[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4725 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4725
To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to
improve foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 2, 2022
Mr. Grassley (for himself and Ms. Hassan) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to
improve foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Data-Driven Foster Parent
Recruitment and Retention Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. STATE PLAN AMENDMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 422 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
622) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (7) and
inserting the following:
``(7) provide for development and implementation of a
family partnership plan which meets the requirements of
subsection (d) for identification, recruitment, screening,
licensing, support, and retention of foster and adoptive
families that reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of
children in the State for whom foster and adoptive homes are
needed;''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Family Partnership Plan Requirements.--For purposes of
subsection (b)(7), the requirements for a family partnership plan (in
this subsection referred to as the `plan') are the following:
``(1) The plan is developed in consultation with birth,
kinship, foster and adoptive families, community-based service
providers, technical assistance providers, and youth with lived
experience with foster care and adoption.
``(2) ) The plan describes --
``(A) how the State plans to identify, notify,
engage, and support relatives as potential placement
resources for children;
``(B) how the State plans to use data to establish
goals, assess needs, measure progress, reduce
unnecessary placements in congregate care, improve
placement stability, increase rates of kinship
placements, improve recruitment and retention of
families for teens, sibling groups, and other special
populations, and align the racial and ethnic
composition of foster and adoptive families with that
of children in need of homes; and
``(C) how that State will stand up or support
foster family advisory boards for the purpose of
improving recruitment and retention of foster and
adoptive families.
``(3) The plan provides that, not less than annually, the
State shall collect and report on the State's actual foster
family capacity and congregate care utilization, including the
number, demographics, and characteristics of licensed foster
families, the number of such families that are not being fully
utilized and the reasons therefor, and the number,
demographics, and characteristics of children placed in
congregate care in-State and out-of-State.
``(4) The plan includes, and shall update not less than
annually, a summary of the most recent feedback from foster and
adoptive parents and youth regarding licensure, training,
support, and reasons why parents stop fostering.
``(5) The plan includes such other information relating to
foster and adoptive parent recruitment and retention as the
Secretary may require.''.
(b) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
amendment made by this subsection shall take effect on October
1, 2022.
(2) Delay permitted if state legislation required.--In the
case of a State plan approved under subpart 1 of part B 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 this
subsection, 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 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 enactment of this
subsection. For purposes of the previous sentence, in the case
of a State that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of
such session shall be deemed to be a separate regular session
of the State legislature.
SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON FOSTER FAMILIES IN ANNUAL CHILD
WELFARE OUTCOMES REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Section 479A of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679b) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking ``and'' after
the semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (7)(B), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) include in the report submitted pursuant to paragraph
(5) for fiscal year 2023 or any succeeding fiscal year--
``(A) State-by-State data on the number,
demographics, and characteristics of foster families in
the State, and the number of licensed foster families
not being utilized in the State and the reasons why;
and
``(B) a summary of the challenges of, and barriers
to, being a foster parent, including with respect to
recruitment, licensure, engagement, retention, and why
parents stop fostering, as reported by States based on
surveys of foster parents.''; and
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--The Secretary''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Working group on data collection, use, and
presentation.--Not later than 3 months after the date of
enactment of the Data-Driven Foster Parent Recruitment and
Retention Act of 2022, the Secretary shall convene a working
group comprised of leading child welfare researchers, child
welfare practitioners, and individuals with lived experience in
foster care, including youth with experience in both family-
based care and congregate care, to advise the Secretary on the
types, uses, and presentation of data to be included in the
annual report required under this section.''.
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