[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 116 (Wednesday, July 23, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H6711-H6724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PREVENTING SEX TRAFFICKING AND STRENGTHENING FAMILIES ACT
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 4980) to prevent and address sex trafficking of children in
foster care, to extend and improve adoption incentives, and to improve
international child support recovery.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4980
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 ``Preventing Sex Trafficking
and Strengthening Families Act''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. References.
TITLE I--PROTECTING CHILDREN AND YOUTH AT RISK OF SEX TRAFFICKING
Subtitle A--Identifying and Protecting Children and Youth at Risk of
Sex Trafficking
Sec. 101. Identifying, documenting, and determining services for
children and youth at risk of sex trafficking.
Sec. 102. Reporting instances of sex trafficking.
Sec. 103. Including sex trafficking data in the Adoption and Foster
Care Analysis and Reporting System.
Sec. 104. Locating and responding to children who run away from foster
care.
Sec. 105. Increasing information on children in foster care to prevent
sex trafficking.
Subtitle B--Improving Opportunities for Children in Foster Care and
Supporting Permanency
Sec. 111. Supporting normalcy for children in foster care.
Sec. 112. Improving another planned permanent living arrangement as a
permanency option.
Sec. 113. Empowering foster children age 14 and older in the
development of their own case plan and transition
planning for a successful adulthood.
Sec. 114. Ensuring foster children have a birth certificate, Social
Security card, health insurance information, medical
records, and a driver's license or equivalent State-
issued identification card.
Sec. 115. Information on children in foster care in annual reports
using AFCARS data; consultation.
[[Page H6712]]
Subtitle C--National Advisory Committee
Sec. 121. Establishment of a national advisory committee on the sex
trafficking of children and youth in the United States.
TITLE II--IMPROVING ADOPTION INCENTIVES AND EXTENDING FAMILY CONNECTION
GRANTS
Subtitle A--Improving Adoption Incentive Payments
Sec. 201. Extension of program through fiscal year 2016.
Sec. 202. Improvements to award structure.
Sec. 203. Renaming of program.
Sec. 204. Limitation on use of incentive payments.
Sec. 205. Increase in period for which incentive payments are available
for expenditure.
Sec. 206. State report on calculation and use of savings resulting from
the phase-out of eligibility requirements for adoption
assistance; requirement to spend 30 percent of savings on
certain services.
Sec. 207. Preservation of eligibility for kinship guardianship
assistance payments with a successor guardian.
Sec. 208. Data collection on adoption and legal guardianship disruption
and dissolution.
Sec. 209. Encouraging the placement of children in foster care with
siblings.
Sec. 210. Effective dates.
Subtitle B--Extending the Family Connection Grant Program
Sec. 221. Extension of family connection grant program.
TITLE III--IMPROVING INTERNATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT RECOVERY
Sec. 301. Amendments to ensure access to child support services for
international child support cases.
Sec. 302. Child support enforcement programs for Indian tribes.
Sec. 303. Sense of the Congress regarding offering of voluntary
parenting time arrangements.
Sec. 304. Data exchange standardization for improved interoperability.
Sec. 305. Report to Congress.
Sec. 306. Required electronic processing of income withholding.
TITLE IV--BUDGETARY EFFECTS
Sec. 401. Determination of budgetary effects.
SEC. 3. REFERENCES.
Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Act,
wherever in this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an
amendment to a section or other provision, the amendment
shall be considered to be made to a section or other
provision of the Social Security Act.
TITLE I--PROTECTING CHILDREN AND YOUTH AT RISK OF SEX TRAFFICKING
Subtitle A--Identifying and Protecting Children and Youth at Risk of
Sex Trafficking
SEC. 101. IDENTIFYING, DOCUMENTING, AND DETERMINING SERVICES
FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH AT RISK OF SEX
TRAFFICKING.
(a) In General.--Section 471(a)(9) (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(9)) is
amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'';
(2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``and'' after the
semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) not later than--
``(i) 1 year after the date of enactment of this
subparagraph, demonstrate to the Secretary that the State
agency has developed, in consultation with State and local
law enforcement, juvenile justice systems, health care
providers, education agencies, and organizations with
experience in dealing with at-risk children and youth,
policies and procedures (including relevant training for
caseworkers) for identifying, documenting in agency records,
and determining appropriate services with respect to--
``(I) any child or youth over whom the State agency has
responsibility for placement, care, or supervision and who
the State has reasonable cause to believe is, or is at risk
of being, a sex trafficking victim (including children for
whom a State child welfare agency has an open case file but
who have not been removed from the home, children who have
run away from foster care and who have not attained 18 years
of age or such older age as the State has elected under
section 475(8) of this Act, and youth who are not in foster
care but are receiving services under section 477 of this
Act); and
``(II) at the option of the State, any individual who has
not attained 26 years of age, without regard to whether the
individual is or was in foster care under the responsibility
of the State; and
``(ii) 2 years after such date of enactment, demonstrate to
the Secretary that the State agency is implementing the
policies and procedures referred to in clause (i).''.
(b) Definition of Sex Trafficking Victim.--Section 475 (42
U.S.C. 675) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(9) The term `sex trafficking victim' means a victim of--
``(A) sex trafficking (as defined in section 103(10) of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000); or
``(B) a severe form of trafficking in persons described in
section 103(9)(A) of such Act.''.
SEC. 102. REPORTING INSTANCES OF SEX TRAFFICKING.
(a) State Plan Requirements.--Section 471(a) (42 U.S.C.
671(a)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (32);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (33) and
inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(34) provides that, for each child or youth described in
paragraph (9)(C)(i)(I), the State agency shall--
``(A) not later than 2 years after the date of the
enactment of this paragraph, report immediately, and in no
case later than 24 hours after receiving information on
children or youth who have been identified as being a sex
trafficking victim, to the law enforcement authorities; and
``(B) not later than 3 years after such date of enactment
and annually thereafter, report to the Secretary the total
number of children and youth who are sex trafficking
victims.''.
(b) Duties of the Secretary.--Section 471 (42 U.S.C. 671)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Annual Reports by the Secretary on Number of Children
and Youth Reported by States To Be Sex Trafficking Victims.--
Not later than 4 years after the date of the enactment of
this subsection and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall
report to the Congress and make available to the public on
the Internet website of the Department of Health and Human
Services the number of children and youth reported in
accordance with subsection (a)(34)(B) of this section to be
sex trafficking victims (as defined in section 475(9)(A)).''.
SEC. 103. INCLUDING SEX TRAFFICKING DATA IN THE ADOPTION AND
FOSTER CARE ANALYSIS AND REPORTING SYSTEM.
Section 479(c)(3) (42 U.S.C. 679(c)(3)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C)(iii), by striking ``and'' after the
comma; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(E) the annual number of children in foster care who are
identified as sex trafficking victims--
``(i) who were such victims before entering foster care;
and
``(ii) who were such victims while in foster care; and''.
SEC. 104. LOCATING AND RESPONDING TO CHILDREN WHO RUN AWAY
FROM FOSTER CARE.
Section 471(a) (42 U.S.C. 671(a)), as amended by section
102(a) of this Act, is amended--
(1) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (34) and
inserting ``; and''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(35) provides that--
``(A) not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this paragraph, the State shall develop and implement
specific protocols for--
``(i) expeditiously locating any child missing from foster
care;
``(ii) determining the primary factors that contributed to
the child's running away or otherwise being absent from care,
and to the extent possible and appropriate, responding to
those factors in current and subsequent placements;
``(iii) determining the child's experiences while absent
from care, including screening the child to determine if the
child is a possible sex trafficking victim (as defined in
section 475(9)(A)); and
``(iv) reporting such related information as required by
the Secretary; and
``(B) not later than 2 years after such date of enactment,
for each child and youth described in paragraph (9)(C)(i)(I)
of this subsection, the State agency shall report
immediately, and in no case later than 24 hours after
receiving, information on missing or abducted children or
youth to the law enforcement authorities for entry into the
National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, established pursuant to
section 534 of title 28, United States Code, and to the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.''.
SEC. 105. INCREASING INFORMATION ON CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
TO PREVENT SEX TRAFFICKING.
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
submit to the Congress a written report which summarizes the
following:
(1) Information on children who run away from foster care
and their risk of becoming sex trafficking victims, using
data reported by States under section 479 of the Social
Security Act and information collected by States related to
section 471(a)(35) of such Act, including--
(A) characteristics of children who run away from foster
care;
(B) potential factors associated with children running away
from foster care (such as reason for entry into care, length
of stay in care, type of placement, and other factors that
contributed to the child's running away);
(C) information on children's experiences while absent from
care; and
(D) trends in the number of children reported as runaways
in each fiscal year (including factors that may have
contributed to changes in such trends).
(2) Information on State efforts to provide specialized
services, foster family homes, child care institutions, or
other forms of placement for children who are sex trafficking
victims.
(3) Information on State efforts to ensure children in
foster care form and maintain long-lasting connections to
caring adults, even when a child in foster care must move
[[Page H6713]]
to another foster family home or when the child is placed
under the supervision of a new caseworker.
Subtitle B--Improving Opportunities for Children in Foster Care and
Supporting Permanency
SEC. 111. SUPPORTING NORMALCY FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.
(a) Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard.--
(1) Definitions relating to the standard.--Section 475 (42
U.S.C. 675), as amended by section 101(b) of this Act, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(10)(A) The term `reasonable and prudent parent standard'
means the standard characterized by careful and sensible
parental decisions that maintain the health, safety, and best
interests of a child while at the same time encouraging the
emotional and developmental growth of the child, that a
caregiver shall use when determining whether to allow a child
in foster care under the responsibility of the State to
participate in extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and
social activities.
``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term
`caregiver' means a foster parent with whom a child in foster
care has been placed or a designated official for a child
care institution in which a child in foster care has been
placed.
``(11)(A) The term `age or developmentally-appropriate'
means--
``(i) activities or items that are generally accepted as
suitable for children of the same chronological age or level
of maturity or that are determined to be developmentally-
appropriate for a child, based on the development of
cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities
that are typical for an age or age group; and
``(ii) in the case of a specific child, activities or items
that are suitable for the child based on the developmental
stages attained by the child with respect to the cognitive,
emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities of the child.
``(B) In the event that any age-related activities have
implications relative to the academic curriculum of a child,
nothing in this part or part B shall be construed to
authorize an officer or employee of the Federal Government to
mandate, direct, or control a State or local educational
agency, or the specific instructional content, academic
achievement standards and assessments, curriculum, or program
of instruction of a school.''.
(2) State plan requirement.--Section 471(a)(24) (42 U.S.C.
671(a)(24)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``include'' and inserting ``includes'';
(B) by striking ``and that such preparation'' and inserting
``that the preparation''; and
(C) by inserting ``, and that the preparation shall include
knowledge and skills relating to the reasonable and prudent
parent standard for the participation of the child in age or
developmentally-appropriate activities, including knowledge
and skills relating to the developmental stages of the
cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities of
a child, and knowledge and skills relating to applying the
standard to decisions such as whether to allow the child to
engage in social, extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and
social activities, including sports, field trips, and
overnight activities lasting 1 or more days, and to decisions
involving the signing of permission slips and arranging of
transportation for the child to and from extracurricular,
enrichment, and social activities'' before the semicolon.
