H.R. 8954 — Introduced in House

I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8954 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 22, 2022Ms. Chu (for herself, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Cole, and Ms. Davids of Kansas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to require States to comply with Federal standards established under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Strengthening Tribal Families Act of 2022. 2. State plan requirements (a) State plan requirement relating to child welfare services Section 422(b)(9) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 622(b)(9)) is amended— (1) by inserting (A) after (9); (2) by striking Act; and inserting Act of 1978; and; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (B) provide that the State shall comply with all Federal standards established under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978; . (b) State plan requirement relating to promoting safe and stable families Section 432(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629b(a)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (9), by striking and at the end; (2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period and inserting ; and; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (11) provides that the State shall comply with all Federal standards established under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. . (c) Biennial reports to the Congress Section 422 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 622) is amended by adding at the end the following: (d) Biennial reports to the Congress The Secretary shall biennially 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 the reviews of child and family service programs under section 1123A, which shall include a detailed summary of the ways in which States are addressing the requirement in subsection (b)(9)(B) of this section. . 3. Effective date (a) In general Except as provided in subsection (b), the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter that begins on or after the date of enactment of this Act. (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 developed pursuant to part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to meet the additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by 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. For purposes of the preceding sentence, 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.