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The Leave No Abused or Neglected Child Behind Act (H.R. 3576)
Summary
Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), Ranking Democratic Member of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources, introduced the Leave No Abused or Neglected Child Behind Act (H.R. 3576) on July 28, 2005. The legislation makes significant changes to the federal-state partnership in financing child welfare.
Highlights of H.R. 3576
Foster Care
- Eliminates the current Title IV-E financial eligibility criteria that links Title IV-E foster care assistance to outdated 1996 Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) income standards.
- Allows all abused and neglected children in need of foster care to receive federal Title IV-E assistance.
- Reduces the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) matching rate for Title IV-E foster care assistance.
- Holds harmless states that would lose funding due to this change in formula, meaning their federal funding for foster care and adoption assistance would not be reduced. States that currently have a low percentage of children in foster care now qualifying for Title IV-E assistance would have three years to increase the number of children eligible for federal assistance (penetration rate).
Adoption
- Eliminates the current Title IV-E financial eligibility criteria that links Title IV-E adoption assistance to outdated 1996 Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) income standards.
- Provides Title IV-E adoption assistance to all children with special needs.
- Reduces the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) matching rate for Title IV-E adoption assistance.
Kinship Care
- Provides federal assistance through Title IV-E to support kinship guardianship placements. Current law allows states to use Title IV-E to provide support for these placements only if the state has a waiver approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Child and Family Services Program
- Creates a new Child and Family Services program that allows Title IV-E funding to be used to provide services. The goal of these services is to reduce out-of-home placements, reduce the length of stay in foster care, and improve the well-being of children in foster care, adoption, and kinship placements.
- Requires states to submit plans with service goals and outcomes and also provide information about how they would measure the success and outcomes of these goals.
The Leave No Abused or Neglected Child Behind Act
Safe Children, Strong Families Program
Current Law
Federal funding for prevention and support services are provided by the federal government to the states through two Title IV-B programs. The federal government provides funding at a 75% matching rate for both Title IV-B programs.
The Title IV-B Child Welfare Services program is authorized at $325 million a year; however, Congress has only approved $289 million for FY 2005. Funds are used for a range of support and prevention services.
Funds for the Title IV-B Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program are used for family preservation, family support, family reunification, and adoption support. Of these funds, $305 million are mandatory or guaranteed to states each year and do not require annual congressional approval. An additional $200 million is available if Congress appropriates these funds each year. In FY 2005, Congress has only approved $98 million.
Leave No Abused and Neglected Child Behind Act
- Current funding under the two Title IV-B programs would remain intact, but states would be able to draw funds from Title IV-E for services with a goal of reducing foster care placements, reducing the length of stay in foster care, and improving child well-being for children in foster, kinship and adoption placements.
- States could submit a plan to HHS to create this child and family option, under which states would be allowed to use Title IV-E funds to provide services. State plans would indicate how these funds would be used to provide services, each state's goals, and a description of how states would access the effect of this new spending in reaching these goals. States would also indicate if the funds are being used to implement a corrective action plan according to the Child and Family Services Review process.
- HHS would assess a state's application before giving approval. The state would have to be in compliance with requirements under Title IV-B and Title IV-E. If HHS approved the state plan, in its evaluation HHS would judge whether previous spending on the same services that took place in two of the previous five years accomplished or resulted in progress toward the stated goals of that service.
- HHS would have authority to reward states by increasing the federal Title IV-E matching rate match for improvements that states have made in achieving their goals as set out in their state plans.
Title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance Payments
Current Law
The Title IV-E foster care maintenance program contributes to the room and board of eligible children in state-licensed or approved homes and facilities. Under the program, states are partially reimbursed for the care of children up to 18 years of age. Eligibility is restricted to those children who have been separated from families receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or families who would have been eligible to receive welfare benefits under the AFDC program as it existed on July 16, 1996.
Federal funding for foster care maintenance payments are provided for any eligible child at a federal matching rate from as high as 80% to as low as 50%, depending on the state. Expenditure data from HHS indicates that states received $1.690 billion for foster care maintenance payments in FY 2003, for an average monthly number of 242,200 children.
Leave No Abused and Neglected Child Behind Act
- All children in foster care would be eligible to receive Title IV-E federal assistance. The financial eligibility criteria in current law would be eliminated. This financial criteria has restricted the total number of children eligible to receive federal assistance. Currently, only one half of all children in foster care receive federal support through Title IV-E. State funds support those currently not eligible for federal assistance.
