Child Welfare Emergency Assistance Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4172 To provide emergency funding for child welfare services provided under parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 2, 2020 Mr. BROWN (for himself, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. CASEY, and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide emergency funding for child welfare services pro- vided under parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Child Welfare Emergency Assistance Act of 2020’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Purpose. Sec. 3. Definitions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4172.IS S4172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4172 IS TITLE I—FUNDING FOR CHILD AND FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES Sec. 101. Funding for child and family services. Sec. 102. Funding for kinship navigator programs. Sec. 103. Funding for the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood. Sec. 104. Funding for the child welfare court improvement program. Sec. 105. Funding for health oversight and coordination plans. TITLE II—OTHER SUPPORT FOR RESPONDING TO THE COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY Sec. 201. State option to waive licensing requirement for purposes of satisfying the 6-month residency requirement for kinship guardianship assistance payments. Sec. 202. Moratorium on aging out of foster care. Sec. 203. Temporary increase of matching rates for kinship guardianship as- sistance payments, adoption assistance payments for kin care- givers, and Family First prevention services. TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS Sec. 301. COURTS Act. Sec. 302. Requirement for de-escalation strategies relating to interactions with law enforcement authorities. Sec. 303. Emergency designation. SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 1 It is the purpose of this Act to provide funding for 2 States and Indian Tribes and tribal organizations to in- 3 crease their ability to meet the needs of children, youth, 4 and families impacted by the COVID–19 public health 5 emergency through the provision of community-based 6 services and supports; to enhance resources and supports 7 available to kinship caregivers, child welfare caseworkers, 8 and courts handling child welfare proceedings; to place a 9 moratorium on youth ‘‘aging out’’ of foster care; and to 10 maximize the participation and supports made available 11 to racial and ethnic minorities, kinship care families, fami- 12 lies experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness, 13 families with low-incomes, families with recently unem- 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4172.IS S4172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4172 IS ployed caregivers, young parents, and lesbian, gay, bisex- 1 ual, transgender, and queer youth. 2 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act: 4 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 5 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 6 gress’’ means the Committee on Ways and Means of 7 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 8 Finance of the Senate. 9 (2) COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.— 10 The term ‘‘COVID–19 public health emergency’’ 11 means the public health emergency declared by the 12 Secretary pursuant to section 319 of the Public 13 Health Service Act on January 31, 2020, entitled 14 ‘‘Determination that a Public Health Emergency 15 Exists Nationwide as the Result of the 2019 Novel 16 Coronavirus’’ and includes any renewal of such dec- 17 laration pursuant to such section 319. 18 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 19 the 50 States the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 20 Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Is- 21 lands, and American Samoa. 22 (4) OTHER TERMS.—The terms ‘‘Secretary’’, 23 ‘‘Indian tribe’’, ‘‘tribal organization’’, and ‘‘tribal 24 consortium’’ have the meanings given those terms 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4172.IS S4172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4172 IS for purpose of parts B and E of title IV of the So- 1 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 670 et 2 seq.). 3 TITLE I—FUNDING FOR CHILD 4 AND FAMILY SUPPORT SERV- 5 ICES 6 SEC. 101. FUNDING FOR CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES. 7 (a) APPROPRIATION.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Out of any money in the 9 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appro- 10 priated, there are appropriated to the Secretary, 11 $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, for the purpose 12 of making payments to States, Indian tribes, tribal 13 organizations, and tribal consortia to provide child 14 and family services under plans approved under sub- 15 parts 1 and 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Se- 16 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 629 et seq.) in 17 accordance with this section. Such amounts shall be 18 in addition to other amounts made available for such 19 purposes. 20 (2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR INDIAN 21 TRIBES, TRIBAL ORGANIZATION, AND TRIBAL CON- 22 SORTIA.—The Secretary shall reserve 3 percent of 23 the amount appropriated under paragraph (1) for 24 fiscal year 2020 for making allotments for Indian 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4172.IS S4172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4172 IS tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal consortia for 1 such fiscal year. 2 (b) ALLOTMENTS AND PAYMENTS.—Not later than 3 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 4 retary shall do the following: 5 (1) INDIAN TRIBES, TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS, 6 AND TRIBAL CONSORTIA.—From the amount re- 7 served under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall 8 allot to each Indian tribe, tribal organization, and 9 tribal consortium with a plan approved under sub- 10 part 1 or 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Secu- 11 rity Act for fiscal year 2020 an amount that bears 12 the same ratio to such reserved amount as the num- 13 ber of children in the Indian tribe, tribal organiza- 14 tion, or tribal consortium bears to the total number 15 of children in all such Indian tribes, tribal organiza- 16 tions, and tribal consortia, as determined by the Sec- 17 retary on the basis of the most current and reliable 18 information available to the Secretary. 19 (2) STATES.—From the amount appropriated 20 under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) that remains 21 after the application of paragraph (2) of that sub- 22 section, the Secretary shall allot to each State that 23 receives an allotment for fiscal year 2020 under sec- 24 tion 433 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629c) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4172.IS S4172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4172 IS (including States that are territories specified in 1 subsection (b) of that section), an amount deter- 2 mined in the same manner as the allotments for 3 such States are determined under subsections (b) 4 and (c), respectively, of such section 433 for fiscal 5 year 2020. 