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“(a) Authority To Award Grants.—The Attorney General, acting through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Office of Justice Programs and in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall award grants in accordance with this section to State courts and local courts for the purposes of—“(1) promoting the permanency goals established in the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public Law 105–89; 111 Stat. 2115); and “(2) enabling such courts to reduce existing backlogs of cases pending in abuse and neglect courts, especially with respect to cases to terminate parental rights and cases in which parental rights to a child have been terminated but an adoption of the child has not yet been finalized. “(b) Application.—A State court or local court shall submit an application for a grant under this section, in such form and manner as the Attorney General shall require, that contains a description of the following:“(1) The barriers to achieving the permanency goals established in the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 that have been identified. “(2) The size and nature of the backlogs of children awaiting termination of parental rights or finalization of adoption. “(3) The strategies the State court or local court proposes to use to reduce such backlogs and the plan and timetable for doing so. “(4) How the grant funds requested will be used to assist the implementation of the strategies described in paragraph (3). “(c) Use of Funds.—Funds provided under a grant awarded under this section may be used for any purpose that the Attorney General determines is likely to successfully achieve the purposes described in subsection (a), including temporarily—“(1) establishing night court sessions for abuse and neglect courts; “(2) hiring additional judges, magistrates, commissioners, hearing officers, referees, special masters, and other judicial personnel for such courts; “(3) hiring personnel such as clerks, administrative support staff, case managers, mediators, and attorneys for such courts; or “(4) extending the operating hours of such courts. “(d) Number of Grants.—Not less than 15 nor more than 20 grants shall be awarded under this section. “(e) Availability of Funds.—Funds awarded under a grant made under this section shall remain available for expenditure by a grantee for a period not to exceed 3 years from the date of the grant award. “(f) Report on Use of Funds.—Not later than the date that is halfway through the period for which a grant is awarded under this section, and 90 days after the end of such period, a State court or local court awarded a grant under this section shall submit a report to the Attorney General that includes the following:“(1) The barriers to the permanency goals established in the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 that are or have been addressed with grant funds. “(2) The nature of the backlogs of children that were pursued with grant funds. “(3) The specific strategies used to reduce such backlogs. “(4) The progress that has been made in reducing such backlogs, including the number of children in such backlogs—“(A) whose parental rights have been terminated; and “(B) whose adoptions have been finalized. “(5) Any additional information that the Attorney General determines would assist jurisdictions in achieving the permanency goals established in the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. “(g) Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated for the period of fiscal years 2001 and 2002 $10,000,000 for the purpose of making grants under this section.

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