy of the Congress that--
            (1) the Government should work jointly with the States and 
        their residents to develop recommendations and plans for action 
        to meet the challenges and needs of children and families 
        involved with the child welfare system, consistent with this 
        Act;
            (2) in developing such recommendations and plans, emphasis 
        should be directed toward the role of the Government, State and 
        local child welfare systems, State family courts systems, child 
        welfare advocates, guardians, and other key participants in 
        such child welfare systems, with a goal of enhancing and 
        protecting the lives and well-being of children and families 
        who are involved with such child welfare systems; and
            (3) Federal, State, and local programs and policies should 
        be developed to reduce the number of children who are abused 
        and neglected, to reduce the number of children in foster care, 
        and to dramatically increase the number of children in 
        permanent placements through family reunification, kinship 
        placement, and adoption.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF THE CONFERENCE.

    (a) Authority To Call the Conference.--The President shall call a 
White House Conference on Children and Youth in 2010 (in this Act 
referred to as ``the Conference''), to be convened not later than 18 
months after the selection of the Policy Committee established in 
section 4, to encourage improvements in each State and local child 
welfare system, and to develop recommendations for actions to implement 
the policy set forth in section 2(b).
    (b) Planning and Direction.--The Secretary shall plan, conduct, and 
convene the Conference in cooperation with the heads of other 
appropriate Federal entities, including the heads of the Department of 
Justice, the Department of Education, and the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development.
    (c) Purposes of the Conference.--The purposes of the Conference 
are--
            (1) to identify the problems and challenges of child abuse 
        and neglect, and the needs of the children and families 
        affected by decisions made through the child welfare system;
            (2) to strengthen the use of research-based best practices 
        that can prevent child abuse and neglect with a special focus 
        on younger children;
            (3) to strengthen the use of research-based best practices 
        that can increase the placement permanency for children removed 
        from their homes, including practices involving family 
        reunification, kinship placement, and adoption;
            (4) to promote the role of State family courts in each 
        State child welfare system;
            (5) to develop recommendations that will reduce the number 
        of children who are in out-of-home care and who fail to leave 
        foster care before the age of majority, and to reduce the 
        overrepresentation of certain populations in the child welfare 
        system;
            (6) to examine the role of the Government in building an 
        equal partnership in assisting and encouraging State, local, 
        and tribal coordination;
            (7) to develop such specific and comprehensive 
        recommendations for State-level executive and legislative 
        action as may be appropriate for maintaining and improving the 
        well-being of children in such system; and
            (8) to review the status of recommendations regarding child 
        welfare made by previous White House conferences.

SEC. 4. POLICY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established a Policy Committee 
which shall be comprised of 17 members to be selected as follows:
            (1) Presidential appointees.--Nine members shall be 
        selected by the President and shall consist of--
                    (A) 3 members who are officers or employees of the 
                United States; and
                    (B) 6 members, who may be officers or employees of 
                the United States, with experience in the field of 
                child welfare, including providers and children 
                directly affected by the child welfare system.
            (2)  House of representative appointees.--
                    (A) Two members shall be selected by the Speaker of 
                the House of Representatives after consultation with 
                the chairperson of the Committee on Education and 
                Labor, and the chairperson of the Committee on Ways and 
                Means, of the House of Representatives.
                    (B) Two members shall be selected by the minority 
                leader of the House of Representatives, after 
                consultation with ranking minority members of such 
                committees.
            (3) Senate appointees.--
                    (A) Two members shall be selected by the majority 
                leader of the Senate, after consultation with members 
                of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                Pensions, and the Committee on Finance, of the Senate.
                    (B) Two members shall be selected by the minority 
                leader of the Senate, after consultation with members 
                of such committees.
    (b) Voting; Chairperson.--
            (1) Voting.--The Policy Committee shall act by the vote of 
        a majority of the members present.
            (2) Chairperson.--The President shall select the 
        chairperson from among the members of the Policy Committee. The 
        chairperson may vote only to break a tie vote of the other 
        members of the Policy Committee.
    (c) Duties of Policy Committee.--The Policy Committee shall first 
meet at the call of the Secretary, not later than 30 days after the 
last member is selected. Subsequent meetings of the Policy Committee 
shall be held at the call of the chairperson of the Policy Committee. 
Through meetings, hearings, and working sessions, the Policy Committee 
shall--
            (1) make recommendations to the Secretary to facilitate the 
        timely convening of the Conference;
            (2) submit to the Secretary a proposed agenda for the 
        Conference not later than 90 days after the first meeting of 
        the Policy Committee;
            (3) make recommendations for delegates of the Conference;
            (4) establish the number of delegates to be selected under 
        section 5 and the manner by which they are to be selected in 
        accordance with such section; and
            (5) establish other advisory committees as needed to 
        facilitate Conference participation of--
                    (A) professionals with direct experience providing 
                services to children and families in the child welfare 
                system; and
                    (B) children and families who are directly involved 
                in the child welfare system.

SEC. 5. CONFERENCE DELEGATES.

