H.R. 5640: Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006

109th Congress · introduced 2006-06-20 · Families · Latest: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 311.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2006-06-20 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Herger, Wally [R-CA-2] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 311. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006

Plain summary

Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006 - (Sec. 3) Amends part B (Child and Family Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act with respect to the promoting safe and stable families (PSSF) program to: (1) prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from making any payment of PSSF funds to a state for administrative costs that exceed 10% of the state's total program expenditures; (2) reauthorize the program at current levels through FY2011; (3) increase the set-asides for Indian tribes from 2% to 3% of any discretionary funds appropriated and from 1% to 3% of the mandatory funds authorized and remaining after the separate reservation of funds for monthly caseworkers is made; (4) eliminate the authority of the Secretary to exempt tribes from any of the PSSF plan requirements; (5) permit an intertribal consortia to submit a single PSSF program plan for approval; and (6) provide that tribes may form consortia in order to meet the $10,000 minimum funding threshold required to be eligible to receive tribal PSSF program funds. (Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary to reserve $40 million each fiscal year for allotments to support monthly caseworker visits to children in foster care under state responsibility. Requires states to use such money primarily for activities designed to improve caseworker retention, recruitment, training, and ability to access the benefits of technology. Sets forth special rules for funds reserved to support monthly caseworker visits, including requirements for state submission of data on: (1) frequency and location of such visits; and (2) state ability to verify visit frequency. (Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for child welfare services (CWS). Modifies state plan as well as state allotment and reimbursement requirements under the CWS program. Repeals requirements that a state CWS plan apply certain child day care standards and provide for training and effective use of paraprofessionals. Requires state plans to describe: (1) services and activities to be funded and how they relate to CWS purposes; and (2) steps the state will take to provide CWS statewide. Requires states to have administrative and judicial procedures in effect for children abandoned at or shortly after birth to ensure expeditious decisions for their permanent placement. Prohibits: (1) more than 10% of CWS expenditures, federal and nonfederal, for administrative purposes; or (2) the use of CWS funds for child day care, foster care maintenance payments, or adoption assistance payments. Requires a state plan to outline how the state will ensure that physicians or other appropriate medical professionals are actively consulted and involved in: (1) assessing the health and well-being of children in foster care under state responsibility; and (2) determining appropriate medical treatment for them. Repeals the prohibition against reallotment of funds based on state failure to maintain mandatory CWS state plan foster child protections. Repeals state authority to count spending on foster care maintenance payments as CWS expenditures to meet federal matching requirements. (Sec. 6) Reauthorizes and extends through FY2011 the court improvement program and the program for mentoring children of prisoners (MCOP). (Sec. 8) Makes additional appropriations to the Secretary for the PSSF program for FY2006. (Sec. 9) Requires the Secretary to report biennially to specified congressional committees on: (1) the level of expenditures, and the programs and activities funded, by each state, territory, and Indian tribe to which funds are paid; (2) the number of children and families served by each such state, territory, and Indian tribe; and (3) how spending under the programs has helped achieve the goals identified by each such state, territory, and Indian tribe as part of the annual planning process undertaken in developing plans.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House with amendment(s)), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House with amendment(s))

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Herger, Wally [R-CA-2] · 11 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 5640, Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006 (2006-07-10); CBO cost estimate: H.R. 5640, Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006 (2006-07-10)

Cosponsors on this site

Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (6)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Exemption: A rule that removes certain people, property or activities from a tax or requirement.
Fiscal year: The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House with amendment(s))
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-109hr5640.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/109/hr>

Record fed-us-cong109-hr5640 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong109 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong109