[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3333 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3333

   To enhance pre- and post-adoption support services, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 15, 2023

  Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Cramer) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To enhance pre- and post-adoption support services, 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 ``Supporting Adopted Children and 
Families Act''.

SEC. 2. ADOPTION SUPPORT SERVICES.

    (a) Ensuring the Well-Being of Adopted Children and Their Adoptive 
Families.--Section 421 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(5) ensuring the well-being of adopted children and their 
        adoptive families and promoting efforts to prevent such 
        children from entering the foster care system through the 
        provision of pre- and post-adoption support services; and''.
    (b) Pre- and Post-Adoption Support Services.--Paragraph (8) of 
section 431(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is amended to read as 
follows:
            ``(8) Adoption promotion and support services.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `adoption promotion and 
                support services' means services and activities 
                designed to encourage more adoptions out of the foster 
                care system and support domestic adoptions and 
                adoptions from other countries, consistent with 
                promoting the best interests of adopted children and 
                their adoptive families. Such services and activities 
                may include pre- and post-adoption support services, as 
                described in subparagraph (B), that are designed to 
                support adopted children and their adoptive families.
                    ``(B) Pre- and post-adoption support services.--The 
                term `pre- and post-adoption support services' means 
                the following:
                            ``(i) Pre-adoption support services, which 
                        may include--
                                    ``(I) direct services, including 
                                training, educational support, 
                                counseling, and other services for 
                                adoptive parents and families that 
                                address caregiver interests and 
                                concerns regarding common behavioral 
                                issues, such as--
                                            ``(aa) issues relating to 
                                        emotional, behavioral, or 
                                        developmental health needs;
                                            ``(bb) issues relating to 
                                        attachment, identity, 
                                        abandonment, cultural 
                                        differences, grief, loss, and 
                                        trauma; and
                                            ``(cc) issues resulting 
                                        from birth defects due to fetal 
                                        alcohol syndrome or any other 
                                        substance abuse-related 
                                        developmental disorder;
                                    ``(II) the provision of educational 
                                resources for adoptive parents 
                                regarding the geographic, ethnic, and 
                                cultural background of the adopted 
                                child;
                                    ``(III) peer-to-peer mentoring and 
                                support groups that permit a newly 
                                adoptive parent to communicate and 
                                learn from more experienced adoptive 
                                parents, including programs that 
                                enhance communication between adoptive 
                                parents with children of similar 
                                geographic, ethnic, or cultural 
                                backgrounds; and
                                    ``(IV) the provision of 
                                informational resources for adoptive 
                                parents, including--
                                            ``(aa) resources available 
                                        through Federal and State 
                                        agencies, including information 
                                        regarding benefits for children 
                                        with a medical condition or a 
                                        physical, mental, or emotional 
                                        disability;
                                            ``(bb) newsletters, 
                                        websites, and other 
                                        informational resources 
                                        regarding adoption-related 
                                        services;
                                            ``(cc) the establishment of 
                                        lending libraries containing 
                                        information and resources for 
                                        adoptive parents; and
                                            ``(dd) conferences, 
                                        discussion groups, and seminars 
                                        that are available to adoptive 
                                        parents and other relevant 
                                        stakeholders.
                            ``(ii) Post-adoption support services, 
                        which may include--
                                    ``(I) continued provision to 
                                adoptive parents of pre-adoption 
                                support services described in clause 
                                (i);
                                    ``(II) the provision of accessible 
                                and reliable respite services for 
                                adoptive parents;
                                    ``(III) direct services and 
                                counseling for adopted children, 
                                including, as appropriate--
                                            ``(aa) support services for 
                                        an adopted child with 
                                        emotional, behavioral, or 
                                        developmental health needs;
                                            ``(bb) support services 
                                        that address issues relating to 
                                        attachment, identity, 
                                        abandonment, cultural 
                                        differences, grief, and loss; 
                                        and
                                            ``(cc) treatment services 
                                        that are specialized for 
                                        adopted children, including 
                                        psychiatric residential 
                                        services, outpatient mental 
                                        health services, social skills 
                                        training, intensive in-home 
                                        supervision services, 
                                        recreational therapy, suicide 
                                        prevention, and substance abuse 
                                        treatment;
                                    ``(IV) peer-to-peer mentoring and 
                                support groups that allow adopted 
                                children to communicate and socialize 
                                with other adopted children, including 
                                programs that provide for communication 
                                between adopted children from similar 
                                geographic, ethnic, or cultural 
                                backgrounds; and
                                    ``(V) crisis and family 
                                preservation services, including crisis 
                                counseling and a 24-hour emergency 
                                hotline for adoptive parents.''.

SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR ADOPTION PROMOTION AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

    Paragraph (8) of section 473(a) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(8) With respect to the amount of savings (if any) in 
        State expenditures under this part resulting from the 
        application of paragraph (2)(A)(ii) to all applicable children 
        for a fiscal year, a State shall--
                    ``(A) spend a significant portion of such amount to 
                provide pre- and post-adoption support services (as 
                defined in section 431(a)(8)(B));
                    ``(B) spend the remainder of such amount to provide 
                to children or families any other services that may be 
                provided under this part or part B; and
                    ``(C) on an annual basis, submit to the Secretary a 
                report that provides a detailed account of any services 
                that were funded pursuant to this paragraph.''.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM FOR POST-ADOPTION AND POST-LEGAL 
              GUARDIANSHIP MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

    (a) Funding.--Section 436 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
629f) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``$345,000,000 for each 
        of fiscal years 2017 through 2023'' and inserting 
        ``$365,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028''; 
        and
            (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following 
        new paragraph:
            ``(6) Post-adoption and post-legal guardianship mental 
        health services.--The Secretary shall reserve $20,000,000 for 
        grants under section 437(h).''.
    (b) Grant Program.--Section 437 of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 629g) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(h) Post-Adoption and Post-Legal Guardianship Mental Health 
Service Programs.--
            ``(1) In general.--From the amounts reserved for each of 
        fiscal years 2024 through 2028 under section 436(b)(6), the 
        Secretary shall award grants or cooperative agreements under 
        this subsection to eligible entities to--
                    ``(A) develop and implement statewide or tribal 
                post-adoption and post-legal guardianship mental health 
                service programs for all children who are adopted or 
                placed in legal guardianship and their families;
                    ``(B) support public organizations and private 
                nonprofit organizations actively involved in statewide 
                or tribal post-adoption and post-legal guardianship 
                mental health service programs;
                    ``(C) collect and analyze data on State-sponsored 
                statewide or tribal post-adoption and post-legal 
                guardianship mental health service programs that can be 
                used to monitor the effectiveness of such services and 
                for research, technical assistance, and policy 
                development;
                    ``(D) develop and provide adoption and legal 
                guardianship competent educational and training 
                opportunities concerning the mental health needs of 
                children who are adopted or placed in legal 
                guardianship, and their families, for use by teachers, 
                social workers, and other community mental health 
                service providers;
                    ``(E) develop and provide materials for potential 
                adoptive parents and legal guardians, both for children 
                who already reside in the United States at the time of 
                adoption or placement in legal guardianship and for 
                those who at such time reside in other countries, 
                describing the possible need for post-adoption and 
                post-legal guardianship mental health services and 
                available resources;
                    ``(F) develop and provide respite care services for 
                adoptive and legal guardian families; and
                    ``(G) support research on, and development of, 
                promising practices (as defined in section 
                471(e)(4)(C)(iii)) for post-adoption and post-legal 
                guardianship mental health services.
            ``(2) Eligible entity defined.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In this subsection, the term 
                `eligible entity' means--
                            ``(i) a State;
                            ``(ii) a public organization or private 
                        nonprofit organization designated by a State to 
                        develop or direct the State-sponsored statewide 
                        post-adoption and post-legal guardianship 
                        mental health service program under a grant 
                        under this subsection; and
                            ``(iii) a federally recognized Indian tribe 
                        or tribal organization (as defined in the 
                        Indian Self-Determination and Education 
                        Assistance Act) or an urban Indian organization 
                        (as defined in the Indian Health Care 
                        Improvement Act) that is actively involved in 
                        the development and continuation of a post-
                        adoption and post-legal guardianship mental 
                        health service program.
                    ``(B) Limitation.--In carrying out this subsection, 
                the Secretary shall ensure that each State is awarded 
                only 1 grant or cooperative agreement under this 
                subsection. For purposes of the preceding sentence, a 
