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Home > Systemwide > Laws & Policies > Major Federal Legislation Concerned With Child Protection, Child Welfare, and Adoption > Major Federal Legislation Index and Search > Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 - P.L. 109-171
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
P.L. 109-171
Overview
S. 1932
Enacted February 8, 2006
Purpose: Title VII of this act provides for reauthorization of the TANF program, Healthy Marriage and Family funds, Court Improvement Program, Safe and Stable Families Program, and other child welfare programs.
Text of title VII of P.L. 109-171 (PDF - 99 KB)
Major Provisions of the Act
- Prohibited access to Medicaid to an individual who declares he or she is a U.S. citizen unless one type of specified documentary evidence of U.S. citizenship or nationality is presented; certain classes were exempt from this requirement. [Note: Foster children and children receiving title IV-E adoption assistance were later exempted from this requirement by P.L. 109-432.]
- Replaced incentive bonuses to States for a decrease in the illegitimacy rate with healthy marriage promotion and responsible fatherhood grants, and limited the use of funds for:
- Demonstration projects designed to test the effectiveness of Tribal governments or consortia in coordinating the provision of child welfare services to Tribal families at risk of child abuse or neglect
- Activities promoting responsible fatherhood
- Prescribed the contents of applications for Court Improvement grants, including grants for improved data collection and training, and made appropriations for FY 2006-FY 2010 for grants to:
- Ensure that the safety, permanence, and well-being needs of children are met in a timely and complete manner
- Provide for the training of judges, attorneys, and other legal personnel in child welfare cases
- Required that courts and agencies demonstrate meaningful collaboration in child welfare services programs
- Permitted States to allow public access to certain State court child welfare proceedings
- Authorized appropriations for FY 2006 for Safe and Stable Families Programs
- Specified criteria under which States may receive Federal matching funds for allowable administrative expenses for children who are candidates for foster care, living in unallowable facilities, or placed with unlicensed relatives
- Clarified the home of removal for AFDC purposes when determining the eligibility of a child for title IV-E foster care maintenance payments and revised adoption assistance eligibility criteria to require AFDC at the time of the child's removal from the specified relative's home only
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