[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1091 Engrossed Amendment House (EAH)]

<DOC>
                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                         June 13, 2018.
    Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 1091) entitled ``An Act 
to establish a Federal Task Force to Support Grandparents Raising 
Grandchildren.'', do pass with the following

                              AMENDMENTS:

            Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting Grandparents Raising 
Grandchildren Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) More than 2,500,000 grandparents in the United States 
        are the primary caretaker of their grandchildren, and experts 
        report that such numbers are increasing as the opioid epidemic 
        expands.
            (2) Between 2009 and 2016, the incidence of parental 
        alcohol or other drug use as a contributing factor for 
        children's out-of-home placement rose from 25.4 to 37.4 
        percent.
            (3) When children cannot remain safely with their parents, 
        placement with relatives is preferred over placement in foster 
        care with nonrelatives because placement with relatives 
        provides stability for children and helps them maintain family 
        connections.
            (4) The number of foster children placed with a grandparent 
        or other relative increased from 24 percent in 2006 to 32 
        percent in 2016, according to data from the Department of 
        Health and Human Services.
            (5) Grandparents' lives are enhanced by caring for their 
        grandchildren; the overwhelming majority of grandparents report 
        experiencing significant benefits in serving as their 
        grandchildren's primary caregivers.
            (6) Providing full-time care to their grandchildren may 
        decrease grandparents' ability to address their own physical 
        and mental health needs and personal well-being.
            (7) Grandparents would benefit from better coordination and 
        dissemination of information and resources available to support 
        them in their caregiving responsibilities.

SEC. 3. ADVISORY COUNCIL TO SUPPORT GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established an Advisory Council to 
Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) In general.--The Advisory Council shall be composed of 
        the following members, or their designee:
                    (A) The Secretary of Health and Human Services.
                    (B) The Secretary of Education.
                    (C) The Administrator of the Administration for 
                Community Living.
                    (D) The Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
                and Prevention.
                    (E) The Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and 
                Substance Use.
                    (F) The Assistant Secretary for the Administration 
                for Children and Families.
                    (G) A grandparent raising a grandchild.
                    (H) An older relative caregiver of children.
                    (I) As appropriate, the head of other Federal 
                departments, or agencies, identified by the Secretary 
                of Health and Human Services as having 
                responsibilities, or administering programs, relating 
                to current issues affecting grandparents or other older 
                relatives raising children.
            (2) Lead agency.--The Department of Health and Human 
        Services shall be the lead agency for the Advisory Council.
    (c) Duties.--
            (1) In general.--
                    (A) Information.--The Advisory Council shall 
                identify, promote, coordinate, and disseminate to the 
                public information, resources, and the best practices 
                available to help grandparents and other older 
                relatives--
                            (i) meet the health, educational, 
                        nutritional, and other needs of the children in 
                        their care; and
                            (ii) maintain their own physical and mental 
                        health and emotional well-being.
                    (B) Opioids.--In carrying out the duties described 
                in subparagraph (A), the Advisory Council shall 
                consider the needs of those affected by the opioid 
                crisis.
                    (C) Native americans.--In carrying out the duties 
                described in subparagraph (A), the Advisory Council 
                shall consider the needs of members of Native American 
                tribes.
            (2) Report.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Advisory Council 
                shall submit a report to--
                            (i) the appropriate committees;
                            (ii) the State agencies that are 
                        responsible for carrying out family caregiver 
                        programs; and
                            (iii) the public online in an accessible 
                        format.
                    (B) Report format.--The report shall include--
                            (i) best practices, resources, and other 
                        useful information for grandparents and other 
                        older relatives raising children identified 
                        under paragraph (1)(A) including, if 
                        applicable, any information related to the 
                        needs of children who have been impacted by the 
                        opioid epidemic;
                            (ii) an identification of any gaps in items 
                        under clause (i); and
                            (iii) where applicable, identification of 
                        any additional Federal legislative authority 
                        necessary to implement the activities described 
                        in clause (i) and (ii).
            (3) Follow-up report.--Not later than 2 years after the 
        date on which the report required under paragraph (2)(A) is 
        submitted, the Advisory Council shall submit a follow-up report 
        that includes the information identified in paragraph (2)(B) 
        to--
                    (A) the appropriate committees;
                    (B) the State agencies that are responsible for 
                carrying out family caregiver programs; and
                    (C) the public online in an accessible format.
            (4) Public input.--
                    (A) In general.--The Advisory Council shall 
                establish a process for public input to inform the 
                development of, and provide updates to, the best 
                practices, resources, and other information described 
                in paragraph (1) that shall include--
                            (i) outreach to States, local entities, and 
                        organizations that provide information to, or 
                        support for, grandparents or other older 
                        relatives raising children; and
                            (ii) outreach to grandparents and other 
                        older relatives with experience raising 
                        children.
                    (B) Nature of outreach.--Such outreach shall ask 
                individuals to provide input on--
                            (i) information, resources, and best 
                        practices available, including identification 
                        of any gaps and unmet needs; and
                            (ii) recommendations that would help 
                        grandparents and other older relatives better 
                        meet the health, educational, nutritional, and 
                        other needs of the children in their care, as 
                        well as maintain their own physical and mental 
                        health and emotional well-being.
    (d) FACA.--The Advisory Council shall be exempt from the 
requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
    (e) Funding.--No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated 
to carry out this Act.
    (f) Sunset.--The Advisory Council shall terminate on the date that 
is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Advisory council.--In this Act, the term ``Advisory 
        Council'' means the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents 
        Raising Grandchildren that is established under section 3.
            (2) Appropriate committees.--In this Act, the term 
        ``appropriate committees'' means the following:
                    (A) The Special Committee on Aging of the Senate.
                    (B) The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                Pensions of the Senate.
                    (C) The Committee on Education and the Workforce of 
                the House of Representatives.
                    (D) The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
                House of Representatives.

            Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to establish a 
        Federal Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising 
        Grandchildren.''.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
115th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1091

_______________________________________________________________________

                               AMENDMENTS