Statement of Betsey Rosenbaum, Director, Children and Family Services Department,
American Public Human Services Association

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

INTRODUCTION

Chairman Herger, Congressman Cardin, Members of the Subcommittee, I am Betsey Rosenbaum, Director of the Children and Family Services Department at the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), a non-profit bipartisan organization representing state and local human service professionals for more than 70 years. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today about the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program, and the need for reauthorization of this vital program.

As the national organization representing state and local agencies responsible for the operation and administration of public human service programs, including child protection, foster care and adoption, APHSA, and its affiliate association, NAPCWA, the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators, have a long standing interest in developing and promoting policies and practices that enable states to help our nation's most vulnerable children and families.

On behalf of public child welfare administrators, I want to take a moment to commend this committee for recognizing the value of this program and for holding this hearing. I would also like to mention how pleased we are that the House, Senate and President Bush have included a significant increase ($1 billion over five years) for the Safe and Stable Families program in their budgets. Finally, I want to thank you and your staff for your continued willingness to work with APHSA on various issues of concern to our association and members.

BACKGROUND

The child welfare system serves some of America's most fragile and troubled citizens -- families in crisis and children who have been abused and neglected. Public child welfare agencies provide a broad array of services to children and families, including prevention and family support-services, early intervention and family preservation services, child protective services, foster care, and permanency and post-permanency services. Public child welfare agencies also work closely with other public agencies that often deal with the same population, including TANF and Medicaid agencies, domestic violence programs, substance abuse treatment agencies and mental health programs.

In 1999, state child protective services agencies received an estimated 2.9 million referrals alleging child maltreatment, with an estimated 826,000 found to be victims. As of September 1999, 568,000 children were in foster care, and 118,000 children were awaiting adoption. In recent years, however, states have made great strides toward increasing the safety of children and moving them toward permanence. For example, in 1999, states found permanent homes for 46,000 foster children, a 28% increase over the 36,000 adoptions in 1998 and a 64% increase since 1996, when states found permanent homes for 28,000 children. States have been so successful in increasing adoptions that these numbers have exceeded Congressional budget expectations for the last several years.

THE PROMOTING SAFE AND STABLE FAMILIES PROGRAM

The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program, authorized as Title IV-B, Subpart 2, is an important federal source of service funding for the child welfare system. The enactment in 1993 of the Federal Family Preservation and Support Services Program (FPSSP) -- the name was later changed to the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program in the 1997 reauthorization -- offered states and communities a first-ever opportunity to begin fundamental reform of their child and family service systems in order to better protect children and support families. It was intended as a catalyst for building a comprehensive, community-based service system for children and families that is more responsive to individual needs. The program provided funds for the first time for broad-based and ongoing planning to identify resources and needs in states and communities and to implement necessary system improvements, as well as for a range of community-based preventive and supportive services designed to strengthen families, to help prevent crises and to help families cope better when crises occur.

In the seven years since this program was established, it has proven to be a vital source of support for vulnerable families. Since 1993, important reforms have been instituted, including passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), dramatic increases in adoption and new models for service provision to help achieve safe and permanent placements for children, whether they are with their families, other relatives, or adoptive homes. In short, the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program is an important adjunct to the success of ASFA and we fully support reauthorization.

However, even with the Safe and Stable Families Program, services that protect child safety and promote reunification remain underfunded by the federal government. The needs of the state child welfare systems far outstrips the resources that are now provided with federal funding. With states historically outspending the federal government, we believe it is time for a more equitable state-federal financial partnership, particularly in the area of services funded under Title IV-B, including the Safe and Stable Families Program - IV-B, Part 2. When the Title IV-E financing structure was created almost 20 years ago, the assumption was that Title IV-B service funding would grow significantly -- an assumption that has been unfulfilled. The reality is that Title IV-B funding has not grown commensurate with practice and service needs. Under the current financing structure, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) expects spending on removal and placement to average nine times as much as spending on services and prevention between 1999 and 2003. Similarly, over the same period, funding for the removal and placement system will grow from $4.8 billion to $6.5 billion, or by 35 percent. By contrast, funding of service and prevention activities will grow by only 9 percent, from $.57 billion to $.62 billion.