By removing the income eligibility criteria and greatly increasing the number of children eligible for Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance, the legislation would require HHS to calculate the average foster care costs over the past three years for the entire country. Initially, this amount of money would then be given to states to cover all children--not just those who are eligible under the 1996 AFDC law. A state's FMAP rate would be reduced based on a national average.
Currently, the federal match rate for Title IV-E assistance varies by state, from 50% to 80%. A state receiving a 50% match receives one federal dollar for every state dollar spent. A state receiving an 80% federal match receives four federal dollars for every one dollar in state spending. Federal matching rates would be reduced under the legislation.
- Once this adjustment is made to a state's FMAP, states that would lose dollars under the new formula would have that funding restored through a supplemental payment. States with low number of children eligible for federal assistance (low penetration rates) and therefore receive less federal funding than other states, would benefit by receiving federal assistance for all children in foster care. Those states with low penetration rates could also adjust their claims from the past to increase their federal funding. After three years, all states would have their matching rate adjusted upward to include these supplemental payments made by the federal government for a new permanent match rate. This change, made permanent after three years, would result in increased federal spending.
Title IV-E Adoption Assistance
Current Law
The Title IV-E adoption assistance program reimburses states for part of the subsidy provided to parents who adopt children with special needs. Federal Title IV-E adoption assistance was provided to an average of 285,600 monthly recipients in 2002. The program also supports state efforts to recruit adoptive parents, assess prospective adoptive families, and develop, manage, and review individualized adoption plans.
Federal funding for adoption assistance payments currently are provided for any eligible child at a federal matching rate from as high as 80% to as low as 50%, depending on the state.
To receive Title IV-E adoption assistance subsidies, states must certify that children cannot or should not be returned to their family of origin and that reasonable efforts have been made to place these children with adoptive families without a subsidy. Adoption assistance payments end when a child reaches age 18, or, at state option, age 21 if the child has a disability.
The Title IV-E adoption assistance program limits federal support to those children who have been adopted after being separated from a family receiving SSI or a family who would have been eligible to receive welfare benefits under the former AFDC program as of July 16, 1996. Eligibility is further limited to children determined by the state to have particular or special needs. These children, as defined by each state, generally include members of a sibling group; children with emotional, physical, or mental disabilities that would prevent adoption unless assistance was provided; and children of color.
Leave No Abused and Neglected Child Behind Act
- The financial eligibility criteria in current law for Title IV-E adoption assistance would be eliminated. These financial criteria have restricted the total number of children eligible to receive federal assistance.
The current income eligibility criteria for adoption assistance, like foster care, that are now tied to 1996 AFDC standards, have limited coverage of children so that approximately half the children nationally are eligible for Title IV-E funding or subsidy. The adoption subsidy is linked to foster care eligibility.
- A state's FMAP rate would be adjusted similar to the changes made for foster care eligibility.
Kinship Guardianship
Current Law
Kinship guardianship placements can offer an alternative permanency option when adoption or reunification with the parent is not an option for a child. Federal funding of kinship guardianship placements is currently not an available use of Title IV-E foster care maintenance funds. Some states have been able to access Title IV-E funds for this purpose through a Title IV-E child welfare waiver. More than 30 states currently provide subsidies to support these placements by using state, local, or other federal funds.
Leave No Abused and Neglected Child Behind Act
- States could apply to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments through Title IV-E. This would not require a waiver approved by HHS, but would require a change to a state's plan.
- To be eligible, a child would have to have been removed from his or her home pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement or the result of a judicial determination, under the care of a state agency for a 12-month period, and eligible for Title IV-E foster care maintenance payments.
- Returning home or adoption would have to be ruled out as inappropriate options for the child, and the child would have to demonstrate a strong attachment to the relative guardian. The guardian would also have to demonstrate a commitment to the child.
- States could establish separate relative kinship care licensing standards from regular foster care that, at a minimum, would protect the safety of children and have criminal background checks.
Title IV-E Administration and Training
Current Law
Title IV-E provides uncapped entitlement funding for administration and training costs. Title IV-E administration pays for the face-to-face time caseworkers spend with children in foster care, case planning for children, securing services for them, preparing and attending judicial hearings, and recruiting foster parents, among other activities. Title IV-E training funds are used to prepare the workforce and to provide them ongoing training, as well as training for foster and adoptive parents.
