Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006
Public Law 109-239 · H.R. 5403 · 109th Congress · began in the House
Signed by George W. Bush (R) on Jul 3, 2006 · Families
Sponsor: Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX-22)
Cosponsors (10): Rep. Wally Herger, Rep. Pete Stark,
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006 - Amends the Social Security Act to require each state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to provide that the state shall: (1) have in effect procedures for orderly and timely interstate placement of children; (2) complete home studies requested by another state within a specified period; (3) accept such studies received from another state; and (4) not impose any restrictions on contracting with a private agency to conduct such a study.
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants for timely interstate home study incentive payments to states that have approved plans and that have completed, and provided the Secretary a report on, such studies.
Expresses the sense of Congress that state agencies should cooperate with courts which have authority with respect to the placement of a child in foster care or for adoption for the purpose of locating a parent of the child.
Amends the definition of "case review system" to: (1) increase the required frequency of state caseworker visits to a child who is placed in foster care outside the state in which the child's parents reside; (2) require a child's health and education record to be supplied to the child at no cost when he/she leaves foster care by reason of having attained the age of majority under state law; and (3) provide for a foster parent's right (currently, opportunity) to be heard in any proceeding (currently, review or hearing) respecting their foster child. Requires state courts to ensure that foster parents, pre-adoptive parents, and relative caregivers of a child in foster care are notified of any such proceedings.
Includes among the purposes of grants to the highest state courts the assessment of the court's role in carrying out state laws requiring proceedings that determine the best strategy to use to expedite the interstate placement of children.
Provides for consideration of out-of-state placements in permanency hearings, case plans, and case reviews.
Requires each plan for child welfare services to include the assurance that the state will eliminate legal barriers to facilitate timely adoptive or permanent placements for children.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.
S. 2999Identical bill
Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 15 actions.
- Jul 3, 2006Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 109-239.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Jun 29, 2006FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Jun 23, 2006FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Jun 5, 2006CalendarCalendar · Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 463.
- May 26, 2006CalendarCalendar · Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
- May 24, 2006FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5403.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Herger moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate.
- May 17, 2006CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.