This week, House Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Vern Buchanan (R-FL) led a bipartisan group of Members in introducing H.R. 5456, the Family First Prevention Services Act. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation strengthens families by promoting evidence-based prevention services to keep children out of foster care and reduces inappropriate placements into group homes.

Organizations across the country have voiced their support for the bill because it:

“Not only recognizes the unique needs of children and families in adversity, but also makes great strides to meet them in a way that pediatricians can stand behind: through evidence-based, prevention-focused approaches.” – American Academy of Pediatrics

“Takes historic and long overdue steps to direct federal child welfare dollars to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families […] takes important steps to ensure children who need foster care will be placed in the least-restrictive most family-like setting appropriate to their needs, and gives special attention to children whose emotional or other special needs require residential treatment.” – Children’s Defense Fund

“Promotes a number of policy priorities our state and local members have identified as key to improving child and family well-being … We appreciate your bipartisan, bicameral effort to address child welfare reform, and specifically, the longstanding policy priority to expand Title IV-E for prevention so that children and parents/caregivers have access to services and interventions that maintain family stability.” – American Public Human Services Association and National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators

“Expand[s] the availability of such services and reflects the reality that many families, including adoptive families, need targeted, effective services to meet their children’s needs and prevent foster care entry.” – North American Council on Adoptable Children

“Offers the important possibility of allowing funds to provide vital mental health, substance use and in-home services that could help children stay with their own families.” – Child Welfare League of America

“Offer[s] relatives the support they need to keep children out of foster care and help them thrive.” – Generations United

In advance of today’s markup of the Family First Prevention Services Act, the Ways and Means Committee continues to receive support from organizations, including:

