I 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2558 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 21, 2009 Mr. Fattah (for himself and Mr. Camp) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 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.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the State Child Well-Being Research Act of 2009.

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 the Federal, State, and local 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 databases. Information is needed on the well-being of all children, not just children participating in Federal programs. (6)Telephone surveys of parents represent a relatively cost-effective strategy for obtaining information on child well-being at the State level for all States, including small States, and can be conducted alone or in mixed mode strategy with other survey techniques. (7)Data from telephone surveys of the population are currently 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, alone or in combination with other techniques, 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 inform welfare policymaking on a range of important issues, such as income support, child care, child abuse and neglect, child health, family formation, and education.

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)

Renaming of survey

On and after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the National Survey of Children’s Health conducted by the Director of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration shall be known as the Survey of Children’s Health and Well-Being. (2)

Modification of survey to include matters relating to child well-being

The Secretary shall modify the survey so that it may be used to better assess child well-being, as follows: (A)

New indicators included

The indicators with respect to which the survey collects information shall include measures of child-well-being related to the following: (i)Education. (ii)Social and emotional development. (iii)Physical and mental health and safety. (iv)Family well-being, such as family structure, income, employment, child care arrangements, and family relationships. (B)

Collection requirements

The data collected with respect to the indicators developed under subparagraph (A) shall be— (i)statistically representative at the State and national level; (ii)consistent across States, except that data shall be collected in States other than the 50 States and the District of Columbia only if technically feasible; (iii)collected on an annual or ongoing basis; (iv)measured with reliability; (v)current; (vi)over-sampled (if feasible), with respect to low-income children and families, so that subgroup estimates can be produced by a variety of income categories (such as for 50, 100, and 200 percent of the poverty level, and for children of varied ages, such as 0–5, 6–11, 12–17, and (if feasible) 18–21 years of age); and (vii)made publicly available. (C)

Other requirements

(i)

Publication

The data collected with respect to the indicators developed under subparagraph (A) shall be published as absolute numbers and expressed in terms of rates or percentages. (ii)

Availability of data

A data file shall be made available to the public, subject to confidentiality requirements, that includes the indicators, demographic information, and ratios of income to poverty. (iii)

Sample sizes

Sample sizes used for the collected data shall be adequate for microdata on the categories included in subparagraph (B)(vi) to be made publicly available, subject to confidentiality requirements. (D)

Consultation

(i)

In general

In developing the indicators under subparagraph (A) and the means to collect the data required with respect to the indicators, the Secretary shall consult and collaborate with a subcommittee of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, which shall include representatives with expertise on all the domains of child well-being described in subparagraph (A). The subcommittee shall have appropriate staff assigned to work with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau during the design phase of the survey. (ii)

Duties

The Secretary shall consult with the subcommittee referred to in clause (i) with respect to the design, content, and methodology for the development of the indicators under subparagraph (A) and the collection of data regarding the indicators, and the availability or lack thereof of similar data through other Federal data collection efforts. (iii)

Costs

Costs incurred by the subcommittee with respect to the development of the indicators and the collection of data related to the indicators shall be treated as costs of the survey. (3)

Advisory panel

(A)

Establishment

The Secretary, in consultation with the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, shall establish an advisory panel of experts to make recommendations regarding— (i)the additional matters to be addressed by the survey by reason of this subsection; and (ii)the methods, dissemination strategies, and statistical tools necessary to conduct the survey as a whole. (B)

Membership

(i)

In general

The advisory panel established under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall include experts on each of the domains of child well-being described in paragraph (2)(A), experts on child indicators, experts from State agencies and from nonprofit organizations that use child indicator data at the State level, and experts on survey methodology. (ii)

Deadline

The members of the advisory panel shall be appointed not later than 2 months after the date of the enactment of this subsection. (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 this subsection; and (ii)annually thereafter for the 4 succeeding years. (4)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014, $20,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out this subsection. .

4.

GAO report on collection and reporting of data on deaths of children in foster care

(a)

In general

Within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study to determine, and submit to the Congress a written report on the adequacy of, the methods of collecting and reporting data on deaths of children in the child welfare system. (b)

Matters To be considered

In the study, the Comptroller General shall, for each year for which data are available, determine— (1)the number of children eligible for services or benefits under part B or E of title IV of the Social Security Act who States reported as having died due to abuse or neglect; (2)the number of children so eligible who died due to abuse or neglect but were not accounted for in State reports; and (3)the number of children in State child welfare systems who died due to abuse or neglect and whose deaths are not included in the data described in paragraph (1) or (2). (c)

Recommendations

In the report, the Comptroller General shall include recommendations on how surveys of children by the Federal Government and by State governments can be improved to better capture all data on the death of children in the child welfare system, so that the Congress can work with the States to develop better policies to improve the well-being of children and reduce child deaths.