Opening Statement of the Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, M.C., Maryland

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

Hearing on the Promoting Safe and Stables Families Program

May 10, 2001

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased that we are focusing today on the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program -- a key part of the federal commitment to ensuring the well-being of our most vulnerable children. The Safe and Stable Families program will provide $305 million this year to States to fund four types of services: family preservation services for children and families that are at risk or in crisis; community-based family support services to help prevent abuse or neglect; time-limited family reunification services; and adoption promotion and support activities. This program is essential to improving child safety, stability, and permanence for at-risk and foster children.

I was heartened by the Administration's proposal to increase funding for Safe and Stable Families by $1 billion over the next five years. I am hopeful this committee will quickly pass legislation to provide those requested resources, as well as new funding for the President's proposal on educational assistance for children aging out of foster care - an issue this committee worked on last year.

But we should not stop there. We also need to examine more carefully the linkages between substance abuse and child abuse, particularly when we know that somewhere between 50 to 80 percent of the parents whose children enter the child welfare system are substance abusers. We must expand the substance abuse screening, prevention and treatment services available for families in the child welfare system, and provide funds to build partnerships at the state and local level between substance abuse and child welfare agencies.

I look forward to hearing from our State witnesses on how they utilize funding from the Safe and Stable Families Program to improve family stability and child safety. Thank you.