[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8713 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8713

To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to remove 
   barriers and encourage kinship guardianship, foster, or adoptive 
  placements for children who cannot be safely cared for in their own 
                     homes, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 12, 2024

    Ms. Kamlager-Dove (for herself, Ms. Jackson Lee, and Ms. Brown) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to remove 
   barriers and encourage kinship guardianship, foster, or adoptive 
  placements for children who cannot be safely cared for in their own 
                     homes, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Promoting Permanency Through Kinship 
Families Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Reunification with parents, permanent placement with 
        extended family members, and adoption are all permanency 
        options for children who are in, or at risk for entering or re-
        entering, foster care.
            (2) The estimated lifetime cost of foster youth who age out 
        of foster care is approximately $6.9 billion. On an annual 
        basis, approximately 23,000 youth age out of foster care (reach 
        the maximum age a State will support them without reunification 
        with family or being placed in a permanent home) with no legal 
        family ties. Over 20 percent of youth who age out of foster 
        care become homeless, 60 percent of sex trafficked youth come 
        from foster care, and 25 percent of youth become involved in 
        the criminal justice system within 2 years of aging out of 
        foster care. When family reunification and kinship 
        guardianship, foster, and adoptive placements are promoted and 
        supported, children's family connections and family 
        relationships can reverse such adverse adult outcomes.
            (3) Foster care is intended to be temporary. The best 
        interests of children in safe, stable, and permanent placements 
        are paramount. At the same time, absent aggravating 
        circumstances, it is in the best interests of children for 
        parents to be provided individualized services, supports, and 
        time needed to address the reasons for foster care or other 
        temporary placements of their children.
            (4) Where kinship placements can safely be made, extended 
        family members available for such placements often face 
        financial and other barriers related to access to health and 
        mental health services and supports, crisis stabilization 
        services, and other service supports.
            (5) The United States has a unique and direct interest, as 
        trustee, in protecting the best interests of Indian children 
        including supporting safe and permanent placements that 
        preserve a child's sense of belonging and connection, including 
        to extended family when reunification with parents is not safe 
        or possible.
    (b) Purpose.--The purposes of this Act are to promote kinship care 
as an essential permanency option for children and youth, to remove 
barriers to children's safe care by relatives and fictive kin when such 
children cannot be safely cared for by their parents, and to support 
the provision of resources and services to kin caregivers.

SEC. 3. PROMOTING PERMANENCY PLACEMENTS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH.

