H.R. 4058 — rds

II 113th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 4058 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 21, 2014Received AN ACT To prevent and address sex trafficking of youth in foster care. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Improving Opportunities for Youth in Foster Care Act. 2. Table of contents The table of contents of this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. Sec. 3. Findings. Title I—Identifying and Protecting Youth at Risk of Sex Trafficking Sec. 101. Identifying and screening youth at risk of sex trafficking. Sec. 102. Documenting and reporting instances of sex trafficking. Sec. 103. State plan requirement to locate and respond to children who run away from foster care. Sec. 104. Increasing information on youth in foster care to prevent sex trafficking. Title II—Improving Opportunities for Youth in Foster Care and Supporting Permanency Sec. 201. Supporting normalcy for children in foster care. Sec. 202. Improvements to another planned permanent living arrangement as a permanency option. Sec. 203. Empowering foster youth age 14 and older in the development of their own case plan and transition planning for a successful adulthood. Sec. 204. Ensuring foster youth have a birth certificate, Social Security card, health insurance information, medical records, and a bank account. Title III—Improving Data Collection and Reporting on Child Sex Trafficking Sec. 301. Including sex trafficking data in the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. Sec. 302. Information on children in foster care in annual reports using AFCARS data; consultation. Title IV—Improving the Use of Technology to Increase Child Support Collections Sec. 401. Required electronic processing of income withholding. 3. Findings The Congress makes the following findings: (1) Recent reports on sex trafficking estimate that thousands of children are at risk for domestic sex trafficking. (2) The risk is compounded every year for the up to 30,000 young people who are emancipated from foster care. (3) The current child welfare system does not effectively identify, prevent, or intervene when a child presents as trafficked or at risk for trafficking. (4) Within the foster care system, many young adults are housed in congregate care facilities or group homes, which often are targeted by traffickers. (5) Within the foster care system, children are routinely denied the opportunity to participate in normal, age or developmentally-appropriate activities such as joining 4–H and other clubs, participating in school plays, playing sports, going to camp, and visiting a friend. (6) A lack of normalcy and barriers to participation in age or developmentally-appropriate activities contribute to increased vulnerability to trafficking, homelessness, and other negative outcomes for children in foster care. (7) The latest research in adolescent brain development indicates that young people learn through experience and through trial and error, and that as part of healthy brain development young people need to take on increasing levels of decisionmaking through their teenage years. (8) In order to combat domestic sex trafficking and to improve outcomes for children in foster care, systemic changes need to be made to the child welfare system that focus on— (A) the reduction of children in long-term foster care; (B) greater child engagement in case planning while in foster care; (C) improved efforts to locate and respond to children who have run away from foster care and to reduce the number of foster children who are on the run; (D) improved policies and procedures that encourage age or developmentally-appropriate activities for children in foster care and that permit more opportunities for such children to make meaningful and permanent connections with caring adults; and (E) with regard to domestic sex trafficking, improved identification, prevention, and intervention by the child welfare agency in collaboration with the courts, State and local law enforcement agencies, schools, juvenile justice agencies, and other social service providers. I Identifying and Protecting Youth at Risk of Sex Trafficking 101. Identifying and screening youth at risk of sex trafficking Section 471(a)(9) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(9)) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking and; (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting and after the semicolon; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (C) not later than— (i) 1 year after the date of the enactment of this subparagraph, demonstrate to the Secretary that the State agency has developed, in consultation with organizations with experience in dealing with at-risk youth, policies and procedures for identifying and screening (including relevant training for caseworkers), and for determining appropriate State action and services with respect to— (I) any child over whom the State agency has responsibility for placement, care, or supervision (including children for whom a State child welfare agency has an open case file but who have not been removed from the home and youth who are not in foster care but are receiving services under section 477 of this Act) who the State has reasonable cause to believe— (aa) is a victim of sex trafficking (as defined in section 103(10) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(10))) or a severe form of trafficking in persons described in section 103(9)(A) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 7102(9)(A)); or (bb) is at risk of being a victim of either kind of trafficking; and (II) at the option of the State, any individual, without regard to whether the individual is or was in foster care under the responsibility of the State, who has not attained 26 years of age; and (ii) 2 years after such date of enactment, demonstrate to the Secretary that the State agency is implementing, in consultation with the child protective services agency or unit for the State, the policies and procedures referred to in clause (i). . 102. Documenting and reporting instances of sex trafficking (a) State plan requirements Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended— (1) by striking and at the end of paragraph (32); (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (33) and inserting a semicolon; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (34) provides that, for each child over whom the State agency has responsibility for placement, care, or supervision (including any child for whom a State child welfare agency has an open case file but who has not been removed from the home, and any youth who is not in foster care but is receiving services under section 477), the State agency shall— (A) not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, identify and document appropriately in agency records each child who is identified as being a victim of sex trafficking (as defined in section 103(10) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000) or as being a victim of severe forms of trafficking in persons described in section 103(9)(A) of such Act, as such a victim; and (B) report immediately, and in no case later than 24 hours after receiving— (i) information on children who have been identified as being victims of sex trafficking (as defined in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph) to the law enforcement authorities; and (ii) information on missing or abducted children to the law enforcement authorities for entry into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, established pursuant to section 534 of title 28, United States Code, and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; and (35) not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, contains a regularly updated description, made available to the public on the Internet website of the State agency, of the specific measures taken by the State agency to protect and provide services to children who are victims of sex trafficking (as defined in section 103(10) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000), or victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons described in section 103(9)(A) of such Act, including efforts to coordinate with State and local law enforcement, schools, juvenile justice agencies, and social service agencies such as runaway and homeless youth shelters and transitional and other supportive housing providers to serve that population. . (b) Regulations The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall promulgate regulations implementing the amendments made by subsection (a) of this section and shall provide uniform definitions for States to use for the reports required under section 471(a)(34)(B) of the Social Security Act, as added by such subsection (a). 103. State plan requirement to locate and respond to children who run away from foster care Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)), as amended by section 102 of this Act, is amended— (1) by striking and at the end of paragraph (34); (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (35) and inserting ; and; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (36) provides that, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the State shall develop and implement specific protocols for— (A) expeditiously locating any child missing from foster care; (B) determining the primary factors that contributed to the child’s running away or otherwise being absent from care, and to the extent possible and appropriate, responding to those factors in current and subsequent placements; (C) determining the child’s experiences while absent from care, including screening the child to determine if he or she is a possible victim of sex trafficking (as defined in paragraph (9)(C)); and (D) reporting such related information as required by the Secretary. . 104. Increasing information on youth in foster care to prevent sex trafficking Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the Congress a written report which summarizes the following: (1) Information on children who run away from foster care and their risk of becoming victims of sex trafficking, using data reported by States under section 479 of the Social Security Act and information collected by States related to section 471(a)(36) of such Act, including— (A) characteristics of children who run away from foster care; (B) potential factors associated with children running away from foster care (such as reason for entry into care, length of stay in care, type of placement, and other factors that contributed to the child’s running away); (C) information on children's experiences while absent from care; and (D) trends in the number of children reported as runaways in each fiscal year (including factors that may have contributed to changes in such trends). (2) Information on State efforts to provide specialized services, foster family homes, or child care institutions for children who are victims of sex trafficking. (3) Information on State efforts to ensure children in foster care form and maintain long-lasting connections to caring adults, even when a child in foster care must move to another foster family home or when the child is placed under the supervision of a new caseworker. II Improving Opportunities for Youth in Foster Care and Supporting Permanency 201. Supporting normalcy for children in foster care (a) Reasonable and prudent parent standard (1) Definitions relating to the standard Section 475 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended by adding at the end the following: (9) (A) The term reasonable and prudent parent standard means the standard characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the health, safety, and best interests of a child while at the same time encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of the child, that a caregiver shall use when determining whether to allow a child in foster care under the responsibility of the State to participate in extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities. (B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term caregiver means a foster parent with whom a child in foster care has been placed or a designated official for a child care institution in which a child in foster care has been placed. (10) The term age or developmentally-appropriate means— (A) activities or items that are generally accepted as suitable for children of the same chronological age or level of maturity or that are determined to be developmentally-appropriate for a child, based on the development of cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities that are typical for an age or age group; and (B) in the case of a specific child, activities or items that are suitable for the child based on the developmental stages attained by the child with respect to the cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities of the child. . (2) State plan requirement Section 471(a)(24) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(24)) is amended— (A) by striking include and inserting includes; (B) by striking and that such preparation and inserting that the preparation; and (C) by inserting , and that the preparation shall include knowledge and skills relating to the reasonable and prudent parent standard for the participation of the child in age or developmentally-appropriate activities, including knowledge and skills relating to the developmental stages of the cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities of a child, and knowledge and skills relating to applying the standard to decisions such as whether to allow the child to engage in social, extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities, including sports, field trips, and overnight activities lasting 1 or more days, and to decisions involving the signing of permission slips and arranging of transportation for the child to and from extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities before the semicolon. (3) Technical assistance The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide assistance to the States on best practices for devising strategies to assist foster parents in applying a reasonable and prudent parent standard in a manner that protects child safety, while also allowing children to experience normal and beneficial activities, including methods for appropriately considering the concerns of the biological parents of a child in decisions related to participation of the child in activities (with the understanding that those concerns should not necessarily determine the participation of the child in any activity). (b) Normalcy for children in child care institutions Section 471(a)(10) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(10)) is amended to read as follows: (10) provides— (A) for the establishment or designation of a State authority or authorities that shall be responsible for establishing and maintaining standards for foster family homes and child care institutions which are reasonably in accord with recommended standards of national organizations concerned with standards for the institutions or homes, including standards related to admission policies, safety, sanitation, and protection of civil rights, and which shall permit use of the reasonable and prudent parenting standard; (B) that the standards established pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be applied by the State to any foster family home or child care institution receiving funds under this part or part B and shall require, as a condition of any contract entered into by the State agency and a child care institution, the presence on-site of at least 1 official who, with respect to any child placed at the child care institution, is designated to be the caregiver who is authorized to apply the reasonable and prudent parent standard to decisions involving the participation of the child in age or developmentally-appropriate activities, and who is provided with training in how to use and apply the reasonable and prudent parent standard in the same manner as prospective foster parents are provided the training pursuant to paragraph (24); (C) that the standards established pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall include policies related to the liability of foster parents and private entities under contract by the State involving the application of the reasonable and prudent parent standard, to ensure appropriate liability for caregivers when a child participates in an approved activity and the caregiver approving the activity acts in accordance with the reasonable and prudent parent standard; and (D) that a waiver of any standards established pursuant to subparagraph (A) may be made only on a case-by-case basis for nonsafety standards (as determined by the State) in relative foster family homes for specific children in care; . (c) Effective date (1) In general The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, without regard to whether regulations to implement the amendments have been promulgated by that 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 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 1st 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. 202. Improvements to another planned permanent living arrangement as a permanency option (a) Elimination of the option for children under age 16 (1) In general Section 475(5)(C)(i) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(C)(i)) is amended by inserting only in the case of a child who has attained 16 years of age before (in cases where. (2) Conforming amendment Section 422(b)(8)(A)(iii)(II) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 622(b)(8)(A)(iii)(II)) is amended by inserting , subject to the requirements of sections 475(5)(C) and 475A(a) after arrangement. (b) Additional requirements (1) In general Part E of title IV of such Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 475 the following: 475A. Additional case plan and case review system requirements (a) Requirements for another planned permanent living arrangement In the case of any child for whom another planned permanent living arrangement is the permanency plan for the child, the following requirements shall apply for purposes of approving the case plan for the child and the case system review procedure for the child: (1) Documentation of intensive, ongoing, unsuccessful efforts for family placement At each permanency hearing held with respect to the child, the State agency documents the intensive, ongoing, and, as of the date of the hearing, unsuccessful efforts made by the State agency to return the child home or secure a placement for the child with a fit and willing relative (including adult siblings), a legal guardian, or an adoptive parent, including through efforts that utilize search technology (including social media) to find biological family members for children in the child welfare system. (2) Redetermination of