(3) Technical assistance.--The Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall provide assistance to the States on best
practices for devising strategies to assist foster parents in
applying a reasonable and prudent parent standard in a manner
that protects child safety, while also allowing children to
experience normal and beneficial activities, including
methods for appropriately considering the concerns of the
biological parents of a child in decisions related to
participation of the child in activities (with the
understanding that those concerns should not necessarily
determine the participation of the child in any activity).
(b) Normalcy for Children in Child Care Institutions.--
Section 471(a)(10) (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(10)) is amended to read
as follows:
``(10) provides--
``(A) for the establishment or designation of a State
authority or authorities that shall be responsible for
establishing and maintaining standards for foster family
homes and child care institutions which are reasonably in
accord with recommended standards of national organizations
concerned with standards for the institutions or homes,
including standards related to admission policies, safety,
sanitation, and protection of civil rights, and which shall
permit use of the reasonable and prudent parenting standard;
``(B) that the standards established pursuant to
subparagraph (A) shall be applied by the State to any foster
family home or child care institution receiving funds under
this part or part B and shall require, as a condition of each
contract entered into by a child care institution to provide
foster care, the presence on-site of at least 1 official who,
with respect to any child placed at the child care
institution, is designated to be the caregiver who is
authorized to apply the reasonable and prudent parent
standard to decisions involving the participation of the
child in age or developmentally-appropriate activities, and
who is provided with training in how to use and apply the
reasonable and prudent parent standard in the same manner as
prospective foster parents are provided the training pursuant
to paragraph (24);
``(C) that the standards established pursuant to
subparagraph (A) shall include policies related to the
liability of foster parents and private entities under
contract by the State involving the application of the
reasonable and prudent parent standard, to ensure appropriate
liability for caregivers when a child participates in an
approved activity and the caregiver approving the activity
acts in accordance with the reasonable and prudent parent
standard; and
``(D) that a waiver of any standards established pursuant
to subparagraph (A) may be made only on a case-by-case basis
for nonsafety standards (as determined by the State) in
relative foster family homes for specific children in
care;''.
(c) Supporting Participation in Age-Appropriate
Activities.--
(1) Section 477(a) (42 U.S.C. 677(a)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (6);
(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (7) and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) to ensure children who are likely to remain in foster
care until 18 years of age have regular, ongoing
opportunities to engage in age or developmentally-appropriate
activities as defined in section 475(11).''.
(2) Section 477(h)(1) (42 U.S.C. 677(h)(1)) is amended by
inserting ``or, beginning in fiscal year 2020, $143,000,000''
after ``$140,000,000''.
(d) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by this section shall
take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(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 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 1st day of
the 1st calendar quarter beginning after the 1st regular
session of the State legislature that begins after the date
of the enactment of this Act. 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.
SEC. 112. IMPROVING ANOTHER PLANNED PERMANENT LIVING
ARRANGEMENT AS A PERMANENCY OPTION.
(a) Elimination of Another Planned Permanent Living
Arrangement for Children Under Age 16.--
(1) In general.--Section 475(5)(C)(i) (42 U.S.C.
675(5)(C)(i)) is amended by inserting ``only in the case of a
child who has attained 16 years of age'' before ``(in cases
where''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 422(b)(8)(A)(iii)(II)
(42 U.S.C. 622(b)(8)(A)(iii)(II)) is amended by inserting ``,
subject to the requirements of sections 475(5)(C) and
475A(a)'' after ``arrangement''.
(3) Delayed applicability with respect to certain
children.--In the case of children in foster care under the
responsibility of an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or
tribal consortium (either directly or under supervision of a
State), the amendments made by this subsection shall not
apply until the date that is 3 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(b) Additional Requirements.--
(1) In general.--Part E of title IV (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.)
is amended by inserting after section 475 the following:
``SEC. 475A. ADDITIONAL CASE PLAN AND CASE REVIEW SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS.
``(a) Requirements for Another Planned Permanent Living
Arrangement.--In the case of any child for whom another
planned permanent living arrangement is the permanency plan
determined for the child under section 475(5)(C), the
following requirements shall apply for purposes of approving
the case plan for the child and the case system review
procedure for the child:
``(1) Documentation of intensive, ongoing, unsuccessful
efforts for family placement.--At each permanency hearing
held with respect to the child, the State agency documents
the intensive, ongoing, and, as of the date of the hearing,
unsuccessful efforts made by the State agency to return the
child home or secure a placement for the child with a fit and
willing relative (including adult siblings), a legal
guardian, or an adoptive parent, including through efforts
that utilize search technology (including social media) to
find biological family members for the children.
``(2) Redetermination of appropriateness of placement at
each permanency hearing.--The State agency shall implement
procedures to ensure that, at each permanency hearing held
with respect to the child, the court or administrative body
appointed or approved by the court conducting the hearing on
the permanency plan for the child does the following:
``(A) Ask the child about the desired permanency outcome
for the child.
``(B) Make a judicial determination explaining why, as of
the date of the hearing, another planned permanent living
arrangement is the best permanency plan for the child and
provide compelling reasons why it
[[Page H6714]]
continues to not be in the best interests of the child to--
``(i) return home;
``(ii) be placed for adoption;
``(iii) be placed with a legal guardian; or
``(iv) be placed with a fit and willing relative.
``(3) Demonstration of support for engaging in age or
developmentally-appropriate activities and social events.--At
each permanency hearing held with respect to the child, the
State agency shall document the steps the State agency is
taking to ensure that--
``(A) the child's foster family home or child care
institution is following the reasonable and prudent parent
standard; and
``(B) the child has regular, ongoing opportunities to
engage in age or developmentally appropriate activities
(including by consulting with the child in an age-appropriate
manner about the opportunities of the child to participate in
the activities).''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--
(A) State plan requirements.--
(i) Part b.--Section 422(b)(8)(A)(ii) (42 U.S.C.
622(b)(8)(A)(ii)) is amended by inserting ``and in accordance
with the requirements of section 475A'' after ``section
475(5)''.
(ii) Part e.--Section 471(a)(16) (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(16)) is
amended--
(I) by inserting ``and in accordance with the requirements
of section 475A'' after ``section 475(1)''; and
(II) by striking ``section 475(5)(B)'' and inserting
``sections 475(5) and 475A''.
(B) Definitions.--Section 475 (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended--
(i) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by inserting ``meets the requirements of section 475A
and'' after ``written document which''; and
(ii) in paragraph (5)--
(I) in subparagraph (B), by adding at the end the following
``and, for a child for whom another planned permanent living
arrangement has been determined as the permanency plan, the
steps the State agency is taking to ensure the child's foster
family home or child care institution is following the
reasonable and prudent parent standard and to ascertain
whether the child has regular, ongoing opportunities to
engage in age or developmentally appropriate activities
(including by consulting with the child in an age-appropriate
manner about the opportunities of the child to participate in
the activities);''; and
(II) in subparagraph (C)--
(aa) by inserting ``, as of the date of the hearing,''
after ``compelling reason for determining''; and
(bb) by inserting ``subject to section 475A(a),'' after
``another planned permanent living arrangement,''.
(c) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by this section shall
take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(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 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 1st day of
the 1st calendar quarter beginning after the 1st regular
session of the State legislature that begins after the date
of the enactment of this Act. 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.
SEC. 113. EMPOWERING FOSTER CHILDREN AGE 14 AND OLDER IN THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR OWN CASE PLAN AND
TRANSITION PLANNING FOR A SUCCESSFUL ADULTHOOD.
(a) In General.--Section 475(1)(B) (42 U.S.C. 675(1)(B)) is
amended by adding at the end the following: ``With respect to
a child who has attained 14 years of age, the plan developed
for the child in accordance with this paragraph, and any
revision or addition to the plan, shall be developed in
consultation with the child and, at the option of the child,
with up to 2 members of the case planning team who are chosen
by the child and who are not a foster parent of, or
caseworker for, the child. A State may reject an individual
selected by a child to be a member of the case planning team
at any time if the State has good cause to believe that the
individual would not act in the best interests of the child.
One individual selected by a child to be a member of the
child's case planning team may be designated to be the
child's advisor and, as necessary, advocate, with respect to
the application of the reasonable and prudent parent standard
to the child.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments To Include Children 14 and Older
in Transition Planning.--Section 475 (42 U.S.C. 675) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking ``Where appropriate,
for a child age 16'' and inserting ``For a child who has
attained 14 years of age''; and
(2) in paragraph (5)--
(A) in subparagraph (C)--
(i) in clause (i), by striking ``16'' and inserting ``14'';
(ii) by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (ii); and
(iii) by adding at the end the following: ``and (iv) if a
child has attained 14 years of age, the permanency plan
developed for the child, and any revision or addition to the
plan, shall be developed in consultation with the child and,
at the option of the child, with not more than 2 members of
the permanency planning team who are selected by the child
and who are not a foster parent of, or caseworker for, the
child, except that the State may reject an individual so
selected by the child if the State has good cause to believe
that the individual would not act in the best interests of
the child, and 1 individual so selected by the child may be
designated to be the child's advisor and, as necessary,
advocate, with respect to the application of the reasonable
and prudent standard to the child;''; and
(B) in subparagraph (I), by striking ``16'' and inserting
``14''.
(c) Transition Planning for a Successful Adulthood.--
Paragraphs (1)(D), (5)(C)(i), and (5)(C)(iii) of section 475
(42 U.S.C. 675) are each amended by striking ``independent
living'' and inserting ``a successful adulthood''.
(d) List of Rights.--Section 475A, as added by section
112(b)(1) of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(b) List of Rights.--The case plan for any child in
foster care under the responsibility of the State who has
attained 14 years of age shall include--
``(1) a document that describes the rights of the child
with respect to education, health, visitation, and court
participation, the right to be provided with the documents
specified in section 475(5)(I) in accordance with that
section, and the right to stay safe and avoid exploitation;
and
``(2) a signed acknowledgment by the child that the child
has been provided with a copy of the document and that the
rights contained in the document have been explained to the
child in an age-appropriate way.''.
(e) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall submit a report to Congress regarding the
implementation of the amendments made by this section. The
report shall include--
(1) an analysis of how States are administering the
requirements of paragraphs (1)(B) and (5)(C) of section 475
of the Social Security Act, as amended by subsections (a) and
(b) of this section, that a child in foster care who has
attained 14 years of age be permitted to select up to 2
members of the case planning team or permanency planning team
for the child from individuals who are not a foster parent
of, or caseworker for, the child; and
(2) a description of best practices of States with respect
to the administration of the requirements.
(f) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by this section shall
take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(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 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 1st day of
the 1st calendar quarter beginning after the 1st regular
session of the State legislature that begins after the date
of the enactment of this Act. 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.
SEC. 114. ENSURING FOSTER CHILDREN HAVE A BIRTH CERTIFICATE,
SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, HEALTH INSURANCE
INFORMATION, MEDICAL RECORDS, AND A DRIVER'S
LICENSE OR EQUIVALENT STATE-ISSUED
IDENTIFICATION CARD.
(a) Case Review System Requirement.--Section 475(5)(I) (42
U.S.C. 675(5)(I)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and receives assistance'' and inserting
``receives assistance''; and
(2) by inserting ``, and, if the child is leaving foster
care by reason of having attained 18 years of age or such
greater age as the State has elected under paragraph (8),
unless the child has been in foster care for less than 6
months, is not discharged from care without being provided
with (if the child is eligible to receive such document) an
official or certified copy of the United States birth
certificate of the child, a social security card issued by
the Commissioner of Social Security, health insurance
information, a copy of the child's medical records, and a
driver's license or identification card issued by a State in
accordance with the requirements of section 202 of the REAL
ID Act of 2005'' before the period.