    To carry out the purposes of the Conference, the Secretary shall 
bring together delegates representative of the spectrum of thought in 
the field of child welfare and the courts, without regard to political 
affiliation or past partisan activity, who shall include--
            (1) the directors of child welfare systems of the States 
        and tribal governments;
            (2) members of the State and local judicial systems 
        relating to families and children, representatives of the State 
        organization composed of members of the legal profession, and 
        attorneys specializing in family law;
            (3) elected officials of State and local governments; and
            (4) advocates (including national and State organizations), 
        guardians, experts in the field of child welfare, families, 
        children, and youth affected by the child welfare system, and 
        the general public.

SEC. 6. CONFERENCE ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Administration.--In conducting and planning the Conference, the 
Secretary shall--
            (1) request the cooperation and assistance of the heads of 
        such other Federal entities as may be appropriate, including 
        the detailing of personnel;
            (2) furnish all reasonable assistance, including financial 
        assistance, not less than 18 months before the Secretary 
        convenes the Conference, to State child welfare systems, heads 
        of State courts and courts on family law, and to other 
        appropriate organizations, to enable them to organize and 
        conduct State-level child welfare conferences in conjunction 
        with and in preparation for participation in the Conference;
            (3) prepare and make available for public comment a 
        proposed agenda for the Conference, which will reflect to the 
        greatest extent possible the major issues facing child welfare 
        systems and the courts, consistent with the policy set forth in 
        section 2(b);
            (4) prepare and make available background materials that 
        the Secretary deems necessary for the use of delegates to the 
        Conference; and
            (5) employ such additional personnel as may be necessary to 
        carry out this Act without regard to provisions of title 5, 
        United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 
        service, and without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of 
        chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General 
        Schedule pay rates.
    (b) Duties.--In carrying out the Secretary's responsibilities and 
functions under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that--
            (1) the conferences held under subsection (a)(2) will--
                    (A) be conducted to ensure broad participation of 
                individuals and groups; and
                    (B) include conferences on Native Americans--
                            (i) to identify conditions that adversely 
                        affect their children in the child welfare 
                        system and to identify Native American families 
                        who are at risk of entering such system;
                            (ii) to propose solutions to ameliorate 
                        such conditions; and
                            (iii) to provide for the exchange of 
                        information relating to the delivery of 
                        services to their children in the child welfare 
                        system and to Native American families who are 
                        at risk of entering such system; and
            (2) the proposed agenda for the Conference as described in 
        subsection (a)(3) is--
                    (A) published in the Federal Register not less than 
                180 days before the Conference is convened; and
                    (B) made available for public comment for a period 
                of not less than 60 days;
            (3) the final agenda for the Conference, prepared after the 
        Secretary takes into consideration comments received under 
        paragraph (2), is published in the Federal Register and 
        transmitted to the chief executive officers of the States not 
        later than 30 days after the close of the public comment period 
        required by paragraph (2);
            (4) the personnel employed under subsection (a)(5) are 
        fairly balanced in terms of point of view represented and are 
        appointed without regard to political affiliation or previous 
        partisan activities;
            (5) the recommendations of the Conference are not 
        inappropriately influenced by any public official or special 
        interest, but instead are the result of the independent and 
        collective judgment of the delegates of the Conference; and
            (6) before the Conference is convened--
                    (A) current and adequate statistical data 
                (including decennial census data) and other information 
                on the well-being of children in the United States; and
                    (B) such information as may be necessary to 
                evaluate Federal programs and policies relating to 
                children;
        which the Secretary may obtain by making grants to or entering 
        into an agreement with, public agencies or nonprofit 
        organizations, are readily available in advance of the 
        Conference to the delegates.

SEC. 7. REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE.

    (a) Proposed Report.--After consultation with the Policy Committee, 
the Secretary shall prepare--
            (1) a proposed report on the results of the Conference, 
        which shall include a statement of comprehensive coherent 
        national policy on State child welfare systems (including the 
        courts); and
            (2) recommendations for the implementation of such policy;
which shall be published in the Federal Register and submitted to the 
chief executive officers of the States, not later than 60 days after 
the Conference adjourns.
    (b) Response to Proposed Report.--After reviewing and soliciting 
recommendations and comments on the report of the Conference, the 
Secretary shall request that the chief executive officers of the States 
submit to the Secretary, not later than 180 days after receiving the 
report, their views and findings on the recommendations of the 
Conference.
    (c) Final Report.--Not later than 90 days after receiving the views 
and findings of the chief executive officers of the States under 
subsection (b), the Secretary shall--
            (1) prepare a final report of the Conference, which shall 
        include a compilation of the views and findings of the chief 
        executive officers of the States; and
            (2) publish in the Federal Register, and transmit to the 
        President and to the Congress, the recommendations for the 
        administrative action and the legislation necessary to 
        implement the recommendations contained in such report.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services; and
            (2) the term ``State'' means any of the several States, the 
        District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, 
        American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the Federated States of 
        Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the 
        Republic of Palau.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out 
this Act.

SEC. 10. LIMITATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    New spending authority or new authority to enter into contracts 
under which the United States is obligated to make outlays shall be 
effective only to the extent and in such amounts as are provided in 
advance in appropriations Acts.
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