[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 600 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 600
To enhance pre- and post-adoption support services, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 13, 2025
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Cramer) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance pre- and post-adoption support services, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Supporting Adopted Children and
Families Act''.
SEC. 2. ADOPTION SUPPORT SERVICES.
(a) Ensuring the Well-Being of Adopted Children and Their Adoptive
Families.--Section 421 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new
paragraph:
``(5) ensuring the well-being of adopted children and their
adoptive families and promoting efforts to prevent such
children from entering the foster care system through the
provision of pre- and post-adoption support services; and''.
(b) Pre- and Post-Adoption Support Services.--Paragraph (8) of
section 431(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(8) Adoption promotion and support services.--
``(A) In general.--The term `adoption promotion and
support services' means services and activities
designed to encourage more adoptions out of the foster
care system and support domestic adoptions and
adoptions from other countries, consistent with
promoting the best interests of adopted children and
their adoptive families. Such services and activities
may include pre- and post-adoption support services, as
described in subparagraph (B), that are designed to
support adopted children and their adoptive families.
``(B) Pre- and post-adoption support services.--The
term `pre- and post-adoption support services' means
the following:
``(i) Pre-adoption support services, which
may include--
``(I) direct services, including
training, educational support,
counseling, and other services for
adoptive parents and families that
address caregiver interests and
concerns regarding common behavioral
issues, such as--
``(aa) issues relating to
emotional, behavioral, or
developmental health needs;
``(bb) issues relating to
attachment, identity,
abandonment, cultural
differences, grief, loss, and
trauma; and
``(cc) issues resulting
from birth defects due to fetal
alcohol syndrome or any other
substance abuse-related
developmental disorder;
``(II) the provision of educational
resources for adoptive parents
regarding the geographic, ethnic, and
cultural background of the adopted
child;
``(III) peer-to-peer mentoring and
support groups that permit a newly
adoptive parent to communicate and
learn from more experienced adoptive
parents, including programs that
enhance communication between adoptive
parents with children of similar
geographic, ethnic, or cultural
backgrounds; and
``(IV) the provision of
informational resources for adoptive
parents, including--
``(aa) resources available
through Federal and State
agencies, including information
regarding benefits for children
with a medical condition or a
physical, mental, or emotional
disability;
``(bb) newsletters,
websites, and other
informational resources
regarding adoption-related
services;
``(cc) the establishment of
lending libraries containing
information and resources for
adoptive parents; and
``(dd) conferences,
discussion groups, and seminars
that are available to adoptive
parents and other relevant
stakeholders.
``(ii) Post-adoption support services,
which may include--
``(I) continued provision to
adoptive parents of pre-adoption
support services described in clause
(i);
``(II) the provision of accessible
and reliable respite services for
adoptive parents;
``(III) direct services and
counseling for adopted children,
including, as appropriate--
``(aa) support services for
an adopted child with
emotional, behavioral, or
developmental health needs;
``(bb) support services
that address issues relating to
attachment, identity,
abandonment, cultural
differences, grief, and loss;
and
``(cc) treatment services
that are specialized for
adopted children, including
psychiatric residential
services, outpatient mental
health services, social skills
training, intensive in-home
supervision services,
recreational therapy, suicide
prevention, and substance abuse
treatment;
``(IV) peer-to-peer mentoring and
support groups that allow adopted
children to communicate and socialize
with other adopted children, including
programs that provide for communication
between adopted children from similar
geographic, ethnic, or cultural
backgrounds; and
``(V) crisis and family
preservation services, including crisis
counseling and a 24-hour emergency
hotline for adoptive parents.''.
SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR ADOPTION PROMOTION AND SUPPORT SERVICES.
Paragraph (8) of section 473(a) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended to read as follows:
``(8) With respect to the amount of savings (if any) in
State expenditures under this part resulting from the
application of paragraph (2)(A)(ii) to all applicable children
for a fiscal year, a State shall--
``(A) spend a significant portion of such amount to
provide pre- and post-adoption support services (as
defined in section 431(a)(8)(B));
``(B) spend the remainder of such amount to provide
to children or families any other services that may be
provided under this part or part B; and
``(C) on an annual basis, submit to the Secretary a
report that provides a detailed account of any services
that were funded pursuant to this paragraph.''.
SEC. 4. FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM FOR POST-ADOPTION AND POST-LEGAL
GUARDIANSHIP MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.
(a) Funding.--Section 436(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
629f(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(5) Post-adoption and post-legal guardianship mental
health services.--The Secretary shall reserve $20,000,000 for
grants under section 437(h).''.
(b) Grant Program.--Section 437 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 629g) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(h) Post-Adoption and Post-Legal Guardianship Mental Health
Service Programs.--
``(1) In general.--From the amounts reserved for each of
fiscal years 2026 through 2029 under section 436(b)(6), the
Secretary shall award grants or cooperative agreements under
this subsection to eligible entities to--
``(A) develop and implement statewide or tribal
post-adoption and post-legal guardianship mental health
service programs for all children who are adopted or
placed in legal guardianship and their families;
``(B) support public organizations and private
nonprofit organizations actively involved in statewide
or tribal post-adoption and post-legal guardianship
mental health service programs;
``(C) collect and analyze data on State-sponsored
statewide or tribal post-adoption and post-legal
guardianship mental health service programs that can be
used to monitor the effectiveness of such services and
for research, technical assistance, and policy
development;
``(D) develop and provide adoption and legal
guardianship competent educational and training
opportunities concerning the mental health needs of
children who are adopted or placed in legal
guardianship, and their families, for use by teachers,
social workers, and other community mental health
service providers;
``(E) develop and provide materials for potential
adoptive parents and legal guardians, both for children
who already reside in the United States at the time of
adoption or placement in legal guardianship and for
those who at such time reside in other countries,
describing the possible need for post-adoption and
post-legal guardianship mental health services and
available resources;
``(F) develop and provide respite care services for
adoptive and legal guardian families; and
``(G) support research on, and development of,
promising practices (as defined in section
471(e)(4)(C)(iii)) for post-adoption and post-legal
guardianship mental health services.
``(2) Eligible entity defined.--
``(A) In general.--In this subsection, the term
`eligible entity' means--
``(i) a State;
``(ii) a public organization or private
nonprofit organization designated by a State to
develop or direct the State-sponsored statewide
post-adoption and post-legal guardianship
mental health service program under a grant
under this subsection; and
``(iii) a federally recognized Indian tribe
or tribal organization (as defined in the
Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act) or an urban Indian organization
(as defined in the Indian Health Care
Improvement Act) that is actively involved in
the development and continuation of a post-
adoption and post-legal guardianship mental
health service program.
``(B) Limitation.--In carrying out this subsection,
the Secretary shall ensure that each State is awarded
only 1 grant or cooperative agreement under this
subsection. For purposes of the preceding sentence, a
State shall be considered to have been awarded a grant
or cooperative agreement if the eligible entity
involved is the State or an entity designated by the
State under subparagraph (A)(ii). Nothing in this
subparagraph shall be construed to apply to entities
described in subparagraph (A)(iii).
``(3) Preference.--In providing assistance under a grant or
cooperative agreement under this subsection, the Secretary
shall give preference to--
``(A) eligible entities that have demonstrated
success in increasing the level of adoption and legal
guardianship competency among mental health providers,
adoption and legal guardianship lawyers, social
workers, case workers, adoptive parents, and legal
guardians; and
``(B) eligible entities that plan to partner with
their State mental health agency in carrying out the
activities for which the grant or cooperative agreement
is made.
``(4) Requirement for direct services.--Not less than 85
percent of funds received under a grant or cooperative
agreement under this subsection shall be used to provide direct
services, of which not less than 5 percent shall be used for
activities authorized under paragraph (1)(C).
``(5) Coordination and collaboration.--
``(A) In general.--In carrying out this subsection,
the Secretary shall collaborate with relevant Federal
agencies and adoption and legal guardianship-related
working groups to promote interaction between domestic
foster care agencies and private adoption agencies in
other countries.
``(B) Consultation.--In carrying out this
subsection, the Secretary shall consult with--
``(i) State and social service agencies
engaged in the placement of children for
adoption, domestically or from other countries;
``(ii) local and national organizations
that serve foster and adopted youth and youth
placed in legal guardianship;
``(iii) health and education specialists
who focus on adoption, legal guardianship, and
foster care medicine;
``(iv) youth who have been in foster care,
adopted, or in legal guardianship, domestically
or from other countries, including youth who
have experienced adoption or guardianship
disruptions or dissolutions;
``(v) families and friends of youth who
have been in foster care, adopted, or in legal
guardianship, domestically or from other
countries, including foster and adoptive
parents and legal guardians; and
``(vi) qualified professionals who possess
the specialized knowledge, skills, experience,
and relevant attributes needed to serve
children who are adopted or placed in legal
guardianship and their families.
``(C) Policy development.--In carrying out this
subsection, the Secretary shall--
``(i) coordinate and collaborate on policy
development with relevant Department of Health
and Human Services agencies and adoption and
legal guardianship-related working groups; and
``(ii) consult on policy development at the
Federal level with those in the private sector
engaged in the recruitment of foster and
adoptive parents and legal guardians, the
placement of children in foster care, for
adoption, and in legal guardianship, and the
provision of post-adoption and post-legal
guardianship s