Adoption Promotion bill

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Reasonable Efforts and Safety Requirements for

Foster Care and Adoption Placements

Title II: Incentives for Providing Permanent Families for

Children

Title III: Additional Improvements and Reforms

Title IV: Miscellaneous

Title V: Effective Date

Promotion of Adoption, Safety, and Support for Abused and Neglected Children (PASS) Act - Title I: Reasonable Efforts and Safety Requirements for Foster Care and Adoption Placements - Amends title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to declare that, in meeting the "reasonable efforts" requirement of family preservation and reunification, the paramount concern of a State plan for foster care and adoption assistance shall be the health and safety of the child. States that reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify the family shall not be required on behalf of certain parents, including those who have murdered or committed felony assault against another child, or who would otherwise pose a serious risk to a child's health or safety.

(Sec. 102) Includes the safety of the child in State case planning and review system requirements.

(Sec. 103) Requires a State plan for foster care and adoption assistance to include certification by the State to the Secretary of Health and Human Services that it has established a State child death review team to investigate and prevent fatal child abuse and neglect.

Requires the Secretary to establish a Federal child death review team to review child death reports on Federal lands, disseminate information to State and local jurisdictions, and develop policy and procedural recommendations for the Congress and the States.

(Sec. 104) Delineates circumstances compelling a State to file a parental rights termination petition and concurrently initiate selection of a qualified family for an adoption for certain children in foster care or under State responsibility.

Sets forth a one-year statute of limitations for appeals of orders terminating parental rights, or court-ordered removal of a child.

(Sec. 106) Makes the Federal Parent Locator Service available to child welfare services for enforcement of child custody or visitation orders.

(Sec. 107) Requires State plans for foster care and adoption assistance to provide: (1) procedures for criminal records checks for prospective foster and adoptive parents and group care staff; and (2) standards and guidelines ensuring quality services that protect the safety and health of children in foster care placements with agencies.

(Sec. 109) Requires a case plan for a child for whom the State's goal is adoption or placement in another permanent home to document State agency efforts to accomplish that goal.

Title II: Incentives for Providing Permanent Families for Children - Authorizes the Secretary to award an adoption incentive grant to an incentive-eligible State meeting specified criteria whose number of foster child or special needs adoptions for a fiscal year exceeds the number of such adoptions for the previous fiscal year.

(Sec. 202) Modifies Adoption Assistance Program guidelines regarding a child with special needs to include a child who: (1) was in the care of a public or licensed private child care agency (or Indian tribal organization) prior to termination of parental rights or initiation of adoption proceedings; or (2) answers the same description but is not a U.S. citizen or resident.

(Sec. 203) Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance to States and local communities to reach their targets for increased adoptions or alternative permanent placements for children in foster care.

(Sec. 204) Requires a State plan for foster care and adoption assistance to proscribe geographic barriers to interstate adoption or foster care placement.

Instructs the Secretary to appoint an advisory panel to report on interjurisdictional adoption issues and to recommend procedural improvements to facilitate such adoptions.

(Sec. 205) Authorizes the Secretary to use Department of Health and Human Services facilities to facilitate the voluntary, mutually requested reunion of an adult adopted child age 21 with any birth parent, or adult adopted sibling age 21, if certain confidentiality criteria are met.

(Sec. 206) Directs the Secretary to issue an annual report rating the performance of each State in protecting children placed in foster care, for adoption, or with a relative or guardian.

Title III: Additional Improvements and Reforms - Expands from ten to 15 the number of States authorized to conduct child welfare demonstration projects.

(Sec. 301) Changes the mandatory annual dispositional hearing for a child in foster care to a mandatory semiannual permanency planning hearing.

(Sec. 302) Requires the Secretary to report to the interjurisdictional adoption advisory panel on the extent to which children in foster care are placed in kinship care, and subsequently to certain congressional committees, following advisory panel review and comment on the report.

(Sec. 304) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the States should have procedures in effect for a chronically ill or near-death parent, without surrendering parental rights, to designate a standby guardian for the minor children, to take effect on the parent's death, mental incapacity, or physical debilitation (with consent).

(Sec. 305) Requires that independent living programs be designed, among others, for children with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments are no longer being made because the child has accumulated assets of up to $5,000 which are otherwise regarded as resources in determining eligibility for Federal foster care benefits.

(Sec. 306) Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on: (1) State and Federal programs that may fund substance abuse prevention and treatment services; (2) joint substance abuse prevention and treatment activities that are conducted by State agencies and State child welfare agencies; and (3) how those agencies address the needs of infants exposed to substance abuse.

Provides guidelines for foster care maintenance payments to a child placed with a parent in a residential treatment program designed for specified purposes.

(Sec. 307) Authorizes appropriations for family preservation and support services for FY 1999 through 2003.

Mandates that State plans have a minimum spending requirement of 25 percent of certain funds for time-limited family reunification services.

(Sec. 308) Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to the States to implement innovations to reduce backlogs of children awaiting adoption or foster care placement. Authorizes appropriations.

Title IV: Miscellaneous - Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to report to certain congressional committees on State or local child welfare service agencies that act as representative payees on behalf of children under their care for purposes of receiving supplemental security income payments.

(Sec. 404) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) and part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of SSA title IV to set forth guidelines for allocating the administrative costs of determining eligibility for such benefits. Title V: Effective Date - Sets forth effective dates for amendments made by this Act.