[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1033 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1033
To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to allow the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to enhance
collaboration between State child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 25, 2021
Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to allow the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to enhance
collaboration between State child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
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 ``Childhood Outcomes Need New
Efficient Community Teams'' or the ``CONNECT Act''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO AWARD COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO ENHANCE COLLABORATION
BETWEEN STATE CHILD WELFARE AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS.
(a) In General.--Subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
``SEC. 429A. GRANTS TO STATES TO ENHANCE COLLABORATION BETWEEN STATE
CHILD WELFARE AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS.
``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to authorize the
Secretary, in collaboration with the Attorney General and the
Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention of the Department of Justice, to make grants to State child
welfare and juvenile justice agencies to collaborate in the collection
of data relating to dual status youth and to develop practices,
policies, and protocols to confront the challenges presented and
experienced by dual status youth.
``(b) Authority To Award Grants.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations, from amounts reserved under section 423(a)(2)
for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award competitive grants
jointly to a State child welfare agency and a State juvenile
justice agency to facilitate or enhance collaboration between
the child welfare and juvenile justice systems of the State in
order to carry out programs to address the needs of dual status
youth and their families.
``(2) Length of grants.--
``(A) In general.--A grant shall be awarded under
this section for a period of not less than 2, and not
more than 5, fiscal years, subject to subparagraph (B).
``(B) Extension of grant.--On application of the
grantee, the Secretary may extend for not more than 2
fiscal years the period for which a grant is awarded
under this section.
``(c) Additional Requirements.--
``(1) Application.--In order for a State to be eligible for
a grant under this section, it shall submit an application, to
be approved by the Secretary, that includes--
``(A) a description of the proposed leadership
collaboration group (including the membership of such
group), and how such group will manage and oversee a
review and analysis of current practices while working
to jointly address enhanced practices to improve
outcomes for dual status youth;
``(B) a description of how the State proposes to--
``(i) identify dual status youths;
``(ii) identify individuals who are at risk
of becoming dual status youths;
``(iii) identify common characteristics
shared by dual status youths in the State; and
``(iv) determine the prevalence of dual
status youths in the State;
``(C) a description of current and proposed
practices and procedures that the State intends to use
to--
``(i) screen and assess dual status youths
for risks and treatment needs;
``(ii) provide targeted and evidence-based
services, including educational, behavioral
health, and pro-social treatment interventions
for dual status youths and their families; and
``(iii) provide for a lawful process to
enhance or ensure the abilities of the State
and any relevant agencies to share information
and data about dual status youths while
maintaining confidentiality and privacy
protections under State and Federal law; and
``(D) a certification that the State has involved
local governments, as appropriate, in the development,
expansion, modification, operation, or improvement of
proposed policy and practice reforms to address the
needs of dual status youths.
``(2) No supplantation of other funds.--Any amounts paid to
a State under a grant under this section shall be used to
supplement and not supplant other State expenditures on dual
status youths or children involved with either the child
welfare or juvenile justice systems.
``(3) Evaluation.--Up to 10 percent of the amount made
available to carry out this section for a fiscal year shall be
made available to the Secretary to evaluate the effectiveness
of the projects funded under this section, using a methodology
that--
``(A) includes random assignment whenever feasible,
or other research methods that allow for the strongest
possible causal inferences when random assignment is
not feasible; and
``(B) generates evidence on the impact of specific
projects, or groups of projects with identical (or
similar) practices and procedures.
``(4) Report.--A State child welfare agency and a State
juvenile justice agency receiving a grant under this section
shall jointly submit to the Secretary, the Attorney General,
and the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice, a report
on the evaluation of the activities carried out under the grant
at the end of each fiscal year during the period of the grant.
Such report shall include--
``(A) a description of the scope and nature of the
dual status youth population in the State, including
the number of dual status youth;
``(B) a description of the evidence-based practices
and procedures used by the agencies to carry out the
activities described in clauses (i) through (iii) of
paragraph (1)(C); and
``(C) an analysis of the effects of such practices
and procedures, including information regarding--
``(i) the collection of data related to
individual dual status youths;
``(ii) aggregate data related to the dual
status youth population, including--
``(I) characteristics of dual
status youths in the State;
``(II) case processing timelines;
and
``(III) information related to case
management, the provision of targeted
services, and placements within the
foster care or juvenile justice system;
and
``(iii) the extent to which such practices
and procedures have contributed to--
``(I) improved educational outcomes
for dual status youths;
``(II) fewer delinquency referrals
for dual status youths;
``(III) shorter stays in intensive
restrictive placements for dual status
youths; or
``(IV) such other outcomes for dual
status youths as the State child
welfare agency and State juvenile
justice agency may identify.
``(d) Training and Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may support
State child welfare agencies and State juvenile justice agencies by
offering a program, developed in consultation with organizations and
agencies with subject matter expertise, of training and technical
assistance to assist such agencies in developing programs and protocols
that draw on best practices for serving dual status youth in order to
facilitate or enhance--
``(1) collaboration between State child welfare agencies
and State juvenile justice agencies; and
``(2) the effectiveness of such agencies with respect to
working with Federal agencies and child welfare and juvenile
justice agencies from other States.
``(e) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment
of this section, and every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary, the
Attorney General, and the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice shall
jointly submit to the Committee on Finance and the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means and the
Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives, a
report on the grants provided under this section.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Dual status youth.--The term `dual status youth'
means a child who has come into contact with both the child
welfare and juvenile justice systems and occupies various
statuses in terms of the individual's relationship to such
systems.
``(2) Leadership collaboration group.--The term `leadership
collaboration group' means a group composed of senior officials
from the State child welfare agency, the State juvenile justice
agency, and other relevant youth and family-serving public
agencies and private organizations, including, to the extent
practicable, representatives from the State judiciary branch.
``(3) State juvenile justice agency.--The term `State
juvenile justice agency' means the agency of the State or
Indian tribe responsible for administering grant funds awarded
under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of
1974 (34 U.S.C. 11101 et seq.).
``(4) State child welfare agency.--The term `State child
welfare agency' means the State agency responsible for
administering the program under this subpart, or, in the case
of a tribal organization that is receiving payments under
section 428, the tribal agency responsible for administering
such program.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 423(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
623(a)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``The sum appropriated'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the sum
appropriated''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Grants to states to enhance collaboration between
state child welfare and juvenile justice systems.--For each
fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2022 for which the
amount appropriated under section 425 for the fiscal year
exceeds $270,000,000--
``(A) the Secretary shall reserve from such excess
amount such sums as are necessary for making grants
under section 429A for such fiscal year; and
``(B) the remainder to be applied under paragraph
(1) for purposes of making allotments to States for
such fiscal year shall be determined after the
Secretary first allots $70,000 to each State under such
paragraph and reserves such sums under subparagraph (A)
of this paragraph.''.
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