CONNECT Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1465 To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to enhance collaboration between State child welfare and juvenile justice systems. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 14, 2019 Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award com- petitive grants to enhance collaboration between State child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Childhood Outcomes 4 Need New Efficient Community Teams’’ or the ‘‘CON- 5 NECT Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1465.IS S1465 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1465 IS SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO AWARD COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO 1 ENHANCE COLLABORATION BETWEEN STATE 2 CHILD WELFARE AND JUVENILE JUSTICE 3 SYSTEMS. 4 Subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security 5 Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 6 end the following new section: 7 ‘‘SEC. 429A. GRANTS TO STATES TO ENHANCE COLLABORA- 8 TION BETWEEN STATE CHILD WELFARE AND 9 JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS. 10 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to au- 11 thorize the Secretary, in collaboration with the Attorney 12 General and the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile 13 Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of 14 Justice, to make grants to State child welfare and juvenile 15 justice agencies to collaborate in the collection of data re- 16 lating to dual status youth and to develop practices, poli- 17 cies, and protocols to confront the challenges presented 18 and experienced by dual status youth. 19 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 21 competitive grants jointly to a State child welfare 22 agency and a State juvenile justice agency to facili- 23 tate or enhance collaboration between the child wel- 24 fare and juvenile justice systems of the State in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1465.IS S1465 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1465 IS order to carry out programs to address the needs of 1 dual status youth and their families. 2 ‘‘(2) FUNDING.—Of the amount appropriated 3 under section 425 for a fiscal year that exceeds 4 $270,000,000, the Secretary shall reserve up to 5 $30,000,000 of such excess amount for grants under 6 this section. 7 ‘‘(3) LENGTH OF GRANTS.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A grant shall be 9 awarded under this section for a period of not 10 less than 2, and not more than 5, fiscal years, 11 subject to subparagraph (B). 12 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF GRANT.—On applica- 13 tion of the grantee, the Secretary may extend 14 for not more than 2 fiscal years the period for 15 which a grant is awarded under this section. 16 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 17 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—In order for a State to be 18 eligible for a grant under this section, it shall submit 19 an application, to be approved by the Secretary, that 20 includes— 21 ‘‘(A) a description of the proposed leader- 22 ship collaboration group (including the member- 23 ship of such group), and how such group will 24 manage and oversee a review and analysis of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1465.IS S1465 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1465 IS current practices while working to jointly ad- 1 dress enhanced practices to improve outcomes 2 for dual status youth; 3 ‘‘(B) a description of how the State pro- 4 poses to— 5 ‘‘(i) identify dual status youths; 6 ‘‘(ii) identify individuals who are at 7 risk of becoming dual status youths; 8 ‘‘(iii) identify common characteristics 9 shared by dual status youths in the State; 10 and 11 ‘‘(iv) determine the prevalence of dual 12 status youths in the State; 13 ‘‘(C) a description of current and proposed 14 practices and procedures that the State intends 15 to use to— 16 ‘‘(i) screen and assess dual status 17 youths for risks and treatment needs; 18 ‘‘(ii) provide targeted and evidence- 19 based services, including educational, be- 20 havioral health, and pro-social treatment 21 interventions for dual status youths and 22 their families; and 23 ‘‘(iii) provide for a lawful process to 24 enhance or ensure the abilities of the State 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1465.IS S1465 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1465 IS and any relevant agencies to share infor- 1 mation and data about dual status youths 2 while maintaining confidentiality and pri- 3 vacy protections under State and Federal 4 law; and 5 ‘‘(D) a certification that the State has in- 6 volved local governments, as appropriate, in the 7 development, expansion, modification, oper- 8 ation, or improvement of proposed policy and 9 practice reforms to address the needs of dual 10 status youths. 11 ‘‘(2) NO SUPPLANTATION OF OTHER FUNDS.— 12 Any amounts paid to a State under a grant under 13 this section shall be used to supplement and not 14 supplant other State expenditures on dual status 15 youths or children involved with either the child wel- 16 fare or juvenile justice systems. 17 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.