States are able to draw down increased federal dollars as their administrative and training costs increase. States currently draw down federal funding for the administration of foster care and adoption assistance at a 50% matching rate, meaning that every eligible state dollar is matched by one federal dollar. The federal government matches training costs at a 75% rate. One state dollar spent on training is matched by three federal dollars.
Leave No Abused and Neglected Child Behind Act
- Title IV-E funds administrative funds could be used on behalf of any child receiving foster care and adoption assistance.
- The federal matching rate would be reduced proportionally in the same way it is reduced under the foster care maintenance and adoption assistance provisions. States also would be allowed to adjust claims to ensure that no state loses funding under this expansion (states would be held harmless).
- Administrative expenses that pay for the cost determining Title IV-E eligibility and setting rates, would be capped at 15% of total administrative claims. Other costs, such as case management and pre-placement costs, would not be limited.
Tribal Eligibility for Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance
Current Law
Native American children under tribal court jurisdiction do not always have direct access to Title IV-E foster care and adoption assistance funds. Federal law now requires tribes to enter into intergovernmental agreements with states to access these funds. Approximately 13 states and 71 tribal governments have agreements with states. In contrast, tribes do have direct access to other federal social service funds such as TANF.
Leave No Abused and Neglected Child Behind Act:
- A federally recognized tribe or consortium of tribes could submit an application to HHS to receive federal funds for foster care and adoption assistance directly.
- Tribes would have to meet most of the same requirements and standards that states must meet. HHS would have some flexibility in applying these requirements. Similar to current state requirements, a tribe would have to submit a plan. As part of that plan, the tribe would have to indicate its area of service, which may not coincide with such geographic lines as city, county, or state borders. The tribal plan would also differ from a state plan in that a tribe could receive a different reimbursement rate, since the income in the service area may be lower than the particular state in which the tribal land is located.
Workforce
Current Law
Title IV-E training funds are the largest source of dedicated funding available to train state and local child welfare agency staff and current and prospective foster and adoptive parents. States can claim a 75% federal match for providing this training.
There are serious limitations about how these federal training funds can be used. For instance, they are limited to training public agency staff; they cannot be used to train staff from private agencies. Additionally, these funds cannot be used to train court personnel, who are key decisionmakers regarding children in the child welfare system.
States can only receive Title IV-E reimbursement for training costs based on the number of Title IV-E eligible children. The fewer Title IV-E eligible children in foster care, the smaller percentage of training costs are reimbursed by the federal government, even though one benefit of the training program may have been to reduce the number of children in out-of-home care.
Further, reimbursable training costs only cover training related to foster care maintenance, adoption assistance, and administration. This requirement does not recognize the need to train child welfare workers on an array of competencies that include prevention, treatment, and intervention skills.
Leave No Abused and Neglected Child Behind Act
- The bill would authorize $100 million in matching funds each year for five years for states to improve the quality of their child welfare workers.
- States could use these matching grants to improve child welfare workers' wages, increase the number of child welfare workers, reduce the turnover and vacancy rate of child welfare agencies, increase education and training of child welfare workers, attract and retain qualified candidates, and coordinate services with other agencies.
- The current matching rate for Title IV-E training would increase from 50% to 75% for short-term training for private agency employees under contract with the state, and also to train court personnel.
- As part of a state's request for funding, the state would have to indicate what data and information they would use to measure results and outcomes to improve their child welfare workforce.
Medicaid
Current Law
Children in the Title IV-E foster care and adoption assistance programs are automatically eligible for Medicaid.
Leave No Abused and Neglected Child Behind Act
- All children in foster care would be eligible for Title IV-E and eligible for Medicaid.
Independent Living
Current Law
The Title IV-E Chafee Foster Care Independence Program assists foster youth who age out of the foster care system. States use the funds to help youth transition to self-sufficiency though such services as assistance in obtaining a high school diploma, career planning, vocational training, job placement and retention, training in daily living skills, and budgeting.
States receive their share of appropriated funds according to a formula, subject to a nationwide ceiling of $140 million. States receive an amount based on their share of the nation's foster care population. States must provide a 20% match.
The Chafee Program also authorizes states also receive funding to provide education and training vouchers to youth aging out of foster care and those adopted after age 16. Congress can approve up to $60 million each year for this program. FY 2005 funding for this program was $46.6 million.
Leave No Abused and Neglected Child Behind Act
- Makes no changes to the program.
For more information, contact John Sciamanna, CWLA Senior Government Affairs Associate, at 202/639-4919 or jsciamanna@cwla.org.
Child Welfare League of America
August 2005
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