(b) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by this section shall
take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
(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 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 1st day of
the 1st calendar quarter beginning after the 1st regular
session of the State legislature
[[Page H6715]]
that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act. 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.
SEC. 115. INFORMATION ON CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE IN ANNUAL
REPORTS USING AFCARS DATA; CONSULTATION.
Section 479A (42 U.S.C. 679b) is amended--
(1) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting the
following:
``(a) In General.--The Secretary'';
(2) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(3) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) include in the report submitted pursuant to paragraph
(5) for fiscal year 2016 or any succeeding fiscal year,
State-by-State data on--
``(A) children in foster care who have been placed in a
child care institution or other setting that is not a foster
family home, including--
``(i) the number of children in the placements and their
ages, including separately, the number and ages of children
who have a permanency plan of another planned permanent
living arrangement;
``(ii) the duration of the placement in the settings
(including for children who have a permanency plan of another
planned permanent living arrangement);
``(iii) the types of child care institutions used
(including group homes, residential treatment, shelters, or
other congregate care settings);
``(iv) with respect to each child care institution or other
setting that is not a foster family home, the number of
children in foster care residing in each such institution or
non-foster family home;
``(v) any clinically diagnosed special need of such
children; and
``(vi) the extent of any specialized education, treatment,
counseling, or other services provided in the settings; and
``(B) children in foster care who are pregnant or
parenting.
``(b) Consultation on Other Issues.--The Secretary shall
consult with States and organizations with an interest in
child welfare, including organizations that provide adoption
and foster care services, and shall take into account
requests from Members of Congress, in selecting other issues
to be analyzed and reported on under this section using data
available to the Secretary, including data reported by States
through the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting
System and to the National Youth in Transition Database.''.
Subtitle C--National Advisory Committee
SEC. 121. ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON
THE SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN
THE UNITED STATES.
Title XI (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by inserting
after section 1114 the following:
``national advisory committee on the sex trafficking of chiildren and
youth in the united states
``Sec. 1114A. (a) Official Designation.--This section
relates to the National Advisory Committee on the Sex
Trafficking of Children and Youth in the United States (in
this section referred to as the `Committee').
``(b) Authority.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish and
appoint all members of the Committee.
``(c) Membership.--
``(1) Composition.--The Committee shall be composed of not
more than 21 members whose diverse experience and background
enable them to provide balanced points of view with regard to
carrying out the duties of the Committee.
``(2) Selection.--The Secretary, in consultation with the
Attorney General and National Governors Association, shall
appoint the members to the Committee. At least 1 Committee
member shall be a former sex trafficking victim. 2 Committee
members shall be a Governor of a State, 1 of whom shall be a
member of the Democratic Party and 1 of whom shall be a
member of the Republican Party.
``(3) Period of appointment; vacancies.--Members shall be
appointed for the life of the Committee. A vacancy in the
Committee shall be filled in the manner in which the original
appointment was made and shall not affect the powers or
duties of the Committee.
``(4) Compensation.--Committee members shall serve without
compensation or per diem in lieu of subsistence.
``(d) Duties.--
``(1) National response.--The Committee shall advise the
Secretary and the Attorney General on practical and general
policies concerning improvements to the Nation's response to
the sex trafficking of children and youth in the United
States.
``(2) Policies for cooperation.--The Committee shall advise
the Secretary and the Attorney General on practical and
general policies concerning the cooperation of Federal,
State, local, and tribal governments, child welfare agencies,
social service providers, physical health and mental health
providers, victim service providers, State or local courts
with responsibility for conducting or supervising proceedings
relating to child welfare or social services for children and
their families, Federal, State, and local police, juvenile
detention centers, and runaway and homeless youth programs,
schools, the gaming and entertainment industry, and
businesses and organizations that provide services to youth,
on responding to sex trafficking, including the development
and implementation of--
``(A) successful interventions with children and youth who
are exposed to conditions that make them vulnerable to, or
victims of, sex trafficking; and
``(B) recommendations for administrative or legislative
changes necessary to use programs, properties, or other
resources owned, operated, or funded by the Federal
Government to provide safe housing for children and youth who
are sex trafficking victims and provide support to entities
that provide housing or other assistance to the victims.
``(3) Best practices and recommendations for states.--
``(A) In general.--Within 2 years after the establishment
of the Committee, the Committee shall develop 2 tiers
(referred to in this subparagraph as `Tier I' and `Tier II')
of recommended best practices for States to follow in
combating the sex trafficking of children and youth. Tier I
shall provide States that have not yet substantively
addressed the sex trafficking of children and youth with an
idea of where to begin and what steps to take. Tier II shall
provide States that are already working to address the sex
trafficking of children and youth with examples of policies
that are already being used effectively by other States to
address sex trafficking.
``(B) Development.--The best practices shall be based on
multidisciplinary research and promising, evidence-based
models and programs as reflected in State efforts to meet the
requirements of sections 101 and 102 of the Preventing Sex
Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act.
``(C) Content.--The best practices shall be user-friendly,
incorporate the most up-to-date technology, and include the
following:
``(i) Sample training materials, protocols, and screening
tools that, to the extent possible, accommodate for regional
differences among the States, to prepare individuals who
administer social services to identify and serve children and
youth who are sex trafficking victims or at-risk of sex
trafficking.
``(ii) Multidisciplinary strategies to identify victims,
manage cases, and improve services for all children and youth
who are at risk of sex trafficking, or are sex trafficking
victims, in the United States.
``(iii) Sample protocols and recommendations based on
current States' efforts, accounting for regional differences
between States that provide for effective, cross-system
collaboration between Federal, State, local, and tribal
governments, child welfare agencies, social service
providers, physical health and mental health providers,
victim service providers, State or local courts with
responsibility for conducting or supervising proceedings
relating to child welfare or social services for children and
their families, the gaming and entertainment industry,
Federal, State, and local police, juvenile detention centers
and runaway and homeless youth programs, housing resources
that are appropriate for housing child and youth victims of
trafficking, schools, and businesses and organizations that
provide services to children and youth. These protocols and
recommendations should include strategies to identify victims
and collect, document, and share data across systems and
agencies, and should be designed to help agencies better
understand the type of sex trafficking involved, the scope of
the problem, the needs of the population to be served, ways
to address the demand for trafficked children and youth and
increase prosecutions of traffickers and purchasers of
children and youth, and the degree of victim interaction with
multiple systems.
``(iv) Developing the criteria and guidelines necessary for
establishing safe residential placements for foster children
who have been sex trafficked as well as victims of
trafficking identified through interaction with law
enforcement.
``(v) Developing training guidelines for caregivers that
serve children and youth being cared for outside the home.
``(D) Informing states of best practices.--The Committee,
in coordination with the National Governors Association,
Secretary and Attorney General, shall ensure that State
Governors and child welfare agencies are notified and
informed on a quarterly basis of the best practices and
recommendations for States, and notified 6 months in advance
that the Committee will be evaluating the extent to which
States adopt the Committee's recommendations.
``(E) Report on state implementation.--Within 3 years after
the establishment of the Committee, the Committee shall
submit to the Secretary and the Attorney General, as part of
its final report as well as for online and publicly available
publication, a description of what each State has done to
implement the recommendations of the Committee.
``(e) Reports.--
``(1) In general.--The Committee shall submit an interim
and a final report on the work of the Committee to--
``(A) the Secretary;
``(B) the Attorney General;
``(C) the Committee on Finance of the Senate; and
``(D) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives.
``(2) Reporting dates.--The interim report shall be
submitted not later than 3 years after the establishment of
the Committee. The final report shall be submitted not later
[[Page H6716]]
than 4 years after the establishment of the Committee.
``(f) Administration.--
``(1) Agency support.--The Secretary shall direct the head
of the Administration for Children and Families of the
Department of Health and Human Services to provide all
necessary support for the Committee.
``(2) Meetings.--
``(A) In general.--The Committee will meet at the call of
the Secretary at least twice each year to carry out this
section, and more often as otherwise required.
``(B) Accommodation for committee members unable to attend
in person.--The Secretary shall create a process through
which Committee members who are unable to travel to a
Committee meeting in person may participate remotely through
the use of video conference, teleconference, online, or other
means.
``(3) Subcommittees.--The Committee may establish
subcommittees or working groups, as necessary and consistent
with the mission of the Committee. The subcommittees or
working groups shall have no authority to make decisions on
behalf of the Committee, nor shall they report directly to
any official or entity listed in subsection (d).
``(4) Recordkeeping.--The records of the Committee and any
subcommittees and working groups shall be maintained in
accordance with appropriate Department of Health and Human
Services policies and procedures and shall be available for
public inspection and copying, subject to the Freedom of
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).
``(g) Termination.--The Committee shall terminate 5 years
after the date of its establishment, but the Secretary shall
continue to operate and update, as necessary, an Internet
website displaying the State best practices, recommendations,
and evaluation of State-by-State implementation of the
Secretary's recommendations.
``(h) Definition.--For the purpose of this section, the
term `sex trafficking' includes the definition set forth in
section 103(10) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(10)) and `severe form of trafficking in
persons' described in section 103(9)(A) of such Act.''.
TITLE II--IMPROVING ADOPTION INCENTIVES AND EXTENDING FAMILY CONNECTION
GRANTS
Subtitle A--Improving Adoption Incentive Payments
SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF PROGRAM THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2016.
Section 473A (42 U.S.C. 673b) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ``2008 through 2012''
and inserting ``2013 through 2015''; and
(2) in each of paragraphs (1)(D) and (2) of subsection (h),
by striking ``2013'' and inserting ``2016''.
SEC. 202. IMPROVEMENTS TO AWARD STRUCTURE.
(a) Eligibility for Award.--Section 473A(b) (42 U.S.C.
673b(b)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and
redesignating paragraphs (3) through (5) as paragraphs (2)
through (4), respectively.
(b) Data Requirements.--Section 473A(c)(2) (42 U.S.C.
673b(c)(2)) is amended--
(1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``numbers of
adoptions'' and inserting ``rates of adoptions and
guardianships'';
(2) by striking ``the numbers'' and all that follows
through ``section,'' and inserting ``each of the rates
required to be determined under this section with respect to
a State and a fiscal year,''; and
(3) by inserting before the period the following: ``, and,
with respect to the determination of the rates related to
foster child guardianships, on the basis of information
reported to the Secretary under paragraph (12) of subsection
(g)''.
