[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7664 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7664
To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to expand
nondiscrimination protections for children and families and offer
greater flexibility to States before petitioning to terminate parental
rights, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 13, 2024
Ms. Kamlager-Dove (for herself and Mr. Johnson of Georgia) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to expand
nondiscrimination protections for children and families and offer
greater flexibility to States before petitioning to terminate parental
rights, 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 ``21st Century Children and Families
Act''.
SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF NONDISCRIMINATION PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN AND
FAMILIES IN ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE PLACEMENT.
(a) State Plan Requirements Relating to Adoption and Foster Care
Placement.--Section 471(a)(18) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
671(a)(18)) is amended to read as follows:
``(18) provides that--
``(A) neither the State nor any other entity in the
State that receives funds from the Federal Government
and is involved in adoption or foster care placements
may--
``(i) deny to any person the opportunity to
become an adoptive or a foster parent, on the
basis of the race, color, sex (including sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender
expression), religion, or national origin of
the person, or of the child, involved;
``(ii) delay or deny the provision of
foster care prevention support and services,
family preservation or reunification services,
kinship supports, or adoption or guardianship
subsidies to children, parents or kin
caregivers on the basis of the race, color, sex
(including sexual orientation, gender identity,
and gender expression), religion, or national
origin of the parent, kin caregiver, or of the
child, involved; or
``(iii) significantly delay or deny the
placement of a child for adoption or into
foster care, or otherwise discriminate in
making a placement decision solely on the basis
of the race, color, sex (including sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender
expression), religion, or national origin of
the adoptive or foster parent, or the child,
involved; and
``(B) an agency or entity to which subparagraph (A)
applies--
``(i) may consider, among the factors used
to determine the best interests of the child,
the capacity of the prospective foster or
adoptive parents to affirm the cultural,
ethnic, sexual orientation, gender identity,
gender expression, racial, or religious
background of the child; and
``(ii) when requested by the child or a
parent of the child, shall consider, among the
factors used to determine the best interests of
the child--
``(I) the cultural, ethnic, sexual
orientation, gender identity, gender
expression, racial, or religious
background of the child; and
``(II) the capacity of the
prospective foster or adoptive parents
to affirm the identities of the
child;''.
(b) State Plan Requirement Relating to Provision of Child Welfare
Services.--Section 422(b)(7) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 622(b)(7)) is
amended by inserting ``substantiate with clear and convincing data and
analysis that the child welfare agency is addressing disproportionality
in the State child welfare system, and disparities in access to
community-based services, array, and contracting; and'' before
``provide''.
(c) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by this section shall
take effect on the 1st day of the 1st fiscal year beginning on
or after the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply
to payments under subpart 1 of part B and part E of title IV of
the Social Security Act for calendar quarters beginning on or
after such date.
(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
subpart 1 of part B or 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
first regular session of the State legislature that begins
after the date of the enactment of this Act. For purposes of
the preceding sentence, 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.
(3) Application to programs operated by indian tribal
organizations.--In the case of an Indian tribe, tribal
organization, or tribal consortium which the Secretary of
Health and Human Services determines requires time to take
action necessary to comply with the additional requirements
imposed by the amendments made by this section (whether the
tribe, organization, or tribal consortium has a plan under
section 479B of the Social Security Act or a cooperative
agreement or contract entered into with a State), the Secretary
shall provide the tribe, organization, or tribal consortium
with such additional time as the Secretary determines is
necessary for the tribe, organization, or tribal consortium to
take the action to comply with the additional requirements
before being regarded as failing to comply with the
requirements.
SEC. 3. GREATER FLEXIBILITY FOR STATES BEFORE PETITIONING TO MODIFY
PARENTAL RIGHTS.
Section 475(5)(E) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(E))
is amended--
(1) by striking ``15 of the most recent 22 months'' and
inserting ``24 consecutive months and who is not in the care of
kin (including fictive kin), the State may consider filing or
joining a petition for modification or termination of parental
rights only after demonstrating by clear and convincing
evidence that the State has provided to the family of the child
such services, supports, and time needed to address the reasons
for foster care and enable the family to safely reunify, and by
demonstrating compelling reasons why the modification or
termination is in the best interest of the child, and if the
child is living with a kinship (including fictive kinship)
caregiver, the State agency shall provide a meaningful
opportunity for the kinship (including fictive kinship)
caregiver to express whether modification or termination is or
is not in the best interests of the child and shall document
such in the case plan of the child'';
(2) by striking clause (i) and redesignating clauses (ii)
and (iii) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;
(3) in clause (ii) (as so redesignated by paragraph (2) of
this section), by striking the semicolon and inserting a comma;
and
(4) by inserting after and below clause (ii) (as so
redesignated) the following:
``except that, in the case of a child to whom this
subparagraph applies solely because the child has been
in foster care under the responsibility of the State
for 24 consecutive months and is not in the care of kin
(including fictive kin), the State may not file or join
such a petition if a parent of the child is actively
engaged in services to address the reasons the child
entered care (including treatment for substance use
disorder, mental health concerns, or parenting skills),
if based principally on the incarceration of a parent,
or if based principally on the detention of the parent
by the Department of Homeland Security or the
deportation of the parent;''.
SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF PURPOSES OF COURT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 438 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
629h) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(2)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
striking ``state'' and inserting ``State'';
(B) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by inserting ``and their families''
before ``in a timely and complete manner''; and
(ii) by striking ``, as set forth in the
Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public
Law 105-89), including the requirements in the
Act related to concurrent planning'';
(C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(D) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) to increase access to high quality legal
representation at all stages of a child welfare case
for all parties to the case, including the children,
the parents of the children, and, where applicable,
kinship care providers and Indian tribes.''; and
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) Applications.--In order to be eligible to receive a grant
under this section, a highest State court shall have in effect a rule
requiring State courts to ensure that foster parents, pre-adoptive
parents, and kinship (including fictive kinship) caregivers of a child
in foster care under the responsibility of the State are notified of
any proceeding to be held with respect to the child, shall provide for
the training of judicial officers, attorneys, and court and child
welfare staff in child welfare cases on Federal child welfare policies
and payment limitations with respect to children in foster care who are
placed in settings that are not a foster family home, and shall submit
to the Secretary an application at such time, in such form, and
including such information and assurances as the Secretary may require,
including--
``(1) a description of how courts and child welfare
agencies on the local and State levels will use not less than
30 percent of grant funds to collaborate and jointly plan for
the collection and sharing of all relevant data and information
to demonstrate how improved case tracking and analysis of child
abuse and neglect cases will produce safe and timely permanency
decisions;
``(2) a demonstration that a portion of the grant will be
used for cross-training initiatives that are jointly planned
and executed with the State agency or any other agency under
contract with the State to administer the State program under
the State plan under subpart 1, the State plan approved under
section 434, or the State plan approved under part E;
``(3) a demonstration that a portion of the grant will be
used to develop and implement, on an ongoing and regular basis,
training for judicial officers, attorneys, and court and child
welfare staff on race, culture, and equity, and, in the
development and implementation of that training, will include
current and former foster children, parents who have
experienced child removals by State child welfare agencies, and
kinship (including fictive kinship) care providers; and
``(4) a demonstration of meaningful and ongoing
collaboration among the courts in the State, the State agency
or any other agency under contract with the State who is
responsible for administering the State program under part B or
E, and, where applicable, Indian tribes.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) of this
section shall take effect on October 1, 2024.
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