Strengthening Families for Success Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8704 To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to reauthorize the grant program to promote responsible fatherhood, to modernize the child support en- forcement program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 30, 2020 Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to reauthorize the grant program to promote responsible fatherhood, to modernize the child support enforcement program, 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; DEFINI- 3 TION. 4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 5 ‘‘Strengthening Families for Success Act of 2020’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 7 this Act is as follows: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Nov 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8704.IH H8704 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8704 IH Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; definition. TITLE I—PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD AND STRENGTHENING LOW-INCOME FAMILIES Sec. 101. Reauthorization of healthy marriage promotion and responsible fa- therhood grants. TITLE II—IMPROVING RESOURCES FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND FAMILY STRENGTHENING Sec. 201. Best practices for coordination of policy to address domestic violence and family engagement. Sec. 202. Grants supporting healthy family partnerships for domestic violence intervention and prevention. Sec. 203. Procedures to address domestic violence. TITLE III—MODERNIZATION OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT Sec. 301. Pilot program to stay automatic child support enforcement against non-custodial parents participating in a healthy marriage or re- sponsible fatherhood program. Sec. 302. Closure of certain child support enforcement cases. TITLE IV—PARENTING TIME SERVICES PILOT PROGRAM Sec. 401. Parenting time services pilot program. TITLE V—IMPROVEMENTS TO THE CHILD SUPPORT PASS- THROUGH REQUIREMENTS Sec. 501. Child support pass-through program improvements. Sec. 502. Improving State documentation and reporting of child support collec- tion data. TITLE VI—PROGRAM FLEXIBILITY DURING THE COVID–19 PANDEMIC Sec. 601. Emergency TANF flexibility. Sec. 602. 2020 recovery rebates not subject to reduction or offset with respect to past-due support. Sec. 603. Protection of 2020 recovery rebates. TITLE VII—EFFECTIVE DATE Sec. 701. Effective date. (c) SECRETARY DEFINED.—In this Act, the term 1 ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Health and Human 2 Services. 3 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Nov 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8704.IH H8704 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8704 IH TITLE I—PROMOTING RESPON- 1 SIBLE FATHERHOOD AND 2 STRENGTHENING LOW-IN- 3 COME FAMILIES 4 SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF HEALTHY MARRIAGE PRO- 5 MOTION AND RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD 6 GRANTS. 7 (a) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.— 8 (1) ASSURANCE.—Section 403(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II) 9 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 10 603(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II)) is amended— 11 (A) in item (aa), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 12 the semicolon; 13 (B) in item (bb), by striking the period 14 and inserting a semicolon; and 15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(cc) if the entity is a State 17 or an Indian tribe or tribal orga- 18 nization, to not condition the re- 19 ceipt of assistance under the pro- 20 gram funded under this part, 21 under a program funded with 22 qualified State expenditures (as 23 defined in section 24 409(a)(7)(B)(i)), or under a pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Nov 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8704.IH H8704 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8704 IH gram funded under part B or E 1 of this title, on enrollment or 2 participation in any such pro- 3 grams; and 4 ‘‘(dd) to permit any partici- 5 pant in a program or activity 6 funded under this paragraph, in- 7 cluding an individual whose par- 8 ticipation is specified in the indi- 9 vidual responsibility plan devel- 10 oped for the individual in accord- 11 ance with section 408(b), to 12 transfer to another such program 13 or activity upon notification to 14 the entity and the State agency 15 responsible for administering the 16 State program funded under this 17 part.’’. 18 (2) PROHIBITION.—Section 408(a) of such Act 19 (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by adding at the end 20 the following: 21 ‘‘(13) BAN ON CONDITIONING RECEIPT OF 22 TANF OR CERTAIN OTHER BENEFITS ON PARTICIPA- 23 TION IN A HEALTHY MARRIAGE OR RESPONSIBLE 24 FATHERHOOD PROGRAM.—A State to which a grant 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Nov 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8704.IH H8704 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8704 IH is made under section 403 shall not condition the re- 1 ceipt of assistance under the State program funded 2 under this part, under a program funded with quali- 3 fied State expenditures (as defined in section 4 409(a)(7)(B)(i)), or under a program funded under 5 part B or E of this title, on participation in a 6 healthy marriage promotion activity (as defined in 7 section 403(a)(2)(A)(iii)) or in an activity promoting 8 responsible fatherhood (as defined in section 9 403(a)(2)(C)(ii)).’’