The four components of the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program -- family preservation services, community-based family support services, time-limited family reunification services, and adoption promotion and support services -- provide vital prevention, early intervention, reunification, and post-placement services and support.

In its current form, the law requires states to spend a "significant portion" (which has been defined by HHS as 20 percent) of funds on each of the four service areas. States believe that this interpretation does not provide sufficient flexibility, as states may need to spend more than 20 percent of this limited pot in more than one category to adequately respond to the spectrum of needs of children and families in their particular jurisdiction and to fill the gaps in service delivery systems.

The following are some specific examples of how states are spending Safe and Stable Families funding to target the problems of their particular service populations:

California

Mr. Chairman, your home state of California has a statewide Promoting Safe and Stable Families allocation of $42 million -- 15% of the total allocation -- the largest recipient of these funds. This funding allows all of California's 58 counties to provide a spectrum of services to maintain safety and well being for the state's children. In smaller counties where resources are scarce, the program provides flexible funding that allows counties to meet the diverse needs of their populations. For example, Mr. Chairman, in your district, in Chico, Butte County targets young parents with a mentoring program that exposes the young parents to healthy lifestyles and safe activities for their families. In addition, the Family Challenge program helps young parents develop communication and conflict resolution skills. Another example in is the Gridley community, where the county offers education and networking on parenting, health, and safety issues. The program provides culturally relevant and informal support systems for the families in the community. The Gridley project also provides direct support services including home-visiting, assistance with qualifying for the Woman, Infants and Children Program, and assistance with immigration, taxes, housing and food. In Shasta County services are provided through an umbrella program called Great Beginnings. Great Beginnings provides a spectrum of services including home-based supportive services to families that have been referred through Child Protective Services. During the first six months of federal fiscal year 2001, 17 families have received services and have been able to maintain their children safely in their homes. This program also provides early home-based prevention services for families with children aged 0 to 5, with an emphasis on 0 to 3 year olds. Referrals come from the major hospital in the county that provides maternity care. In the first six months of federal fiscal year 2001, 28 families have received services. Many other counties throughout California use funding from the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program to achieve safety and well being for children and their families.

Post-Adoption Services

Money from the Safe and Stable Families Program is also often an important funding source for post-adoption services. According to a recent APHSA publication -- Report on Post-Adoption Services in the States, services including child care, respite care, crisis intervention, educational support, medical services, individual and family therapy, support groups, residential treatment, day treatment, case management, in-home services and parent training - all important services for keeping families together -- are funded through the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program. With the tremendous increases in adoptions since the passage of ASFA, post-adoption services will be critical to ensure that these adoptions remain permanent and stable, and that services are provided to address the ongoing needs of some of these children, who often have serious emotional, physical, and behavioral problems.

Family Support

We know from what states have been reporting for the last few years that a variety of family support services are supported by Promoting Safe and Stable Families funds. Among the types of family support services that are most frequently available are family resource centers, which offer such services as parent education, child care and parent support groups. Also available are home visiting for vulnerable families with children, school-based family services, supportive and intensive services to families, and nurturing programs. The funds are also used to provide structured social time for families, parenting education (such as training on child development), parenting classes for teen mothers, child care and respite care.

Family Preservation

The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program also supports family preservation services, including the development or expansion of intensive family preservation services; the expansion and strengthening of family preservation services; the provision of services to families that are not at imminent risk but who need help to prevent more serious family difficulties; the development and expansion of substance abuse treatment services for high-risk families, and the development of crisis hot lines and the provision of one-time help with housing, food, clothing and other basic needs.

These examples illustrate the important role this program plays in keeping families together and children safe. The need for reauthorization is clear.

PROPOSALS FOR REATHORIZATION

Child welfare agencies can and do serve an important role in keeping children and families out of the foster care system by providing prevention, services and family support. While we are supportive of the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program, including resources being used for evaluation, research and training and funding going to Indian Tribes and court improvement, APHSA believes that the following elements are essential for reauthorization if Promoting Safe and Stable Families is to continue to be an effective program:

· We endorse increasing the funding level for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program by the $1 billion over five years included in the President's Budget Blueprint and the House and Senate Budget resolutions.

· While $1 billion over five years is an important first step toward providing resources to the front end of the child welfare system, additional funding is also needed in other prevention sources, including the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (also up for reauthorization this year) and Title XX - the Social Services Block Grant, which states often use for child welfare services.

· We believe that the current four service components listed above remain appropriate, however we urge the committee to amend the HHS definition of "significant portion" from 20% to a level where at least 50 percent of the funding remains flexible, allowing states to make decisions on allocation of the funding among the four service areas based on children and family needs.

BROAD CHILD WELFARE CONTEXT

As I stated earlier, the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program exists within a larger framework of child welfare. Because there is no single, comprehensive child welfare program at the federal level, but rather a collection of programs, grants, funding streams, and legislative and regulatory requirements, the value and importance of Promoting Safe and Stable Families can only be understood within this larger context. While the reauthorization of this program is critical, there are additional fundamental child welfare issues that must be addressed.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA)

The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), passed by Congress in 1997, which included reauthorization of the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program, places numerous new requirements on states to move more children to permanence in shortened timeframes. ASFA holds states accountable for achieving outcomes for children with respect to safety, permanence, and well being, and requires an annual report to Congress on state-by-state performance. It also requires a new federal review system with penalties tied to outcomes. This review process has now begun, with the first six states being Delaware, North Carolina, Vermont, Minnesota, Oregon and New York .

In the three years since ASFA's enactment, states have demonstrated significant progress, not only because of the new law but also because of state initiatives that were in place prior to the law. However, the federal government has not provided any additional resources to support state's efforts to meet these new mandates. These accomplishments have occurred despite the substantive effort required by states to implement the new ASFA requirements.

Flexible Funding

In our work, particularly in Crossroads: New Directions in Social Policy, APHSA's transition report to Congress and the President released in February, we have written about and promoted extensively the need for investments in and increased flexibility for child welfare. We see these approaches (flexibility and increased resources) as interrelated - both are required for effective child welfare practice and to meet the demands of ASFA.

In Crossroads, we proposed new approaches for Title IV-E flexibility because we believe the financing structure established in 1980 no longer works. The current structure of federal child welfare funding does not adequately support the outcomes for the children and families that public child welfare agencies, Congress, the federal government, child advocates, and the public seek to achieve. The biggest share of this federal funding is disproportionately directed toward funding out-of-home care -- the very part of the system that agencies are seeking to minimize to achieve greater permanence for children.

APHSA's first priority is that Title IV-E be allowed to be used more flexibly for services other than foster care maintenance payments, such as front-end services, reunification, or post-permanency services for children who come to the attention of the child welfare system. Specifically, we urge Congress to amend the Title IV-E statute to give states the option to redirect federal revenue for IV-E maintenance payments into their Title IV-B programs. This transfer option would provide states with flexibility to reinvest federal revenue into other child welfare services that promote safety and permanency, whenever foster care caseloads are reduced, while maintaining accountability for outcomes.

Focus on Outcomes and Agency Capacity Building

In recent years, public child welfare has increasingly focused on outcomes as a way to measure the achievement of positive results for children and families. The changes to federal law made under ASFA have heightened this attention to outcomes and accountability even more. The child welfare field has agreed upon safety, permanence, and well-being as desired outcomes for children in the child welfare system. The field also has emphasized increasing the number of adoptions, reunifications, and guardianships; decreasing the length of time in foster care and the length of time for achieving permanent placements; and reducing the number of children in foster care and the incidence and recurrence of abuse and neglect.

Even with these substantial strides, the system lacks the full capacity for achieving outcomes. Child welfare practice has become more and more complex, with tremendous demands on the system, with increasingly challenging populations, high caseloads and scarce resources, interstate issues, overrepresentation of children of color, and increased expectations and requirements. In recent years, children and families who come to the attention of child welfare increasingly exhibit multiple problems that require a coordinated response from multiple public agencies and service systems outside of child welfare. It is not unusual for families to have serious substance abuse problems, mental illness, or domestic violence concerns; in fact, it is not unusual for a family entering the system to enter it with all of these problems.