• AAJ Research & Evaluation (Florida)
• Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors
• Academic Pediatric Association
• Adolescent and Family Growth Center, Inc. (Virginia)
• Adopt America Network
• Adoption Exchange Association
• Adoptions Together (District of Columbia)
• Adoptions Together (Maryland)
• Adoptions Together (Virginia)
• Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine Inc. (Maine)
• Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine, Inc and the Kinship Program (Maine)
• Advocates for Children and Youth (Maryland)
• Advocates for Children of New Jersey
• AIDS Alliance for Women, Infants, Children, Youth & Families
• Alaska Children’s Trust (Alaska)
• All Our Kin, Inc. (Connecticut)
• Alliance for Strong Families and Communities
• American Academy of Nursing
• American Academy of Pediatrics – California Chapter 1 (California)
• American Academy of Pediatrics – California Chapter 2 (California)
• American Academy of Pediatrics – California Chapter 3 (California)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Alabama)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Alaska)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Arizona)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Arkansas)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (California)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Colorado)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Connecticut)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Delaware)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (District of Columbia)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Florida)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Georgia)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Hawaii)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Idaho)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Illinois)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Indiana)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Iowa)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Kansas)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Kentucky)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Louisiana)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Maine)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Maryland)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Massachusetts)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Michigan)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Minnesota)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Mississippi)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Missouri)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Montana)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Nebraska)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Nevada)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (New Jersey)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (North Dakota)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Ohio)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Oklahoma)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Pennsylvania)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Puerto Rico)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Rhode Island)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (South Carolina)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (South Dakota)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Tennessee)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Texas)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Utah)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Virginia)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Washington)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (West Virginia)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Wisconsin)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Wyoming)
• American Academy of Pediatrics District II (New York)
• American Art Therapy Association
• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
• American Association of Addiction Medicine
• American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• American Bar Association (ABA)
• American Dance Therapy Association
• American Orthopsychiatric Association
• American Pediatric Association
• American Pediatric Society
• American Psychological Association (APA)
• American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
• Angel Eyes Over Texas (Texas)
• Anxiety and Depression Association of America
• ARC
• Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents (Arizona)
• Arizona Council of Human Services Providers (Arizona)
• Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation (Arizona)
• Arizona Grandparent Ambassadors (Arizona)
• Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services (Arizona)
• Arizona Partnership for Children, LLP (Arizona)
• Arizona’s Children Association (Arizona)
• Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (Arkansas)
• Arkansas Association for Infant Mental Health (Arkansas)
• Arrow Child and Family Ministries
• Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare
• Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations
• Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs
• Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs
• Association of State and Tribal Home Visiting Initiatives
• Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD)
• Baby’s Bounty (Maryland)
• Baby’s Bounty (Nevada)
• Beyond Adoptions, Inc.
• Brazelton Touchpoints Project, Inc.
