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LEGISLATIVE UDPATE & ALERT
© Child Welfare League of America. The content of these publications may not be reproduced in any way, including posting on the Internet, without the permission of CWLA. For permission to use material from CWLA's website or publications, contact us using our website assistance form.
October 27, 2005
NO CAPS ON KIDS!
This week, several key congressional committees have begun to move forward quickly on decisions about ways to reduce federal spending for entitlement programs that provide assistance to low-income Americans, and children and families in the child welfare system. This effort had been delayed for one month after Hurricane Katrina. Some in Congress attempted to halt the effort completely after the hurricane, noting that the needs of the poor families directly impacted by Hurricane Katrina highlighted the importance of our country supporting those in need. However, not only is Congress proceeding to cut funding for key low-income programs, the House is planning to increase the total level of overall federal spending cuts from $35 billion to $50 billion.
RECONCILIATION ADVANCES--YOUR CONTINUED EFFORTS NEEDED
Thank you for your continued calls and letters to Congress. Through a targeted effort by CWLA members and others across the country, Congress was flooded with more than 60,000 calls opposing proposals to cut human services programs last week. Since then, the Senate Finance Committee affirmed and clarified the use of Medicaid targeted case management (TCM) for children in the child welfare system, rejecting the White House proposal to eliminate TCM. Just how broadly TCM services can be used for the child welfare population will depend on final legislative language and the report of the Finance Committee, both of which are still being written. That report language will guide future regulation. The House Energy and Commerce Committee also rejected this White House proposal but may offer their own proposal. In another victory for advocates, the Senate Finance rejected the White House proposal to cap, or block grant, Title IV-E Foster Care. However, while the House Ways and Means Committee also rejected the White House's block grant proposal, it included several provisions in its bill that are detrimental to abused and neglected children and their families.
MORE WORK IS NEEDED
Our attention now needs to focus on the House budget reconciliation bill. The House bill cuts Title IV-E spending by nearly one billion dollars and impacts the ability of abused and neglected children to live with their grandparents or other relatives.
The House budget reconciliation bill:
- Repeals a Ninth Circuit Court decision (Rosales v. Thompson) that will effect over 5,000 children currently living with grandparents or other relatives and will effect other kinship families becoming eligible for federal foster care assistance. [For more information on Rosales v. Thompson, go to http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/rosales.htm]
- Implements provisions of a pending proposed HHS regulation that would reduce federal support for children in the foster care system and impacts the ability of children who have been abused and neglected to live with their grandparents and other relatives. The Administration attempted to implement these cuts with PA 01-02 in 2001.
- Imposes across the board cuts in federal spending for programs that support vulnerable children and youth, including the Promoting Safe and Stable Families, Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, Head Start, child care, educational and training vouchers for youth aging out of foster care, and juvenile justice programs.
ACTION REQUIRED
Call your U.S. Representative IMMEDIATELY. The vote on the final passage of the House budget reconciliation bill that includes reductions in support for abused and neglected children is going to be close, so your U.S. Representative's vote will make a difference! You can contact your U.S. Representative in Washington, DC by calling the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121.
Join advocates from across the country in a unified voice in proclaiming "No Caps on Kids!" and help us spread the message! Once you make your call, send this Legislative Alert on to others you know who care about children and families.
MESSAGE
- Vote "NO" on the House budget reconciliation bill.
The House budget reconciliation bill does not support abused and neglected children. It reduces federal foster care funding, severely limits supports for children who have been abused and neglected and are now living with grandparents or other relatives, and imposes across the board cuts on federal spending for programs that support vulnerable children and youth.
BACKGROUND
In May, Congress passed a budget resolution that included instructions that direct relevant congressional committees of the House and Senate to pass "reconciliation" legislation to reduce federal spending for entitlement programs by $35 billion. The House and Senate committees had been instructed to pass legislation to achieve these entitlement cuts by next week. House and Senate committees will than also pass legislation cutting $70 billion in taxes.
Title IV-E Foster Care
On October 26, the House Ways and Means Committee approved budget reconciliation legislation that reduces Title IV-E federal foster care spending by nearly $1 billion. The bill repeals a judicial decision that has resulted in more children living with grandparents and other relatives becoming eligible for federal foster care assistance. The Rosales v. Thompson decision, issued by U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, found that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) interpretation of the federal Title IV-E Foster Care law denied foster care benefits to some children who should qualify under the law. HHS's policy required that states must determine Title IV-E financial eligibility based on the home from which the child is legally removed, which is typically the child's parent(s). The Rosales decision allows states in the Ninth Judicial Circuit to base Title IV-E financial eligibility for a child on the last home a child resided in before formal placement into foster care. At that point, a child is frequently living with a relative.
The House bill also restricts the use of Title IV-E administrative funds to provide case management and other supports to children living with relatives. The bill limits to one month the use Title IV-E administrative funds that provide case management services for children moving from a child welfare setting to a non-child welfare setting, such as a hospital or juvenile facility. The bill denies services to some children who are considered at risk for foster placements.
Medicaid
On October 25, the Senate Finance Committee approved budget reconciliation legislation that reduces federal spending for Medicaid by $4.2 billion. The Committee-approved bill affirmed the use of targeted case management and rehabilitative services for children in the child welfare system. The Committee rejected the White House proposal seeking to eliminate the use of TCM and rehabilitative services for children in the child welfare system and to reduce the federal support for TCM services.
The Senate Finance Committee-passed bill does clarify the use of TCM to include:
- assessment of an eligible individual to determine service needs by taking a client history, identifying an individual's needs, and completing related documentation;
- development of a specific care plan based on the information collected through an assessment that specifies the goals and actions to address the individual's needs;
- referral and related activities to help an individual obtain needed services; and
- monitoring and follow-up activities including activities and contacts to ensure the care plan is effectively implemented and adequately addressing the individual's needs.
The bill also specifies that TCM benefit for children in foster care would not cover: research gathering and completion of required foster care documentation, assessing adoption placements, recruiting or interviewing potential foster parents, serving legal papers, conducting home investigations, providing transportation, administering foster care subsidies, and making placement arrangements. Title IV-E can be used to pay for these services for children in the children in the child welfare system.
The Senate Finance Committee-passed bill does codify the ability of states to use an approved cost allocation plan for determining the amount that can be billed as Medicaid TCM services when case management is also reimbursable by another federally funded program, such as Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance.
For more information, visit CWLA's No Caps on Kids! Campaign website or contact Liz Meitner, CWLA Vice President of Government Affairs, at emeitner@cwla.org or 202-942-0257.
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