subpart 1 - child welfare services

42 USC 620 - Repealed. Pub. L. 109288, 6(a), Sept. 28, 2006, 120 Stat. 1244

Section, act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, 420, as added Pub. L. 90–248, title II, § 240(c), Jan. 2, 1968, 81 Stat. 911; amended Pub. L. 92–603, title IV, § 412, Oct. 30, 1972, 86 Stat. 1492; Pub. L. 96–272, title I, § 103(a), June 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 516; Pub. L. 98–369, div. B, title VI, 2663(c)(8), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1166; Pub. L. 101–239, title X, § 10401(a), Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2487, authorized appropriations for child welfare services. See section 625 of this title.

42 USC 621 - Purpose

The purpose of this subpart is to promote State flexibility in the development and expansion of a coordinated child and family services program that utilizes community-based agencies and ensures all children are raised in safe, loving families, by

(1) protecting and promoting the welfare of all children;

(2) preventing the neglect, abuse, or exploitation of children;

(3) supporting at-risk families through services which allow children, where appropriate, to remain safely with their families or return to their families in a timely manner;

(4) promoting the safety, permanence, and well-being of children in foster care and adoptive families; and

(5) providing training, professional development and support to ensure a well-qualified child welfare workforce.

42 USC 622 - State plans for child welfare services

(a) Joint development
In order to be eligible for payment under this subpart, a State must have a plan for child welfare services which has been developed jointly by the Secretary and the State agency designated pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of this section, and which meets the requirements of subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Requisite features of State plans
Each plan for child welfare services under this subpart shall

(1) provide that

(A) the individual or agency that administers or supervises the administration of the States services program under subchapter XX of this chapter will administer or supervise the administration of the plan (except as otherwise provided in section 103(d) of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980), and

(B) to the extent that child welfare services are furnished by the staff of the State agency or local agency administering the plan, a single organizational unit in such State or local agency, as the case may be, will be responsible for furnishing such child welfare services;

(2) provide for coordination between the services provided for children under the plan and the services and assistance provided under subchapter XX of this chapter, under the State program funded under part A of this subchapter, under the State plan approved under subpart 2 of this part, under the State plan approved under the State plan approved^[1] under part E of this subchapter, and under other State programs having a relationship to the program under this subpart, with a view to provision of welfare and related services which will best promote the welfare of such children and their families;

(3) include a description of the services and activities which the State will fund under the State program carried out pursuant to this subpart, and how the services and activities will achieve the purpose of this subpart;

(4) contain a description of

(A) the steps the State will take to provide child welfare services statewide and to expand and strengthen the range of existing services and develop and implement services to improve child outcomes; and

(B) the child welfare services staff development and training plans of the State;

(5) provide, in the development of services for children, for utilization of the facilities and experience of voluntary agencies in accordance with State and local programs and arrangements, as authorized by the State;

(6) provide that the agency administering or supervising the administration of the plan will furnish such reports, containing such information, and participate in such evaluations, as the Secretary may require;

(7) provide for the diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children in the State for whom foster and adoptive homes are needed;

(8) provide assurances that the State

(A) is operating, to the satisfaction of the Secretary

(i) a statewide information system from which can be readily determined the status, demographic characteristics, location, and goals for the placement of every child who is (or, within the immediately preceding 12 months, has been) in foster care;

(ii) a case review system (as defined in section 675 (5) of this title) for each child receiving foster care under the supervision of the State;

(iii) a service program designed to help children

(I) where safe and appropriate, return to families from which they have been removed; or

(II) be placed for adoption, with a legal guardian, or, if adoption or legal guardianship is determined not to be appropriate for a child, in some other planned, permanent living arrangement, which may include a residential educational program; and

(iv) a preplacement preventive services program designed to help children at risk of foster care placement remain safely with their families; and

(B) has in effect policies and administrative and judicial procedures for children abandoned at or shortly after birth (including policies and procedures providing for legal representation of the children) which enable permanent decisions to be made expeditiously with respect to the placement of the children;

(9) contain a description, developed after consultation with tribal organizations (as defined in section 450b of title 25) in the State, of the specific measures taken by the State to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act [25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.];

(10) contain assurances that the State shall make effective use of cross-jurisdictional resources (including through contracts for the purchase of services), and shall eliminate legal barriers, to facilitate timely adoptive or permanent placements for waiting children;

(11) contain a description of the activities that the State has undertaken for children adopted from other countries, including the provision of adoption and post-adoption services;

(12) provide that the State shall collect and report information on children who are adopted from other countries and who enter into State custody as a result of the disruption of a placement for adoption or the dissolution of an adoption, including the number of children, the agencies who handled the placement or adoption, the plans for the child, and the reasons for the disruption or dissolution;

(13) demonstrate substantial, ongoing, and meaningful collaboration with State courts in the development and implementation of the State plan under this subpart, the State plan approved under subpart 2, and the State plan approved under part E, and in the development and implementation of any program improvement plan required under section 1320a–2a of this title;

(14) not later than October 1, 2007, include assurances that not more than 10 percent of the expenditures of the State with respect to activities funded from amounts provided under this subpart will be for administrative costs;

(15) describe how the State actively consults with and involves physicians or other appropriate medical professionals in

(A) assessing the health and well-being of children in foster care under the responsibility of the State; and

(B) determining appropriate medical treatment for the children;

(16) provide that, not later than 1 year after September 28, 2006, the State shall have in place procedures providing for how the State programs assisted under this subpart, subpart 2 of this part, or part E would respond to a disaster, in accordance with criteria established by the Secretary which should include how a State would

(A) identify, locate, and continue availability of services for children under State care or supervision who are displaced or adversely affected by a disaster;

(B) respond, as appropriate, to new child welfare cases in areas adversely affected by a disaster, and provide services in those cases;

(C) remain in communication with caseworkers and other essential child welfare personnel who are displaced because of a disaster;

(D) preserve essential program records; and

(E) coordinate services and share information with other States; and

(17) not later than October 1, 2007, describe the State standards for the content and frequency of caseworker visits for children who are in foster care under the responsibility of the State, which, at a minimum, ensure that the children are visited on a monthly basis and that the caseworker visits are well-planned and focused on issues pertinent to case planning and service delivery to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of the children.

(1) Administrative costs
The term administrative costs means costs for the following, but only to the extent incurred in administering the State plan developed pursuant to this subpart: procurement, payroll management, personnel functions (other than the portion of the salaries of supervisors attributable to time spent directly supervising the provision of services by caseworkers), management, maintenance and operation of space and property, data processing and computer services, accounting, budgeting, auditing, and travel expenses (except those related to the provision of services by caseworkers or the oversight of programs funded under this subpart).

(2) Other terms
For definitions of other terms used in this part, see section 675 of this title.

[1] So in original.

42 USC 623 - Allotments to States

(a) In general
The sum appropriated pursuant to section 625 of this title for each fiscal year shall be allotted by the Secretary for use by cooperating State public welfare agencies which have plans developed jointly by the State agency and the Secretary as follows: The Secretary shall first allot $70,000 to each State, and shall then allot to each State an amount which bears the same ratio to the remainder of such sum as the product of

(1) the population of the State under the age of twenty-one and

(2) the allotment percentage of the State (as determined under this section) bears to the sum of the corresponding products of all the States.

(b) Determination of State allotment percentages
The allotment percentage for any State shall be 100 percent less the State percentage; and the State percentage shall be the percentage which bears the same ratio to 50 percent as the per capita income of such State bears to the per capita income of the United States; except that

(1) the allotment percentage shall in no case be less than 30 percent or more than 70 percent, and

(2) the allotment percentage shall be 70 percent in the case of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

(c) Promulgation of State allotment percentages
The allotment percentage for each State shall be promulgated by the Secretary between October 1 and November 30 of each even-numbered year, on the basis of the average per capita income of each State and of the United States for the three most recent calendar years for which satisfactory data are available from the Department of Commerce. Such promulgation shall be conclusive for each of the two fiscal years in the period beginning October 1 next succeeding such promulgation.

(d) United States defined
For purposes of this section, the term United States means the 50 States and the District of Columbia.

(e) Reallotment of funds

(1) In general
The amount of any allotment to a State for a fiscal year under the preceding provisions of this section which the State certifies to the Secretary will not be required for carrying out the State plan developed as provided in section 622 of this title shall be available for reallotment from time to time, on such dates as the Secretary may fix, to other States which the Secretary determines

(A) need sums in excess of the amounts allotted to such other States under the preceding provisions of this section, in carrying out their State plans so developed; and

(B) will be able to so use such excess sums during the fiscal year.

(2) Considerations
The Secretary shall make the reallotments on the basis of the State plans so developed, after taking into consideration

(A) the population under 21 years of age;

(B) the per capita income of each of such other States as compared with the population under 21 years of age; and

(C) the per capita income of all such other States with respect to which such a determination by the Secretary has been made.

(3) Amounts reallotted to a State deemed part of State allotment
Any amount so reallotted to a State is deemed part of the allotment of the State under this section.

42 USC 624 - Payment to States

(a) Payment schedule
From the sums appropriated therefor and the allotment under this subpart, subject to the conditions set forth in this section, the Secretary shall from time to time pay to each State that has a plan developed in accordance with section 622 of this title an amount equal to 75 percent of the total sum expended under the plan (including the cost of administration of the plan) in meeting the costs of State, district, county, or other local child welfare services.

(b) Computation and method of payment
The method of computing and making payments under this section shall be as follows:

(1) The Secretary shall, prior to the beginning of each period for which a payment is to be made, estimate the amount to be paid to the State for such period under the provisions of this section.

(2) From the allotment available therefor, the Secretary shall pay the amount so estimated, reduced or increased, as the case may be, by any sum (not previously adjusted under this section) by which he finds that his estimate of the amount to be paid the State for any prior period under this section was greater or less than the amount which should have been paid to the State for such prior period under this section.

(c) Limitation on use of Federal funds for child care, foster care maintenance payments, or adoption assistance payments
The total amount of Federal payments under this subpart for a fiscal year beginning after September 30, 2007, that may be used by a State for expenditures for child care, foster care maintenance payments, or adoption assistance payments shall not exceed the total amount of such payments for fiscal year 2005 that were so used by the State.

(d) Limitation on use by States of non-Federal funds for foster care maintenance payments to match Federal funds
For any fiscal year beginning after September 30, 2007, State expenditures of non-Federal funds for foster care maintenance payments shall not be considered to be expenditures under the State plan developed under this subpart for the fiscal year to the extent that the total of such expenditures for the fiscal year exceeds the total of such expenditures under the State plan developed under this subpart for fiscal year 2005.

(e) 1 Limitation on reimbursement for administrative costs
A payment may not be made to a State under this section with respect to expenditures during a fiscal year for administrative costs, to the extent that the total amount of the expenditures exceeds 10 percent of the total expenditures of the State during the fiscal year for activities funded from amounts provided under this subpart.

(e) 1 Caseworker visitation standard

(1) The Secretary may not make a payment to a State under this subpart for a period in fiscal year 2008, unless the State has provided to the Secretary data which shows, for fiscal year 2007

(A) the percentage of children in foster care under the responsibility of the State who were visited on a monthly basis by the caseworker handling the case of the child; and

(B) the percentage of the visits that occurred in the residence of the child.

(2)

(A) Based on the data provided by a State pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary, in consultation with the State, shall establish, not later than June 30, 2008, an outline of the steps to be taken to ensure, by October 1, 2011, that at least 90 percent of the children in foster care under the responsibility of the State are visited by their caseworkers on a monthly basis, and that the majority of the visits occur in the residence of the child. The outline shall include target percentages to be reached each fiscal year, and should include a description of how the steps will be implemented. The steps may include activities designed to improve caseworker retention, recruitment, training, and ability to access the benefits of technology.

(B) Beginning October 1, 2008, if the Secretary determines that a State has not made the requisite progress in meeting the goal described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, then the percentage that shall apply for purposes of subsection (a) of this section for the period involved shall be the percentage set forth in such subsection (a) reduced by

(i) 1, if the number of full percentage points by which the State fell short of the target percentage established for the State for the period pursuant to such subparagraph is less than 10;

(ii) 3, if the number of full percentage points by which the State fell short, as described in clause (i), is not less than 10 and less than 20; or

(iii) 5, if the number of full percentage points by which the State fell short, as described in clause (i), is not less than 20.

[1] So in original. Two subsecs. (e) have been enacted.

42 USC 625 - Limitations on authorization of appropriations

To carry out this subpart, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary not more than $325,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011.

42 USC 626 - Research, training, or demonstration projects

(a) Authorization of appropriations
There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year such sums as the Congress may determine

(1) for grants by the Secretary

(A) to public or other nonprofit">nonprofit institutions of higher learning, and to public or other nonprofit">nonprofit agencies and organizations engaged in research or child-welfare activities, for special research or demonstration projects in the field of child welfare which are of regional or national significance and for special projects for the demonstration of new methods or facilities which show promise of substantial contribution to the advancement of child welfare;

(B) to State or local public agencies responsible for administering, or supervising the administration of, the plan under this part, for projects for the demonstration of the utilization of research (including findings resulting therefrom) in the field of child welfare in order to encourage experimental and special types of welfare services; and

(C) to public or other nonprofit">nonprofit institutions of higher learning for special projects for training personnel for work in the field of child welfare, including traineeships described in section 628a1 of this title with such stipends and allowances as may be permitted by the Secretary; and

(2) for contracts or jointly financed cooperative arrangements with States and public and other organizations and agencies for the conduct of research, special projects, or demonstration projects relating to such matters.