• Bridges International
• Buckner International (Texas)
• California Association of Alcohol and Drug Programs Executives (California)
• Camelot Care Centers, Inc. (Illinois)
• Casa de los Ninos (Arizona)
• CASA of Jackson and Josephine Counties (Oregon)
• CASA of Linn County (Oregon)
• CASA Youth Advocates (Pennsylvania)
• Catawba Valley Healthy Families (North Carolina)
• Catholic Charities USA
• Catholic Health Association of the United States
• Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E)
• Center for Children’s Justice (Pennsylvania)
• Center for Native American Youth
• Center for Public Priorities (Texas)
• Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP)
• Center Point, Inc. (California)
• Child and Family Policy Center (Iowa)
• Child and Family Resources Inc. (Arizona)
• Child and Family Services of New Hampshire (New Hampshire)
• Child Care Aware of America
• Child Crisis Arizona (Arizona)
• Child First, Inc.
• Child Welfare League of America
• Children & Families First (Delaware)
• Children and Family Futures
• Children Awaiting Parents (New York)
• Children First for Oregon
• Children, Inc. (Kentucky)
• Children’s Action Alliance (Arizona)
• Children’s Advocacy Alliance (Nevada)
• Children’s Advocacy Institute
• Children’s Defense Fund – Southern Regional Office (Mississippi)
• Children’s Defense Fund (California)
• Children’s Defense Fund (CDF)
• Children’s Defense Fund (Minnesota)
• Children’s Defense Fund (New York)
• Children’s Defense Fund (Ohio)
• Children’s Defense Fund (Texas)
• Children’s Home + Aid (Illinois)
• Children’s Home Society of America
• Children’s Home Society of Minnesota (Minnesota)
• Children’s Home Society of North Carolina (North Carolina)
• Children’s Home Society of Washington (Washington)
• Children’s Hope Alliance (North Carolina)
• Children’s Hospital Association
• Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin (Wisconsin)
• Children’s Leadership Council
• Children’s Rights
• Children’s Rights Fund (Maryland)
• Children’s Service Society of Utah (Utah)
• Children’s Trust Fund or Oregon/Prevent Child Abuse Oregon
• Children’s Trust of South Carolina (South Carolina)
• Care C.A.N. (Circle of Assistance Network)
• Citizen Review Board – Oregon’s Foster Care Review Board (Oregon)
• Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, Inc. (New York)
• CLDA Diaper Bank (Pennsylvania)
• Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (California)
• Coalition on Human Needs
• Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth (Arizona)
• Coconino County Education Service Agency (Arizona)
• Colorado Association for Infant Mental Health (Colorado)
• Colorado Coalition of Adoptive Families (Colorado)
• Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition (Colorado)
• Colorado Youth Matter (Colorado)
• Comfort Consults, LLC
• Community Care (Maine)
• Community Partners of Montgomery County (Texas)
• Conference of Chief Justices
• Conference of State Court Administrators
• Connecticut Voices for Children
• Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH)
• Covenant House International
• Crawford County CASA (Pennsylvania)
• Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch (North Dakota)
• Disability Rights Mississippi (Mississippi)
• Disability Rights Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania)
• Easterseals
• Eating Disorders Coalition
• ECPAT-USA
• Emmanuel Family Services, LLC (Virginia)
• EPIC `Ohana (Hawaii)
• Esparza Head Start
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
• Every Child Matters
• Exchange Family Center (North Carolina)
• Extended Child Care Coalition of Sonoma County (California)
• Fair Trade LA (California)
• Families and Children Together (Maine)
• Families as Allies (Mississippi)
• Families on the Move, Inc. (Michigan)
• Family & Children’s Place (Kentucky)
• Family Focused Treatment Association
• Family Focused Treatment Association (Alabama)
• Family Focused Treatment Association (Texas)
• Family Involvement Center (Arizona)
• Family Policy Alliance
• Family Preservation Community Services (California)
• Family Preservation Community Services (North Carolina)
• Family Preservation Community Services (South Carolina)
• Family Service Association
• Family Service Head Start
• Family Services of Western Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania)
• Family Ties of Westchester (New York)
• Family Voices
• FIRST (North Carolina)
• First Five Years Fund
• First Focus Campaign for Children (FFCC)
• Florida’s Children First (Florida)
• Focus on the Family
• Fortified City Group (Texas)
• Foster Adopt Connect
• Foster Adopt Connect (Missouri and Kansas)
• Foster Care Alumni of America
• Foster Club
• Foster Family-based Treatment Association (FFTA)
• Fostering Hopes & Futures (Michigan)
• Friends of Wednesday’s Child (Texas)
• Futures Without Violence
• Generations United
• Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness (Georgia)
• Gift of Hope, Grandparents and Others Raising America’s Children (Illinois)
• Gift of Hope, Grandparents and Others Raising America’s Children, Support Groups (Illinois)
• Girls Inc. of Alameda County, CA (California)
• Girls Inc. of Carpinteria, CA (California)
• Girls Inc. of Greater Los Angeles, CA (California)
• Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara, CA (California)
• Girls Inc. of Long Island (New York)
• Girls Inc. of New York City (New York)
• Girls Inc. of Orange County, CA (California)
• Girls Inc. of the Greater Capital Region (New York)
