Draft Foster Care Legislation Sen Ron Wyden 2015

8/20/2019 Draft Foster Care Legislation Sen Ron Wyden 2015

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ERN15204 Discussion Draft S.L.C.

114TH CONGRESS1ST SESSION S.

llTo amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to invest

in funding prevention and family services to help keep children safe

and supported at home with their families, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

llllllllll

llllllllll introduced the following bill; which was read twice

and referred to the Committee on llllllllll

A BILL

To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security

Act to invest in funding prevention and family servicesto help keep children safe and supported at home with

their families, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1

tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,2

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.3

(a) SHORT

TITLE

.—This Act may be cited as the4

‘‘ lllllll Act of 2015’’.5

(b) T ABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for6

this Act is as follows:7

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.


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Sec. 3. Time-limited family services under part E of title IV of the Social Secu-

rity Act.

Sec. 4. Assuring funding under part B of title IV of the Social Security Act

for prevention and post-permanency support.

Sec. 5. Effective date.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.1

Congress makes the following findings:2

(1) Our Nation’s Federal child welfare financ-3

ing system gives States little incentive to invest in4

prevention and family services and encourages reli-5

ance on foster care rather than on investment in6

prevention and family services that help keep chil-7

dren safely at home or in the care of other family8

members.9

(2) Title IV-E of the Social Security Act cur-10

rently provides States and Indian Tribes with man-11

datory Federal funding support for children only12

after they are placed in foster care. Title IV-E pro-13

vides few incentives for State and tribal efforts to14

prevent the need for out-of-home placements of chil-15

dren or to reduce the time children spend in foster16

care.17

(3) In contrast, State and tribal innovations im-18

plemented through waivers suggest that permitting19

State and tribal spending under title IV-E for front20

end prevention and family services can help reduce21

the prevalence and length of foster care placements22


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while maintaining or improving safety and perma-1

nency outcomes for children.2

(4) At the same time, current Federal funding3

for broad, community-based, primary prevention pro-4

grams through title IV-B is too limited to reach the5

significant number of families in need.6

(5) Expanding Federal funding available under7

parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act8

for prevention and family services will help keep chil-9

dren safe and supported at home with their parents10

or other family members, give States and Indian11

Tribes the flexibility to adapt evidence-based support12

services to the specific needs of each family, and en-13

sure that States and Indian Tribes are held account-14

able for allocating services in ways that maximize15

safety and permanency for children, while mini-16

mizing the prevalence of long foster care placements.17

SEC. 3. TIME-LIMITED FAMILY SERVICES UNDER PART E OF18

TITLE IV OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.19

(a) TIME-LIMITED F AMILY SERVICES DEFINED.—20

Section 475 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended by21

adding at the end the following:22

‘‘(13)(A) The term ‘time-limited family services’23

means supports and services that are among the24

services and supports specified in subparagraph (B)25


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and that are provided to 1 or more individuals de-1

scribed in subparagraph (C) during the 12-month2

period that begins on the date described in subpara-3

graph (D). An individual shall remain eligible for4

such services for the full 12-month period that be-5

gins on the date described in subparagraph (D),6

without regard to whether the individual ceases to be7

described in subparagraph (C) after the period be-8

gins.9

‘‘(B) The services and supports described in10

this subparagraph are the following:11

‘‘(i) Parenting skills training and parent12

education, including peer-to-peer mentoring and13

support groups for parents, primary caregivers,14

and potential kinship caregivers.15

‘‘(ii) Individual, group, and family coun-16

seling, including intensive family preservation17

programs and trauma-informed care.18

‘‘(iii) Services or assistance to address do-19

mestic violence, substance abuse, or inadequate20

housing as barriers to family preservation and21

reunification.22

‘‘(iv) Mentoring, tutoring, recreational23

service, and health education for children and24

youth, including activities designed to facilitate25


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access to and visitation of children by sibling,1

parents, and other kin.2

‘‘(v) Crisis intervention services or assist-3

ance to stabilize families in times of crisis, such4

as transportation, clothing, household goods,5

homemaker services, assistance with housing6

and utility payments, child care, respite care,7

and recreational services, as well as similar8

goods and services to facilitate placement of9

children in kinship care.10

‘‘(vi) Other family services or assistance11

approved by the Secretary that are intended to12

prevent a child’s entry or re-entry into foster13

care or, in the case of a child in foster care, to14

allow the child to safely and quickly be reunited15

with the child’s family, to enable kinship place-16

ments, or to otherwise reduce the prevalence17

and length of foster care placements.18

‘‘(C) Individuals described in this subparagraph19

are the following:20

‘‘(i) A child who is a candidate for foster21

care (as defined in paragraph 14).22

‘‘(ii) A child in foster care (without regard23

to whether the child is or would be eligible for24

payments under section 472 or 473).25


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‘‘(iii) Parents, potential or designated kin-1

ship or other guardians, caretaker relatives, and2

family members of a child described in clause3

(i) or (ii).4

‘‘(D) The date described in this subparagraph5

is the earlier of the date on which a child—6

‘‘(i) is initially identified in a case plan or7

at a judicial proceeding as a child who is a can-8

didate for foster care (as defined in paragraph9

(14); or10

‘‘(ii) is considered to have entered foster11

care pursuant to paragraph (5)(F).12

‘‘(14) The term ‘child who is a candidate for foster13

care’ means, a child who is identified at being at imminent14

risk of entering or re-entering foster care, as specified in15

the child’s case plan or as designated in a judicial pro-16

ceeding (without regard to whether the child is or would17

be eligible for payments under section 472 or 473). Such18

term includes a child whose adoption or guardianship ar-19

rangement is at risk of a disruption that would result in20

a foster care placement.’’.21

(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 471 of such Act (4222

U.S.C. 671) is amended—23

(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘and’’ and24

all that follows through the semicolon and inserting25


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‘‘, adoption assistance in accordance with section1

473, and, at the option of the State, time-limited2

family services in accordance with section 471(e);’’;3

and4

(2) by adding at the end the following:5

‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS FOR TIME-LIMITED F AMILY 6

SERVICES.—7

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State may provide time-8

limited family services (as defined in section 475(13)9

to individuals described in subparagraph (C) of that10

section in accordance with the succeeding provisions11

of this subsection.12

‘‘(2) P AYMENT REQUIREMENTS.—No payment13

shall be made under section 474(a)(6) for expendi-14

tures for time-limited family services unless the fol-15

lowing requirements are met:16

‘‘(A) SPECIFIED SERVICES IN ADVANCE OF 17

PROVISION.—18

‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro-19

vided in clause (ii), the specific services to20

be provided for 1 or more individuals de-21

scribed in section 475(13)(C) are included22

in the child’s case plan or identified at a23

judicial proceeding in advance of the provi-24


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sion of such services, unless there are1

emergency or other exigent circumstances.2

‘‘(ii) E XCEPTION FOR EMERGENCY 3

SERVICES OR ASSISTANCE.—Subparagraph4

(A) shall not apply to the provision of5

time-limited family services described in6

clause (v) of section 475(13)(B) but the7

provision of such services shall be included8

in the child’s case plan as soon as prac-9

ticable after the provision of the services.10

‘‘(B) E VIDENCE-BASED PROGRAMS AND 11

PROMISING PROGRAM MODELS.—With respect12

to a fiscal year and expenditures for such serv-13

ices—14

‘‘(i) at least 50 percent of such ex-15

penditures shall be for services that are16

provided for evidence-based programs and17

address specific outcomes related to safety,18

permanency, or well-being for children who19

are candidates for foster care or are in fos-20

ter care; and21

‘‘(ii) at least an additional 25 percent22

of such expenditures shall be for services23

that are provided for evidence-based pro-24

grams or for promising program models,25


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such as evidence-informed or culturally1

specific adaptations of programs, and ad-2

dress specific outcomes related to safety,3

permanency, or well-being for children who4

are candidates for foster care or are in fos-5

ter care,6

in accordance with guidance and technical as-7

sistance from the Secretary under section8

476(d).9

‘‘(C) P AYMENT ONLY IF NO OTHER FED-10

ERAL FUNDING AVAILABLE.—Payment under11

section 474(a)(6) for expenditures for such12

family services shall not duplicate other Federal13

funding sources for such services (including14

those under titles V, XIX, and subtitle A of15

XX) and shall only be made to the extent that16

payment for such services cannot reasonably be17

expected to be made under another federally18

funded program.19

‘‘(D) OUTCOME ASSESSMENT AND REPORT-20

ING.—21

‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State shall22

collect and report to the Secretary the fol-23

lowing with respect to each child for whom,24

or on whose behalf, time-limited family25


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services are provided during a 12-month1

period:2

‘‘(I) With respect to each clause3

of section 475(13)(B), the specific4

services provided and the total ex-5

penditures for each such service.6

‘‘(II) The child’s placement sta-7

tus at the end of the period.8

‘‘(III) The child’s placement sta-9

tus 1 year after the end of the period.10

‘‘(ii) SIBLINGS.—If time-limited fam-11

ily services are provided over a 12-month12

period to 2 or more siblings, the aggregate13

amount of expenditures for such services to14

be reported under clause (i)(I) shall be di-15

vided equally among each such sibling.16

‘‘(E) M AINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—The17

State provides an assurance that payments18

under this part for time-limited family services19

shall be used to supplement, and not supplant,20

the level of State and local funds expended to21

provide any such family services for fiscal year22

2015.23

‘‘(3) A UTHORIZATION FOR OUTCOMES-RE-24

WARDED INCREASED MATCH.—25


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‘‘(A) N ATIONAL BENCHMARK MEAS-1

