[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1458 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1458

  To encourage the development and implementation of a comprehensive, 
global strategy for the preservation and reunification of families and 
         the provision of permanent parental care for orphans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 16, 2009

  Ms. Landrieu (for herself and Mr. Inhofe) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To encourage the development and implementation of a comprehensive, 
global strategy for the preservation and reunification of families and 
         the provision of permanent parental care for orphans.

    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 ``Families for Orphans Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) A child who grows up in a permanent family in an 
        atmosphere of happiness, love, and understanding has the best 
        opportunity for the full and harmonious development of his or 
        her potential.
            (2) The right of a child to grow up in a safe, loving, and 
        permanent relationship with a responsible adult is a basic 
        human right.
            (3) The safety and well-being of children should be the 
        paramount concern of child welfare policies and programs.
            (4) As stated in the United Nations Programme for the 
        International Year of the Family (1994), ``the family provides 
        the natural framework for the emotional, financial, and 
        material support essential to the growth and development of its 
        members, particularly infants and children.''.
            (5) Cost benefit analysis data shows that effective, high 
        quality interventions to improve parenting skills and reduce 
        child maltreatment save between $2 and $8 for every dollar 
        spent.
            (6) Despite the good efforts of countless governments and 
        nongovernmental organizations, millions of children remain 
        outside of the protection, permanency, safety, and love of a 
        family. Without the care of a family, these children are forced 
        to live on the streets, in child-headed households, or in 
        institutions.
            (7) According to UNICEF, there are more than 132,000,000 
        orphans worldwide. Unless immediate action is taken, the number 
        of orphans is expected to increase over time.
            (8) According to Dr. Dana Johnson at the University of 
        Minnesota, lack of stimulation and consistent caregivers, 
        suboptimal nutrition and physical and sexual abuse all conspire 
        to delay and sometimes preclude normal development, speech 
        acquisition, and attainment of necessary social skills. 
        Children lose 1 month of linear growth for every 3 months in an 
        orphanage.
            (9) Research indicates that infants who do not receive 
        touching, holding, and stimulation fail to thrive and may 
        suffer life-affecting physical and emotional stressors, if not 
        death.
            (10) Although governments throughout the world are seeking 
        models for preventing institutionalization and finding 
        permanent families for orphaned children, many lack the 
        resources or infrastructure to adequately address this need.
            (11) As a result of its efforts to protect its children 
        from abuse and neglect, the United States has amassed a vast 
        body of research, policy, and the professional capacity to 
        promote safety, permanency, and well-being for children and 
        youth so they can become healthy and successful adults.
            (12) Despite the fact that the United States invests 
        $300,000,000,000 annually in international aid programs that 
        are improving the health, safety, and well-being of children 
        throughout the world, it is unclear how much of this funding is 
        used to support the preservation and reunification of families 
        or the provision of permanent parental care.
            (13) Greater coordination is needed between Federal bureaus 
        and agencies with an interest in orphan care policy. Such 
        efforts would be greatly assisted by the development of a 
        comprehensive global strategy for providing permanent parental 
        care for orphans.
            (14) Despite the United States' interest in developing a 
        comprehensive global strategy for providing permanent parental 
        care for orphans, the United States lacks a clear, dedicated, 
        diplomatic authority to represent these interests.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) provide the infrastructure and resources necessary for 
        the United States to develop and implement a comprehensive, 
        global strategy for the preservation and reunification of 
        families and the provision of permanent parental care for 
        orphans;
            (2) streamline and coordinate United States policies and 
        programs related to the preservation and reunification of 
        families and the provision of permanent parental care for 
        orphans;
            (3) encourage and assist foreign governments in the 
        development and implementation of effective child welfare 
        policies, systems, and programs that preserve and reunify 
        families and provide permanent parental care for orphans;
            (4) ensure that all aid efforts receiving funding from the 
        United States recognize and support the need for the 
        preservation and reunification of families and the provision of 
        permanent parental care for orphans; and
            (5) build global awareness of the need for the preservation 
        and reunification of families and the provision of permanent 
        parental care for orphans.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Adoption support services.--The term ``adoption support 
        services'' means services and activities designed to encourage 
        adoption that is determined to be in the best interests of 
        children, including--
                    (A) pre- and post-adoption services; and
                    (B) activities designed to expedite the adoption 
                process and support adoptive families.
            (2) Deinstitutionalization.--The term 
        ``deinstitutionalization'' means the process of safely moving 
        youth from institutions to--
                    (A) permanent parental care; or
                    (B) temporary alternatives designed to lead to 
                permanent parental care.
            (3) Family at risk of dissolution.--The term ``family at 
        risk of dissolution'' means a family under circumstances 
        which--
                    (A) compromise the health, safety, and well-being 
                of minor, dependent children to an extent that the 
                parental caregivers may be compelled to voluntarily or 
                involuntarily forfeit care, parental rights, or custody 
                of such children; or
                    (B) are likely to cause the parents to abandon or 
                relinquish rights to minor, dependent children.
            (4) Family preservation.--The term ``family preservation'' 
        means services for children and families designed to promote 
        the safety and well-being of children and families and to help 
        families (at risk or in crisis, including community-based 
        family support, social, therapeutic, and financial programs and 
        services designed to--
                    (A) enable families to provide safe, permanent, and 
                nurturing care to their children; and
                    (B) strengthen and support families who are at risk 
                of dissolution, separation, or domestic violence.
            (5) Institution.--The term ``institution'' means--
                    (A) an orphanage;
                    (B) a children's home;
                    (C) a boarding school for orphans;
                    (D) a shelter;
                    (E) a residential facility;
                    (F) a hospital;
                    (G) a dormitory;
                    (H) long-term foster care; and
                    (I) any other setting in which permanent parental 
                care is not being provided to the child.
            (6) Institutionalized child.--The term ``institutionalized 
        child'' means a child who--
                    (A) is younger than 21 years of age; and
                    (B) lives in an institution.
            (7) Legal guardianship.--The term ``legal guardianship'' 
        means a legally recognized relationship between a child and a 
        caretaker, which is intended to be permanent and is evidenced 
        by the transfer to the caretaker of parental rights with 
        respect to the child, including the rights of protection, 
        education, custody, and decisionmaking.
            (8) Legal kinship.--The term ``legal kinship'' means a 
        legally recognized relationship between a child and a relative, 
        which is intended to be permanent and is evidenced by the 
        transfer to a relative of parental rights with respect to the 
        child, including the rights of protection, education, custody, 
        and decisionmaking.
            (9) Orphan.--The term ``orphan'' means any child--
                    (A) who lacks permanent parental care because of 
                the death, the disappearance of, or the legal, 
                permanent relinquishment of such child by both parents;
                    (B) who is living in the care and custody of an 
                institution;
                    (C) whose biological parents' rights have been 
                legally terminated; or
                    (D) whose country of origin has determined that the 
                child lacks permanent parental care.
            (10) Permanent parental care.--The term ``permanent 
        parental care''--
                    (A) means a legally recognized relationship between 
                an adult and a child who is younger than 21 years of 
                age, which is life-long and provides a caring, safe, 
                stable physical environment;
                    (B) includes--
                            (i) domestic and international adoption;
                            (ii) legal guardianship; and
                            (iii) legal kinship; and
                    (C) does not include temporary or long-term foster 
                care, institutionalization, or mentoring.
            (11) Reunification.--The term ``reunification'' means time-
        limited services and activities provided to an orphan in order 
        to facilitate the safe and timely reunification of the child 
        and parent.

SEC. 4. OFFICE FOR ORPHAN POLICY DIPLOMACY AND DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established within the Department of 
State the Office for Orphan Policy Diplomacy and Development (referred 
to in this section as the ``Office''), which shall promote and 
support--
            (1) the preservation and reunification of families; and
            (2) the provision of permanent parental care for orphans.
    (b) Coordinator.--
            (1) Appointment.--The Office shall be headed by the 
        Coordinator for Orphan Policy Diplomacy and Development 
        (referred to in this section as the ``Coordinator''), who shall 
        be appointed by the President.
