Rehab and Ahmed Amer Foster Care Improvement Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4923 To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to require States to follow certain procedures in placing a child who has been removed from the custody of his or her parents. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 30, 2019 Mrs. DINGELL 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 follow certain procedures in placing a child who has been removed from the custody of his or her parents. 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 ‘‘Rehab and Ahmed 4 Amer Foster Care Improvement Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4923.IH H4923 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4923 IH SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT THAT STATES FOLLOW CERTAIN 1 PROCEDURES IN PLACING A CHILD RE- 2 MOVED FROM THE CUSTODY OF HIS OR HER 3 PARENTS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(29) of the Social 5 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(29)) is amended to read 6 as follows: 7 ‘‘(29) provides that— 8 ‘‘(A) within 30 days after the removal of 9 a child from the custody of the parent or par- 10 ents of the child, the State shall exercise due 11 diligence to identify and provide notice to all 12 adult grandparents and other adult relatives of 13 the child (including any other adult relatives 14 suggested by the parents), subject to exceptions 15 due to family or domestic violence, that— 16 ‘‘(i) specifies that the child has been 17 or is being removed from the custody of 18 the parent or parents of the child; 19 ‘‘(ii) explains the options the relative 20 has under Federal, State, and local law to 21 participate in the care and placement of 22 the child, including any options that may 23 be lost by failing to respond to the notice; 24 ‘‘(iii) describes the requirements 25 under paragraph (10) of this subsection to 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4923.IH H4923 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4923 IH become a foster family home and the addi- 1 tional services and supports that are avail- 2 able for children placed in such a home; 3 and 4 ‘‘(iv) if the State has elected the op- 5 tion to make kinship guardianship assist- 6 ance payments under paragraph (28) of 7 this subsection, describes how the relative 8 guardian of the child may subsequently 9 enter into an agreement with the State 10 under section 473(d) to receive the pay- 11 ments; 12 ‘‘(B) within 90 days after the State makes 13 a placement decision with respect to the child, 14 the State shall provide notice of the decision 15 and the reasons therefor to each parent of the 16 child, each relative who has expressed to the 17 State an interest in caring for the child, the 18 guardian, and the guardian ad litem for the 19 child, the attorney for the child, the attorney 20 for each parent of the child, the child (if the 21 child is able to express an opinion regarding 22 placement), and the prosecutor involved; and 23 ‘‘(C) the State shall establish procedures 24 to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4923.IH H4923 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4923 IH ‘‘(i) allow a person who receives a no- 1 tice pursuant to subparagraph (B) to re- 2 quest, in writing, within 5 days after re- 3 ceipt of the notice, documentation of the 4 reasons for the decision involved; 5 ‘‘(ii) allow the attorney for the child 6 to petition the court involved to review the 7 decision; and 8 ‘‘(iii) require the court to— 9 ‘‘(I) commence such a review 10 within 7 days after receipt of a peti- 11 tion made pursuant to clause (ii); and 12 ‘‘(II) conduct such a review on 13 the record;’’. 14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 16 subsection (a) shall take effect on the 1st day of the 17 1st fiscal year beginning on or after the date of the 18 enactment of this Act, and shall apply to payments 19 under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 20 for calendar quarters beginning on or after such 21 date. 22 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION 23 REQUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human 24 Services determines that State legislation (other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4923.IH H4923 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4923 IH than legislation appropriating funds) is required in 1 order for a State plan approved under part E of title 2 IV of the Social Security Act to meet the additional 3 requirements imposed by the amendment made by 4 subsection (a), the plan shall not be regarded as fail- 5 ing to meet any of the additional requirements be- 6 fore the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter begin- 7 ning after the first regular session of the State legis- 8 lature that begins after the date of the enactment of 9 this Act. For purposes of the preceding sentence, if 10 the State has a 2-year legislative session, each year 11 of the session is deemed to be a separate regular 12 session of the State legislature. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Nov 05, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4923.IH H4923 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS