FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, CONTACT: (202) 225-1025
February 10, 2000
No. HR-15
Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the new Federal system for monitoring and enforcing the implementation by States of Federal child protection laws. The hearing will take place on Thursday, February 17, 2000, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include a representative from the Administration, representatives of State departments of children and family services, researchers, legal scholars, and advocates. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
In the early 1980s, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) established and operated a system for monitoring child protection systems and determining whether they comply with Federal requirements. Knowledgeable observers came to view the monitoring system as inadequate. In 1989, Congress suspended the collection of penalties resulting from the monitoring system. In the Social Security Act Amendments of 1994 (P.L. 103-387), Congress mandated that HHS establish a new integrated child protection review system that monitored compliance with State plans under
Title IV-B and Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. The system was also required to allow for corrective action and to impose penalties. Regulations were required to be final by July 1995. The Administration published proposed regulations on September 18, 1998, and entertained public comments for 90 days. Final regulations were published in the Federal Register on January 25, 2000, and will officially take effect on March 27, 2000.
The child protection regulations establish reviews of the State child and family services activities and of the criteria States use to determine IV-E eligibility. In addition, the final regulations establish enforcement procedures for certain provisions of the 1996 interethnic adoption amendments (sec. 1808 of P.L. 104-188) and of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-89).
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "We must have a child protection system that will adequately protect children and promote permanent placements in loving homes. After waiting a long time for the Administration's final proposal, I am looking forward to learning from knowledgeable sources whether this plan will get the job done."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The focus of the hearing will be on the State child and family services reviews and benchmarks used to determine State progress.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, March 2, 2000, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Human Resources office, room B-317 Rayburn House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette WordPerfect or MS Word format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.