            (2) Qualifications.--To the extent possible, the 
        Coordinator shall be an individual with background and 
        experience in the development of permanency related policies 
        and systems.
            (3) Duties.--The Coordinator shall--
                    (A) oversee and coordinate--
                            (i) all programs and duties authorized in 
                        this Act; and
                            (ii) all other activities that the United 
                        States Government conducts in furtherance of 
                        the purposes of this Act; and
                    (B) carry out the functions described in subsection 
                (c).
            (4) Authority.--The Coordinator shall report directly to 
        the Secretary of State.
    (c) Functions.--
            (1) Advisory.--Unless otherwise specified in law, the 
        Coordinator shall serve as the primary advisor to the Secretary 
        of State and the President in all matters related to--
                    (A) global family preservation and reunification; 
                and
                    (B) the provision of permanent parental care for 
                orphans.
            (2) Diplomatic representation.--
                    (A) In general.--Subject to the direction of the 
                President and the Secretary of State, the Coordinator 
                shall represent the United States in matters and cases 
                relevant to family preservation, reunification, and 
                permanent parental care in--
                            (i) contacts with foreign governments, 
                        nongovernmental organizations, 
                        intergovernmental agencies, and specialized 
                        agencies of the United Nations and other 
                        international organizations of which the United 
                        States is a member;
                            (ii) multilateral conferences and meetings 
                        relevant to family preservation, reunification, 
                        and permanent parental care for orphaned 
                        children; and
                            (iii) fulfillment of the diplomatic 
                        responsibilities designated to the central 
                        authority under title I of the Intercountry 
                        Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14911 et seq.).
                    (B) Waiver.--The Secretary of State may waive the 
                requirements under subparagraph (A) if--
                            (i) representation by the Coordinator would 
                        interfere with the Secretary's constitutional 
                        duty to represent the United States; or
                            (ii) representation by another high level 
                        official would be more appropriate or 
                        beneficial.
            (3) Policy development.--
                    (A) In general.--The Coordinator shall--
                            (i) advise and support the Secretary of 
                        State in the development of a comprehensive, 
                        global strategy to promote the preservation and 
                        reunification of families and the provision of 
                        permanent parental care for orphans; and
                            (ii) advise and support foreign governments 
                        with the development of sound policy 
                        regarding--
                                    (I) the preservation and 
                                reunification of families; and
                                    (II) the provision of permanent 
                                parental care for orphans.
                    (B) Best practices.--In developing policies under 
                this Act, the Coordinator shall identify and engage the 
                best practices in family preservation, reunification, 
                and permanent parental care derived from a wide variety 
                of domestic and global policy and practice leaders.
                    (C) Cultural sensitivity.--In developing policies 
                under this Act, the Coordinator shall take into account 
                cultural norms for each country to the extent 
                consistent with the overall purposes of this Act.
                    (D) Principle of subsidiarity.--In developing 
                policies and programs under this Act, the Coordinator 
                shall--
                            (i) attempt to reunify children with their 
                        families before pursuing adoption, legal 
                        kinship, legal guardianship, or domestic 
                        adoption; and
                            (ii) ensure that reasonable efforts are 
                        made to provide permanent parental care 
                        domestically before internationally.
                    (E) Technical assistance.--The Coordinator shall 
                provide technical assistance to foreign countries to 
                help build their capacities to strengthen family 
                preservation, reunification, and permanent parental 
                care policies, services, and practices, including--
                            (i) assistance with the drafting, 
                        disseminating, and implementing of legislation 
                        for family preservation and reunification and 
                        the provision of permanent parental care;
                            (ii) assistance with the development of 
                        systems designed to support family 
                        preservation, reunification, and permanent 
                        parental care for institutionalized orphans;
                            (iii) assistance with the establishment of 
                        public, private, and faith- and community-based 
                        partnerships designed to support the 
                        preservation and reunification of families and 
                        permanent parental care for orphans;
                            (iv) assistance with the development of 
                        workforce training for governmental and 
                        nongovernmental staff working to support the 
                        preservation and reunification of families and 
                        permanent parental care for orphans; and
                            (v) assistance with infrastructure 
                        development and data collection techniques 
                        necessary to--
                                    (I) support the biennial census 
                                required under paragraph (6)(A);
                                    (II) collect permanency indicators 
                                described in paragraph (6)(B);
                                    (III) collect the data necessary to 
                                determine to what extent countries meet 
                                the minimum standards described in 
                                section 6; and
                                    (IV) organizing exchanges for child 
                                welfare, adoption, and other social 
                                service professionals working to 
                                support the preservation and 
                                reunification of families and permanent 
                                parental care for orphans.
