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Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006
P.L. 109-288

Overview

Major Provisions of the Act

• Amended title IV-B, subpart 1 (Child Welfare Services Program) to:
  • Change the program from a permanent authorization to a 5-year authorization, with $325 million for each of Federal FY 2007 through 2011
  • Establish a new program purpose that allows a broader array of services and activities and promotes more flexibility for States to design their programs accordingly
• Amended title IV-B, subpart 2 with respect to the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program to:
  • Reauthorize mandatory grants at $345 million for each of Federal FY 2007 through 2011
  • Authorize discretionary grant appropriations of $200 million for each of Federal FY 2007 through 2011
  • Appropriate $40 million for FY 2006 for States to spend through September 30, 2009, to support monthly caseworker visits with children in foster care under the responsibility of the State
  • Set aside an additional $40 million for FY 2007 through FY 2011 to be divided between Regional Partnership/Substance Abuse Grants and support of caseworker visits
• Required each State to submit annually forms that:
  • Report on planned child and family services expenditures for the immediately succeeding fiscal year
  • Provide specified information about PSSF and certain other programs, including the numbers of families and of children, as well as the population, served by the State agency
• Reserved specified funds for States to support monthly caseworker visits with children in foster care under State responsibility, with a primary emphasis on activities designed to improve caseworker retention, recruitment, training, and ability to access the benefits of technology
• Required targeted grants to increase the well-being of, and to improve the permanency outcomes for, children affected by methamphetamine or other substance abuse
• Authorized competitive grants to regional partnerships to provide, through interagency collaboration and integration of programs and services, services and activities designed to increase the well-being of, improve permanency outcomes for, and enhance the safety of children who are in an out-of-home placement or are at risk of being placed in an out-of-home placement as a result of a parent's or caretaker's methamphetamine or other substance abuse
• Increased the set-asides for Indian Tribes from 2 to 3 percent of any discretionary funds appropriated and from 1 to 3 percent of the mandatory funds authorized and remaining after the separate reservation of funds for monthly caseworkers is made
• Required each State plan for child welfare services to describe standards for the content and frequency of caseworker visits for children in foster care that, at a minimum, ensure that:
  • The children are visited on a monthly basis.
  • The visits are well-planned and focused on issues pertinent to case planning and service delivery to ensure the children's safety, permanency, and well-being.
• Reauthorized and extended through FY 2011 the program for mentoring children of prisoners (MCOP)
• Required the Secretary to enter into a 3-year, renewable cooperative agreement with an eligible entity for a Service Delivery Demonstration Project to:
  • Identify children of prisoners in need of mentoring services
  • Provide their families with a voucher for mentoring services and a list of providers in their residential area
  • Monitor and oversee the delivery of mentoring services by providers that accept the vouchers
• Reauthorized and extended through FY 2011 the basic Court Improvement Program
• Amended title IV-E to require certain foster care proceedings to include consultation in an age-appropriate manner with the child who is the subject of the proceeding

Updated on October 29, 2009