COURTS Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2587 To amend subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to extend State court funding for child welfare, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. ROUNDS, and Ms. HASSAN) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Finance A BILL To amend subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to extend State court funding for child welfare, 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 ‘‘Continuation Of Useful 4 Resources To States Act’’ or ‘‘COURTS Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:27 Oct 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2587.IS S2587 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2587 IS SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF STATE COURT FUNDING FOR CHILD 1 WELFARE. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 436(a) of the Social Secu- 3 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 629f) is amended by striking ‘‘2021’’ 4 and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 5 (b) PROGRAM CHANGES.—Section 438 of such Act 6 (42 U.S.C. 629h) is amended— 7 (1) in subsection (a)— 8 (A) in paragraph (2)— 9 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 10 ‘‘in a timely and complete manner’’ before 11 ‘‘, as set forth’’; and 12 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 13 the semicolon and inserting ‘‘, including by 14 training judges, attorneys, and other legal 15 personnel.’’; and 16 (B) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4); 17 (2) in subsection (b)— 18 (A) by striking paragraph (2); 19 (B) by striking all that precedes ‘‘be eligi- 20 ble to receive’’ and inserting the following: 21 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—In order to’’; and 22 (C) in the matter preceding paragraph 23 (2)— 24 (i) by moving the matter 2 ems to the 25 left; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:21 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2587.IS S2587 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2587 IS (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 1 (I) by striking ‘‘(A) in the case of 2 a grant for the purpose described in 3 subsection (a)(3),’’ and inserting 4 ‘‘(1)’’; and 5 (II) by inserting ‘‘use not less 6 than 30 percent of grant funds to’’ 7 before ‘‘collaborate’’; 8 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 9 ‘‘(B) in the case of a grant for the purpose 10 described in subsection (a)(4),’’ and insert- 11 ing ‘‘(2)’’; and 12 (iv) in subparagraph (C), by striking 13 ‘‘(C) in the case of a grant for the purpose 14 described in subsection (a),’’ and inserting 15 ‘‘(3)’’; 16 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 17 following: 18 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts reserved 20 under sections 436(b)(2) and 437(b)(2) for a fiscal 21 year, each highest State court that has an applica- 22 tion approved under this section for the fiscal year 23 shall be entitled to payment of an amount equal to 24 the sum of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:21 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2587.IS S2587 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2587 IS ‘‘(A) $255,000; and 1 ‘‘(B) the amount described in paragraph 2 (2) with respect to the court and the fiscal year. 3 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT DESCRIBED.—The amount de- 4 scribed in this paragraph with respect to a court and 5 a fiscal year is the amount that bears the same ratio 6 to the total of the amounts reserved under sections 7 436(b)(2) and 437(b)(2) for grants under this sec- 8 tion for the fiscal year (after applying paragraphs 9 (1)(A) and (3) of this subsection) as the number of 10 individuals in the State in which the court is located 11 who have not attained 21 years of age bears to the 12 total number of such individuals in all States with 13 a highest State court that has an approved applica- 14 tion under this section for the fiscal year. 15 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBES.—From the amounts re- 16 served under section 436(b)(2) for a fiscal year, the 17 Secretary shall, before applying paragraph (1) of 18 this subsection, allocate $1,000,000 for grants to be 19 awarded on a competitive basis among the highest 20 courts of Indian tribes or tribal consortia that— 21 ‘‘(A) are operating a program under part 22 E, in accordance with section 479B; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:21 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2587.IS S2587 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2587 IS ‘‘(B) are seeking to operate a program 1 under part E and have received an implementa- 2 tion grant under section 476; or 3 ‘‘(C) have a court responsible for pro- 4 ceedings related to foster care or adoption.’’; 5 and 6 (4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘2021’’ and 7 inserting ‘‘2023’’. 8 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 9 this section shall take effect on October 1, 2020. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:21 Oct 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2587.IS S2587 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS