SEATTLE – Casey Family Programs encouraged Congress to maintain the Title IV-E open-ended entitlement, including administrative funds that are tied to performance based results in testimony today before the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Way and Means.
"We are very concerned that child welfare financing changes not reduce the federal fiscal resources now available to children and families or make administration of programs more complex for states," stated Adrienne Hahn, Vice President of Public Policy for Casey Family Programs.
Casey Family Programs is the nation’s largest foundation dedicated solely to providing and improving—and ultimately preventing the need for—foster care.
“Historically, block grants have not been funded at adequate levels to provide states with sufficient resources,” said Hahn. “Furthermore, their purchasing power has been eroded and the real dollar value of block grants, like the Social Services Block Grant, has been reduced. This forces states into a balancing act between the real needs of other groups served by the block grants and the constantly shrinking buying power.”
Casey Family Programs conducted an extensive analysis of child welfare financing waivers last December. The full report, entitled “The Effects of Federal Child Welfare Financing Waivers” is available at www.casey.org.
Hahn also recommended Congress allow subsidized guardianship, which provides a stipend for non-licensed kinship or guardianship homes, to be reimbursed through Title IV-E and to adequately fund existing programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Social Service Block Grant (SSBG).
“We’ve found through an extensive analysis of child welfare financing waivers that positive results and even cost savings occurred in the area of assisted guardianship and kinship care, which explains why there is so much enthusiasm among the states who want to reap the benefits of these programs,” said Hahn.
In addition, Hahn urged the Congress to provide statutory language to encourage states to provide mental and behavioral health and rehabilitative services to the child welfare population under their existing Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
Although children whose foster care is federally reimbursed are automatically eligible for Medicaid, many states are not utilizing these funds but instead are purchasing behavioral and mental health services under other capped federal programs, such as Title IV-B, TANF, or SSBG.
To highlight the recommendation and underscore the importance of providing access to effective mental health treatment, Hahn cited a recent Casey study conducted in collaboration with Harvard Medical School that examined the long-term effects of foster care on more than 650 young adults who were formerly in care. The study found that these youth experienced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at rates twice as high as those of U.S. war veterans including soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. (Visit www.casey.org. to access the full report)
Casey Family Programs has a presence across the country and collaborates with foster, kinship and adoptive parents to provide safe, permanent and loving families for youth in foster care. The foundation also works with counties, states, and American Indian and Alaska Native tribes to improve services and outcomes for the more than 800,000 young people in out-of-home care. The foundation is especially committed to working with youth over the age of 11 because they and their siblings may have fewer opportunities for placement in foster families and for adoption.