    (a) State Plan Requirement Relating to Provision of Child Welfare 
Services.--Section 422(b)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
622(b)(7)) is amended by striking ``provide for the diligent 
recruitment'' and inserting ``substantiate with clear and convincing 
data and analysis that the agency administering or supervising the 
administration of the plan is addressing disproportionality in the 
State child welfare system, and disparities in access to community-
based services, array, and contracting, provide for locating and 
involving relatives and fictive kin as a regular and ongoing part of 
case planning, for addressing barriers to family involvement, and 
provide for the diligent recruitment''.
    (b) Foster Care and Adoption Assistance.--Section 471(a)(19) of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(19)) is amended by striking ``shall 
consider'' and inserting ``shall make and document prompt, active, and 
continuous efforts to identify and locate relatives or fictive kin as a 
potential kinship guardianship, foster or adoptive placement, and 
family support resources, and must consider''.
    (c) Case Review.--Section 475(5)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
675(5)(A)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking ``, and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking the comma at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iii) if the State determines that 
                        kinship guardianship, foster, or adoptive 
                        placement with any relative or fictive kin is 
                        not in the child's best interest or that the 
                        relative or fictive kin does not meet the 
                        requirements of a relative caregiver, documents 
                        the basis for that determination with clear and 
                        convincing evidence;
                            ``(iv) if the State determines that the 
                        child requires placement in an environment 
                        other than a home environment, ensures that the 
                        State shall make prompt, active, and continuous 
                        efforts to identify and locate relatives or 
                        fictive kin to serve as visitation resources of 
                        the child and potential future placement 
                        resources;
                            ``(v) if the State determines that efforts 
                        to identify and locate relatives and fictive 
                        kin would be futile or inconsistent with the 
                        child's best interests, documents the basis of 
                        its determination with clear and convincing 
                        evidence; and
                            ``(vi) if the child is residing in a 
                        kinship placement, describes reasonable efforts 
                        the State will make to maintain the child in 
                        the kinship home and not remove the child from 
                        the kinship home except to effectuate a 
                        permanency goal of reunification or upon a 
                        showing by clear and convincing evidence that 
                        remaining in the kinship placement is contrary 
                        to the welfare of the child.''.
    (d) Greater Flexibility for States and Families.--Section 475(5)(E) 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(E)) is amended to read as 
follows:
                    ``(E) in the case of a child who has been in foster 
                care under the responsibility of the State for 24 
                consecutive months, or, if a court of competent 
                jurisdiction has determined a child to be an abandoned 
                infant (as defined under State law) or has made a 
                determination that the parent has committed murder of 
                another child of the parent, committed voluntary 
                manslaughter of another child of the parent, aided or 
                abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to commit 
                such a murder or such a voluntary manslaughter, or 
                committed a felony assault that has resulted in serious 
                bodily injury to the child or to another child of the 
                parent, the State may file or join a petition for 
                modification or termination of parental rights and, 
                concurrently, identify, recruit, process, and approve a 
                qualified family (including the child's extended 
                family) for an adoption, only after demonstrating by 
                clear and convincing evidence that the State--
                            ``(i) has demonstrated compelling reasons 
                        why such modification or termination is in the 
                        best interest of the child;
                            ``(ii) has provided to the family of the 
                        child such services, supports, and time needed 
                        to address the reasons for the child's removal 
                        and enable the family to safely reunify; and
                            ``(iii) if the child is living with a 
                        kinship (including fictive kinship) caregiver, 
                        has provided a meaningful opportunity for such 
                        caregiver to express an opinion as to whether 
                        such modification or termination is in the best 
                        interests of the child and has documented such 
                        opinion in the case plan of the child;
                except that, in the case of a child to whom this 
                subparagraph applies solely because the child has been 
                in foster care under the responsibility of the State 
                for 24 consecutive months, the State may not file or 
                join such a petition if a parent of the child is 
                actively engaged in services to address the reasons the 
                child entered care (including treatment for substance 
                use disorder, mental health concerns, or parenting 
                skills), if based principally on the incarceration of a 
                parent, or if based principally on the detention of the 
                parent by the Department of Homeland Security or the 
                deportation of the parent;''.
    (e) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--The amendments made by this section shall 
        take effect on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning 
        on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall 
        apply to payments under subpart 1 of part B and part E of title 
        IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters beginning 
        on or after such date.
            (2) 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 
        subpart 1 of part B or part E of title IV of the Social 
        Security Act to meet the additional requirements imposed by the 
        amendments made by this section, the plan shall not be regarded 
        as failing to meet any of the additional requirements before 
        the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the 
        first regular session of the State legislature that begins 
        after the date of the enactment of this 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.
            (3) Application to programs operated by indian tribal 
        organizations.--In the case of an Indian tribe, tribal 
        organization, or tribal consortium which the Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services determines requires time to take 
        action necessary to comply with the additional requirements 
        imposed by the amendments made by this section (whether the 
        tribe, organization, or tribal consortium has a plan under 
        section 479B of the Social Security Act or a cooperative 
        agreement or contract entered into with a State), the Secretary 
        shall provide the tribe, organization, or tribal consortium 
        with such additional time as the Secretary determines is 
        necessary for the tribe, organization, or tribal consortium to 
        take the action to comply with the additional requirements 
        before being regarded as failing to comply with the 
        requirements.

SEC. 4. CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS OF ALL KINSHIP CAREGIVERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 471(a)(20) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B)--
                    (A) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'' at the end;
                    (B) in clause (iii), by adding ``and'' at the end; 
                and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(iv) have in place procedures to ensure that 
                kinship placement is not denied based on past 
                allegations or findings of abuse or neglect against a 
                caregiver or household member in the absence of 
                particularized information demonstrating that the 
                caregiver poses a current safety threat to the child or 
                that placement of the child with the caregiver would be 
                contrary to the welfare of the child.'';
            (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``on any relative 
        guardian, and for checks'' and all that follows through ``under 
        this part'' and inserting ``on any kinship caregiver, including 
        in the case of a kinship foster, guardianship, or adoptive 
        placement, and for checks described in subparagraph (B) of this 
        paragraph on any such kinship caregiver and any other adult 
        living in the home of any such kinship caregiver, before the 
        kinship caregiver may receive kinship guardianship assistance 
        payments on behalf of the child under the State plan under this 
        part unless the State reports to the Secretary the alternative 
        criminal records checks the State conducts on any adult kinship 
        caregiver, and why the checks specified in this subparagraph 
        are not appropriate for the State, and procedures to ensure 
        that a past criminal record does not serve as a bar to kinship 
        licensing in the absence of particularized information 
        demonstrating that the caregiver or household member poses a 
        current safety threat to the child or that placement of the 
        child with the caregiver would be contrary to the welfare of 
        the child.''; and
            (3) by moving the margins for subparagraph (D) 2 ems to the 
        left.
    (b) No Effect on Character Investigations Under the Indian Child 
Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act.--Nothing in this Act or 
the amendments made by this Act shall be construed to modify the 
requirements relating to character investigations of kin or extended 
family under the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention 
Act.

SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON IMPOSITION OF UPPER AGE LIMIT FOR KINSHIP 
              CAREGIVERS.

    Section 471(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (36), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (37), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(38) provides that the State shall have in effect such 
        laws and procedures as are necessary to ensure that the age of 
        an individual who has attained 18 years of age is disregarded 
        in determining--
                    ``(A) whether the individual is qualified to be a 
                kinship caregiver for a child; and
                    ``(B) the appropriate placement for a child for 
                whom placement with a kinship caregiver may be an 
                appropriate option.''.

SEC. 6. MANDATORY PARTICIPATION IN KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 471(a)(28) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
671(a)(28)) is amended by striking ``at the option of the State,''.
    (b) Eligibility.--Section 473(d)(3)(A)(i)(II) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(d)(3)(A)(i)(II)) is amended by striking 
``at least 6 consecutive months'' and inserting ``at least 3 
consecutive months''.

SEC. 7. ELIMINATION OF THE AFDC ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT FOR FOSTER CARE 
              MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS FOR CHILDREN PLACED IN A FOSTER 
              FAMILY HOME.

    Section 472(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 14 672(a)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A), by striking ``Each State'' and inserting ``Subject to 
        paragraph (5), each State''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Elimination of the afdc eligibility requirement for 
        children placed in a foster family home.--Beginning on the 
        first day of the first fiscal year beginning on or after the 
        date of the enactment of the Promoting Permanency Through 
        Kinship Families Act, the AFDC eligibility requirement of 
        paragraph (3) shall no longer apply with respect to a child who 
        has been removed from the home of a relative or a caretaker 
        into foster care and placed in a foster family home. On and 
        after such date, each State with a plan approved under this 
        part shall make foster care maintenance payments on behalf of 
        each child who has been removed from the home of a relative or 
        caretaker into foster care and placed in a foster family home 
        (without regard to whether such removal and placement occurred 
        before, on, or after such date of enactment, if the removal and 
        foster care placement met, and continues to meet, the 
        requirements of paragraph (2).''.

SEC. 8. PROMOTING SAFE AND STABLE FAMILIES THROUGH KINSHIP PLACEMENT 
              SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAMS.

    (a) Addition of Kinship Placement Support Services to the Promoting 
Safe and Stable Families Program.--Section 431(a) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``(including adoptive and 
        extended families)'' and inserting ``(including kinship 
        guardians, adoptive, and extended families).''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) Kinship placement support services.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `kinship placement 
                support services' means the services and activities 
                described in subparagraph (B) that are provided on 
                behalf of children and youth in kinship care 
                arrangements, including kinship guardianship 
                placements, who are in, or at risk of entering or re-
                entering, foster care.
                    ``(B) Services and activities described.--The 
                services and activities described in this subparagraph 
                are the following:
                            ``(i) Crisis stabilization services, 
                        including case management services designed to 
                        stabilize families in crisis such as 
                        transportation, assistance with housing and 
                        utility payments, and access to adequate health 
                        care, child care assistance, educational 
                        resources, and establishing a kinship placement 
                        crisis stabilization fund for purposes of 
                        making direct cash payments to kin caregivers 
                        for immediate needs of children placed with 
                        such caregivers in order to facilitate kinship 
                        placements and prevent the entry of children 
                        into foster care.
                            ``(ii) Family finding, including intensive 
                        family-finding efforts that utilize search 
                        technology to find biological family members 
                        for children in, or at risk of entering, foster 
                        care.
                            ``(iii) Re-establishing family 
                        relationships and supporting family group 
                        decision-making.
                            ``(iv) Other assistance or services related 
                        to strengthening and supporting kinship 
                        families, including families led by siblings, 
                        to improve the well-being of children and their 
                        kin caregivers, and, if requested, assistance 
                        in becoming a licensed foster family home.''.
    (b) Maintenance of Effort Requirement.--Section 432(a)(7) of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 629b(a)(7)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) by striking ``assurances that Federal funds'' 
                and inserting ``assurances that--
                    ``(i) Federal funds''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(ii) the total amount of State expenditures made 
                for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter to 
                support kinship placements shall not be less than the 
                total amount of such expenditures made for fiscal year 
                2024; and''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``and spending 
        requirements'' after ``prohibition''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 430 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629) is amended--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                inserting ``kinship placement support services,'' after 
                ``family reunification services,'';
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 
                paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (2), the 
                following:
            ``(3) To support kinship placements to maintain family 
        connections while ensuring the safety and well-being of 
        children and youth and the well-being of their kin 
        caregivers.''.
            (2) Paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 432(a) of such Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 629b(a)) are each amended by inserting ``kinship 
        placement support services,'' after ``family reunification 
        services,''.
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