                    (F) Preservation of the family and permanent 
                parental care conference.--In fiscal year 2011, and 
                every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of State 
                shall--
                            (i) conduct a conference on best practices 
                        and successful strategies for the preservation 
                        and reunification of families and the provision 
                        of permanent parental care for orphans;
                            (ii) share and address key issues relative 
                        to--
                                    (I) the most current biennial 
                                census data collected under paragraph 
                                (6)(A);
                                    (II) the permanency indicator data 
                                collected under paragraph (6)(B); and
                                    (III) the data collected from the 
                                Global Best Practices Pilot Program 
                                under section 7(c); and
                            (iii) disseminate information regarding--
                                    (I) best practices for building 
                                country and regional capacity to 
                                decrease the number of orphans;
                                    (II) strategies for financially 
                                sustaining activities to support family 
                                preservation and reunification and 
                                permanent parental care;
                                    (III) best practices in 
                                international adoption and in 
                                preventing corruption; and
                                    (IV) best methods and practices for 
                                assessing progress and quality for 
                                moving children into permanent parental 
                                care in a safe and timely manner.
            (4) Coordination.--
                    (A) In general.--The Office shall coordinate the 
                foreign policy and assistance of the United States in 
                support of--
                            (i) families at risk of dissolution; and
                            (ii) orphans in need of permanent parental 
                        care.
                    (B) Coordination between domestic and international 
                policy.--To the extent possible, the Coordinator shall 
                work with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
                maintain consistency between United States foreign and 
                domestic policy on family preservation and 
                reunification and permanent parental care.
            (5) Communication.--
                    (A) In general.--The Office shall build global 
                awareness of its purpose and activities.
                    (B) Web site.--To carry out subparagraph (A), the 
                Office shall maintain a Web site that includes--
                            (i) a description of the global problems 
                        related to orphans and children in 
                        institutional and temporary nonfamily care;
                            (ii) the status of activities being carried 
                        out by the Office;
                            (iii) the progress made by the Office to 
                        achieve its goals;
                            (iv) current research, reports, policy, 
                        training opportunities, evaluation, and 
                        methodology describing best practices;
                            (v) information collected by the biennial 
                        census under paragraph (6)(A);
                            (vi) permanency indicators collected under 
                        paragraph (6)(B);
                            (vii) the annual report submitted to 
                        Congress under paragraph (6)(C);
                            (viii) the status of site results for the 
                        study of global best practices conducted under 
                        section 7(c)(1);
                            (ix) requests for proposals, grant or 
                        contract awards, amounts, purposes, and lessons 
                        learned during implementation; and
                            (x) a summary of the scope and progress of 
                        country projects funded by the Office.
            (6) Reports, research, and assessments.--
                    (A) Biennial census of children without permanent 
                parental care.--
                            (i) In general.--Not later than December 
                        31, 2010, and every 2 years thereafter, the 
                        Office shall develop, oversee, support, and 
                        publish the results of a census of all children 
                        who live outside permanent parental care. The 
                        census shall enumerate the number of children, 
                        categorized by sex and age, who reside in--
                                    (I) a public or private orphanage;
                                    (II) a hospital or other medical 
                                institution or treatment facility;
                                    (III) temporary or long-term 
                                family-based foster care;
                                    (IV) a group home;
                                    (V) a residential or congregational 
                                facility, regardless of the 
                                availability of treatment services;
                                    (VI) kinship care without legal 
                                status or the presence of adult family 
                                members; or
                                    (VII) a dormitory or other 
                                permanent or temporary living situation 
                                in which a government or 
                                nongovernmental organization places 
                                children who do not have parental care.