                State shall be considered to have been awarded a grant 
                or cooperative agreement if the eligible entity 
                involved is the State or an entity designated by the 
                State under subparagraph (A)(ii). Nothing in this 
                subparagraph shall be construed to apply to entities 
                described in subparagraph (A)(iii).
            ``(3) Preference.--In providing assistance under a grant or 
        cooperative agreement under this subsection, the Secretary 
        shall give preference to--
                    ``(A) eligible entities that have demonstrated 
                success in increasing the level of adoption and legal 
                guardianship competency among mental health providers, 
                adoption and legal guardianship lawyers, social 
                workers, case workers, adoptive parents, and legal 
                guardians; and
                    ``(B) eligible entities that plan to partner with 
                their State mental health agency in carrying out the 
                activities for which the grant or cooperative agreement 
                is made.
            ``(4) Requirement for direct services.--Not less than 85 
        percent of funds received under a grant or cooperative 
        agreement under this subsection shall be used to provide direct 
        services, of which not less than 5 percent shall be used for 
        activities authorized under paragraph (1)(C).
            ``(5) Coordination and collaboration.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In carrying out this subsection, 
                the Secretary shall collaborate with relevant Federal 
                agencies and adoption and legal guardianship-related 
                working groups to promote interaction between domestic 
                foster care agencies and private adoption agencies in 
                other countries.
                    ``(B) Consultation.--In carrying out this 
                subsection, the Secretary shall consult with--
                            ``(i) State and social service agencies 
                        engaged in the placement of children for 
                        adoption, domestically or from other countries;
                            ``(ii) local and national organizations 
                        that serve foster and adopted youth and youth 
                        placed in legal guardianship;
                            ``(iii) health and education specialists 
                        who focus on adoption, legal guardianship, and 
                        foster care medicine;
                            ``(iv) youth who have been in foster care, 
                        adopted, or in legal guardianship, domestically 
                        or from other countries, including youth who 
                        have experienced adoption or guardianship 
                        disruptions or dissolutions;
                            ``(v) families and friends of youth who 
                        have been in foster care, adopted, or in legal 
                        guardianship, domestically or from other 
                        countries, including foster and adoptive 
                        parents and legal guardians; and
                            ``(vi) qualified professionals who possess 
                        the specialized knowledge, skills, experience, 
                        and relevant attributes needed to serve 
                        children who are adopted or placed in legal 
                        guardianship and their families.
                    ``(C) Policy development.--In carrying out this 
                subsection, the Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) coordinate and collaborate on policy 
                        development with relevant Department of Health 
                        and Human Services agencies and adoption and 
                        legal guardianship-related working groups; and
                            ``(ii) consult on policy development at the 
                        Federal level with those in the private sector 
                        engaged in the recruitment of foster and 
                        adoptive parents and legal guardians, the 
                        placement of children in foster care, for 
                        adoption, and in legal guardianship, and the 
                        provision of post-adoption and post-legal 
                        guardianship services.
            ``(6) Evaluation and report.--
                    ``(A) Evaluations by eligible entities.--Not later 
                than 18 months after receipt of a grant or cooperative 
                agreement under this subsection, an eligible entity 
                shall submit to the Secretary the results of an 
                evaluation to be conducted by the entity concerning the 
                effectiveness of the activities carried out under the 
                grant or agreement.
                    ``(B) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the 
                date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary 
                shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 
                a report concerning the results of--
                            ``(i) the evaluations conducted under 
                        subparagraph (A); and
                            ``(ii) an evaluation conducted by the 
                        Secretary to analyze the effectiveness and 
                        efficacy of the activities conducted with 
                        grants, collaborations, and consultations under 
                        this subsection.
            ``(7) Additional definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Adopted child.--The term `adopted child' 
                means an individual who is under 21 years of age and 
                was adopted from foster care or placed in legal 
