P.L. 109-288, Approved September 28, 2006 (120 Stat. 1233)

Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006

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SECTION 1. [42 U.S.C. 1305 note] SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006”.

SEC. 2. [42 U.S.C. 621 note] FINDINGS.

The Congress finds as follows:

(1) For Federal fiscal year 2004, child protective services (CPS) staff nationwide reported investigating or assessing an estimated 3,000,000 allegations of child maltreatment, and determined that 872,000 children had been abused or neglected by their parents or other caregivers.

(2) Combined, the Child Welfare Services (CWS) and Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) programs provide States about 700,000,000 per year, the largest source of targeted Federal funding in the child protection system for services to ensure that children are not abused or neglected and, whenever possible, help children remain safely with their families.

(3) A 2003 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that little research is available on the effectiveness of activities supported by CWS funds—evaluations of services supported by PSSF funds have generally shown little or no effect.

(4) Further, the Department of Health and Human Services recently completed initial Child and Family Service Reviews (CFSRs) in each State. No State was in full compliance with all measures of the CFSRs. The CFSRs also revealed that States need to work to prevent repeat abuse and neglect of children, improve services provided to families to reduce the risk of future harm (including by better monitoring the participation of families in services), and strengthen upfront services provided to families to prevent unnecessary family break-up and protect children who remain at home.

(5) Federal policy should encourage States to invest their CWS and PSSF funds in services that promote and protect the welfare of children, support strong, healthy families, and reduce the reliance on out-of-home care, which will help ensure all children are raised in safe, loving families.

(6) CFSRs also found a strong correlation between frequent caseworker visits with children and positive outcomes for these children, such as timely achievement of permanency and other indicators of child well-being.

(7) However, a December 2005 report by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General found that only 20 States were able to produce reports to show whether caseworkers actually visited children in foster care on at least a monthly basis, despite the fact that nearly all States had written standards suggesting monthly visits were State policy.

(8) A 2003 GAO report found that the average tenure for a child welfare caseworker is less than 2 years and this level of turnover negatively affects safety and permanency for children.

(9) Targeting CWS and PSSF funds to ensure children in foster care are visited on at least a monthly basis will promote better outcomes for vulnerable children, including by preventing further abuse and neglect.

(10) According to the Office of Applied Studies of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the annual number of new uses of Methamphetamine, also known as “meth,” has increased 72 percent over the past decade. According to a study conducted by the National Association of Counties which surveyed 500 county law enforcement agencies in 45 states, 88 percent of the agencies surveyed reported increases in meth related arrests starting 5 years ago.

(11) According to the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 12,000,000 Americans have tried methamphetamine. Meth making operations have been uncovered in all 50 states, but the most wide-spread abuse has been concentrated in the western, southwestern, and Midwestern United States.

(12) Methamphetamine abuse is on the increase, particularly among women of child-bearing age. This is having an impact on child welfare systems in many States. According to a survey administered by the National Association of Counties (“The Impact of Meth on Children”), conducted in 300 counties in 13 states, meth is a major cause of child abuse and neglect. Forty percent of all the child welfare officials in the survey reported an increase in out-of-home placements because of meth in 2005.

(13) It is appropriate also to target PSSF funds to address this issue because of the unique strain the meth epidemic puts on child welfare agencies. Outcomes for children affected by meth are enhanced when services provided by law enforcement, child welfare and substance abuse agencies are integrated.

SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE PROMOTING SAFE AND STABLE FAMILIES PROGRAM.

(c) [None Assigned] Availability of Promoting Safe and Stable Families for Fiscal Year 2006.—

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(1) Appropriation.—Out of money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to carry out section 436 of the Social Security Act, in addition to any amount otherwise made available for fiscal year 2006 to carry out such section.

(2) Availability of funds.—Notwithstanding sections 434(b)(2) and (b)(3) of such Act, the amount appropriated under paragraph (1) of this subsection—

(A) shall remain available for expenditure through fiscal year 2009 solely for the purpose described in section 436(b)(4)(i) of such Act;

(B) shall not be used to supplant any Federal funds paid under part E of title IV of such Act that could be used for that purpose; and

(C) shall not be made available to any Indian tribe or tribal consortium.

(e) Annual Budget Requests, Summaries, and Expenditure Reports.—

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(3) [42 U.S.C. 629b note] Effective date; initial deadlines for submissions.—The amendments made by this subsection take effect on the date of enactment of this Act. Each State with an approved plan under subpart 1 or 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act shall make its initial submission of the forms required under section 432(a)(8)(B) of the Social Security Act to the Secretary of Health and Human Services by June 30, 2007, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit the first compilation required under section 432(c) of the Social Security Act by September 30, 2007.

SEC. 7. MONTHLY CASEWORKER STANDARD.

(c) [None Assigned] Reports.—

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(1) Progress report.—Not later than March 31, 2010, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a report that outlines the progress made by the States in meeting the standards referred to in section 422(b)(17) of the Social Security Act, and offers recommendations developed in consultation with State officials responsible for administering child welfare programs and members of the State legislature to assist States in their efforts to ensure that foster children are visited on a monthly basis.

SEC. 12. [42 U.S.C. 621 note] EFFECTIVE DATES.

(c) Availability of Promoting Safe and Stable Families Resources for Fiscal Year 2006.—Section 3(c) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

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[Internal References.—SSAct §§421(c), 1842(c)(2), 1848(f), and 1894 have footnotes referring to P.L. 109-288.]

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