SHELTER Act of 2021

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5882 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5882

  To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to improve the 
     process for awarding grants under section 235 of the William 
Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 
with respect to opening or funding shelter facilities for unaccompanied 
                alien children, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 4, 2021

    Mr. Price of North Carolina (for himself and Mrs. Miller-Meeks) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

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                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to improve the 
     process for awarding grants under section 235 of the William 
Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 
with respect to opening or funding shelter facilities for unaccompanied 
                alien children, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Safeguarding Homes by Ensuring 
Licensing and Transparency with Eligibility Requirements Act of 2021'' 
or the ``SHELTER Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT GRANT PROCESS FOR 
              SHELTER FACILITIES.

    (a) Disclosure and Licensure.--With respect to a grant awarded 
under section 235(i) of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(i)) to open or 
fund a shelter facility for unaccompanied alien children, the 
Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office of Refugee 
Resettlement, shall require each applicant--
            (1) to disclose in the grant application any adverse action 
        against the applicant in the five-year period preceding the 
        date of application; and
            (2) to be licensed to operate such a facility in the 
        applicable State on the date of application.
    (b) Information Sharing.--In considering an application for a grant 
under section 235(i) of such Act, the Secretary shall collaborate with 
the appropriate agencies of the State in which the applicant intends to 
operate to review the databases of such State for information on any 
adverse actions taken against the applicant.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Adverse action.--The term ``adverse action'' means a 
        prior adverse criminal or regulatory action by a Federal, 
        State, or local government with respect to contracting with a 
        government entity or to the care of a child, including--
                    (A) the suspension or revocation of an operating 
                license; and
                    (B) any pending investigation on the date of 
                application.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services.
            (3) Unaccompanied alien child.--The term ``unaccompanied 
        alien child'' has the meaning given the term in section 462(g) 
        of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)).
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