FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (202) 225-1025
September 26, 2000
No. HR-25
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 H.R. 5292, the "Flexible Funding for Child Protection Act of 2000." The hearing is being called in lieu of the Subcommittee markup originally scheduled for Wednesday, September 27, 2000. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, October 3, 2000, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 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 State administrators of child protection programs, child advocates, and researchers. 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 1980, Congress passed legislation that created a program of Federal support for child protection programs conducted by State and local governments. The legislation created two major programs: a capped grant program under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act that gave States flexibility in providing treatment for families and children involved in abuse or neglect as well as services for foster and adoptive families; and a series of open-ended entitlement programs under Title IV-E that help States operate their foster care and adoption programs for children who have been removed from their families. The funding for the IV-B grant program has grown very little since 1980 while the IV-E program has grown rapidly. The emphasis in Federal funding may appear unintentionally to be on maintaining children in out-of-home care, and not on providing services so that children can be either safely returned to their families or adopted in timely fashion.
As a result, there is now interest in increasing the amount of flexibility States have in using their IV-E dollars. On September 26, 2000, Chairman Johnson introduced H.R. 5292, a bill that would provide flexible funding demonstrations to determine whether providing States with flexible funds for child protection has an effect on caseload levels, enhances availability and use of services, efficiency of service delivery, and child safety, permanency, and well-being. The goal is to find ways to allow States to use the IV-E dollars for prevention and treatment as well as out-of-home placement.
The bill includes three options that would increase flexibility in State use of Federal IV-E dollars. In the first approach, States would negotiate a baseline of expected spending with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. States would then receive the exact amount of money specified in the baseline in quarterly payments and would be free to spend the dollars on any child protection activity including prevention, treatment, and out-of-home care. However, States could return to the IV-E program of open-ended funding at the start of any fiscal year. In the second approach, States would also negotiate a baseline. In this case, however, States would identify a specific intervention program expected to save money by reducing out-of-home care or by other means. If the program does save money, the savings could be transferred out of the IV-E program into the IV-B program where States would have more flexibility in using the funds for prevention and treatment. The third proposal would strengthen the current waiver authority for child protection programs in the Social Security Act, especially by allowing permanent waivers.
States have already shown their interest in flexible Federal funding by taking advantage of Federal legislation enacted in 1993 that provides them with the opportunity to obtain waivers from Federal child protection law. Several States are now conducting waiver programs to test whether they can use the greater flexibility permitted by waivers to improve their child protection programs. Other States have simply moved ahead on their own with new methods of financing child protection services.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "We must do everything we can to promote safe and loving homes for children. However, current law provides open-ended entitlement dollars for putting children into foster care, but limits the amount of money for treating at risk families and providing services to children. I believe we must find ways to allow States to flexibly use Federal funds to enhance the availability and use of services and to promote the safety, permanency, and well-being of these vulnerable children."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will provide an opportunity for witnesses to give their reactions to H.R. 5292.
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, Tuesday, October 17, 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 5.1 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.