{ "id": "R43757", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43757", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 434941, "date": "2014-10-16", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:00:42.756028", "title": "Child Welfare and Child Support: The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (P.L. 113-183)", "summary": "The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (H.R. 4980), an omnibus bill that includes both child welfare and child support provisions, was signed into law on September 29, 2014, as P.L. 113-183. The bill received broad congressional support, passing the House by voice vote (under suspension of the rules) on July 23, 2014, and the Senate by unanimous consent on September 18, 2014. \nP.L. 113-183 amends the federal foster care program to require state child welfare agencies to develop and implement procedures for identifying, documenting in agency records, and determining appropriate services for certain children or youth who are victims of sex trafficking, or at risk of victimization. State child welfare agencies must also report to law enforcement and the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which administers child welfare programs, about such victims. In addition, HHS must establish a national advisory committee on child sex trafficking that must, among other responsibilities, develop policies on improving the nation\u2019s response to domestic sex trafficking. P.L. 113-183 also includes provisions to direct child welfare agencies to develop protocols on locating children missing from care.\nThe law also seeks to ensure children in foster care have the opportunity to participate in activities that are appropriate to their age and stage of development. It requires changes in state foster home licensing law to enable foster caregivers to apply a \u201creasonable and prudent parenting\u201d standard when determining whether a child in foster care may participate in activities; and directs state child welfare agencies to provide training to caregivers on using this standard. Other provisions in the law seek to ensure permanent adult connections for older children and better aid their transition to successful adulthood. Under the new law, states are not permitted to assign a permanency plan of \u201canother planned permanent living arrangement\u201d (APPLA) to any child under the age of 16, and must take additional steps to support permanency for children age 16 or older who are assigned that permanency plan. Further, children in foster care who are age 14 or older must be consulted in the development of, and about any revisions to, their case and permanency plans. They must also be made aware of their rights while in care, including the right to receive critical documents (e.g., birth certificate, Social Security card) when they \u201cage out\u201d of care. \nP.L. 113-183 separately extends funding authority for Adoption Incentive Payments for three years (FY2014-FY2016). It phases in a revised incentive structure that allows states to earn incentive payments for both adoptions and exits from foster care to legal guardianship, places additional focus on finding permanent homes for older children, and strengthens the way state performance is gauged under the program. The law requires 30% of any state savings (resulting from broadening federal eligibility for adoption assistance) to be used for family strengthening services, including post-adoption services. It also includes provisions to ensure continued federal assistance under the Title IV-E program for eligible children who, following the death or incapacitation of their legal guardian, are placed with previously named successor guardians. Separately, the law appropriates $15 million to continue Family Connection Grants for one year. These grants are intended to strengthen children\u2019s connections to their parents and other relatives.\nThe child support provisions in P.L. 113-183 are designed to improve child support collections in cases where the custodial parent and child live in one country and the noncustodial parent lives in another country. It ensures that the United States is compliant with any multilateral child support enforcement treaties and, as part of this, requires states to update their Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) law to incorporate any amendments adopted as of September 2008 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Further, P.L. 113-183 facilitates greater access to the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) by foreign countries and tribal governments as part of improving child support collections. It also requires HHS to submit a report to Congress that includes policy options aimed at improving the CSE program. In addition, P.L. 113-183 includes provisions to support standardizing data exchange of child support-related information, and require electronic processing of income withholding for child support. \nEffective dates vary by provision of the law. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that enactment of H.R. 4980 would reduce overall direct federal spending by $19 million across 11 years (FY2014-FY2024).", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43757", "sha1": "a0d0fa161740bd30e6cf67d7124f35e107f8d2d2", "filename": "files/20141016_R43757_a0d0fa161740bd30e6cf67d7124f35e107f8d2d2.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43757", "sha1": "7c1f67b0d15ba7c4c3f9e8a02fa9393ce642e0cf", "filename": "files/20141016_R43757_7c1f67b0d15ba7c4c3f9e8a02fa9393ce642e0cf.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [] }