                guardianship through a private placement agency, or 
                from another country.
                    ``(B) Adoption and legal guardianship competency.--
                The term `adoption and legal guardianship competency' 
                means an understanding of--
                            ``(i) the nature of adoption and legal 
                        guardianship as a form of family formation and 
                        the different types of adoption and legal 
                        guardianship;
                            ``(ii) relevant emotional and physical 
                        issues involved in the adoption or legal 
                        guardianship process, including issues relating 
                        to separation, loss, attachment, abuse, trauma, 
                        and neglect;
                            ``(iii) common developmental challenges 
                        associated with adoption and legal 
                        guardianship;
                            ``(iv) the characteristics and skills that 
                        allow for successful adoptive and legal 
                        guardianship families;
                            ``(v) proper sensitivity with respect to 
                        the different geographic, ethnic, or cultural 
                        backgrounds of children who are adopted or 
                        placed in legal guardianship and their 
                        families; and
                            ``(vi) the necessary skills for effectively 
                        advocating on behalf of birth and adoptive and 
                        legal guardian families.
                    ``(C) Post-adoption and post-legal guardianship 
                mental health services.--The term `post-adoption and 
                post-legal guardianship mental health services' 
                includes--
                            ``(i) adoption and legal guardianship 
                        competent mental health direct services, 
                        including training, educational support, 
                        counseling, and other services for adoptive and 
                        legal guardian parents and families that 
                        address caregiver interests and concerns 
                        regarding child behavioral issues that are 
                        common among children who are adopted, placed 
                        in legal guardianship, or placed in foster 
                        care, including, as appropriate--
                                    ``(I) caring for a child who is 
                                adopted or placed in legal guardianship 
                                and has emotional, behavioral, or 
                                developmental health needs; and
                                    ``(II) providing for the emotional 
                                needs of a child who is adopted or 
                                placed in legal guardianship, including 
                                issues relating to attachment, 
                                identity, abandonment, cultural 
                                differences, grief, loss, and trauma;
                            ``(ii) peer-to-peer mentoring and support 
                        groups that permit a newly adoptive parent or 
                        legal guardian to communicate and learn from 
                        more experienced adoptive parents or legal 
                        guardians;
                            ``(iii) the provision of informational 
                        resources and available services for adoptive 
                        parents or legal guardians;
                            ``(iv) direct services, including 
                        counseling, peer-to-peer mentoring and support 
                        groups, and other services for children who are 
                        adopted or placed in legal guardianship that 
                        address common behavioral and adjustment 
                        issues, including, as appropriate--
                                    ``(I) support services for a child 
                                who is adopted or placed in legal 
                                guardianship with emotional, 
                                behavioral, or developmental health 
                                needs;
                                    ``(II) support services that 
                                address the emotional needs of a child 
                                who is adopted or placed in legal 
                                guardianship, including issues relating 
                                to attachment, identity, abandonment, 
                                cultural differences, grief, loss, and 
                                trauma; and
                                    ``(III) treatment services that are 
                                specialized for children who are 
                                adopted or placed in legal 
                                guardianship, including psychiatric 
                                residential services, outpatient mental 
                                health services, social skills 
                                training, intensive in-home supervision 
                                services, recreational therapy, suicide 
                                prevention, and substance abuse 
                                treatment;
                            ``(v) peer-to-peer mentoring and support 
                        groups that allow children who are adopted or 
                        placed in legal guardianship communicate and 
                        socialize with other such children; and
                            ``(vi) crisis intervention and family 
                        preservation services.''.

