A recent hearing of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee marks a significant step in the effort to reform the way the federal government finances child welfare and provide states with additional flexibility to ensure safe, stable and permanent homes for vulnerable children.

The committee, chaired by U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., invited four experts to testify at the March 10 hearing, including William C. Bell, president and CEO of Casey Family Programs. Bell offered technical assistance to the committee regarding innovations in child welfare, informing committee members of the urgent need to expand the Title IV-E waiver program as an interim step toward a comprehensive reform of the federal child welfare financing system.

“The current financing structure makes entry into foster care the trigger for federal reimbursement through the Title IV-E program,” Bell said. “Any proposal that keeps this as the standard perpetuates the biggest challenge with the current law – the failure to align funding with desired outcomes.”

The committee is considering expanding the federal waiver program that has helped a handful of child welfare systems create innovative prevention and permanency programs as safe alternatives to foster care. A bill expanding the program passed the U.S. House last year but the Senate didn't take up the measure before the legislative session ended.

Read Willam C. Bell's written testimony.