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Child Welfare Financing and Family Centered Practice

Child Welfare Financing and Family Centered Practice. Family Centered Practice: A Conference and 30 th Anniversary Celebration April 17, 2008. The Need for Child Welfare Financing Reform . A 30-year pursuit We must level the playing field Federal dollars impact state and local spending

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Child Welfare Financing and Family Centered Practice

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  1. Child Welfare Financing and Family Centered Practice Family Centered Practice: A Conference and 30th Anniversary Celebration April 17, 2008

  2. The Need for Child Welfare Financing Reform • A 30-year pursuit • We must level the playing field • Federal dollars impact state and local spending • Financing impacts practice • Financing impacts child outcomes Children's Defense Fund

  3. Making the Case: Many Abused & Neglected Children Get No Services • 40% of abused and neglected children get no services. • This excludes maltreated children who are never reported or investigated. Children's Defense Fund

  4. Making the Case: Many Children & Families in Child Welfare Get Inadequate Services • The 60% of abused and neglected children who get services may not get what they need. • 50% of children involved with the child welfare system have clinically significant behavioral or emotional problems, but less than 25% receive mental health treatment. • As many as 2/3 of the parents of children in foster care need substance abuse treatment, but only about 1/3 get the services they need. Children's Defense Fund

  5. Making the Case: Spending Patterns • Spending on out-of-home care far exceeds spending on services. • Urban Institute: We spend three times as much on out-of-home care as on other services and supports. • National Child Abuse Coalition: For every dollar we spent on foster care and adoption subsidies, 15 cents is spent on prevention and treatment. Children's Defense Fund

  6. Making the Case: Cost Comparisons • Prevent Child Abuse America: The estimated annual cost of child abuse and neglect is $103.8 Billion. Direct costs are $33.1 Billion (hospitalization, mental health care, child welfare services, law enforcement); indirect costs are $70.7 Billion (special education, juvenile delinquency, health and mental heath, crime, and lost productivity). Children's Defense Fund

  7. What Is Needed? • Increased capacity for: • Prevention and early intervention services • Specialized treatment services • Expanded permanency options and post-permanency services • Enhanced and improved workforce • Greater accountability Children's Defense Fund

  8. How Are Child Welfare Services Currently Funded? • Combination of federal, state and local funds • Many federal funding streams – some open-ended entitlements, some capped entitlements, some discretionary funds • Funding dedicated to child welfare and funding from broader sources • Dramatic variation across states Children's Defense Fund

  9. Trends in Child Welfare Funding SFY 1996 $14.6 billion 1998 $15.7 billion 2000 $19.9 billion 2002 $22.2 billion 2004 $23.3 billion Children's Defense Fund

  10. Federal: 11.7 Billion State: 9.1 Billion Local: 2.5 Billion Children's Defense Fund

  11. Overview of Child Welfare Spending • In 2004, $23.3 billion was spent on child welfare • In 2002, 57% went to room and board and services for children in out-of-home care • 15% went for adoptions • 10% went to administrative and child placement costs • 18% went for other services Children's Defense Fund

  12. Children's Defense Fund

  13. Federal Dedicated Child Welfare Programs Title IV-E • Foster care maintenance payments / Adoption assistance payments – open-ended, matched at the Medicaid matching rate, for IV-E eligible children • Foster care / Adoption assistance administrative and child placement costs – open-ended, 50% matching rate, for IV-E eligible children • Foster care / Adoption training costs – open-ended, 75% matching rate for public agency staff and foster parents/adoptive parents working with IV-E eligible children • Non-recurring adoption expenses • Independent living funds - $140 million capped entitlement • Education and training vouchers - $47 million discretionary Children's Defense Fund

  14. Federal Dedicated Child Welfare Programs (Cont.) Title IV-B • Part 1: Child Welfare Services • Broad uses: limits on foster care, adoption and child care • Discretionary Funding • $290 million • Part 2: Promoting Safe and Stable Families • Family support, family preservation, family reunification and adoption promotion and support • Part capped entitlement ($365 M); Part discretionary funding ($90 M) • Court Improvement Program • Mentoring Children of Prisoners Children's Defense Fund

  15. Other Small Dedicated Child Welfare Programs • Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act programs • Abandoned Infants Assistance • Adoption Opportunities • Adoption Incentive Program • Child Welfare Training Children's Defense Fund

  16. Other Federal Programs Funding Child Welfare • TANF • Social Services Block Grant/Title XX • Medicaid • SSI and Social Security Survivors Benefits Children's Defense Fund

  17. What National Activities Have Impacted Child Welfare Funding? • Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 • PRWORA (welfare reform of 1996) • Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 • Family Preservation and Support Services Program (Promoting Safe and Stable Families) • John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 and Education and Training Vouchers • 2005 Deficit Reduction Act Children's Defense Fund

  18. Examples of Child Welfare Financing Reform Proposals • Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care Recommendations • Partnership to Protect Children and Strengthen Families Recommendations • Administration’s Foster Care Block Grant • Tribal Foster Care and Adoption Access Act (S. 1956/H.R. 4688) • Partnership for Children and Families Act (H.R. 4207) • Invest in KIDS Act (H.R. 5466) Children's Defense Fund

  19. Title IV-E Financing Proposals for Expanding Family Centered Practice • Expand allowable use of Title IV-E funds to include a range of services (prevention, specialized treatment, post-permanency services) • Capture funds otherwise lost to declining caseloads for reinvestment in prevention/treatment • Eliminate the income eligibility requirement for IV-E foster care and adoption assistance and reinvest state foster care funds in prevention/treatment • Allow the use of IV-E for payments to keep children permanently with relative guardians • Distinguish costs of child placement services from administrative costs in IV-E • Allow Indian tribes direct access to IV-E funding to expand supports for Indian children • Expand the use of IV-E training funds (i.e. more children, staff, and topics) • Allow states to accept IV-E funding in a block grant with a cap on funding Children's Defense Fund

  20. Other Child Welfare Financing Strategies for Expanding Family Centered Practice • Increase mandatory funding for Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program • Increase Funding for other existing child welfare services programs (i.e., CAPTA, SSBG, etc.) • Make the adoption incentive program a permanency incentive program • Target a portion of existing program funds for prevention/treatment • Establish new funding focused on family-centered approaches (i.e., Family Connections Grants) • Consolidate all the child welfare service programs in a block grant Children's Defense Fund

  21. Improve Fiscal Accountability: Track the Use of Funds • Annual expenditure reports by service • Number of children and families served • Duration of services • Children and families who could not access services Children's Defense Fund

  22. Improve Fiscal Accountability: Encourage Proven Practices • Limit new investments to proven practices • Incentives for proven practices • Reinvestment of penalties and disallowances in evaluation or proven practices Children's Defense Fund

  23. Improve Fiscal Responsibility: 5-Year Evaluation • Assess impact on: • Preventive, permanency and post-permanency services • Changes in number and duration of foster care placements • Recruitment, retention and workloads of staff • Outcomes for children at risk of entering in the system Children's Defense Fund

  24. What’s Important in Promoting Child Welfare Financing Reforms? • Voices of youth, families, and state leaders • Growing awareness and consensus • Momentum in states • Proven practices and policies • Accountability mechanisms • Ability to respond to Pay Go Children's Defense Fund

  25. For Further Information: MaryLee Allen Children’s Defense Fund 25 E Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 202-662-3573 mallen@childrensdefense.org

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