110 HR 5461 IH: To require the President to call a White House Conference U.S. House of Representatives 2008-02-14 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.

I 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5461 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.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the White House Conference on Children and Youth in 2010 Act.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

9.

Authorization of Appropriations

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

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.