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

Date: September 2006

Overview

S. 3525
Enacted September 28, 2006

Major Provisions of the Act

  • Amended title IV-B, subpart 1 (Child Welfare Services program) as follows:
    • Changed the program from a permanent authorization to a 5-year authorization, with $325 million for each fiscal year (FY) 2007-2011
    • Established a new program purpose that allowed a broader array of services and activities and promoted more flexibility for States to design their programs accordingly
  • Amended title IV-B, subpart 2, with respect to PSSF as follows:
    • Reauthorized mandatory grants at $345 million for each FY 2007-2011
    • Authorized discretionary grant appropriations of $200 million for each FY 2007-2011
    • Appropriated $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 2007-2011 to be divided between Regional Partnership Grants and the support of caseworker visits
  • Required each State to annually submit forms that achieve the following:
    • Report on planned child and family services expenditures for the immediately succeeding FY
    • Provide specified information about PSSF and certain other programs, including the population and numbers of families and children 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 use
  • 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 caregiver's methamphetamine or other substance use
  • 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 the following:
    • Children are visited on a monthly basis
    • Visits are well-planned and focused on issues pertinent to case planning and service delivery to ensure children's safety, permanency, and well-being
  • Reauthorized and extended through FY 2011 the program for mentoring children of prisoners
  • Required the HHS Secretary to enter into a 3-year, renewable cooperative agreement with an eligible entity for a service delivery demonstration project to achieve the following:
    • 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