,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #digb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,august #ae1         
#bjbe,mr4 ,steube 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,dunn of ,florida1 ,mrs4 ,cammack1 ,ms4 
,wasserman ,schultz1 ,mr4 ,soto1 ,mr4   
,gimenez1 ,mr4 ,scott ,franklin of      
,florida1 ,mr4 ,ezell1 ,mr4 ,guest1 ,mr4
 ,bilirakis1 ,mr4 ,rutherford1 ,mr4     
,edwards1 and ,mr4 ,mills7 introduced   
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means   
,a ,,bill  ,to amend part ,e of title   
,,iv of the ,social ,security ,act to   
address or assist in resolving the      
shortage of appropriate foster homes for
 children1 to develop resources to keep 
sibling groups together1 and to provide 
for a system of checks and balances to  
ensure a child's ongoing safety and     
well-being1 by providing for the        
placement of a foster child in cottage  
family homes and making a child so      
placed eligible for foster care         
maintenance payments4  #a4 ,short title 

,this ,act may be cited as the ,create  
,accountable ,respectful ,environments  
7,,care7 for ,children ,act4  #b4       
,placement of foster children in cottage
 family homes  7a7 ,state plan          
requirement ,section #dga7;a77#cg7 of   
the ,social ,security ,act 7#db         
,u4,s4,c4 #fga7;a77#cg77 is amended by  
inserting or a cottage family home      
before the comma4  7b7 ,eligibility of  
cottage family homes for foster care    
maintenance payments ,section           
#dgb7;a77#b77;,c7 of such ,act 7#db     
,u4,s4,c4 #fgb7;a77#b77;,c77 is amended 
by inserting a cottage family home1     
before with a parent4  7c7 ,definition  
of cottage family home ,section #dgb7;c7
 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fgb7;c77  
is amended by adding at the end the     
following3  7#c7 ,cottage family home   
7,a7 ,in general ,the term cottage      
family home means a home-- 7i7 that is  
operated by a public or private child   
care agency licensed or approved by the 
,state in which the home is situated as 

an agency that meets the standards      
established for the licensing or        
approval2  7ii7 that encourages and     
supports the child and the family of the
 child in maintaining a strong          
connection through regular contact and  
involvement in a plan of care1 except to
 the extent otherwise directed by a     
court of law2  7iii7 that is able to    
serve as a resource to facilitate       
sibling groups being placed together    
where daily contact and interaction     
strengthens family ties2  7iv7 that     
provides children access to activities  
or items that are age or                
developmentally-appropriate1 including  
the ability to participate in           
extracurricular1 social1 or other home  
and community activities with the same  
freedom afforded to their peers who are 
living at home with their families2  7v7
 that has and implements a              
trauma-informed approach in the care of 
children2  7vi7 that prohibits the use  
of seclusion or mechanical or chemical  

restraints and permits only short-term  
physical restraint if approved in the   
policies of the agency to prevent injury
 to self or others1 and prohibits any   
prone physical restraint2  7vii7 that   
provides a system for a child to alert a
 staff member if the child has a        
concern1 feels unfairly denied rights1  
or is subject to a threat of            
mistreatment2  7viii7 that has a        
continuous quality improvement          
methodology that regularly solicits     
information from children concerning    
their perceptions of the quality of care
 and opinions about the strengths and   
weaknesses of the program2  7ix7 that is
 in a single-family style residence with
 no more than #b children per bedroom   
unless it is in the best interest of the
 children2 and  7x7 in which the        
children are under the care of live-in  
parents that use the reasonable and     
prudent parent standard and provide     
#bd-;hour substitute care of children   
placed away from their parents or other 

caretakers4  7,b7 ,preservation of      
,state flexibility ,the ,secretary may  
not prohibit1 limit1 or penalize1 by    
regulation or order1 or bring an action 
in any court to challenge1 any action or
 determination of a ,state or political 
subdivision of a ,state to-- 7i7 treat a
 cottage family home as a foster family 
home for purposes of this part2 or  7ii7
 treat an entity as a cottage family    
care home for purposes of this part1 as 
the ,state deems necessary to serve the 
best interests of children or families4 
4  7d7 ,no time limit on foster care    
maintenance payments for children placed
 in a cottage family home ,section      
#dgb7k77#b7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 
#fgb7k77#b77 is amended by adding at the
 end the following3  7,e7 ,a cottage    
family home4  4  7e7 ,effective date    
7#a7 ,in general ,the amendments made by
 this section shall take effect on the  
date of the enactment of this ,act1 and 
shall apply to payments under 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 under 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 date that is #f
 months after the date of the enactment 
of this ,act4