(c) Award Amount.--Section 473A(d) (42 U.S.C. 673b(d)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraphs (A) through
(C) and inserting the following:
``(A) $5,000, multiplied by the amount (if any) by which--
``(i) the number of foster child adoptions in the State
during the fiscal year; exceeds
``(ii) the product (rounded to the nearest whole number)
of--
``(I) the base rate of foster child adoptions for the State
for the fiscal year; and
``(II) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year;
``(B) $7,500, multiplied by the amount (if any) by which--
``(i) the number of pre-adolescent child adoptions and pre-
adolescent foster child guardianships in the State during the
fiscal year; exceeds
``(ii) the product (rounded to the nearest whole number)
of--
``(I) the base rate of pre-adolescent child adoptions and
pre-adolescent foster child guardianships for the State for
the fiscal year; and
``(II) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year who have attained 9 years of age but not 14 years
of age; and
``(C) $10,000, multiplied by the amount (if any) by which--
``(i) the number of older child adoptions and older foster
child guardianships in the State during the fiscal year;
exceeds
``(ii) the product (rounded to the nearest whole number)
of--
``(I) the base rate of older child adoptions and older
foster child guardianships for the State for the fiscal year;
and
``(II) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year who have attained 14 years of age; and
``(D) $4,000, multiplied by the amount (if any) by which--
``(i) the number of foster child guardianships in the State
during the fiscal year; exceeds
``(ii) the product (rounded to the nearest whole number)
of--
``(I) the base rate of foster child guardianships for the
State for the fiscal year; and
``(II) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year.''; and
(2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
``(3) Increased adoption and legal guardianship incentive
payment for timely adoptions.--
``(A) In general.--If for any of fiscal years 2013 through
2015, the total amount of adoption and legal guardianship
incentive payments payable under paragraph (1) of this
subsection are less than the amount appropriated under
subsection (h) for the fiscal year, then, from the remainder
of the amount appropriated for the fiscal year that is not
required for such payments (in this paragraph referred to as
the `timely adoption award pool'), the Secretary shall
increase the adoption incentive payment determined under
paragraph (1) for each State that the Secretary determines is
a timely adoption award State for the fiscal year by the
award amount determined for the fiscal year under
subparagraph (C).
``(B) Timely adoption award state defined.--A State is a
timely adoption award State for a fiscal year if the
Secretary determines that, for children who were in foster
care under the supervision of the State at the time of
adoptive placement, the average number of months from removal
of children from their home to the placement of children in
finalized adoptions is less than 24 months.
``(C) Award amount.--For purposes of subparagraph (A), the
award amount determined under this subparagraph with respect
to a fiscal year is the amount equal to the timely adoption
award pool for the fiscal year divided by the number of
timely adoption award States for the fiscal year.''.
(d) Definitions.--Section 473A(g) (42 U.S.C. 673b(g)) is
amended by striking paragraphs (1) through (8) and inserting
the following:
``(1) Foster child adoption rate.--The term `foster child
adoption rate' means, with respect to a State and a fiscal
year, the percentage determined by dividing--
``(A) the number of foster child adoptions finalized in the
State during the fiscal year; by
``(B) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year.
``(2) Base rate of foster child adoptions.--The term `base
rate of foster child adoptions' means, with respect to a
State and a fiscal year, the lesser of--
``(A) the foster child adoption rate for the State for the
then immediately preceding fiscal year; or
``(B) the foster child adoption rate for the State for the
average of the then immediately preceding 3 fiscal years.
``(3) Foster child adoption.--The term `foster child
adoption' means the final adoption of a child who, at the
time of adoptive placement, was in foster care under the
supervision of the State.
``(4) Pre-adolescent child adoption and pre-adolescent
foster child guardianship rate.--The term `pre-adolescent
child adoption and pre-adolescent foster child guardianship
rate' means, with respect to a State and a fiscal year, the
percentage determined by dividing--
``(A) the number of pre-adolescent child adoptions and pre-
adolescent foster child guardianships finalized in the State
during the fiscal year; by
``(B) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year, who have attained 9 years of age but not 14
years of age.
``(5) Base rate of pre-adolescent child adoptions and pre-
adolescent foster child guardianships.--The term `base rate
of pre-adolescent child adoptions and pre-adolescent foster
child guardianships' means, with respect to a State and a
fiscal year, the lesser of--
``(A) the pre-adolescent child adoption and pre-adolescent
foster child guardianship rate for the State for the then
immediately preceding fiscal year; or
``(B) the pre-adolescent child adoption and pre-adolescent
foster child guardianship rate for the State for the average
of the then immediately preceding 3 fiscal years.
``(6) Pre-adolescent child adoption and pre-adolescent
foster child guardianship.--The term `pre-adolescent child
adoption and pre-adolescent foster child guardianship' means
the final adoption, or the placement into foster child
guardianship (as defined in paragraph (12)) of a child who
has attained 9 years of age but not 14 years of age if--
``(A) at the time of the adoptive or foster child
guardianship placement, the child was in foster care under
the supervision of the State; or
``(B) an adoption assistance agreement was in effect under
section 473(a) with respect to the child.
[[Page H6717]]
``(7) Older child adoption and older foster child
guardianship rate.--The term `older child adoption and older
foster child guardianship rate' means, with respect to a
State and a fiscal year, the percentage determined by
dividing--
``(A) the number of older child adoptions and older foster
child guardianships finalized in the State during the fiscal
year; by
``(B) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year, who have attained 14 years of age.
``(8) Base rate of older child adoptions and older foster
child guardianships.--The term `base rate of older child
adoptions and older foster child guardianships' means, with
respect to a State and a fiscal year, the lesser of--
``(A) the older child adoption and older foster child
guardianship rate for the State for the then immediately
preceding fiscal year; or
``(B) the older child adoption and older foster child
guardianship rate for the State for the average of the then
immediately preceding 3 fiscal years.
``(9) Older child adoption and older foster child
guardianship.--The term `older child adoption and older
foster child guardianship' means the final adoption, or the
placement into foster child guardianship (as defined in
paragraph (12)) of a child who has attained 14 years of age
if--
``(A) at the time of the adoptive or foster child
guardianship placement, the child was in foster care under
the supervision of the State; or
``(B) an adoption assistance agreement was in effect under
section 473(a) with respect to the child.
``(10) Foster child guardianship rate.--The term `foster
child guardianship rate' means, with respect to a State and a
fiscal year, the percentage determined by dividing--
``(A) the number of foster child guardianships occurring in
the State during the fiscal year; by
``(B) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year.
``(11) Base rate of foster child guardianships.--The term
`base rate of foster child guardianships' means, with respect
to a State and a fiscal year, the lesser of--
``(A) the foster child guardianship rate for the State for
the then immediately preceding fiscal year; or
``(B) the foster child guardianship rate for the State for
the average of the then immediately preceding 3 fiscal years.
``(12) Foster child guardianship.--The term `foster child
guardianship' means, with respect to a State, the exit of a
child from foster care under the responsibility of the State
to live with a legal guardian, if the State has reported to
the Secretary--
``(A) that the State agency has determined that--
``(i) the child has been removed from his or her home
pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement or as a result of
a judicial determination to the effect that continuation in
the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child;
``(ii) being returned home or adopted are not appropriate
permanency options for the child;
``(iii) the child demonstrates a strong attachment to the
prospective legal guardian, and the prospective legal
guardian has a strong commitment to caring permanently for
the child; and
``(iv) if the child has attained 14 years of age, the child
has been consulted regarding the legal guardianship
arrangement; or
``(B) the alternative procedures used by the State to
determine that legal guardianship is the appropriate option
for the child.''.
SEC. 203. RENAMING OF PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The section heading of section 473A (42
U.S.C. 673b) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 473A. ADOPTION AND LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP INCENTIVE
PAYMENTS.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 473A is amended in each of subsections (a),
(d)(1), (d)(2)(A), and (d)(2)(B) (42 U.S.C. 673b(a), (d)(1),
(d)(2)(A), and (d)(2)(B)) by inserting ``and legal
guardianship'' after ``adoption'' each place it appears.
(2) The heading of section 473A(d) (42 U.S.C. 673b(d)) is
amended by inserting ``and Legal Guardianship'' after
``Adoption''.
SEC. 204. LIMITATION ON USE OF INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.
Section 473A(f) (42 U.S.C. 673b(f)) is amended in the 1st
sentence by inserting ``, and shall use the amount to
supplement, and not supplant, any Federal or non-Federal
funds used to provide any service under part B or E'' before
the period.
SEC. 205. INCREASE IN PERIOD FOR WHICH INCENTIVE PAYMENTS ARE
AVAILABLE FOR EXPENDITURE.
Section 473A(e) (42 U.S.C. 673b(e)) is amended--
(1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``24-month'' and
inserting ``36-month''; and
(2) by striking ``24-month'' and inserting ``36-month''.
SEC. 206. STATE REPORT ON CALCULATION AND USE OF SAVINGS
RESULTING FROM THE PHASE-OUT OF ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTION ASSISTANCE;
REQUIREMENT TO SPEND 30 PERCENT OF SAVINGS ON
CERTAIN SERVICES.
Section 473(a)(8) (42 U.S.C. 673(a)(8)) is amended to read
as follows:
``(8)(A) A State shall calculate the savings (if any)
resulting from the application of paragraph (2)(A)(ii) to all
applicable children for a fiscal year, using a methodology
specified by the Secretary or an alternate methodology
proposed by the State and approved by the Secretary.
``(B) A State shall annually report to the Secretary--
``(i) the methodology used to make the calculation
described in subparagraph (A), without regard to whether any
savings are found;
``(ii) the amount of any savings referred to in
subparagraph (A); and
``(iii) how any such savings are spent, accounting for and
reporting the spending separately from any other spending
reported to the Secretary under part B or this part.
``(C) The Secretary shall make all information reported
pursuant to subparagraph (B) available on the website of the
Department of Health and Human Services in a location easily
accessible to the public.
``(D)(i) A State shall spend an amount equal to the amount
of the 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, to provide to children
of families any service that may be provided under part B or
this part. A State shall spend not less than 30 percent of
any such savings on post-adoption services, post-guardianship
services, and services to support and sustain positive
permanent outcomes for children who otherwise might enter
into foster care under the responsibility of the State, with
at least \2/3\ of the spending by the State to comply with
such 30 percent requirement being spent on post-adoption and
post-guardianship services.
``(ii) Any State spending required under clause (i) shall
be used to supplement, and not supplant, any Federal or non-
Federal funds used to provide any service under part B or
this part.''.
SEC. 207. PRESERVATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR KINSHIP
GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS WITH A
SUCCESSOR GUARDIAN.
Section 473(d)(3) (42 U.S.C. 673(d)(3)) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(C) Eligibility not affected by replacement of guardian
with a successor guardian.--In the event of the death or
incapacity of the relative guardian, the eligibility of a
child for a kinship guardianship assistance payment under
this subsection shall not be affected by reason of the
replacement of the relative guardian with a successor legal
guardian named in the kinship guardianship assistance
agreement referred to in paragraph (1) (including in any
amendment to the agreement), notwithstanding subparagraph (A)
of this paragraph and section 471(a)(28).''.
SEC. 208. DATA COLLECTION ON ADOPTION AND LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP
DISRUPTION AND DISSOLUTION.
Section 479 (42 U.S.C. 679) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(d) To promote improved knowledge on how best to ensure
strong, permanent families for children, the Secretary shall
promulgate regulations providing for the collection and
analysis of information regarding children who enter into
foster care under the supervision of a State after prior
finalization of an adoption or legal guardianship. The
regulations shall require each State with a State plan
approved under this part to collect and report as part of
such data collection system the number of children who enter
foster care under supervision of the State after finalization
of an adoption or legal guardianship and may include
information concerning the length of the prior adoption or
guardianship, the age of the child at the time of the prior
adoption or guardianship, the age at which the child
subsequently entered foster care under supervision of the
State, the type of agency involved in making the prior
adoptive or guardianship placement, and any other factors
determined necessary to better understand factors associated
with the child's post-adoption or post-guardianship entry to
foster care.''.
