Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110
§629b State Plans
Title 42 › CHAPTER 7 — SOCIAL SECURITY › SUBCHAPTER IV — GRANTS TO STATES FOR AID AND SERVICES TO NEEDY FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN AND FOR CHILD-WELFARE SERVICES › Part B — Child and Family Services › subpart 2 — promoting safe and stable families › § 629b
Summary
States must have a plan that says the State agency will run or oversee the child and family program. The plan must set clear goals for what will be done by the end of each 5th fiscal year and explain how progress will be measured. After each of the first four years of a five-year plan, the State must do an interim review and update goals if needed. After the fifth year it must do a final review, make a public report, send that report to the Secretary, and set new goals for the next five years in consultation with the required partners. The plan must coordinate with other federal programs, limit administrative costs to no more than 10 percent of the State’s yearly spending under this part, and spend the rest mainly on four program types: family preservation, community-based family support, family reunification, and adoption promotion/support. Each year the State must publish and send to the Secretary a description of next year’s service programs (with separate descriptions for the four program types), who they will serve, and where they will be offered; the first-year description goes in the initial plan and later descriptions are due by the end of the 3rd quarter of the prior fiscal year. The State must follow administration methods the Secretary finds necessary, not use these federal funds to replace other funds, provide reports and take part in evaluations the Secretary requires, and each year by June 30 submit CFS–101 forms showing planned and recent actual expenditures plus numbers of families and children served, populations, and geographic areas. The plan must make child safety the top priority, explain how the State finds and serves populations at greatest risk of maltreatment, and describe policies and staff training to handle reports about neglect tied to living conditions so children are not removed from parents only because of poverty, and to ensure access to services under section 629a(a)(1)(H). To get a plan approved, the State must have developed it with the Secretary and consulted public and nonprofit agencies, community groups that serve families, parents and caregivers with child-welfare experience, and children and youth with lived experience; the State must post online how it used youth suggestions. For Indian tribes or tribal consortia, the Secretary may waive the 10 percent administrative rule if it would be inappropriate, but may not approve a tribal plan if the tribe’s combined allotment under sections 629c(a) and 629g(c)(1) would be less than $10,000 compared with other tribes with the same or larger numbers of children. Each year by September 30 the Secretary must compile the State reports, send them to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, and post the compilation on the HHS website.
Full Legal Text
Title 42, §629b
The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Plan requirements
A State plan meets the requirements of this subsection if the plan—
(1)provides that the State agency shall administer, or supervise the administration of, the State program under this subpart;
(2)(A)(i)sets forth the goals intended to be accomplished under the plan by the end of the 5th fiscal year in which the plan is in operation in the State, and (ii) is updated periodically to set forth the goals intended to be accomplished under the plan by the end of each 5th fiscal year thereafter;
(B)describes the methods to be used in measuring progress toward accomplishment of the goals;
(C)contains assurances that the State—
(i)after the end of each of the 1st 4 fiscal years covered by a set of goals, will perform an interim review of progress toward accomplishment of the goals, and on the basis of the interim review will revise the statement of goals in the plan, if necessary, to reflect changed circumstances; and
(ii)after the end of the last fiscal year covered by a set of goals, will perform a final review of progress toward accomplishment of the goals, and on the basis of the final review (I) will prepare, transmit to the Secretary, and make available to the public a final report on progress toward accomplishment of the goals, and (II) will develop (in consultation with the entities required to be consulted pursuant to subsection (b)) and add to the plan a statement of the goals intended to be accomplished by the end of the 5th succeeding fiscal year;
(3)provides for coordination, to the extent feasible and appropriate, of the provision of services under the plan and the provision of services or benefits under other Federal or federally assisted programs serving the same populations;
(4)contains assurances that not more than 10 percent of expenditures under the plan for any fiscal year with respect to which the State is eligible for payment under section 629d of this title for the fiscal year shall be for administrative costs, and that the remaining expenditures shall be for programs of family preservation services, community-based family support services, family reunification services, and adoption promotion and support services, with significant portions of such expenditures for each such program;
(5)contains assurances that the State will—
(A)annually prepare, furnish to the Secretary, and make available to the public a description (including separate descriptions with respect to family preservation services, community-based family support services, family reunification services, and adoption promotion and support services) of—
(i)the service programs to be made available under the plan in the immediately succeeding fiscal year;