6 (3) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall make the 7 first payment to each State, Indian tribe, tribal or- 8 ganization, and tribal consortium for which an allot- 9 ment is determined under paragraph (1) or (2). 10 Each subsequent payment shall be made on a quar- 11 terly basis no later than the beginning of the quarter 12 involved. 13 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except to the extent other- 15 wise provided in this section, a State, Indian tribe, 16 tribal organization, and tribal consortium may use 17 the funds paid from an allotment under this section 18 for any purpose specified in subpart 1 or 2 of part 19 B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 20 621 et seq.) and in accordance with the require- 21 ments that apply to that part. 22 (2) TARGETED USES.—A State, Indian tribe, 23 tribal organization, and tribal consortium shall ex- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4172.IS S4172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4172 IS pend significant portions of the funds paid from its 1 allotment under this section for the following: 2 (A) KINSHIP PLACEMENT SUPPORT SERV- 3 ICES.—To provide services or assistance to 4 eliminate the need for out-of-home placements 5 for children and support kinship caregivers who 6 are raising children during the COVID–19 pub- 7 lic health emergency, including for purposes of 8 protecting children and preventing the child 9 welfare system from being overwhelmed during 10 the emergency, such as the following: 11 (i) Crisis stabilization services, includ- 12 ing case management services designed to 13 stabilize families in crisis or otherwise im- 14 pacted by the COVID–19 public health 15 emergency, including transportation, as- 16 sistance with housing and utility payments, 17 and access to adequate health care, child 18 care assistance, and establishing a kinship 19 placement crisis stabilization fund for pur- 20 poses of making direct cash payments to 21 kin caregivers for immediate needs of chil- 22 dren placed with such caregivers in order 23 to facilitate kinship placements and pre- 24 vent the entry of children into foster care. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4172.IS S4172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4172 IS (ii) Family finding, including intensive 1 family-finding efforts that utilize search 2 technology to find biological family mem- 3 bers or connections by marriage or adop- 4 tion for children in, or at risk of entering, 5 foster care. 6 (iii) Re-establishing family relation- 7 ships and supporting family group decision 8 making. 9 (iv) Providing information about be- 10 coming a licensed foster home and, if re- 11 quested, assistance in becoming a licensed 12 foster family home. 13 (v) Other assistance or services re- 14 lated to strengthening and supporting kin- 15 ship families to improve the well-being of 16 children and their kin caregivers impacted 17 by the COVID–19 public health emer- 18 gency, including assistance in accessing the 19 internet and devices to support remote 20 service delivery. 21 (B) CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.—To pro- 22 vide child welfare services in accordance with 23 the plan approved under subpart 1 of part B of 24 title IV of such Act (42 U.S.C. 621), and shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4172.IS S4172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4172 IS include services designed to stabilize children, 1 youth, and families impacted by the COVID–19 2 public health emergency by providing assistance 3 for transportation, housing, utility payments, 4 and access to adequate health care and child 5 care. 6 (C) ADOPTION PROMOTION AND SUPPORT 7 SERVICES.—To provide adoption promotion and 8 support services described in section 431(a)(8) 9 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)(8)). 10 (D) DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING FOR 11 CASEWORKERS AND OTHER CHILD WELFARE 12 AGENCY STAFF AND FAMILIES.—To hire, train, 13 and support caseworkers and other child wel- 14 fare agency staff with respect to the impact of 15 the COVID–19 public health emergency, includ- 16 ing with respect to the intersection of trauma 17 with childhood development, and to expand the 18 ability of caseworkers and other child welfare 19 agency staff to conduct or assist with safe, in- 20 person, home visits and family visits, including 21 by purchasing personal protective equipment for 22 caseworkers and other child welfare agency 23 staff and families, such as gloves, hand sani- 24 tizer, and face masks; providing premium pay 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4172.IS S4172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4172 IS for caseworkers and other child welfare agency 1 staff conducting or assisting with in-person, 2 home visits and family visits during the emer- 3 gency; to allow for improved remote visits by 4 purchasing, updating, or improving technology 5 and internet access for child welfare agencies, 6 caseworkers and other child welfare agency 7 staff and providing training on the use of such 8 technology for caseworkers and other child wel- 9 fare agency staff and families. 10 (3) LIMITATIONS.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—No funds paid from an 12 allotment under this section shall be used to 13 satisfy a matching contribution requirement of 14 a federally funded program. 15 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more 16 than 10 percent of the total amount paid to a 17 State, Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal 18 consortium under this section shall be used for 19 administrative costs (as defined in section 20 422(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 622(c))). 21 (4) EXEMPTIONS.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State, Indian tribe, 23 tribal organization, and tribal consortium shall 24 not be required to spend significant portions of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4172.IS S4172 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4172 IS the funds paid from their allotments under this 1 section for the services specified in section 2 432(a)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629b(a)(4)). 3 (B) DISREGARD FROM CERTAIN LIMITA- 4 TIONS ON EXPENDITURES.—Any expenditures 5 of funds permitted under this section shall be 6 disregarded for purposes of applying the limita- 7 tions on expenditures for child care imposed 8 under section 424(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 9 624(c)). 10 (C) INDIAN TRIBES, TRIBAL ORGANIZA- 11 TIONS, AND TRIBAL CONSORTIA.—In addition to 12 the exemptions under subparagraphs (A) and 13 (B), the Secretary may exempt an Indian tribe, 14 tribal organization, or tribal consortium from 15 any other spending requirements of this section 16 to the extent that the Secretary determines 17 those requirements would be inappropriate to 18 apply to the Indian tribe, tribal organization, or 19 tribal consortium, taking into account the re- 20 sources, needs, and other circumstances of the 21 Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal con- 22 sortium. 23 (d) NO MATCHING OR APPLICATION REQUIRED.— 24 The Secretary shall not impose any cash or in-kind match- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4172.I [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]