,i #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hgac ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #ab1 #bjbd ,ms4 ,kamlager-,dove 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 and ,ms4 ,brown7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means ,a ,,bill ,to amend parts ,b and ,e of title ,,iv of the ,social ,security ,act to remove barriers and encourage kinship guardianship1 foster1 or adoptive placements for children who cannot be safely cared for in their own homes1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,promoting ,permanency ,through ,kinship ,families ,act4 #b4 ,findings and purposes 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,reunification with parents1 permanent placement with extended family members1 and adoption are all permanency options for children who are in1 or at risk for entering or re-entering1 foster care4 7#b7 ,the estimated lifetime cost of foster youth who age out of foster care is approximately #f4i billion4 ,on an annual basis1 approximately #bc1jjj youth age out of foster care 7reach the maximum age a ,state will support them without reunification with family or being placed in a permanent home7 with no legal family ties4 ,over #bj percent of youth who age out of foster care become homeless1 #fj percent of sex trafficked youth come from foster care1 and #be percent of youth become involved in the criminal justice system within #b years of aging out of foster care4 ,when family reunification and kinship guardianship1 foster1 and adoptive placements are promoted and supported1 children's family connections and family relationships can reverse such adverse adult outcomes4 7#c7 ,foster care is intended to be temporary4 ,the best interests of children in safe1 stable1 and permanent placements are paramount4 ,at the same time1 absent aggravating circumstances1 it is in the best interests of children for parents to be provided individualized services1 supports1 and time needed to address the reasons for foster care or other temporary placements of their children4 7#d7 ,where kinship placements can safely be made1 extended family members available for such placements often face financial and other barriers related to access to health and mental health services and supports1 crisis stabilization services1 and other service supports4 7#e7 ,the ,united ,states has a unique and direct interest1 as trustee1 in protecting the best interests of ,indian children including supporting safe and permanent placements that preserve a child's sense of belonging and connection1 including to extended family when reunification with parents is not safe or possible4 7b7 ,purpose ,the purposes of this ,act are to promote kinship care as an essential permanency option for children and youth1 to remove barriers to children's safe care by relatives and fictive kin when such children cannot be safely cared for by their parents1 and to support the provision of resources and services to kin caregivers4 #c4 ,promoting permanency placements for children and youth 7a7 ,state plan requirement relating to provision of child welfare services ,section #dbb7;b77#g7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fbb7;b77#g77 is amended by striking provide for the diligent recruitment and inserting substantiate with clear and convincing data and analysis that the agency administering or supervising the administration of the plan is addressing disproportionality in the ,state child welfare system1 and disparities in access to community-based services1 array1 and contracting1 provide for locating and involving relatives and fictive kin as a regular and ongoing part of case planning1 for addressing barriers to family involvement1 and provide for the diligent recruitment4 7b7 ,foster care and adoption assistance ,section #dga7;a77#ai7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fga7;a77#ai77 is amended by striking shall consider and inserting shall make and document prompt1 active1 and continuous efforts to identify and locate relatives or fictive kin as a potential kinship guardianship1 foster or adoptive placement1 and family support resources1 and must consider4 7c7 ,case review ,section #dge7e77;,a7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fge7e77;,a77 is amended-- 7#a7 in clause 7i71 by striking 1 and and inserting a semicolon2 7#b7 in clause 7ii71 by striking the comma at the end and inserting a semicolon2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7iii7 if the ,state determines that kinship guardianship1 foster1 or adoptive placement with any relative or fictive kin is not in the child's best interest or that the relative or fictive kin does not meet the requirements of a relative caregiver1 documents the basis for that determination with clear and convincing evidence2 7iv7 if the ,state determines that the child requires placement in an environment other than a home environment1 ensures that the ,state shall make prompt1 active1 and continuous efforts to identify and locate relatives or fictive kin to serve as visitation resources of the child and potential future placement resources2 7v7 if the ,state determines that efforts to identify and locate relatives and fictive kin would be futile or inconsistent with the child's best interests1 documents the basis of its determination with clear and convincing evidence2 and 7vi7 if the child is residing in a kinship placement1 describes reasonable efforts the ,state will make to maintain the child in the kinship home and not remove the child from the kinship home except to effectuate a permanency goal of reunification or upon a showing by clear and convincing evidence that remaining in the kinship placement is contrary to the welfare of the child4 4 7d7 ,greater flexibility for ,states and families ,section #dge7e77;,e7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fge7e77;,e77 is amended to read as follows3 7,e7 in the case of a child who has been in foster care under the responsibility of the ,state for #bd consecutive months1 or1 if a court of competent jurisdiction has determined a child to be an abandoned infant 7as defined under ,state law7 or has made a determination that the parent