Sec. 4. Time-limited family services under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act
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Section 475 of such Act ( 42 U.S.C. 675 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: The term time-limited family services means supports and services that are among the services and supports specified in subparagraph
(B)and that are provided to a child or to the parents or potential or designated kin caregivers of a child described in subparagraph
(C)during a 12-month period that begins on a date described in subparagraph (D). Such individuals shall remain eligible for time-limited family services for a full 12-month period without regard to whether any such individuals cease to be described in subparagraph
(C)after the period begins. The services and supports described in this subparagraph are the following: Parenting and family skills training and parent education, including parent advocates, peer-to-peer mentoring and support groups for parents, primary caregivers, and potential kinship caregivers. Individual, group, and family counseling, mentoring, and therapy, including intensive family preservation or reunification programs and trauma-informed care. Services or assistance to address barriers to family preservation and reunification, including mental health needs, domestic violence, substance abuse, and inadequate housing. Crisis assistance or services to stabilize families in times of crisis or facilitate kinship placement, such as transportation, clothing, household goods, assistance with housing and utility payments, child care, respite care, and assistance connecting families with other community-based services. Individuals described in this subparagraph are the following: A child who is a candidate for foster care (as defined in paragraph 14) but can remain safely at home or in a kinship placement with receipt of specified time-limited family services. A child in foster care (without regard to whether the child is or would be eligible for payments under section 472 or 473). A child in foster care who is a pregnant or parenting foster youth. Parents or potential or designated kin caregivers of a child described in clause (i), (ii), or
(iii)when their service needs are directly related to the safety, permanence, or well-being of the child or to the child’s ability not to enter or re-enter foster care. The dates described in this subparagraph are the following: The date on which a child is identified in a case plan as a child who is a candidate for foster care (as defined in paragraph (14)). The date on which a child is considered to have entered foster care pursuant to paragraph (5)(F). The date on which a child is identified in a case plan as a pregnant or parenting foster youth in need of time-limited family services. The term child who is a candidate for foster care means, a child who is identified in a case plan as being at imminent risk of entering or re-entering foster care (without regard to whether the child is or would be eligible for payments under section 472 or 473) but who can remain safely in the child's current home or in a kinship placement as long as the time-limited family services that are necessary to prevent the child’s entry or reentry into foster care are provided. Such term includes a child whose adoption or guardianship arrangement is at risk of a disruption or dissolution that would result in a foster care placement. . Section 471 of such Act ( 42 U.S.C. 671 ) is amended— in subsection (a)(1), by striking and and all that follows through the semicolon and inserting , adoption assistance in accordance with section 473, and, at the option of the State, time-limited family services in accordance with subsection (e); ; and by adding at the end the following: A State may provide time-limited family services (as defined in section 475(13)) to individuals described in subparagraph
(C)of section 475(13) only if the State— submits as part of the State plan required under subsection
(a)a time-limited family services plan component that meets the requirements of paragraph (2); and satisfies the general requirements specified in paragraph
(3)and the maintenance of effort requirements specified in (5). In order to meet the requirements of this paragraph, a time-limited family services plan component shall include, with respect to each 5-year period for which the plan component is in operation in the State, the following: How the State intends to utilize the Federal funding available for providing time-limited family services, including a description of how Federal funds provided for such services will be used to supplement, and not supplant, the level of State and local funds expended for child welfare. How providing time-limited family services is expected to improve outcomes for children and families, including which specific outcomes the State expects to achieve and the means by which those outcomes will be monitored. How the State will monitor and oversee the safety of children who receive time-limited family services, including through periodic risk assessments throughout the period in which such services are provided on behalf of a child remaining at home and re-examination of the plan for service provision on behalf of a child remaining at home or in foster care if there is a determination that the child's risk of entering or re-entering into foster care, or of being prevented from exiting foster care, remains high over the course of the provision of such services. Information on the specific evidence-based programs and promising practice models the State plans to implement to provide time-limited family services, including a description of— each such program or model; how the State plans to implement each such program or model; how the State selected such programs or models; and the target population for each model. A description of the collaboration between the State agencies responsible for administering the State plans under this part and part B and the State agency responsible for administering the State plan under title XIX, as well as with other public and private agencies with experience in administering child and family services, including community-based organizations, in order to foster a continuum of care and services available for children and families. A description of how the State shall assess children and families to determine eligibility for time-limited family services. A description of training and support for caseworkers handling prevention cases, including how caseload size and type will be determined, managed, and overseen. A description of training and support for parents or potential or designated kin caregivers of a child eligible for time-limited family services. The general requirements for providing time-limited family services specified in this paragraph are the following: Except as provided in clause (ii), the specific services necessary to prevent the child’s entry or reentry into foster care or enable the child’s exit from foster care to be reunified with their family or placed with kin are specified in the child's case plan in advance of the provision of such services. Clause
(i)shall not apply to the provision of time-limited family services in emergency or exigent circumstances but the provision of such services shall be included in the child's case plan as soon as practicable after the provision of the services. Not later than October 1, 2018, at least 25 percent of the total amount of expenditures by the State for time-limited family services are for evidence-based programs, assistance, or services that have demonstrated any of the following outcomes, as determined by the Secretary and based on rigorous evaluation: Reducing the likelihood or duration of foster care placement. Decreasing use of congregate care settings. Increasing use of kinship care arrangements. The State only provides time-limited family services that are promising programs, services, or assistance and through evidence-informed or culturally specific or other adaptations of programs. Not later than October 1, 2017, the Secretary shall issue guidance to States that specifies the level of evidence required for a program, service, or form of assistance to satisfy the requirements of this subparagraph, and contains a pre-approved list of programs, services and forms of assistance that meet such criteria or satisfy such requirements. The Secretary shall issue updates to the guidance required under this clause as often as the Secretary determines necessary. Payment under section 474(a)(6) for expenditures for time-limited family services shall not duplicate other Federal funding sources for services and supports that are provided as time-limited family services and shall only be made to the extent that payment for services and supports provided as time-limited family services cannot reasonably be expected to be available under another federally funded program within a reasonable time given the needs of the child and the child's family during the child's 12-month eligibility period. The State shall collect and report to the Secretary the following with respect to each child for whom, or on whose behalf, time-limited family services are provided during a 12-month period: With respect to each category of services and supports described in section 475(13)(B), the specific services provided and the total expenditures for each such service. The child's placement status at the beginning, and at the end, of the period, respectively. The child's placement status 1 year after the end of the period. If time-limited family services are provided over a 12-month period to or on behalf of 2 or more siblings, the aggregate amount of expenditures for such services to be reported under clause (i)(I) may be allocated to 1 sibling or divided among such siblings so long as such siblings are all included in calculation of the per-child spending measure under paragraph (4)(A)(i)(III). Beginning with fiscal year 2021, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall establish the following national performance measures: With respect to all children for whom, or on whose behalf, time-limited family services are provided during any 12-month period, the percentages of such children initially determined to be candidates for foster care who do not enter a foster care placement (other than a kinship placement) during such period and through the end of the succeeding 12-month period. With respect to all children for whom, or on whose behalf, time-limited family services are provided during any 12-month period, the percentages of such children who are initially in a foster care placement who are returned to, or are placed with a biological or adoptive parent or in a kinship placement or guardianship at the end of such period and who remain in each such placement through the end of the succeeding 12-month period. With respect to each 12-month period for which percentages are determined under subclauses
(I)and
(II)(other than a percentage determined for a succeeding 12-month period), the total amount of expenditures for providing time-limited family services for, or on behalf of, each child during the period. The Secretary shall establish and update the national performance measures— based on the median State values of the information reported under each subclause of clause
(i)for the 3 most recent years; and taking into account State differences in the price levels of consumption goods and services using the most recent regional price parities published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce or such other data as the Secretary determines appropriate. The Secretary shall annually make available to the public each State's performance with respect to the national performance measures. Beginning with fiscal year 2022, the Federal percentage applicable to payments to a State for a fiscal year under section 474(a)(6) for expenditures attributable to time-limited family services shall be increased by such number of percentage points (not to exceed 10 percentage points) as the Secretary shall determine, for any State for which— each of the State-specific percentages described in subclauses
(I)and
(II)of subparagraph (A)(i) are greater than the national average percentages determined under such subclauses for the preceding fiscal year; and the State-specific per child spending amount described in subclause
(III)of subparagraph (A)(i) is less than the national average amount determined under that subclause for the preceding fiscal year. Beginning with fiscal year 2022, the Federal percentage applicable to payments to a State for a fiscal year under section 474(a)(6) for expenditures attributable to time-limited family services shall be reduced by such number of percentage points (not to exceed 10 percentage points) as the Secretary shall determine, for any State for which— each of the State-specific percentages described in subclauses
(I)and
(II)of subparagraph (A)(i) are less than the national average percentages determined under such subclauses for the preceding fiscal year; and the State-specific per child spending amount described in subclause
(III)of subparagraph (A)(i) is more than the national average amount determined under that subclause for the preceding fiscal year. A State shall not be eligible for an increase in its applicable Federal matching rate under section 474(a)(6) for a fiscal year, or shall not be subject to a reduction in that rate for a fiscal year, unless the State satisfies both of the conditions specified in clause
(i)or
(ii)(as applicable). The Governor of a State shall certify that payments under this part for time-limited family services are used to supplement, and not supplant, the level of State and local funds expended for child welfare for fiscal year 2015. A State shall furnish reports to the Secretary, at such times, in such format, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, that demonstrate the State’s compliance with subparagraph (A). Expenditures described in paragraph
(6)or
(7)of section 474(a)— shall not be eligible for payment under paragraph
