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ACF Administration for Children and Families	U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children, Youth and Families
	1. Log No.: ACYF-PI-CB-96-01	2. Issuance Date: March 13, 1996
	3. Originating Office: Children's Bureau
	4. Key Word: Title IV-E and IV-B State Plan Amendments; Public Law 103-432

PROGRAM INSTRUCTION

TO:   State Agencies Administering or Supervising the Administration of Titles IV-E and IV-B of the Social Security Act, Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations

SUBJECT:   NEW LEGISLATION - Changes in Title IV-E State Plan Requirements and Title IV-B State Plan and Indian Tribal Plan Requirements

LEGAL and RELATED REFERENCES:   Sections 422(b), 427, 474(b) and (c) and 475(5)(A) and (C) of the Social Security Act and 45 CFR 1355 and 1357

BACKGROUND:   On October 31, 1994, Public Law (P.L.) 103-432, the Social Security Act (the Act) Amendments of 1994, was enacted:

1. Section 202(c) repealed section 427 in title IV-B of the Act, effective for fiscal years beginning after April 1, 1996. Section 427 had been added to title IV-B by Public Law 96-272, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, which offered incentive funds to States and Indian Tribes if they provided certain protections for children in foster care.

2. Section 202(a) amended section 422(b) in title IV-B of the Act to include, as State Plan assurances, the foster care protections formerly required in section 427 of the Act. It also added two new assurances with respect to review of State policies on abandoned children.

3. Section 206(b) amended section 475(5)(C) in title IV-E of the Act by defining the periodicity requirement for dispositional hearings.

4. Section 207 repealed subsections (b) and (c) of section 474 of the Act and thereby eliminated the foster care ceilings and the authority to transfer unused foster care funds to child welfare services programs.

5. Section 209 amended the case plan requirements in section 475(5)(A) of the Act by adding a requirement for accountability for children placed in foster care out of State or a substantial distance from home.

PURPOSE:   The purpose of this Program Instruction is to provide information to the States and Indian Tribes with regard to the enactment of P.L. 103-432 and the instructions regarding its implementation.

INSTRUCTIONS:   

1. REQUIREMENT   Section 202 of P.L. 103-432, REQUIRED PROTECTIONS FOR FOSTER CHILDREN:

   • repealed section 427 of the Social Security Act (Foster Care Protections Required for Additional Federal Payments), and

   • amended section 422(b) of the Social Security Act to include, as State plan assurances, section 427 foster care protections as (b)(9).

   * Effective Date: The amendments and repeal made by section 202 are effective with respect to fiscal years beginning on or after April 1, 1996. In addition, section 202 of P.L. 103-432 added:

   • the requirement that,(C)(i), within 12 months (by October 1, 1995), States must review their policies and administrative and judicial procedures for children abandoned at or shortly after birth; and

   • that, (C)(ii), within 24 months (by October 1, 1996), States must enact and implement policies and procedures necessary to enable permanent decisions to be made expeditiously regarding the placement of such children.

   ACTION:   States and Indian Tribes must assure in the title IV-B, subpart 1 plan update, to be submitted by June 30, 1996, that:

   • they will meet all the requirements of section 422(b)(9) of the Social Security Act, not later than October 1, 1996, and

   • they have conducted a review of their policies and administrative and judicial procedures, as required by section 422(b)(9)(c)(i), and

   • they have implemented or will implement the necessary changes in policies and administrative and judicial procedures to enable permanent decisions to be made expeditiously regarding the placement of children as required by section 422(b)(9)(c)(ii).

2. REQUIREMENT:   Section 206 of P.L. 103-432, DISPOSITIONAL HEARING, amended:

   • section 475(5)(A) by inserting "and most appropriate" after "(most family like)", and

   • section 474(5)(C) with regard to the timing of subsequent dispositional hearings by striking "periodically" and requiring them "not less frequently than every 12 months".

   ACTION:   1. States and Indian Tribes must assure:

   • that all dispositional hearings are in fact meeting the requirements of section 475(5)(A) and (C) and that statutes, policies or procedures have been revised in accordance with the new federal legislation.

   We recommend that the States and Indian Tribes submit a copy of their changed policies and procedures to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Regional Offices for informational review purposes by June 30, 1996.

3. REQUIREMENT:   Section 209 of P.L. 103-432, PLACEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY, amended section 475(5)(A) of the Act by adding the requirements:

   • that the case plan for a child placed in a foster family home or child-care institution a substantial distance from the home of the parents, or in a different State, set forth the reasons why the placement is in the best interests of the child, and

   • if the child has been placed in foster care in a State outside the State in which the child's parents are located, an agency caseworker, of either State, must visit the foster home or institution no less frequently than every 12 months and submit a report on the visit to the State agency of the State where the home of the child's parents is located, and

   • that dispositional hearings must determine whether an out-of-State placement continues to be appropriate and in the best interests of the child.

   ACTION:   

   1. States and Indian Tribes must assure:

      • that statutes, policies, and procedures for case plans have been revised to include the requirements governing the placement accountability provisions for children placed out of State or a substantial distance from the home of the parents; and

      • that dispositional hearings will determine the appropriateness of a child's out-of-State placement.

      
      
      

   2. We recommend that the States and Indian Tribes submit a copy of their changed policies and/or procedures to the ACF Regional Office for review and informational purposes.

   
   
   

INQUIRIES TO:	ACF Regional Administrators
	Olivia A. Golden
	Commissioner
	Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Attachment A-   TITLE II--Maternal And Child Health Services Block Grant Program, Income Security, Human Resources, And Related Programs