                            (ii) Census countries.--The data collected 
                        under clause (i) shall include all member 
                        countries of the United Nations.
                            (iii) Delegation.--The Coordinator may 
                        delegate the responsibility for conducting the 
                        census to a third party if--
                                    (I) such party has expertise in 
                                human or social services and 
                                international quantitative data 
                                collection and analysis; and
                                    (II) such a delegation is 
                                consistent with the purposes set forth 
                                in section 2(b).
                    (B) Permanency indicators for children without 
                permanent parental care.--
                            (i) In general.--The Office shall collect 
                        available data related to a series of policy 
                        and practice indicators on the capacity of 
                        foreign governments to offer permanent parental 
                        care as an option for orphaned children.
                            (ii) Data.--Data collected under clause (i) 
                        shall include--
                                    (I) the number of families provided 
                                preservation services and the number of 
                                such families that remained intact 
                                after receiving such services;
                                    (II) the number of children in 
                                institutions who were reunified with 
                                their respective families;
                                    (III) the number of children placed 
                                in a permanent family through domestic 
                                adoption and the living situation of 
                                such children before such permanent 
                                placement;
                                    (IV) the number of children who 
                                were placed in a permanent family 
                                through legal guardianship and their 
                                living situation before such permanent 
                                placement;
                                    (V) the number of children who were 
                                placed in a permanent family through 
                                international adoption and the living 
                                situation of such children before such 
                                permanent placement;
                                    (VI) the number of children who 
                                were placed in legal or informal 
                                kinship care and their placement pre-
                                kinship care;
                                    (VII) the number of children who 
                                moved from temporary foster care to 
                                long-term foster care;
                                    (VIII) the number of children who 
                                reentered institutional care after 
                                moving into permanent parental care; 
                                and
                                    (IX) the length of time children 
                                are spending in institutional care or 
                                foster care.
                            (iii) Delegation.--The Coordinator may 
                        delegate the responsibility for collecting data 
                        on permanency indicators under this paragraph 
                        to a third party if--
                                    (I) the third party has expertise 
                                in human or social services and 
                                international quantitative data 
                                collection; and
                                    (II) such a delegation is 
                                consistent with the purposes set forth 
                                in section 2(b).
                            (iv) Consultation.--The Coordinator may 
                        consult with representatives of the Millennium 
                        Challenge Corporation, the Department of 
                        Homeland Security, the United States Agency for 
                        International Development, the Department of 
                        Health and Human Services, the United Nations, 
                        UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and 
                        other aid- or child welfare-related networks 
                        and organizations to--
                                    (I) identify and expand existing 
                                reporting networks; and
                                    (II) refine common definitions of 
                                indicators.
                            (v) United states indicators.--The 
                        Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
                        provide the Coordinator with the information 
                        required to be collected under this paragraph 
                        relating to individuals and families residing 
                        in the United States.
                            (vi) Report.--Not later than December 31, 
                        2011, and every 2 years thereafter, the Office 
                        shall publish a report that includes the data 
                        described in clause (ii).
                    (C) Annual report to congress.--Not later than 
                September 1 of each year, the Secretary of State shall 
                submit to Congress an annual report that includes--
                            (i) a description of the global status of 
                        orphans;
                            (ii) a description of the activities of the 
                        Office in support of family preservation and 
                        reunification and permanent parental care for 
                        orphans;
                            (iii) estimates from the most recent 
                        biennial census of the number of children 
                        living without permanent parental care;
                            (iv) a description of the status of family 
                        preservation, reunification, and permanent 
                        parental care initiatives underway in each 
                        foreign country receiving financial assistance 
                        under this Act;
                            (v) a description of--
                                    (I) the major challenges faced by 
                                governments that are resulting in an 
                                increase in the numbers of orphans; and
                                    (II) barriers which are preventing 
                                governments from achieving permanent 
                                parental care for orphans;
                            (vi) trends in increasing or decreasing 
                        risks for orphans and families at risk of 
                        dissolution;
                            (vii) a listing of the governments that do 
                        not meet the minimum standards described in 
                        section 6(a);
                            (viii) trends toward improvement in family 
                        preservation and reunification;
                            (ix) trends in domestic and international 
                        adoption, foster care, and institutional care;
                            (x) the most current permanency indicators 
                        described in subparagraph (B); and
                            (xi) movement toward implementation of 
                        permanency-related laws and conventions.
            (7) Grants.--The Office shall oversee the provision of 
        technical and financial assistance, including grants, pilot 
        programs, and demonstrations, to governments and 
        nongovernmental organizations to promote family preservation, 
        reunification, and permanent parental care for orphans.

SEC. 5. POLICY COORDINATING COMMITTEE IN SUPPORT OF ORPHAN POLICY, 
              DIPLOMACY, AND DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) Establishment.--The President shall establish an interagency 
policy coordinating committee (referred to in this section as the 
``Policy Coordinating Committee''), which shall monitor and support 
international efforts in family preservation, family reunification, and 
permanent parental care for orphans.
    (b) Appointment.--The President shall appoint the members of the 
Policy Coordinating Committee, which shall include--
            (1) the Secretary of State, who shall serve as Chair;
            (2) the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
        International Development;
            (3) the Attorney General;
            (4) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
            (5) the Secretary of Homeland Security; and
            (6) any other Government official appointed by the 
        President.
    (c) Activities of Committee.--The Policy Coordinating Committee 
shall provide advice to the Office for Orphan Policy Diplomacy and 
Development regarding--
            (1) the development of a comprehensive global strategy that 
        is consistent with the minimum standards described in section 
        103(a);
            (2) financial support of programs that assist countries in 
        developing child welfare systems that--
                    (A) preserve and reunify families; and
                    (B) provide permanent parental care for orphans.
            (3) advocacy efforts with governments, nongovernmental 
        organizations, and other entities to advance the purposes set 
        forth in section 2(b); and
            (4) the collection of data through significant research on 
        family preservation, reunification, and permanent parental care 
        methods for orphans.
    (d) Working Groups.--Members of the Policy Coordinating Committee 
may create small working groups within their respective agencies to 
support and advise their work on behalf of the Policy Coordinating 
Committee.

SEC. 6. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE PROVISION OF PERMANENT PARENTAL CARE.

    (a) Minimum Standards.--A country meets the minimum standards for 
the provision of permanent parental care by a partner country if--
            (1) the government of the country has laws, practices, and 
        judicial standards that--
                    (A) protect children from abuse and neglect;
                    (B) are aimed at reducing the number of abandoned 
                children;
                    (C) are aimed at preserving families at risk of 
                dissolution;
                    (D) are aimed at safely and appropriately 
                reunifying orphans and institutionalized children with 
                their families;
                    (E) promote legal guardianship and kinship care;
                    (F) promote domestic adoption;
                    (G) allow for international adoption; and
                    (H) promote the physical and emotional well-being 
                and protection of children while they are waiting for 
                reunification or placement with a permanent family;
            (2) the government of the country is--
                    (A) keeping a significant percentage of families at 
                risk of dissolution intact;
                    (B) reuniting a significant percentage of orphans 
                and institutionalized children with biological families 
                and relatives; and
                    (C) moving a significant percentage of orphans into 
                permanent parental care in situations in which the 
                orphans cannot be reunified with their families; and
            (3) the numbers of children aging out of institutions or 
        foster care in such country is decreasing by a significant 
        percentage each year.
    (b) Criteria.--A country is eligible for assistance from the Office 
for Orphan Policy Diplomacy and Development under this Act if the 
government of the country--
            (1) publicly acknowledges the need for family preservation, 
        reunification, and permanent parental care for orphans; and
            (2) demonstrates a commitment to develop improved laws, 
        policies, infrastructure, and training programs to preserve and 
        reunify families and provide permanent parental care for 
        orphans by--
                    (A) developing formal strategic plans to develop 
                laws and infrastructure to address shortcomings related 
                to meeting the minimum standards described in 
                subsection (a);
                    (B) allocating resources to study the issues 
                described in subparagraph (A); or
                    (C) expending or setting aside sufficient funds to 
                help build child welfare and judicial infrastructure 
                and enact laws to address shortcomings related to 
                meeting such minimum standards.

SEC. 7. GRANT, PILOT, AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.

    (a) Assistance to Foreign Governments.--Chapter 1 of part I of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 135, as added by section 5(a) 
        of Public Law 109-121, as section 137; and
            (2) by inserting after section 135, as added by section 3 
        of Public Law 109-95, the following:

``SEC. 136. ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.

    ``(a) Assistance To Meet Minimum Standards.--The President is 
authorized to provide assistance to foreign countries directly, or 
through nongovernmental and multilateral organizations, for programs, 
projects, and activities designed to assist the country to meet the 
minimum standards described in section 6(a) of the Families for Orphans 
Act of 2009.
    ``(b) Assistance to Foreign Governments That Meet Minimum 
Standards.--
            ``(1) In general.--The President is authorized to provide 
        assistance, including trade and debt relief, to any foreign 
        country that demonstrates success in meeting the majority of 
        the minimum standards and other goals described in paragraph 
        (2).
            ``(2) Plan.--The government of a country desiring 
        assistance under this subsection shall demonstrate a commitment 
        to meeting the minimum standards described in section 6(a) of 
        the Families for Orphans Act of 2009 by independently, or with 
        assistance from the Office for Orphan Policy Diplomacy and 
        Development, developing--
                    ``(A) a detailed, long-term strategic plan for 
                meeting such minimum standards and related long-range 
                goals; and
                    ``(B) a 1-year or 2-year operational plan that 
                describes the immediate steps that the foreign 
                government will take toward meeting such minimum 
                standards.''.
    (b) Assistance in Support of Family Preservation and Permanent 
Parental Care for Orphans.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State is authorized to 
        award grants to nongovernmental agencies working to promote 
        permanent parental care for orphans, in accordance with the 
        results of the global best practices study conducted under 
        subsection (c).
            (2) Use of funds.--Grants received under this subsection 
        may be used to--
                    (A) improve public policy in support of the 
                preservation and reunification of families and 
                permanent parental care for orphans;
                    (B) reduce the number of children abandoned;
                    (C) reduce the number of families at risk of 
                dissolution;
                    (D) increase the number of children reunified with 
                their parents;
                    (E) increase the number of children obtaining legal 
                guardianship and kinship care;
                    (F) increase the number of children placed for 
                adoption domestically;
                    (G) support international adoption for children who 
                cannot be adopted domestically, or reunified with their 
                biological parents;
                    (H) draft laws and develop systems designed to 
                promote ethical, evidence-based practice in 
                international adoption;
                    (I) increase the level of expertise and 
                understanding of foreign governments working to 
                preserve and reunify families and promote permanent 
                parental care for orphans;
                    (J) create and support connections with caring, 
                committed adults to older children at risk of, or in 
                the process of, aging out of institutional care;
                    (K) develop mentoring, visitation, and foster adopt 
                programs aimed at recruiting a larger number of 
                individuals willing to provide permanent parental care 
                for orphans;
                    (L) increase adoption support services; and
                    (M) create and improve child welfare and judicial 
                infrastructures, which strengthen and support permanent 
                family care for orphans.
            (3) Eligibility criteria.--To the extent possible, grants 
        shall be awarded under this subsection to organizations that 
        have demonstrated--
                    (A) experience in the area of child welfare and 
                judicial policy, family preservation, reunification, 
                and permanent parental care for orphans;
                    (B) success in working with the in-country 
                governmental agencies responsible for care of children; 
                and
                    (C) adherence to the child welfare laws of the 
                foreign government in which such organizations are 
                located.
