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Testimony
April 8, 2003Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you to discuss issues related to Federal child welfare oversight and the President's commitment to improving the lives of vulnerable children and families. Through the development of national outcome measures, and the implementation of the results-oriented Child and Family Services Review process, we have built a national consensus on the key goals for child welfare: assuring children's safety, meeting children's needs for timely permanency in a loving and stable family, and promoting child and family well-being. I am pleased to have this opportunity to provide a brief overview of our Federal oversight activities and to share with you initiatives we are undertaking to further strengthen child welfare services. Overview of Child Welfare Oversight The role of Federal child welfare oversight is to monitor States and Federally recognized Tribes to ensure they are meeting their responsibilities of protecting our nation's most vulnerable children and providing effective services to at-risk families. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) uses several mechanisms to work with the States to assess State and local child welfare systems, to measure compliance with Federal laws and to hold States accountable both for meeting Federal requirements and, more importantly, for achieving positive outcomes for children and families. We also use information gathered from our various reviews to provide targeted technical assistance that is responsive to individual State needs in an effort to help them improve their systems and services. We urge States to collect and analyze information in a manner that promotes a culture of continuous assessment and improvement, rather than waiting for the next tragedy to call for reform. The following are the principle mechanisms for Federal oversight of child welfare systems:
Child and Family Services Reviews The Child and Family Services Review is the cornerstone of our efforts to review State performance and ensure compliance with key provisions of law. It also is our means to partner with the States in identifying areas that need improvement and in working with them to bring about those improvements. I would like to take a few moments to describe the reviews and what we are learning from them. The CFS Review began in FY 2001 and to date we have completed 48 reviews including 46 States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Only 4 reviews remain: Mississippi, Rhode Island, Nevada, and New Jersey. These reviews will be completed by the end of March 2004. The CFS Review covers all areas of child welfare services, from child protection and family preservation, to adoption and positive youth development. The review requires that State child welfare agencies, in collaboration with a range of other State and local representatives, engage in an intense self-examination of their practices and analyze detailed data profiles that the Federal government provides from our national databases on child welfare. We follow the self-assessment phase of the review with an intense onsite review--in which we pair teams of Federal and State staff to review cases and interview children, parents, and foster parents -- to identify areas of strength in State child welfare programs and areas that require improvement. This joint approach to reviewing States has had the effect of not only engaging States in identifying their own strengths and weaknesses, but also in building the commitment of States to make needed improvements and strengthen their capacity to self-monitor between Federal reviews. When weaknesses are identified, States enter into Program Improvement Plans (PIP) to address any of the areas where we find deficiencies. The PIP must be submitted for approval within 90 days of the completion of their final report. To date, 31 Program Improvement Plans have been approved. We recognize that providing quality technical assistance is critical to helping States get the most out of the review process and bring about needed change. Therefore, the Administration provides over $8 million annually for 10 national resource centers whose role is to build the capacity of State, local, tribal and other publicly administered or supported child welfare agencies. These resource centers are organized around subject areas including: Family-Centered Practice; Organizational Improvement; Foster Care and Permanency Planning; Information Technology in Child Welfare; Special Needs Adoption; Youth Services; Child Maltreatment; Abandoned Infants; Community-Based Family Resource and Support Programs; and Legal and Judicial Issues. In addition to these ACF-funded resources centers, we also are partnering with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration in supporting a National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare. The national resource centers are providing technical assistance to States in different stages of the CFS Review process. For example, the National Resource Center for Organizational Improvement has guided many States in developing work plans for the statewide assessment portion of the review and other resource centers have assisted States in developing their Program Improvement Plans. After the Program Improvement period ends, States will undergo a second review, and will continue this process until they come into compliance on all of the 14 areas under review. We hold the States accountable for achieving the provisions of their Program Improvement Plans but, in order to assist them in making needed improvements, we suspend Federal penalties while a State is implementing its plan. If a State fails to carry out the provisions of its Program Improvement Plan or fails to achieve its goals, we will begin imposing applicable penalties. Among the most significant findings across the 46 States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia are the following:
