[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8885 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8885
To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to create a
grant program to promote Federal, State, and local coordination to
address substance use needs of families in the child welfare system, in
order to improve child well-being and permanency.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 28, 2024
Mr. Davis of Illinois (for himself and Mr. Horsford) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to create a
grant program to promote Federal, State, and local coordination to
address substance use needs of families in the child welfare system, in
order to improve child well-being and permanency.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Partnership Grants to Strengthen
Families Affected by Parental Substance Use Disorder Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. REGIONAL AND STATEWIDE PARTNERSHIP GRANTS.
(a) Eligible Partnership Defined; Other Definitions.--Section
437(f)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629g(f)(2)) is amended
to read as follows:
``(2) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Eligible partnership.--
``(i) In general.--The term `eligible
partnership' means a collaborative agreement
(which may be established on an interstate or
intrastate basis) entered into by, at a
minimum, each of the following:
``(I) The State child welfare
agency that is responsible for the
administration of the State plan under
this part and part E.
``(II) The State agency responsible
for administering the substance use
disorder prevention and treatment block
grant provided under subpart II of part
B of title XIX of the Public Health
Service Act.
``(III) The Juvenile Court or
Administrative Office of the Court that
is most appropriate to oversee the
administration of court programs in the
region to address the population of
families who come to the attention of
the court due to child abuse or
neglect.
``(ii) Additional partners.--An eligible
partnership may include any of the following:
``(I) The State agency responsible
for administering the State plan under
title XIX.
``(II) The State agency responsible
for administering the Maternal and
Child Health Block Grant under title V
of this Act.
``(III) The unit of State
government responsible for
administering the Community Mental
Health Services Block Grant provided
under subpart I of part B of title XIX
of the Public Health Service Act.
``(IV) Any other State agency
responsible for administering programs
that promote child and family well-
being, including programs that serve
victims of domestic violence, early
childhood education programs,
elementary school and secondary school
programs (as such terms are defined in
section 8101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7801)), programs under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), hospital
programs, early childhood home
visitation programs using funds
received under section 511(c) of this
Act, and the program for block grants
to States for temporary assistance for
needy families under part A of this
title.
``(V) An Indian tribe or tribal
consortium.
``(VI) Community child welfare
service providers.
``(VII) Community health service
providers.
``(VIII) Community mental health
service providers.
``(IX) Community domestic violence
service providers.
``(X) Community housing authorities
or providers.
``(XI) Local law enforcement
agencies.
``(XII) Tribal child welfare
agencies (or a consortia of such
agencies).
``(XIII) Any other providers,
agencies, personnel, officials, or
entities that are related to the
provision of child and family services
under this subpart.
``(iii) Partnerships entered into by indian
tribes or tribal consortia.--Notwithstanding
clause (i), if an Indian tribe or tribal
consortium enters into a partnership for
purposes of this subsection, the partnership
shall be considered an eligible partnership
regardless of whether the partnership includes
any entity referred to in clause (i), unless
the partnership consists solely of tribal child
welfare agencies (or a consortium of such
agencies).
``(B) State.--Notwithstanding section 431(a)(4),
the term `State' means the 50 States, the District of
Columbia, and each of the territories.
``(C) Territory.--The term `territory' means Puerto
Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin
Islands.
``(D) Indian tribe; tribal organization.--The terms
`Indian tribe' and `tribal organization' have the
meanings given the terms in section 431(a).''.
(b) Authority To Award Grants.--Section 437(f)(3) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 629g(f)(3)) is amended--
(1) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the
following:
``(A) In general.--In addition to amounts
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
section, the Secretary shall award, from the amounts
reserved for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2030
under section 436(b)(5)--
``(i) regional partnership grants to
eligible partnerships that satisfy the
requirements of this subsection; and
``(ii) statewide partnership grants to
eligible partnerships that satisfy the
requirements of this subsection and demonstrate
an ability to operate statewide, including
jurisdictions that are urban, suburban, or
rural.'';
(2) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking ``not less than 2,
and not more than 5,'' and inserting ``5'';
(3) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``of a regional
partnership grant'' before ``from applying''; and
(4) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as
subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively, and inserting after
subparagraph (A) the following:
``(B) Regional partnership grants.--The Secretary
shall provide to each eligible partnership awarded a
regional partnership grant under this subsection--
``(i) not less than $250,000 per grant for
each fiscal year during a planning phase not to
exceed 1 year; and
``(ii) not less than $500,000 per grant for
each fiscal year during the implementation
phase of the grant.
