[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 879 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 879
To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act with respect to
infants born with and identified as being affected by substance use or
withdrawal symptoms, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, or Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorder, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 5, 2021
Ms. Jayapal (for herself and Mr. Guthrie) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act with respect to
infants born with and identified as being affected by substance use or
withdrawal symptoms, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, or Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorder, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. GRANTS TO STATES.
Paragraph (2) of section 106(b) of the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B)--
(A) by striking clauses (ii) and (iii); and
(B) by redesignating clauses (iv) through (xxv) as
clauses (ii) through (xxiii), respectively; and
(2) in subparagraph (D)--
(A) by redesignating clauses (i) through (vi) as
clauses (iii) through (viii), respectively; and
(B) by inserting before clause (iii), as so
redesignated:
``(i) policies and procedures (including
appropriate referrals to child welfare service
systems and for other appropriate services
(including home visiting services and mutual
support and parent partner programs) determined
by a family assessment) to address the needs of
infants born with and identified as being
affected by substance use or withdrawal
symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure,
or a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, including
a requirement that health care providers
involved in the delivery or care of such
infants notify the child protective welfare
service system of the occurrence of such
condition in such infants, except that--
``(I) child protective services
shall undertake an investigation only
when the findings of a family
assessment warrant such investigation;
and
``(II) such notification shall not
be construed to--
``(aa) establish a
definition under Federal law of
what constitutes child abuse or
neglect; or
``(bb) require prosecution
for any illegal action;
``(ii) the development of a multi-
disciplinary plan of safe care for the infant
born and identified as being affected by
substance use or withdrawal symptoms or a Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder to ensure the safety
and well-being of such infant following release
from the care of health care providers,
including through--
``(I) using a risk-based approach
to develop each plan of safe care;
``(II) addressing, through
coordinated service delivery, the
health and substance use disorder
treatment needs of the infant and
affected family or caregiver as
determined by a family assessment; and
``(III) the development and
implementation by the State of
monitoring systems regarding the
implementation of such plans of safe
care to determine whether and in what
manner local entities are providing, in
accordance with State requirements,
referrals to and delivery of
appropriate services for the infant and
affected family or caregiver;''.
SEC. 2. GUIDANCE AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
Section 114(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42
U.S.C. 5108(1)) is amended--
(1) in each of subparagraphs (A) and (B), by striking
``and'' at the end; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) include written guidance and technical
assistance to support States, which shall include
guidance on the requirements of this Act with respect
to infants born with and identified as being affected
by substance use or withdrawal symptoms, Neonatal
Abstinence Syndrome, or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorder, as described in clauses (i) and (ii) of
section 106(b)(2)(D), including by--
``(i) enhancing States' understanding of
requirements and flexibilities under the law,
including by clarifying key terms;
``(ii) addressing State-identified
challenges with developing, implementing, and
monitoring plans of safe care; and
``(iii) disseminating best practices on
implementation of plans of safe care, on such
topics as differential response, collaboration
and coordination, and identification and
delivery of services for different populations,
while recognizing needs of different
populations and varying community approaches
across States; and
``(D) include the submission of a report to the
Committee on Education and Labor of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate not later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act that
contains a description of the activities taken by the
Secretary to comply with the requirements of
subparagraph (C); and''.
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