Look-back Elimination Act of 2013 - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to eliminate the requirement that, to be eligible for foster care maintenance payments, a child would have been eligible for aid under the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program (predecessor of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF] program under part A of SSA title IV) at the time of removal from the home.
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the AFDC eligibility requirement for federal foster care and adoption assistance benefits should be eliminated and replaced with income eligibility standards that are based on modern, balanced criteria that treat all children equally; and (2) the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) should collaborate with Members of Congress and child welfare advocates in developing any modification standards.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2111 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2111
To eliminate the requirement that, to be eligible for foster care
maintenance payments, a child would have been eligible for aid under
the former program of Aid to Families with Dependent Children at the
time of removal from the home.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 22, 2013
Mr. Lewis introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To eliminate the requirement that, to be eligible for foster care
maintenance payments, a child would have been eligible for aid under
the former program of Aid to Families with Dependent Children at the
time of removal from the home.
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 ``Look-back Elimination Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) As part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New
Deal, the Social Security Act of 1935 included the creation of
the Aid to Dependent Children program as a way to provide
Federal support to poor children. Over time, this program
became the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
program and provided assistance to struggling families for over
60 years.
(2) Part E of title IV of the Social Security Act provides
primary Federal funding for child welfare services. Under that
part, the Federal Government pays a portion of the cost of
providing Federal foster care and adoption assistance benefits
for eligible children.
(3) In 1996, when Congress replaced the AFDC program with
the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program,
Congress also fixed the income eligibility requirement for
Federal foster care and adoption assistance benefits at a level
based on the income thresholds established by the States under
their former AFDC programs. This income eligibility requirement
is now commonly referred to as the ``AFDC look-back standard''.
(4) At that time, many States had established very strict
household income requirements in order for children to be
eligible for AFDC benefits. As a result of this very strict
requirement, many children in the Federal foster care and
adoption assistance programs are ineligible to receive a wide
range of Federal benefits, services, and activities. For
example, this outdated, restrictive standard prevents the State
of Georgia from providing assistance to more than half of the
children in the child welfare system.
(5) Forced to adhere to a stagnant standard, States
increasingly struggle to administer Federal foster care and
adoption assistance programs and provide services to those
children most in need. As inflation increases, fewer children
are eligible to receive Federal benefits, and States struggle
to provide services from other, limited local and State
resources.
(6) Although the AFDC look-back standard still applies to
the Federal foster care program, the Fostering Connections to
Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 will have
completely eliminated the AFDC look-back standard in the
Federal adoption assistance program by 2018.
SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF THE AFDC ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT IN THE FOSTER
CARE MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 472(a) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 672(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``specified'' and all
that follows and inserting ``or caretaker into foster care if
the removal and foster care placement met, and continues to
meet, the requirements of paragraph (2).''; and
(2) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4).
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 470 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 670)
is amended by striking ``who otherwise would have been eligible for
assistance under the State's plan approved under part A (as such plan
was in effect on June 1, 1995)''.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the AFDC eligibility requirement for Federal foster
care and adoption assistance benefits should be eliminated and
replaced with income eligibility standards that are based on
modern, balanced criteria that treat all children equally; and
(2) the Secretary of Health and Human Services should
collaborate with Members of Congress and child welfare
advocates in developing any modified standards.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Human Resources.
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