LegiStorm

Summary:

As the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted, states have the primary obligation to ensure child welfare. However, Congress provides significant federal funds to help states exercise this responsibility ($7.9 billion appropriated in FY2008). Most of this support is provided for children who are in foster care and who meet specific federal eligibility criteria. This report discusses the federal framework for child welfare policy; reviews the scope of activities, and children and families served, by state child welfare agencies; summarizes several child welfare-related hearings that were held in 2007; describes child welfare and related legislative proposals that have been introduced in the 110th Congress; and reviews child welfare programs for which funding authorization has expired or is set to expire on the last day of FY2008. Child welfare agencies seek to ensure the well-being of children and their families, including protecting children from abuse or neglect and ensuring that they have a safe and permanent home. In FY2006 child protection agencies found 905,000 children to be victims of abuse or neglect. Some of these children were removed to foster care, some remained in their homes and received services, while others received no further follow-up from the agency. After reaching a recorded high of 567,000 on the last day of FY1999, the number of children in foster care has declined by about 10%, and on the last day of FY2006, an estimated 510,000 children were in foster care. Less than half of these children are eligible for federal foster care support under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. Legislation that would respond to a number of the concerns raised in 2007 child welfare hearings has been introduced in the 110th Congress. These proposals would expand the eligible populations served with Title IV-E funds to include (potentially) all children in foster care or adopted (with special needs) from foster care (H.R. 5466, H.R. 4207, S. 2900, S. 1462, H.R. 4091, and S. 3038), as well as children leaving foster care for legal guardianship with a relative (S. 661, H.R. 2188, H.R. 5466, and S. 3038), and youth who choose to remain in foster care until their 21st birthday (S. 1512, H.R. 4208, S. 2560, and H.R. 5466). Other introduced proposals would authorize additional support for child and family services (H.R. 5466 and S. 2237); authorize or require new services or protections for children in, or about to enter, foster care (H.R. 3283, S. 379, S. 382, H.R. 687, and H.R. 5466); seek to improve services for youth who have, or are expected to, age out of care (S. 2341, H.R. 2188, H.R. 4208/S. 2560, and H.R. 3409); help support or permit access to services for kinship caregivers and further encourage their use as caregivers (S. 661, H.R. 2188, H.R. 5645, and H.R. 5466); provide new support for training or other related efforts to improve the child welfare workforce (H.R. 5466, H.R. 2314 and S. 2944); aim to improve foster and adoptive parent recruitment efforts (S. 2395 and H.R. 4198); permit direct access to federal Title IV-E funds for tribal governments (S. 1956, H.R. 4688, and H.R. 5466); and make other related changes intended to enhance the welfare of children, including requiring states to have licensing standards for certain residential programs for youth with emotional or behavioral issues (H.R. 5876), and expanding or making permanent the current Adoption Tax Credit rules (H.R. 273, H.R. 471, S. 561, H.R. 1074, H.R. 3192, and H.R. 4313). This report will be updated as legislative activity occurs.