42 U.S.C. § 621 — Purpose

Page 2209 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 621 (Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, § 419, as added Pub. L. 104–193, title I, § 103(a)(2), Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat. 2159.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Par. (4) of this section effective Oct. 1, 1996, with re- mainder of section effective July 1, 1997, with transi- tion rules relating to State options to accelerate such date, rules relating to claims, actions, and proceedings commenced before such date, rules relating to closing out of accounts for terminated or substantially modi- fied programs and continuance in office of Assistant Secretary for Family Support, and provisions relating to termination of entitlement under AFDC program, see section 116 of Pub. L. 104–193, as amended, set out as a note under section 601 of this title. PART B—CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Pub. L. 103–66, title XIII, § 13711(a)(1), Aug. 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 649, substituted ‘‘Child and Family Services’’ for ‘‘Child Welfare Services’’ in part B heading. Pub. L. 90–248, title II, § 240(c), Jan. 2, 1968, 81 Stat. 911, added part B heading. SUBPART 1—STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES CHILD WELFARE SERVICES PROGRAM Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Pub. L. 110–351, title I, § 102(c), Oct. 7, 2008, 122 Stat. 3956, substituted ‘‘Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program’’ for ‘‘Child Welfare Services’’ in sub- part heading. Pub. L. 103–66, title XIII, § 13711(a)(1), Aug. 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 649, added subpart 1 heading. § 620. Repealed. Pub. L. 109–288, § 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. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF REPEAL Repeal effective Oct. 1, 2006, and applicable to pay- ments under this part and part E of this subchapter for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, see section 12(a) of Pub. L. 109–288, set out as an Effective Date of 2006 Amendment note under section 621 of this title. § 621. Purpose The purpose of this subpart is to promote State flexibility in the development and expan- sion of a coordinated child and family services program that utilizes community-based agencies and ensures all children are raised in safe, lov- ing families, by— (1) protecting and promoting the welfare of all children; (2) preventing the neglect, abuse, or exploi- tation of children; (3) supporting at-risk families through serv- ices 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 adop- tive families; and (5) providing training, professional develop- ment and support to ensure a well-qualified child welfare workforce. (Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, § 421, as added Pub. L. 109–288, § 6(b)(3), Sept. 28, 2006, 120 Stat. 1244.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 621, act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, § 421, as added Pub. L. 90–248, title II, § 240(c), Jan. 2, 1968, 81 Stat. 912, and amended, which related to allot- ments to States, was renumbered section 423 of act Aug. 14, 1935, by Pub. L. 109–288, § 6(b)(2), Sept. 28, 2006, 120 Stat. 1244, and transferred to section 623 of this title. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2006 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 109–288, § 12, Sept. 28, 2006, 120 Stat. 1255, pro- vided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in this Act [see Short Title of 2006 Amendment note set out under section 1305 of this title], the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on October 1, 2006, and shall apply to payments under parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 620 et seq., 670 et seq.] for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, without regard to whether regulations to implement the amendments are promulgated by such date. ‘‘(b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE- QUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- ices determines that State legislation (other than leg- islation appropriating funds) is required in order for a State plan developed pursuant to subpart 1 of part B [42 U.S.C. 620 et seq.], or a State plan approved under sub- part 2 of part B [42 U.S.C. 629 et seq.] or part E [42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.], of title IV of the Social Security Act to meet the additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by this Act, the plan shall not be re- garded as failing to meet any of the additional require- ments before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter be- ginning after the first regular session of the State leg- islature that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act [Sept. 28, 2006]. If the State has a 2-year legis- lative session, each year of the session is deemed to be a separate regular session of the State legislature. ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF PROMOTING SAFE AND STABLE FAMILIES RESOURCES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006.—Section 3(c) [120 Stat. 1235] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Sept. 28, 2006].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 90–248, title II, § 240(e)(2), Jan. 2, 1968, 81 Stat. 915, provided that: ‘‘Part B of title IV of the Social Se- curity Act (as added by subsection (c) of this section) [42 U.S.C. 620 et seq.], and the amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) of this section [amending sub- chapter IV and enacting part A heading] shall become effective on the date this Act is enacted [Jan. 2, 1968].’’ FINDINGS Pub. L. 109–288, § 2, Sept. 28, 2006, 120 Stat. 1233, pro- vided that: ‘‘The Congress finds as follows: ‘‘(1) For Federal fiscal year 2004, child protective services (CPS) staff nationwide reported inves- Page 2210 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 622 1 See References in Text note below. 2 So in original. tigating or assessing an estimated 3,000,000 allega- tions of child maltreatment, and determined that 872,000 children had been abused or neglected by their parents or other caregivers. ‘‘(2) Combined, the Child Welfare Services (CWS) and Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) pro- grams provide States about $700,000,000 per year, the largest source of targeted Federal funding in the child protection system for services to ensure that children are not abused or neglected and, whenever possible, help children remain safely with their fami- lies. ‘‘(3) A 2003 report by the Government Account- ability Office (GAO) reported that little research is available on the effectiveness of activities supported by CWS funds—evaluations of services supported by PSSF funds have generally shown little or no effect. ‘‘(4) Further, the Department of Health and Human Services recently completed initial Child and Family Service Reviews (CFSRs) in each State. No State was in full compliance with all measures of the CFSRs. The CFSRs also revealed that States need to work to prevent repeat abuse and neglect of children, improve services provided to families to reduce the risk of fu- ture harm (including by better monitoring the par- ticipation of families in services), and strengthen up- front services provided to families to prevent unnec- essary family break-up and protect children who re- main at home. ‘‘(5) Federal policy should encourage States to in- vest their CWS and PSSF funds in services that pro- mote and protect the welfare of children, support strong, healthy families, and reduce the reliance on out-of-home care, which will help ensure all children are raised in safe, loving families. ‘‘(6) CFSRs also found a strong correlation between frequent caseworker visits with children and positive outcomes for these children, such as timely achieve- ment of permanency and other indicators of child well-being. ‘‘(7) However, a December 2005 report by the De- partment of Health and Human Services Office of In- spector General found that only 20 States were able to produce reports to show whether caseworkers ac- tually visited children in foster care on at least a monthly basis, despite the fact that nearly all States had written standards suggesting monthly visits were State policy. ‘‘(8) A 2003 GAO report found that the average ten- ure for a child welfare caseworker is less than 2 years and this level of turnover negatively affects safety and permanency for children. ‘‘(9) Targeting CWS and PSSF funds to ensure chil- dren in foster care are visited on at least a monthly basis will promote better outcomes for vulnerable children, including by preventing further abuse and neglect. ‘‘(10) According to the Office of Applied Studies of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Ad- ministration, the annual number of new uses of Meth- amphetamine, also known as ‘meth,’ has increased 72 percent over the past decade. According to a study conducted by the National Association of Counties which surveyed 500 county law enforcement agencies in 45 states, 88 percent of the agencies surveyed re- ported increases in meth related arrests starting 5 years ago. ‘‘(11) According to the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 12,000,000 Americans have tried methamphetamine. Meth making operations have been uncovered in all 50 states, but the most wide-spread abuse has been concentrated in the west- ern, southwestern, and Midwestern United States. ‘‘(12) Methamphetamine abuse is on the increase, particularly among women of child-bearing age. This is having an impact on child welfare systems in many States. According to a survey administered by the National Association of Counties (‘The Impact of Meth on Children’), conducted in 300 counties in 13 states, meth is a major cause of child abuse and ne- glect. Forty percent of all the child welfare officials in the survey reported an increase in out-of-home placements because of meth in 2005. ‘‘(13) It is appropriate also to target PSSF funds to address this issue because of the unique strain the meth epidemic puts on child welfare agencies. Out- comes for children affected by meth are enhanced when services provided by law enforcement, child welfare and substance abuse agencies are integrated.’’ § 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 wel- fare services which has been developed jointly by the Secretary and the State agency des- ignated pursuant to subsection (b)(1), and which meets the requirements of subsection (b). (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 administra- tion of the State’s services program under di- vision A 1 of subchapter XX will administer or supervise the administration of the plan (ex- cept as otherwise provided in section 103(d) of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980), and (B) to the extent that child wel- fare 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 wel- fare services; (2) provide for coordination between the services provided for children under the plan and the services and assistance provided under division A 1 of subchapter XX, under the State program funded under part A, under the State plan approved under subpart 2 of this part, under the State plan approved under the State plan approved 2 under part E, 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 ex- pand and strengthen the range of existing services and develop and implement services to improve child outcomes; and (B) the child welfare services staff develop- ment 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 ac- cordance 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