,i #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hgii ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #ba1 #bjbd ,mr4 ,davis of ,illinois 7for himself and ,mr4 ,la,hood7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means ,a ,,bill ,to amend section #dci of the ,social ,security ,act to authorize the funding of demonstration projects to test approaches for supporting and improving relationships between incarcerated parents and children in foster care1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,promoting ,active ,relationships to ,enable ,nurturing ,ties ,act of #bjbd or the ,,parent ,act of #bjbd4 #b4 ,meaningful relationships between foster children and incarcerated parents ,section #dci of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fbi;i7 is amended to read as follows3 #dci4 ,state partnership planning and demonstration grants to support meaningful relationships between foster children and the incarcerated parents of the children 7a7 ,authority 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary may make demonstration grants to eligible ,state partnerships to develop1 implement1 and provide support for programs that enable and sustain meaningful relationships between covered foster children and the incarcerated parents of the children4 7#b7 ,payment of annual installments ,the ,secretary shall pay each demonstration grant in #e annual installments4 7#c7 #a-year planning grants ,the ,secretary may make a planning grant to a recipient of a demonstration grant1 to be paid to the recipient #a year before payment of the #ast annual installment of the demonstration grant and in an amount not greater than any installment of the demonstration grant1 if-- 7,a7 the recipient includes a request for a planning grant in the application under subsection 7c72 and 7,b7 the ,secretary determines that a planning grant would assist the recipient and improve the effectiveness of the demonstration grant4 7b7 ,eligible ,state partnership defined 7#a7 ,in general ,in this section1 the term eligible ,state partnership means an agreement entered into by1 at a minimum1 the following3 7,a7 ,the ,state child welfare agency responsible for the administration of the ,state plans under this part4 7,b7 ,the ,state agency responsible for adult corrections4 7#b7 ,additional partners ,for purposes of this section1 an eligible ,state partnership may include any entity with experience in serving incarcerated parents and their children4 7#c7 ,partnerships entered into by ,indian ,tribes or tribal consortia ,notwithstanding paragraph 7#a71 if an ,indian tribe or tribal consortium enters into a partnership pursuant to this section that does not consist solely of tribal child welfare agencies 7or a consortium of the agencies71 the partnership shall be considered an eligible ,state partnership for purposes of this section4 7c7 ,application requirements ,an eligible ,state partnership seeking a demonstration grant under this section to carry out a program described in subsection 7a77#a7 shall submit an application to the ,secretary at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require4 ,the application shall include the following3 7#a7 ,a summary of the program1 including how the program will support a meaningful relationship between a covered foster child and an incarcerated parent of the child4 7#b7 ,a description of the activities to be carried out by the program1 which must include all of the activities described in subsection 7d7 that are in the best interest of the covered foster child4 7#c7 ,a framework for identifying-- 7,a7 each covered foster child eligible for services under the program1 including1 to the extent practicable1 coordination of data between relevant ,state child welfare agencies and court systems2 and 7,b7 the roles and responsibilities of the entities in the partnership4 7#d7 ,documentation that the applicant is an eligible ,state partnership4 7#e7 ,assurances that the applicant will participate fully in the evaluation described in subsection 7f77#b7 and shall maintain records for the program1 including demographic information disaggregated by relevant characteristics with respect to covered foster children and incarcerated parents who participate in the program4 7d7 ,program activities ,to the extent that the activities are in the best interest of the covered foster child1 the activities referred to in subsection 7c77#b7 shall include the following3 7#a7 ,revision of policies ,through consultation with incarcerated parents and their families1 grantees shall promote organizational policies of participating child welfare entities and collaborating correctional facilities to promote meaningful relationships through regular and developmentally appropriate communication and visitation between covered foster children and the incarcerated parents1 including1 when appropriate1 the following3 7,a7 ,for child welfare entities-- 7i7 inclusion of parents in case planning and decision making for children2 7ii7 regular sharing of information and responses to requests for information between caseworkers and incarcerated parents with respect to the case information of a child1 any changes to a case1 permanency plans1 requirements to maintain parental rights1 and any efforts to terminate parental rights2 7iii7 appropriate opportunities for incarcerated parents to demonstrate their relationship with a covered foster child given their incarceration1 including training and courses required for a service plan2 and 7iv7 the enhanced visitation described in paragraph 7#b74 7,b7 ,for correctional facilities1 fostering visitation and communication that is developmentally appropriate in terms of-- 7i7 the nature of communication and visitation1 including-- 7,i7 the ability to physically touch parents2 7,,ii7 engaging with parents in locations that are appropriate for the age and development of the child2 7,,iii7 exchanging items that are appropriate to the age and development of the child1 include expectations that are appropriate