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CWLA's letter to Senate and House appropriators requesting FY 2007 child welfare funding
March 8, 2006
To: United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies and to the United States House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), representing nearly 900 public and private child-serving agencies nationwide, urges you to provide critical funding for services to protect and strengthen vulnerable children, youth, and families as you consider the FY 2007 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education appropriations bill.
The Social Services Block Grant
We urge the Subcommittee to reject out of hand the proposed effort to reduce the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) by half a billion to $1.2 billion. This mandatory funding which is used by states to supplement a range of critical human services, especially child welfare services, must not be used as an offset. We have consistently urged Congress to restore full funding through the authorizing process to the level committed to by Congress during the TANF debate of 1996. Following the administration's proposal to cut this in 2007 goes in the exact opposite direction and it will hurt children in the child welfare system, the elderly community and many in the disability community.
Child Welfare
Funding for programs that protect and care for abused and neglected children has been held constant or cut in recent years. Meanwhile, recent national and local news reports continue to highlight the fact that states and communities need help in order to do a better job of protecting our most vulnerable children. We urge you to:
- Include $160 million in discretionary funding for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program. This will provide $505 million or full funding for PSSF. These funds are used to provide adoption, family reunification, family support and family preservation services. Three hundred and forty-five million of this total represents mandatory funding. This is an increase in mandatory funding of $40 million from last year and allows appropriators to fully fund this program by providing less than the authorized amount of $200 million, the remaining portion is discretionary. The funding level of $505 million in combined discretionary and mandatory funds was a commitment originally made by the administration in 2001.
- Increase funding to no less than $290 million for the Child Welfare Services Program. The authorized level is $325 million. These funds are primarily used to provide supportive and preventive services such as counseling, parent education; to secure foster and adoptive homes; and to reunify children with their families whenever possible. Funding at $290 million instead of the requested $287 million would at least restore this program to 2003 levels.
- Funding for the key programs under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) should follow previous administration requests submitted in 2005. While not fully funding the program they offer an important step forward. State grant should be at no less than $42. Similarly we request a level of $65 million for community-based family resource centers. This funding will enable state child protection agencies and communities to investigate and be better prepared to offer services and support to the nearly 3 million children annually who are reported as abused and neglected. Finally we request that CAPTA discretionary grants for research be funded at $35 million.
- Increase funding to $60 million for Independent Living Training Vouchers, which is the authorized level. These funds help older youth leaving foster care get the higher education, vocational training, and other education supports they need to move to self-sufficiency.
In addition to the critical area of child welfare services, we also are concerned about three other essential areas that relate to child welfare and child well-being more broadly: child care/Head Start, youth services, and health care services.
Child Care/Head Start
Stable and supportive child care is an important part of the strategy to address child well-being. Recent state budget cuts have only added to the pressure to address this growing need. Ignoring the need to address the growing demand for child care, Congress has not increased discretionary child care funding since 2002 and has in fact reduced it with a series of across the board cuts. We urge you to:
- Increase discretionary child care funding to $540 million. This increase is an attempt to adjust funding for inflation and recent reductions since 2002. Budget projections indicate that we are now serving 250,000 fewer children today than at the start of this decade. If these trends are not reversed, 650,000 fewer children will be receiving child care by the end of this decade.
- Increase Head Start funding by $520 million. This funding level is an attempt to address the erosion in services that has taken place over a two year period and to address recent cuts in funding.
Youth Services
Youth services provide essential supports to keep children and youth from harm and to prevent and reduce youth violence. They provide opportunities for positive youth development to those youth who are in high-risk situations. We urge you to:
- Include funding of $1.25 billion for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. This will enable schools and community-based organizations to start, operate, and expand programs for children and youth.
- Provide $120 million for runaway and homeless youth programs (Basic Center Program, Transitional Living Program, and National Runaway Switchboard), and $20 million for the Street Outreach Program. These services provide critical assistance to youth in high-risk situations all over the country.
- Provide $49 million for the Mentoring For Success program and the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program. This would be level funding and allow current programs to continue operations and provide for a modest expansion to help meet the unmet need. Mentoring programs are proven effective interventions to help at-risk children and youth overcome challenges and achieve their potential.
Health Care Services
For children and families in the child welfare system, the need for a complete range of health services is essential. We urge you to:
- Increase funding for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant to $1.8 billion its peak level in 2004 but well below what is truly needed. In addition we urge you to fund the Substance Abuse Treatment Program at $420 million also the level reached in 2004 and above the proposed cut to $375 million. Finally we request $199 million the level provided in FY 2005 and above the administration's request of $181 million..
- Provide $437 million for the Community Mental Health Performance Partnership Block Grant for states to provide community-based care for adults and children. This again restores funding to the 2003 level and rejects the proposed cut to $407 million. Increase the Children's Mental Health Services program to $105 million for FY 2007.
- Provide a funding level of $285 million for the Title X family planning program in FY 2007.
- Provide $10 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Injury Control Center to implement a National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) for FY 2007.
- Increase funding for the Abandoned Infants Assistance program to $12.1 million for FY 2007.
As you consider the FY 2007 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education appropriations bill, I hope we can count on you to increase the critically important federal commitment and resources for these vital services that protect children from abuse and neglect and provide opportunities for positive child, youth, and family development.
Sincerely,
Shay Bilchik
President/CEO
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