II 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3492 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 16, 2008 Mrs. Lincoln (for herself, Mr. Rockefeller, Ms. Collins, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Casey, and Mr. Johnson) 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 ensure States follow best policies and practices for supporting and retaining foster parents and to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States to improve the empowerment, leadership, support, training, recruitment, and retention of foster care, kinship care, and adoptive parents.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Resource Family Recruitment and Retention Act of 2008.
2.
Agency responsibilities to resource families
Section 471(a)(22) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(22)) is amended— (1)by striking that, not and inserting “that— (A)not ; (2)by adding and after the semicolon; and (3)by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (B)not later than January 1, 2009, such standards require each public and private placement agency, subject to the renewal of the agency's license or other State approval, to annually certify to the State that the agency provides foster parents with the following: (i)Notification of scheduled meetings concerning the child placed with the foster parents in order to allow the foster parents the opportunity to actively participate and have input in the case planning and decision-making process regarding the placement of the child in their home. (ii)Support services to assist with the care of the child, consistent with the child's approved permanency plan. (iii)Open, complete, and timely responses from the agency when contacted by foster parents. (iv)Consistent with the requirements under section 475(5)(D), information about the child's medical history, educational history, general behaviors, and life experiences, the placement circumstances of the child, and the relationship between the children and the child's parents as soon as that information is obtained by the agency. (v)Timely and complete information about all permanency options available to the child and the benefits, rights, and responsibilities associated with each such option, including as appropriate (but not limited to) the availability of adoption assistance payments and payments for nonrecurring adoption expenses under an adoption agreement entered into under section 473, the potential eligibility of the individual for a Federal tax credit (under section 23 of the Internal Revenue Code) for adoption-related expenses, the availability of medical coverage for the child, the availability of post-permanency services, and the availability of tuition support for the child. (vi)Consultation with the foster parents in the decision to release the foster parents' address to the parents of the child and notification when that information has been provided to the child's parents. (vii)Assistance with the coordination of services for dealing with family loss and separation when a child leaves the foster home and when relocation is not the result of an immediate threat to the health and safety of the child caused by the foster parent or a member of the foster parent's family. (viii)Information on agency policies and procedures that relate to the role of a foster parent. (ix)Consistent with the requirements of paragraph (24), appropriate training that will enhance skills and ability of the foster parent. (x)Information on how to receive services and reach agency personnel on a 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week basis. (xi)Confidentiality regarding allegations of abuse involving a member of the foster parent's family and an assurance that the provision of such confidentiality shall not interfere with the health or safety of the child. (xii)The opportunity to be heard regarding agency decisions or practices and an assurance that the agency shall not discharge, threaten, or otherwise discriminate or retaliate against a foster parent for questioning the decisions or practices of the agency. (xiii)The provision to each foster parent of— (I)consistent with section 475(5)(G), notice of, and an opportunity to be heard at, all court proceedings (including reviews and hearings) that are held with respect to a foster child placed in the foster parent's care; and (II)support for participating in such proceedings, including (but not limited to) training and assisting with transportation to and from the proceedings; .
3.
Grants to improve the empowerment, leadership, support, training, recruitment, and retention of foster care, kinship care, and adoptive parents
Subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
429B.
Grants to improve the empowerment, leadership, support, training, recruitment, and retention of foster care, kinship care, and adoptive parents
(a)
Authority To award grants
The Secretary shall award grants to eligible States for the purpose of carrying out innovative programs to empower, provide leadership for, and improve the recruitment, support, training, and retention of foster care, kinship care, and adoptive parents (in this section referred to as resource parents). (b)
Eligible state
A State is eligible for a grant under this section if the State— (1)submits an application for the grant that includes the information described in subsection (c); and (2)has approved State plans under this subpart, subpart 2 of this part, and part E. (c)
Application requirements
For purposes of subsection (b)(1), the information described in this subsection is the following: (1)
Description of programs
A description of the programs the State proposes to implement with funds awarded under this section that are consistent with the purposes described in subsection (a) and that may include any or all of the following: (A)
Empowerment and leadership
The establishment of, or increased support for— (i)a Resource Parent Ombudsman who would advocate on behalf of resource parents; (ii)programs to provide recognition of resource parents as key partners in the child welfare system; (iii)programs to provide career-path acknowledgment for long-term master resource parents; (iv)initiatives for courts to recognize the role of the resource parent on a child's service team; (v)flexible spending options that permit States to purchase items that will help resource parents do their jobs better and help the children placed in their care, such as computers, bedroom furnishings, transportation, and after-school supports; and (vi)programs to involve resource parents to a greater degree in assessment and case planning activities. (B)
Family support
The establishment of, or increased support for— (i)peer-to-peer support and mentoring groups for resource parents; (ii)programs to assist resource parents in caring for children with special needs; (iii)programs to provide reliable and accessible respite care to help resource parents recharge and avoid burnout; (iv)a 24-hour emergency hotline for resource parents; (v)a Medicaid hotline to secure medical services under the State plan under title XIX or the State child health plan under title XXI (as appropriate) for children under the care of resource parents; (vi)family preservation services for crises situations; (vii)direct services, including ongoing in-service psychological and education and support, that address child behavior issues common among foster care and adopted children and caregiver interests and concerns; and (viii)experienced parent advocates who can serve as liaisons to other resource parents and provide information and support as needed. (C)
Training
The establishment of, or increased support for— (i)training programs on the court process, the role of court appointed special advocates (commonly referred to as CASA) and Guardians ad Litem; (ii)training programs on caring for children with special needs; (iii)high-quality initial and ongoing training for resource parents targeted specifically at understanding the needs and behaviors of foster care and adopted children, as well as presenting specific techniques for meeting a child's special needs; (iv)educational innovations (such as online learning and access to Internet websites) with credit given toward mandatory training for participation in the nontraditional training, offered at no cost to the resource parents. (D)
Recruitment and retention
The establishment of, or increased support for— (i)innovative ways to provide outreach to increase participation of new resource parents; (ii)alliances with faith-based organizations to improve the recruitment and support of resource parents; (iii)programs to engage the business community and other community partners in the recruitment and retention of resource parents; (iv)targeted recruitment efforts for local communities or neighborhoods; (v)programs to provide convenient education and licensing options for resource parents; and (vi)programs to mitigate language and cultural barriers to the recruitment and retention of resource parents, including through the provision of culturally or linguistically specific materials. (2)
Development plan
A 12-month plan detailing the strategies and process the State will use to develop such programs. (3)
Implementation plan
A 48-month plan detailing the strategies and process the State will use to implement such programs. (4)
Cooperative agreements with support organizations
An assurance that the State will enter into cooperative agreements with nonprofit organizations that provide support for foster care, kinship care, or adoption, to assist with implementation of the programs carried out with funds awarded under this section. (5)
Evaluation plan
A plan for independent evaluation of the programs carried out with such funds. (d)
Allotments
(1)
In general
Each eligible State which has an application approved under this section shall be entitled to payment, for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013, from the amount appropriated under subsection (e) for such fiscal year, of an amount equal to the sum of $75,000 plus the amount described in paragraph (2) for the fiscal year. (2)
Proportionally based on state share of children in foster care
The amount described in this subparagraph for any fiscal year is the amount that bears the same ratio to the remainder of the amount appropriated under subsection (e) for such fiscal year, after the application of paragraph (1) for the fiscal year, as the number of children in foster care under the supervision of the State in the State who have not attained 18 years of age bears to the total number of such children in all States which have approved applications under this section for such fiscal year. (3)
No effect on other payments under this subpart
Amounts paid to an eligible State under this section for a fiscal year shall be in addition to any other amounts paid to the State under this subpart for this fiscal year. (e)
Appropriation; nonapplication
Out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the Secretary for purposes of awarding grants under this section, $10,400,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013, to remain available until expended. Section 425 shall not apply to amounts appropriated under this subsection for a fiscal year.
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