    (c) Global Best Practices.--
            (1) Study on global best practices.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the 
                date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
                State shall initiate a study to identify global best 
                practices for--
                            (i) preserving and reunifying families; and
                            (ii) providing permanent parental care for 
                        orphans.
                    (B) Identification of factors.--In conducting the 
                study under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 
                identify--
                            (i) evidence-based programs that are 
                        demonstrated to provide permanent parental care 
                        in a timely manner;
                            (ii) policies and practices that result in 
                        increased deinstitutionalization of children;
                            (iii) laws of other countries that require 
                        and support permanent parental care;
                            (iv) factors that decrease the dissolution 
                        of families; and
                            (v) best practices for promoting ethical 
                        international adoption practices.
                    (C) Report.--Not later than 1 year after initiating 
                the study under this paragraph, the Secretary shall 
                publish a report on the best practices identified in 
                the study.
                    (D) Use of study results.--The Secretary shall use 
                the results of the study conducted under this paragraph 
                to guide and inform--
                            (i) the award of all grants under this Act; 
                        and
                            (ii) all activities in the global best 
                        practices pilot program carried out under 
                        paragraph (2).
            (2) Global best practices pilot program.--
                    (A) In general.--Upon completing the study 
                described in paragraph (1), the Secretary of State 
                shall establish and carry out a global best practices 
                pilot program.
                    (B) Purposes.--The purposes of the program 
                established pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be to--
                            (i) demonstrate how research-based policies 
                        and programs to provide orphans with permanent 
                        parental care can be successfully implemented;
                            (ii) establish model programs that, once 
                        tested for effectiveness, will be available, 
                        replicable, and adaptable on a global basis;
                            (iii) identify a comprehensive series of 
                        interventions, which result in family 
                        preservation, reunification, and permanent 
                        parental care for orphans; and
                            (iv) determine which in-country factors 
                        enhance or negate efforts to achieve family 
                        preservation, reunification, and permanent 
                        parental care for orphans.
                    (C) Selection of sites.--
                            (i) Number of sites.--In carrying out the 
                        pilot program established under this paragraph, 
                        the Secretary of State shall select and 
                        establish not fewer than 5 sites, each of which 
                        shall be located in a different region of the 
                        world.
                            (ii) Priorities.--In selecting sites under 
                        clause (i), the Secretary shall consider--
                                    (I) cultural, geographic, and 
                                economic diversity of countries 
                                included in the region;
                                    (II) whether governments within the 
                                region have sufficient infrastructure 
                                and capacity to support the pilot 
                                program; and
                                    (III) the incidence of abandoned 
                                children and children in institutional 
                                care in the region and culture.
                            (iii) Delegation.--The Coordinator for 
                        Orphan Policy Diplomacy and Development may 
                        delegate implementation of the pilot program 
                        under this paragraph to 1 or more organizations 
                        that have experience in the use of evidence-
                        based programs to promote family preservation, 
                        reunification, or permanent parental care for 
                        orphans.
                            (iv) Annual report.--Not later than 1 year 
                        after the date on which the first pilot program 
                        is established under this paragraph, and each 
                        subsequent year, the Coordinator shall publish 
                        a report on the status of, and lessons learned 
                        in, the pilot program.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

            (1) Operations.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
        for the administrative costs associated with carrying out the 
        duties of the Office for Orphan Policy Diplomacy and 
        Development--
                    (A) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
                    (B) such sums as may be necessary for each 
                subsequent fiscal year.
            (2) Assistance to foreign governments.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated for assistance to foreign 
        governments under section 136 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
        1961--
                    (A) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
                    (B) such sums as may be necessary for each 
                subsequent fiscal year.
            (3) Grants to support permanent parental care.--There is 
        authorized to be appropriated for grants under section 7(b)--
                    (A) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
                    (B) such sums as may be necessary for each 
                subsequent fiscal year.
            (4) Global best practices pilot program.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State to 
        carry out section 7(c)--
                    (A) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
                    (B) such sums as may be necessary for each 
                subsequent fiscal year.
                                 <all>