has committed murder of another child of the parent1 committed voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent1 aided or abetted1 attempted1 conspired1 or solicited to commit such a murder or such a voluntary manslaughter1 or committed a felony assault that has resulted in serious bodily injury to the child or to another child of the parent1 the ,state may file or join a petition for modification or termination of parental rights and1 concurrently1 identify1 recruit1 process1 and approve a qualified family 7including the child's extended family7 for an adoption1 only after demonstrating by clear and convincing evidence that the ,state-- 7i7 has demonstrated compelling reasons why such modification or termination is in the best interest of the child2 7ii7 has provided to the family of the child such services1 supports1 and time needed to address the reasons for the child's removal and enable the family to safely reunify2 and 7iii7 if the child is living with a kinship 7including fictive kinship7 caregiver1 has provided a meaningful opportunity for such caregiver to express an opinion as to whether such modification or termination is in the best interests of the child and has documented such opinion in the case plan of the child2 except that1 in the case of a child to whom this subparagraph applies solely because the child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the ,state for #bd consecutive months1 the ,state may not file or join such a petition if a parent of the child is actively engaged in services to address the reasons the child entered care 7including treatment for substance use disorder1 mental health concerns1 or parenting skills71 if based principally on the incarceration of a parent1 or if based principally on the detention of the parent by the ,department of ,homeland ,security or the deportation of the parent2 4 7e7 ,effective date 7#a7 ,in general ,the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and shall apply to payments under subpart #a of part ,b and part ,e of title ,,iv of the ,social ,security ,act for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date4 7#b7 ,delay permitted if ,state legislation required ,if the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services determines that ,state legislation 7other than legislation appropriating funds7 is required in order for a ,state plan developed pursuant to subpart #a of part ,b or part ,e of title ,,iv of the ,social ,security ,act to meet the additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by this section1 the plan shall not be regarded as failing to meet any of the additional requirements before the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the first regular session of the ,state legislature that begins after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 ,for purposes of the preceding sentence1 if the ,state has a #b-year legislative session1 each year of the session is deemed to be a separate regular session of the ,state legislature4 7#c7 ,application to programs operated by ,indian tribal organizations ,in the case of an ,indian tribe1 tribal organization1 or tribal consortium which the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services determines requires time to take action necessary to comply with the additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by this section 7whether the tribe1 organization1 or tribal consortium has a plan under section #dgi;,b of the ,social ,security ,act or a cooperative agreement or contract entered into with a ,state71 the ,secretary shall provide the tribe1 organization1 or tribal consortium with such additional time as the ,secretary determines is necessary for the tribe1 organization1 or tribal consortium to take the action to comply with the additional requirements before being regarded as failing to comply with the requirements4 #d4 ,criminal records checks of all kinship caregivers 7a7 ,in general ,section #dga7;a77#bj7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fga7;a77#bj77 is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,b7-- 7,a7 in clause 7ii71 by striking and at the end2 7,b7 in clause 7iii71 by adding and at the end2 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following3 7iv7 have in place procedures to ensure that kinship placement is not denied based on past allegations or findings of abuse or neglect against a caregiver or household member in the absence of particularized information demonstrating that the caregiver poses a current safety threat to the child or that placement of the child with the caregiver would be contrary to the welfare of the child4 2 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,c71 by striking on any relative guardian1 and for checks and all that follows through under this part and inserting on any kinship caregiver1 including in the case of a kinship foster1 guardianship1 or adoptive placement1 and for checks described in subparagraph 7,b7 of this paragraph on any such kinship caregiver and any other adult living in the home of any such kinship caregiver1 before the kinship caregiver may receive kinship guardianship assistance payments on behalf of the child under the ,state plan under this part unless the ,state reports to the ,secretary the alternative criminal records checks the ,state conducts on any adult kinship caregiver1 and why the checks specified in this subparagraph are not appropriate for the ,state1 and procedures to ensure that a past criminal record does not serve as a bar to kinship licensing in the absence of particularized information demonstrating that the caregiver or household member poses a current safety threat to the child or that placement of the child with the caregiver would be contrary to the welfare of the child42 and 7#c7 by moving the margins for subparagraph 7,d7 #b ems to the left4 7b7 ,no effect on character investigations under the ,indian ,child ,protection and ,family ,violence ,prevention ,act ,nothing in this ,act or the amendments made by this ,act shall be construed to modify the requirements relating to character investigations of kin or extended family under the ,indian ,child ,protection and ,family ,violence ,prevention ,act4 #e4 ,prohibition on imposition of upper age limit for kinship caregivers ,section #dga7;a7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fga7;a77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#cf71 by striking and at the end2 7#b7 in paragraph 7#cg71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 and2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7#ch7 provides that the ,state shall have in effect such laws and procedures as are necessary to ensure that the age of an individual who has attained #ah years of age is disregarded in determining-- 7,a7 whether the individual is qualified to be a kinship caregiver for a child2 and 7,b7 the appropriate placement for a child for whom placement with a kinship caregiver may be an appropriate option4 4 #f4 ,mandatory participation in kinship guardianship assistance program 7a7 ,in general ,section #dga7;a77#bh7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fga7;a77#bh77 is amended by striking at the option of the ,state14 7b7 ,eligibility ,section #dgc7;d77#c77;,a77i77,,ii7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fgc7;d77#c77;,a77i77,,ii77 is amended by striking at least #f consecutive months and inserting at least #c consecutive months4 #g4 ,elimination of the ,,afdc eligibility requirement for foster care maintenance payments for children placed in a foster family home ,section #dgb7;a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ad #fgb7;a77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a71 in the matter preceding subparagraph 7,a71 by striking ,each ,state and inserting ,subject to paragraph 7#e71 each ,state2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7#e7 ,elimination of the ,,afdc eligibility requirement for children placed in a foster family home ,beginning on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning on or after the date of the enactment of the ,promoting ,permanency ,through ,kinship ,families ,act1 the ,,afdc eligibility requirement of paragraph 7#c7 shall no longer apply with respect to a child who has been removed from the home of a relative or a caretaker into foster care and placed in a foster family home4 ,on and after such date1 each ,state with a plan approved under this part shall make foster care maintenance payments on behalf of each child who has been removed from the home of a relative or caretaker into foster care and placed in a foster family home 7without regard to whether such removal and placement occurred before1 on1 or after such date of enactment1 if the removal and foster care placement met1 and continues to meet1 the requirements of paragraph 7#b74 4 #h4 ,promoting safe and stable families through kinship placement support services programs 7a7 ,addition of kinship placement support services to the promoting safe and stable families program ,section #dca7;a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fbi;a7a77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking 7including adoptive and extended families7 and inserting 7including kinship guardians1 adoptive1 and extended families742 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7#aj7 ,kinship placement support services 7,a7 ,in general ,the term kinship placement support services means the services and activities described in subparagraph 7,b7 that are provided on behalf of children and youth in kinship care arrangements1 including kinship guardianship placements1 who are in1 or at risk of entering or re-entering1 foster care4 7,b7 ,services and activities described ,the services and activities described in this subparagraph are the following3 7i7 ,crisis stabilization services1 including case management services designed to stabilize families in crisis such as transportation1 assistance with housing and utility payments1 and access to adequate health care1 child care assistance1 educational resources1 and establishing a kinship placement crisis stabilization fund for purposes of making direct cash payments to kin caregivers for immediate needs of children placed with such caregivers in order to facilitate kinship placements and prevent the entry of children into foster care4 7ii7 ,family finding1 including intensive family-finding efforts that utilize search technology to find biological family members for children in1 or at risk of entering1 foster care4 7iii7 ,re-establishing family relationships and supporting family group decision-making4 7iv7 ,other assistance or services related to strengthening and supporting kinship families1 including families led by siblings1 to improve the well-being of children and their kin caregivers1 and1 if requested1 assistance in becoming a licensed foster family home4 4 7b7 ,maintenance of effort requirement ,section #dcb7;a77#g7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fbi;b7a77#g77 is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,a7-- 7,a7 by striking assurances that ,federal funds and inserting assurances that-- 7i7 ,federal funds 2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following3 7ii7 the total amount of ,state expenditures made for fiscal year #bjbe and each fiscal year thereafter to support kinship placements shall not be less than the total amount of such expenditures made for fiscal year #bjbd2 and 2 and 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,b71 by inserting and spending requirements after prohibition4 7c7 ,conforming amendments 7#a7 ,section #dcj of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fbi7 is amended-- 7,a7 in the matter preceding paragraph 7#a71 by inserting kinship placement support services1 after family reunification services12 7,b7 by redesignating paragraphs 7#c7 and 7#d7 as paragraphs 7#d7 and 7#e71 respectively2 and 7,c7 by inserting after paragraph 7#b71 the following3 7#c7 ,to support kinship placements to maintain family connections while ensuring the safety and well-being of children and youth and the well-being of their kin caregivers4 4 7#b7 ,paragraphs 7#d7 and 7#e7 of section #dcb7;a7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fbi;b7a77 are each amended by inserting kinship placement support services1 after family reunification services14