Julia Carson Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3507 To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to ensure funding for grants to promote responsible fatherhood and strengthen low-income families, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 26, 2019 Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself and Mr. CARSON of Indiana) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to ensure funding for grants to promote responsible fatherhood and strengthen low-income families, and for other pur- poses. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Julia Carson Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Fami- 5 lies Act of 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3507.IH H3507 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3507 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. TITLE I—PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD AND STRENGTHENING LOW-INCOME FAMILIES Sec. 101. Healthy marriage promotion and responsible fatherhood programs. Sec. 102. Grants supporting healthy family partnerships for domestic violence intervention and preventions. Sec. 103. Procedures to address domestic violence. Sec. 104. Grants to States for family strengthening commissions. TITLE II—TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES Sec. 201. TANF work participation improvements. Sec. 202. TANF Employment Fund. Sec. 203. Sense of Congress. TITLE III—CHILD SUPPORT Sec. 301. Full family distribution and ban on recovery of Medicaid costs for births. Sec. 302. State assessments of barriers to employment and financial support of children. Sec. 303. Public reporting on consequences for nonpayment. Sec. 304. Early intervention to ensure regular payment of support and prevent overdue support. Sec. 305. Improved collection and distribution of child support. Sec. 306. Services and activities to support noncustodial parenting time. TITLE IV—REVENUE PROVISION Sec. 401. Increase in credit percentage under earned income tax credit for eligi- ble individuals with no qualifying children. TITLE V—SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE Sec. 501. Collection of child support under the supplemental nutrition assist- ance program. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 3 Congress makes the following findings: 4 (1) Fathers play a significant and underappre- 5 ciated role in the development of their children, with 6 research demonstrating that a supportive and in- 7 volved father strengthens a child’s emotional, phys- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3507.IH H3507 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3507 IH ical, intellectual, and behavioral development. Chil- 1 dren with positive relationships with fathers, even if 2 they do not live in the same household, have strong- 3 er mental health, economic success, and academic 4 achievement with lower rates of youth delinquency, 5 school dropout, and teen pregnancy. 6 (2) Economic stability also leads to positive out- 7 comes for children, including stronger emotional 8 well-being, physical health, and academic success. 9 (3) Family patterns in the United States have 10 resulted in fewer children living with their fathers. 11 The October 2016 Child Trends report on family 12 structure shows the proportion of all children who 13 have not attained the age of 18 living with both par- 14 ents has decreased over the past half century, from 15 85 percent in 1960 to 65 percent in 2015, with 23 16 percent of such children living with their mother 17 only and 4 percent of such children living with their 18 father only in 2015. 19 (4) A 2015 United States Census analysis of 20 children’s living arrangements and characteristics 21 showed that a child in a father-absent home is more 22 than 5 times more likely to live in poverty than a 23 child in a married-couple family. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3507.IH H3507 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3507 IH (5) Father engagement does not depend on liv- 1 ing in the same house as the child, with many non- 2 residential fathers being actively involved with their 3 children and supportive of their children’s mothers. 4 However, low-income fathers experience multiple 5 challenges to contributing financially and emotion- 6 ally to their children due to limited education and 7 job skills, unstable employment opportunities, child 8 support enforcement policies, incarceration, and 9 strained relationships with the children’s mothers. 10 Multiple approaches are needed to address these 11 barriers to create opportunities for fathers to sustain 12 their engagement and closeness with their children 13 and families. 14 (6) Federal programs should encourage respon- 15 sible fatherhood and healthy families by increasing 16 the upward economic mobility of custodial and non- 17 custodial parents so that they can actively partici- 18 pate in financial support and child-rearing as well as 19 maintain positive, healthy, and nonviolent relation- 20 ships with their children and coparents, including 21 improving compliance with child support obligations 22 and cooperative parenting. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3507.IH H3507 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3507 IH TITLE I—PROMOTING RESPON- 1 SIBLE FATHERHOOD AND 2 STRENGTHENING LOW-IN- 3 COME FAMILIES 4 SEC. 101. HEALTHY MARRIAGE PROMOTION AND RESPON- 5 SIBLE FATHERHOOD PROGRAMS. 6 (a) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.— 7 (1) ASSURANCE.—Section 403(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II) 8 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 9 603(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II)) is amended— 10 (A) in item (aa), by striking ‘‘and’’; 11 (B) in item (bb), by striking the period 12 and inserting a semicolon; and 13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘(cc) if the entity is a State 15 or an Indian tribe or tribal orga- 16 nization, to not condition the re- 17 ceipt of assistance under the pro- 18 gram funded under this part, 19 under a program funded with 20 qualified State expenditures (as 21 defined in section 22 409(a)(7)(B)(i)), or under any 23 other program funded under this 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3507.IH H3507 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3507 IH title, on enrollment in any such 1 programs or activities; and 2 ‘‘(dd) to permit any partici- 3 pant in a program or activity 4 funded under this paragraph, in- 5 cluding an individual whose par- 6 ticipation is specified in the indi- 7 vidual responsibility plan devel- 8 oped for the individual in accord- 9 ance with section 408(b), to 10 transfer to another such program 11 or activity upon notification to 12 the entity and the State agency 13 responsible for administering the 14 State program funded under this 15 part.’’. 16 (2) PROHIBITION.—Section 408(a) of such Act 17 (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by adding at the end 18 the following: 19 ‘‘(13) BAN ON CONDITIONING RECEIPT OF 20 TANF OR CERTAIN OTHER BENEFITS ON PARTICIPA- 21 TION IN A HEALTHY MARRIAGE OR RESPONSIBLE 22 FATHERHOOD PROGRAM.