ASFA and the prevailing focus on improving outcomes make the need for comprehensive federal financing even more imperative. To improve outcomes for children and to attain positive results, the child welfare system must have the necessary capacity to achieve those goals and enough of the appropriate resources to conduct the appropriate interventions and best practices that will yield the best possible results for children and families.

Title IV-E Waivers

Another priority area for APHSA, and an additional way to make federal child welfare funding more flexible, is to expand the Title IV-E Child Welfare Demonstration Waivers authorized under ASFA and to increase their flexibility. According to state child welfare agencies, the current waiver process limits innovation and is not responsive to the sense of urgency to change the child welfare system. Other concerns include current policies prohibiting approval for multiple states to test similar innovations, such as subsidized guardianship; restrictive research, control groups, and random assignment requirements; cost-neutrality methodology; and limitations on statewide approaches. While the waiver program has enabled some states to reinvest federal foster care funding in services and other activities to improve their systems and promote permanence, in its current mode of HHS implementation, it is a promise unfulfilled and will not meet state's needs for the flexibility necessary to achieve broad systems change.

APHSA strongly supports making substantial modifications to the current Title IV-E waiver process to allow more flexibility and to foster system change, including eliminating the limited number of waivers HHS can approve; eliminating approval criteria that require random assignment and control groups that limit statewide approaches; eliminating the limited number of states that may conduct waivers on the same topic; eliminating the limited number of waivers that may be conducted by a single state; and enabling states to continue their waivers beyond five years.

We plan to work with the Administration on this issue, as many of these limitations can be addressed through administrative policy and implementation changes. We do appreciate the interest this subcommittee showed regarding increasing the flexibility of IV-E waivers in the 106th Congress, and hope that you can address the statutory barriers to successful implementation of the waivers, especially the limitation on the number of waivers HHS may approve.

Child Welfare and Substance Abuse Partnerships

The connection between substance abuse and child abuse is another issue of concern for state human service administrators and the families they serve. Substance abuse is estimated to be a factor in over one-half of child abuse and neglect cases. In Crossroads, APHSA calls for enhanced federal resources to address this critical issue. To ensure safety and permanence for children in the child welfare system and appropriate alcohol and drug treatment and prevention services for their families, new cross-agency partnerships are needed. Child welfare and alcohol and drug prevention and treatment agencies must work together at federal, state and local levels and with other service providers, the courts, communities and families. While there are a growing number of best practice models being developed throughout the country, there are insufficient resources to address the magnitude of the problem. To fulfill ASFA requirements, it is critical that child welfare and substance abuse agencies and providers have the resources they need in order to collaborate and serve these families.

CLOSING COMMENTS

Finally, let me repeat that the current structure of child welfare is disproportionately directed toward funding out-of-home care, and does not promote services that encourage child safety or promote family reunification. One of the important features of the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program is that it provides the agencies serving these families with the opportunity to direct funds to challenges faced by the individual families being served.

APHSA's vision for child welfare is a society where children are free from abuse and neglect, and living in safe, stable, permanent families -- where children and families have needed supports and can help themselves. When children are at risk and come to the attention of the public agency, the agency can provide services and supports to them and their families to mitigate their problems and prevent them from being removed from their families and communities. When children must come into care, the agency can address children and family needs expeditiously and enable a safe reunification or, where not possible, can find an alternative permanent placement expeditiously, while assuring their well-being in the interim. This is a vision where there is a family-centered, strengths-based approach to serving families; where the safety and protection of children is the shared responsibility of all parts of the human services agency and the larger community. If all parts of the human service system fulfilled their mission, the child welfare caseload could be greatly reduced.

APHSA's vision for the child welfare program is a system that has the capacity to do the above and to improve outcomes for children and families and one in which the federal government and states are equal partners (along with communities) in serving all children in all parts of the system.

In conclusion, APHSA and the public child welfare administrators support reauthorization of the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program. Funding for this program must be preserved, increased and made more flexible in order to effectively address the needs of our nation's children and families.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I would be pleased to respond to any questions you may have.