Compilation of the Social Security Laws

P.L. 109-171

SEC. 6071. [42 U.S.C. 1396a note] MONEY FOLLOWS THE PERSON REBALANCING
DEMONSTRATION.-Continued

(B) guidance on system design elements addressing the unique needs of participating beneficiaries;

(C) ongoing consultation on quality, including assistance in developing necessary tools, resources, and monitoring systems; and

(D) guidance on remedying programmatic and systemic problems.

(2) FUNDING.-From the amounts appropriated under subsection (h)(1) for the portion of fiscal year 2007 that begins on January 1, 2007, and ends on September 30, 2007, and for fiscal year 2008, not more than $2,400,000 shall be available to the Secretary to carry out this subsection during the period that begins on January 1, 2007, and ends on September 30, 2011. (g) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION.—

(1) IN GENERAL.-The Secretary, directly or through grant or contract, shall provide for research on, and a national evaluation of, the program under this section, including assistance to the Secretary in preparing the final report required under paragraph (2). The evaluation shall include an analysis of projected and actual savings related to the transition of individuals to qualified residences in each State conducting an MFP demonstration project.

(2) FINAL REPORT.-The Secretary shall make a final report to the President and Congress, not later than September 30, 2011, reflecting the evaluation described in paragraph (1) and providing findings and conclusions on the conduct and effectiveness of MFP demonstration projects.

(3) FUNDING.-From the amounts appropriated under subsection (h)(1) for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011, not more than $1,100,000 per year shall be available to the Secretary to carry out this subsection.

(1) IN GENERAL.-There are appropriated, from any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for grants to carry out this section

(A) $250,000,000 for the portion of fiscal year 2007 beginning on January 1, 2007, and ending on September 30, 2007;

(B) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;

(D) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2010;

(E) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;

(2) AVAILABILITY.-Amounts made available under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year shall remain available for the awarding of grants to States by not later than September 30, 2011

SEC. 6086. EXPANDED ACCESS TO HOME AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED.

(b) [42 U.S.C. 1396n note QUALITY OF CARE MEASURES.— (1) ÎN GENERAL.-The Secretary shall

(A) use the indicators and measures developed under paragraph (1) to assess such home and community-based services, the outcomes associated with the receipt of such services (particularly with respect to the health and welfare of the recipient of the services), and the overall system for providing home and community-based services under the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act; and

(B) make publicly available the best practices identified through such assessment and a comparative analyses of the system features of each State. (3) APPROPRIATION.-Out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, $1,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2006 through 2010 to carry out this subsection.

P.L. 109-171

SEC. 6086. EXPANDED ACCESS TO HOME AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES
FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED. Continued

[Internal References.-SSAct Title XVIII heading and §§1811(c), 1833(g), 1834(a)(5), 1842(c)(2), 1848(f), 1877(h), 1886(d)(5), 1894, 1902(a), 1903(1) and (x), 1905(b), 1915(i) and 1917(c) have footnotes referring to P.L. 109-171.]

P.L. 109-239, Approved July 3, 2006 (120 Stat. 508)

Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006

SEC. 2. [None assigned] It is the sense of the Congress that—

(1) the States should expeditiously ratify the revised Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children recently promulgated by the American Public Human Services Association;

(2) this Act and the revised Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children should not apply to those seeking placement in a licensed residential facility primarily to access clinical mental heath services;

(3) the States should recognize and implement the deadlines for the completion and approval of home studies as provided in section 4 to move children more quickly into safe, permanent homes; and

(4) Federal policy should encourage the safe and expedited placement of children into safe, permanent homes across State lines.

SEC. 4. (a) ***

(2) [None assigned] REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.-Within 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a written report on

(A) how frequently States need the extended 75-day period provided for in clause (ii) of section 471(a)(26)(A) of the Social Security Act in order to comply with clause (i) of such section; the reasons given for utilizing the extended compliance period;

(B) the extent to which utilizing the extended compliance period leads to the resolution of the circumstances beyond the control of the State; and

(C) the actions taken by States and any relevant Federal agencies to resolve the need for the extended compliance period.

(3) [None assigned] SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.-It is the sense of the Congress that each State should

(A) use private agencies to conduct home studies when doing so is necessary to meet the requirements of section 471(a)(26) of the Social Security Act; and

(B) give full faith and credit to any home study report completed by any other State or an Indian tribe with respect to the placement of a child in foster care or for adoption.

SEC. 5. [None assigned] SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

It is the sense of the Congress that State agencies should fully cooperate with any court which has authority with respect to the placement of a child in foster care or for adoption, for the purpose of locating a parent of the child, and such cooperation should include making available all information obtained from the Federal Parent Locator Service.

P.L. 109-248

SEC. 14. [42 U.S.C. 622 note]

(a) IN GENERAL.-Except as otherwise provided in this section, the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on October 1, 2006, and shall apply to payments under parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, without regard to whether regulations to implement the amendments are promulgated by 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 under part B or E of title IV of the Social Security Act to meet the additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by a provision of 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. 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.

[Internal References.-SSAct §§422(b), 438(a) and (b), 471(a) and (1), 473B, 475(1) and (5) have footnotes referring to P.L. 109-239.]

P.L. 109-248, Approved July 27, 2006 (120 Stat. 587)
Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006

SEC. 152. [42 U.S.C. 671 note] REQUIREMENT TO COMPLETE BACKGROUND CHECKS BEFORE APPROVAL OF ANY FOSTER OR ADOPTIVE PLACEMENT AND TO CHECK NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION DATABASES AND STATE CHILD ABUSE REGISTRIES; SUSPENSION AND SUBSEQUENT ELIMINATION OF OPT-OUT.