URES.—2

‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT; ANNUAL UP-3

DATES.—Beginning with fiscal year 2019,4

and annually thereafter, the Secretary5

shall establish the following national6

benchmark measures:7

‘‘(I) PERCENTAGES OF CHILD 8

WHO REMAIN WITH, ARE RETURNED 9

TO, OR ARE PLACED WITH A PARENT,10

CARETAKER RELATIVE, OR KINSHIP 11

GUARDIAN.—With respect to all chil-12

dren for whom, or on whose behalf,13

time-limited family services are pro-14

vided during any 12-month period, the15

percentages of such children who re-16

main with, are returned to, or are17

placed with a parent, caretaker rel-18

ative, or kinship guardian at the end19

of such period and the percentage of20

such children who remain in each21

such placement status through the22

end of the succeeding 12-month-pe-23

riod.24


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‘‘(II) TOTAL PER-CHILD SPEND-1

ING ON TIME-LIMITED FAMILY SERV -2

ICES.—With respect to each 12-month3

period for which percentages are de-4

termined under subclause (I) (other5

than a percentage determined for a6

succeeding 12-month period), the total7

amount of expenditures for providing8

time-limited family services for, or on9

behalf of, each child during the pe-10

riod.11

‘‘(ii) D ATA .—The Secretary shall es-12

tablish and update the national benchmark13

measures—14

‘‘(I) based on the median State15

values of the information reported16

under paragraph (2)(D) for the 317

most recent years; and18

‘‘(II) taking into account State19

differences in the price levels of con-20

sumption goods and services using the21

most recent regional price parities22

published by the Bureau of Economic23

Analysis of the Department of Com-24


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merce or such other data as the Sec-1

retary determines appropriate.2

‘‘(B) A PPLICATION TO MATCHING RATE.—3

‘‘(i) CRITERIA FOR INCREASE.—Be-4

ginning with fiscal year 2020, the Federal5

percentage applicable to payments to a6

State for a fiscal year under section7

474(a)(6) for expenditures attributable to8

time-limited family services shall be in-9

creased by such number of percentage10

points (not to exceed 10 percentage points)11

as the Secretary shall determine, for any12

State for which—13

‘‘(I) the State-specific percentage14

described in subparagraph (A)(i) is15

greater than the national benchmark16

measure established under that sub-17

paragraph for the preceding fiscal18

year; and19

‘‘(II) the State-specific per child20

spending amount described in sub-21

paragraph (A)(ii) is less than the na-22

tional benchmark measure established23

under that subparagraph for the pre-24

ceding fiscal year.25


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‘‘(ii) CRITERIA FOR REDUCTION.—Be-1

ginning with fiscal year 2021, the Federal2

percentage applicable to payments to a3

State for a fiscal year under section4

474(a)(6) for expenditures attributable to5

time-limited family services shall be re-6

duced by such number of percentage points7

(not to exceed 10 percentage points) as the8

Secretary shall determine, for any State9

for which—10

‘‘(I) the State-specific percentage11

described in subparagraph (A)(i) is12

less than the national benchmark13

measure established under that sub-14

paragraph for the preceding fiscal15

year; and16

‘‘(II) the State-specific per child17

spending amount described in sub-18

paragraph (A)(ii) is more than the na-19

tional benchmark measure established20

under that subparagraph for the pre-21

ceding fiscal year.22

‘‘(iii) NO CHANGE UNLESS ALL CRI-23

TERIA MET.—A State shall not be eligible24

for an increase in its applicable Federal25


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matching rate under section 474(a)(6) for1

