I 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5246 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 6, 2010 Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To examine and improve the child welfare workforce, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Child Welfare Workforce Study Act.

2.

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)(A)Research indicates that child welfare staff face a variety of obstacles that hinder their effective work with children and families in the child welfare system. These obstacles include barriers described in subparagraphs (B) through (D). (B)High caseload and high workload levels prevent child welfare staff from working intensively with children and families and monitoring their progress carefully. (C)Child welfare staff report an absence of sufficient access to supervision, mentoring, and professional advancement. A lack of access to supervision, mentoring, and professional advancement contributes to staff burnout and turnover. (D)States report difficulty hiring and retaining quality child welfare staff. The average tenure of such a staff member is less than 2 years. In addition to the increased cost of hiring and training new child welfare staff, high turnover rates among such staff are associated with multiple placements of children in foster care, longer lengths of stays in foster care, lower rates of permanency, and failed efforts at family reunification. Lengthy periods of foster care increase costs for child welfare agencies, as maintaining children in foster care is more expensive than adoption, reunification, or other permanency options. (2)Supervision, staff preparation and training, caseloads, workloads, data and accountability, working conditions, cultural competence, and leadership are key components of an effective child welfare workforce.

3.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

Child welfare staff

The term child welfare staff means— (A)employees of State, tribal, or local child welfare agencies, who are working with children and families that have contact with such a child welfare agency, in order to promote safety, permanence, and well-being for children and families; and (B)employees of State-licensed or State-approved nonprofit private agencies, who are working with children and families that have contact with a State, tribal, or local child welfare agency in order to promote safety, permanence, and well-being for children and families. (2)

Related professionals

The term related professionals, used with respect to child welfare staff, means individuals employed by public or nonprofit private agencies in child- and family-serving fields including education, health, mental health, substance abuse prevention and treatment, juvenile justice, law enforcement, and domestic violence, who work with children and families that have contact with a State, tribal, or local child welfare agency. (3)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (4)

State

The term State has the meaning provided in section 1101(a) of the Social Security Act for purposes of part E of title IV of such Act.

4.

Data collection and research to increase accountability for outcomes for children

(a)

National child welfare staff study

(1)

Study and report

The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences, under which the National Academy of Sciences shall— (A)conduct a national study of child welfare staff, highlighting promising approaches, to— (i)examine and provide findings related to the demographic and other characteristics of child welfare staff, including compensation, academic degrees held, education and training received, and turnover; (ii)examine and provide findings regarding factors contributing to child welfare staff turnover and strategies that have been effective in reducing the turnover by type of child welfare services, including preventive, protective, foster care, independent living, adoption, and kinship care services; (iii)(I)examine and provide findings regarding strengths and challenges present in the working relationship between child welfare staff, legal and court staff, and other related professionals; and (II)make recommendations regarding how this working relationship may be improved; (iv)examine and provide findings, and make recommendations, regarding appropriate overall workloads and caseloads for all child welfare staff, including appropriate workloads and caseloads for supervisors, analyzed by type of child welfare staff member supervised, including those providing child welfare services, including preventive, protective, foster care, independent living, adoption, and kinship care services, and appropriate measurement of such overall workloads and caseloads; (v)(I)examine and provide findings related to policy and practice regarding education level and training requirements for child welfare staff by type of work, including providing preventive, protective, foster care, adoption, and kinship care services; and (II)make recommendations regarding appropriate education levels and training to ensure competent child welfare staff; and (vi)(I)examine and provide findings related to the kinds of data available to or collected by State or local child welfare agencies with regard to child welfare staff; (II)examine the methods and kinds of data on child welfare staff that States report to the Secretary through the data collection systems authorized under section 103(c)(1)(C) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and sections 477(f) and 479 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677(f) and 679); (III)make recommendations on how States might collect data on child welfare staff, including data on the type of work staff are performing, and report the data to the Secretary, regularly and in a manner that enables the data to be linked to the outcomes achieved for individual children served by the State or local child welfare agency involved, which shall include— (aa)a means of incorporating the data into the data collection system authorized under section 479 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679); and (bb)as appropriate, a means of linking the data to the information collected through the data collection systems authorized under section 103(c)(1)(C) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and under section 477(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677(f)); and (IV)examine and provide findings regarding the impact of data collection procedures and requirements on child welfare staff, and make recommendations for collecting data on child welfare staff in such a way that the attention and time of child welfare staff are not diverted from providing services to children and families in order to meet data collection requirements; and (B)not later that 18 months after the date on which the Secretary and the National Academy of Sciences enter into the agreement, submit a report containing the results of the study, including the findings and recommendations described in subparagraph (A), to the Secretary. (2)

Consultation with Indian tribes and tribal organizations

The agreement entered into by the Secretary and the National Academy of Sciences under paragraph (1) shall require that, in conducting the study described in that paragraph, the National Academy of Sciences shall consult with Indian tribes and tribal organizations (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) regarding any aspects of the study that will address tribal-specific or unique issues, concerns, or special circumstances with respect to Indian children and their families. (3)

Report to Congress

Not later than 3 months after receiving the report submitted under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall transmit the report to the appropriate committees of Congress, along with a description of how the Secretary plans to consult with State administrators, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, child welfare staff, and other appropriate stakeholders to issue the proposed regulations described in subsection (b)(1). (4)

Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out paragraph (1) such sums as are necessary for fiscal years 2011 and 2012. (b)

Collection and reporting of data on child welfare staff

(1)

Proposed regulations

The Secretary shall consult with State administrators, child welfare staff, and other appropriate stakeholders and, not later than 12 months after receiving the report described in subsection (a)(1)(B), shall issue proposed regulations, which shall— (A)be based on the recommendations in the report; and (B)require States to collect data on child welfare staff, and report the data to the Secretary, regularly and in a manner that enables the data to be linked to the outcomes achieved for individual children served by the State or local child welfare agency involved, which shall include— (i)a means of incorporating the data into the data collection system authorized under section 479 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679); and (ii)as appropriate, a means of linking the data to the information collected through the data collection systems authorized under section 103(c)(1)(C) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and under section 477(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677(f)). (2)

Final regulations

Not later than 2 years after receiving the report described in subsection (a)(1)(B), the Secretary shall issue final regulations that meet the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1).