• Girls Inc. of the Island City in the city of Alameda, CA (California)
• Girls Inc. of Westchester (New York)
• Girls, Inc.
• Governor Gary R. Herbert – State of Utah
• Graham Windham (New York)
• Grandfamilies PTSA, Inc. (Florida)
• GROW in Illinois (Illinois)
• HALOS (South Carolina)
• Harlem Dowling – West Side Center for Children and Family Services (New York)
• Healthy Families America
• Healthy Teen Network
• Heartland Family Resource Center
• Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY USA)
• Hope Family Resource (Mississippi)
• HopeSparks (Tacoma, WA) (Washington)
• Hosea Helps (Georgia)
• Human Resource Training, Inc. (Arizona)
• Human Rights Project for Girls (Rights4Girls)
• Illinois Collaboration on Youth (Illinois)
• Illinois Department of Children & Family Services (Illinois)
• Indiana Connected by 25 (Indiana)
• Institute for Health and Recovery, Inc. (Massachusetts)
• Integrative Counseling Solutions (Iowa)
• Interfaith Older Adult Programs (Wisconsin)
• Island Community Center (Maine)
• Jewish Family & Children’s Service (Arizona)
• Journey to Dream (Texas)
• Juvenile Law Center (JLC)
• Juvenile Law Center (Pennsylvania)
• Kansas Appleseed (Kansas)
• Kentucky Youth Advocates (Kentucky)
• Kids Belong (Michigan)
• Kinship Families Coalition of Kentucky (Kentucky)
• KMB Enterprises
• KVC West Virginia (West Virginia)
• La Familia, Inc. (New Mexico)
• League of Women Voters of Dallas (Texas)
• Lone Star CASA (Texas)
• Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)
• org (Louisiana)
• Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois (Illinois)
• Lutheran Family and Children’s Services of Missouri (Missouri)
• Lutheran Family Services of Virginia (Virginia)
• Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains (Colorado)
• Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains (New Mexico)
• Lutheran Services Florida (Florida)
• Lutheran Services in America
• Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jerseys (New Jersey)
• Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (Minnesota)
• Lutheran Social Services of Indiana (Indiana)
• Lutheran Social Services of Nevada (Nevada)
• Lutheran Social Services of New York (New York)
• Main Street Family Services (Minnesota)
• Many Lights Foundation (Washington)
• Maple Star Colorado (Colorado)
• Maryland Family Network (Maryland)
• Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (Massachusetts)
• Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (Massachusetts)
• Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health (Michigan)
• Michigan League for Public Policy (Michigan)
• Michigan’s Children (Michigan)
• Mississippi Center for Justice (Mississippi)
• Mississippi Families for Kids (Mississippi)
• Mississippi Human Services Coalition (Mississippi)
• Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative (Mississippi)
• Model Citizen
• Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (Maryland)
• NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals
• National Adoption Center
• National African American Drug Policy Coalition, Inc.
• National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Texas (Texas)
• National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health (TRILPE)
• National Association for Children of Alcoholics
• National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health (NACBH)
• National Association of Black Social Workers
• National Association of Counsel for Children
• National Association of Drug Court Professionals
• National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
• National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators (NAPCWA)
• National Association of Social Workers
• National Association of Social Workers (Arizona)
• National Association of Social Workers (North Carolina)
• National Association of Social Workers (Texas)
• National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD)
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
• National Center for Youth Law
• National Center on Adoption and Permanency
• National Center on Child Welfare and Housing
• National Center on Shared Leadership
• National Child Abuse Coalition
• National Children’s Alliance
• National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
• National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association
• National Family Preservation Network
• National Foster Parent Association
• National Foster Youth Institute
• National Hispanic Medical Association
• National Indian Child Welfare Association
• National Indian Health Board
• National Kinship Alliance for Children
• National Latino Children’s Institute
• National Network for Youth
• National Register of Health Service Psychologists
• National Respite Coalition
• Nebraska Appleseed (Nebraska)
• Nebraska Children’s Home Society (Nebraska)
• New Hampshire Children’s Trust, Inc. (New Hampshire)
• New Hampshire Pediatric Society (New Hampshire)
• New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Inc. (New Jersey)
• New Mexico Child Advocacy Networks (New Mexico)
• New Mexico Early Childhood Development Partnership (New Mexico)
• New Mexico Pediatric Society (New Mexico)
• New Mexico Voices for Children (New Mexico)
• New York Coalition for Child Welfare Finance Reform
• New York State American Academy of Pediatrics (New York)
• New York State American Academy of Pediatrics Chapter 2         (New York)
• New York State American Academy of Pediatrics Chapter 3         (New York)
• Nexus Recovery Center Inc.