—A State to which a grant 23 is made under section 403 shall not condition the re- 24 ceipt of assistance under the State program funded 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3507.IH H3507 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3507 IH under this part, under a program funded with quali- 1 fied State expenditures (as defined in section 2 409(a)(7)(B)(i)), or under any other program fund- 3 ed under this title, on participation in a healthy 4 marriage promotion activity (as defined in section 5 403(a)(2)(A)(iii)) or in an activity promoting re- 6 sponsible fatherhood (as defined in section 7 403(a)(2)(C)(ii)).’’. 8 (3) PENALTY.—Section 409(a) of such Act (42 9 U.S.C. 609(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 10 following: 11 ‘‘(17) PENALTY FOR CONDITIONING RECEIPT 12 OF TANF OR CERTAIN OTHER BENEFITS ON PARTICI- 13 PATION IN A HEALTHY MARRIAGE OR RESPONSIBLE 14 FATHERHOOD PROGRAM.—If the Secretary deter- 15 mines that a State has violated section 408(a)(13) 16 during a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reduce the 17 grant payable to the State under section 403(a)(1) 18 for the immediately succeeding fiscal year by an 19 amount equal to 5 percent of the State family assist- 20 ance grant.’’. 21 (b) ACTIVITIES PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHER- 22 HOOD.—Section 403(a)(2)(C)(ii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 23 603(a)(2)(C)(ii)) is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3507.IH H3507 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3507 IH (1) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘marriage or 1 sustain marriage’’ and inserting ‘‘healthy relation- 2 ships and marriages or to sustain healthy relation- 3 ships or marriages’’; 4 (2) in subclause (II), by inserting ‘‘educating 5 youth who are not yet parents about the economic, 6 social, and family consequences of early parenting, 7 helping participants in fatherhood programs work 8 with their own children to break the cycle of early 9 parenthood,’’ after ‘‘child support payments,’’; and 10 (3) in subclause (III), by striking ‘‘fathers’’ and 11 inserting ‘‘low-income fathers and other low-income 12 noncustodial parents who are not eligible for assist- 13 ance under the State program funded under this 14 part’’. 15 (c) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 403(a)(2)(D) of 16 such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)(D)) is amended— 17 (1) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2017 and 2018’’ 18 and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’; and 19 (2) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2017 or 2018’’ and 20 inserting ‘‘any of fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’. 21 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 22 this section shall take effect on October 1, 2019. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3507.IH H3507 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3507 IH SEC. 102. GRANTS SUPPORTING HEALTHY FAMILY PART- 1 NERSHIPS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTER- 2 VENTION AND PREVENTIONS. 3 Section 403(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 4 603(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 5 new paragraph: 6 ‘‘(6) GRANTS SUPPORTING HEALTHY FAMILY 7 PARTNERSHIPS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTER- 8 VENTION AND PREVENTION.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 10 award grants on a competitive basis to healthy 11 family partnerships to develop and implement 12 promising practices for— 13 ‘‘(i) assessing and providing services 14 to individuals and families affected by do- 15 mestic violence, including through case- 16 worker training, the provision of technical 17 assistance to community partners, and the 18 implementation of safe visitation and ex- 19 change programs; or 20 ‘‘(ii) preventing domestic violence, 21 particularly as a barrier to economic secu- 22 rity, and fostering healthy relationships. 23 ‘‘(B) EDUCATION SERVICES.—In awarding 24 grants under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 25 shall ensure that 10 percent of the funds made 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3507.IH H3507 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3507 IH available under such grants are used for high 1 schools and other secondary educational institu- 2 tions and institutions of higher education to 3 provide education services on the value of 4 healthy relationships, responsible parenting, 5 and healthy marriages characterized by mutual 6 respect and nonviolence, and the importance of 7 building relationship skills such as communica- 8 tion, conflict resolution, and budgeting. 9 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—The respective entity 10 and organization of a healthy family partner- 11 ship entered into for purposes of receiving a 12 grant under this paragraph shall submit a joint 13 application to the Secretary, at such time and 14 in such manner as the Secretary shall specify, 15 containing— 16 ‘‘(i) a description of how the partner- 17 ship intends to carry out the activities de- 18 scribed in subparagraph (A); 19 ‘‘(ii) an assurance that funds made 20 available under the grant shall be used to 21 supplement, and not supplant, other funds 22 used by the entity or organization to carry 23 out programs, activities, or services de- 24 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3507.IH H3507 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3507 IH ‘‘(iii) such other information as the 1 Secretary may require. 2 ‘‘(D) GENERAL RULES GOVERNING USE OF 3 FUNDS.—The rules of section 404, other than 4 subsection (b) of that section, shall not apply to 5 a grant made under this paragraph. 6 ‘‘(E) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 7 ‘‘(i) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term 8 ‘domestic violence’ has the meaning given 9 that term in section 402(a)(7)(B). 10 ‘‘(ii) HEALTHY FAMILY PARTNER- 11 SHIP.—The term ‘healthy family partner- 12 ship’ means a partnership between— 13 ‘‘(I) an entity receiving funds 14 under a grant made under paragraph 15 (2) to promote healthy marriage or re- 16 sponsible fatherhood; and 17 ‘‘(II) an organization with dem- 18 onstrated expertise working with sur- 19 vivors of domestic violence. 20 ‘‘(F) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money 21 in the Treasury of the United States not other- 22 wise appropriated, there are appropriated for 23 each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, 24 $25,000,000 to carry out this paragraph.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3507.IH H3507 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3507 IH SEC. 103. PROCEDURES TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403(a)(2) of the Social 2 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)) is amended— 3 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and 4 (E) as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respectively; and 5 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECEIPT OF 8 FUNDS.—An entity may not be awarded a grant 9 under this paragraph unless the entity, as a 10 condition of receiving funds under such [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]