[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 600 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 600
To enhance pre- and post-adoption support services, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 13, 2025
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Cramer) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance pre- and post-adoption support services, 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 ``Supporting Adopted Children and
Families Act''.
SEC. 2. ADOPTION SUPPORT SERVICES.
(a) Ensuring the Well-Being of Adopted Children and Their Adoptive
Families.--Section 421 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new
paragraph:
``(5) ensuring the well-being of adopted children and their
adoptive families and promoting efforts to prevent such
children from entering the foster care system through the
provision of pre- and post-adoption support services; and''.
(b) Pre- and Post-Adoption Support Services.--Paragraph (8) of
section 431(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(8) Adoption promotion and support services.--
``(A) In general.--The term `adoption promotion and
support services' means services and activities
designed to encourage more adoptions out of the foster
care system and support domestic adoptions and
adoptions from other countries, consistent with
promoting the best interests of adopted children and
their adoptive families. Such services and activities
may include pre- and post-adoption support services, as
described in subparagraph (B), that are designed to
support adopted children and their adoptive families.
``(B) Pre- and post-adoption support services.--The
term `pre- and post-adoption support services' means
the following:
``(i) Pre-adoption support services, which
may include--
``(I) direct services, including
training, educational support,
counseling, and other services for
adoptive parents and families that
address caregiver interests and
concerns regarding common behavioral
issues, such as--
``(aa) issues relating to
emotional, behavioral, or
developmental health needs;
``(bb) issues relating to
attachment, identity,
abandonment, cultural
differences, grief, loss, and
trauma; and
``(cc) issues resulting
from birth defects due to fetal
alcohol syndrome or any other
substance abuse-related
developmental disorder;
``(II) the provision of educational
resources for adoptive parents
regarding the geographic, ethnic, and
cultural background of the adopted
child;
``(III) peer-to-peer mentoring and
support groups that permit a newly
adoptive parent to communicate and
learn from more experienced adoptive
parents, including programs that
enhance communication between adoptive
parents with children of similar
geographic, ethnic, or cultural
backgrounds; and
``(IV) the provision of
informational resources for adoptive
parents, including--
``(aa) resources available
through Federal and State
agencies, including information
regarding benefits for children
with a medical condition or a
physical, mental, or emotional
disability;
``(bb) newsletters,
websites, and other
informational resources
regarding adoption-related
services;
``(cc) the establishment of
lending libraries containing
information and resources for
adoptive parents; and
``(dd) conferences,
discussion groups, and seminars
that are available to adoptive
parents and other relevant
stakeholders.
``(ii) Post-adoption support services,
which may include--
``(I) continued provision to
adoptive parents of pre-adoption
support services described in clause
(i);
``(II) the provision of accessible
and reliable respite services for
adoptive parents;
``(III) direct services and
counseling for adopted children,
including, as appropriate--
``(aa) support services for
an adopted child with
emotional, behavioral, or
developmental health needs;
``(bb) support services
that address issues relating to
attachment, identity,
abandonment, cultural
differences, grief, and loss;
and
``(cc) treatment services
that are specialized for
adopted children, including
psychiatric residential
services, outpatient mental
health services, social skills
training, intensive in-home
supervision services,
recreational therapy, suicide
prevention, and substance abuse
treatment;
``(IV) peer-to-peer mentoring and
support groups that allow adopted
children to communicate and socialize
with other adopted children, including
programs that provide for communication
between adopted children from similar
geographic, ethnic, or cultural
backgrounds; and
``(V) crisis and family
preservation services, including crisis
counseling and a 24-hour emergency
hotline for adoptive parents.''.
SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR ADOPTION PROMOTION AND SUPPORT SERVICES.
Paragraph (8) of section 473(a) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended to read as follows:
``(8) With respect to the amount of savings (if any) in
State expenditures under this part resulting from the
application of paragraph (2)(A)(ii) to all applicable children
for a fiscal year, a State shall--
``(A) spend a significant portion of such amount to
provide pre- and post-adoption support services (as
defined in section 431(a)(8)(B));
``(B) spend the remainder of such amount to provide
to children or families any other services that may be
provided under this part or part B; and
``(C) on an annual basis, submit to the Secretary a
report that provides a detailed account of any services
that were funded pursuant to this paragraph.''.