SEC. 209. ENCOURAGING THE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER
CARE WITH SIBLINGS.
(a) State Plan Amendment.--
(1) Notification of parents of siblings.--Section
471(a)(29) (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(29)) is amended by striking
``all adult grandparents'' and inserting ``the following
relatives: all adult grandparents, all parents of a sibling
of the child, where such parent has legal custody of such
sibling,''.
(2) Sibling defined.--Section 475 (42 U.S.C. 675), as
amended by sections 101(b) and 111(a)(1) of this Act, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(12) The term `sibling' means an individual who satisfies
at least one of the following conditions with respect to a
child:
``(A) The individual is considered by State law to be a
sibling of the child.
``(B) The individual would have been considered a sibling
of the child under State law but for a termination or other
disruption of parental rights, such as the death of a
parent.''.
(b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed as subordinating the rights of foster or adoptive
parents of a child to the rights of the parents of a sibling
of that child.
SEC. 210. EFFECTIVE DATES.
(a) In General.--Except as otherwise provided in this
section, the amendments made by this subtitle shall take
effect as if enacted on October 1, 2013.
[[Page H6718]]
(b) Restructuring and Renaming of Program.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by sections 202 and
203 shall take effect on October 1, 2014, subject to
paragraph (2).
(2) Transition rule.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the total amount payable to a State under section 473A
of the Social Security Act for fiscal year 2014 shall be an
amount equal to \1/2\ of the sum of--
(i) the total amount that would be payable to the State
under such section for fiscal year 2014 if the amendments
made by section 202 of this Act had not taken effect; and
(ii) the total amount that would be payable to the State
under such section for fiscal year 2014 in the absence of
this paragraph.
(B) Pro rata adjustment if insufficient funds available.--
If the total amount otherwise payable under subparagraph (A)
for fiscal year 2014 exceeds the amount appropriated pursuant
to section 473A(h) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
673b(h)) for that fiscal year, the amount payable to each
State under subparagraph (A) for fiscal year 2014 shall be--
(i) the amount that would otherwise be payable to the State
under subparagraph (A) for fiscal year 2014; multiplied by
(ii) the percentage represented by the amount so
appropriated for fiscal year 2014, divided by the total
amount otherwise payable under subparagraph (A) to all States
for that fiscal year.
(c) Use of Incentive Payments; Eligibility for Kinship
Guardianship Assistance Payments With a Successor Guardian;
Data Collection.--The amendments made by sections 204, 207,
and 208 shall take effect on the date of enactment of this
Act.
(d) Calculation and Use of Savings Resulting From the
Phase-Out of Eligibility Requirements for Adoption
Assistance.--The amendment made by section 206 shall take
effect on October 1, 2014.
(e) Notification of Parents of Siblings.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by section 209 shall
take effect on the date of enactment of this Act, subject to
paragraph (2).
(2) Delay permitted if state legislation required.--In the
case of a State plan approved under part E of title IV of the
Social Security Act which the Secretary of Health and Human
Services determines requires State legislation (other than
legislation appropriating funds) in order for the plan to
meet the additional requirements imposed by section 209, the
State plan shall not be regarded as failing to comply with
the requirements of such part solely on the basis of the
failure of the plan to meet such additional requirements
before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter beginning
after the close of the 1st regular session of the State
legislature that ends after the 1-year period beginning with
the date of enactment of this Act. For purposes of the
preceding sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year
legislative session, each year of the session is deemed to be
a separate regular session of the State legislature.
Subtitle B--Extending the Family Connection Grant Program
SEC. 221. EXTENSION OF FAMILY CONNECTION GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 427(h) (42 U.S.C. 627(h)) is
amended by striking ``2013'' and inserting ``2014''.
(b) Eligibility of Universities for Matching Grants.--
Section 427(a) (42 U.S.C. 627(a)) is amended, in the matter
preceding paragraph (1)--
(1) by striking ``and'' before ``private''; and
(2) by inserting ``and institutions of higher education (as
defined under section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1001)),'' after ``arrangements,''.
(c) Finding Families for Foster Children Who Are Parents.--
Section 427(a)(1)(E) (42 U.S.C. 627(a)(1)(E)) is amended by
inserting ``and other individuals who are willing and able to
be foster parents for children in foster care under the
responsibility of the State who are themselves parents''
after ``kinship care families''.
(d) Reservation of Funds.--Section 427(g) (42 U.S.C.
627(g)) is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (1); and
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs
(1) and (2), respectively.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall take effect as if enacted on October 1, 2013.
TITLE III--IMPROVING INTERNATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT RECOVERY
SEC. 301. AMENDMENTS TO ENSURE ACCESS TO CHILD SUPPORT
SERVICES FOR INTERNATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT CASES.
(a) Authority of the Secretary of HHS To Ensure Compliance
With Multilateral Child Support Conventions.--
(1) In general.--Section 452 (42 U.S.C. 652) is amended--
(A) by redesignating the second subsection (l) (as added by
section 7306 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005) as
subsection (m); and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(n) The Secretary shall use the authorities otherwise
provided by law to ensure the compliance of the United States
with any multilateral child support convention to which the
United States is a party.''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 453(k)(3) (42 U.S.C.
653(k)(3)) is amended by striking ``452(l)'' and inserting
``452(m)''.
(b) Access to the Federal Parent Locator Service.--Section
453(c) (42 U.S.C. 653(c)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (3);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (4) and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) an entity designated as a Central Authority for child
support enforcement in a foreign reciprocating country or a
foreign treaty country for purposes specified in section
459A(c)(2).''.
(c) State Option To Require Individuals in Foreign
Countries To Apply Through Their Country's Appropriate
Central Authority.--Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4)(A)(ii), by inserting before the
semicolon ``(except that, if the individual applying for the
services resides in a foreign reciprocating country or
foreign treaty country, the State may opt to require the
individual to request the services through the Central
Authority for child support enforcement in the foreign
reciprocating country or the foreign treaty country, and if
the individual resides in a foreign country that is not a
foreign reciprocating country or a foreign treaty country, a
State may accept or reject the application)''; and
(2) in paragraph (32)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``, a foreign treaty
country,'' after ``a foreign reciprocating country''; and
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``or foreign obligee''
and inserting ``, foreign treaty country, or foreign
individual''.
(d) Amendments to International Support Enforcement
Provisions.--Section 459A (42 U.S.C. 659a) is amended--
(1) by adding at the end the following:
``(e) References.--In this part:
``(1) Foreign reciprocating country.--The term `foreign
reciprocating country' means a foreign country (or political
subdivision thereof) with respect to which the Secretary has
made a declaration pursuant to subsection (a).
``(2) Foreign treaty country.--The term `foreign treaty
country' means a foreign country for which the 2007 Family
Maintenance Convention is in force.
``(3) 2007 family maintenance convention.--The term `2007
Family Maintenance Convention' means the Hague Convention of
23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child
Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance.'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
``foreign countries that are the subject of a declaration
under this section'' and inserting ``foreign reciprocating
countries or foreign treaty countries''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``and foreign treaty
countries'' after ``foreign reciprocating countries''; and
(3) in subsection (d), by striking ``the subject of a
declaration pursuant to subsection (a)'' and inserting
``foreign reciprocating countries or foreign treaty
countries''.
(e) Collection of Past-Due Support From Federal Tax
Refunds.--Section 464(a)(2)(A) (42 U.S.C. 664(a)(2)(A)) is
amended by striking ``under section 454(4)(A)(ii)'' and
inserting ``under paragraph (4)(A)(ii) or (32) of section
454''.
(f) State Law Requirement Concerning the Uniform Interstate
Family Support Act (UIFSA).--
(1) In general.--Section 466(f) (42 U.S.C. 666(f)) is
amended--
(A) by striking ``on and after January 1, 1998,'';
(B) by striking ``and as in effect on August 22, 1996,'';
and
(C) by striking ``adopted as of such date'' and inserting
``adopted as of September 30, 2008''.
(2) Conforming amendments to title 28, united states
code.--Section 1738B of title 28, United States Code, is
amended--
(A) in subsection (d), by striking ``individual
contestant'' and inserting ``individual contestant or the
parties have consented in a record or open court that the
tribunal of the State may continue to exercise jurisdiction
to modify its order,'';
(B) in subsection (e)(2)(A), by striking ``individual
contestant'' and inserting ``individual contestant and the
parties have not consented in a record or open court that the
tribunal of the other State may continue to exercise
jurisdiction to modify its order''; and
(C) in subsection (b)--
(i) by striking `` `child' means'' and inserting ``(1) The
term `child' means'';
(ii) by striking `` `child's State' means'' and inserting
``(2) The term `child's State' means'';
(iii) by striking `` `child's home State' means'' and
inserting ``(3) The term `child's home State' means'';
(iv) by striking `` `child support' means'' and inserting
``(4) The term `child support' means'';
(v) by striking `` `child support order' '' and inserting
``(5) The term `child support order' '';
(vi) by striking `` `contestant' means'' and inserting
``(6) The term `contestant' means'';
(vii) by striking `` `court' means'' and inserting ``(7)
The term `court' means'';
(viii) by striking `` `modification' means'' and inserting
``(8) The term `modification' means''; and
(ix) by striking `` `State' means'' and inserting ``(9) The
term `State' means''.
(3) Effective date; grace period for state law changes.--
(A) Paragraph (1).--(i) The amendments made by paragraph
(1) shall take effect with
[[Page H6719]]
respect to a State no later than the effective date of laws
enacted by the legislature of the State implementing such
paragraph, but in no event later than the first day of the
first calendar quarter beginning after the close of the first
regular session of the State legislature that begins after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(ii) For purposes of clause (i), in the case of a State
that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of the
session shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of
the State legislature.
(B) Paragraph (2).--(i) The amendments made by
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) shall take effect
on the date on which the Hague Convention of 23 November 2007
on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other
Forms of Family Maintenance enters into force for the United
States.
(ii) The amendments made by subparagraph (C) of paragraph
(2) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 302. CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS FOR INDIAN
TRIBES.
(a) Tribal Access to the Federal Parent Locator Service.--
Section 453(c)(1) (42 U.S.C. 653(c)(1)) is amended by
inserting ``or Indian tribe or tribal organization (as
defined in subsections (e) and (l) of section 4 of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
450b)),'' after ``any State''.
(b) Waiver Authority for Indian Tribes or Tribal
Organizations Operating Child Support Enforcement Programs.--
Section 1115(b) (42 U.S.C. 1315(b)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (3) as
subparagraphs (A) through (C), respectively, and realigning
the left margin of subparagraph (C) so as to align with
subparagraphs (A) and (B) (as so redesignated);
(2) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(b)''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) An Indian tribe or tribal organization operating a
program under section 455(f) shall be considered a State for
purposes of authority to conduct an experimental, pilot, or
demonstration project under subsection (a) to assist in
promoting the objectives of part D of title IV and receiving
payments under the second sentence of that subsection. The
Secretary may waive compliance with any requirements of
section 455(f) or regulations promulgated under that section
to the extent and for the period the Secretary finds
necessary for an Indian tribe or tribal organization to carry
out such project. Costs of the project which would not
otherwise be included as expenditures of a program operating
under section 455(f) and which are not included as part of
the costs of projects under section 1110, shall, to the
extent and for the period prescribed by the Secretary, be
regarded as expenditures under a tribal plan or plans
approved under such section, or for the administration of
such tribal plan or plans, as may be appropriate. An Indian
tribe or tribal organization applying for or receiving start-
up program development funding pursuant to section 309.16 of
title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, shall not be
considered to be an Indian tribe or tribal organization
operating a program under section 455(f) for purposes of this
paragraph.''.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--Section 453(f) (42 U.S.C.