a fiscal year, and shall not be subject to a2

reduction in that rate for a fiscal year, un-3

less the State satisfies both of the condi-4

tions specified in clause (i) or (ii), respec-5

tively.’’.6

(c) P AYMENT UNDER TITLE IV-E.—Section 474(a)7

of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 674(a)) is amend-8

ed—9

(1) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at10

the end and inserting ‘‘; plus’’; and11

(2) by adding at the end the following:12

‘‘(6) subject to section 471(e), for each quarter13

beginning after September 30, 2015, an amount14

equal to the Federal medical assistance percentage15

(which shall be as defined in section 1905(b), in the16

case of a State other than the District of Columbia,17

or 70 percent, in the case of the District of Colum-18

bia) of the total amount expended during such quar-19

ter as found necessary by the Secretary for the pro-20

vision of time-limited family services (as defined in21

section 475(13).’’.22

(d) TECHNICAL A SSISTANCE, D ATA COLLECTION,23

AND E VALUATION.—Section 476 of the Social Security24


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Act (42 U.S.C. 676) is amended by adding at the end the1

following:2

‘‘(d) TECHNICAL A SSISTANCE, D ATA COLLECTION,3

AND E VALUATIONS RELATING TO TIME-LIMITED F AMILY 4

SERVICES.—5

‘‘(1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; BEST PRAC-6

TICES.—The Secretary shall provide technical assist-7

ance to States and disseminate best practices with8

respect to the provision of time-limited family serv-9

ices through evidence-based programs and promising10

program models.11

‘‘(2) D ATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATIONS.—12

The Secretary, directly or through grants, contracts,13

or interagency agreements, shall collect data and14

conduct research and evaluations with respect to the15

provision of time-limited family services for purposes16

of assessing the extent to which the provision of17

such services reduces the prevalence and length of18

foster care placements and improves safety and per-19

manency outcomes for children assisted under this20

part.21

‘‘(3) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—22

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall23

submit to the Committee on Ways and Means24

of the House of Representatives and the Com-25


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mittee on Finance of the Senate periodic re-1

ports based on the provision of time-limited2

family services under this part and the activi-3

ties carried out under this subsection.4

‘‘(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY .—The Sec-5

retary shall make the reports to Congress sub-6

mitted under this paragraph publicly available.7

‘‘(4) A PPROPRIATION.—There is appropriated8

to the Secretary, out of any money in the Treasury9

of the United States not otherwise appropriated,10

$2,500,000 for fiscal year 2016 and each fiscal year11

thereafter to carry out this subsection.’’.12

(e) CONFORMING A MENDMENTS.—13

(1) MODERNIZING THE TITLE AND PURPOSE OF 14

TITLE IV -E.—15

(A) P ART HEADING.—The heading for part16

E of title IV of the Social Security Act (4217

U.S.C. 670 et seq.) is amended to read as fol-18

lows:19

‘‘PART E—FEDERAL PAYMENTS FOR FOSTER20

CARE AND PERMANENCY’’.21

(B) PURPOSE.—The first sentence of sec-22

tion 470 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.23

670) is amended—24


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(i) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘adoption1

assistance’’;2

(ii) by inserting ‘‘kinship guardianship3

assistance, and time-limited family serv-4

ices,’’ after ‘‘needs,’’; and5

(iii) by striking ‘‘(commencing with6

the fiscal year which begins October 1,7

1980)’’.8

(2) TRAINING.—Section 474(a)(3)(B) of such9

Act (42 U.S.C. 674(a)(3)(B)) is amended by insert-10

ing ‘‘and in ways that include training on how to11

provide such support and assistance, as well as12

training on time-limited family services and how to13

provide such services,’’ after ‘‘living with relative14

guardians,’’.15

SEC. 4. ASSURING FUNDING UNDER PART B OF TITLE IV OF16

THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT FOR PREVEN-17

TION AND POST-PERMANENCY SUPPORT.18

(a) ELIMINATION OF TIME-LIMIT FOR F AMILY RE-19

UNIFICATION SERVICES.—20

(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 431(a)(7) of the So-21

cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)(7)) is amend-22

ed—23


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(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking1

‘‘TIME-LIMITED FAMILY ’’ and inserting ‘‘F AM-2

ILY ’’; and3

(B) in subparagraph (A)—4

(i) by striking ‘‘time-limited family’’5

and inserting ‘‘family’’; and6

(ii) by striking ‘‘, but only during the7

15-month period that begins on the date8

that the child, pursuant to section9

475(5)(F), is considered to have entered10

foster care’’.11

(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—12

(A) Section 430 of such Act (42 U.S.C.13

629) is amended in the matter preceding para-14

graph (1), by striking ‘‘time-limited’’.15

(B) Subsections (a)(4), (a)(5)(A), and16

(b)(1) of section 432 of such Act (42 U.S.C.17

629b) are amended by striking ‘‘time-limited’’18

each place it appears.19

(b) M ANDATORY FUNDING FOR THE PROMOTING 20

S AFE AND STABLE F AMILIES (PSSF) PROGRAM AND RE-21

LATED PROGRAMS AND A CTIVITIES.—22

(1) BEGINNING FISCAL YEAR 2016.—Section23

436(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.24

629f(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2016’’ and insert-25


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ing ‘‘2015, and there is appropriated1

$1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2016.’’.2

(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATED TO 3

ENDING OF DISCRETIONARY FUNDING.—Section 4374

of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629g) is amended—5

(A) in the section heading, by striking6

‘‘DISCRETIONARY AND’’;7

(B) by striking subsections (a) through (e)8

and inserting the following:9

‘‘(a) øReserved¿.’’; and10

(C) in subsection (f)(3)(A), by striking ‘‘In11

addition to amounts authorized to be appro-12

priated to carry out this section, the’’ and in-13

serting ‘‘The’’.14

(c) ELIMINATION OF PSSF MINIMUM SERVICE C AT-15

EGORIES SPENDING REQUIREMENT AND INCLUSION OF 16

E VIDENCE-BASED SPENDING REQUIREMENT FOR F AMILY 17

PRESERVATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—Section18

432(a)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.19

629b(a)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘, with significant por-20

tions of such expenditures for each such program’’ and21

inserting ‘‘with at least 50 percent of the expenditures22

made for evidence-based programs, and at least an addi-23

tional 25 percent of the expenditures made for evidence-24

based or promising program models, such as evidence-in-25


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formed or culturally-specific adaptations of program mod-1

els, in accordance with guidance and technical assistance2

from the Secretary under section 435(e)’’.3

(d) RESEARCH AND TECHNICAL A SSISTANCE ON E VI-4

DENCE-BASED PROGRAMS AND PROMISING PROGRAM 5

MODELS.—6

(1) FUNDING.—Section 436(b)(1) of the Social7

Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629f(b)(1)) is amended by8

striking ‘‘$6,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000’’.9

(2) A UTHORITY .—Section 435 of such Act (4210

U.S.C. 629e) is amended—11

(A) in subsection (c)—12

(i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of13

paragraph (1);14

(ii) by striking the period at the end15

of paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’;16

and17

(iii) by adding at the end the fol-18

lowing:19

‘‘(3) $4,000,000 for research on promising pro-20

grams, including culturally-specific adaptations, to21

identify additional evidence-based prevention and22

intervention programs that prevent child abuse and23

neglect, reduce the likelihood of foster care place-24

ment, increase family reunification with parents or25


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other kin, and promote post-permanency placement1

stability and for providing the technical assistance2

described in subsection (e).’’; and3

(B) by adding at the end the following new4

subsection:5

‘‘(e) GUIDANCE AND TECHNICAL A SSISTANCE RE-6

LATING TO E VIDENCE-BASED PROGRAMS AND PROMISING 7

PROGRAM MODELS.—From the amounts made available8

under subsection (c)(3), the Secretary shall provide tech-9

nical assistance to States, and shall issue and regularly10

update guidance for States, with respect to evidence-based11

programs, and promising program models, that States12

may adopt to comply with the spending requirements13

under section 432(a)(4).’’.14

(e) F AMILY CONNECTION GRANTS.—15

(1) REAUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING FOR FIS-16

CAL YEAR 2016.—Section 427(h) of the Social Secu-17

rity Act (42 U.S.C. 627(h)) is amended by inserting18

‘‘, and $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2016’’ after19

‘‘2014’’.20

(2) INCLUSION OF OTHER FAMILY STABILITY 21

PROGRAMS.—Section 427(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C.22

627(a)) is amended—23

(A) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘or’’24

after the semicolon;25


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(B) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking the1

period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and2

(C) by inserting after paragraph (4)(B)3

the following:4

‘‘(5) other programs with evidence to support5

their effectiveness at preventing foster care place-6

ment or supporting family stability post-permanency7

(or both).’’.8

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.9

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the10

amendments made by this Act take effect on October 1,11

2015.12

(b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE-13

QUIRED.—In the case of a State plan under part B or14

E of title IV of the Social Security Act which the Secretary15

of Health and Human Services determines requires State16

legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) in17

order for the plan to meet the additional requirements im-18

posed by the amendments made by this Act, the State plan19

shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the require-20

ments of such part solely on the basis of the failure of21

the plan to meet such additional requirements before the22

first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the23

close of the first regular session of the State legislature24

that begins after the date of enactment of this Act. For25


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purposes of the previous sentence, in the case of a State1

that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of such ses-2

sion shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of3

the State legislature.4

Documents

Draft Foster Care Legislation Sen Ron Wyden 2015