Foster Child Protection Act of 2003

Foster Child Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to modify eligibility requirements for grants to States for child abuse and neglect prevention and treatment programs. Requires States to include within such programs an assurance that their foster care agencies meet certain requirements if they have knowledge that foster children under the responsibility of the State are missing.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2582 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2582

To amend the State eligibility provisions for grants under section 106 
 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to ensure that State 
  foster care agencies meet certain requirements if the agencies have 
 knowledge that foster children under the responsibility of the State 
                              are missing.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 24, 2003

 Mr. Deutsch introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the State eligibility provisions for grants under section 106 
 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to ensure that State 
  foster care agencies meet certain requirements if the agencies have 
 knowledge that foster children under the responsibility of the State 
                              are missing.

    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 ``Foster Child Protection Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO STATES FOR CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT PREVENTION AND 
              TREATMENT PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 106(b)(2) of the Child Abuse Prevention 
and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) an assurance that, in any case in which a 
                State foster care agency has knowledge that a foster 
                child under the responsibility of the State is missing, 
                the State foster care agency shall--
                            ``(i) contact the appropriate local law 
                        enforcement agency by telephone as soon as a 
                        determination is made that the child is 
                        missing;
                            ``(ii) request an officer of the local law 
                        enforcement agency to take a report of the 
                        missing child;
                            ``(iii) document the time the child was 
                        reported missing, and the time the call was 
                        placed to the local law enforcement agency;
                            ``(iv) record the case number assigned to 
                        the case by the local law enforcement agency;
                            ``(v) if a foster parent of the child 
                        notifies the foster care agency that the child 
                        has returned home, immediately transmit that 
                        information to the local law enforcement 
                        agency;
                            ``(vi) if a foster parent of the child 
                        provides the foster care agency with any 
                        information relating to the child's 
                        whereabouts, immediately transmit the 
                        information to the local law enforcement 
                        agency; and
                            ``(viii) create and maintain documentation 
                        of all of the above in the permanent file of 
                        the foster child maintained by the foster care 
                        agency.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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