``(C) State partnership grants.--The Secretary
shall provide to each eligible partnership awarded a
statewide partnership grant under this subsection--
``(i) not less than $250,000 per grant for
each fiscal year during a planning phase not to
exceed 2 years; and
``(ii) not less than $750,000 per grant for
each fiscal year during the implementation
phase of the grant.
``(D) Limitation on payment for a fiscal year.--No
payment shall be made under subparagraph (B) or (C) for
a fiscal year until the Secretary determines that the
eligible partnership has made sufficient progress in
meeting the goals of the grant and that the members of
the eligible partnership are coordinating to a
reasonable degree with the other members of the
eligible partnership.''.
(c) Application Requirements.--Section 437(f)(4) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 629g(f)(4)) is amended to read as follows:
``(4) Application requirements.--
``(A) In general.--To be eligible for a grant under
this subsection, an eligible partnership shall submit
to the Secretary a written application containing the
following:
``(i) With respect to the planning phase of
the grant, each of the following:
``(I) A description of the nature
and extent of the problem of substance
use disorders among families who come
to the attention of the State child
welfare agency, including any recent
evidence demonstrating that substance
abuse has had a substantial impact on
the number of out-of-home placements
for children, or the number of children
who are at risk of being placed in an
out-of-home placement, in the
partnership region or State.
``(II) A description of any joint
activities being undertaken among the
entities described in paragraph
(2)(A)(i) and other State agencies or
regional partners on behalf of families
with substance use disorder problems
who come to the attention of the State
child welfare agency, including any
data on the effects of the joint
activities, such as activities relating
to--
``(aa) establishing
standardized screening
protocols, or other methods to
identify families in need of
substance abuse prevention and
treatment services;
``(bb) ensuring early
access to assessment and
treatment services such as
securing expert consultation on
cases involving substance use
disorders, conducting outreach
and methods to engage and
retain parents in treatment,
and providing priority access
to assessment and treatment of
families in the child welfare
system;
``(cc) increasing
management and treatment of
recovery services and
monitoring compliance such as
co-location of services,
specialized recovery case
management services, and
ensuring comprehensive
treatment programs tailored to
individual parent and child
needs;
``(dd) ensuring access to
family-centered services,
including effective parenting
programs focused on enhancing
the parent and child
relationship and the prevention
needs of children;
``(ee) ensuring appropriate
judicial oversight including
providing more frequent
judicial or administrative
reviews of treatment access and
compliance with case plans
regarding participation in
substance use disorder
treatment;
``(ff) having a system for
appropriate response to
behavior of participants, such
as evidence-based contingency
management approaches using
appropriate incentives and
sanctions; and
``(gg) improving
collaboration between courts
and child welfare and substance
abuse treatment agencies
providing services to families
with substance abuse issues,
including--
``(AA) cross-
training of staff;
``(BB) data
collection and
information sharing
that is capable of
monitoring outcomes of
children and families
receiving services from
the agencies;
``(CC) arrangements
for addressing
confidentiality and
sharing of information;
``(DD)
identification by the
State agencies or
Indian tribal agencies,
as the case may be, of
funding barriers and
how Federal, State, and
local resources are
being used to sustain
programs of the
agencies; and
``(EE) consultation
to ensure that
programmatic approaches
reflect the advice of
community members and
persons in recovery.
``(III) With respect to infants
with prenatal substance exposure, a
description of any special efforts to
identify and assess the extent of the