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Statement by Shay Bilchik, President/CEO, Child Welfare League of America, on the President's Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Request
President's Budget Vision for America's Children Is Short-Sighted
2/4/2004
Washington, DC - Following the State of the Union, the Child Welfare League of America challenged the President and Congress to unite in a new vision for America's children-one that ensures their health, safety, and well-being. With the details of the President's Fiscal Year 2005 budget request released this week, it is clear that this budget proposal falls short of meeting the needs of America's children, particularly those children who are victims of abuse and neglect.
Just as the President provides for a new course for space exploration with a request for a $1 billion funding increase, so must we also demand that a new course and vision be set in motion for the future of America's children. Only through new investments and a creative vision of making children a national priority will our federal and state governments, working together, reach new frontiers in meeting the basic needs of our children. What could be a higher priority than making sure our children are safe and secure in their own homes and communities. This Fiscal Year 2005 budget request from the President reflects a vision of the future of children that is both short-sighted and misguided.
The President's FY 2005 budget request includes a proposal from last year that would allow states the option to choose capped funding, or a block grant, of federal Title IV-E Foster Care Assistance over a five-year period. This would replace the current Title IV-E entitlement funding that states currently receive based on the number of eligible children. In addition to limiting the federal supports for children in the child welfare system, this proposal does not address the real need to truly reform and update the current child welfare system to do a better job of providing safety, permanence, prevention, and well-being to all children under its care.
The President's FY 2005 budget proposal also continues to deny many grandparents and other relatives caring for children who have been abused and neglected access to the benefits of the federal foster care program, despite a recent federal court of appeals ruling to the contrary. By the Administration's own projections, tens of thousands of children would be refused federal foster care assistance in the next five years if this proposal is enacted.
CWLA supports reform that allows all children in need to receive federal foster care assistance. Currently, only about 50% of all children currently living in foster care receive federal support. It is shocking that the President proposes to limit the federal role and make it even more difficult for those seeking to care for our most vulnerable children to provide that support.
The President's FY 2005 budget request does include modest increases in programs designed to prevent child abuse and neglect. Increased funding of these programs, the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act's state grants and community-based child abuse prevention grants, is dependent on Congressional approval. In the past three years, Congress has not approved funding at the level requested by the President. We urge the President and Congress to recognize the importance of preventing child abuse and neglect and support full funding of these programs.
If our nation's leaders are sincere in their belief that our children are our future, then we must invest today in programs that protect children from being abused and neglected, provide children with essential services such as health care, child care, and adequate housing, and ensure that every child receives a quality education. Fortunately, the President's submission of his budget request is only the first step in reaching agreement on the Fiscal Year 2005 funding levels. It is our hope that the Congress and President will now move forward together and create a new vision and focus on the needs of our children and act in their best interest. They deserve nothing less.
Established in 1920, the Child Welfare League of America is the nation's oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization. Headquartered in Washington, DC, CWLA strives to advance sound public policy on behalf of the more than three million abused, neglected, and vulnerable children served by its 1,182 public and private member agencies.
For additional information or to interview Mr. Bilchik, please contact the CWLA Press Office at 202/942-0244 or e-mail pressoffice@cwla.org.
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