It also provides information on PSSF funding. The first of these shows (in table form) selected provisions in prior law compared with provisions in reauthorization legislation considered in the 109 th Congress, as well as the final provisions enacted in P.L. Other appendices provide a legislative history of the PSSF program, discuss certain policy issues related to the program, and offer an overview of federal programs providing funding for purposes related to those of the PSSF program. 109-288 ) extended funding authorization for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program (Title IV-B, Subpart 2 of the Social Security Act) for five years (FY2007-FY2011). 109-288 authorized a demonstration project to test the effectiveness of using vouchers to deliver these services more broadly. Provisions of the Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006 (P.L. The law now provides that HHS may continue to exempt tribes from requirements that limit the use of the federal PSSF funds for administrative purposes to no more than 10% and the requirement that provides that "significant portions" of PSSF federal funds must be spent on each of the four service categories: community-based family support, family preservation, time-limited reunification, and adoption promotion and support. The law now describes the purpose of the Child Welfare Services program as "to promote State flexibility in the development and expansion of a coordinated child and family services program that utilizes community-based agencies and ensures all children are raised in safe, loving families, by—(1) protecting and promoting the welfare of all children; (2) preventing the neglect, abuse, or exploitation of children; (3) supporting at-risk families through services which allow children, where appropriate, to remain safely with their families or return to their families in a timely manner; (4) promoting the safety, permanence, and well-being of children in foster care and adoptive families; and (5) providing training, professional development and support to ensure a well-qualified child welfare workforce." 109-288 provides that beginning with FY2008, no state may spend any federal CWS funds for foster care maintenance payments, adoption assistance payments, or child day care unless it can demonstrate to HHS that it used federal CWS funds for at least one of these purposes in FY2005. It requires states to describe how they consult with and involve physicians or other appropriate medical professionals in assessing the health and well-being of children in foster care and in determining appropriate medical treatment for them. 109-288 provides that, beginning with FY2009, if HHS determines that a state has not made the requisite progress toward meeting the monthly caseworker visitation standard, then the state must spend more of its own funds under the program in order to receive its full federal allotment. Extension of the Court Improvement Program

P.L. Appendix A. Selected Provisions of the Child and Family Services Act of 2006 as Compared to Prior Law and to Earlier Versions of the Bill
(Section references in prior law column are to the Social Security Act, as amended prior to enactment of P.L. Separately P.L. 109-288 ) extends the funding authorization of the PSSF program for five years (FY2007-FY2011) and annually targets the use of $40 million in new funds for the program for two purposes: to support monthly caseworker visits and to improve outcomes for children affected by their parent/caretaker's abuse of methamphetamine or another substance. In addition, the law requires states to report on their actual —as opposed to simply planned —use of PSSF (and Child Welfare Services) funds and both increases the PSSF set aside for tribal child and family services, and allows access to these funds for more tribes.
The Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006 was enacted on September 25, 2006 (P.L. 109-288). As enacted it extends the funding authorization of the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program for five years (FY2007-FY2011) and annually targets the use of $40 million in new funds for the program for two purposes: to support monthly caseworker visits and to improve outcomes for children affected by their parent/caretaker's abuse of methamphetamine or another substance. As under prior law, states must spend the majority of PSSF funds on four broad categories of child and family services: community-based family support, family preservation, time-limited reunification and adoption promotion and support. P.L. 109-288 requires states to report on their actual—as opposed to simply planned—use of PSSF (and Child Welfare Services) funds. It also increases the PSSF set-aside for tribal child and family services, and allows access to these funds for more tribes. (Appendix A of this report compares selected enacted provisions with prior law as well as provision in earlier versions of the reauthorization legislation.)
Separately, P.L. 109-288 amended the Child Welfare Services program (Title IV-B, Subpart 1 of the Social Security Act), re-organizing its provisions and limiting its funding authorization to FY2007-FY2011. Beginning with FY2008, the new law limits the use of Child Welfare Service funds for administrative purposes to no more than 10%, and prohibits their use for foster care maintenance payments, adoption assistance payments, and child care above a state's use of the program's funds for those purposes in FY2005. Further, it requires states to—1) develop procedures to respond to and maintain services in the wake of a disaster; 2) describe in their state plans how they consult with medical professionals to assess the health of and provide appropriate medical treatment to children in foster care; and 3) establish a standard of no less than monthly caseworker visits of children in foster care along with standards for the content of the visit. The new law provides that in any state where less than 90% of children in foster care are visited on a monthly basis—or where the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) determines that the state is not making enough progress to meet that standard by October 1, 2011—the state will need to supply a greater amount of non-federal funds in order to access its full federal Child Welfare Services allotment. P.L. 109-288 also extends authorization for five years (FY2007-FY2011) of Mentoring Children of Prisoners, and includes authority for a project to demonstrate the effectiveness of vouchers as a method of delivering these services. Further, it extends for five years (FY2007-FY2011) certain grants under the Court Improvement Program.
This report tracked successful legislative efforts to reauthorize these programs in the 109th Congress. It describes provisions enacted by P.L. 109-288 and provides information on PSSF funding. Further it contains an appendix showing (in table form) selected provisions in prior law compared to those proposed and enacted, and additional appendices that provide a legislative history of the PSSF program, discuss selected program policy issues and offer an overview of federal programs providing funding for purposes related to the PSSF program. It will not be updated.