[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8810 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8810

To amend subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to 
provide for legal representation in certain child welfare proceedings, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 21, 2024

Ms. Tenney (for herself and Ms. Scanlon) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to 
provide for legal representation in certain child welfare proceedings, 
                        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 ``Ensuring Legal Representation for 
Child Welfare Act''.

SEC. 2. STATE PLANS FOR CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.

    Section 422(b)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 622(b)(4)) 
is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) the steps that the State will take to ensure 
                that, with respect to any judicial proceeding involving 
                a child and in which there is an allegation of child 
                abuse or child neglect, including a proceeding on 
                dependency, adoption, guardianship, or termination of 
                parental rights, information about and access to 
                available independent legal representation is provided, 
                as appropriate, to--
                            ``(i) the child; and
                            ``(ii) any individual who is a parent or 
                        guardian, or has custody, of the child;''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 
on October 1, 2026, and shall apply to payments made under subpart 1 of 
part B of title IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters 
beginning on or after such date.
    (b) Delay Permitted if State Legislation Is Required.--If the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services determines that State 
legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) is required in 
order for any State plan approved under subpart 1 of part B of title IV 
of the Social Security Act to meet the additional requirements imposed 
by the amendments made by this Act, 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 1st regular session of 
the State legislature that begins after October 1, 2026. 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.
                                 <all>