Supporting At-Risk Children Act
Latest action. By Senator Baucus from Committee on Finance filed written report. Report No. 113-137. Minority views filed.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Supporting At-Risk Children Act - Title I: Strengthening and Finding Families for Children - Strengthening and Finding Families for Children Act - Subtitle A: Adoption Incentive Payments - (Sec. 111) Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to extend the adoption incentives grant program through FY2016.
(Sec. 112) Revises the program's award structure.
Repeals the state incentive-eligibility requirement that: (1) the number of foster child adoptions in the state during the fiscal year exceed the state's base number of foster child adoptions for the fiscal year, (B) the number of older child adoptions in the state during the fiscal year exceed the state's base number of older child adoptions for the fiscal year, or (C) the state's foster child adoption rate for the fiscal year exceed the highest ever foster child adoption rate determined for the state.
Replaces determination of numbers of adoptions based on Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data with determination of the rates of adoptions and foster child guardianships.
Creates a new formula for determining adoption incentive payments. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to increase the adoption incentive payment for timely adoption award states.
(Sec. 113) Renames the program the adoption and legal guardianship incentive program.
(Sec. 114) Requires states to use amounts paid to them under the program to supplement, and not supplant, any federal or non-federal funds used to provide any service under SSA title IV parts B (Child and Family Services) or E.
(Sec. 115) Requires a state to calculate the savings (if any) resulting from the application of specified eligibility requirements for adoption assistance to all applicable children for a fiscal year, using a methodology specified by the Secretary or an alternative methodology proposed by the state and approved by the Secretary.
The summary continues for 32 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate without amendment" stage on December 19, 2013. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 6, 2014: By Senator Baucus from Committee on Finance filed written report. Report No. 113-137. Minority views filed.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
MAX BAUCUS (D-MT) introduced it on December 19, 2013. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 19, 2013, 4648 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4599 days ago, on February 6, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers