Working to Enhance Courts for At-Risk and Endangered Kids Act of 2005

A bill to amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to strengthen courts for at-risk children, and for other purposes.

9/12/2005--Introduced.
Working to Enhance Courts for At-Risk and Endangered Kids Act of 2005 - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to courts for at-risk children.
Provides or revises requirements for: r />(1) collaboration among state IV-B (Child and Family Services) and IV-E agencies;
(2) outcome performance standards for abuse and neglect courts;
(3) court model standards;
(4) state flexibility for public access to courts;
(5) orderly and timely processing for interstate placement of children;
(6) complete background checks, including child abuse registries, before approval of any foster or adoptive placement;
(7) health and education records;
(8) the right to be heard in foster care proceedings;
(9) court improvement; and
(10) use of interjurisdictional resources.
Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to allow courts access to the Federal Parent Locator Service to locate parents in foster care or adoptive placement cases.
Amends SSA title XI part A (General Provisions) to require each state administering a program under SSA title IV part B or part E to establish a permanent, multidisciplinary, broad-based commission on state child welfare programs.
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for loan forgiveness for:
(1) family law, juvenile law, and domestic relations attorneys who work in the defense of low-income families, individuals, or children; and
(2) child welfare workers.
Amends the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 to reauthorize at increased levels the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program, including such programs in rural and underserved urban areas.
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Chief Justice for each state and other state court leadership should take the lead in providing for the health, safety, and permanency of children before state abuse and neglect courts.


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Sponsor

• Michael DeWine
• and 1 Co-Sponsors
  • Sen. John Rockefeller [D, WV]
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Committees

• Senate Finance

Amendments

This bill has no amendments.

Amendments to S.1679

Number	Status	Purpose

Bill Status

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Introduced		Voted on by Senate		Voted on by House		Considered By President		Bill Becomes Law
September 12, 2005

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• Introduced on Sep 12, 2005.
• Sep 12, 2005: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

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Related Issue Areas:

• Welfare
• Administration of justice
• Adoption
• Budgets
• 45 more
• Child abuse
• Child health
• Child safety
• Child welfare
• Children
• Congress
• Congressional reporting requirements
• Criminal justice
• Day care
• Education
• Elementary and secondary education
• Employee training
• Evaluation research (Social action programs)
• Families
• Family courts
• Federal aid to education
• Foster home care
• Grants-in-aid
• Guardian and ward
• Higher education
• Interstate compacts
• Interstate relations
• Judges
• Judicial ethics
• Judicial officers
• Law
• Lawyers
• Legal education
• Legal ethics
• Medical care
• Medical records
• Medicine
• Mental health services
• Performance measurement
• Politics and government
• Rural affairs
• Social services
• Social work
• State and local government
• State courts
• State politics and government
• Student loan funds
• Student records
• Urban affairs
• Urban areas

Data from the Congressional Research Service

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