• North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC)
• North Carolina Association of County Directors of Social Services
• North Carolina Pediatric Society (North Carolina)
• North Georgia Community Action, Inc. (Georgia)
• North Texas Alliance to Reduce Pregnancy in Teens (NTARUPT)
• Nurse Family Partnership (at Texas Children’s Health Plan) (Texas)
• Nurse-Family Partnership
• OHSU (Oregon)
• Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (Oklahoma)
• One Voice Texas (Texas)
• Open Arms (Kentucky)
• Oregon Adoption Resource Exchange (OARE) (Oregon)
• Oregon Pediatric Society (Oregon)
• Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC) (Oregon)
• Parent-Child Home Program
• Parenting Way, Inc. (Iowa)
• Parents Anonymous Inc.
• Parents Anonymous of New Jersey, Inc. (New Jersey)
• Parents Anonymous of Ohio (Ohio)
• Parents as Teachers
• Partners for Our Children (Washington)
• Passages Alternative Living Programs, Inc. (Illinois)
• PB&J Family Services, Inc. (New Mexico)
• Peace Educators Allied for Children Everywhere (P.E.A.C.E.)
• Pediatric Policy Council
• Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (Pennsylvania)
• Phoenix Institute (Indiana)
• Polaris
• Pressley Ridge
• Prevent Child Abuse (Arizona)
• Prevent Child Abuse (Indiana)
• Prevent Child Abuse (New Jersey)
• Prevent Child Abuse (Virginia)
• Prevent Child Abuse America
• Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition (Arizona)
• RaiseAChild
• Ray E. Helfer Society
• Relatives As Parents Program (RAPP) (West Virginia)
• Results For America
• RESULTS Tarrant County (Texas)
• Rights4Girls
• RISE Services, Inc. (Arizona)
• RISE Services, Inc. (Oregon)
• RISE Services, Inc. (Utah)
• Russell Child Development Center, Inc. (Kansas)
• SafeCare
• Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
• Save the Children
• Save the Children Action Network
• School Social Workers Association of America (SSWAA)
• Seraaj Family Homes (Alabama)
• Society for Pediatric Research
• South of Market Child Care, Inc. (California)
• Southern Arizona Grandparent Ambassadors/Tucson (Arizona)
• Southwest Human Development, Inc. (Arizona)
• John’s Lutheran Church (Georgia)
• Jude’s Ranch for Children (Nevada)
• Louis Area Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (Missouri)
• Stephenson Consultation (North Carolina)
• Strengthening Families All Across America
• Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc. (California)
• Texans Care for Children (Texas)
• Texas Pediatric Society (Texas)
• Texas Foster a Family Association (Texas)
• TexProtects (Texas)
• The Adoption Exchange, Inc.
• The Arc
• The Art of Practicing Institute (New York)
• The Black Administrators in Child Welfare, Inc.
• The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
• The Children’s Aid Society (New York)
• The Children’s Guild (District of Columbia)
• The Children’s Guild (Maryland)
• The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey (New Jersey)
• The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey (serves Eastern PA) (Pennsylvania)
• The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania)
• The Children’s Partnership
• The Children’s Partnership (California)
• The Children’s Shelter (San Antonio, Texas)
• The Children’s Village (New York)
• The Dalton Daley Group
• The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
• The Donaldson Adoption Institute, Inc.
• The Family Defense Center (Illinois)
• The Family Resource Center (New Hampshire)
• The Family Tree (Maryland)
• The Hoglund Foundation
• The Kempe Foundation
• The Mockingbird Society
• The National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health
• The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
• The National Crittenton Foundation (TNCF)
• The Ounce of Prevention Fund
• The Ounce of Prevention Fund (Illinois)
• The RISE Institute
• The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
• The Village Family Service (California)
• Think of Us
• Together Georgia Provider Alliance, Inc. (Georgia)
• Treatment Communities of America
• Treehouse (Washington)
• Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development (Arizona)
• UMOM New Day Centers (Arizona)
• United Advocates for Children and Families (California)
• United Way of Hardin County, Inc. (Ohio)
• United Way Worldwide
• Universal Family Connection, Inc. (Illinois)
• University of California Davis Guardian Professions Program (California)
• Upbring
• Upshur County Family Resource Network (West Virginia)
• Vermont Kin as Parents (Vermont)
• Voice for Adoption
• Voices for Alabama’s Children (Alabama)
• Voices for Children in Nebraska (Nebraska)
• Voices for Children of San Antonio (Texas)
• Voices for Georgia’s Children (Georgia)
• Voices for Ohio’s Children (Ohio)
• Voices for Utah Children (Utah)
• Voices for Vermont’s Children (Vermont)
• Voices for Virginia’s Children (Virginia)
• West Valley Neighborhoods Coalition (Arizona)
• WIN Family Services (Maryland)
• Wyoming Kinship Advocacy (Wyoming)
• YMCA of San Diego County, Kinship Support Program
• YMCA of the USA
• Youth Law Center
• Youth Law Center (California)
• Youth Outreach Services, Inc. (Illinois)
• Youth Villages
• Youth Villages (Alabama)
• Youth Villages (Georgia)
• Youth Villages (Indiana)
• Youth Villages (Massachusetts)
• Youth Villages (Mississippi)
• Youth Villages (New Hampshire)
• Youth Villages (North Carolina)
• Youth Villages (Oklahoma)
• Youth Villages (Oregon)
• Youth Villages (Tennessee)
• Zepeda Learning and Leadership
• Zero to Three
• Zero to Three (New York)