,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ahbi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #ai1 #bjag,mr4 ,grassley 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 ,mr4 ,blunt1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,mr4 ,gardner1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 and ,mr4 ,brown7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend title ,v of the ,social ,security ,act to extend the ,maternal1 ,infant1 and ,early ,childhood ,home ,visiting ,program4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,strong ,families ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,continuing evidence-based home visiting program ,section #eaa7;j77#a77;,h7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #gaa7;j77#a77;,h77 is amended by striking fiscal year #bjag and inserting each of fiscal years #bjag through #bjbb4 #c4 ,continuing to demonstrate results to help families 7a7 ,require service delivery models ,to demonstrate improvement in applicable benchmark areas ,section #eaa of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #gaa7 is amended in each of subsections 7d77#a77;,a7 and 7h77#d77;,a7 by striking each of4 7b7 ,demonstration of improvements in subsequent years ,section #eaa7;d77#a7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #gaa7;d77#a77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7,d7 ,demonstration of improvements in subsequent years 7i7 ,continued measurement of improvement in applicable benchmark areas ,the eligible entity1 after demonstrating improvements for eligible families as specified in subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b71 shall continue to track and report1 not later than #cj days after the end of fiscal year #bjbj and every #c years thereafter1 information demonstrating that the program results in improvements for the eligible families participating in the program in at least #d of the areas specified in subparagraph 7,a7 that the service delivery model or models selected by the entity are intended to improve4 7ii7 ,corrective action plan ,if the eligible entity fails to demonstrate improvement in at least #d of the areas specified in subparagraph 7,a71 as compared to eligible families who do not receive services under an early childhood home visitation program1 the entity shall develop and implement a plan to improve outcomes in each of the areas specified in subparagraph 7,a7 that the service delivery model or models selected by the entity are intended to improve1 subject to approval by the ,secretary4 ,the plan shall include provisions for the ,secretary to monitor implementation of the plan and conduct continued oversight of the program1 including through submission by the entity of regular reports to the ,secretary4 7iii7 ,technical assistance ,the ,secretary shall provide an eligible entity required to develop and implement an improvement plan under clause 7ii7 with technical assistance to develop and implement the plan4 ,the ,secretary may provide the technical assistance directly or through grants1 contracts1 or cooperative agreements4 7iv7 ,no improvement or failure to submit report ,if the ,secretary determines after a period of time specified by the ,secretary that an eligible entity implementing an improvement plan under clause 7ii7 has failed to demonstrate any improvement in at least #d of the areas specified in subparagraph 7,a71 or if the ,secretary determines that an eligible entity has failed to submit the report required by clause 7i71 the ,secretary shall terminate the grant made to the entity under this section and may include any unexpended grant funds in grants made to nonprofit organizations under subsection 7h77#b77;,b74 4 7c7 ,including information on applicable benchmarks in application ,section #eaa7;e77#e7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #gaa7;e77#e77 is amended by inserting that the service delivery model or models selected by the entity are intended to improve before the period at the end4 #d4 ,reviewing statewide needs to target resources ,section #eaa7;b77#a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #gaa7;b77#a77 is amended by striking ,not later than and all that follows through section #eje7;a77 and inserting ,each ,state shall1 as a condition of receiving payments from an allotment for the ,state under section #ejb1 conduct a statewide needs assessment 7which may be separate from but in coordination with the statewide needs assessment required under section #eje7;a7 and which shall be reviewed and updated by the ,state not later than ,october #a1 #bjbj74 #e4 ,improving the likelihood of success in high-risk communities ,section #eaa7;d77#d77;,a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #gaa7;d77#d77;,a77 is amended by inserting 1 taking into account the staffing1 community resource1 and other requirements to operate at least one approved model of home visiting and demonstrate improvements for eligible families before the period4 #f4 ,option to fund evidence-based home visiting on a pay for outcome basis 7a7 ,in general ,section #eaa7;c7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #gaa7;c77 is amended by redesignating paragraphs 7#c7 and 7#d7 as paragraphs 7#d7 and 7#e71 respectively1 and by inserting after paragraph 7#b7 the following3 7#c7 ,authority to use grant for a pay for outcomes initiative ,an eligible entity to which a grant is made under paragraph 7#a7 may use up to #be percent of the grant