,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #heff  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #bi1 #bjbf,mr4
 ,bacon 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,nunn of     
,iowa1 and ,ms4 ,moore of ,wisconsin7   
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on          
,education and ,workforce  ,a ,,bill    
,to encourage the development of        
specialized foster care programs        
designed specifically for large sibling 
groups1 sibling groups with a wide age  
range1 and sibling groups with complex  
needs4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may 
be cited as the ,protecting ,sibling    
,relationships in ,foster ,care ,act4   
#b4 ,competitive grant pilot program to 
encourage the development of specialized
 foster care programs designed          
specifically for large sibling groups1  
sibling groups with a wide age range1   
and sibling groups with complex needs   
7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of      
,health and ,human ,services 7in this   
section referred to as the ,secretary7  

shall establish a competitive grant     
pilot program under which1 during the   
#e-year period that begins with the date
 of the enactment of this section1 the  
,secretary shall make not more than #e  
grants to eligible entities who have    
applied therefor to encourage the       
development of specialized foster care  
programs designed specifically for      
groups of #c or more siblings1 sibling  
groups with a wide age range1 and       
sibling groups with1 or that include a  
youth with1 complex needs4 ,for purposes
 of the preceding sentence1 a youth has 
complex needs if the youth exhibits     
challenging or risky behaviors that     
could cause themself or others serious  
harm1 has mental health needs of such   
severity that the participation of the  
youth in daily life may be impaired     
either with or without services being   
rendered to help1 has a disability 7as  
defined under the ,americans with       
,disabilities ,act71 or has an illness  
that requires continuous monitoring or  

is life-threatening1 and complex needs  
include issues that may arise from      
siblings in foster care with a different
 parent1 which could impact the ability 
of the siblings to be placed together1  
or from a youth with a history of       
trauma4  7b7  ,eligible entity  ,in this
 section1 the term eligible entity means
 a ,state child welfare agency1 a       
,state1 tribal1 or local agency1 a      
faith- or community-based organization1 
or a nonprofit organization that has    
expertise and demonstrated experience1  
as well as ,state supervision1 in       
administering a foster care program4    
7c7 ,applications ,an eligible entity   
that desires to receive a grant under   
this section shall submit to the        
,secretary an application that          
includes-- 7#a7 a description of how    
funds received under the grant will be  
used to place together sibling groups   
described in subsection 7a72  7#b7 a    
description of the specialized foster   
care program involved1 and how the      

program is designed for the placement of
 sibling groups described in subsection 
7a72  7#c7 data describing the          
challenges of placing1 and number of1   
sibling groups described in subsection  
7a7 that are awaiting placements2 and   
7#d7 such other information as the      
,secretary may reasonably require4  7d7 
,use of funds ,a recipient of a grant   
under this section may use the grant    
funds only to develop specialized foster
 care programs which are--  7#a7        
designed to identify available          
placements for1 and place together1     
sibling groups described in subsection  
7a72 and  7#b7 evidence-based1 and      
proven to substantially increase joint  
sibling placements4  7e7 ,reporting     
requirement ,as a condition of receiving
 a grant under this section1 the grant  
recipient shall submit to the ,secretary
 a written report on the number of      
children in the specialized foster care 
program involved1 the size of the       
sibling groups served by the program1   

the methods used to place children with 
their siblings under the program1 and   
the outcomes of the placements4  7f7    
,regulations ,the ,secretary may        
prescribe such regulations as may be    
necessary to carry out this section4    
7g7 ,limitations on authorization of    
appropriations ,to carry out this       
section1 there are authorized to be     
appropriated to the ,secretary not more 
than #aj1jjj1jjj1 which is authorized to
 remain available during the #e-year    
period referred to in subsection 7a74