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114TH CONGRESS1ST SESSION S.
llTo amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to invest
in funding prevention and family services to help keep children safe
and supported at home with their families, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
llllllllll
llllllllll introduced the following bill; which was read twice
and referred to the Committee on llllllllll
A BILL
To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security
Act to invest in funding prevention and family servicesto help keep children safe and supported at home with
their families, 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 the4
‘‘ lllllll Act of 2015’’.5
(b) T ABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for6
this Act is as follows:7
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
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Sec. 3. Time-limited family services under part E of title IV of the Social Secu-
rity Act.
Sec. 4. Assuring funding under part B of title IV of the Social Security Act
for prevention and post-permanency support.
Sec. 5. Effective date.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.1
Congress makes the following findings:2
(1) Our Nation’s Federal child welfare financ-3
ing system gives States little incentive to invest in4
prevention and family services and encourages reli-5
ance on foster care rather than on investment in6
prevention and family services that help keep chil-7
dren safely at home or in the care of other family8
members.9
(2) Title IV-E of the Social Security Act cur-10
rently provides States and Indian Tribes with man-11
datory Federal funding support for children only12
after they are placed in foster care. Title IV-E pro-13
vides few incentives for State and tribal efforts to14
prevent the need for out-of-home placements of chil-15
dren or to reduce the time children spend in foster16
care.17
(3) In contrast, State and tribal innovations im-18
plemented through waivers suggest that permitting19
State and tribal spending under title IV-E for front20
end prevention and family services can help reduce21
the prevalence and length of foster care placements22
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while maintaining or improving safety and perma-1
nency outcomes for children.2
(4) At the same time, current Federal funding3
for broad, community-based, primary prevention pro-4
grams through title IV-B is too limited to reach the5
significant number of families in need.6
(5) Expanding Federal funding available under7
parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act8
for prevention and family services will help keep chil-9
dren safe and supported at home with their parents10
or other family members, give States and Indian11
Tribes the flexibility to adapt evidence-based support12
services to the specific needs of each family, and en-13
sure that States and Indian Tribes are held account-14
able for allocating services in ways that maximize15
safety and permanency for children, while mini-16
mizing the prevalence of long foster care placements.17
SEC. 3. TIME-LIMITED FAMILY SERVICES UNDER PART E OF18
TITLE IV OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.19
(a) TIME-LIMITED F AMILY SERVICES DEFINED.—20
Section 475 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 675) is amended by21
adding at the end the following:22
‘‘(13)(A) The term ‘time-limited family services’23
means supports and services that are among the24
services and supports specified in subparagraph (B)25
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and that are provided to 1 or more individuals de-1
scribed in subparagraph (C) during the 12-month2
period that begins on the date described in subpara-3
graph (D). An individual shall remain eligible for4
such services for the full 12-month period that be-5
gins on the date described in subparagraph (D),6
without regard to whether the individual ceases to be7
described in subparagraph (C) after the period be-8
gins.9
‘‘(B) The services and supports described in10
this subparagraph are the following:11
‘‘(i) Parenting skills training and parent12
education, including peer-to-peer mentoring and13
support groups for parents, primary caregivers,14
and potential kinship caregivers.15
‘‘(ii) Individual, group, and family coun-16
seling, including intensive family preservation17
programs and trauma-informed care.18
‘‘(iii) Services or assistance to address do-19
mestic violence, substance abuse, or inadequate20
housing as barriers to family preservation and21
reunification.22
‘‘(iv) Mentoring, tutoring, recreational23
service, and health education for children and24
youth, including activities designed to facilitate25
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access to and visitation of children by sibling,1
parents, and other kin.2
‘‘(v) Crisis intervention services or assist-3
ance to stabilize families in times of crisis, such4
as transportation, clothing, household goods,5
homemaker services, assistance with housing6
and utility payments, child care, respite care,7
and recreational services, as well as similar8
goods and services to facilitate placement of9
children in kinship care.10
‘‘(vi) Other family services or assistance11
