[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3461 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3461

   To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to require 
 States to comply with Federal standards established under the Indian 
                       Child Welfare Act of 1978.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 18, 2023

  Mr. Bacon (for himself, Mr. Schweikert, Mr. LaMalfa, Ms. Davids of 
Kansas, Mr. Kildee, Mrs. Peltola, Mr. Cole, and Ms. Chu) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to require 
 States to comply with Federal standards established under the Indian 
                       Child Welfare Act of 1978.

    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 ``Strengthening Tribal Families Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. STATE PLAN REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) State Plan Requirement Relating to Child Welfare Services.--
Section 422(b)(9) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 622(b)(9)) is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(9)'';
            (2) by striking ``Act;'' and inserting ``Act of 1978; 
        and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(B) provide that the agency administering or supervising 
        the administration of the plan shall comply with Federal 
        standards established under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 
        1978;''.
    (b) State Plan Requirement Relating to Promoting Safe and Stable 
Families.--Section 432(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629b(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (9), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(11) provides that the agency administering or 
        supervising the administration of the plan shall comply with 
        Federal standards established under the Indian Child Welfare 
        Act of 1978.''.
    (c) Measuring Compliance.--Subpart 3 of part B of title IV of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 629m) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 441. MEASURING COMPLIANCE WITH THE INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT OF 
              1978.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than January 1, 2024, the Secretary 
and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with Indian tribal 
organizations and States, shall develop a memorandum of understanding 
that specifies the factors to be used in measuring compliance by State 
agencies with sections 422(b)(9) and 432(a)(11) of this title, which 
shall include requirements sufficient to assess State strengths and 
areas for improvement in implementing the Indian Child Welfare Act of 
1978, including the following:
            ``(1) Timely identification of Indian children and extended 
        family members.
            ``(2) Timely tribal notice of State child custody 
        proceedings.
            ``(3) Quantitative agency reports of cases under such Act 
        in which a transfer of jurisdiction (as defined by such Act) 
        was granted or was not granted, and whether good cause (as 
        defined in such Act) was applied.
            ``(4) Quantitative agency reports on how many times a court 
        returned such a case to the agency based on insufficient active 
        efforts (as defined by such Act).
            ``(5) Foster care or adoptive placements in such cases (as 
        defined by such Act).
            ``(6) Quantitative agency reports on how many times a court 
        terminated parental rights in such cases.
    ``(b) Consultation.--On request of the Secretary, the Secretary of 
the Interior shall provide the Secretary with such guidance as may be 
necessary to facilitate informing States and public child welfare 
agencies on how to correctly and efficiently comply with sections 
422(b)(9) and 432(a)(11).''.
    (d) Biennial Reports to the Congress.--Section 422 of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 622) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Biennial Reports to the Congress.--The Secretary shall 
biennially submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a written 
report on how the States and the Secretary are addressing the 
requirement in subsection (b)(9).''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act and 
the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the 1st day of the 
1st calendar quarter that begins after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
    (b) Delay Permitted if State Legislation Required.--If the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services determines that State 
legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) is required in 
order for a State plan developed pursuant to part B of title IV of the 
Social Security Act to meet the additional requirements imposed by the 
amendments made by this Act, the plan shall not be regarded as failing 
to meet any of the additional requirements before the 1st day of the 
1st calendar quarter beginning after the first regular session of the 
State legislature that begins after the date the Secretary publishes 
the memorandum of understanding required by section 441 of the Social 
Security Act. For purposes of the preceding sentence, if the State has 
a 2-year legislative session, each year of the session is deemed to be 
a separate regular session of the State legislature.
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