. 10 (3) PENALTY.—Section 409(a) of such Act (42 11 U.S.C. 609(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 12 following: 13 ‘‘(17) PENALTY FOR CONDITIONING RECEIPT 14 OF TANF OR CERTAIN OTHER BENEFITS ON PARTICI- 15 PATION IN A HEALTHY MARRIAGE OR RESPONSIBLE 16 FATHERHOOD PROGRAM.—If the Secretary deter- 17 mines that a State has violated section 408(a)(13) 18 during a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reduce the 19 grant payable to the State under section 403(a)(1) 20 for the immediately succeeding fiscal year by an 21 amount equal to 5 percent of the State family assist- 22 ance grant.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Nov 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8704.IH H8704 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8704 IH (b) ALIGNMENT OF ENTITIES ELIGIBLE FOR GRANTS 1 AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 403(a)(2) of such 2 Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)) is further amended— 3 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 4 (A) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘territories,’’ 5 after ‘‘States,’’; and 6 (B) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(iv) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—States, 8 territories, Indian tribes and tribal organi- 9 zations, public or private entities, and non- 10 profit community entities, including reli- 11 gious organizations, are eligible to be 12 awarded funds made available under this 13 paragraph for the purpose of carrying out 14 healthy marriage promotion activities, for 15 the purpose of carrying out activities pro- 16 moting responsible fatherhood, or for both 17 such purposes. 18 ‘‘(v) TERRITORY DEFINED.—For pur- 19 poses of awarding funds under this para- 20 graph, the term ‘territory’ means the Com- 21 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 22 States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 23 Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 24 Northern Mariana Islands.’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Nov 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8704.IH H8704 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8704 IH (2) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking ‘‘and 1 public’’ and inserting ‘‘public or private entities,’’. 2 (c) TERRITORY AND TRIBAL SET-ASIDE; ELIMI- 3 NATION OF PREFERENCE PROVISION.—Section 4 403(a)(2)(E) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)(E)) is 5 amended to read as follows: 6 ‘‘(E) FUNDING FOR TERRITORIES AND IN- 7 DIAN TRIBES AND TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.— 8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts 9 made available under subparagraph (D) 10 for a fiscal year, not less than 10 of the 11 awards made by the Secretary of such 12 funds for fiscal year 2021 or any fiscal 13 year thereafter for the purpose of carrying 14 out healthy marriage promotion activities, 15 activities promoting responsible fatherhood, 16 or both, (excluding any award under sub- 17 paragraph (B)(i) for any fiscal year), shall 18 be made to a territory or an Indian tribe 19 or tribal organization. 20 ‘‘(ii) CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY 21 OF TRIBAL CONSORTIUMS.—A tribal con- 22 sortium of Indian tribes or tribal organiza- 23 tions may be awarded funds under this 24 paragraph for the purpose of carrying out 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Nov 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8704.IH H8704 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8704 IH healthy marriage promotion activities, ac- 1 tivities promoting responsible fatherhood, 2 or both.’’. 3 (d) ACTIVITIES PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHER- 4 HOOD.—Section 403(a)(2)(C)(ii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5 603(a)(2)(C)(ii)) is amended— 6 (1) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘marriage or 7 sustain marriage’’ and inserting ‘‘healthy relation- 8 ships and marriages or to sustain healthy relation- 9 ships or marriages’’; 10 (2) in subclause (II), by inserting ‘‘educating 11 youth who are not yet parents about the economic, 12 social, and family consequences of early parenting, 13 helping participants in fatherhood programs work 14 with their own children to break the cycle of early 15 parenthood,’’ after ‘‘child support payments,’’; and 16 (3) in subclause (III)— 17 (A) by striking ‘‘fathers’’ and inserting 18 ‘‘parents (with priority for low-income non- 19 custodial parents)’’; and 20 (B) by inserting ‘‘employment training for 21 both parents and for other family members,’’ 22 after ‘‘referrals to local employment training 23 initiatives,’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Nov 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8704.IH H8704 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8704 IH (e) ENSURING HEALTHY MARRIAGE PROMOTION 1 AND RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD ACTIVITIES CAN BE 2 OFFERED DURING PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 403(a)(2)(A)(ii)(I) 4 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)(A)(ii)(I)) is 5 amended— 6 (A) in each of items (aa) and (bb), by 7 striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(cc) how, and the extent to 10 which, funds awarded will be 11 used by the entity for technology 12 and access to broadband in order 13 to carry out healthy marriage 14 promotion activities, activities 15 promoting responsible father- 16 hood, or both, remotely during a 17 public health emergency; and 18 ‘‘(dd) how the entity will 19 sustain continuity of critical serv- 20 ices, specifying the scope of the 21 critical services to be maintained, 22 and the ability of the entity to be 23 able to resume providing such 24 services within 3 weeks of the be- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Nov 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8704.IH H8704 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8704 IH ginning of a public health emer- 1 gency or other incident that com- 2 promises the ability of the entity 3 to deliver such services in-person, 4 by telephone, or virtually; and’’. 5 (2) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY DEFINED.— 6 Section 403(a)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 7 603(a)(2)(A)) is further amended— 8 (A) by redesignating clauses (iv) and (v) 9 (as added by subsection (b)(1)) as clauses (v) 10 and (vi), respectively; and 11 (B) by inserting after clause (iii) the fol- 12 lowing: 13 ‘‘(iv) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY 14 DEFINED.—In clause (ii), the term ‘public 15 health emergency’ means— 16 ‘‘(I) a national or public health 17 emergency declared by the President 18 or the Secretary, including— 19 ‘‘(aa) a major disaster relat- 20 ing to public health declared by 21 the President under section 401 22 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis- 23 aster Relief and Emergency As- 24 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Nov 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8704.IH H8704 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8704 IH ‘‘(bb) an emergency relating 1 to public health declared by the 2 President under section 501 of 3 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 4 Relief and Emergency Assistance 5 Act (42 U.S.C. 5191); or 6 ‘‘(cc) a public health emer- 7 gency declared by the Secretary 8 under section 319 of the Public 9 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 10 247d); or 11 ‘‘(II) an emergency relating to 12 public health that has been declared 13 by a Governor or other appropriate of- 14 ficial of any State, the District of Co- 15 lumbia, or commonwealth, territory, 16 or locality of the United States.’’. 17 (f) MEASURING OUTCOMES FOR ELIGIBLE FAMI- 18 LIES.—Section 403(a)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 19 603(a)(2)), as amended by the preceding subsections of 20 this section, is further amended— 21 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 22 (A) in clause (ii)— 23 (i) in subclause (I)(dd), by striking 24 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Nov 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8704.IH H8704 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8704 IH (ii) in subclause (II)— 1 (I) in item (cc), by striking 2 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 3 (II) in item (dd), by striking the 4 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 5 and’’; and 6 (III) by adding at the end the 7 following: 8 ‘‘(ee) to submit the report 9 required under clause (vi); and’’; 10 and 11 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 12 lowing: 13 ‘‘(III) provides, subject to the ap- 14 proval of the Secretary, for evalua- 15 tions of the activities carried out 16 using each grant made under this 17 paragraph that satisfy the require- 18 ments of subparagraph (F).’’; and 19 (B) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(vii) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO 21 OUTCOMES FOR MEASURING IMPROVE- 22 MENTS.— 23 ‘‘(I) REPORT ON IMPROVEMENTS 24 AFTER 3 YEARS.—Not later than 30 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Nov 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8704.IH H8704 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 8704 IH days after the end of the 3rd year in 1 which an eligible entity conducts pro- 2 grams or activities with funds made 3 available under this paragraph, the 4 entity shall submit a report to the 5 Secretary demonstrating the extent to 6 which the programs and activities car- 7 ried out with such funds made quan- 8 tifiable, measurable improvements in 9 the areas identified in the entity’s ap- 10 plication in accordance with clause 11 (ii)(III). 12 ‘‘(II) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 13 The Secretary shall provide technical 14 assistance to help the eligible entity 15 develop and implement ways to evalu- 16 ate and improve outcomes for eligible 17 families. The Secretary may provide 18 the technical assista [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]