Sec. 3. Promoting permanency placements for children and youth
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Section 422(b)(7) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 622(b)(7) ) is amended by striking provide for the diligent recruitment and inserting substantiate with clear and convincing data and analysis that the agency administering or supervising the administration of the plan is addressing disproportionality in the State child welfare system, and disparities in access to community-based services, array, and contracting, provide for locating and involving relatives and fictive kin as a regular and ongoing part of case planning, for addressing barriers to family involvement, and provide for the diligent recruitment .
Section 471(a)(19) of such Act ( 42 U.S.C. 671(a)(19) ) is amended by striking shall consider and inserting shall make and document prompt, active, and continuous efforts to identify and locate relatives or fictive kin as a potential kinship guardianship, foster or adoptive placement, and family support resources, and must consider . Section 475(5)(A) of such Act ( 42 U.S.C. 675(5)(A) ) is amended— in clause (i), by striking , and and inserting a semicolon; in clause (ii), by striking the comma at the end and inserting a semicolon; and by adding at the end the following: if the State determines that kinship guardianship, foster, or adoptive placement with any relative or fictive kin is not in the child’s best interest or that the relative or fictive kin does not meet the requirements of a relative caregiver, documents the basis for that determination with clear and convincing evidence; if the State determines that the child requires placement in an environment other than a home environment, ensures that the State shall make prompt, active, and continuous efforts to identify and locate relatives or fictive kin to serve as visitation resources of the child and potential future placement resources; if the State determines that efforts to identify and locate relatives and fictive kin would be futile or inconsistent with the child’s best interests, documents the basis of its determination with clear and convincing evidence; and if the child is residing in a kinship placement, describes reasonable efforts the State will make to maintain the child in the kinship home and not remove the child from the kinship home except to effectuate a permanency goal of reunification or upon a showing by clear and convincing evidence that remaining in the kinship placement is contrary to the welfare of the child. .
Section 475(5)(E) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 675(5)(E) ) is amended to read as follows: in the case of a child who has been in foster care under the responsibility of the State for 24 consecutive months, or, if a court of competent jurisdiction has determined a child to be an abandoned infant (as defined under State law) or has made a determination that the parent has committed murder of another child of the parent, committed voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent, aided or abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to commit such a murder or such a voluntary manslaughter, or committed a felony assault that has resulted in serious bodily injury to the child or to another child of the parent, the State may file or join a petition for modification or termination of parental rights and, concurrently, identify, recruit, process, and approve a qualified family (including the child’s extended family) for an adoption, only after demonstrating by clear and convincing evidence that the State— has demonstrated compelling reasons why such modification or termination is in the best interest of the child; has provided to the family of the child such services, supports, and time needed to address the reasons for the child’s removal and enable the family to safely reunify; and if the child is living with a kinship (including fictive kinship) caregiver, has provided a meaningful opportunity for such caregiver to express an opinion as to whether such modification or termination is in the best interests of the child and has documented such opinion in the case plan of the child; except that, in the case of a child to whom this subparagraph applies solely because the child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the State for 24 consecutive months, the State may not file or join such a petition if a parent of the child is actively engaged in services to address the reasons the child entered care (including treatment for substance use disorder, mental health concerns, or parenting skills), if based principally on the incarceration of a parent, or if based principally on the detention of the parent by the Department of Homeland Security or the deportation of the parent; .
The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to payments under subpart 1 of part B and part E of title IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date. If the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines that State legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) is required in order for a State plan developed pursuant to subpart 1 of part B or part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to meet the additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by this section, the plan shall not be regarded as failing to meet any of the additional requirements before the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the first regular session of the State legislature that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act.
For purposes of the preceding sentence, if the State has a 2-year legislative session, each year of the session is deemed to be a separate regular session of the State legislature. In the case of an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium which the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines requires time to take action necessary to comply with the additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by this section (whether the tribe, organization, or tribal consortium has a plan under section 479B of the Social Security Act or a cooperative agreement or contract entered into with a State), the Secretary shall provide the tribe, organization, or tribal consortium with such additional time as the Secretary determines is necessary for the tribe, organization, or tribal consortium to take the action to comply with the additional requirements before being regarded as failing to comply with the requirements.
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