SEC. 5. DATA COLLECTION ON ADOPTION DISRUPTION AND DISSOLUTION.

    (a) In General.--Section 479 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
679) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e)(1) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of 
the Supporting Adopted Children and Families Act, the Secretary shall, 
as part of the data collection system established under this section, 
promulgate final regulations providing for the collection and analysis 
of information regarding children who enter into State custody as a 
result of the disruption of a placement for adoption or the dissolution 
of an adoption, which shall require States to collect and report--
            ``(A) information on children who are adopted within the 
        United States or from other countries and who enter into State 
        custody as a result of the disruption of a placement for 
        adoption or the dissolution of an adoption, including--
                    ``(i) the number of children who enter into State 
                custody as a result of--
                            ``(I) the disruption of placement for 
                        adoption; or
                            ``(II) the dissolution of an adoption; and
                    ``(ii) for each child identified under clause (i)--
                            ``(I) as applicable, the country of birth 
                        for any child who was not born in the United 
                        States;
                            ``(II) the length of the adoption placement 
                        prior to disruption or dissolution;
                            ``(III) the age of the child at the time of 
                        the disruption or dissolution;
                            ``(IV) the reason for the disruption or 
                        dissolution; and
                            ``(V) the agencies who handled the 
                        placement for adoption; and
            ``(B) such other information as determined appropriate by 
        the Secretary.
    ``(2) The information described in paragraph (1) shall be used--
            ``(A) to consolidate and expand the collection of 
        information on adoption disruption and dissolution;
            ``(B) to improve research and data collection systems in 
        order to more accurately determine and measure the rates, 
        outcomes, and causes of adoption disruption and dissolution;
            ``(C) to identify pre- and post-adoption support services 
        (including services described in section 431(a)(8)(B)) that 
        result in lower rates of disruption and dissolution of 
        adoptions;
            ``(D) to develop an understanding of the relationship 
        between the rate of incidence of adoption disruptions and 
        dissolutions and the support services that are provided to 
        adoptive families in order to identify and develop effective 
        evidence-based strategies, programs, and support services that 
        help to prevent adoption disruption and dissolution; and
            ``(E) to develop and enhance training and educational 
        services regarding strategies for prevention of adoption 
        disruption and dissolution.
    ``(3)(A) Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of the 
Supporting Adopted Children and Families Act, the Secretary shall, 
subject to subparagraph (B), establish an advisory committee to study 
methods to effectively collect data regarding disruption and 
dissolution of adoptions that are not included in the data collection 
system established under this section, including--
            ``(i) data on children whose adoptions are disrupted or 
        dissolved but do not enter into State custody as a result of 
        such disruption or dissolution;
            ``(ii) data on adoption displacements, whereby an adopted 
        child is temporarily placed out of the home of an adoptive 
        parent in order to receive medical, mental health, behavioral, 
        or other forms of treatment; and
            ``(iii) such other data as determined appropriate by the 
        Secretary.
    ``(B) The membership and organization of the advisory committee 
described in subparagraph (A) shall be determined by the Secretary and 
shall include--
            ``(i) State and child welfare agencies that are engaged in 
        the placement of children for adoption domestically or from 
        other countries;
            ``(ii) local and national organizations that serve adopted 
        children and children in foster care; and
            ``(iii) members of State and local judiciary and court 
        staff.
    ``(C) Not later than 12 months after establishment of the advisory 
committee described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall submit to 
the appropriate committees of Congress a report containing 
recommendations of the advisory committee for improvement of the data 
collection system established under this section.''.
    (b) Annual Report.--Section 479A(a) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 679b(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(8) include in the report submitted pursuant to paragraph 
        (5) for fiscal year 2024 or any succeeding fiscal year, 
        national and State-by-State data on the numbers and rates of 
        disruptions and dissolutions of adoptions, as collected 
        pursuant to section 479(e)(1).''.
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