CERTAIN PREVENTIVE SERVICES REGARDING CHILDREN OF HOMELESS FAMILIES OR FAMILIES AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS.

SEC. 661. CERTAIN PREVENTIVE SERVICES REGARDING CHILDREN OF HOMELESS FAMILIES OR FAMILIES AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS. (a) Findings.—Congress finds that— (1) homelessness too often results in the placements of children into out-of-home care, or delays the reunification of such children with their parents; and (2) strong coordination between child welfare agencies and housing authorities can protect homeless children or children at risk of becoming homeless from abuse and neglect and help prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families. (b) Amendment.—The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) (as amended by Public Law 101–126) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new title: “TITLE III—CERTAIN PREVENTIVE SERVICES REGARDING CHILDREN OF HOME-LESS FAMILIES OR FAMILIES AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS “SEC. 301. DEMONSTRATION GRANTS FOR PREVENTION OF INAPPROPRIATE SEPARATION FROM FAMILY AND FOR PREVENTION OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT. “(a) Establishment of Program.—The Secretary may make grants to entities described in subsection (b)(1) for the purpose of assisting such entities in demonstrating, with respect to children 104 STAT. 4756whose families are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, the effectiveness of activities undertaken to prevent— “(1) the inappropriate separation of such children from their families on the basis of homelessness or other problems regarding the availability and conditions of housing for such families; and “(2) the abuse and neglect of such children. “(b) Minimum Qualifications of Grantees.— “(1) In general.—The entities referred to in subsection (a) are State and local agencies that provide services in geographic areas described in paragraph (2), and that have authority— “(A) for removing children, temporarily or permanently, from the custody of the parents (or other legal guardians) of such children and placing such children in foster care or other out-of-home care; or “(B) in the case of youths not less than 16 years of age for whom such a placement has been made, for assisting such youths in preparing to be discharged from such care into circumstances of providing for their own support. “(2) Eligible geographic areas.—The geographic areas referred to in paragraph (1) are geographic areas in which homelessness and other housing problems are— “(A) threatening the well-being of children; and “(B)(i) contributing to the placement of children in out-of-home care; “(ii) preventing the reunification of children with their families; or “(iii) in the case of youths not less than 16 years of age who have been placed in out-of-home care, preventing such youths from being discharged from such care into circumstances of providing their own support without adequate living arrangements. “(3) Cooperation with appropriate public and private entities.—The Secretary shall not make a grant under subsection (a) unless the agency involved has entered into agreements with appropriate entities in the geographic area involved (including child welfare agencies, public housing agencies, and appropriate public and nonprofit private entities that provide services to homeless families) regarding the joint planning, coordination and delivery of services under the grant. “(c) Requirement of Matching Funds.— “(1) In general.—The Secretary shall not make a grant under subsection (a) unless the agency involved agrees that, with respect to the costs to be incurred by such agency in carrying out the purpose described in such subsection, the agency will make available (directly or through donations from public or private entities) non-Federal contributions toward such costs in an amount equal to not less than $1 for each $4 of Federal funds provided in such grant. “(2) Determination of amount of non-federal contribution.—Non-Federal contributions required under paragraph (1) may be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services. Amounts provided by the Federal Government, or services assisted or subsidized to any significant extent by the Federal Government, shall not be included in determining the amount of such non-Federal contributions. 104 STAT. 4757 “SEC. 302. PROVISIONS WITH RESPECT TO CARRYING OUT PURPOSE OF DEMONSTRATION GRANTS. “(a) Joint Training of Appropriate Service Personnel.— “(1) In general.—The Secretary shall not make a grant under section 301(a) unless the agency involved agrees to establish, with respect to the subjects described in paragraph (2), a program for joint training concerning such subjects, for appropriate personnel of child welfare agencies, public housing agencies, and appropriate public and private entities that provide services to homeless families. “(2) Specification of training subjects.—The subjects referred to in paragraph (1) are— “(A) the relationship between homelessness, and other housing problems, and the initial and prolonged placement of children in out-of-home care; “(B) the housing-related needs of families with children who are at risk of placement in out-of-home care; and “(C) resources (including housing-related assistance) that are available to prevent the initial or prolonged placement in out-of-home care of children whose families are homeless or who have other housing problems. “(b) Additional Authorized Activities.—In addition to activities authorized in subsection (a), a grantee under section 301(a) may expend grant funds for— “(1) the hiring of additional personnel to provide assistance in obtaining appropriate housing— “(A) to families whose children are at imminent risk of placement in out-of-home care or who are awaiting the return of children placed in such care; and “(B) to youth who are preparing to be discharged from such care into circumstances of providing for their own support; “(2) training and technical assistance for the personnel of shelters and other programs for homeless families (including domestic violence shelters) to assist such programs— “(A) in the prevention and identification of child abuse and neglect among the families the programs served; and “(B) in obtaining appropriate resources for families who need social services, including supportive services and respite care; “(3) the development and dissemination of informational materials to advise homeless families with children and others who are seeking housing of resources and programs available to assist them; and “(4) other activities, if authorized by the Secretary, that are necessary to address housing problems that result in the inappropriate initial or prolonged placement of children in out- of-home care. “SEC. 303. ADDITIONAL REQUIRED AGREEMENTS. “(a) Reports to Secretary.