SEC. 4. FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM FOR POST-ADOPTION AND POST-LEGAL
GUARDIANSHIP MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.
(a) Funding.--Section 436(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
629f(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(5) Post-adoption and post-legal guardianship mental
health services.--The Secretary shall reserve $20,000,000 for
grants under section 437(h).''.
(b) Grant Program.--Section 437 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 629g) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(h) Post-Adoption and Post-Legal Guardianship Mental Health
Service Programs.--
``(1) In general.--From the amounts reserved for each of
fiscal years 2026 through 2029 under section 436(b)(6), the
Secretary shall award grants or cooperative agreements under
this subsection to eligible entities to--
``(A) develop and implement statewide or tribal
post-adoption and post-legal guardianship mental health
service programs for all children who are adopted or
placed in legal guardianship and their families;
``(B) support public organizations and private
nonprofit organizations actively involved in statewide
or tribal post-adoption and post-legal guardianship
mental health service programs;
``(C) collect and analyze data on State-sponsored
statewide or tribal post-adoption and post-legal
guardianship mental health service programs that can be
used to monitor the effectiveness of such services and
for research, technical assistance, and policy
development;
``(D) develop and provide adoption and legal
guardianship competent educational and training
opportunities concerning the mental health needs of
children who are adopted or placed in legal
guardianship, and their families, for use by teachers,
social workers, and other community mental health
service providers;
``(E) develop and provide materials for potential
adoptive parents and legal guardians, both for children
who already reside in the United States at the time of
adoption or placement in legal guardianship and for
those who at such time reside in other countries,
describing the possible need for post-adoption and
post-legal guardianship mental health services and
available resources;
``(F) develop and provide respite care services for
adoptive and legal guardian families; and
``(G) support research on, and development of,
promising practices (as defined in section
471(e)(4)(C)(iii)) for post-adoption and post-legal
guardianship mental health services.
``(2) Eligible entity defined.--
``(A) In general.--In this subsection, the term
`eligible entity' means--
``(i) a State;
``(ii) a public organization or private
nonprofit organization designated by a State to
develop or direct the State-sponsored statewide
post-adoption and post-legal guardianship
mental health service program under a grant
under this subsection; and
``(iii) a federally recognized Indian tribe
or tribal organization (as defined in the
Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act) or an urban Indian organization
(as defined in the Indian Health Care
Improvement Act) that is actively involved in
the development and continuation of a post-
adoption and post-legal guardianship mental
health service program.
``(B) Limitation.--In carrying out this subsection,
the Secretary shall ensure that each State is awarded
only 1 grant or cooperative agreement under this
subsection. For purposes of the preceding sentence, a
State shall be considered to have been awarded a grant
or cooperative agreement if the eligible entity
involved is the State or an entity designated by the
State under subparagraph (A)(ii). Nothing in this
subparagraph shall be construed to apply to entities
described in subparagraph (A)(iii).
``(3) Preference.--In providing assistance under a grant or
cooperative agreement under this subsection, the Secretary
shall give preference to--
``(A) eligible entities that have demonstrated
success in increasing the level of adoption and legal
guardianship competency among mental health providers,
adoption and legal guardianship lawyers, social
workers, case workers, adoptive parents, and legal
guardians; and
``(B) eligible entities that plan to partner with
their State mental health agency in carrying out the
activities for which the grant or cooperative agreement
is made.
``(4) Requirement for direct services.--Not less than 85
percent of funds received under a grant or cooperative
agreement under this subsection shall be used to provide direct
services, of which not less than 5 percent shall be used for
activities authorized under paragraph (1)(C).
``(5) Coordination and collaboration.--
``(A) In general.--In carrying out this subsection,
the Secretary shall collaborate with relevant Federal
agencies and adoption and legal guardianship-related
working groups to promote interaction between domestic
foster care agencies and private adoption agencies in
other countries.
``(B) Consultation.--In carrying out this
subsection, the Secretary shall consult with--
``(i) State and social service agencies
engaged in the placement of children for
adoption, domestically or from other countries;
``(ii) local and national organizations
that serve foster and adopted youth and youth
placed in legal guardianship;
``(iii) health and education specialists
who focus on adoption, legal guardianship, and
foster care medicine;
``(iv) youth who have been in foster care,
adopted, or in legal guardianship, domestically
or from other countries, including youth who
have experienced adoption or guardianship
disruptions or dissolutions;
``(v) families and friends of youth who
have been in foster care, adopted, or in legal
guardianship, domestically or from other
countries, including foster and adoptive
parents and legal guardians; and
``(vi) qualified professionals who possess
the specialized knowledge, skills, experience,
and relevant attributes needed to serve
children who are adopted or placed in legal
guardianship and their families.
``(C) Policy development.--In carrying out this
subsection, the Secretary shall--
``(i) coordinate and collaborate on policy
development with relevant Department of Health
and Human Services agencies and adoption and
legal guardianship-related working groups; and
``(ii) consult on policy development at the
Federal level with those in the private sector
engaged in the recruitment of foster and
adoptive parents and legal guardians, the
placement of children in foster care, for
adoption, and in legal guardianship, and the
provision of post-adoption and post-legal
guardianship services.
``(6) Evaluation and report.--
``(A) Evaluations by eligible entities.--Not later
than 18 months after receipt of a grant or cooperative
agreement under this subsection, an eligible entity
shall submit to the Secretary the results of an
evaluation to be conducted by the entity concerning the
effectiveness of the activities carried out under the
grant or agreement.
``(B) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress
a report concerning the results of--
``(i) the evaluations conducted under
subparagraph (A); and
``(ii) an evaluation conducted by the
Secretary to analyze the effectiveness and
efficacy of the activities conducted with
grants, collaborations, and consultations under
this subsection.
``(7) Additional definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Adopted child.--The term `adopted child'
means an individual who is under 21 years of age and
was adopted from foster care or placed in legal
guardianship through a private placement agency, or
from another country.
``(B) Adoption and legal guardianship competency.--
The term `adoption and legal guardianship competency'
means an understanding of--
``(i) the nature of adoption and legal
guardianship as a form of family formation and
the different types of adoption and legal
guardianship;
``(ii) relevant emotional and physical
issues involved in the adoption or legal
guardianship process, including issues relating
to separation, loss, attachment, abuse, trauma,
and neglect;
``(iii) common developmental challenges
associated with adoption and legal
guardianship;
``(iv) the characteristics and skills that
allow for successful adoptive and legal
guardianship families;
``(v) proper sensitivity with respect to
the different geographic, ethnic, or cultural
backgrounds of children who are adopted or
placed in legal guardianship and their
families; and
``(vi) the necessary skills for effectively
advocating on behalf of birth and adoptive and
legal guardian families.
``(C) Post-adoption and post-legal guardianship
mental health services.--The term `post-adoption and
post-legal guardianship mental health services'
includes--
``(i) adoption and legal guardianship
competent mental health direct services,
including training, educational support,
counseling, and other services for adoptive and
legal guardian parents and families that
address caregiver interests and concerns
regarding child behavioral issues that are
common among children who are adopted, placed
in legal guardianship, or placed in foster
care, including, as appropriate--
``(I) caring for a child who is
adopted or placed in legal guardianship
and has emotional, behavioral, or
developmental health needs; and
``(II) providing for the emotional
needs of a child who is adopted or
placed in legal guardianship, including
issues relating to attachment,
identity, abandonment, cultural
differences, grief, loss, and trauma;
``(ii) peer-to-peer mentoring and support
groups that permit a newly adoptive parent or
legal guardian to communicate and learn from
more experienced adoptive parents or legal
guardians;
``(iii) the provision of informational
resources and available services for adoptive
parents or legal guardians;
``(iv) direct services, including
counseling, peer-to-peer mentoring and support
groups, and other services for children who are
adopted or placed in legal guardianship that
address common behavioral and adjustment
issues, including, as appropriate--
``(I) support services for a child
who is adopted or placed in legal
guardianship with emotional,
behavioral, or developmental health
needs;
``(II) support services that
address the emotional needs of a child
who is adopted or placed in legal
guardianship, including issues relating
to attachment, identity, abandonment,
cultural differences, grief, loss, and
trauma; and
``(III) treatment services that are
specialized for children who are
adopted or placed in legal
guardianship, including psychiatric
residential services, outpatient mental
health services, social skills
training, intensive in-home supervision
services, recreational therapy, suicide
prevention, and substance abuse
treatment;
``(v) peer-to-peer mentoring and support
groups that allow children who are adopted or
placed in legal guardianship communicate and
socialize with other such children; and
``(vi) crisis intervention and family
preservation services.''.
SEC. 5. DATA COLLECTION ON ADOPTION DISRUPTION AND DISSOLUTION.
(a) In General.--Section 479 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
679) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(e)(1) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of
this subsection, the Secretary shall, as part of the data collection
system established under this section, promulgate final regulations
providing for the collection and analysis of information regarding
children who enter into State custody as a result of the disruption of
a placement for adoption or the dissolution of an adoption, which shall
require States to collect and report--
``(A) information on children who are adopted within the
United States or from other countries and who enter into State
custody as a result of the disruption of a placement for
adoption or the dissolution of an adoption, including--
``(i) the number of children who enter into State
custody as a result of--
``(I) the disruption of placement for
adoption; or
``(II) the dissolution of an adoption; and
``(ii) for each child identified under clause (i)--
``(I) as applicable, the country of birth
for any child who was not born in the United
States;
``(II) the length of the adoption placement
prior to disruption or dissolution;
``(III) the age of the child at the time of
the disruption or dissolution;
``(IV) the reason for the disruption or
dissolution; and
``(V) the agencies who handled the
placement for adoption; and
``(B) such other information as determined appropriate by
the Secretary.
``(2) The information described in paragraph (1) shall be used--
``(A) to consolidate and expand the collection of
information on adoption disruption and dissolution;
``(B) to improve research and data collection systems in
order to more accurately determine and measure the rates,
outcomes, and causes of adoption disruption and dissolution;
``(C) to identify pre- and post-adoption support services
(including services described in section 431(a)(8)(B) (as
amended by the Supporting Adopted Children and Families Act))
that result in lower rates of disruption and dissolution of
adoptions;
``(D) to develop an understanding of the relationship
between the rate of incidence of adoption disruptions and
dissolutions and the support services that are provided to
adoptive families in order to identify and develop effective
evidence-based strategies, programs, and support services that
help to prevent adoption disruption and dissolution; and
``(E) to develop and enhance training and educational
services regarding strategies for prevention of adoption
disruption and dissolution.
``(3)(A) Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of
this subsection, the Secretary shall, subject to subparagraph (B),
establish an advisory committee to study methods to effectively collect
data regarding disruption and dissolution of adoptions that are not
included in the data collection system established under this section,
including--
``(i) data on children whose adoptions are disrupted or
dissolved but do not enter into State custody as a result of
such disruption or dissolution;
``(ii) data on adoption displacements, whereby an adopted
child is temporarily placed out of the home of an adoptive
parent in order to receive medical, mental health, behavioral,
or other forms of treatment; and
``(iii) such other data as determined appropriate by the
Secretary.
``(B) The membership and organization of the advisory committee
described in subparagraph (A) shall be determined by the Secretary and
shall include--
``(i) State and child welfare agencies that are engaged in
the placement of children for adoption domestically or from
other countries;
``(ii) local and national organizations that serve adopted
children and children in foster care; and
``(iii) members of State and local judiciary and court
staff.
``(C) Not later than 12 months after establishment of the advisory
committee described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall submit to
the appropriate committees of Congress a report containing
recommendations of the advisory committee for improvement of the data
collection system established under this section.''.
(b) Annual Report.--Section 479A(a) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 679b(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(8) include in the report submitted pursuant to paragraph
(5) for fiscal year 2026 or any succeeding fiscal year,
national and State-by-State data on the numbers and rates of
disruptions and dissolutions of adoptions, as collected
pursuant to section 479(e)(1).''.
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and
(d), the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on October 1,
2025, and shall apply to payments under parts B and E of title IV of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 670 et seq.) for
calendar quarters beginning on or after such date.
(b) 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 part B or E of title IV of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 670 et seq.) 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 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.
(c) Application to Programs Operated by Indian Tribal
Organizations.--In the case of an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or
tribal consortium that 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 Act
(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.
(d) Data Collection on Adoption Disruption and Dissolution.--The
amendments made by section 5 shall take effect on the date of enactment
of this Act.
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