[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3173 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3173

    To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to allow 
children in foster care to be placed with their parents in residential 
 family treatment centers that provide safe environments for treating 
               addiction and promoting healthy parenting.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                June 20 (legislative day, June 19), 2008

Mr. Rockefeller 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 allow 
children in foster care to be placed with their parents in residential 
 family treatment centers that provide safe environments for treating 
               addiction and promoting healthy parenting.

    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 ``Keeping Families Safe Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The 2001 report by the Center for Substance Abuse 
        Treatment (CSAT) of the Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Their 
        Infants Program, which provides comprehensive, family-based 
        treatment for substance abusing mothers and their children, 
        found that at 6 months post treatment--
                    (A) 60 percent of the mothers remained alcohol and 
                drug-free;
                    (B) drug-related offenses declined from 28 percent 
                to 7 percent; and
                    (C) 75 percent of the mothers had physical custody 
                of 1 or more children.
            (2) The 2003 evaluation of the Center for Substance Abuse 
        Treatment (CSAT) of the Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Their 
        Infants Program of 24 residential family-based treatment 
        programs 6 months after treatment revealed the following 
        successful outcomes for mothers and their children:
                    (A) 60 percent of the mothers in the programs 
                remained completely clean and sober 6 months after 
                discharge.
                    (B) 44 percent of the children in the programs were 
                returned to their mothers from foster care.
                    (C) 88 percent of the children treated in the 
                programs with their mothers remained stabilized and 
                living with their mothers, 6 months after discharge.
            (3) The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) of the 
        Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Their Infants Program has 
        found that rates of premature delivery, low birth weight, and 
        infant mortality were improved for women who participated in 
        the program, the costs of treating such women were offset by as 
        much as 3 to 4 times the savings that resulted from reduced 
        costs of crime, foster care, and Temporary Assistance to Needy 
        Families (TANF) assistance, and adverse birth outcomes.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY FOR STATES TO MAKE FOSTER CARE MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS 
              TO RESIDENTIAL FAMILY TREATMENT CENTERS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) In general.--Section 472 of the Social Security Act (42 
        U.S.C. 672) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (b)(2)--
                            (i) by inserting ``or a residential family 
                        treatment center'' after ``child-care 
                        institution''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``or residential family 
                        treatment center'' after ``such institution''; 
                        and
                    (B) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) by striking ``and'' before ``(2)''; and
                            (ii) by inserting before the period at the 
                        end the following: ``; and (3) the term 
                        `residential family treatment center' means a 
                        State licensed program that enables parents and 
                        their children to live in a safe environment 
                        for a period of not less than 6 months and 
                        provides, on-site or by referral, substance 
                        abuse treatment services, children's early 
                        intervention services, family counseling, legal 
                        services, medical care, mental health services, 
                        nursery and preschool, parenting skills 
                        training, pediatric care, prenatal care, sexual 
                        abuse therapy, relapse prevention, 
                        transportation, and job or vocational training 
                        or classes leading to a secondary school 
                        diploma or a certificate of general 
                        equivalence''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) 
        shall take effect on October 1, 2008, without regard to whether 
        regulations implementing such amendments are promulgated by 
        such date.
    (b) Evaluation and Report.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
Services shall, by grant, contract, or interagency agreement, evaluate 
the foster care maintenance payments made under section 472(b)(2) of 
the Social Security Act on behalf of a child who is in a residential 
family treatment center (as amended by subsection (a)(1)(A)) and, not 
later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, shall 
submit a report to Congress on the results of such evaluation that 
includes an analysis of the outcomes for the children in foster care on 
whose behalf such payments are made.
                                 <all>