All Kids Matter Act

All Kids Matter Act

This bill amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to revise state plan requirements to require:

• the state to identify and provide appropriate prevention, intervention, and support services before placing a child in foster care as part of its reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify families;
• that all at-risk children, children in foster care, and children who have left foster care to return home through reunification or reinstatement of parental rights, or for kinship guardianship or adoption, be provided with a standard array of child welfare services;
• the state to submit, update, and revise as necessary a description of its activities and delivery mechanisms for achieving increased permanency for all infants, children, and youth.

Payments to states shall incorporate: (1) an amount equal to the federal medical assistance percentage for the state under SSAct title XIX (Medicaid), and (2) a performance achievement payment.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall establish criteria for assessing state performance in order to award performance achievement payments to the states.

States may elect an alternative allotment for specified administrative costs.

Aid to Families with Dependent Children eligibility under SSAct title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) is removed from eligibility requirements under the Foster Care Maintenance Program.

States may provide services to an individual age 18-21 who is pursing legal permanency through family reunification, permanent placement with a planned permanent living arrangement, or such other pathways to permanency as the state, in consultation with HHS, may specify.

Eligibility for John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program services and education and training vouchers shall extend to youth who return home after attaining age 16.

HHS, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Education shall jointly develop and disseminate to states permanency-supportive housing options.