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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-CB-PI-98-13	2. Issuance Date: July 23, 1998
	3. Originating Office: Children's Bureau
	4. Key Words: Title IV-E State Plan Amendments; Public Law 105-89; Public Law 105-200

TO:   State and Territorial Agencies Administering or Supervising the Administration of Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, Regional Administrators, Regions I-X, and Territories Administering theTitle IV-E State Plan.

SUBJECT:   Title IV-E State Plan Amendments

LEGAL AND RELATED REFERENCES:    Sections 471, 473 and 475 of the Social Security Act (the Act); the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, Public Law 105-89; the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998, Public Law 105-200; ACYF-PI-88-07, "Title IV-E State Plan Revision;" and ACYF-PI-97-04, "Title IV-E State Plan Amendments."

PURPOSE:   The purpose of this Program Instruction (PI) is to notify States about amendments required to be made to their title IV-E State plans in response to legislative changes made by the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) and the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act.

BACKGROUND:   The Adoption and Safe Families Act (Public Law 105-89) was enacted on November 19, 1997. This law made several amendments to titles IV-B and IV-E of the Act. In addition, the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act (Public Law 105-200), enacted on July 16, 1998, made several technical amendments to the Act. The amendments made by these laws to sections 471, 473 and 475 of the Act require revisions to Title IV-E State plans.

The effective date for States to be in compliance with ASFA was November 19, 1997, unless the State required the passage of State legislation to comply and a "delayed effective date" was granted or approved by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Listed below is a summary of amendments to the Act which require State plan revisions. Please do not solely rely on this information when amending your State plans, but rather refer to the actual statutory language in Public Law 105-89 and Public law 105-200.

Section 471(a)(15) of the Act was amended by:

• clarification of the importance of health and safety in making reasonable efforts determinations, including circumstances in which reasonable efforts are not required. This section also sets forth the requirements when a court finds reasonable efforts have not been made.

Section 471(a) of the Act was further amended by the addition of:

• subsection (20), which requires criminal records checks (unless the State opts out) for prospective foster and adoptive parents;

• subsection (21), which requires health insurance coverage for non-title IV-E eligible children with special needs who otherwise could not be adopted due to their special needs for medical, mental health or rehabilitative care;

• subsection (22), which requires the implementation of State standards to ensure quality services for children in foster care; and

• subsection (23), which prohibits a State from denying or delaying the placement of a child for adoption when an approved family is available in another jurisdiction. This section also prohibits a State from denying an opportunity for a fair hearing to an individual who alleges a violation of this requirement.

Section 473(a)(2) of the Act was amended to:

• provide continued eligibility for title IV-E adoption assistance payments on behalf of children who were receiving title IV-E adoption assistance until their adoption was dissolved or the parents died and were subsequently adopted on or after October 1, 1997.

Section 475(1)(A) and (B) of the Act was amended by:

• including a requirement that certain safety considerations be addressed in the case plan

Section 475(1) of the Act was amended by:

• the addition of subparagraph (E), which requires documentation in the case plan of the efforts made by the agency to place a child in a permanent home.

Section 475(5)(A) and (B) of the Act was amended by:

• including safety considerations in the case review system.

Section 475(5)(C) of the Act was amended by:

• changing the name of the hearing required under the case review system from "dispositional" to "permanency" hearing;

• shortening the time frame for the initial hearing from 18 months to 12 months;

• changing the date to start the clock for such hearings from the date of the original placement to the date the child was to have entered foster care; and

• changing the requirement for what must be determined in the permanency hearings to emphasize that these hearings must determine a specific permanency plan for a child. This change more clearly defines the purpose of the permanency hearing.

Section 475(5) of the Act was amended by:

• the addition of subparagraph (E), which requires States to file a petition or join existing proceedings within a specified time to terminate parental rights for certain children in foster care and, concurrently, to find a qualified adoptive family. This must be phased in over time for children currently in foster care. (The requirements of subparagraph (E) must be treated as State plan requirements imposed by section 471(a) of the Act);

• the addition of subparagraph (F), which defines when a child is considered to have entered foster care; and

• the addition of subparagraph (G), which requires States to provide foster parents, preadoptive parents or caretaker relatives with notice of, and an opportunity to be heard in a review or hearing to be held with respect to the child.

INSTRUCTION:

Each State must submit amendments to its title IV-E State plan to reflect the new requirements of sections 471, 473 and 475 of the Act. States must record the applicable State statutory, regulatory, policy references and citation(s) for each Federal requirement.

States may submit their amendments using the attached pages for the title IV-E State plan or States may use a different format, provided the format used includes all of the title IV-E State plan requirements of the Act as summarized and set forth in the law.

1. For States using the preprinted title IV-E State plan revision format:

   • replace the cover page; pages 1 and 2 of the Table of Contents; pages 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of Section 2; pages 4, 5 and 8 of Section 3; and pages 3 and 4 of Section 4.

   • Insert pages 14, 15 and 16 in Section 2.

2. For States using their own format:

   • include the pertinent Federal requirements; and

   • record the applicable State statutory, regulatory, policy references and citations for each Federal requirement.

States are to submit the following documents to the appropriate ACF Regional Administrator for approval: 1) the title IV-E State plan amendments, citing the State statutory or regulatory policy references for each and indicating if the amendments are currently in place and, if not, the date on which they will be effective; and 2) the certification, signed by the designated State agency official.

SUBMITTAL DATE:   Within 90 days of this issuance date.

INQUIRIES:   Please direct all inquiries to the appropriate Regional Administrator.

         /s/
___________________________________
James A. Harrell
Deputy Commissioner
Administration on Children, Youth, and Families

Attachment:   State Plan Preprint