[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2426 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2426
To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to require the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to identify obstacles to
identifying and responding to reports of children missing from foster
care and other vulnerable foster youth, to provide technical assistance
relating to the removal of such obstacles, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 30, 2023
Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas (for himself, Ms. Brown, Mrs. Houchin, Ms.
Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Bacon, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Newhouse, and Ms.
Scanlon) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to require the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to identify obstacles to
identifying and responding to reports of children missing from foster
care and other vulnerable foster youth, to provide technical assistance
relating to the removal of such obstacles, 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 ``Find and Protect Foster Youth Act''.
SEC. 2. ELIMINATING OBSTACLES TO IDENTIFYING AND RESPONDING TO REPORTS
OF CHILDREN MISSING FROM FOSTER CARE AND OTHER VULNERABLE
FOSTER YOUTH.
Section 476 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 676) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Evaluation of Protocols Relating to Children Missing From
Foster Care and Other Vulnerable Youth; Technical Assistance.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct an
evaluation of the protocols established by States in accordance
with the requirements of section 471(a)(35) and, to the extent
applicable, by Indian tribes or tribal organizations (as
defined in section 479B(a)) or tribal consortia with a plan
approved under section 471 in accordance with section 479B.
``(2) Requirements.--The evaluation shall include the
following:
``(A) A review of relevant aspects of reports
submitted by States, Indian tribes, tribal
organizations, and tribal consortia under this part and
part B, and data and other information reported
pursuant to the system established under section 479.
``(B) Analysis of the extent to which States,
Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal
consortia comply with, and enforce, the protocols
required by section 471(a)(35).
``(C) Analysis of the effectiveness of such
protocols.
``(D) Identification of obstacles for States,
Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal
consortia to identifying and responding to reports of
children missing from foster care and other vulnerable
foster youth.
``(E) Identification of best practices for
identifying such children and youth and intervening
with effective services.
``(3) Technical assistance.--The Secretary shall provide
States, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal
consortia with information, advice, educational materials, and
technical assistance relating to eliminating identified
obstacles to identifying and responding to reports of children
missing from foster care and other vulnerable foster youth and
providing such children and youth with effective services. Such
assistance may include dissemination of--
``(A) processes and tools to identify and examine
risk factors and potential trends related to children
who go missing from foster care and other vulnerable
youth;
``(B) best practices for runaway tracking and
recovery; and
``(C) guidelines for intervention, including with
respect to services, types of providers, and placement
settings.
``(4) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall submit a
report to Congress on the results of the evaluation conducted
under this subsection and the technical assistance provided in
accordance with paragraph (3).''.
SEC. 3. IMPROVING SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT OF CHILDREN RETURNED TO
FOSTER CARE AFTER GOING MISSING TO DETERMINE WHETHER THEY
WERE, OR ARE AT RISK OF BECOMING, VICTIMS OF SEX
TRAFFICKING.
Section 476 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 676), as amended
by section 2, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Improving Identification of, and Services for, Children Who
Return to Foster Care After Running Away or Otherwise Being Absent From
Foster Care and Who Are, or Are at Risk of Being, Victims of Sex
Trafficking.--
``(1) Assistance.--
``(A) Screening after a return to foster care.--The
Secretary shall provide States, Indian tribes, tribal
organizations, and tribal consortia, with information,
advice, educational materials, and technical assistance
to improve compliance with section 471(a)(35)(A)(iii).
``(B) Improving other requirements.--The
information, advice, educational materials, and
technical assistance provided may include information,
advice, educational materials, and technical assistance
to improve or modify policies and procedures (including
relevant training for caseworkers) developed by States,
Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal
consortia under section 471(a)(9)(C), including the
following:
``(i) Identifying, through screening,
whether the State has reasonable cause to
believe the child or youth is, or is at risk of
being, a victim of sex trafficking.
``(ii) Documenting the results of such
screening in agency records.
``(iii) Determining appropriate services
for a child or youth for whom the State
determines there is reasonable cause to
identify the child or youth as a victim of sex
trafficking, or as at risk of being a victim of
sex trafficking.
``(iv) Documenting in agency records the
determination of appropriate services for a
child or youth described in clause (iii).
``(2) Forms of assistance.--The assistance provided under
this subsection shall include the following:
``(A) Assisting States, Indian tribes, tribal
organizations, and tribal consortia, with developing
oversight mechanisms to assess their compliance with
section 471(a)(35)(A)(iii).
``(B) Assisting States, Indian tribes, tribal
organizations, and tribal consortia in developing--
``(i) assessments for screening children
who return to foster care after running away or
otherwise being absent from foster care for
risk of becoming victims of sex trafficking;
and
``(ii) effective and robust policies
relating to the use of the assessments.
``(C) Working with States, Indian tribes, tribal
organizations, and tribal consortia to improve or
modify policies and procedures developed under section
471(a)(9)(C).
``(D) Providing technical assistance on how States,
Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal
consortia may best use data collected pursuant to
section 479 for oversight of, and to ensure compliance
with, the requirements of paragraphs (9)(C) and
(35)(A)(iii) of section 471(a).
``(3) Consultation.--The Secretary shall, to the extent
practicable, consult with internal and external offices with
expertise on sex trafficking, including the Office on
Trafficking in Persons of the Administration for Children and
Families, on the development and dissemination to States,
Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal consortia of
the assistance required under this subsection.''.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums
as are necessary to carry out this Act for fiscal year 2023, which
shall remain available through fiscal year 2027.
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