[Senate Hearing 117-762]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 117-762
NOMINATIONS OF ROBERT MICHAEL GORDON,
JANUARY CONTRERAS, AND
REBECCA E. JONES GASTON
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
on the
NOMINATIONS OF
ROBERT MICHAEL GORDON, TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL
RESOURCES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES; JANUARY CONTRERAS,
TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES; AND REBECCA E. JONES GASTON, TO BE
COMMISSIONER, ADMINISTRATION ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES,
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
__________
FEBRUARY 9, 2022
__________
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Printed for the use of the Committee on Finance
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
53-943-PDF WASHINGTON : 2023
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
RON WYDEN, Oregon, Chairman
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey JOHN CORNYN, Texas
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania
ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
MARK R. WARNER, Virginia BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire STEVE DAINES, Montana
CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada TODD YOUNG, Indiana
ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts BEN SASSE, Nebraska
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
Joshua Sheinkman, Staff Director
Gregg Richard, Republican Staff Director
(II)
C O N T E N T S
----------
OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Wyden, Hon. Ron, a U.S. Senator from Oregon, chairman, Committee
on Finance..................................................... 1
Crapo, Hon. Mike, a U.S. Senator from Idaho...................... 3
ADMINISTRATION NOMINEES
Gordon, Robert Michael, nominated to be Assistant Secretary for
Financial Resources, Department of Health and Human Services,
Washington, DC................................................. 3
Contreras, January, nominated to be Assistant Secretary for
Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services,
Washington, DC................................................. 5
Jones Gaston, Rebecca E., nominated to be Commissioner,
Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, Department of
Health and Human Services, Washington, DC...................... 7
ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL
Contreras, January:
Testimony.................................................... 5
Prepared statement........................................... 31
Biographical information..................................... 32
Responses to questions from committee members................ 40
Crapo, Hon. Mike:
Opening statement............................................ 3
Prepared statement........................................... 50
Gordon, Robert Michael:
Testimony.................................................... 3
Prepared statement........................................... 51
Biographical information..................................... 52
Responses to questions from committee members................ 64
Jones Gaston, Rebecca E.:
Testimony.................................................... 7
Prepared statement........................................... 71
Biographical information..................................... 72
Responses to questions from committee members................ 78
Wyden, Hon. Ron:
Opening statement............................................ 1
Prepared statement with attachments.......................... 87
(III)
NOMINATIONS OF ROBERT MICHAEL
GORDON, TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR
FINANCIAL RESOURCES, DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES; JANUARY
CONTRERAS, TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, DEPARTMENT
OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES; AND
REBECCA E. JONES GASTON, TO BE
COMMISSIONER, ADMINISTRATION ON
CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES,
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
AND HUMAN SERVICES
----------
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Finance,
Washington, DC.
The hearing was convened, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m.,
via Webex, in Room SD-215, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon.
Ron Wyden (chairman of the committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Cantwell, Brown, Bennet, Casey,
Whitehouse, Hassan, Cortez Masto, Warren, Crapo, Grassley,
Thune, and Lankford.
Also present: Democratic staff: Michael Evans, Deputy Staff
Director and Chief Counsel; and Ian Nicholson, Investigator and
Nominations Advisor. Republican staff: Lincoln Foran, Policy
Advisor; Kellie McConnell, Health Policy Director; and Gregg
Richard, Staff Director.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RON WYDEN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM
OREGON, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
The Chairman. This morning the Finance Committee meets to
discuss three nominations for important roles in the Biden
administration. First, January Contreras is President Biden's
nominee to serve as Health and Human Services Assistant
Secretary for Children and Families. This role is all about
overseeing programs that deal with caring for some of the most
vulnerable people in our country--particularly the young. And I
just want to take a moment--we are going to put my full
statement into the record--and say how pleased I am to have two
witnesses who are going to particularly focus on Family First.
Senator Crapo and I, working with Senator Hatch, really
felt that was historic legislation. You know, the country was
essentially, prior to the bill, faced with two choices. We
would have a kid in a foster home--some good, some not so
good--or we would have a kid at home in a situation that just
was not acceptable, was not good for the child. You might have
a parent with some alcohol challenges, drugs--you name it. And
what Family First was all about was creating a third option, a
third option that would really be good for kids, which is why
it was called Family First.
So, Senator Crapo and I have had a chance to be in public
service a bit. This is one of the most historic bipartisan
efforts I have been part of. So we are really looking forward
to the two of you who are going to work in those precincts to
do a good job in this country.
January Contreras has championed the safety and well-being
of women, children, and families. She has led Arizona Legal
Women and Youth Services. I note that we have kind of almost a
shared DNA around legal aid. I ran the legal aid program for
the elderly.
So I am very glad that you, and then of course Ms. Jones
Gaston--we claim her as one of ours because we brought her out
west, and she has been doing great stuff with us in Oregon. She
is uniquely qualified. Both of you, in my view, give public
service a good name. And we are really looking forward to
hearing from you this morning. And before she came west, Ms.
