Guardian and ward Legislation - Federal Government

To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to connect and support relative caregivers, improve outcomes for children in foster care, provide for tribal foster care and adoption access, improve incentives for adoption, and for other purposes. 9/15/2008--Introduced. Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 - Amends Part E (Federal Payments for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give state plans the option of providing for the state to enter into agreements to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments to grandparents and other relatives who have assumed legal guardianship of children for whom they have: (1) cared as foster parents; and (2) committed to care on a permanent basis. Amends SSA title IV part B (Child and Family Services) to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make matching grants to state, local, or tribal child welfare agencies and [...]

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A bill to establish kinship navigator programs, to establish guardianship assistance payments for children, and for other purposes. 2/16/2007--Introduced. Kinship Caregiver Support Act - Authorizes the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants for kinship navigator programs to state agencies, metropolitan agencies, or tribal organizations with experience in addressing needs of kinship caregivers or children and connecting them with services and assistance.Amends part E (Federal Payments for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to authorize all states to opt to enter agreements to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments on behalf of children to grandparents and other relatives who have assumed legal guardianship of children for whom they have cared as foster parents and have committed to care for on a permanent basis. Allows states to use part E funds to [...]

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A bill to provide for the protection of unaccompanied alien children, and for other purposes. 3/12/2007--Introduced. Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2007 - Addresses the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children (children), defined as children under the age of 18 with no lawful immigration status and no parent or legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody. Directs immigration officers who find such children at U.S. land borders or ports of entry to permit them to withdraw their applications for admission and return to their country of nationality or last habitual residence. States that such children shall have the right to consult with a consular officer prior to repatriation and with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (the Office) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Gives the Office jurisdiction over the care and custody of all unaccompanied alien children except: (1) the Department [...]

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A bill to amend the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to improve the compensation system, and for other purposes. 3/12/2007--Introduced. Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act Amendments of 2007 - Amends the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to declare that it is the intent of Congress that: (1) in a claim brought under such Act, the facts are not to be given a broad liberal construction in favor of the employee or of the employer; (2) the laws pertaining to the claim are to be construed in accordance with the basic principles of statutory construction and not liberally in favor of either the employee or employer; and (3) the system established under the Act shall be efficient and self-executing, but not an economic or administrative burden. Makes compensation under the Act payable regardless of fault as a cause of an injury (no-fault). Specifies requirements for proportional payment of compensation, the last employer doctrine,[...]

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A bill to provide enhanced Federal enforcement and assistance in preventing and prosecuting crimes of violence against children. 5/3/2007--Introduced. Violence Against Children Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to provide for enhanced penalties for violent crimes against children (i.e., persons under 18 years of age).Requires the Attorney General to: (1) provide assistance to state, local, and Indian tribal governments in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any felony crime of violence against children; and (2) award grants to develop and strengthen effective law enforcement and prosecution of crimes against children and to provide education, prevention, intervention, and victims' assistance services for such crimes.Requires states receiving grants under this Act or other federal assistance to: (1) use the National Incident-Based Reporting System; (2) enact a statute to allow a parent to leave a newborn baby at a hospital anonymously without [...]

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A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes. 5/9/2007--Introduced. Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 - Sets forth border security and enforcement provisions, including provisions respecting: (1) personnel and asset increases and enhancements; (2) a National Strategy for Border Security; (3) border security initiatives, including biometric data enhancements and a biometric entry-exit system, document integrity, and mandatory detention of aliens apprehended at or between ports of entry; (4) Central American gangs; (5) cooperation with Mexico; (6) National Guard support on the southern border; and (7) extension of the Western Hemisphere travel initiative. Border Law Enforcement Relief Act of 2007 - Authorizes a border relief grant program for a tribal, state, or local law enforcement agency in a county: (1) no more than 100 miles from a U.S. border with Canada or Mexico; or (2) more than 100 miles from any such border but which [...]

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A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to improve the quality and availability of mental health services for children and adolescents. 6/6/2007--Introduced. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Resiliency Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary), acting through the Center for Mental Health Services, to provide for comprehensive state mental health plans that exclusively meet the mental health needs of children and adolescents. Requires the Secretary to provide for child and adolescent mental health early intervention and prevention services. Requires the Secretary of Education to: (1) provide for access to mental health and case management services in educational settings; and (2) develop guidelines that encourage schools to provide counseling and positive behavioral supports. Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant) of the Social Security Act [...]