appropriateness of placement at each permanency hearing The State agency shall implement procedures to ensure that, at each permanency hearing held with respect to the child, the court or administrative body appointed or approved by the court conducting the hearing on the permanency plan for the child does the following: (A) Ask the child about the desired permanency outcome for the child. (B) Make a judicial determination explaining why, as of the date of the hearing, another planned permanent living arrangement is the best permanency plan for the child and provide compelling reasons why it continues to not be in the best interests of the child to— (i) return home; (ii) be placed for adoption; (iii) be placed with a legal guardian; or (iv) be placed with a fit and willing relative. (3) Demonstration of support for engaging in age or developmentally-appropriate activities and social events At each permanency hearing held with respect to the child, the State agency shall document the steps the State agency is taking to ensure the child's foster family home or child care institution is following the reasonable and prudent parent standard. . (2) Conforming amendments (A) State plan requirements (i) Part B Section 422(b)(8)(A)(ii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 622(b)(8)(A)(ii)) is amended by inserting and in accordance with the requirements of section 475A after section 475(5). (ii) Part E Section 471(a)(16) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(16)) is amended— (I) by inserting and in accordance with the requirements of section 475A after section 475(1); and (II) by striking section 475(5)(B) and inserting sections 475(5) and 475A. (B) Definitions Section 475 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended— (i) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting meets the requirements of section 475A and after written document which; and (ii) in paragraph (5)(C)— (I) by inserting , as of the date of the hearing, after compelling reason for determining; and (II) by inserting subject to section 475A(a), after another planned permanent living arrangement,. (c) Effective date (1) In general The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. (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 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 1st 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. 203. Empowering foster youth age 14 and older in the development of their own case plan and transition planning for a successful adulthood (a) In general Section 475(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the following: With respect to a child who has attained 14 years of age, the plan developed for the child in accordance with this paragraph, and any revision or addition to the plan, shall be developed in consultation with the child and, at the option of the child, with up to 2 members of the case planning team who are chosen by the child and who are not a foster parent of, or caseworker for, the child. A State may reject an individual selected by a child to be a member of the case planning team at any time if the State has good cause to believe that the individual would not act in the best interests of the child. One individual selected by a child to be a member of the child's case planning team may be designated to be the child's advisor and, as necessary, advocate, with respect to the application of the reasonable and prudent parent standard to the child.. (b) Conforming amendments to include children 14 and older in transition planning Section 475 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking Where appropriate, for a child age 16 and inserting For a child who has attained 14 years of age; and (2) in paragraph (5)— (A) in subparagraph (C)— (i) by striking and at the end of clause (ii); and (ii) by adding at the end the following: and (iv) if a child has attained 14 years of age, the permanency plan developed for the child, and any revision or addition to the plan, shall be developed in consultation with the child and, at the option of the child, with not more than 2 members of the permanency planning team who are selected by the child and who are not a foster parent of, or caseworker for, the child, except that the State may reject an individual so selected by the child if the State has good cause to believe that the individual would not act in the best interests of the child, and 1 individual so selected by the child may be designated to be the child’s advisor and, as necessary, advocate, with respect to the application of the reasonable and prudent standard to the child;; and (B) in subparagraph (I), by striking 16 and inserting 14. (c) Transition planning for a successful adulthood Paragraphs (1)(D), (5)(C)(i), and (5)(C)(iii) of section 475 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 675) are each amended by striking independent living and inserting a successful adulthood. (d) List of rights Section 475A of such Act, as added by section 202(b)(1) of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: (b) List of rights The case plan for any child in foster care under the responsibility of the State who has attained 14 years of age shall include a document that describes the rights of the child with respect to education, health, visitation, and court participation, and to staying safe and avoiding exploitation, and a signed acknowledgment by the child that the child has been provided with a copy of the document and that the rights contained in the document have been explained to the child in an age-appropriate way. . (e) Report Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit a report to Congress regarding the implementation of the amendments made by this section. The report shall include— (1) an analysis of how States are administering the requirements of paragraphs (1)(B) and (5)(C) of section 475 of the Social Security Act, as amended by subsections (a) and (b) of this section, that a child in foster care who has attained 14 years of age be permitted to select up to 2 members of the case planning team or permanency planning team for the child from individuals who are not a foster parent of, or caseworker for, the child; and (2) a description of best practices of States with respect to the administration of the requirements. (f) Effective date (1) In general The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. (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 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 1st 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. 