,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ddgb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #bd1      
#bjai,mr4 ,lewis introduced the         
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,ways and ,means  ,a  
,,bill  ,to eliminate the requirement   
that1 to be eligible for foster care    
maintenance payments1 a child would have
 been eligible for aid under the former 
program of ,aid to ,families with       
,dependent ,children at the time of     
removal from the home4  #a4 ,short title
 ,this ,act may be cited as the         
,look-back ,elimination ,act of #bjai4  
#b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds as   
follows3  7#a7 ,as part of ,president   
,franklin ,delano ,roosevelt's ,new     
,deal1 the ,social ,security ,act of    
#aice included the creation of the ,aid 
to ,dependent ,children program as a way
 to provide ,federal support to poor    
children4 ,over time1 this program      
became the ,aid to ,families with       
,dependent ,children 7,,afdc7 program   

and provided assistance to struggling   
families for over #fj years4  7#b7 ,part
 ,e of title ,,iv of the ,social        
,security ,act provides primary ,federal
 funding for child welfare services4    
,under that part1 the ,federal          
,government pays a portion of the cost  
of providing ,federal foster care and   
adoption assistance benefits for        
eligible children4  7#c7 ,in #aiif1 when
 ,congress replaced the ,,afdc program  
with the ,temporary ,assistance for     
,needy ,families 7,,tanf7 program1      
,congress also fixed the income         
eligibility requirement for ,federal    
foster care and adoption assistance     
benefits at a level based on the income 
thresholds established by the ,states   
under their former ,,afdc programs4     
,this income eligibility requirement is 
now commonly referred to as the ,,afdc  
look-back standard4  7#d7 ,at that time1
 many ,states had established very      
strict household income requirements in 
order for children to be eligible for   

,,afdc benefits4 ,as a result of this   
very strict requirement1 many children  
in the ,federal foster care and adoption
 assistance programs are ineligible to  
receive a wide range of ,federal        
benefits1 services1 and activities4 ,for
 example1 this outdated1 restrictive    
standard prevents the ,state of ,georgia
 from providing assistance to more than 
half of the children in the child       
welfare system4  7#e7 ,forced to adhere 
to a stagnant standard1 ,states         
increasingly struggle to administer     
,federal foster care and adoption       
assistance programs and provide services
 to those children most in need4 ,as    
inflation increases1 fewer children are 
eligible to receive ,federal benefits1  
and ,states struggle to provide services
 from other1 limited local and ,state   
resources4  7#f7 ,although the ,,afdc   
look-back standard still applies to the 
,federal foster care program1 the       
,fostering ,connections to ,success and 
,increasing ,adoptions ,act of #bjjh    

completely eliminated the ,,afdc        
look-back standard in the ,federal      
adoption assistance program in #bjah4   
#c4 ,elimination of the ,,afdc          
eligibility requirement in the foster   
care maintenance payments program  7a7  
,in general ,section #dgb7;a7 of the    
,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4   
#fgb7;a77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph
 7#a71 by striking specified and all    
that follows and inserting or caretaker 
into foster care if the removal and     
foster care placement met1 and continues
 to meet1 the requirements of paragraph 
7#b742 and  7#b7 by striking paragraphs 
7#c7 and 7#d74  7b7 ,conforming         
amendment ,section #dgj of such ,act    
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fgj7 is amended by      
striking who otherwise would have been  
eligible for assistance under the       
,state's plan approved under part ,a 7as
 such plan was in effect on ,june #a1   
#aiie74  #d4 ,sense of the ,congress ,it
 is the sense of the ,congress that--   
7#a7 the ,,afdc eligibility requirement 

for ,federal foster care and adoption   
assistance benefits should be eliminated
 and replaced with income eligibility   
standards that are based on modern1     
balanced criteria that treat all        
children equally2 and  7#b7 the         
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services should collaborate with       
,members of ,congress and child welfare 
advocates in developing any modified    
standards4