Caring Homes and Improved Lives for Dependents (CHILD) Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4839 To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to require States to provide for the placement of a foster child in a cottage home, and to make a child so placed eligible for foster care maintenance payments. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 23, 2019 Mr. MEADOWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to require States to provide for the placement of a foster child in a cottage home, and to make a child so placed eligible for foster care maintenance payments. 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 ‘‘Caring Homes and 4 Improved Lives for Dependents (CHILD) Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:25 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4839.IH H4839 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4839 IH SEC. 2. PLACEMENT OF FOSTER CHILDREN IN COTTAGE 1 HOMES. 2 (a) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 471(a) of 3 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended— 4 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 5 (36); 6 (2) by striking the period at the end of para- 7 graph (37) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(38) provides that, with respect to a child who 10 has attained 6 years of age and who is removed 11 from the child’s home, if a suitable relative or other 12 designated caregiver is not available as a placement 13 for the child, placing the child in a foster family 14 home or a cottage home shall be considered the least 15 restrictive setting for the child.’’. 16 (b) ELIGIBILITY FOR FOSTER CARE MAINTENANCE 17 PAYMENTS OF CERTAIN CHILDREN PLACED IN A COT- 18 TAGE HOME.—Section 472(a)(2)(C) of such Act (42 19 U.S.C. 672(a)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘home or 20 child-care institution’’ and inserting ‘‘home, a child-care 21 institution, or (if the child has attained 6 years of age 22 and a suitable relative or other designated caregiver is not 23 available as a placement for the child) a cottage home that 24 is not a foster family home or child-care institution’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:25 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4839.IH H4839 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4839 IH (c) DEFINITION OF COTTAGE HOME.—Section 1 472(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672(c)), as amended by 2 the Family First Prevention Services Act, is amended by 3 adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(3) COTTAGE HOME.—The term ‘cottage 5 home’ means a residential operation— 6 ‘‘(A) in which not more than 12 children 7 reside; 8 ‘‘(B) that has and implements a trauma- 9 informed treatment plan for its residents; 10 ‘‘(C) that involves family members of a 11 child in the treatment for the child, and main- 12 tains contact with the family of the child, if 13 available and if the involvement is clinically ap- 14 propriate for the well-being of the child; 15 ‘‘(D) that is licensed by the State in which 16 it is situated or has been approved, by the 17 agency of such State responsible for licensing or 18 approval of institutions of this type; and 19 ‘‘(E) that is accredited by the Council on 20 Accreditation or another national accrediting 21 body.’’. 22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 24 this section shall take effect on the date of the en- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:25 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4839.IH H4839 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4839 IH actment of this Act, and shall apply to payments 1 under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 2 for calendar quarters beginning on or after such 3 date. 4 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION 5 REQUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human 6 Services determines that State legislation (other 7 than legislation appropriating funds) is required in 8 order for a State plan under part E of title IV of 9 the Social Security Act to meet the additional re- 10 quirements imposed by the amendments made by 11 this section, the plan shall not be regarded as failing 12 to meet any of the additional requirements before 13 the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning 14 after the first regular session of the State legislature 15 that begins after the date of the enactment of this 16 Act. For purposes of the preceding sentence, if the 17 State has a 2-year legislative session, each year of 18 the session is deemed to be a separate regular ses- 19 sion of the State legislature. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:25 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4839.IH H4839 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS