§669b Grants to States for Access and Visitation Programs

Summary

The Administration for Children and Families gives money to states to start and run programs that help noncustodial parents see and visit their children. Programs can include mediation, counseling, parenting classes, making parenting plans, helping with visits (like monitored visits or neutral drop-off and pickup), and making rules for visitation or other custody options. The grant to a state each year is the smaller of 90 percent of what the state spent that year on those activities or the state’s share of a $10,000,000 pool based on how many children live with only one biological parent. No state gets less than $50,000 for fiscal year 1997 or 1998, or less than $100,000 in later years. States may not use the grant to replace their own spending and must keep spending at least at the level of fiscal year 1995. States can run programs themselves or fund courts, local agencies, or nonprofits. They do not have to run them statewide and must monitor, evaluate, and report as the Secretary requires.