Initially the administration will be directly involved in two foster care issues during the current legislative session. Arizona said that barely a tenth of 1 percent of children in care were verifiably harmed. In addition to identifying and explaining key issues, this paper presents the priority policy issues of key groups that are expected to play an active role in the debate of these issues. In cases of true abuse or systemic neglect (such as abandonment), foster care may be necessary for some children. The U.S. Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 increased opportunities for states to support foster youth until age 21 and required states to improve transition planning for youth exiting care. Currently foster care payments do not provide compensation for the extensive demands placed on the caregiver, or the additional expenses incurred for regular trips to the hospital, baby sitters, and respite care. 14 Youth emancipating from foster care may be at greater risk of becoming involved with the criminal justice system due to lack of support networks, low employment skills, and unstable living arrangements. Prior to the passage of PL 96-272 the primary debate surrounding foster care focused on the contention that an inordinate number of children were unnecessarily languishing in the system, and that often the rights of these children and their parents were being overlooked. The report found that Federal expenditures for title IV-E administrative costs--and training costs for State workers to administer the program--have been much greater than was expected when PL 96-272 was passed. The situation is further complicated by the fact that a State could be penalized for past practices even if its current practices are in better compliance. It is important to note that a broad conceptualization of culture emerged from the findings of this study, and included religious, language, immigration, ethnic, racial, family composition, and class factors. Other contributing factors include the fact that often these children suffer from emotional, behavioral, and developmental problems. However, during the coming legislative session children and youth advocacy organizations will undoubtedly lobby for increased Federal title IV-B appropriations. During the next legislative session proposals to make substantive changes to these reviews may be advanced. 1. Examples of such programs include Homebuilders, HELP, and Project SAFE of Youth Services Inc. Children and youth advocates agree that an enhanced Federal emphasis should be placed on children before their family's environment deteriorates to the point where they are forced to enter out-of-home care. The chronic shortage of available foster parents (which has worsened in recent years) is an additional systemic problem facing the foster care system. The program has two primary components: The first component is the foster care Federal authorization that existed in the AFDC program prior to 1980. Each State is to be reviewed by HDS for the first two years that they utilize their allotment of the $98 million that causes them to be eligible for review. The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) is the principal advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on policy development, and is responsible for major activities in policy coordination, legislation development, strategic planning, policy research, evaluation, and economic analysis. However, not only did appropriations slightly decline from FY 1985 to 1986, but appropriated FY 1988 funding levels have still not reached an amount that was authorized for FY 1985. This represents just 30% of that county's total such cases. Bill Prosser, Director of Children, Youth, and Families for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) provided frequent, direct oversight of this paper. The data released most recently by the Department of Health and Human Services, based on information collected through the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), show that child protective service agencies received about 2,672,000 reports of possible maltreatment in 2001. George Miller (D-Calif.), Chairman of the Housen Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families is especially critical of what he terms the inefficacy with which the title IV-B section 427 review process is currently administered. Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Room 415F Furthermore, as of September 2001, there were 542,000 children in foster care and approximately 117,000 waiting to be adopted, nationwide (AFCARS, 2001). Most participants asserted that preventing minority children from entering the system was crucial for addressing racial disproportionality. Lastly the current orientation of the current child welfare system should be re-considered. However, in most cases, they were somewhat unsure as to how best to address them. In addition strategies for improving the supply of foster parents and/or child welfare workers should be proposed, and the effect of certain preventative programs on family dysfunction should be studied and their replication should be advocated. As of October 10, 1988 a total of 1,198 children have been diagnosed as HIV seropositive, and this number is projected to reach 3,000 pediatric AIDS cases by 1991. Targeting recruitment to minority communities, specifically minority social organizations and institutions (e.g. Foster Care - California Dept. of Social Services These shortages are made even more acute by the significant increase in substantiated child abuse cases reported to Child Protective Services (CPS). Overall, though, our foster care system is deeply flawed. If they are placed with relatives there is a need for continuing support and coordination with medical services, and respite care. Although agencies differ greatly in their efforts to recruit and train foster parents to care for AIDS-infected children, currently some have demonstrated considerable success in this area. Retention of title IV-E as an Entitlement Program: All representatives of advocacy organizations interviewed expressed skepticism of any HHS proposal which would seek to contain foster care administrative and training costs by changing the entitlement nature of title IV-E in any way. Clearly these issues require additional exploration to determine the extent to which they influence decision making and practice, and how agencies can best manage them. Currently most children continue to enter the system because they are victims of abuse and/or neglect from a member of their original family. Although most infected babies and young children die relatively soon, some survive into adolescence. Given the complex nature of today's child welfare involved families, combined with changing policies and diminishing resources, to practice effectively, child welfare agency staff now must possess expertise in a number of different areas, including social work, psychology, job training, child development, and human resources, among others. Identifying the special needs of multiple racial and ethnic groups, and developing practices, programs, and strategies to meet their unique circumstances has proven an overwhelming task for a system that has yet to determine how best to meet the needs of its African-American families, families that have been overrepresented in the system for more than a decade. In addition, some key members of Congress favor the implementation of such a child welfare system. Because it is cost effective and beneficial to the child, States should be encouraged--and provided with incentives--to utilize title IV-B and title XX funds for such services. In many cases, such characteristics as cultural sensitivity and awareness are difficult to define and so methods to increase them are equally difficult to identify or develop. Recruitment and retention of minority foster and adoptive parents. 3. Although specific regulations were developed by HHS they were not cleared by the Office of Management and Budget --and were therefore not published--because OMB asserted that the proposed allowable "miss rate" (cases in which States did not meet the above criteria) was too high. Although it was amended by PL 96-272, some form of the child welfare services--currently contained in title IV-B--have been a part of the Social Security Act since its inception in 1935. One such congregate care site in New Jersey--St. Claire's Home for Children--reports a cost of $240 per day per child. These demands are causing the child welfare decision process to become more complex. Initial Application and Completion of the Foster Care and Adoption . Because of the back-log of section 427 reviews that need to be conducted by HDS, Federal funds for section 427 compliance are awarded to participating States before they are forced to undergo a review. a family focus not just limited to the children; an ecological perspective which translates into mobilizing the provision of community services; the services hours are flexible including evenings, and 24 hour availability; case plans are developed with family involvement. There also were issues that emerged from the findings that have implications for child welfare policy. Foster Care - Child Welfare Information Gateway Other issue participants assert that it was never the intent that the amount appropriated should equal the amount authorized. Following the passage of PL 96-272 States became more proficient at shifting more child welfare system costs to the Federal government by charging the costs of foster care services arguably covered by the Federal government. Some of the more important modifications to the system in existence prior to 1980 were the: Additionally, in 1986 an Independent Living Program was established to provide older foster care children in the process of emancipation from the system with services to assist them in an effective transition to independent adulthood. This review process includes the determination of whether a State has: Although this language is included in the authorizing statute, the above points have not been elaborated in specific regulations. However, a March 1987 decision concerning a case brought by the State of Missouri before the HHS Departmental Grant Appeals Board on the matter appears to have seriously limited the controlling of such costs in this manner. The other benefit that staff perceived is that children do not have to be removed to another placement if the decision is made to change the permanency goal to adoption or guardianship; they are already in their permanent placement. This shortage has worsened in recent years. However, title IV-B funding has never reached this level (see Table 3). Public Law 96-272 requires that States provide services aimed at improving the conditions in the original home to the parents, children, and foster parents, thereby facilitating the reunification of the family. According to a 1985 American Public Welfare Association (APWA) report, fewer than one-half of these youth received ILP services, which targeted over 20,000 foster care children in FY 1987. Issues of secondary importance are decisions concerning the Federal commitment to the Independent Living Program, the expansion of title IV-E expenses to cover the training of special needs foster--and adoptive--parents, and the retention of title IV-E eligibility of special needs children despite the failure of their foster--or adoptive--placement. As this practice requires child welfare staff to work for reunification while simultaneously seeking another permanent home for the targeted children, children may not remain in the system as long as when the practices occurred sequentially. Foster Parent Policies and Procedures - Summit County Children Services Nevertheless, as the emphasis was on giving abandoned and abused children a family life, Brace's system became the foundation for today's foster care system. Methods for improving the design, implementation, and administration of the title IV-B section 427 Federal review process of States' foster care systems. Creating policies this way sometimes results in policies that are removed from the practices they were designed to guide. ;Brown, Annie.
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