653(f)) is amended by inserting ``and tribal'' after
``State'' each place it appears.
SEC. 303. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING OFFERING OF
VOLUNTARY PARENTING TIME ARRANGEMENTS.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The separation of a child from a parent does not end
the financial or other responsibilities of the parent toward
the child.
(2) Increased parental access and visitation not only
improve parent-child relationships and outcomes for children,
but also have been demonstrated to result in improved child
support collections, which creates a double win for
children--a more engaged parent and improved financial
security.
(b) Sense of the Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress
that--
(1) establishing parenting time arrangements when obtaining
child support orders is an important goal which should be
accompanied by strong family violence safeguards; and
(2) States should use existing funding sources to support
the establishment of parenting time arrangements, including
child support incentives, Access and Visitation Grants, and
Healthy Marriage Promotion and Responsible Fatherhood Grants.
SEC. 304. DATA EXCHANGE STANDARDIZATION FOR IMPROVED
INTEROPERABILITY.
(a) In General.--Section 452 (42 U.S.C. 652), as amended by
section 301(a)(1) of this Act, is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(o) Data Exchange Standards for Improved
Interoperability.--
``(1) Designation.--The Secretary shall, in consultation
with an interagency work group established by the Office of
Management and Budget and considering State government
perspectives, by rule, designate data exchange standards to
govern, under this part--
``(A) necessary categories of information that State
agencies operating programs under State plans approved under
this part are required under applicable Federal law to
electronically exchange with another State agency; and
``(B) Federal reporting and data exchange required under
applicable Federal law.
``(2) Requirements.--The data exchange standards required
by paragraph (1) shall, to the extent practicable--
``(A) incorporate a widely accepted, non-proprietary,
searchable, computer-readable format, such as the eXtensible
Markup Language;
``(B) contain interoperable standards developed and
maintained by intergovernmental partnerships, such as the
National Information Exchange Model;
``(C) incorporate interoperable standards developed and
maintained by Federal entities with authority over
contracting and financial assistance;
``(D) be consistent with and implement applicable
accounting principles;
``(E) be implemented in a manner that is cost-effective and
improves program efficiency and effectiveness; and
``(F) be capable of being continually upgraded as
necessary.
``(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed to require a change to existing data
exchange standards found to be effective and efficient.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall issue a proposed rule within 24 months after
the date of the enactment of this section. The rule shall
identify federally required data exchanges, include
specification and timing of exchanges to be standardized, and
address the factors used in determining whether and when to
standardize data exchanges. It should also specify State
implementation options and describe future milestones.
SEC. 305. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall--
(1) in conjunction with the strategic plan, review and
provide recommendations for cost-effective improvements to
the child support enforcement program under part D of title
IV of the Social Security Act, and ensure that the plan
addresses the effectiveness and performance of the program,
analyzes program practices, identifies possible new
collection tools and approaches, and identifies strategies
for holding parents accountable for supporting their children
and for building the capacity of parents to pay child
support, with specific attention given to matters including
front-end services, on-going case management, collections,
Tribal-State partnerships, interstate and intergovernmental
interactions, program performance, data analytics, and
information technology;
(2) in carrying out paragraph (1), consult with and include
input from--
(A) State, tribal, and county child support directors;
(B) judges who preside over family courts or other State or
local courts with responsibility for conducting or
supervising proceedings relating to child support
enforcement, child welfare, or social services for children
and their families, and organizations that represent the
judges;
(C) custodial parents and organizations that represent
them;
(D) noncustodial parents and organizations that represent
them; and
(E) organizations that represent fiduciary entities that
are affected by child support enforcement policies; and
(3) in developing the report required by paragraph (4),
solicit public comment;
(4) not later than June 30, 2015, submit to the Congress a
report that sets forth policy options for improvements in
child support enforcement, which report shall include the
following:
(A) A review of the effectiveness of State child support
enforcement programs, and the collection practices employed
by State agencies administering programs under such part, and
an analysis of the extent to which the practices result in
unintended consequences or performance issues associated with
the programs and practices.
(B) Recommendations for methods to enhance the
effectiveness of child support enforcement programs and
collection practices.
(C) A review of State best practices in regards to
establishing and operating State and multistate lien
registries.
(D) A compilation of State recovery and distribution
policies.
(E) Options, with analysis, for methods to engage
noncustodial parents in the lives of their children through
consideration of parental time and visitation with children.
(F) An analysis of the role of alternative dispute
resolution in making child support determinations.
(G) Identification of best practices for--
(i) determining which services and support programs
available to custodial and noncustodial parents are non-
duplicative, evidence-based, and produce quality outcomes,
and connecting custodial and noncustodial parents to those
services and support programs;
(ii) providing employment support, job training, and job
placement for custodial and noncustodial parents; and
(iii) establishing services, supports, and child support
payment tracking for noncustodial parents, including options
for the prevention of, and intervention on, uncollectible
arrearages, such as retroactive obligations.
(H) Options, with analysis, for methods for States to use
to collect child support payments from individuals who owe
excessive arrearages as determined under section 454(31) of
such Act.
(I) A review of State practices under 454(31) of such Act
used to determine which individuals are excluded from the
requirements of
[[Page H6720]]
section 452(k) of such Act, including the extent to which
individuals are able to successfully contest or appeal
decisions.
(J) Options, with analysis, for actions as are determined
to be appropriate for improvement in child support
enforcement.
SEC. 306. REQUIRED ELECTRONIC PROCESSING OF INCOME
WITHHOLDING.
(a) In General.--Section 454A(g)(1) (42 U.S.C.
654a(g)(1)(A)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``, to the maximum extent feasible,''; and
(2) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (i);
(B) by adding ``and'' at the end of clause (ii); and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) at the option of the employer, using the electronic
transmission methods prescribed by the Secretary;''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall take effect on October 1, 2015.
TITLE IV--BUDGETARY EFFECTS
SEC. 401. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Camp) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
General Leave
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
to include extraneous material on the subject of the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of this legislation, which is designed to prevent
sex trafficking of youth in foster care, encourage the adoption of more
children from foster care, and increase child support collected to
support children, among other important purposes.
I will focus my comments on the important adoption provisions in the
legislation and then recognize subcommittee Chairman Reichert to
discuss the provisions designed to prevent sex trafficking.
I have spent much of my professional career promoting adoption of
children by loving parents. As an attorney in private practice, I
worked with parents and children in the foster care system. Those sorts
of experiences provided much of the background for changes in landmark
adoption legislation Congress has approved in recent years.
In 1997, my colleagues and I on the Ways and Means Committee crafted
the Adoption and Safe Families Act. That legislation streamlined the
adoption process to help more children in foster care quickly move into
permanent adoptive homes. It also, for the first time, offered
incentives to States to safely increase the number of children from
foster care. It worked.
In the decade following that legislation, the number of U.S. children
adopted from foster care increased by 71 percent. In the years since,
adoptions have continued to remain higher, even as the foster care
caseload started to decline.
Overall, almost 300,000 children have been adopted as a result of the
increase in adoptions starting in 1997. While placing children in
permanent loving homes is the most important benefit of the
legislation, one study estimated the Federal Government saved $1
billion over 8 years by ensuring people were adopted, instead of
remaining in foster care.
That is the successful incentive program this legislation extends and
updates. With this bill today, we add a new award for States that
increase adoptions of older children, who are the hardest to adopt and
have the worst outcomes if they ``age out'' of foster care without a
family to call their own.
We also add a new award for increases in guardianship when family
members step up to care for their nieces and nephews, grandsons and
granddaughters. This bill ensures that States maintain their commitment
to post-adoption and related services, so children truly have a forever
family.
Finding a forever family is the goal of this legislation, and forever
homes are possible. Just last year, I met with the Johns family of
Midland, Michigan. The Johns family has adopted three children and was
honored during their visit to Washington as an Angels in Adoption
family, but before they adopted, they were foster parents to Austin and
Katie, their first two children.
They adopted them and later adopted their third child, Aliyah. The
Johns family made a safe, permanent, and loving home a reality for
three children, and with this legislation, we can continue to build on
that success.
I note that this legislation is fully paid for by expecting all
States to use electronic methods that will do a better job collecting
child support, increasing family incomes, and reducing the amount of
welfare benefits taxpayers pay.
Those savings not only cover the cost of this legislation, but reduce
the deficit by $19 million over the next 10 years. That is a win-win
for children, families, and hardworking taxpayers alike.
This legislation reflects bipartisan, bicameral agreements on all
these policy areas, and I thank my colleagues who joined me in
introducing this legislation: Mr. Levin of Michigan, Mr. Reichert of
Washington, and Mr. Doggett of Texas, as well as the chairman and
ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Senators Wyden and
Hatch.
They are all leaders on these issues, and I value their help in
developing and advancing this legislation.
{time} 1830
This bill was crafted the way legislation is supposed to be: through
hearings, markups, public comments, and negotiations with our
colleagues in the Senate. The bill we are considering today
incorporates many suggestions from experts in the child welfare field,
as well as just interested citizens and adoptive parents. We are
grateful for the public's comments and their participation in this
process.
The bottom line is this: children in foster care deserve a place to
call home not just for a few months or years, but for good. We have
already seen great progress in increasing adoptions since the Adoption
Incentives program was created in 1997, and it is our hope that we can
continue this progress once this bill is signed into law.
I encourage all of my colleagues to join us in supporting this bill
in the House, and I hope and expect the Senate to also act soon on this
bill so we can continue to move more foster children into permanent,
loving homes.
Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Reichert), and I ask unanimous consent that he be
allowed to control the time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, we have a special responsibility to protect vulnerable
children. This is bipartisan legislation that takes some important,
though modest, steps toward meeting that responsibility by addressing
three issues: combating the exploitation of at-risk children, promoting
permanent homes for foster children, and strengthening international
enforcement of child support obligations.
With a bipartisan, bicameral agreement between the chairman of the
Senate Finance Committee and the ranking member of the Senate Finance
Committee, this legislation combines modified versions of three bills
that we previously passed here in the House earlier in the session.
This measure has been endorsed by a number of important child advocacy
groups, including the Children's Defense Fund, the Child Welfare League
of America, and Voice for Adoptions.
I was pleased to work with Chairman Camp, Ranking Member Levin, and
certainly Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Reichert, as well as
our colleagues in the Senate, as we came together with bipartisan
agreement on this legislation.
There are still provisions in the bill that I think could use
improvement,
[[Page H6721]]
including the fact that an important program that helps link children
in foster care to relatives, called Family Connection Grants, is
extended only for a single year; but I think that even with some of its
limitations, this legislation does make a positive difference in the
lives of many children, particularly those who are vulnerable to sex
trafficking.
When children come into foster care, they already have issues. They
have suffered abuse or neglect. They have been exploited. They have
suffered. They have a sense of isolation, and they often feel that they
have been removed from one home and put out in a place with which they
are not familiar. They are especially at prey for sex traffickers and
are targets in that condition.
