113-183 ) is an omnibus bill, including child welfare and child support provisions. 4980 ), which passed the House of Representatives by voice vote (under suspension of the rules) on July 23, 2014, and the Senate, by unanimous consent on September 18, 2014, represented a compromise between multiple bills acted on by the House of Representatives and the Senate Finance Committee earlier in the 113 th Congress. President Obama signed the bill into law on September 29, 2014, as P.L. 113-183 . The law establishes new requirements for state child welfare agencies, state child support enforcement agencies, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which administers federal programs providing funding to those agencies. The law requires state child welfare agencies to develop and implement procedures that respond to concerns about sex trafficking of children in foster care (including those who are not in foster care but are served by the agency), to separately develop protocols to locate and serve children who run away from foster care, to report information about victims of sex trafficking and those who run away from foster care to various entities; and directs HHS to provide information on the numbers of sex trafficking victims identified by state child welfare agencies, establish a national advisory committee concerning sex trafficking of children in the United States, and prepare a report on children who run away from foster care. " For children in foster care under the age of 16, the law prohibits the use of the permanency plan "another planned permanent living arrangement" as an alternative to seeking reunification, adoption, legal guardianship, or placement with a fit and willing relative; requires state child welfare agencies to continue efforts to find permanent connections for youth age 16 or older who are assigned APPLA as their permanency plan; requires state child welfare agencies to involve children in foster care at age 14 or older in their own case and permanency planning and to inform these children of certain rights, including their right to specified key document (e.g., birth certificate, driver's license) when they are "aging out" of foster care. The law extends funding authorization for the Adoption Incentives Payment program for three years and revises the incentive payments to include incentives for achieving permanence via legal guardianship; extends funding for Family Connection grant program for one year; requires states to spend an amount equal to at least 30% of certain adoption assistance "savings" for services to strengthen families, including provision of post-adoption supports; ensures that children receiving federal guardianship assistance with a legal relative guardian can continue to do so if that guardian becomes ill or incapacitated and the child is placed with a previously named successor guardian; requires state child welfare agencies to notify the parent(s) of siblings of children who are entering foster care; and directs HHS to report on the number of children who are placed in foster care as a result of a legal guardianship or adoption that has been disrupted or has dissolved. The law provides for implementation of the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (and any other related treaties) to increase effectiveness of child support collections in cases where noncustodial parents live in foreign countries; seeks to improve child support collections involving tribal governments; requires state child support enforcement agencies to adopt certain data standardization measures and to implement electronic withholding of child support payments; and directs HHS to report on additional measures to improve child support enforcement. 113-183 amends the federal foster care program (authorized in Title IV-E of the Social Security Act) to require state child welfare agencies to develop and implement procedures to identify, document in agency records, and determine appropriate services for certain children or youth who are victims of sex trafficking, or at risk of being such victims. Supporting "Normalcy" for Children in Foster Care

The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act seeks to ensure that children in foster care have the opportunity to participate in activities that are appropriate to their age and stage of development. Defining a "Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard"

P.L. Additionally, P.L. 113-183 requires that any child in foster care who is age 14 or older must be consulted in the development of, and any revisions to, his/her case plan and permanency plan. Additionally, P.L. 113-183 appropriates $15 million to continue Family Connection Grants for one year (FY2014). The child support provisions in P.L. 113-183 primarily seek to ensure that the United States is compliant with any multilateral child support treaties and make other changes that are intended to improve the ability of the CSE program to collect child support in cases where a noncustodial parent lives in a foreign country. 113-183 provides Indian tribes or tribal organizations access to the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) by designating them as "authorized persons." Separately, P.L. Data Exchange Standardization

P.L. 4980 authorizes expansions in federal support for child welfare programs and activities; however, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that costs will be more than fully offset by other provisions of the bill, which would reduce overall direct federal spending by $1 million over six years (FY2014-FY2019) and $19 million over 11 years (FY2014 -FY2024). Origins of H.R.
The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (H.R. 4980), an omnibus bill that includes both child welfare and child support provisions, was signed into law on September 29, 2014, as P.L. 113-183. The bill received broad congressional support, passing the House by voice vote (under suspension of the rules) on July 23, 2014, and the Senate by unanimous consent on September 18, 2014.
P.L. 113-183 amends the federal foster care program to require state child welfare agencies to develop and implement procedures for identifying, documenting in agency records, and determining appropriate services for certain children or youth who are victims of sex trafficking, or at risk of victimization. State child welfare agencies must also report to law enforcement and the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which administers child welfare programs, about such victims. In addition, HHS must establish a national advisory committee on child sex trafficking that must, among other responsibilities, develop policies on improving the nation's response to domestic sex trafficking. P.L. 113-183 also includes provisions to direct child welfare agencies to develop protocols on locating children missing from care.
The law also seeks to ensure children in foster care have the opportunity to participate in activities that are appropriate to their age and stage of development. It requires changes in state foster home licensing law to enable foster caregivers to apply a "reasonable and prudent parenting" standard when determining whether a child in foster care may participate in activities; and directs state child welfare agencies to provide training to caregivers on using this standard. Other provisions in the law seek to ensure permanent adult connections for older children and better aid their transition to successful adulthood. Under the new law, states are not permitted to assign a permanency plan of "another planned permanent living arrangement" (APPLA) to any child under the age of 16, and must take additional steps to support permanency for children age 16 or older who are assigned that permanency plan. Further, children in foster care who are age 14 or older must be consulted in the development of, and about any revisions to, their case and permanency plans. They must also be made aware of their rights while in care, including the right to receive critical documents (e.g., birth certificate, Social Security card) when they "age out" of care.
P.L. 113-183 separately extends funding authority for Adoption Incentive Payments for three years (FY2014-FY2016). It phases in a revised incentive structure that allows states to earn incentive payments for both adoptions and exits from foster care to legal guardianship, places additional focus on finding permanent homes for older children, and strengthens the way state performance is gauged under the program. The law requires 30% of any state savings (resulting from broadening federal eligibility for adoption assistance) to be used for family strengthening services, including post-adoption services. It also includes provisions to ensure continued federal assistance under the Title IV-E program for eligible children who, following the death or incapacitation of their legal guardian, are placed with previously named successor guardians. Separately, the law appropriates $15 million to continue Family Connection Grants for one year. These grants are intended to strengthen children's connections to their parents and other relatives.
The child support provisions in P.L. 113-183 are designed to improve child support collections in cases where the custodial parent and child live in one country and the noncustodial parent lives in another country. It ensures that the United States is compliant with any multilateral child support enforcement treaties and, as part of this, requires states to update their Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) law to incorporate any amendments adopted as of September 2008 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Further, P.L. 113-183 facilitates greater access to the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) by foreign countries and tribal governments as part of improving child support collections. It also requires HHS to submit a report to Congress that includes policy options aimed at improving the CSE program. In addition, P.L. 113-183 includes provisions to support standardizing data exchange of child support-related information, and require electronic processing of income withholding for child support.
Effective dates vary by provision of the law. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that enactment of H.R. 4980 would reduce overall direct federal spending by $19 million across 11 years (FY2014-FY2024).