—Up to 10 percent of the 18 amount made available to carry out this section for 19 a fiscal year shall be made available to the Secretary 20 to evaluate the effectiveness of the projects funded 21 under this section, using a methodology that— 22 ‘‘(A) includes random assignment when- 23 ever feasible, or other research methods that 24 allow for the strongest possible causal infer- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1465.IS S1465 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1465 IS ences when random assignment is not feasible; 1 and 2 ‘‘(B) generates evidence on the impact of 3 specific projects, or groups of projects with 4 identical (or similar) practices and procedures. 5 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—A State child welfare agency 6 and a State juvenile justice agency receiving a grant 7 under this section shall jointly submit to the Sec- 8 retary, the Attorney General, and the Administrator 9 of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 10 Prevention of the Department of Justice, a report 11 on the evaluation of the activities carried out under 12 the grant at the end of each fiscal year during the 13 period of the grant. Such report shall include— 14 ‘‘(A) a description of the scope and nature 15 of the dual status youth population in the 16 State, including the number of dual status 17 youth; 18 ‘‘(B) a description of the evidence-based 19 practices and procedures used by the agencies 20 to carry out the activities described in clauses 21 (i) through (iii) of paragraph (1)(C); and 22 ‘‘(C) an analysis of the effects of such 23 practices and procedures, including information 24 regarding— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1465.IS S1465 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1465 IS ‘‘(i) the collection of data related to 1 individual dual status youths; 2 ‘‘(ii) aggregate data related to the 3 dual status youth population, including— 4 ‘‘(I) characteristics of dual status 5 youths in the State; 6 ‘‘(II) case processing timelines; 7 and 8 ‘‘(III) information related to case 9 management, the provision of targeted 10 services, and placements within the 11 foster care or juvenile justice system; 12 and 13 ‘‘(iii) the extent to which such prac- 14 tices and procedures have contributed to— 15 ‘‘(I) improved educational out- 16 comes for dual status youths; 17 ‘‘(II) fewer delinquency referrals 18 for dual status youths; 19 ‘‘(III) shorter stays in intensive 20 restrictive placements for dual status 21 youths; or 22 ‘‘(IV) such other outcomes for 23 dual status youths as the State child 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1465.IS S1465 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1465 IS welfare agency and State juvenile jus- 1 tice agency may identify. 2 ‘‘(d) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 3 Secretary may support State child welfare agencies and 4 State juvenile justice agencies by offering a program, de- 5 veloped in consultation with organizations and agencies 6 with subject matter expertise, of training and technical as- 7 sistance to assist such agencies in developing programs 8 and protocols that draw on best practices for serving dual 9 status youth in order to facilitate or enhance— 10 ‘‘(1) collaboration between State child welfare 11 agencies and State juvenile justice agencies; and 12 ‘‘(2) the effectiveness of such agencies with re- 13 spect to working with Federal agencies and child 14 welfare and juvenile justice agencies from other 15 States. 16 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 17 of enactment of this section, and every 3 years thereafter, 18 the Secretary, the Attorney General, and the Adminis- 19 trator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 20 Prevention of the Department of Justice shall jointly sub- 21 mit to the Committee on Finance and the Committee on 22 the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on Ways 23 and Means and the Committee on Education and Labor 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1465.IS S1465 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1465 IS of the House of Representatives, a report on the grants 1 provided under this section. 2 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 ‘‘(1) DUAL STATUS YOUTH.—The term ‘dual 4 status youth’ means a child who has come into con- 5 tact with both the child welfare and juvenile justice 6 systems and occupies various statuses in terms of 7 the individual’s relationship to such systems. 8 ‘‘(2) LEADERSHIP COLLABORATION GROUP.— 9 The term ‘leadership collaboration group’ means a 10 group composed of senior officials from the State 11 child welfare agency, the State juvenile justice agen- 12 cy, and other relevant youth and family-serving pub- 13 lic agencies and private organizations, including, to 14 the extent practicable, representatives from the 15 State judiciary branch. 16 ‘‘(3) STATE JUVENILE JUSTICE AGENCY.—The 17 term ‘State juvenile justice agency’ means the agen- 18 cy of the State or Indian tribe responsible for ad- 19 ministering grant funds awarded under the Juvenile 20 Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 21 U.S.C. 11101 et seq.). 22 ‘‘(4) STATE CHILD WELFARE AGENCY.—The 23 term ‘State child welfare agency’ means the State 24 agency responsible for administering the program 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1465.IS S1465 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1465 IS under this subpart, or, in the case of a tribal organi- 1 zation that is receiving payments under section 428, 2 the tribal agency responsible for administering such 3 program.’’. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1465.IS S1465 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS