Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend, revise, and reauthorize the maternal, infant, and early childhood health services found in the Social Security Act through fiscal year 2022.

Highlights:

• Extends the Social Security Act by replacing “fiscal year 2017” with “each of the fiscal years 2017 through 2022” (Sec. 3).

• Requires service delivery family help programs demonstrate improvement in applicable benchmark areas for eligible families and provide information reports to Congress every 30 days until the end of fiscal year 2020, and every 3 years thereafter (Sec. 4).

• Specifies that the Secretary may withhold funding or terminate a grant made to an eligible entity that commits one of the following actions, including, but not limited to (Sec. 4):

• Does not show improvement in any of the applicable benchmark areas; or

• Has failed to submit a report to Congress required by grant. 

• Authorizes an eligible entity to use their grant to pay for the results of a pay for outcomes initiative that satisfies the requirements under this act and will not result in a reduction of funding (Sec. 8).

• Defines a “Pay For Outcomes Initiative” as a performance based grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded by a public entity in which a commitment is made to pay for improved outcomes that result in the following, including (Sec. 8):

• Direct cost savings; or

• Cost avoidance in the public sector.

• Specifies that funds made available to pay for outcomes initiatives shall remain available for expenditure for not more than 10 years after the funds are made available (Sec. 8).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text