On May 17, 2011 Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), acting as chairman and ranking Republican member of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced the State Child Welfare Innovation Act.  The emergence of this bill seems to signal that Congress is looking for the Title IV-E waivers to address wider and more specific child welfare reform issues.  Unlike the House version that reauthorizes prior law for the innovative waivers with few changes incorporated, the Senate version broadens the areas that a waiver project must address.  In addition to reducing the waiver period from five years to three years, other highlights for the Senate bill include focus on three main goals for children and youth, implementation of child welfare programmatic improvement policies, and to account for federal, state, local and private investments prior to waiver implementation.

The legislation proposed a focus on the three main areas: 

• Permanency – increase permanency by reducing foster care placements and promoting successful transition to adulthood for older youth.
• Positive outcomes – improve safety and well-being for children and youth in their homes and communities.
• Reduce reentry- prevent child abuse and neglect and the re-entry of children and families into foster care.
• To receive waivers, states must implement three of the following Program Improvement Policies (they may choose only one if two have already been in place since the passage of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008):
• A bill of rights for children in foster care
• A plan for meeting the health and mental health needs for children in foster care
• Procedures and protocols for educational stability
• Kinship guardianship assistance agreements
• Procedures to protect children from inappropriate use of psychotropic medication
• A plan ensuring appropriate congregate care and reducing use of such placement
• Plan to increase kinship guardian adoption and sibling placements
• Plan to improve recruitment and retention of high quality foster families trained to assist children in achieving permanency
• Procedures to assist youth transitioning out of foster care
• Procedures for engaging youth over 16 years in their transition plans, including guidance and services to help reconnect the youth with their biological families, when appropriate
• One or more prevention program, such as intensive family finding, kinship navigator programs, family counseling, family based substance abuse treatment programs, and domestic violence prevention