The Child and Family Services Review is making a significant contribution to improving child welfare services across the country, but there is still much work to be done. We know that we must do more in order to better protect children, support families and promote timely permanency. Therefore, the President has put forth a bold new Child Welfare Financing proposal that would strengthen State child welfare systems and help States better meet the needs of America's most vulnerable children and families. Child Welfare Program Option In FY 2004, the President unveiled a new proposal, the Child Welfare Program Option that would allow States to choose a flexible, alternative financing structure over the current title IV-E foster care entitlement program. Over the years, we consistently have heard from States that the title IV-E foster care program is too restrictive because it only provides funds for the poorest children who have been removed from the home. The program also has been criticized for failing to support the goal of permanency. While reimbursement for foster care and related case management services is open-ended, title IV-E funds may not be used for other types of services that could prevent a child from needing to be placed in care in the first place, or that would facilitate a child's returning home, or moving to another permanent placement. Under the President's proposal, States could choose to administer their foster care program more flexibly, with a fixed allocation of funds over a five year period, should this approach better support their unique child welfare needs. States that choose not to receive funding provided by this option would continue operating under the current title IV-E entitlement program. The Program Option provides States with more flexibility so they can design more effective ways to strengthen services to vulnerable children and families. States that choose the Program Option would be able to use funds for foster care payments, prevention activities, permanency efforts (including subsidized guardianships), case management, administrative activities (including developing and operating State information systems), training for child welfare staff and other such service related child welfare activities. States would be able to develop innovative and effective systems for preventing child abuse and neglect, keeping families and children safely together, and moving children toward adoption and permanency quickly. While States that choose this option would have much greater flexibility in how they use funds, they would continue to be required to maintain the child safety protections under current law, including requirements for conducting criminal background checks and licensing foster care providers, obtaining judicial oversight over decisions related to a child's removal and permanency, meeting permanency timelines, developing case plans for all children in foster care, and prohibiting race-based discrimination in foster and adoptive placements. The proposal also includes maintenance of effort requirement to ensure that States selecting the new option maintain their existing level of investment in the program. In addition to providing a new option for States, the President's proposal includes a $30 million set-aside for Federally recognized Indian Tribes or consortia that can demonstrate the capacity to operate a title IV-E program. Currently Tribes are not eligible to receive title IV-E funding, although some Tribes are able to access funds through agreements with States. This proposal would open the possibility for Federally recognized Tribes to receive direct title IV-E funding. We believe this proposal will result in the development of innovative child welfare programs that ultimately will better serve vulnerable children. We believe that this option would offer a powerful new means for States to structure their child welfare services program in a way that supports the goals of safety, timely permanency and enhanced well-being for children and families, while relieving them of administrative burdens. Given the continuing problems faced by States in managing their child welfare programs, we all must think about more creative ways to strengthen these programs. We appreciate the support of this Committee as demonstrated by holding hearings such as this and in working with the Administration on creating legislative language to make this proposal a reality. Finally, I would like to mention another Presidential priority that directly supports State efforts to provide needed services to children and families. As discussed earlier, the Child and Family Services Review points to States ongoing struggle with providing services to children remaining in their own home as well as the need for improvements in State judicial processes relating to child welfare. The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program funds family support, family preservation, time-limited reunification, and adoption promotion and support services and provides funding for the Court Improvement Program. The President is deeply committed to securing full funding, $505 million, for this important program and we ask for your support of this vital investment in our Nation's families. Conclusion We have made great strides in the field of child welfare, but the work of assuring the safety, permanency and well-being of every child who comes to the attention of a child welfare agency or court in this country remains a tremendously challenging task. We are committed to working with the States, Members of Congress, community-based organizations and concerned citizens to continuously strive for better outcomes for all of these children. I would like to thank the Committee for the opportunity to discuss our ongoing efforts to monitor the child welfare system through the Child and Family Services Review. More than any recent initiative of the Federal government, the Child and Family Services Review has captured the attention of State child welfare agencies. It also has gained the attention of the media, State legislatures, and others who know that changing complex child welfare systems will not be fast or easy. We, in the Administration for Children and Families, are committed to working with States, and to using the knowledge that we are gaining through the review to support States in improving the outcomes of child welfare services for the children and families they serve. I also would like to thank the Committee for the opportunity to highlight the President's bold new vision for strengthening the child welfare system through the Child Welfare Program Option. We are proud of the progress we have made to-date in providing more resources to States to support children, youth and families and look forward to working closely with you on the President's Child Welfare Option Proposal. I would be pleased to answer any questions. Last Revised: February 6, 2004 |
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