Jones Gaston served as the Executive Director of the Maryland
Social Services Administration. What I really liked about my
conversation with Ms. Jones Gaston was she was pure passion in
terms of getting Family First spread from sea to shining sea.
I think you told me, Ms. Jones Gaston, in our discussion,
we are at 14 States I think right now, but a lot of the rest of
them are moving very quickly, and that is good.
Mr. Gordon is President Biden's nominee to serve as HHS
Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources. He has worn a lot
of hats during his time in public service. He served as
Director of the Department of Health and Human Services for the
State of Michigan, and played a key role in the pandemic
response there. He supervised thousands of people with a budget
of $27 billion. He previously worked at the U.S. Department of
Education and the Office of Management and Budget.
He also was a senior official at the New York City
Department of Education, a law clerk for Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg, and a White House aide. He is a highly experienced
public servant in all respects. And when you are working on
finances at HHS, the core of your job, of course, is upholding
what, around here, we like to call the guarantee of Medicare.
Medicare is not a piece of paper. It is not a slip. It is not
some kind of voucher or arrangement. It is a guarantee. And we
are very proud around here that we updated the guarantee--
again, as Senator Crapo and I talk about--in a bipartisan way
with the CHRONIC Care bill, which recognized that Medicare
today is no longer primarily about acute care. It is primarily
about chronic disease: cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. So
you can expect that we will be very interested in your views on
that.
As always, Senator Crapo and I work on these matters in a
bipartisan way, and I recognize my colleague.
[The prepared statement of Chairman Wyden appears in the
appendix.]
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE CRAPO,
A U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO
Senator Crapo. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Today's nominees will have significant responsibilities
overseeing programs that affect some of the most vulnerable
populations in America. As Assistant Secretary for Financial
Resources, Mr. Gordon would have a critical role in stewarding
resources across the breadth of the HHS's programs. I look
forward to hearing his views on how HHS can improve its service
delivery to provide more effective care in programs that affect
nearly every American.
If confirmed, Ms. Contreras and Ms. Jones Gaston would
oversee programs that protect and support children and youth. I
am eager to hear how these nominees propose improving service
delivery toward these particularly at-risk groups.
I urge all the nominees to be forthcoming in this
discussion, and in all questions for the record; and, should
they be confirmed, in the roles to which they have been
nominated as they move forward.
Congress is a critical partner to the work of the
Department of Health and Human Services, and the programs you
will oversee are of unique importance. Working in a bipartisan
way with the members of the Finance Committee, we have the
opportunity to evaluate and implement policies that better
serve the American people.
Once again, I congratulate the nominees here today and look
forward to our discussion.
[The prepared statement of Senator Crapo appears in the
appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Crapo.
Now we will have some opening statements from each of you,
and then we have a set of formalities that we have to go
through with respect to some questions.
Mr. Gordon, why don't you go ahead?
STATEMENT OF ROBERT MICHAEL GORDON, NOMINATED TO BE ASSISTANT
SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL RESOURCES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES, WASHINGTON, DC
Mr. Gordon. Thank you, Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member
Crapo, members of the committee. Thank you for considering my
nomination to be the Assistant Secretary for Financial
Resources at the Department of Health and Human Services. I am
honored by President Biden's decision to nominate me, and if
confirmed, I look forward to serving under the leadership of
Secretary Becerra.
Before beginning, I would like to thank my family for their
love and support. Here with me today are my wife Catherine and
older son Silas.
Government funding decisions each day make an enormous
difference to millions of Americans in every corner of the
country. For all of our sakes, government must run as
effectively and efficiently as possible. If confirmed, I will
use data, evidence, and evaluation to deliver results,
strengthen program integrity and transparency, and advance
equity. This has been the work of my career across 3 decades in
the Federal, State, and local governments, in leadership roles
handling health and human services, and in managing budget and
finance matters.
For more than 4 years, I served as a senior official at the
U.S. Office of Management and Budget, including as Acting
Deputy Director. At OMB I played a key role in launching
evidence-based initiatives at four agencies. One of these was
HHS's Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting
program, which now funds 19 service delivery models supported
by solid evidence. Together with HHS leadership, including the
official in the role for which I am nominated, I also worked on
developing the Head Start recompetition and improving programs
for the aging.
In this period, I also helped to negotiate bipartisan
budget agreements to keep the government open and the country
from defaulting on its debts. And I had particular
responsibility for program integrity investments to reduce
waste, fraud, and abuse.
The private and nonprofit sectors offer important lessons
for government. After leaving OMB and becoming the senior vice
president of finance and global strategy for the College Board,
I worked as part of a team to reform procurement processes, cut
costs, and drive technology changes that improved services for
schools and students alike.
That experience informed my work as the Director of the
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, an agency
with 14,000 employees and a $27-billion budget. With
extraordinary colleagues, we responded to COVID effectively;
expanded access to health coverage; drove improvements in child
welfare programs, including an implementation of Family First;
increased use of effective approaches to mental health and
substance use disorders; and cut technology costs while
improving customer service.
One of my happiest accomplishments in Michigan was ending
severe delays in the delivery of Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
When I arrived, the State had just rolled out a flawed new
system which meant that more than 30 percent of Michiganders in
some rural counties were not receiving needed help within the
legally required 30 days.
