Supporting Adopted Children and Families Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3909 To amend subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to authorize grants to eligible entities to develop and implement statewide or tribal post-adoption and post-legal guardianship mental health service programs for all children who are adopted or placed in legal guardian- ship, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 23, 2019 Mr. LANGEVIN (for himself, Ms. BASS, and Mr. BACON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to authorize grants to eligible entities to develop and implement statewide or tribal post-adoption and post-legal guardianship mental health service pro- grams for all children who are adopted or placed in legal guardianship, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Supporting Adopted 4 Children and Families Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3909 IH SEC. 2. FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM FOR POST-ADOPTION 1 AND POST-LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP MENTAL 2 HEALTH SERVICES. 3 Section 437 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 4 629g) is amended by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(h) POST-ADOPTION AND POST-LEGAL GUARDIAN- 6 SHIP MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 8 through the Administration for Children and Fami- 9 lies, shall award grants or cooperative agreements to 10 eligible entities to— 11 ‘‘(A) develop and implement statewide or 12 tribal post-adoption and post-legal guardianship 13 mental health service programs for all children 14 who are adopted or placed in legal guardianship 15 and their families; 16 ‘‘(B) support public organization and pri- 17 vate nonprofit organizations actively involved in 18 statewide or tribal post-adoption and post-legal 19 guardianship mental health service programs; 20 ‘‘(C) collect and analyze data on State- 21 sponsored statewide or tribal post-adoption and 22 post-legal guardianship mental health service 23 programs that can be used to monitor the effec- 24 tiveness of such services and for research, tech- 25 nical assistance, and policy development; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3909 IH ‘‘(D) develop and provide adoption and 1 legal guardianship competent educational and 2 training opportunities concerning the mental 3 health needs of children who are adopted or 4 placed in legal guardianship, and their families, 5 for use by teachers, social workers, and other 6 community mental health service providers; 7 ‘‘(E) develop and provide materials for po- 8 tential adoptive parents and legal guardians, 9 both for children who already reside in the 10 United States at the time of the adoption or 11 placement in legal guardianship and for those 12 who at such time reside in other countries, de- 13 scribing the possible need for post-adoption and 14 post-legal guardianship mental health services 15 and available resources; 16 ‘‘(F) develop and provide respite care serv- 17 ices for adoptive and legal guardian families; 18 and 19 ‘‘(G) support research on, and development 20 of, promising practices (as defined in section 21 471(e)(4)(C)(iii)) for post-adoption and post- 22 legal guardianship mental health services. 23 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3909 IH ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the 1 term ‘eligible entity’ means— 2 ‘‘(i) a State; 3 ‘‘(ii) a public organization or private 4 nonprofit organization designated by a 5 State to develop or direct the State-spon- 6 sored statewide post-adoption and post- 7 legal guardianship mental health service 8 program under a grant under this sub- 9 section; and 10 ‘‘(iii) a federally recognized Indian 11 tribe or tribal organization (as defined in 12 the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 13 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et 14 seq.)) or an urban Indian organization (as 15 defined in the Indian Health Care Im- 16 provement Act (25 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)) 17 that is actively involved in the development 18 and continuation of a post-adoption and 19 post-legal guardianship mental health serv- 20 ice program. 21 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—In carrying out this 22 subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that each 23 State is awarded only 1 grant or cooperative 24 agreement under this subsection. For purposes 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3909 IH of the preceding sentence, a State shall be con- 1 sidered to have been awarded a grant or cooper- 2 ative agreement if the eligible entity involved is 3 the State or an entity designated by the State 4 under subparagraph (A)(ii). Nothing in this 5 subparagraph shall be construed to apply to en- 6 tities described in subparagraph (A)(iii). 7 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCE.—In providing assistance 8 under a grant or cooperative agreement under this 9 subsection, the Secretary shall give preference to— 10 ‘‘(A) eligible entities that have dem- 11 onstrated success in increasing the level of 12 adoption and legal guardianship competency 13 among mental health providers, adoption and 14 legal guardianship lawyers, social workers, case 15 workers, adoptive parents, and legal guardians; 16 and 17 ‘‘(B) eligible entities that plan to partner 18 with their State mental health agency in car- 19 rying out the activities for which the grant or 20 cooperative agreement is made. 21 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENT FOR DIRECT SERVICES.— 22 Not less than 85 percent of funds received under a 23 grant or cooperative agreement under this sub- 24 section shall be used to provide direct services, of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3909 IH which not less than 5 percent shall be used for ac- 1 tivities authorized under paragraph (1)(C). 2 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this 4 subsection, the Secretary shall collaborate with 5 relevant Federal agencies and adoption and 6 legal guardianship-related working groups to 7 promote interaction between domestic foster 8 care agencies and private adoption agencies in 9 other countries. 