for outcomes or success payments related to a pay for outcomes initiative that will not result in a reduction of funding for services delivered by the entity under a childhood home visitation program under this section while the eligible entity develops or operates such an initiative4 4 7b7 ,definition of pay for outcomes initiative ,section #eaa7k7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #gaa7k77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#d7 ,pay for outcomes initiative ,the term pay for outcomes initiative means a performance-based grant1 contract1 cooperative agreement1 or other agreement awarded by a public entity in which a commitment is made to pay for improved outcomes that result in social benefit and direct cost savings or cost avoidance to the public sector4 ,such an initiative shall include-- 7,a7 a feasibility study that describes how the proposed intervention is based on evidence of effectiveness2 7,b7 a rigorous1 third-party evaluation that uses experimental or quasi-experimental design or other research methodologies that allow for the strongest possible causal inferences to determine whether the initiative has met its proposed outcomes2 7,c7 an annual1 publicly available report on the progress of the initiative2 and 7,d7 a requirement that payments are made to the recipient of a grant1 contract1 or cooperative agreement only when agreed upon outcomes are achieved1 except that this requirement shall not apply with respect to payments to a third party conducting the evaluation described in subparagraph 7,b74 4 7c7 ,extended availability of funds ,section #eaa7;j77#c7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #gaa7;j77#c77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking 7#c7 ,availability4--,funds and inserting the following3 7#c7 ,availability 7,a7 ,in general ,except as provided in subparagraph 7,b71 funds 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 ,funds for pay for outcomes initiatives ,funds made available to an eligible entity under this section for a fiscal year 7or portion of a fiscal year7 for a pay for outcomes initiative shall remain available for expenditure by the eligible entity for not more than #aj years after the funds are so made available4 4 #g4 ,data exchange standards for improved interoperability 7a7 ,in general ,section #eaa7;h7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #gaa7;h77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#e7 ,data exchange standards for improved interoperability 7,a7 ,designation and use of data exchange standards 7i7 ,designation ,the head of the department or agency responsible for administering a program funded under this section shall1 in consultation with an interagency work group established by the ,office of ,management and ,budget and considering ,state government perspectives1 designate data exchange standards for necessary categories of information that a ,state agency operating the program is required to electronically exchange with another ,state agency under applicable ,federal law4 7ii7 ,data exchange standards must be nonproprietary and interoperable ,the data exchange standards designated under clause 7i7 shall1 to the extent practicable1 be nonproprietary and interoperable4 7iii7 ,other requirements ,in designating data exchange standards under this paragraph1 the ,secretary shall1 to the extent practicable1 incorporate-- 7,i7 interoperable standards developed and maintained by an international voluntary consensus standards body1 as defined by the ,office of ,management and ,budget2 7,,ii7 interoperable standards developed and maintained by intergovernmental partnerships1 such as the ,national ,information ,exchange ,model2 and 7,,iii7 interoperable standards developed and maintained by ,federal entities with authority over contracting and financial assistance4 7,b7 ,data exchange standards for federal reporting 7i7 ,designation ,the head of the department or agency responsible for administering a program referred to in this section shall1 in consultation with an interagency work group established by the ,office of ,management and ,budget1 and considering ,state government perspectives1 designate data exchange standards to govern ,federal reporting and exchange requirements under applicable ,federal law4 7ii7 ,requirements ,the data exchange reporting standards required by clause 7i7 shall1 to the extent practicable-- 7,i7 incorporate a widely accepted1 nonproprietary1 searchable1 computer-readable format2 7,,ii7 be consistent with and implement applicable accounting principles2 7,,iii7 be implemented in a manner that is cost-effective and improves program efficiency and effectiveness2 and 7,,iv7 be capable of being continually upgraded as necessary4 7iii7 ,incorporation of nonproprietary standards ,in designating data exchange standards under this paragraph1 the ,secretary shall1 to the extent practicable1 incorporate existing nonproprietary standards1 such as the e,xtensible ,mark up ,language4 7iv7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to require a change to existing data exchange standards for ,federal reporting about a program referred to in this section1 if the head of the department or agency responsible for administering the program finds the standards to be effective and efficient4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by subsection 7a7 shall take effect on the date that is #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act4