(1) GENERAL.-The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2006, and shall apply with respect to payments under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, without regard to whether regulations to implement the amendments are promulgated by such date.

(2) ELIMINATION OF OPT-OUT.-The amendments made by subsection (b) shall take effect on October 1, 2008, and shall apply with respect to payments under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, without regard to whether regulations to implement the amendments are promulgated by such date.

(3) 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 under section 471 of the Social Security Act to meet the additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by a subsection of this section, the plan shall not be regarded as failing to meet any of the additional requirements before the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the first regular session of the State legislature that begins after the otherwise applicable effective date of the amendments. 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.

P.L. 109-248

[Internal Reference.-SSAct §471(c) has a footnote referring to P.L. 109-248.]

P.L. 109-288, Approved September 28, 2006 (120 Stat. 1233)

SECTION 1. [42 U.S.C. 1305 note] SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the "Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006".

SEC. 2. [42 U.S.C. 621 note] FINDINGS.

The Congress finds as follows:

(1) For Federal fiscal year 2004, child protective services (CPS) staff nationwide reported investigating or assessing an estimated 3,000,000 allegations of child maltreatment, and determined that 872,000 children had been abused or neglected by their parents or other caregivers.

(2) Combined, the Child Welfare Services (CWS) and Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) programs provide States about 700,000,000 per year, the largest source of targeted Federal funding in the child protection system for services to ensure that children are not abused or neglected and, whenever possible, help children remain safely with their families.

(3) A 2003 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that little research is available on the effectiveness of activities supported by CWS funds-evaluations of services supported by PSSF funds have generally shown little or no effect.

(4) Further, the Department of Health and Human Services recently completed initial Child and Family Service Reviews (CFSRs) in each State. No State was in full compliance with all measures of the CFSRs. The CFSRs also revealed that States need to work to prevent repeat abuse and neglect of children, improve services provided to families to reduce the risk of future harm (including by better monitoring the participation of families in services), and strengthen upfront services provided to families to prevent unnecessary family break-up and protect children who remain at home.

(5) Federal policy should encourage States to invest their CWS and PSSF funds in services that promote and protect the welfare of children, support strong, healthy families, and reduce the reliance on out-of-home care, which will help ensure all children are raised in safe, loving families.

(6) CFSRs also found a strong correlation between frequent caseworker visits with children and positive outcomes for these children, such as timely achievement of permanency and other indicators of child well-being.

(7) However, a December 2005 report by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General found that only 20 States were able to produce reports to show whether caseworkers actually visited children in foster care on at least a monthly basis, despite the fact that nearly all States had written standards suggesting monthly visits were State policy.

(8) A 2003 GAO report found that the average tenure for a child welfare caseworker is less than 2 years and this level of turnover negatively affects safety and permanency for children.

(9) Targeting CWS and PSSF funds to ensure children in foster care are visited on at least a monthly basis will promote better outcomes for vulnerable children, including by preventing further abuse and neglect.

(10) According to the Office of Applied Studies of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the annual number of new uses of Methamphetamine, also known as "meth," has increased 72 percent over the

P.L. 109-288

SEC. 2. [42 U.S.C. 621 note] FINDINGS.-Continued

past decade. According to a study conducted by the National Association of Counties which surveyed 500 county law enforcement agencies in 45 states, 88 percent of the agencies surveyed reported increases in meth related arrests starting 5 years ago.

(11) According to the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 12,000,000 Americans have tried methamphetamine. Meth making operations have been uncovered in all 50 states, but the most wide-spread abuse has been concentrated in the western, southwestern, and Midwestern United States.

(12) Methamphetamine abuse is on the increase, particularly among women of child-bearing age. This is having an impact on child welfare systems in many States. According to a survey administered by the National Association of Counties ("The Impact of Meth on Children"), conducted in 300 counties in 13 states, meth is a major cause of child abuse and neglect. Forty percent of all the child welfare officials in the survey reported an increase in out-of-home placements because of meth in 2005.

(13) It is appropriate also to target PSSF funds to address this issue because of the unique strain the meth epidemic puts on child welfare agencies. Outcomes for children affected by meth are enhanced when services provided by law enforcement, child welfare and substance abuse agencies are integrated. SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE PROMOTING SAFE AND STABLE FAMILIES PROGRAM.

(1) APPROPRIATION.-Out of money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to carry out section 436 of the Social Security Act, in addition to any amount otherwise made available for fiscal year 2006 to carry out such section.

(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.-Notwithstanding sections 434(b)(2) and (b)(3) of such Act, the amount appropriated under paragraph (1) of this subsection

(A) shall remain available for expenditure through fiscal year 2009 solely for the purpose described in section 436(b)(4)(i) of such Act;

(B) shall not be used to supplant any Federal funds paid under part E of title IV of such Act that could be used for that purpose; and

(e) ANNUAL BUDGET REQUESTS, SUMMARIES, AND EXPENDITURE REPORTS.—

(3) [42 U.S.C. 629b note] EFFECTIVE DATE; INITIAL DEADLINES FOR SUBMISSIONS. The amendments made by this subsection take effect on the date of enactment of this Act. Each State with an approved plan under subpart 1 or 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act shall make its initial submission of the forms required under section 432(a)(8)(B) of the Social Security Act to the Secretary of Health and Human Services by June 30, 2007, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit the first compilation required under section 432(c) of the Social Security Act by September 30, 2007.

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Compilation of the Social Security Laws: Including the Social Security Act ...