Statement by William Young, Commissioner
Vermont Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services
on behalf of the American Public Human Services Associations

Testimony Before the House Committee on Ways and Means
Subcommittee on Human Resources

Hearing on Challenges Confronting Children Aging out of Foster Care

March 9, 1999

Madam Chairman, Congressman Cardin, members of the Committee, good afternoon. My name is William Young. I am the Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, the state's child protection agency. I am also here today on behalf of the American Public Human Services Association to talk about the issue of preparing older children leaving foster care for adult life.

APHSA is a bipartisan organization of public human service agencies and individuals concerned with human service policy and its delivery.

I want to begin by thanking Chairman Johnson and Congressman Cardin for their interest in these issues. I know that for many of you, including Chairman Johnson, child welfare is a matter of long-standing concern.

Children leaving custody are particularly vulnerable. Unlike some of the people who may be in this room who went out on their own at age 18 and were successful, these children often have little or no resources, may not have a family that cares or is willing to offer any kind of support to them, and often carry a tremendous weight of personal pain and loss as a result of sometimes horrendous histories of child abuse - histories that some of us may have but most do not.

In my own State of Vermont we refer all youth in custody between the ages of 15 and 21 to regional Transitional Services Coordinators who, after an initial screening, provide such services as independent living preparation classes, assistance in vocational exploration, finding and maintaining housing, and accessing community services, including substance abuse and mental health counseling. There are also opportunities for community participation through service projects and such activities as local and a state-wide Youth Advisory Board, which give these youth a direct line of communication with me.

We try to use all available existing services and programs, but we are not able to meet the needs of each child who requires help.

Why do we think this kind of assistance is necessary and important? It helps to create capacity for economic self sufficiency rather than welfare dependence and successful citizenship rather than involvement with the Corrections and Child Protection systems as an adult.

There is not a "one size fits all" solution. In Vermont we have made significant progress in many areas of social well being by focusing on outcomes, engaging local communities in planning and developing specific programs to achieve the outcomes, and providing flexible fiscal support.

This approach, which I would recommend to you as a model, would target badly needed additional federal investments on the outcomes you desire for these children, give the States and local communities the flexibility required to design effective services, provide feedback that allows for change to occur if services in an area are not delivering the desired results, and require accountability for achieving the desired outcomes.

As an example, this approach has resulted in a record 31% decline in child abuse in Vermont since 1992. Even more impressive is the 62% decline in sexual abuse victims between the ages of 0 to 6, and the 43% decline in physical abuse victims 0 - 6.

This effort to address the unmet needs of a very high-risk group of young people does not take place in a vacuum. Child Welfare today is at a crossroads, with States struggling to provide support to all children and families, early identification and services to those who need it, and child protection services where it is necessary to assure child safety, permanency and well-being. We are implementing the Adoption and Safe Families Act and the additional requirements it imposes, the Court improvement efforts, and the need to improve our adoption systems.

It is a daunting task, but one that we welcome. We believe that we are producing results, but it is clear that we need assistance and a sound partnership with the federal government. The needs of the children sometimes outstrip our capacity to respond.

We believe that it is vital to maintain the existing entitlement structure for IVE, but strongly support additional flexibility within that structure to target resources where they need to go.

Madam Chairman, we understand the constraints this subcommittee and the Congress are under to meet the tight budget caps set in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. We understand the initiatives we have been discussing will require a commitment of new federal resources. However, we urge the subcommittee not to reduce current or future federal support for critical human service programs to fund this new initiative. For example, if any reductions in the TANF or Social Services Block Grants or the repeal of the child support hold harmless provision or match rates are use as funding sources, then APHSA would be in the unfortunate position of opposing this legislation.

Over a year ago the Association convened a Work Group of state human service administrators and state and local child welfare directors to develop recommendations regarding changes in federal child welfare financing tied to flexibility, capacity and outcomes. We look forward to sharing those recommendations with you in the near future as they are finalized.

We are deeply appreciative of the Committee's interest in that particularly vulnerable group of young people leaving custody for adult life. If they are particularly at risk, they also possess a characteristic common to children the world over: the capacity to rise above tragedy and to succeed.

And we look forward to working with you to develop specific policy and funding proposals to address this issue.

Thank you.