[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8799 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8799

   To amend section 439 of the Social Security Act to authorize the 
funding of demonstration projects to test approaches for supporting and 
 improving relationships between incarcerated parents and children in 
                  foster care, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 21, 2024

   Mr. Davis of Illinois (for himself and Mr. LaHood) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend section 439 of the Social Security Act to authorize the 
funding of demonstration projects to test approaches for supporting and 
 improving relationships between incarcerated parents and children in 
                  foster care, 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 Active Relationships to 
Enable Nurturing Ties Act of 2024'' or the ``PARENT Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FOSTER CHILDREN AND 
              INCARCERATED PARENTS.

    Section 439 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629i) is amended 
to read as follows:

``SEC. 439. STATE PARTNERSHIP PLANNING AND DEMONSTRATION GRANTS TO 
              SUPPORT MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FOSTER CHILDREN 
              AND THE INCARCERATED PARENTS OF THE CHILDREN.

    ``(a) Authority.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may make demonstration 
        grants to eligible State partnerships to develop, implement, 
        and provide support for programs that enable and sustain 
        meaningful relationships between covered foster children and 
        the incarcerated parents of the children.
            ``(2) Payment of annual installments.--The Secretary shall 
        pay each demonstration grant in 5 annual installments.
            ``(3) 1-year planning grants.--The Secretary may make a 
        planning grant to a recipient of a demonstration grant, to be 
        paid to the recipient 1 year before payment of the 1st annual 
        installment of the demonstration grant and in an amount not 
        greater than any installment of the demonstration grant, if--
                    ``(A) the recipient includes a request for a 
                planning grant in the application under subsection (c); 
                and
                    ``(B) the Secretary determines that a planning 
                grant would assist the recipient and improve the 
                effectiveness of the demonstration grant.
    ``(b) Eligible State Partnership Defined.--
            ``(1) In general.--In this section, the term `eligible 
        State partnership' means an agreement entered into by, at a 
        minimum, the following:
                    ``(A) The State child welfare agency responsible 
                for the administration of the State plans under this 
                part.
                    ``(B) The State agency responsible for adult 
                corrections.
            ``(2) Additional partners.--For purposes of this section, 
        an eligible State partnership may include any entity with 
        experience in serving incarcerated parents and their children.
            ``(3) Partnerships entered into by indian tribes or tribal 
        consortia.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if an Indian tribe 
        or tribal consortium enters into a partnership pursuant to this 
        section that does not consist solely of tribal child welfare 
        agencies (or a consortium of the agencies), the partnership 
        shall be considered an eligible State partnership for purposes 
        of this section.
    ``(c) Application Requirements.--An eligible State partnership 
seeking a demonstration grant under this section to carry out a program 
described in subsection (a)(1) shall submit an application to the 
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information 
as the Secretary may require. The application shall include the 
following:
            ``(1) A summary of the program, including how the program 
        will support a meaningful relationship between a covered foster 
        child and an incarcerated parent of the child.
            ``(2) A description of the activities to be carried out by 
        the program, which must include all of the activities described 
        in subsection (d) that are in the best interest of the covered 
        foster child.
            ``(3) A framework for identifying--
                    ``(A) each covered foster child eligible for 
                services under the program, including, to the extent 
                practicable, coordination of data between relevant 
                State child welfare agencies and court systems; and
                    ``(B) the roles and responsibilities of the 
                entities in the partnership.
            ``(4) Documentation that the applicant is an eligible State 
        partnership.
            ``(5) Assurances that the applicant will participate fully 
        in the evaluation described in subsection (f)(2) and shall 
        maintain records for the program, including demographic 
        information disaggregated by relevant characteristics with 
        respect to covered foster children and incarcerated parents who 
        participate in the program.
    ``(d) Program Activities.--To the extent that the activities are in 
the best interest of the covered foster child, the activities referred 
to in subsection (c)(2) shall include the following:
            ``(1) Revision of policies.--Through consultation with 
        incarcerated parents and their families, grantees shall promote 
        organizational policies of participating child welfare entities 
        and collaborating correctional facilities to promote meaningful 
        relationships through regular and developmentally appropriate 
        communication and visitation between covered foster children 
        and the incarcerated parents, including, when appropriate, the 
        following:
                    ``(A) For child welfare entities--
                            ``(i) inclusion of parents in case planning 
                        and decision making for children;
                            ``(ii) regular sharing of information and 
                        responses to requests for information between 
                        caseworkers and incarcerated parents with 
                        respect to the case information of a child, any 
                        changes to a case, permanency plans, 
                        requirements to maintain parental rights, and 
                        any efforts to terminate parental rights;
                            ``(iii) appropriate opportunities for 
                        incarcerated parents to demonstrate their 
                        relationship with a covered foster child given 
                        their incarceration, including training and 
                        courses required for a service plan; and
                            ``(iv) the enhanced visitation described in 
                        paragraph (2).
                    ``(B) For correctional facilities, fostering 
                visitation and communication that is developmentally 
                appropriate in terms of--
                            ``(i) the nature of communication and 
                        visitation, including--
                                    ``(I) the ability to physically 
                                touch parents;
                                    ``(II) engaging with parents in 
                                locations that are appropriate for the 
                                age and development of the child;
                                    ``(III) exchanging items that are 
                                appropriate to the age and development 
                                of the child, include expectations that 
                                are appropriate for the age and 
                                development of the child related to 
                                behavior, attire, and wait times; and
                                    ``(IV) allowing appropriate adults 
                                to bring children if legal guardians 
                                are not available to promote regular 
                                contact;
                            ``(ii) reasonable inclusion of all children 
                        of the parent;
                            ``(iii) communication and visitation at 
                        times when the children are available;
                            ``(iv) security procedures to comfort 
                        children and be minimally invasive; and
                            ``(v) promoting parent-child relationships 
                        regardless of the sentence imposed on the 
                        parent.
            ``(2) Enhanced visitation.--
                    ``(A) Grantees shall facilitate weekly 
                communication and, for at least 9 days each year, in-
                person visitation between a covered foster child and 
                any incarcerated parent of the child.
                    ``(B) Electronic visitation (such as live video 
                visits, phone calls, and recorded books) may be used 
                but shall not be the sole method to promote a 
                meaningful relationship for purposes of the grant.
                    ``(C) Enhanced visitation programs shall--
                            ``(i) integrate best practices for 
                        visitation programs with incarcerated parents 
                        and their children;
                            ``(ii) adopt developmentally appropriate 
                        visitation policies and procedures such as 
                        those described in paragraph (1)(B);
                            ``(iii) reduce or eliminate the cost of 
                        developmentally appropriate communication and 
                        visitation for the covered foster child, which 
                        may include the purchase of communication 
                        technology, covering transportation, insurance, 
                        and lodging costs, costs related to providing 
                        appropriate visitation spaces and activities, 
                        and other relevant costs;
                            ``(iv) to the extent practicable, integrate 
                        appropriate parenting education to help prepare 
                        and process visits; and
                            ``(v) avoid restricting visitation and 
                        communication as a punishment for the 
                        incarcerated parents.
            ``(3) Training.--Grantees shall incorporate ongoing 
        training for child welfare, correctional facility staff, and 
        other program providers to understand the importance of 
        promoting meaningful relationships between children and 
        incarcerated parents.
            ``(4) Case management.--Grantees shall provide case 
        management services for the incarcerated parents of a covered 
        foster child to promote the relationship, access to services, 
        and coordination with the caseworkers of the covered foster 
        child to strengthen the relationship.
            ``(5) Legal assistance.--Grantees shall facilitate access 
        to necessary legal services and may use grant funds for 
        services that are not reimbursable under other Federal 
        programs.
    ``(e) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of any activity 
carried out using a grant made under this section shall be not greater 
than 75 percent.
    ``(f) Technical Assistance, Evaluations, and Reports.--
            ``(1) Technical assistance.--The Secretary shall provide 
        technical assistance with respect to grants under this section, 
        including by--
                    ``(A) assisting grantees in understanding best 
                practices in promoting meaningful relationships between 
                incarcerated parents and their children as well as 
                consulting with appropriate stakeholders when 
                developing their programs;
                    ``(B) assisting grantees with establishing and 
                analyzing implementation and performance indicators; 
                and
                    ``(C) conducting an annual technical assistance and 
                training meeting and an annual grantee meeting so that 
                grantees can learn from the experiences of other 
                grantees.
            ``(2) Evaluations.--The Secretary shall conduct an 
        evaluation of program outcomes, including with respect to 
        parent and child well-being, parent-child interactions, 
        parental involvement, awareness of child development and 
        parenting practices, placement stability, and termination of 
        parental rights with respect to covered foster children and 
        incarcerated parents, to measure program effectiveness, as 
        determined by the Secretary, and identify opportunities for 
        improved program practices and implementation.
            ``(3) Reports to the congress.--
                    ``(A) Initial report.--Not later than 3 years after 
                the date of the enactment of this section, the 
                Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Ways and 
                Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
                on Finance of the Senate a report that includes--
                            ``(i) the number of applications for grants 
                        under this section;
                            ``(ii) the number of grants awarded, and 
                        the amounts for each grant; and
                            ``(iii) information on the grants, 
                        including--
                                    ``(I) interim results of the 
                                evaluation described in paragraph (2);
                                    ``(II) disaggregated data on 
                                covered foster children and 
                                incarcerated parents;
                                    ``(III) information on the 
                                composition of eligible State 
                                partnerships;
                                    ``(IV) best practices for 
                                facilitating meaningful relationships 
                                between covered foster children and 
                                incarcerated parents; and
                                    ``(V) barriers to implementation or 
                                expansion of programs funded under this 
                                section.
                    ``(B) Final report.--Not later than 6 years after 
                the date of the enactment of this section, the 
                Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Ways and 
                Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
                on Finance of the Senate a report that includes--
                            ``(i) the final results of the evaluation 
                        described in paragraph (2); and
                            ``(ii) recommendations for refinements to 
                        grant requirements to improve program outcomes.
    ``(g) Authority of Secretary With Respect to Indian Tribes and 
Tribal Organizations.--
            ``(1) Waiver or modification of requirements.--In making a 
        grant to an Indian tribe or tribal organization under this 
        section, the Secretary may waive the matching requirement of 
        subsection (e) or modify an application requirement imposed by 
        or under subsection (c) if the Secretary determines that the 
        waiver or modification is appropriate to the needs, culture, 
        and circumstances of the Indian tribe or tribal organization.
            ``(2) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall use tribally 
        relevant data in carrying out the evaluation under subsection 
        (f)(2) with respect to an Indian tribe or tribal organization.
    ``(h) Limitations on Authorization of Appropriations.--There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary not more than 
$35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029 to carry out 
this section.
    ``(i) Definition of Covered Foster Child.--In this section, the 
term `covered foster child' means a child that--
            ``(1) is in foster care; and
            ``(2) has at least 1 parent incarcerated in a Federal, 
        State, or local correctional facility.''.
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