HR 3243 108th Congress House Families Academic performance Case management Child health Child welfare Community health services Continuing education Crime and Law Enforcement Criminal statistics Custody of children Data banks Dropouts Economics and Public Finance Education Educational accountability Educational statistics Elementary and secondary education Elementary education Family courts Family services

Keeping Families Together Act

Introduced: October 2, 2003 See on congress.gov

Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Oct 27, 2003

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Oct 2, 2003

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Oct 2, 2003

Introduced in House

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Keeping Families Together Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to States to establish systems of individualized mental health treatment and family support services for children who are in custody or in danger of entering the custody of the state for the purpose of receiving mental health services.

Requires eligible States to: (1) have laws or policies in effect that ensure that children receive appropriate mental health services so that parents do not have to relinquish legal custody of such children; (2) provide matching funds; (3) establish infrastructure for interagency cooperation and cross system financing; and (4) expand public health insurance programs to cover these services after the grant expires.

Establishes a Federal interagency task force to examine mental health issues in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and the role of their agencies in promoting access by children and youth to mental health services.

Amends the Social Security Act to permit the use of the Medicaid home and community-based services waiver to provide mental health services to children and youths as an alternative to care in inpatient psychiatric hospitals.

What's happening now October 27, 2003

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Committees of jurisdiction 2