(b) Payments; advances or reimbursements; installments; conditions
Payments of grants or under contracts or cooperative arrangements under this section may be made in advance or by way of reimbursement, and in such installments, as the Secretary may determine; and shall be made on such conditions as the Secretary finds necessary to carry out the purposes of the grants, contracts, or other arrangements.

(c) Child welfare traineeships
The Secretary may approve an application for a grant to a public or nonprofit">nonprofit institution for higher learning to provide traineeships with stipends under subsection (a)(1)(C) only if the application

(1) provides assurances that each individual who receives a stipend with such traineeship (in this section referred to as a recipient) will enter into an agreement with the institution under which the recipient agrees

(A) to participate in training at a public or private nonprofit">nonprofit child welfare agency on a regular basis (as determined by the Secretary) for the period of the traineeship;

(B) to be employed for a period of years equivalent to the period of the traineeship, in a public or private nonprofit">nonprofit child welfare agency in any State, within a period of time (determined by the Secretary in accordance with regulations) after completing the postsecondary education for which the traineeship was awarded;

(D) if the recipient fails to comply with subparagraph (A) or (B) and does not qualify for any exception to this subparagraph which the Secretary may prescribe in regulations, to repay to the Secretary all (or an appropriately prorated part) of the amount of the stipend, plus interest, and, if applicable, reasonable collection fees (in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary);

(2) provides assurances that the institution will

(A) enter into agreements with child welfare agencies for onsite training of recipients;

(B) permit an individual who is employed in the field of child welfare services to apply for a traineeship with a stipend if the traineeship furthers the progress of the individual toward the completion of degree requirements; and

(C) develop and implement a system that, for the 3-year period that begins on the date any recipient completes a child welfare services program of study, tracks the employment record of the recipient, for the purpose of determining the percentage of recipients who secure employment in the field of child welfare services and remain employed in the field.

[1] See References in Text note below.

42 USC 627 - Repealed. Pub. L. 103432, title II, 202(c), Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4454

Section, act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, 427, as added June 17, 1980, Pub. L. 96–272, title I, § 103(b), 94 Stat. 519; amended Dec. 19, 1989, Pub. L. 101–239, title X, § 10401(a), 103 Stat. 2487, related to foster care protection required for additional payments.

42 USC 628 - Payments to Indian tribal organizations

(a) Amounts
The Secretary may, in appropriate cases (as determined by the Secretary) make payments under this subpart directly to an Indian tribal organization within any State which has a plan for child welfare services approved under this subpart. Such payments shall be made in such manner and in such amounts as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

(b) Inclusion in State allotment
Amounts paid under subsection (a) of this section shall be deemed to be a part of the allotment (as determined under section 623 of this title) for the State in which such Indian tribal organization is located.

(c) “Indian tribe” and “tribal organization” defined
For purposes of this section, the terms Indian tribe and tribal organization shall have the meanings given such terms by subsections (e) and (l) of section 450b of title 25, respectively.

42 USC 628a - Transferred

42 USC 628b - National random sample study of child welfare

(a) In general
The Secretary shall conduct (directly, or by grant, contract, or interagency agreement) a national study based on random samples of children who are at risk of child abuse or neglect, or are determined by States to have been abused or neglected.

(b) Requirements
The study required by subsection (a) of this section shall

(1) have a longitudinal component; and

(2) yield data reliable at the State level for as many States as the Secretary determines is feasible.

(1) carefully consider selecting the sample from cases of confirmed abuse or neglect; and

(2) follow each case for several years while obtaining information on, among other things

(A) the type of abuse or neglect involved;

(B) the frequency of contact with State or local agencies;

(D) the number, type, and characteristics of out-of-home placements of the child; and

(E) the average duration of each placement.

(d) Reports

(1) In general
From time to time, the Secretary shall prepare reports summarizing the results of the study required by subsection (a) of this section.

(2) Availability
The Secretary shall make available to the public any report prepared under paragraph (1), in writing or in the form of an electronic data tape.

(3) Authority to charge fee
The Secretary may charge and collect a fee for the furnishing of reports under paragraph (2).

(e) Appropriation
Out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the Secretary for each of fiscal years 1996 through 2002 $6,000,000 to carry out this section.