10 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out 11 this subsection, the Secretary shall consult 12 with— 13 ‘‘(i) State and social service agencies 14 engaged in the placement of children for 15 adoption, domestically or from other coun- 16 tries; 17 ‘‘(ii) local and national organizations 18 that serve foster and adopted youth and 19 youth placed in legal guardianship; 20 ‘‘(iii) health and education specialists 21 who focus on adoption, legal guardianship, 22 and foster care medicine; 23 ‘‘(iv) youth who have been in foster 24 care, adopted, or in legal guardianship, do- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3909 IH mestically or from other countries, includ- 1 ing youth who have experienced adoption 2 or guardianship disruptions or dissolutions; 3 ‘‘(v) families and friends of youth who 4 have been in foster care, adopted, or in 5 legal guardianship, domestically or from 6 other countries, including foster and adop- 7 tive parents and legal guardians; and 8 ‘‘(vi) qualified professionals who pos- 9 sess the specialized knowledge, skills, expe- 10 rience, and relevant attributes needed to 11 serve children who are adopted or placed in 12 legal guardianship and their families. 13 ‘‘(C) POLICY DEVELOPMENT.—In carrying 14 out this subsection, the Secretary shall— 15 ‘‘(i) coordinate and collaborate on pol- 16 icy development with other relevant De- 17 partment of Health and Human Services 18 agencies and adoption and legal guardian- 19 ship-related working groups; and 20 ‘‘(ii) consult on policy development at 21 the Federal level with those in the private 22 sector engaged in the recruitment of foster 23 and adoptive parents and legal guardians, 24 the placement of children in foster care, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3909 IH for adoption, and in legal guardianship, 1 and the provision of post-adoption and 2 post-legal guardianship services. 3 ‘‘(6) EVALUATION AND REPORT.— 4 ‘‘(A) EVALUATIONS BY ELIGIBLE ENTI- 5 TIES.—Not later than 18 months after receipt 6 of a grant or cooperative agreement under this 7 subsection, an eligible entity shall submit to the 8 Secretary the results of an evaluation to be con- 9 ducted by the entity concerning the effective- 10 ness of the activities carried out under the 11 grant or agreement. 12 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 13 after the date of the enactment of this sub- 14 section, the Secretary shall submit to the appro- 15 priate committees of Congress a report con- 16 cerning the results of— 17 ‘‘(i) the evaluations conducted under 18 subparagraph (A); and 19 ‘‘(ii) an evaluation conducted by the 20 Secretary to analyze the effectiveness and 21 efficacy of the activities conducted with 22 grants, collaborations, and consultations 23 under this subsection. 24 ‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3909 IH ‘‘(A) ADOPTION AND LEGAL GUARDIAN- 1 SHIP COMPETENCY.—The term ‘adoption and 2 legal guardianship competency’ means an un- 3 derstanding of— 4 ‘‘(i) the nature of adoption and legal 5 guardianship as a form of family formation 6 and the different types of adoption and 7 legal guardianship; 8 ‘‘(ii) relevant emotional and physical 9 issues involved in the adoption and legal 10 guardianship process, including issues re- 11 lating to separation, loss, attachment, 12 abuse, trauma, and neglect; 13 ‘‘(iii) common developmental chal- 14 lenges associated with adoption and legal 15 guardianship; 16 ‘‘(iv) the characteristics and skills 17 that allow for successful adoptive and legal 18 guardian families; 19 ‘‘(v) proper sensitivity with respect to 20 the different geographic, ethnic, or cultural 21 backgrounds of children who are adopted 22 or placed in legal guardianship and their 23 families; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3909 IH ‘‘(vi) the necessary skills for effec- 1 tively advocating on behalf of birth and 2 adoptive and legal guardian families. 3 ‘‘(B) POST-ADOPTION AND POST-LEGAL 4 GUARDIANSHIP MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.— 5 The term ‘post-adoption and post-legal guard- 6 ianship mental health services’ includes— 7 ‘‘(i) adoption and legal guardianship 8 competent mental health direct services, in- 9 cluding training, educational support, 10 counseling, and other services for adoptive 11 and legal guardian parents and families 12 that address caregiver interests and con- 13 cerns regarding child behavioral issues that 14 are common among children who are 15 adopted, placed in legal guardianship, or 16 placed in foster care, including, as appro- 17 priate— 18 ‘‘(I) caring for a child who is 19 adopted or placed in legal guardian- 20 ship and has emotional, behavioral, or 21 developmental health needs; and 22 ‘‘(II) providing for the emotional 23 needs of a child who is adopted or 24 placed in legal guardianship, including 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3909 IH issues relating to attachment, identity, 1 abandonment, cultural differences, 2 grief, loss, and trauma; 3 ‘‘(ii) peer-to-peer mentoring and sup- 4 port groups that permit a newly adoptive 5 parent or legal guardian to communicate 6 and learn from more experienced adoptive 7 parents and legal guardians; 8 ‘‘(iii) the provision of informational 9 resources and available services for adop- 10 tive parents and legal guardians; 11 ‘‘(iv) direct services, including coun- 12 seling, peer-to-peer mentoring and support 13 groups, and other services for children who 14 are adopted or placed in legal guardianship 15 that address common behavioral and ad- 16 justment issues, including, as appro- 17 priate— 18 ‘‘(I) support services for a child 19 who is adopted or placed in legal 20 guardianship with emotional, behav- 21 ioral, or developmental health needs; 22 ‘‘(II) support services that ad- 23 dress the emotional needs of a child 24 who is adopted or placed in legal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3909 IH guardianship, including issues relating 1 to attachment, identity, abandonment, 2 cultural differences, grief, loss, and 3 trauma; and 4 ‘‘(III) treatment services that are 5 specialized for children who are adopt- 6 ed or placed in legal guardianship, in- 7 cluding psychiatric residential serv- 8 ices, outpatient mental health services, 9 social skills training, intensive in- 10 home supervision services, recreational 11 therapy, suicide prevention, and sub- 12 stance abuse treatment; 13 ‘‘(v) peer-to-peer mentoring and sup- 14 port groups that allow children who are 15 adopted or placed in legal guardianship to 16 communicate and socialize with other such 17 children; and 18 ‘‘(vi) crisis intervention and family 19 preservation services. 20 ‘‘(8) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF AP- 21 PROPRIATIONS.—For grants under this subsection, 22 there are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 3909 IH retary not more than $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1 2020, to remain available until expended.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Aug 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3909.IH H3909 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS