,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #aghf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #aj1 
#bjac,mr4 ,grassley 7for himself and    
,mr4 ,kaine7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,finance  ,a ,,bill
  ,to encourage the placement of        
children in foster care with siblings4  
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,sibling ,connections ,act4  #b4
 ,encouraging the placement of children 
in foster care with siblings  7a7 ,state
 plan amendment  7#a7 ,notification of  
parents of siblings ,section            
#dga7;a77#bi7 of the ,social ,security  
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fga7;a77#bi77 is   
amended by striking all adult           
grandparents and inserting the following
 relatives3 all adult grandparents1 all 
parents of a sibling of the child1 where
 such parent has legal custody of such  
sibling14  7#b7 ,sibling defined        
,section #dge of the ,social ,security  
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fge7 is amended by 

adding at the end the following3  7#i7  
,the term sibling means an individual   
who satisfies at least one of the       
following conditions with respect to a  
child3 7,a7 ,the individual is          
considered by ,state law to be a sibling
 of the child4  7,b7 ,the individual    
would have been considered a sibling of 
the child under ,state law but for a    
termination or other disruption of      
parental rights1 such as the death of a 
parent4  4  7b7 ,effective dates  7#a7  
,in general ,the amendments made by this
 section shall take effect on the date  
of enactment of this ,act4  7#b7 ,delay 
permitted if ,state legislation required
 ,in the case of a ,state plan approved 
under part ,e of title ,,iv of the      
,social ,security ,act which the        
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services determines requires ,state    
legislation 7other than legislation     
appropriating funds7 in order for the   
plan to meet the additional requirements
 imposed by this ,act1 the ,state plan  

shall not be regarded as failing to     
comply with the requirements of such    
part solely on the basis of the failure 
of the plan to meet such additional     
requirements before the #ast day of the 
#ast calendar quarter beginning after   
the close of the #ast regular session of
 the ,state legislature that ends after 
the #a-year period beginning with the   
date of enactment of this ,act4 ,for    
purposes of the preceding sentence1 in  
the case of a ,state that has a #b-year 
legislative session1 each year of the   
session is deemed to be a separate      
regular session of the ,state           
legislature4