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An original bill to provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 602 of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2008 (S. Con. Res. 21). 7/10/2007--Reported to Senate without amendment.    (There is 1 other summary) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.) Higher Education Access Act of 2007 - Title I: Grants to Students in Attendance at Institutions of Higher Education - (Sec. 101) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to repeal the formula for calculating an individual Pell grant which includes, in part, the sum of the student's tuition. (Thus eliminates the "tuition sensitivity provision" which currently prohibits maximum Pell grant awards to students attending low-tuition institutions of higher education (IHEs) even if their income is low enough otherwise to qualify for the maximum award.) Authorizes and [...]

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To establish kinship navigator programs, to establish kinship guardianship assistance payments for children, and for other purposes. 5/7/2007--Introduced. Kinship Caregiver Support Act - Authorizes the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants to eligible entities to pay for the federal share of the cost of carrying out kinship navigator programs. Amends part E (Federal Payments for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to authorize all states to opt to enter agreements to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments on behalf of children to grandparents and other relatives who have assumed legal guardianship of children for whom they have cared as foster parents and have committed to care for on a permanent basis. Provides that adoptive parents of children with special needs remain eligible for adoption assistance, even if they receive kinship guardianship [...]

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To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to connect and support relative caregivers, improve outcomes for children in foster care, provide for tribal foster care and adoption access, improve incentives for adoption, and for other purposes. 9/15/2008--Introduced. Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 - Amends Part E (Federal Payments for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give state plans the option of providing for the state to enter into agreements to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments to grandparents and other relatives who have assumed legal guardianship of children for whom they have: (1) cared as foster parents; and (2) committed to care on a permanent basis. Amends SSA title IV part B (Child and Family Services) to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make matching grants to state, local, or tribal child welfare agencies and [...]

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To require certain standards and enforcement provisions to prevent child abuse and neglect in residential programs, and for other purposes. 6/25/2008--Passed House without amendment.    (There is 1 other summary) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.) Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008 - (Sec. 3) Directs the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services to require each location of a covered program to meet specified minimum standards if individually or together with other locations it has an effect on interstate commerce. Defines "covered program" as one operated by a public or private entity that with respect to one or more children unrelated to the program owner or operator: (1) provides a residential environment; and (2) operates with a focus on serving [...]

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To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to assist children in foster care in developing or maintaining connections to family, community, support, health care, and school, and for other purposes. 6/24/2008--Passed House amended.    (There is 1 other summary) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.) Fostering Connections to Success Act - (Sec. 2) Amends Part E (Federal Payments for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give state plans the option of providing for the state to enter into agreements to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments to grandparents and other relatives who have assumed legal guardianship of children for whom they have cared as foster parents and for whom they have committed to care on a permanent basis. (Sec. 3) Amends SSA title IV [...]

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A bill to amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to extend the adoption incentives program, to authorize States to establish a relative guardianship program, to promote the adoption of children with special needs, and for other purposes. 5/20/2008--Introduced. Improved Adoption Incentives and Relative Guardianship Support Act of 2008 - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) extend the adoption incentives program through FY2012; (2) increase the incentive payment to a state for exceeding the highest ever foster child adoption rate; (3) increase incentive payments for special needs adoptions and older child adoptions; (4) revise requirements for the adoption assistance program to promote the adoption of children with special needs; and (5) give states the option to provide for relative guardianship assistance payments for children. Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment [...]

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A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit taking minors across State lines in circumvention of laws requiring the involvement of parents in abortion decisions. 1/22/2008--Introduced. Child Custody Protection Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit transporting a minor child across a state line to obtain an abortion (deems such transporting to be a de facto abridgment of the right of a parent under any law in the minor’s state of residence that requires parental involvement in the minor’s abortion decision). Makes an exception for an abortion necessary to safe the life of the minor. Makes it an affirmative defense to a prosecution or civil action under this Act that a defendant: (1) reasonably believed that before the minor obtained the abortion, the required parental consent or notification or judicial authorization took place; or (2) was presented with documentation showing that a court waived parental notification requirements [...]

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To amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to provide for the implementation of protection and services for children and youths in out of home care, and for other purposes. 12/19/2007--Introduced. Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to require each state through its state educational agency (SEA) and its local educational agency (LEA), in collaboration with its state and local child welfare agencies, to provide children and youths in out of home care with certain educational protection and services, including: (1) guarantee that they will not be segregated in a separate or stigmatized school or separate program within a school based on their status of being in out of home care; and (2) equal access to the state-funded and LEA-funded preschool programs, appropriate secondary education and support services, and before- and after-school programs for which they are eligible, including extracurricula activities. Requires SEA- or LEA-provided transportation [...]

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To make certain technical corrections and transition amendments to the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. 11/13/2007--Passed House amended.    (There is 1 other summary) College Cost Reduction and Access Act Technical Amendments of 2007 - Makes technical changes to amendments the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (the Act) made to the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). Ensures that mandatory Pell grant funding m