Grants to States for child abuse or neglect prevention and treatment programs

The Secretary shall make grants to the States, from allotments made under subsection (f) for each State that applies for a grant under this section, for purposes of assisting the States in improving the child protective services system of each such State in— improving legal preparation and representation, including— developing, strengthening, and facilitating training including— developing, implementing, or operating programs to assist in obtaining or coordinating necessary services for families of disabled infants with life-threatening conditions, including— supporting and enhancing interagency collaboration among public health agencies, agencies in the child protective service system, and agencies carrying out private community-based programs— developing and implementing procedures for collaboration among child protective services, domestic violence services, and other agencies in— To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a State shall submit to the Secretary a State plan that specifies the areas of the child protective services system described in subsection (a) that the State will address with amounts received under the grant. Each State plan shall— The State shall provide notice to the Secretary— A State plan submitted under paragraph (1) shall contain a description of the activities that the State will carry out using amounts received under the grant to achieve the objectives of this subchapter, including— an assurance in the form of a certification by the Governor of the State that the State has in effect and is enforcing a State law, or has in effect and is operating a statewide program, relating to child abuse and neglect that includes— policies and procedures (including appropriate referrals to child protection service systems and for other appropriate services) to address the needs of infants born with and identified as being affected by substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure, or a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, including a requirement that health care providers involved in the delivery or care of such infants notify the child protective services system of the occurrence of such condition in such infants, except that such notification shall not be construed to— the development of a plan of safe care for the infant born and identified as being affected by substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms, or a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder to ensure the safety and well-being of such infant following release from the care of health care providers, including through— methods to preserve the confidentiality of all records in order to protect the rights of the child and of the child’s parents or guardians, including requirements ensuring that reports and records made and maintained pursuant to the purposes of this subchapter and subchapter III shall only be made available to— provisions and procedures requiring that in every case involving a victim of child abuse or neglect which results in a judicial proceeding, a guardian ad litem, who has received training appropriate to the role, including training in early childhood, child, and adolescent development, and who may be an attorney or a court appointed special advocate who has received training appropriate to that role (or both), shall be appointed to represent the child in such proceedings— provisions, procedures, and mechanisms— provisions, procedures, and mechanisms that assure that the State does not require reunification of a surviving child with a parent who has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction— an assurance that the State has in place procedures for responding to the reporting of medical neglect (including instances of withholding of medically indicated treatment from infants with disabilities who have life-threatening conditions), procedures or programs, or both (within the State child protective services system), to provide for— a description of— With regard to clauses (vi) and (vii) of paragraph (2)(B), nothing in this section shall be construed as restricting the ability of a State to refuse to disclose identifying information concerning the individual initiating a report or complaint alleging suspected instances of child abuse or neglect, except that the State may not refuse such a disclosure where a court orders such disclosure after such court has reviewed, in camera, the record of the State related to the report or complaint and has found it has reason to believe that the reporter knowingly made a false report. For purposes of this subsection— Except as provided in subparagraph (B), each State to which a grant is made under this section shall establish not less than 3 citizen review panels. A State that receives the minimum allotment of $175,000 under section 5116b(b)(1)(A) of this title for a fiscal year shall establish not less than 1 citizen review panel. A State may designate as panels for purposes of this subsection one or more existing entities established under State or Federal law, such as child fatality panels or foster care review panels, if such entities have the capacity to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (4) and the State ensures that such entities will satisfy such requirements. Each panel established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be composed of volunteer members who are broadly representative of the community in which such panel is established, including members who have expertise in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect, and may include adult former victims of child abuse or neglect. Each panel established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall meet not less than once every 3 months. Each panel established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall, by examining the policies, procedures, and practices of State and local agencies and where appropriate, specific cases, evaluate the extent to which State and local child protection system agencies are effectively discharging their child protection responsibilities in accordance with— any other criteria that the panel considers important to ensure the protection of children, including— The members and staff of a panel established under paragraph (1)— Each State that establishes a panel pursuant to paragraph (1) shall establish civil sanctions for a violation of clause (i). Each panel shall provide for public outreach and comment in order to assess the impact of current procedures and practices upon children and families in the community and in order to meet its obligations under subparagraph (A). Each State that establishes a panel pursuant to paragraph (1)— Each panel established under paragraph (1) shall prepare and make available to the State and the public, on an annual basis, a report containing a summary of the activities of the panel and recommendations to improve the child protection services system at the State and local levels. Not later than 6 months after the date on which a report is submitted by the panel to the State, the appropriate State agency shall submit a written response to State and local child protection systems and the citizen review panel that describes whether or how the State will incorporate the recommendations of such panel (where appropriate) to make measurable progress in improving the State and local child protective system. Each State to which a grant is made under this section shall annually work with the Secretary to provide, to the maximum extent practicable, a report that includes the following: Of the number of children described in paragraph (1), the number with respect to whom such reports were— Of the number of children described in paragraph (2)— The number of child protective service personnel responsible for the— For child protective service personnel responsible for intake, screening, assessment, and investigation of child abuse and neglect reports in the State— The number of infants— Within 6 months after receiving the State reports under subsection (d), the Secretary shall prepare a report based on information provided by the States for the fiscal year under such subsection and shall make the report and such information available to the Congress and the national clearinghouse for information relating to child abuse and neglect. In this subsection: The term “fiscal year 2009 grant funds” means the amount appropriated under section 5106h of this title for fiscal year 2009, and not reserved under section 5106h(a)(2) of this title. The term “grant funds” means the amount appropriated under section 5106h of this title for a fiscal year and not reserved under section 5106h(a)(2) of this title. The term “State” means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The term “territory” means Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Secretary shall make allotments to each State and territory that applies for a grant under this section in an amount equal to the sum of— In the case where the grant funds for a fiscal year are less than the fiscal year 2009 grant funds, the Secretary shall ratably reduce each of the allotments under paragraph (2) for such fiscal year. In any fiscal year for which the grant funds exceed the fiscal year 2009 grant funds by more than $1,000,000, the Secretary shall adjust the allotments under paragraph (2), as necessary, such that no State that applies for a grant under this section receives an allotment in an amount that is less than— In the case of a fiscal year for which subparagraph (A) applies and the grant funds are insufficient to satisfy the requirements of such subparagraph (A), paragraph (2), and paragraph (5), the Secretary shall, subject to paragraph (5), ratably reduce the allotment of each State for which the allotment under paragraph (2) is an amount that exceeds the applicable minimum under subparagraph (A), as necessary to ensure that each State receives the applicable minimum allotment under subparagraph (A). Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (4), except as provided in paragraph (3), no State or territory shall receive a grant under this section in an amount that is less than the amount such State or territory received under this section for fiscal year 2009.