Legislators in both parties were angry, and rightly so. In
partnership with extraordinary colleagues, we listened to
front-line staff, improved technology, shifted work patterns,
and held ourselves accountable with a public dashboard showing
our results each week. Within a few months, rural counties were
performing as well as others, and we went on to simplify and
improve the delivery of benefits in ways that earned national
praise.
Should I be confirmed, I would apply the same performance
focus at HHS. The work of HHS has never been more important.
And it has never been more personal for me. Among more than
900,000 Americans who have died from COVID was my father, Alan
Gordon, a psychiatrist who spent decades working on behalf of
homeless individuals and ex-offenders. He taught me to believe
in the dignity of every person, and the honor of public
service.
I would be honored to play my part, as HHS's Chief
Financial Officer, in sustaining a robust COVID response, and
in strengthening so many vital HHS programs, from cancer
research to the Indian Health Service, and of course, to
Medicare. Should I be confirmed, I would work with President
Biden, Secretary Becerra, and members of Congress to fund
Health and Human Services programs that work.
Thanks again for considering my nomination. I look forward
to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Gordon appears in the
appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Gordon. And we always feel, as
we reflect on COVID, it just comes back to people, and
families, and all those people whom we miss so much. So, just
know our sympathies are with you. And I am sure that it is
reflected in your determination to do this job well, and we
want you to know that we sympathize.
Okay. I also want to say that Senator Stabenow very much
wishes she could be here. She has an important Agriculture
Committee hearing that she is chairing, but she wanted me
particularly to convey a strong, warm welcome to Mr. Gordon.
She had the opportunity to work with Mr. Gordon during his time
as the Director of the Michigan Department of Human Services,
including on expansion of the Certified Community Behavioral
Health Clinics program in the State, and we think Senator
Stabenow's work on that has really been a historic big
breakthrough. So, Senator Stabenow wants the record to reflect
that she very much appreciates your work and looks forward to
working with you at the Department.
Ms. Contreras, please.
STATEMENT OF JANUARY CONTRERAS, NOMINATED TO BE ASSISTANT
SECRETARY FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES, WASHINGTON, DC
Ms. Contreras. Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo,
members of the committee, thank you for considering my
nomination to be the Assistant Secretary for Children and
Families. I am grateful to President Biden for nominating me
for this role and, if confirmed, will work diligently each day
under his leadership and that of Secretary Becerra.
Before beginning, I would like to thank my family. Here
with me today are my youngest son and my sister. And watching
from home are my wonderful husband of 27 years; my oldest son,
who's in college; the woman who shaped me, my mother; and all
of my Fontes family back in Arizona. Also, my proud dad, his
wife, and my brother in Missouri. And without a doubt, watching
over my shoulder are my nana and tata, my maternal
grandparents, whom I carry in my heart each day. I am always
grateful to my family for supporting me in all that I do.
Growing up, I was fortunate to learn the value of service
and hard work from my own family. My grandfather was a
paratrooper in World War II. My grandmother raised 11 children
on a shoestring budget. I was born on Bergstrom Air Force Base
in Texas, where my father served. And by the time I was a
toddler, we moved to Arizona, where my family has lived for
generations.
My parents both began long careers at the U.S. Postal
Service, and they worked the second shift for most of my
childhood. This meant my grandparents pitched in to help until
I was old enough to stay home by myself. And when I was 11
years old, my sister was born. And my very first leadership
role was launched a couple of years later when I began taking
care of her--cooking her dinner and tucking her in every night.
Being responsible for my sister's well-being gave me a deep
sense of purpose that has stayed with me throughout my 25 years
of public service.
My public service career began as a prosecutor in the State
of Arizona. I went on to serve as an Assistant Director in our
State's Medicaid agency, one of the most cost-efficient, high-
quality Medicaid programs in the country. I also served as a
member of Governor Janet Napolitano's staff, and later Cabinet,
when I led the Department of Health Services. In each of these
roles, collaboration was key. I worked with diverse, bipartisan
stakeholders including State, local, and Tribal leadership,
advocacy organizations, health-care providers, faith-based
organizations, and government contractors.
I value my State agency experience because it's where I
learned to manage large organizations, large budgets. It is
where I learned how to bring talented teams together to achieve
common objectives. And most importantly, it is where I learned
the heavy responsibility that we have in these roles to deliver
results that make a difference in the lives of people.
In 2013, after a long career in government, I founded
Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services. We go by ``ALWAYS.'' It
is a legal aid organization that provides life-changing legal
services to some of the most vulnerable people in my home
State.
The mission of ACF mirrors the mission of ALWAYS. The
people we serve at ALWAYS are the same people at the
Administration for Children and Families: children in foster
care, young adults who have transitioned out of foster care,
youth who are homeless, unaccompanied children, and survivors
of domestic violence and human trafficking.
The mission of ACF is my professional mission. If confirmed
as the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, I will
work with the talented men and women of ACF to prioritize
prevention and family well-being, including strengthening
supports for grandparents and kinship caregivers. