Legislation

Last updated April 2014

Rehab and Ahmed Amer Foster Care Improvement Act of 2013 (H.R 102)
Rep. John Conyers [D-MI-13]

  -  Requires for states to contact the adult relatives of children removed from parental custody

  -  Staff contact: Rinia.Shelby@mail.house.gov                    

State Foster Program Payments (H.R 286)
Rep. Green, Gene [D-TX-29]

  -  Provides difficulty of care payments for biological parents of children with disabilities

  -  Staff contact: Anthony.Hinojosa@mail.house.gov

Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2013 (H.R. 517)
Rep. Maloney, Carolyn [D-NY]

- Provides paid parental leave to federal employees for foster care placement/adoption

Rilya Wilson Act (H.R 680)
Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24]

  -  Requires state child welfare agencies to report information on missing or abducted foster children promptly to local law enforcement agencies

  -  Staff contact: Corey.Solow@mail.house.gov

Enhancing the Quality of Parental Legal Representation Act of 2013 (H.R 1096)
Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4]

  -  Provides legal representation for parents and legal guardians during child welfare cases

  -  Staff contact: Eric.Fawcett@mail.house.gov

Dave Thomas Adoption Act of 2013 (H.R 1476)
Rep. King, Peter T. [R-NY-2]

  -  Allows for penalty-free withdrawals from Individual Retirement plans for adoption expenses. This bill will allow individuals to withdraw up to $10,000 from their IRA in order to cover qualified adoption expenses.

  -  Staff contact: Jamie.Tricarico@mail.house.gov

Every Child Deserves a Family Act (H.R 2028)
Rep. Lewis, John [D-GA-5]

  -  Prohibits discrimination in adoption or foster care placements based on the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of any individuals who wish to be adoptive or foster parents.

  -  Staff contact: Jamila.Thompson@mail.house.gov

Foster Children Opportunity Act (H.R 2036)
Rep. O'Rourke, Beto [D-TX-16]

  -  Ensures that children in the foster care system are screened and identified for eligibility for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and other relief options as quickly as possible.  It will also provide technical assistance and resources to court and child welfare staff to carry out this new requirement.

  -  Staff contact: Erin.Snow@mail.house.gov

Foster Youth Higher Education Act (H.R 2108)
Rep. Lewis, John [D-GA-5]

  -  Allows students to indicate on their FAFSA application that they are or were in the foster cares system so that they may be eligible for federal program assistance

  -   Staff contact: Jamila.Thomspon@mail.house.gov

Look-back Elimination Act (H.R 2111)
Rep. Lewis, John [D-GA-5]

  -  Eliminates the requirement to have been previously eligible  under the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, which is a predecessor to be eligible for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program

  -  Staff contact:  Jamila.Thompson@mail.house.gov

Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of  2013 (H.R 2144)
Rep. Braley, Bruce L. [D-IA-1]

  -  Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the tax credit for adoption expenses refundable.

  -  Staff contact: katy.siddall@mail.house.gov

Families for Foster Youth Stamps Act of 2013 (H.R 2149)
Rep. Conyers, John, Jr. [D-MI-13]

  -  Requires that in a timeline of four years, the USPS will provide issuance and sale of a semipostal to increase funding for programs that improve permanent homes for foster care youth

  -  Staff contact: Rinia.Shelby@mail.house.gov

Adoption Tax Credit Tribal Parity Act of 2013 (H.R 2332)
Rep. Kilmer, Derek [D-WA-6]

  -  Allows Indian tribes to make the determination that a child is a child with  special needs for purposes of the adoption tax credit.

  -  Staff Contact:  Kevin.Warnke@mail.house.gov

The Protecting Adoption and Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Act of 2013 (H.R 2439)
Rep. Kuster, Ann [D-NH-2]

 - Promotes permanent families for children, privacy and safety for unwed mothers, responsible fatherhood, and security for adoptive parents by establishing a National Responsible Father Registry

 - Staff: Lisbeth.Zeggane@mail.house.gov

Help Separated Families Act of 2013 (H.R 2604)
Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-40]

  -  Requires the state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to notify relatives seeking placement of a child that their immigration status will not be questioned.