for the age and development of the child related to behavior1 attire1 and wait times2 and 7,,iv7 allowing appropriate adults to bring children if legal guardians are not available to promote regular contact2 7ii7 reasonable inclusion of all children of the parent2 7iii7 communication and visitation at times when the children are available2 7iv7 security procedures to comfort children and be minimally invasive2 and 7v7 promoting parent-child relationships regardless of the sentence imposed on the parent4 7#b7 ,enhanced visitation 7,a7 ,grantees shall facilitate weekly communication and1 for at least #i days each year1 in-person visitation between a covered foster child and any incarcerated parent of the child4 7,b7 ,electronic visitation 7such as live video visits1 phone calls1 and recorded books7 may be used but shall not be the sole method to promote a meaningful relationship for purposes of the grant4 7,c7 ,enhanced visitation programs shall-- 7i7 integrate best practices for visitation programs with incarcerated parents and their children2 7ii7 adopt developmentally appropriate visitation policies and procedures such as those described in paragraph 7#a77;,b72 7iii7 reduce or eliminate the cost of developmentally appropriate communication and visitation for the covered foster child1 which may include the purchase of communication technology1 covering transportation1 insurance1 and lodging costs1 costs related to providing appropriate visitation spaces and activities1 and other relevant costs2 7iv7 to the extent practicable1 integrate appropriate parenting education to help prepare and process visits2 and 7v7 avoid restricting visitation and communication as a punishment for the incarcerated parents4 7#c7 ,training ,grantees shall incorporate ongoing training for child welfare1 correctional facility staff1 and other program providers to understand the importance of promoting meaningful relationships between children and incarcerated parents4 7#d7 ,case management ,grantees shall provide case management services for the incarcerated parents of a covered foster child to promote the relationship1 access to services1 and coordination with the caseworkers of the covered foster child to strengthen the relationship4 7#e7 ,legal assistance ,grantees shall facilitate access to necessary legal services and may use grant funds for services that are not reimbursable under other ,federal programs4 7e7 ,federal share ,the ,federal share of the cost of any activity carried out using a grant made under this section shall be not greater than #ge percent4 7f7 ,technical assistance1 evaluations1 and reports 7#a7 ,technical assistance ,the ,secretary shall provide technical assistance with respect to grants under this section1 including by-- 7,a7 assisting grantees in understanding best practices in promoting meaningful relationships between incarcerated parents and their children as well as consulting with appropriate stakeholders when developing their programs2 7,b7 assisting grantees with establishing and analyzing implementation and performance indicators2 and 7,c7 conducting an annual technical assistance and training meeting and an annual grantee meeting so that grantees can learn from the experiences of other grantees4 7#b7 ,evaluations ,the ,secretary shall conduct an evaluation of program outcomes1 including with respect to parent and child well-being1 parent-child interactions1 parental involvement1 awareness of child development and parenting practices1 placement stability1 and termination of parental rights with respect to covered foster children and incarcerated parents1 to measure program effectiveness1 as determined by the ,secretary1 and identify opportunities for improved program practices and implementation4 7#c7 ,reports to the ,congress 7,a7 ,initial report ,not later than #c years after the date of the enactment of this section1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate a report that includes-- 7i7 the number of applications for grants under this section2 7ii7 the number of grants awarded1 and the amounts for each grant2 and 7iii7 information on the grants1 including-- 7,i7 interim results of the evaluation described in paragraph 7#b72 7,,ii7 disaggregated data on covered foster children and incarcerated parents2 7,,iii7 information on the composition of eligible ,state partnerships2 7,,iv7 best practices for facilitating meaningful relationships between covered foster children and incarcerated parents2 and 7,v7 barriers to implementation or expansion of programs funded under this section4 7,b7 ,final report ,not later than #f years after the date of the enactment of this section1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate a report that includes-- 7i7 the final results of the evaluation described in paragraph 7#b72 and 7ii7 recommendations for refinements to grant requirements to improve program outcomes4 7g7 ,authority of ,secretary with respect to ,indian tribes and tribal organizations 7#a7 ,waiver or modification of requirements ,in making a grant to an ,indian tribe or tribal organization under this section1 the ,secretary may waive the matching requirement of subsection 7e7 or modify an application requirement imposed by or under subsection 7c7 if the ,secretary determines that the waiver or modification is appropriate to the needs1 culture1 and circumstances of the ,indian tribe or tribal organization4 7#b7 ,evaluation ,the ,secretary shall use tribally relevant data in carrying out the evaluation under subsection 7f77#b7 with respect to an ,indian tribe or tribal organization4 7h7 ,limitations on authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary not more than #ce1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbf through #bjbi to carry out this section4 7i7 ,definition of covered foster child ,in this section1 the term covered foster child means a child that-- 7#a7 is in foster care2 and 7#b7 has at least #a parent incarcerated in a ,federal1 ,state1 or local correctional facility4 4