approved by the Secretary that are intended to12
prevent a child’s entry or re-entry into foster13
care or, in the case of a child in foster care, to14
allow the child to safely and quickly be reunited15
with the child’s family, to enable kinship place-16
ments, or to otherwise reduce the prevalence17
and length of foster care placements.18
‘‘(C) Individuals described in this subparagraph19
are the following:20
‘‘(i) A child who is a candidate for foster21
care (as defined in paragraph 14).22
‘‘(ii) A child in foster care (without regard23
to whether the child is or would be eligible for24
payments under section 472 or 473).25
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‘‘(iii) Parents, potential or designated kin-1
ship or other guardians, caretaker relatives, and2
family members of a child described in clause3
(i) or (ii).4
‘‘(D) The date described in this subparagraph5
is the earlier of the date on which a child—6
‘‘(i) is initially identified in a case plan or7
at a judicial proceeding as a child who is a can-8
didate for foster care (as defined in paragraph9
(14); or10
‘‘(ii) is considered to have entered foster11
care pursuant to paragraph (5)(F).12
‘‘(14) The term ‘child who is a candidate for foster13
care’ means, a child who is identified at being at imminent14
risk of entering or re-entering foster care, as specified in15
the child’s case plan or as designated in a judicial pro-16
ceeding (without regard to whether the child is or would17
be eligible for payments under section 472 or 473). Such18
term includes a child whose adoption or guardianship ar-19
rangement is at risk of a disruption that would result in20
a foster care placement.’’.21
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 471 of such Act (4222
U.S.C. 671) is amended—23
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘and’’ and24
all that follows through the semicolon and inserting25
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‘‘, adoption assistance in accordance with section1
473, and, at the option of the State, time-limited2
family services in accordance with section 471(e);’’;3
and4
(2) by adding at the end the following:5
‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS FOR TIME-LIMITED F AMILY 6
SERVICES.—7
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State may provide time-8
limited family services (as defined in section 475(13)9
to individuals described in subparagraph (C) of that10
section in accordance with the succeeding provisions11
of this subsection.12
‘‘(2) P AYMENT REQUIREMENTS.—No payment13
shall be made under section 474(a)(6) for expendi-14
tures for time-limited family services unless the fol-15
lowing requirements are met:16
‘‘(A) SPECIFIED SERVICES IN ADVANCE OF 17
PROVISION.—18
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro-19
vided in clause (ii), the specific services to20
be provided for 1 or more individuals de-21
scribed in section 475(13)(C) are included22
in the child’s case plan or identified at a23
judicial proceeding in advance of the provi-24
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sion of such services, unless there are1
emergency or other exigent circumstances.2
‘‘(ii) E XCEPTION FOR EMERGENCY 3
SERVICES OR ASSISTANCE.—Subparagraph4
(A) shall not apply to the provision of5
time-limited family services described in6
clause (v) of section 475(13)(B) but the7
provision of such services shall be included8
in the child’s case plan as soon as prac-9
ticable after the provision of the services.10
‘‘(B) E VIDENCE-BASED PROGRAMS AND 11
PROMISING PROGRAM MODELS.—With respect12
to a fiscal year and expenditures for such serv-13
ices—14
‘‘(i) at least 50 percent of such ex-15
penditures shall be for services that are16
provided for evidence-based programs and17
address specific outcomes related to safety,18
permanency, or well-being for children who19
are candidates for foster care or are in fos-20
ter care; and21
‘‘(ii) at least an additional 25 percent22
of such expenditures shall be for services23
that are provided for evidence-based pro-24
grams or for promising program models,25
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such as evidence-informed or culturally1
specific adaptations of programs, and ad-2
dress specific outcomes related to safety,3
permanency, or well-being for children who4
are candidates for foster care or are in fos-5
ter care,6
in accordance with guidance and technical as-7
sistance from the Secretary under section8
476(d).9
‘‘(C) P AYMENT ONLY IF NO OTHER FED-10
ERAL FUNDING AVAILABLE.—Payment under11
section 474(a)(6) for expenditures for such12
family services shall not duplicate other Federal13
funding sources for such services (including14
those under titles V, XIX, and subtitle A of15
XX) and shall only be made to the extent that16
payment for such services cannot reasonably be17
expected to be made under another federally18
funded program.19
‘‘(D) OUTCOME ASSESSMENT AND REPORT-20
ING.—21
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State shall22
collect and report to the Secretary the fol-23
lowing with respect to each child for whom,24
or on whose behalf, time-limited family25
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services are provided during a 12-month1
period:2