204. Ensuring foster youth have a birth certificate, Social Security card, health insurance information, medical records, and a bank account (a) Case review system requirement Section 475(5)(I) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(I)) is amended— (1) by striking and receives assistance and inserting receives assistance; and (2) by inserting , and, unless the child has been in foster care for less than 6 months or the child is being discharged from care to be reunited with the family of the child or to be adopted, is not discharged from care without being provided with an official birth certificate of the child, a social security card issued by the Commissioner of Social Security, health insurance information and medical records, and if the child has attained 18 years of age, a fee-free (or low-fee) transaction account (as defined in section 19(b)(1)(C) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 461(b)(1)(C))) established in the name of the child name at an insured depository institution (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813)) or an insured credit union (as defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752)), unless the child, after consultation with the members of the case planning team for the child selected by the child (if any), elects to not have such an account established before the period. (b) Effective date (1) In general The amendments made by this section shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. (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 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 1st 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. III Improving Data Collection and Reporting on Child Sex Trafficking 301. Including sex trafficking data in the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (a) In general Section 479(c)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679(c)(3)) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (C)(iii), by striking and after the comma; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (E) the annual number of children in foster care who are identified as victims of sex trafficking (as defined in section 103(10) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(10))) or a severe form of trafficking in persons described in section 103(9)(A) of such Act— (i) who were such victims before entering foster care; and (ii) who were such victims while in foster care; and . (b) Report to congress Beginning in fiscal year 2016, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit an annual report to Congress that contains the annual aggregate number of children in foster care who are identified as victims of sex trafficking (as defined in section 103(10) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(10))) or a severe form of trafficking in persons described in section 103(9)(A) of such Act, together with such other information as the Secretary determines appropriate relating to the identification of, and provision of services for, that population of children. 302. Information on children in foster care in annual reports using AFCARS data; consultation Section 479A of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679b) is amended— (1) by striking The Secretary and inserting the following: (a) In general The Secretary ; (2) in paragraph (5), by striking and after the semicolon; (3) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; (4) by adding at the end the following: (7) include in the report submitted pursuant to paragraph (5) for fiscal year 2016 or any succeeding fiscal year, State-by-State data on children in foster care who have been placed in a child care institution or other setting that is not a foster family home, including— (A) the number of children in the placements and their ages, including separately, the number and ages of children who have a permanency plan of another planned permanent living arrangement; (B) the duration of the placement in the settings (including for children who have a permanency plan of another planned permanent living arrangement); (C) the types of child care institutions used (including group homes, residential treatment, shelters, or other congregate care settings); (D) with respect to each child care institution or other setting that is not a foster family home, the number of children in foster care residing in each such institution or non-foster family home; (E) any clinically diagnosed special need of such children; and (F) the extent of any specialized education, treatment, counseling, or other services provided in the settings; and (8) include in the report submitted pursuant to paragraph (5) for fiscal year 2016 or any succeeding fiscal year, State-by-State data on children in foster care who are pregnant or parenting. ; and (5) by adding at the end the following: (b) Consultation on other issues The Secretary shall consult with States and organizations with an interest in child welfare, including organizations that provide adoption and foster care services, and shall take into account requests from Members of Congress, in selecting other issues to be analyzed and reported on under this section using data available to the Secretary, including data reported by States through the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System and to the National Youth in Transition Database. . IV Improving the Use of Technology to Increase Child Support Collections 401. Required electronic processing of income withholding (a) In general Section 454A(g)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 654a(g)(1)(A)) is amended— (1) by striking , to the maximum extent feasible,; and (2) in subparagraph (A)— (A) by striking and at the end of clause (i); (B) by adding and at the end of clause (ii); and (C) by adding at the end the following: (iii) at the option of the employer, using the electronic transmission methods prescribed by the Secretary; . (b) Effective date The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2017. Passed the House of Representatives May 20, 2014.Karen L. Haas,Clerk