White House Child Welfare Foster Care Proposal

Federal Title IV-E foster care funds could be capped, or block granted, as Congress acts on a White House proposal for a new child welfare financing option that may be introduced in July. The Administration's budget documents and subsequent Congressional testimony offer only an overview of the plan that would allow states to choose a fixed allocation of funds, or block grant, over a five-year period rather than the current entitlement funding for the Title IV-E Foster Care program. No implementing legislation has yet been introduced.

CWLA strongly opposes any measure that limits the federal responsibility to participate fully with the states in meeting our fundamental obligation to America's most vulnerable children and families. We believe that a new, more complete approach to shared state and federal funding should be implemented. In the meantime, while recognizing the inadequacy of the current program, we believe that it is essential to maintain basic Title IV-E entitlements until a more effective financing method is proposed, tested, and proven effective as a viable national alternative.

* Legislative Alert: Congress to Consider Foster Care Cap (7/2/03)

* Child Welfare Financing Proposals

* Principles of Child Welfare Reform

* Funding Resources for Child Welfare

* Overview of Title IV-E Foster Care Program

* White House Foster Care Funding Option Chart
Projected Costs over 10 years vs. Block Grant Allocation

* Brief history of Child Welfare Financing Legislation

* Timeline of Major Child Welfare Legislation

* CWLA Testimony Submitted to the House Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means for the Hearing on the Bush Administration Foster Care Flexible Funding Proposal, June 11, 2003

* Testimony from HHS and others at the House Subcommittee on Human Resources Hearing on the Bush Administration Foster Care Flexible Funding Proposal, June 11, 2003

* Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care

* The Safety of Children Threatened by Block Grant Plan: Protect Children from Abuse and Neglect with Real Reform
CWLA Statement for the Hearing on the Bush Administration Foster Care Flexible Funding Proposal to the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the House Committee on Ways And Means, June 11, 2003

* Use CWLA Kids' Advocate Online to e-mail Congress about this issue

Child Protective Services Improvement Act (H.R. 1534)
On April 1, 2003, Representatives Ben Cardin (D-MD), George Miller (D-CA), Pete Stark (D-CA), and more than a dozen other member of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation to address some of the critical current challenges in the child welfare system. This comprehensive legislation addresses the needs of abused and neglected children and improves the system designed to protect and care for them.

* Summary of the Child Protective Services Improvement Act (H.R. 1534)

The Act to Leave No Child Behind (S.448/H.R.936)
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Representative George Miller (D-CA) reintroduced the Act to Leave No Child Behind (S.448/H.R.936), an omnibus bill addressing the unmet health care, educational, housing, income support, child protection, youth development, and other needs of the nation's children on February 26, 2003. Title VIII of the Act to Leave No Child Behind is a comprehensive proposal to restructure federal financing so states can provide children and families in the child welfare system with the assistance they need.

* Summary of Title VIII of the Act to Leave No Child Behind

© 2003