‘‘(I) With respect to each clause3
of section 475(13)(B), the specific4
services provided and the total ex-5
penditures for each such service.6
‘‘(II) The child’s placement sta-7
tus at the end of the period.8
‘‘(III) The child’s placement sta-9
tus 1 year after the end of the period.10
‘‘(ii) SIBLINGS.—If time-limited fam-11
ily services are provided over a 12-month12
period to 2 or more siblings, the aggregate13
amount of expenditures for such services to14
be reported under clause (i)(I) shall be di-15
vided equally among each such sibling.16
‘‘(E) M AINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—The17
State provides an assurance that payments18
under this part for time-limited family services19
shall be used to supplement, and not supplant,20
the level of State and local funds expended to21
provide any such family services for fiscal year22
2015.23
‘‘(3) A UTHORIZATION FOR OUTCOMES-RE-24
WARDED INCREASED MATCH.—25
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‘‘(A) N ATIONAL BENCHMARK MEAS-1
URES.—2
‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT; ANNUAL UP-3
DATES.—Beginning with fiscal year 2019,4
and annually thereafter, the Secretary5
shall establish the following national6
benchmark measures:7
‘‘(I) PERCENTAGES OF CHILD 8
WHO REMAIN WITH, ARE RETURNED 9
TO, OR ARE PLACED WITH A PARENT,10
CARETAKER RELATIVE, OR KINSHIP 11
GUARDIAN.—With respect to all chil-12
dren for whom, or on whose behalf,13
time-limited family services are pro-14
vided during any 12-month period, the15
percentages of such children who re-16
main with, are returned to, or are17
placed with a parent, caretaker rel-18
ative, or kinship guardian at the end19
of such period and the percentage of20
such children who remain in each21
such placement status through the22
end of the succeeding 12-month-pe-23
riod.24
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‘‘(II) TOTAL PER-CHILD SPEND-1
ING ON TIME-LIMITED FAMILY SERV -2
ICES.—With respect to each 12-month3
period for which percentages are de-4
termined under subclause (I) (other5
than a percentage determined for a6
succeeding 12-month period), the total7
amount of expenditures for providing8
time-limited family services for, or on9
behalf of, each child during the pe-10
riod.11
‘‘(ii) D ATA .—The Secretary shall es-12
tablish and update the national benchmark13
measures—14
‘‘(I) based on the median State15
values of the information reported16
under paragraph (2)(D) for the 317
most recent years; and18
‘‘(II) taking into account State19
differences in the price levels of con-20
sumption goods and services using the21
most recent regional price parities22
published by the Bureau of Economic23
Analysis of the Department of Com-24
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merce or such other data as the Sec-1
retary determines appropriate.2
‘‘(B) A PPLICATION TO MATCHING RATE.—3
‘‘(i) CRITERIA FOR INCREASE.—Be-4
ginning with fiscal year 2020, the Federal5
percentage applicable to payments to a6
State for a fiscal year under section7
474(a)(6) for expenditures attributable to8
time-limited family services shall be in-9
creased by such number of percentage10
points (not to exceed 10 percentage points)11
as the Secretary shall determine, for any12
State for which—13
‘‘(I) the State-specific percentage14
described in subparagraph (A)(i) is15
greater than the national benchmark16
measure established under that sub-17
paragraph for the preceding fiscal18
year; and19
‘‘(II) the State-specific per child20
spending amount described in sub-21
paragraph (A)(ii) is less than the na-22
tional benchmark measure established23
under that subparagraph for the pre-24
ceding fiscal year.25
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‘‘(ii) CRITERIA FOR REDUCTION.—Be-1
ginning with fiscal year 2021, the Federal2
percentage applicable to payments to a3
State for a fiscal year under section4
474(a)(6) for expenditures attributable to5
time-limited family services shall be re-6
duced by such number of percentage points7
(not to exceed 10 percentage points) as the8
Secretary shall determine, for any State9
for which—10
‘‘(I) the State-specific percentage11
described in subparagraph (A)(i) is12
less than the national benchmark13
measure established under that sub-14
paragraph for the preceding fiscal15
year; and16
‘‘(II) the State-specific per child17
spending amount described in sub-18
paragraph (A)(ii) is more than the na-19
tional benchmark measure established20
under that subparagraph for the pre-21
ceding fiscal year.22
‘‘(iii) NO CHANGE UNLESS ALL CRI-23
TERIA MET.—A State shall not be eligible24
for an increase in its applicable Federal25
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matching rate under section 474(a)(6) for1
a fiscal year, and shall not be subject to a2
reduction in that rate for a fiscal year, un-3
less the State satisfies both of the condi-4
tions specified in clause (i) or (ii), respec-5
tively.’’.6
(c) P AYMENT UNDER TITLE IV-E.—Section 474(a)7
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 674(a)) is amend-8
ed—9
(1) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at10
the end and inserting ‘‘; plus’’; and11
(2) by adding at the end the following:12
‘‘(6) subject to section 471(e), for each quarter13