—The Secretary shall not make a grant under section 301(a) unless the agency involved agrees that such agency will— “(1) annually prepare and submit to the Secretary a report describing the specific activities carried out by the agency under the grant; and 104 STAT. 4758 “(2) include in the report submitted under paragraph (1), the results of an evaluation of the extent to which such activities have been effective in carrying out the purpose described in such section, including the effect of such activities regarding— “(A) the incidence of placements of children in out-of--home care; “(B) the reunification of children with their families; and “(C) in the case of youths not less than 16 years of age who have been placed in out-of-home care, the discharge of such youths from such care into circumstances of providing for their own support with adequate living arrangements. “(b) Evaluation by the Secretary.—The Secretary shall conduct evaluations to determine the effectiveness of demonstration pro-grams supported under section 301(a) in— “(1) strengthening coordination between child welfare agencies, housing authorities, and programs for homeless families; “(2) preventing placements of children into out-of-home care due to homelessness or other housing problems; “(3) facilitating the reunification of children with their families; and “(4) in the case of youths not less than 16 years old who have been placed in out-of-home care, preventing such youth from being discharged from such care into circumstances of providing their own support without adequate living arrangements. “(c) Report to Congress.— “(1) Preparation of list.—Not later than April 1, 1991, the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of Labor, shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate a list of Federal programs that provide services, or fund grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements for the provision of services, directed to the prevention of homelessness for families whose children are at risk of out of home placement and the incidence of child abuse that may be associated with homelessness, that shall include programs providing— “(A) rent, utility, and other subsidies; “(B) training; and “(C) for inter-agency coordination, at both the local and State and Federal level. “(2) Contents of list.—The list prepared under paragraph (1) shall include a description of— “(A) the appropriate citations relating to the authority for such programs; “(B) entities that are eligible to participate in each such program; “(C) authorization levels and the annual amounts appropriated for such programs for each fiscal year in which such programs were authorized; “(D) the agencies and divisions administering each such program; “(E) the expiration date of the authority of each such program; and “(F) to the extent available, the extent to which housing assistance under such programs can be accessed by child welfare and other appropriate agencies. 104 STAT. 4759 “(3) Report.—Not later than March 1, 1993, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that contains a description of the activities carried out under this title, and an assessment of the effectiveness of such programs in preventing initial and prolonged separation of children from their families due to homelessness and other housing problems. At a minimum the report shall contain— “(A) information describing the localities in which activities are conducted; “(B) information describing the specific activities under-taken with grant funds and, where relevant, the numbers of families and children assisted by such activities; “(C) information concerning the nature of the joint training conducted with grant funds; “(D) information concerning the manner in which other agencies such as child welfare, public housing authorities, and appropriate public and nonprofit private entities are consulting and coordinating with existing programs that are designed to prevent homelessness and to serve homeless families and youth; and “(E) information concerning the impact of programs sup-ported with grant funds under this title on— “(i) the incidence of the placement of children into out-of-home care; “(ii) the reunification of children with their families; and “(iii) in the case of youth not less than 16 years of age who have been placed in out-of-home care, the dis-charge of such youths from such care into circumstances of providing for their own support with adequate living arrangements. “(d) Restriction on Use of Grant.—The Secretary may not make a grant under section 301(a) unless the agency involved agrees that the agency will not expend the grant to purchase or improve real property. “SEC. 304. DESCRIPTION OF INTENDED USES OF GRANT. “The Secretary shall not make a grant under section 301(a) unless— “(1) the agency involved submits to the Secretary a description of the purposes for which the agency intends to expend the grant; “(2) with respect to the entities with which the agency has made agreements pursuant to section 301(b)(1), such entities have assisted the agency in preparing the description required in paragraph (1); and “(3) the description includes a statement of the methods that the agency will utilize in conducting the evaluations required in section 303(a)(2). “SEC. 305. REQUIREMENT OF SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION. “The Secretary shall not make a grant under section 301(a) unless an application for the grant is submitted to the Secretary, the application contains the description of intended uses required in section 304, and the application is in such form, is made in such 104 STAT. 4760manner, and contains such agreements, assurances, and information as the Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out this title. “SEC. 306. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. “(a) In General.—For the purpose of carrying out this title, there are authorized to be appropriated $12,500,000 for fiscal year 1992. “(b) Availability of Appropriations.—Amounts appropriated under subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.”. (c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.—The Child Abuse and Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) is amended in the table of contents in section 101(b) by adding at the end thereof the following new items: “TITLE III— CERTAIN PREVENTIVE SERVICES REGARDING CHILDREN OF HOMELESS FAMILIES OR FAMILIES AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS “Sec. 301. Demonstration grants for prevention of inappropriate separation from family and for prevention of child abuse and neglect. “Sec. 302. Provisions with respect to carrying out purpose of demonstration grants. “Sec. 303. Additional required agreements. “Sec. 304. Description of intended uses of grant. “Sec. 305. Requirement of submission of application. “Sec. 306. Authorization of appropriations.”.