Skip to main content
HR 823 109th Congress House

Keeping Families Together Act

Official title: To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a State family support grant program to end the practice of parents giving legal custody of their seriously… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a State family support grant program to end the practice of parents giving legal custody of their seriously emotionally disturbed children to State agencies for the purpose of obtaining mental health services for those children.

Introduced: June 8, 2005 See on congress.gov
Families Academic performanceCase managementChild healthChild welfare
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Community health servicesContinuing educationCrime and Law EnforcementCriminal statisticsCustody of childrenData banksDropoutsEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEducational accountabilityEducational statisticsElementary and secondary educationElementary educationFamily courtsFamily servicesFederal advisory bodiesFederal aid to child health servicesFoster home careGovernment Operations and PoliticsGovernment paperworkGovernment publicityGovernment statisticsGroup homesHealthHealth insuranceHealth planningHome care servicesHousing and Community DevelopmentIntergovernmental fiscal relationsJuvenile delinquencyLabor and EmploymentLawMedicaidMedical screeningMedical testsMedically uninsuredMental health servicesPatient satisfactionPerformance measurementPoor childrenPreventive medicineProblem childrenScience, Technology, CommunicationsSecondary educationSocial WelfareState financeState lawsWelfare waiversYouth services
This bill died when the 109th Congress ended
It never became law before the 109th Congress (2005–2006) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Feb 25, 2005
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Feb 15, 2005
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Feb 15, 2005
Introduced in House
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action February 25, 2005

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Keeping Families Together Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award competitive matching grants to States to establish systems of care to treat and provide services to all children who are in the custody of the State or at-risk of entering into the custody of the State for the purpose of receiving mental health services.

Requires State to use grant funds for certain activities, including to: (1) expand public health insurance programs to cover community-based mental health and family support services for such children and their families that will be sustainable after the grant has expired; (2) provide outreach and public education concerning available programs and activities; and (3) provide training and professional development for personnel who work with such children.

Requires the Administrator to establish a task force to examine: (1) problems of mental health in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems; (2) issues with respect to access by children and youth to mental health services; and (3) the role of Federal agencies in promoting access by children and youth to mental health services.

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

 Related & companion bills 2
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 823: Keeping Families Together Act. 109th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/109-HR-823/
MLA
"H.R. 823: Keeping Families Together Act." 109th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/109-HR-823/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 823, 109th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/109-HR-823/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 823: Keeping Families Together Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/109-HR-823/)
Report a problem