[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 862 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 862
To promote the adoption of children with special needs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 10, 2003
Mr. Rockefeller (for himself, Mr. DeWine, Ms. Landrieu, Ms. Collins,
Mr. Levin, and Mr. Johnson) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote the adoption of children with special needs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Adoption Equality Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In 1997, Congress enacted the Adoption and Safe
Families Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-89; 111 Stat. 2115),
clearly stating that a child's health and safety are paramount,
and that each child deserves a permanent home.
(2) The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 provides
incentives for adoptions, and adoptions from foster care since
its enactment in 1997 through 2002 have nearly doubled.
(3) Despite the increase in adoptions, in 2003
approximately 131,000 children in foster care have the
permanency goal of adoption but are still waiting to be
adopted.
SEC. 3. PROMOTION OF ADOPTION OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.
(a) In General.--Section 473(a) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the
following:
``(2)(A) For purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(ii), a child meets the
requirements of this paragraph if such child--
``(i)(I) at the time of termination of parental rights was
in the care of a public or licensed private child placement
agency or Indian tribal organization pursuant to a voluntary
placement agreement, relinquishment, or involuntary removal of
the child from the home, and the State has determined, pursuant
to criteria established by the State (which may, but need not,
include a judicial determination), that continuation in the
home would be contrary to the safety or welfare of such child;
``(II) meets all medical or disability requirements of
title XVI with respect to eligibility for supplemental security
income benefits; or
``(III) was residing in a foster family home or child care
institution with the child's minor parent (pursuant to a
voluntary placement agreement, relinquishment, or involuntary
removal of the child from the home, and the State has
determined, pursuant to criteria established by the State
(which may, but need not, include judicial determination), that
continuation in the home would be contrary to the safety or
welfare of such child); and
``(ii) has been determined by the State, pursuant to
subsection (c), to be a child with special needs, which needs
shall be considered by the State, together with the
circumstances of the adopting parents, in determining the
amount of any payments to be made to the adopting parents.
``(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and except as
provided in paragraph (7), a child who is not a citizen or resident of
the United States and who meets the requirements of subparagraph (A)
shall be treated as meeting the requirements of this paragraph for
purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(ii).
``(C) A child who meets the requirements of subparagraph (A), who
was determined eligible for adoption assistance payments under this
part with respect to a prior adoption (or who would have been
determined eligible for such payments had the Adoption and Safe
Families Act of 1997 been in effect at the time that such determination
would have been made), and who is available for adoption because the
prior adoption has been dissolved and the parental rights of the
adoptive parents have been terminated or because the child's adoptive
parents have died, shall be treated as meeting the requirements of this
paragraph for purposes of paragraph (1)(B)(ii).''.
(b) Exception.--Section 473(a) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(7)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, no
payment may be made to parents with respect to any child that--
``(i) would be considered a child with special needs under
subsection (c);
``(ii) is not a citizen or resident of the United States;
and
``(iii) was adopted outside of the United States or was
brought into the United States for the purpose of being
adopted.
``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed as prohibiting
payments under this part for a child described in subparagraph (A) that
is placed in foster care subsequent to the failure, as determined by
the State, of the initial adoption of such child by the parents
described in such subparagraph.''.
(c) Requirement for Use of State Savings.--Section 473(a) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(a)), as amended by subsection (b),
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(8) A State shall spend an amount equal to the amount of savings
(if any) in State expenditures under this part resulting from the
application of paragraph (2) on and after the effective date of the
amendment to such paragraph made by section 3(a) of the Adoption
Equality Act of 2003 to provide to children or families any service
(including post-adoption services) that may be provided under this part
or part B.''.
(d) Determination of a Child With Special Needs.--Section 473(c) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(c)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(c) For purposes of this section, a child shall not be considered
a child with special needs unless--
``(1)(A) the State has determined, pursuant to a criteria
established by the State (which may or may not include a
judicial determination), that the child cannot or should not be
returned to the home of his parents; or
``(B) the child meets all medical or disability
requirements of title XVI with respect to eligibility for
supplemental security income benefits; and
``(2) the State has determined--
``(A) that there exists with respect to the child a
specific factor or condition (such as ethnic
background, age, or membership in a minority or sibling
group, or the presence of factors such as medical
conditions or physical, mental, or emotional handicaps)
because of which it is reasonable to conclude that the
child cannot be placed with adoptive parents without
providing adoption assistance under this section and
medical assistance under title XIX; and
``(B) that except where it would be against the
best interests of the child because of such factors as
the existence of significant emotional ties with
prospective adoptive parents while in the care of such
parents as a foster child, a reasonable, but
unsuccessful, effort has been made to place the child
with appropriate adoptive parents without providing
adoption assistance under this section or medical
assistance under title XIX.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on October 1, 2003.
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