Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Strengthening Tribal Families Act of 2023”.
Strengthening Tribal Families Act of 2023
A BILL
To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to require States to comply with Federal standards established under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
Sec. 2 State plan requirements
State plan requirement relating to child welfare services— Section 422(b)(9) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 622(b)(9)) is amended—
by inserting “(A)” after “(9)”;
by striking “Act;” and inserting “Act of 1978; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(B) provide that the agency administering or supervising the administration of the plan shall comply with Federal standards established under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978;”
State plan requirement relating to promoting safe and stable families— Section 432(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629b(a)) is amended—
in paragraph (9), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (10), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(11) provides that the agency administering or supervising the administration of the plan shall comply with Federal standards established under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.”
Measuring compliance— Subpart 3 of part B of title IV of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629m) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“441. Measuring compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
“(a) In general—Not later than January 1, 2024, the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with Indian tribal organizations and States, shall develop a memorandum of understanding that specifies the factors to be used in measuring compliance by State agencies with sections 422(b)(9) and 432(a)(11) of this title, which shall include requirements sufficient to assess State strengths and areas for improvement in implementing the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, including the following:
“(1) Timely identification of Indian children and extended family members.
“(2) Timely tribal notice of State child custody proceedings.
“(3) Quantitative agency reports of cases under such Act in which a transfer of jurisdiction (as defined by such Act) was granted or was not granted, and whether good cause (as defined in such Act) was applied.
“(4) Quantitative agency reports on how many times a court returned such a case to the agency based on insufficient active efforts (as defined by such Act).
“(5) Foster care or adoptive placements in such cases (as defined by such Act).
“(6) Quantitative agency reports on how many times a court terminated parental rights in such cases.
“(b) Consultation—On request of the Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior shall provide the Secretary with such guidance as may be necessary to facilitate informing States and public child welfare agencies on how to correctly and efficiently comply with sections 422(b)(9) and 432(a)(11).”
Biennial reports to the Congress— Section 422 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 622) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(d) Biennial reports to the Congress—The Secretary shall biennially submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a written report on how the States and the Secretary are addressing the requirement in subsection (b)(9).”
Sec. 3 Effective date
In general— Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Delay permitted if state legislation required— If the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines that State legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) is required in order for a State plan developed pursuant to part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to meet the additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by this Act, the plan shall not be regarded as failing to meet any of the additional requirements before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter beginning after the first regular session of the State legislature that begins after the date the Secretary publishes the memorandum of understanding required by section 441 of the Social Security Act. For purposes of the preceding sentence, if the State has a 2-year legislative session, each year of the session is deemed to be a separate regular session of the State legislature.