  -  Staff contact: Matt.Lee@mail.house.gov

Child Sex Trafficking Data and Response Act of 2013 (H.R 2744)
Rep. Paulsen, Erik [R-MN-3]

 - Better enables State child welfare agencies to prevent sex trafficking of children and serve the needs of children who are victims of sex trafficking.

 - Staff: noah.jacobson@mail.house.gov

Guardian Stability for Children Act (H.R 2979)
Rep. Doggett, Lloyd [D-TX-35]

 - Helps ensure greater stability for children cared for by guardians and kinship providers. Keeps kids out of foster care by ensuring guardian can be replaced by successor guardian when necessary

 - Staff Contact: Nick.Gwyn@mail.house.gov

Missing Children's Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2013
(H.R. 3092) Signed into law!
Rep. Guthrie, Brett [R-KY-2]

- Amends the Missing Children's Assistance to declare that many missing children are runaways. Requires annual report be sent to President and Congress. Authorizes additional uses for annual grant awarded to National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

- Staff Contact: Megan.Spindel@mail.house.gov

Investing in Permanency for Youth in Foster Care Act (H.R. 3124)
Rep. Davis, Danny [D-IL-7]

- Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to extend the Adoption Incentive Payment Program through FY2017 and rename it the Permanency Incentive Program

Promoting Adoption and Legal Guardianship for Children in Foster Care Act
(H.R. 3205) Passed out of the House!
Rep. Camp, Dave [R-MI-4]

- Reauthorizes the Adoption Incentives program for 3 years, encouraging the adoption of more children from foster care

- Staff Contact: Ryan.Martin@mail.house.gov

Protecting Adopted Children Act (H.R. 3423)
Rep. Langevin, Jim [D-RI-2]

- Provides a more stable home environment and prevent children from entering the foster care system or other less-regulated networks through the provision of pre- and post-adoptive support services

- Staff Contact: Sam.Morgante@mail.house.gov

Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2013 (H.R.3491)
Rep. McDermott, Jim [D-WA-7]

- Establishes an Internet gambling license tax and specifies that proceeds should, in part, be used for education or job training for foster youth

- Staff contact: diane.shust@mail.house.gov   

FAFSA for Foster Youth (H.R. 3915)
Rep. Grayson, Alan [D-FL-8]

- To direct the Secretary of Education to modify the FAFSA to include a space for the purpose of identifying whether a student is a foster youth, and for other purposes

Quality Foster Care Services Act 2014 (H.R. 4016)
Rep. DeLauro, Rosa [D-CT-3]

- Requires a qualified therapeutic foster care program to be state-licensed and provide: (1) foster care children under 21 with structured daily activities; and (2) foster care parents with specialized training and consultation in the management of children with mental illness, trauma, other emotional or behavioral disorders, medically fragile conditions, or developmental disabilities

Preventing Sex Trafficking and Improving Opportunities for Youth in Foster Care Act (H.R 4058)
Rep. Reichert, David [R-WA-08]

- Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require the state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to demonstrate that the state has developed policies and procedures for identifying and screening, and for determining appropriate state action and services with respect to, children over whom the state agency has responsibility for placement, care, or supervision who the state has reasonable cause to believe are victims of sex trafficking or a severe form of trafficking in persons, or are at risk of being such victims

Strengthening the Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2014 (H.R 4636)
Rep. Bass, Karen [D-CA-37], Rep. Marino, Tom [R-PA-10], Rep. McDermott, Jim [D-WA-7] & Rep. Michele Bachmann [R-MN-6]

  -  Strengthens the child welfare response to child trafficking by amending the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to require that child victims of trafficking are considered victims of abuse and neglect, not criminals.

  -  Staff contact: Jenny.Wood@mail.house.gov

View legislation from the 112th Congress.