This bipartisan legislation attempts to combat trafficking in the
foster care system by screening at-risk children and providing
services, when necessary; by reporting the incidence of trafficking so
we will have a clear indication of that among foster children; and by
expediting the location of children who run away from foster care.
Additionally, this bill attempts to help children live more normal
lives while in foster care by allowing them to more fully participate
in the activities that most children enjoy, such as playing sports and
an occasional sleepover at a friend's house.
This legislation also extends and adopts changes in the Adoption
Incentives program to encourage States to find permanent homes for
children in foster care, which is certainly the best approach. The bill
increases the program's focus on promoting the adoption of older
children in foster care.
It also, for the first time, provides an incentive for States to
increase the number of children leaving foster care to live with a
legal guardian. It includes a provision that I authored ensuring
children won't lose their eligibility for Federal guardianship
assistance if the guardian dies or becomes incapacitated.
Finally, the legislation would take necessary steps to implement a
very important international treaty on enforcing child support
obligations abroad so that leaving this country doesn't allow
individuals to leave behind their responsibility for the children that
they parented that are here in the United States.
Mr. Speaker, we still have much to do to ensure that the well-being
of vulnerable children is receiving the attention that it deserves, but
I think this is a good start with this bill. I urge its passage and
swift action by the Senate in accord with our agreement to see that it
gets to the President's desk soon for signature.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Cantor), the majority leader.
Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Washington.
I rise today in strong support of the Preventing Sex Trafficking and
Strengthening Families Act and the other antitrafficking bills we have
on the floor today in furtherance of our efforts to bring an end to
this abhorrent crime.
Mr. Speaker, human trafficking continues to be one of the world's
great dangers, threatening millions of innocent lives, including right
here at home in the United States. Our very own Department of Homeland
Security describes human trafficking as ``a modern-day form of slavery
involving the illegal trade of people for exploitation or commercial
gain.''
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates that
between 100,000 and 300,000 children in America may be trafficked for
commercial sex every year. These children represent the most vulnerable
among us, and it is our responsibility to act now and do what we can to
stop these heinous crimes. Ending human trafficking is a goal that both
parties share, and today we can take one step closer to achieving that
goal.
Some of the most vulnerable to this crime are America's foster
children, as the gentleman from Texas just discussed. All too
frequently, they fall through the cracks and become victims in these
criminal schemes. The legislation before us today takes this problem
head-on, encouraging States to tackle the issue of trafficking foster
children and to ensure their placement into loving adoptive homes.
This is a great opportunity for us in the House to stand together to
show the people that sent us here and the rest of this country and the
world that our House is united to bringing an end to human trafficking.
I would like to thank the gentleman from Washington, Chairman
Reichert, Ranking Members Levin and Doggett, and the rest of the
members of the Ways and Means Committee for their hard work on this
issue, and I strongly urge my colleagues to support this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to take a minute to thank the
gentleman from Michigan, Chairman Dave Camp, one of our great leaders
in Congress, who has not only led on this issue, but has been a
tireless champion for families and children throughout his career.
Over the years, Chairman Camp has advocated and succeeded in bringing
much-needed reforms to our foster care system. The Adoption and Safe
Families Act, which Chairman Camp introduced in the House and President
Clinton then signed, streamlined the adoption process, making it easier
for kids to move out of foster care and into more permanent homes. In
2003, President Bush signed then-Congressman, now-Chairman, Camp's
Adoption Promotion Act, which provides financial incentives for States
that increase adoption among older children. These are just a few of
Chairman Camp's many great accomplishments, and today's bill is just
another example of his heartfelt dedication to putting America's kids
first.
Few have had the impact on creating a better future for our children
than Dave Camp. Because of Chairman Camp, children all over America
have the opportunity to live in safe homes and to pursue their dreams.
I have been very proud to call him my colleague and honored to call him
a dear friend.
Though I know we have still got several months before the end of this
Congress, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Dave Camp on
a terrific and wonderful career. I want to thank the gentleman for his
service and wish him the very best in his retirement. The Congress will
certainly miss the gentleman from Michigan.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass), who cochairs the Congressional
Caucus on Foster Youth. I don't know another Member of this Congress
who has expressed more concern in going all over the country to work
and seek improvements in the lives of our foster children.
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4980,
the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act.
First, I would like to commend Chairmen Camp and Reichert and Ranking
Members Levin and Doggett for their work on this important legislation
and for their ongoing commitment to our Nation's foster youth.
As cochair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, I have had
the opportunity to hear stories from youth across the country during
our listening tour. Many of the young people I have heard from share
similar stories--from Washington State to Missouri--that they just want
to be a part of loving families and have the ability to participate in
sports, hang out with their friends, and have the same experiences as
their peers. I strongly believe this legislation will help bring a
greater sense of stability to foster youth and give kids a chance to be
just like their friends.
Since 1997, when the adoption incentives legislation became law, we
have seen a significant reduction in the number of kids in foster care.
By improving adoption incentives, we help children find their forever
families. This is why it is so critical to highlight this legislation's
investment in legal guardianship and relative caregivers.
More than half of the youth in the child welfare system are placed
with a relative caregiver: a grandmother, an aunt, uncle, or older
sibling. Guardianship is often the preferred type of family permanence
for relative caregivers.
In addition, parts of H.R. 4980 include the funding for Family
Connection Grants, which provide critical resources to ensure children
find permanent homes, oftentimes with relatives.
In my Los Angeles district, relative caregivers are the largest group
of foster care providers. Research shows that
[[Page H6722]]
foster placement with relatives are good for children. They allow
children to stay in their schools, receive continued support from their
community and culture, and feel connected to families that continue to
love them.
Despite the importance of relative caregivers, they face unique
obstacles. Becoming a caregiver changes lives in every way: physically,
emotionally, and financially. Stable middle class families or seniors
who live on their life savings are often pushed to the brink of poverty
because they have accepted the unexpected financial burden of caring
for a child.
I am greatly encouraged by the critical work this legislation before
us encourages--children having forever families through both adoption
and guardianship throughout the country--and hope to continue this work
with my colleagues in the House.
Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to also add my compliments to Chairman
Camp.
Not to be repetitive, I think it is important to mention some of the
fine work that Chairman Camp has done in his time here in Congress,
which has inspired all of us, I think, to move the legislation that we
are discussing today. He has left an indelible stamp on our Nation's
child welfare policy during the years he has served in Congress, and
especially throughout his service on the Ways and Means Committee. He
has a whole list of bills and initiatives and amendments that he has
been associated with to champion this cause, but I think, suffice it to
say, Mr. Camp has probably done more than most in the last 20 years of
his service here for the people of America to help children, and
especially focused on foster care and adoption.
Again, I want to join in praising and thanking the chairman for his
service and dedication to the children of this country and families in
general.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge support of H.R. 4980, the
Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act.
{time} 1845
This bill, as the chairman said, reflects bipartisan agreement and
bicameral agreement. So, after we pass this bill tonight, it goes back
to the Senate, and this will go to the President's desk, I am sure, and
be signed within, I hope, the next month or so.
This bill is designed to prevent sex trafficking involving youth in
foster care. It is designed to strengthen families by increasing
adoptions from foster care, and it is designed to improve child support
collections.
This issue is a very personal issue for me. I have listened to the
speeches tonight, and I appreciate the enthusiasm and the dedication
and the focus that Members of Congress have put on this issue over the
last year especially. This is our second week this month, I think, that
we have focused on human trafficking in foster care.
Mr. Speaker, some people know that my previous career was in law
enforcement. I spent 33 years in the sheriff's office. Many of those
years were spent investigating a case that has been entitled the Green
River murder case. We finally arrested that person. He says that he
killed somewhere between 60 and 70 young girls in Seattle--60 to 70
children's lives taken. I collected a lot of those bodies, Mr. Speaker.
I remember them, where they lay, 15-year-old girls.
We are not talking about a bill today, ladies and gentlemen and Mr.
Speaker. We are not talking about a bill--legislation--that is just a
piece of fluff, that is just a piece of legislation, that is just
words. We are talking about the lives of children and the monsters who
are out there--and they have been discussed tonight--who are ready to
prey on them, who are ready to take their lives, even if it is just to
take a piece of their lives away from them for a moment, or maybe 20
times a night they take a piece of their lives. They survive
physically, but mentally and emotionally, their lives have been ripped
apart and so have the families'.
If you were to just drive down this street and see 10 young ladies
standing on a street corner, Mr. Speaker, who were involved in human
trafficking, six out of those 10 would be foster kids. These are kids
we have responsibility for, whom we as a nation have the responsibility
for--all of us in each one of our States who take care of foster
children. We place them in foster homes, and they run away, and we
don't find them, and we don't search for them, and they go on the
streets, and they get scooped up by somebody who says: I love you. Stay
with me. I will buy you clothes. I will buy you jewelry. I will put you
on the street, too, and that is how you are going to make the money to
buy those things--and guess what. You are going to provide me with some
of those things, too.
It just makes me sick. It should make every American sick to his
stomach. We need to stop this.
I have seen it with my own eyes for 19 years in having been involved
in this case, trying to bring this monster, who not only took away
their souls, but who also eventually ended up taking away their lives.
He ripped those lives out of the families' hands--gone. My 15-year-old
daughter--gone. Can you imagine?
That is why we need to help folks. This is such an important piece of
legislation. One of the young ladies who was one of the first victims
in this case was Wendy Coffield. She was a foster kid. She ran away
from her foster home, and she ended up on the street, but nobody looked
for Wendy Coffield until we found her one day, floating in the river
just south of Seattle--dead.
One of the things that I wanted to do as the chair of the Human
Resources Subcommittee was to help educate this country and other
Members about this issue. We held hearings, and we had experts from
DSHS and the State of Washington and human resources all across the
country who were directors of DSHS, and we had social workers. They all
provided great information.
But do you know? One of the most powerful witnesses and speakers we
had was a young lady named Miss Ortiz Walker Pettigrew. She goes by the
name of ``T.'' She was recently named by Time magazine as one of the
100 most influential people in the world. She is a young lady who spent
the first 18 years of her life in foster care, and 7 of those years
were in human trafficking. She is now one of the most 100 most
influential people in the world. She was trafficked on the streets. She
was trafficked on the Internet. She was trafficked on the back pages of
newspapers. Now she is speaking out, and she is the one--and people
like her are the ones--who provides us with that information.
I think that we can all agree that our Nation's children deserve
better, because her statement was and her comment was: I felt like I
was part of a family. I identified with my pimp and with the other
young ladies who were out working the street. That was my family--
versus having a family that could hold them and love them.
This bill requires States to identify victims of sex trafficking and
provide them with the services they need to heal. It will also improve
data on instances of child sex trafficking so better policies can be
developed to prevent it.
Also, on the prevention front, this bill makes sure that kids can be
kids, that foster kids can participate in after-school events, which
would, I think, make them less vulnerable, anyway, to getting involved
in street activity and getting sucked into the life of human
trafficking. It encourages States to move children out of the foster
care system and into loving families more quickly.
The approach we are taking is practical. It is bipartisan. It is
based on experiences from States around the country. It is evidence-
based, and it is also real life experience-based. This bill
incorporates a wide range of ideas gleaned from bills introduced by
members of the Ways and Means Committee--like from Mr. Paulsen, who
will speak soon--and by other Members of the House and from over 150
pages of public comments received on our December 2013 discussion
draft.
I want to thank the subcommittee's ranking member, Mr. Doggett, who
joins me on the floor today, as well as to thank the chairman, Mr.
Camp, and the ranking member, Mr. Levin, for their support of this
legislation and for their help throughout its development.
I also want to thank the many outside groups that offered their
feedback and their support. As of today, we have received support for
this bill from 48 child welfare groups, which is an indication of the
high importance of this legislation. I can't think of a more important
or a more bipartisan topic than
[[Page H6723]]
protecting vulnerable children in foster care and working to find
loving homes for each of them.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute to join in the
accolades for our chairman, Dave Camp of Michigan, and to particularly
recognize the key role he played in helping to create our child abuse
commission, which is currently holding hearings. They had the first one
down in San Antonio, in my district. They will be going to Michigan,
and they have been in Florida. I think they are collecting data that
will provide us another opportunity to act, to deal with some of the
same issues that we are concerned with today. I appreciate the
leadership that he has shown and, certainly, that Mr. Reichert has
shown.
I am pleased that among those groups that we have heard from is the
American Academy of Pediatrics, which plays such a leading role. They
say that this legislation is an essential step in improving the health
and well-being of foster youths and in expanding their access to
appropriate permanency options. The Children's Defense Fund was
important in this legislation. It emphasized the importance of
permanent placements for children as they leave care and of empowering
our older youth. I believe that this bipartisan legislation is a good
step forward.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is
remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Washington has 4 minutes
remaining.
Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen).
Mr. PAULSEN. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker and Members, while there are many issues that divide
Washington, this is absolutely an area where there is agreement and
bipartisan and bicameral work being done. We already passed five
separate antitrafficking bills just a few months ago, in May, and I am
very pleased we are taking additional action on these pieces of
legislation tonight.
More than 100,000 children are at risk of being trafficked for
commercial sex in the United States. Those most at risk of
victimization are the vulnerable, including children from our foster
care system. Many of these children face barriers to a real childhood,
and they are unable to participate in school activities, to play after-
school sports, or to even spend time with friends. Youths that have
been involved in the foster care system are much more likely to become
runaways or homeless at an early age. The preventative measures in this
legislation will make a difference.
On any given night, 2,500 youths in Minnesota--my home State--will
experience homelessness, and a majority of those homeless youths is
solicited for sex within 48 hours of becoming homeless. In fact, law
enforcement will say--and tells me--that the overwhelming majority of
trafficking victims is part of that homeless population and that 60
percent of those victims were in foster care or group homes when they
ran away.
We know, Mr. Speaker, that trafficking is a very complex problem that
requires many different solutions. It is going after the demand by
punishing the johns. It is shutting off access to trafficking victims
through Web sites like backpage.com. It is increasing international
cooperation and passing safe harbor laws that ensure children are
treated as victims of these heinous crimes and not as criminals.
Most importantly, as we have in this legislation, we need to prevent
children from becoming potential victims in the first place. This bill
takes important steps to improve the sharing of information as to what
is happening, where and to whom. By identifying trends and filling in
the gaps, we can help these children in foster care before they become
victims in the first place.
I really want to thank not only Chairman Camp, Ranking Member Levin
and Ranking Member Doggett, but I want to thank Subcommittee Chairman
Reichert for his passion, his advocacy, and his hard work on this
legislation. We brought this together in a bipartisan manner.
I also want to thank them in particular for including provisions from
the legislation, which I authored with Congresswoman Slaughter, that
address the lack of reliable data and reporting to law enforcement as
it relates to runaway youth from the child welfare system. I look
forward to its passage and to the passage of all of these bipartisan
bills this evening because, together, we can end trafficking.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, would you report on the time I have
remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas has 12\1/2\ minutes
remaining.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I am so pleased tonight to hear one colleague after another indicate
that they are ready to act in a bipartisan way on this issue and that
it should be a bipartisan commitment to addressing the vulnerability of
our children. I think that needs to apply to all children. This
legislation that we are considering at the moment is one of seven bills
that we are going to approve here in the House today that deal with
trafficking because trafficking remains a serious problem here and
around the world.
Several of the bills that we are considering recognize that there is
an international dimension to this problem. Therefore, I would
particularly urge my Republican colleagues and all of our colleagues
tonight to remember next week the statements that are being made this
evening and to be as concerned about the vulnerability and the exposure
to the trafficking of those children who have recently sought refuge in
our country as we are about foster children or any other children in
our country.
While the sex trafficking prevention in this bill addresses,
specifically, problems within the foster care system, the scourge of
youth sex trafficking extends far beyond this population. As we are all
well aware, we have had a recent influx of children come across our
southern border, many of whom have been abused at home, abused along
the 1,000-plus-mile track, and could be subject to abuse or to being
involved again in sex trafficking.
{time} 1900
Polaris, a group that works to help end modern-day slavery, notes
that undocumented immigrants are ``highly vulnerable'' to sex
trafficking due to their ``lack of legal status and protections,
language barriers, limited employment options, immigration-related
debts, and social isolation.'' Most of these vulnerabilities are
amplified when the immigrants are children. We have an obligation in
this Congress to take their unique situation into account and provide
them with the protection and the care that they deserve.
The steady drumbeat to remove the very protections that help
vulnerable children from becoming sex slaves or remaining in slavery is
wrong, and that is why 37 Latino organizations, including MALDEF, the
National Council of La Raza, and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,
among them, all have urged this Congress to assure due process for
these kids rather than stripping away rights that this Congress
provided in current United States law.
A diverse group of faith leaders, including the Southern Baptist
Convention, the Sojourners, and the National Association of
Evangelicals have joined with these Latino groups in calling to assure
that these children are not denied their due process rights, and that
they do not have rights guaranteed by American law today taken away
next week.
Over 50 child development experts from around the country, many of
the same people that supported our effort in today's legislation, wrote
this Congress yesterday and urged that we change course before we put
thousands of traumatized children into danger. They describe an
expedited screening process that would leave children in danger. It is
the expedited screening process that applies today to Mexican children,
and it is flawed.
Children who fear trafficking, or were previously trafficked, can be
returned to Mexico to reenter that trafficking trade and come back
again. We shouldn't subject the Central American children to the same
process, yet, that is what has been recommended today.
I am concerned about what happens to children along the Green River,
[[Page H6724]]
about what happens along the Potomac River, about what happens along
the Colorado River, but I am also concerned about what is happening to
the many who have just crossed the Rio Grande River.
When children are asked about whether they have been trafficked by a
police officer, who may not speak their native language, in a rushed
interview in what may be a chaotic situation in a detention center that
is much like a police station, where someone who just abused them or
who may actually have been involved in the trafficking and smuggling
process is nearby and can perhaps overhear these tales, they will be
reluctant to articulate the sexual trauma, the very private trauma to
which they have been subjected.
These children who have been traumatized, in some cases, multiple
times, who may well have left their native country because of abuse,
deserve to be interviewed and evaluated in an environment that takes
into consideration their youth, their vulnerability, all of the factors
that we have been talking about on this piece of legislation, and the
other six pieces of legislation that the House is about to approve.
These children deserve the same type of protections, not an
intimidating environment that is made all the more unfamiliar to them
by virtue of the fact that they are in a land that they have never been
to before.
This special treatment does not occur and happen if you have an
expedited screening process. That is why we unanimously passed the
guarantees that are in the 2008 law. If we want to protect these
children, we should abandon a plan to throw out these children by the
wayside by abandoning those protections.
I believe that we shouldn't let our desire, the fears of some,
perhaps the hate of others, to result in the quick deportation of
children and return them to a live of sex slavery. They are vulnerable
children. We don't assure them amnesty. Certainly, we cannot accept
every child that wants to enter this country.
I am not in favor of amnesty, but I do think we need a little
humanity, a little human decency, and that those children deserve the
same respect and due process as any child that we are talking about
tonight.
So I am pleased that we are making progress on this piece of
legislation and another six bills. I think they are an important step
forward in dealing with a serious international problem. But it is
critical that this interest in bipartisan concern for the vulnerability
of children extend to those children who are now in my home State, and
about whom we will be talking in the few days that remain in this
Congress, and that we apply the same kind of standard then as we are
applying tonight.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I will insert in the Record a list of the
organizations in support of this legislation.
Organizations in Support of the Preventing Sex Trafficking and
Strengthening Families Act (H.R. 4980)
1. American Academy of Pediatrics (letter)
2. American Psychological Association (letter)
3. Association on American Indian Affairs (email)
4. Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
(letter)
5. Cherokee Nation (letter)
6. Children Awaiting Parents (Senate)
7. Children's Defense Fund (letter)
8. Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (letter)
9. Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (letter)
10. Eastern Shashone Tribe (letter)
11. First Focus Campaign for Children (letter)
12. Fort Belknap Child Support Program (letter)
13. Foster Club (letter)
14. Foster Family-Based Treatment Association (letter)
15. Generations United (letter)
16. Holt International (letter)
17. Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (letter)
18. Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
19. Love 146 (letter)
20. Menominee Tribal Child Support Agency (letter)
21. Mescalero Apache Tribe (letter)
22. Meskwaki Nation Child Support Services (letter)
23. National Adoption Center (letter)
24. National Child Support Enforcement Association (letter
with concerns)
25. National Children's Alliance (letter)
26. National Foster Parent Association (letter)
27. National Indian Child Welfare Association (email)
28. Nebraska Families Collaborative (letter)
29. Nez Perce Tribe (letter)
30. North American Council on Adoptable Children (letter)
31. NYS Citizens' Coalition for Children (letter)
32. Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin (letter)
33. Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (letter)
34. Penobscot Nation Child Support Agency (letter)
35. Red Cliff Tribal Child Support Services Agency (letter)
36. Rights4Girls (letter)
37. Stockbridge-Munsee Community (letter)
38. Suquamish Tribe (letter)
39. The Adoption Exchange (email)
40. The Attachment and Trauma Network (Senate)
41. The California Alliance of Child and Family Services
(Senate)
42. The Child Welfare League of America (letter)
43. The Donaldson Adoption Institute (letter)
44. The National Crittenton Foundation (email)
45. Tribal Child Support Enforcement, Modoc Tribe of
Oklahoma (letter)
46. Voice for Adoption (letter)
47. You Gotta Believe (letter)
48. Yurok Tribe (letter).
Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, this legislation, as I said earlier,
represents bipartisan, bicameral progress in protecting our Nation's
most vulnerable children.
So, in plain language, the House of Representatives cooperated
together and developed a bill. The Senate cooperated together, Senators
Hatch and Wyden worked together to develop a bill on the Senate side.
They agreed and passed a bill, we agreed and passed a bill.
This bill that we are talking about today is one of those rare
moments in history where not only did Democrats and Republicans agree,
but the Senate and the House agreed this was a good bill, and here it
is today.
After we pass this bill tonight, it will move to the Senate, and we
already know we have agreement there. It will be passed in the Senate,
hopefully, some time early next week, and move on to the President's
desk for signing.
We are focused tonight on this bill, with foster kids, because this
is the jurisdiction that I have, as the chairman of the Human Resources
Subcommittee, and that Mr. Doggett, as the ranking member, has too. We
are focused on foster kids and human trafficking, and helping them find
loving homes so they can have a productive life, so they can have hope,
hope for the future.
We need to pass this bill tonight.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Reichert) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4980.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________