beginning after September 30, 2015, an amount14
equal to the Federal medical assistance percentage15
(which shall be as defined in section 1905(b), in the16
case of a State other than the District of Columbia,17
or 70 percent, in the case of the District of Colum-18
bia) of the total amount expended during such quar-19
ter as found necessary by the Secretary for the pro-20
vision of time-limited family services (as defined in21
section 475(13).’’.22
(d) TECHNICAL A SSISTANCE, D ATA COLLECTION,23
AND E VALUATION.—Section 476 of the Social Security24
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Act (42 U.S.C. 676) is amended by adding at the end the1
following:2
‘‘(d) TECHNICAL A SSISTANCE, D ATA COLLECTION,3
AND E VALUATIONS RELATING TO TIME-LIMITED F AMILY 4
SERVICES.—5
‘‘(1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; BEST PRAC-6
TICES.—The Secretary shall provide technical assist-7
ance to States and disseminate best practices with8
respect to the provision of time-limited family serv-9
ices through evidence-based programs and promising10
program models.11
‘‘(2) D ATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATIONS.—12
The Secretary, directly or through grants, contracts,13
or interagency agreements, shall collect data and14
conduct research and evaluations with respect to the15
provision of time-limited family services for purposes16
of assessing the extent to which the provision of17
such services reduces the prevalence and length of18
foster care placements and improves safety and per-19
manency outcomes for children assisted under this20
part.21
‘‘(3) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—22
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall23
submit to the Committee on Ways and Means24
of the House of Representatives and the Com-25
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mittee on Finance of the Senate periodic re-1
ports based on the provision of time-limited2
family services under this part and the activi-3
ties carried out under this subsection.4
‘‘(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY .—The Sec-5
retary shall make the reports to Congress sub-6
mitted under this paragraph publicly available.7
‘‘(4) A PPROPRIATION.—There is appropriated8
to the Secretary, out of any money in the Treasury9
of the United States not otherwise appropriated,10
$2,500,000 for fiscal year 2016 and each fiscal year11
thereafter to carry out this subsection.’’.12
(e) CONFORMING A MENDMENTS.—13
(1) MODERNIZING THE TITLE AND PURPOSE OF 14
TITLE IV -E.—15
(A) P ART HEADING.—The heading for part16
E of title IV of the Social Security Act (4217
U.S.C. 670 et seq.) is amended to read as fol-18
lows:19
‘‘PART E—FEDERAL PAYMENTS FOR FOSTER20
CARE AND PERMANENCY’’.21
(B) PURPOSE.—The first sentence of sec-22
tion 470 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.23
670) is amended—24
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ERN15204 Discussion Draft S.L.C.
(i) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘adoption1
assistance’’;2
(ii) by inserting ‘‘kinship guardianship3
assistance, and time-limited family serv-4
ices,’’ after ‘‘needs,’’; and5
(iii) by striking ‘‘(commencing with6
the fiscal year which begins October 1,7
1980)’’.8
(2) TRAINING.—Section 474(a)(3)(B) of such9
Act (42 U.S.C. 674(a)(3)(B)) is amended by insert-10
ing ‘‘and in ways that include training on how to11
provide such support and assistance, as well as12
training on time-limited family services and how to13
provide such services,’’ after ‘‘living with relative14
guardians,’’.15
SEC. 4. ASSURING FUNDING UNDER PART B OF TITLE IV OF16
THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT FOR PREVEN-17
TION AND POST-PERMANENCY SUPPORT.18
(a) ELIMINATION OF TIME-LIMIT FOR F AMILY RE-19
UNIFICATION SERVICES.—20
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 431(a)(7) of the So-21
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)(7)) is amend-22
ed—23
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(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking1
‘‘TIME-LIMITED FAMILY ’’ and inserting ‘‘F AM-2
ILY ’’; and3
(B) in subparagraph (A)—4
(i) by striking ‘‘time-limited family’’5
and inserting ‘‘family’’; and6
(ii) by striking ‘‘, but only during the7
15-month period that begins on the date8
that the child, pursuant to section9
475(5)(F), is considered to have entered10
foster care’’.11
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—12
(A) Section 430 of such Act (42 U.S.C.13
629) is amended in the matter preceding para-14
graph (1), by striking ‘‘time-limited’’.15
(B) Subsections (a)(4), (a)(5)(A), and16
(b)(1) of section 432 of such Act (42 U.S.C.17
629b) are amended by striking ‘‘time-limited’’18
each place it appears.19
(b) M ANDATORY FUNDING FOR THE PROMOTING 20
S AFE AND STABLE F AMILIES (PSSF) PROGRAM AND RE-21
LATED PROGRAMS AND A CTIVITIES.—22
(1) BEGINNING FISCAL YEAR 2016.—Section23
436(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.24
629f(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2016’’ and insert-25
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ing ‘‘2015, and there is appropriated1
$1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2016.’’.2
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATED TO 3