(3)of section 474(a); and shall be eligible for payment without regard to whether such expenditures are incurred on behalf of a child who is, or is potentially, eligible for assistance payments under this part. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to reduce or limit the responsibility of the State agency responsible for administering the State plan approved under title XIX to administer and provide care and services for children with respect to whom services are provided under the State plan developed pursuant to this subpart. . Section 474(a) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 674(a) ) is amended— in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; plus ; and by adding at the end the following: subject to section 471(e), for each quarter beginning after September 30, 2015, an amount equal to the Federal medical assistance percentage (which shall be as defined in section 1905(b), in the case of a State other than the District of Columbia, or 70 percent, in the case of the District of Columbia) of the total amount expended during such quarter for the provision of time-limited family services (as defined in section 475(13)) (or, with respect to such payments made during such quarter under a cooperative agreement or contract entered into by the State and an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium for the administration or payment of funds under this part, an amount equal to the Federal medical assistance percentage that would apply under section 479B(d) (in this paragraph referred to as the tribal FMAP ) if such Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium made such payments under a program operated under that section, unless the tribal FMAP is less than the Federal medical assistance percentage that applies to the State); plus subject to section 471(e)(6), for each quarter beginning after September 30, 2015, an amount equal to the sum of the following proportions of the total amount expended during such quarter— 50 percent of so much of such expenditures as found necessary by the Secretary for the proper and efficient administration of the State plan for the provision of time-limited family services (as defined in section 475(13)), including expenditures for activities approved by the Secretary that promote the development of necessary infrastructure to establish and implement the provision of time-limited family services for individuals who are eligible for such services; and 50 percent of so much of such expenditures as are for training of personnel employed or preparing for employment by the State agency or by the local agency administering the plan in the political subdivision, with respect to the provision of time-limited family services, including on how to determine who are individuals eligible for such services, how to identify and provide appropriate time-limited family services, and how to oversee and evaluate the ongoing appropriateness of such services. . Subsection
(i)of section 472 of such Act ( 42 U.S.C. 672 ) is amended by adding after and below paragraph (2)(B) of such subsection the following flush sentence: Paragraphs
(1)and
(2)shall not apply to Federal matching payments for administrative expenditures that are eligible for payment under section 474(a)(7). . Section 476 of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 676 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: The Secretary shall provide to States and, as applicable, to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal consortia, technical assistance regarding the provision of time-limited family services under this part and shall disseminate best practices with respect to the provision of such services. The Secretary, directly or through grants, contracts, or interagency agreements, shall collect data and conduct research and evaluations with respect to the provision of time-limited family services under this part for purposes of assessing the extent to which the provision of such services reduces the prevalence and length of foster care placements and improves safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes for children on whose behalf services or assistance are provided under this part. The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate periodic reports based on the provision of time-limited family services under this part and the activities carried out under this subsection. The Secretary shall make the reports to Congress submitted under this paragraph publicly available. There is appropriated to the Secretary, out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2016 and each fiscal year thereafter to carry out this subsection. . Section 479B of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 679c ) is amended— in subsection (c)(1)— in subparagraph (C)(i)— in subclause (II), by striking and after the semicolon; in subclause (III), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by adding at the end the following: at the option of the tribe, organization, or consortium, time-limited family services (as defined in section 475(13)) to individuals described in subparagraph
(C)of section 475(13), in accordance with section 471(e) and subparagraph (E). ; and by adding at the end the following: In the case of a tribe, organization, or consortium that elects to provide time-limited family services (as defined in section 475(13)) to individuals described in subparagraph
(C)of section 475(13) under the plan, the Secretary shall specify the requirements applicable to the provision of such services. Such requirements shall, to the greatest extent practicable, be consistent with the requirements applicable to States under section 471(e) and shall permit the provision of such services in the form of programs, assistance, or services that are adapted to the culture and context of the tribal communities served. The Secretary shall establish specific performance measures for each tribe, organization, or consortium that elects to provide time-limited family services. The performance measures shall, to the greatest extent practicable, be consistent with the national performance measures required for States under paragraph (4)(A) of section 471(e) but shall allow for consideration of factors unique to the provision of such services by tribes, organizations, or consortia. ; and in subsection (d)(1), by striking and
(5)and inserting (5), and
(6). The heading for subsection
(d)of section 479B of such Act ( 42 U.S.C. 679c ) is amended by striking . for Foster Care Maintenance and Adoption Assistance Payments The heading for part E of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 670 et seq. ) is amended to read as follows: . The first sentence of section 470 of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 670 ) is amended— by striking and before adoption assistance and inserting a comma; by inserting kinship guardianship assistance, and time-limited family services, after needs, ; and by striking (commencing with the fiscal year which begins October 1, 1980) .
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Sec. 4
Time-limited family services under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act
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