(ii)the populations which the programs will serve; and
(iii)the geographic areas in the State in which the services will be available; and
(B)perform the activities described in subparagraph (A)—
(i)in the case of the 1st fiscal year under the plan, at the time the State submits its initial plan; and
(ii)in the case of each succeeding fiscal year, by the end of the 3rd quarter of the immediately preceding fiscal year;
(6)provides for such methods of administration as the Secretary finds to be necessary for the proper and efficient operation of the plan;
(7)(A)contains assurances that Federal funds provided to the State under this subpart will not be used to supplant Federal or non-Federal funds for existing services and activities which promote the purposes of this subpart; and
(B)provides that the State will furnish reports to the Secretary, at such times, in such format, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, that demonstrate the State’s compliance with the prohibition contained in subparagraph (A);
(8)(A)provides that the State agency will furnish such reports, containing such information, and participate in such evaluations, as the Secretary may require; and
(B)provides that, not later than June 30 of each year, the State will submit to the Secretary—
(i)copies of form CFS–101 (including all parts and any successor forms) that report on planned child and family services expenditures by the agency for the immediately succeeding fiscal year; and
(ii)copies of form CFS–101 (including all parts and any successor forms) that provide, with respect to the programs authorized under this subpart and subpart 1 and, at State option, other programs included on such forms, for the most recent preceding fiscal year for which reporting of actual expenditures is complete—
(I)the numbers of families and of children served by the State agency;
(II)the population served by the State agency;
(III)the geographic areas served by the State agency; and
(IV)the actual expenditures of funds provided to the State agency;
(9)contains assurances that in administering and conducting service programs under the plan, the safety of the children to be served shall be of paramount concern;
(10)describes how the State identifies which populations are at the greatest risk of maltreatment and how services are targeted to the populations; and
(11)provides a description of policies in place, including training for employees, to address child welfare reports and investigations of neglect concerning the living arrangements or subsistence needs of a child with the goal to prevent the separation of a child from a parent of the child solely due to poverty, to ensure access to services described in section 629a(a)(1)(H) of this title.
(b)Approval of plans
(1)In general
The Secretary shall approve a plan that meets the requirements of subsection (a) only if—
(A)the plan was developed jointly by the Secretary and the State, and the State, in developing the plan, consulted with—
(i)appropriate public and nonprofit private agencies;
(ii)community-based organizations involved in providing services for children and families in the areas of family preservation, family support, family reunification, foster care, kinship, and adoption promotion and support;
(iii)parents with child welfare experience, foster parents, adoptive parents, and kinship caregivers; and
(iv)children, youth, and young adults with experience in the child welfare system, including State boards and councils comprised of youth with lived experience who represent the diversity of children in the State to whom the plan would apply; and
(B)the State has made publicly accessible on a website of the State agency a report that outlines how the State has implemented the suggestions of the children and youth referred to in subparagraph (A)(iv).
(2)Plans of Indian tribes or tribal consortia
(A)Exemption from inappropriate requirements
The Secretary may exempt a plan submitted by an Indian tribe or tribal consortium from the requirements of subsection (a)(4) of this section to the extent that the Secretary determines those requirements would be inappropriate to apply to the Indian tribe or tribal consortium, taking into account the resources, needs, and other circumstances of the Indian tribe or tribal consortium.
(B)Special rule
Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Secretary may not approve a plan of an Indian tribe or tribal consortium under this subpart to which (but for this subparagraph) an allotment of less than $10,000 would be made under section 629c(a) and 629g(c)(1) of this title combined if allotments were made under such sections to all Indian tribes and tribal consortia with plans approved under this subpart with the same or larger numbers of children.
(c)Annual submission of State reports to Congress
(1)In general
The Secretary shall compile the reports required under subsection (a)(8)(B) and, not later than September 30 of each year, submit such compilation to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate.
(2)Information to be included
The compilation shall include the individual State reports and tables that synthesize State information into national totals for each element required to be included in the reports, including planned and actual spending by service category for the program authorized under this subpart and planned spending by service category for the program authorized under subpart 1.
(3)Public accessibility
Not later than September 30 of each year, the Secretary shall publish the compilation on the website of the Department of Health and Human Services in a location easily accessible by the public.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Prior Provisions
A prior section 432 of act Aug. 14, 1935, was classified to section 632 of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 100–485.