ENDING OF DISCRETIONARY FUNDING.—Section 4374
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629g) is amended—5
(A) in the section heading, by striking6
‘‘DISCRETIONARY AND’’;7
(B) by striking subsections (a) through (e)8
and inserting the following:9
‘‘(a) øReserved¿.’’; and10
(C) in subsection (f)(3)(A), by striking ‘‘In11
addition to amounts authorized to be appro-12
priated to carry out this section, the’’ and in-13
serting ‘‘The’’.14
(c) ELIMINATION OF PSSF MINIMUM SERVICE C AT-15
EGORIES SPENDING REQUIREMENT AND INCLUSION OF 16
E VIDENCE-BASED SPENDING REQUIREMENT FOR F AMILY 17
PRESERVATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—Section18
432(a)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.19
629b(a)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘, with significant por-20
tions of such expenditures for each such program’’ and21
inserting ‘‘with at least 50 percent of the expenditures22
made for evidence-based programs, and at least an addi-23
tional 25 percent of the expenditures made for evidence-24
based or promising program models, such as evidence-in-25
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formed or culturally-specific adaptations of program mod-1
els, in accordance with guidance and technical assistance2
from the Secretary under section 435(e)’’.3
(d) RESEARCH AND TECHNICAL A SSISTANCE ON E VI-4
DENCE-BASED PROGRAMS AND PROMISING PROGRAM 5
MODELS.—6
(1) FUNDING.—Section 436(b)(1) of the Social7
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629f(b)(1)) is amended by8
striking ‘‘$6,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000’’.9
(2) A UTHORITY .—Section 435 of such Act (4210
U.S.C. 629e) is amended—11
(A) in subsection (c)—12
(i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of13
paragraph (1);14
(ii) by striking the period at the end15
of paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’;16
and17
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-18
lowing:19
‘‘(3) $4,000,000 for research on promising pro-20
grams, including culturally-specific adaptations, to21
identify additional evidence-based prevention and22
intervention programs that prevent child abuse and23
neglect, reduce the likelihood of foster care place-24
ment, increase family reunification with parents or25
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other kin, and promote post-permanency placement1
stability and for providing the technical assistance2
described in subsection (e).’’; and3
(B) by adding at the end the following new4
subsection:5
‘‘(e) GUIDANCE AND TECHNICAL A SSISTANCE RE-6
LATING TO E VIDENCE-BASED PROGRAMS AND PROMISING 7
PROGRAM MODELS.—From the amounts made available8
under subsection (c)(3), the Secretary shall provide tech-9
nical assistance to States, and shall issue and regularly10
update guidance for States, with respect to evidence-based11
programs, and promising program models, that States12
may adopt to comply with the spending requirements13
under section 432(a)(4).’’.14
(e) F AMILY CONNECTION GRANTS.—15
(1) REAUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING FOR FIS-16
CAL YEAR 2016.—Section 427(h) of the Social Secu-17
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 627(h)) is amended by inserting18
‘‘, and $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2016’’ after19
‘‘2014’’.20
(2) INCLUSION OF OTHER FAMILY STABILITY 21
PROGRAMS.—Section 427(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C.22
627(a)) is amended—23
(A) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘or’’24
after the semicolon;25
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(B) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking the1
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and2
(C) by inserting after paragraph (4)(B)3
the following:4
‘‘(5) other programs with evidence to support5
their effectiveness at preventing foster care place-6
ment or supporting family stability post-permanency7
(or both).’’.8
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.9
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the10
amendments made by this Act take effect on October 1,11
2015.12
(b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE-13
QUIRED.—In the case of a State plan under part B or14
E of title IV of the Social Security Act which the Secretary15
of Health and Human Services determines requires State16
legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) in17
order for the plan to meet the additional requirements im-18
posed by the amendments made by this Act, the State plan19
shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the require-20
ments of such part solely on the basis of the failure of21
the plan to meet such additional requirements before the22
first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the23
close of the first regular session of the State legislature24
that begins after the date of enactment of this Act. For25
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24
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purposes of the previous sentence, in the case of a State1
that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of such ses-2
sion shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of3
the State legislature.4