Amendments
2025—Subsec. (a)(11). Pub. L. 118–258, § 111(b), added par. (11). Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 118–258, § 109(b), amended par. (1) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Secretary shall approve a plan that meets the requirements of subsection (a) only if the plan was developed jointly by the Secretary and the State, after consultation by the State agency with appropriate public and nonprofit private agencies and community-based organizations with experience in administering programs of services for children and families (including family preservation, family support, family reunification, and adoption promotion and support services).” Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 118–258, § 107(b)(1), substituted “would be made under section 629c(a) and 629g(c)(1) of this title combined” for “would be made under section 629c(a) of this title” and “if allotments were made under such sections” for “if allotments were made under section 629c(a) of this title”. 2018—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 115–123, § 50721(b)(2), struck out “time-limited” before “family reunification services”. Subsec. (a)(5)(A). Pub. L. 115–123, § 50721(b)(2), struck out “time-limited” before “family reunification services” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 115–123, § 50721(b)(2), struck out “time-limited” before “family reunification”. 2011—Subsec. (a)(8)(B)(i), (ii). Pub. L. 112–34, § 102(g)(1), substituted “form CFS–101 (including all parts and any successor forms)” for “forms CFS 101–Part I and CFS 101–Part II (or any successor forms)”. Subsec. (a)(10). Pub. L. 112–34, § 102(b), added par. (10). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 112–34, § 102(e), designated existing provisions as par. (1), inserted heading, and added pars. (2) and (3). 2006—Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 109–288, § 3(e)(1), designated existing provisions as subpar. (A) and added subpar. (B). Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 109–288, § 5(b)(3)(A)(i), inserted “or tribal consortia” after “tribes” in heading. Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 109–288, § 5(c), substituted “the requirements of subsection (a)(4) of this section to the extent that the Secretary determines those requirements” for “any requirement of this section that the Secretary determines”. Pub. L. 109–288, § 5(b)(3)(A)(ii), inserted “or tribal consortium” after “Indian tribe” wherever appearing. Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 109–288, § 5(b)(3)(A)(iii), inserted “or tribal consortium” after “Indian tribe” and “and tribal consortia” after “Indian tribes”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–288, § 3(e)(2), added subsec. (c). 1998—Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 105–200 inserted “; and” at end. 1997—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 105–89, § 305(b)(1)(A)(i), substituted “, community-based family support services, time-limited family reunification services, and adoption promotion and support services,” for “and community-based family support services”. Subsec. (a)(5)(A). Pub. L. 105–89, § 305(b)(1)(A)(ii), substituted “, community-based family support services, time-limited family reunification services, and adoption promotion and support services” for “and community-based family support services”. Subsec. (a)(9). Pub. L. 105–89, § 305(c)(1), added par. (9). Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 105–89, § 305(b)(1)(B), substituted “, family support, time-limited family reunification, and adoption promotion and support” for “and family support”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2025 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 118–258 effective Oct. 1, 2025, and applicable to payments under this part for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, with delay permitted if either State legislation or tribal action is required to meet additional requirements, see section 117 of Pub. L. 118–258, set out as a note under section 622 of this title.
Effective Date
of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–123 effective Oct. 1, 2018, subject to transition rules for required State legislation or tribal action, see section 50734 of Pub. L. 115–123, set out as a note under section 622 of this title.
Effective Date
of 2011 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 112–34 effective Oct. 1, 2011, and applicable to payments under this part and part E of this subchapter for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, without regard to whether implementing
Regulations
have been promulgated, and with delay permitted if State legislation is required to meet additional requirements, see section 107 of Pub. L. 112–34, set out as a note under section 622 of this title.
Effective Date
of 2006 Amendment Pub. L. 109–288, § 3(e)(3), Sept. 28, 2006, 120 Stat. 1236, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this subsection [amending this section] take effect on the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 28, 2006]. Each State with an approved plan under subpart 1 or 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 620 et seq., 629 et seq.] shall make its initial submission of the forms required under section 432(a)(8)(B) of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 629b(a)(8)(B)] to the Secretary of Health and Human Services by
June 30, 2007, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit the first compilation required under section 432(c) of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 629b(c)] by
September 30, 2007.” Amendment by Pub. L. 109–288 effective Oct. 1, 2006, except as otherwise provided, and applicable to payments under this part and part E of this subchapter for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, without regard to whether implementing
Regulations
have been promulgated, and with delay permitted if State legislation is required to meet additional requirements, see section 12(a), (b) of Pub. L. 109–288, set out as a note under section 621 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1997 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 105–89 effective Nov. 19, 1997, except as otherwise provided, with delay permitted if State legislation is required, see section 501 of Pub. L. 105–89, set out as a note under section 622 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 629b
Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110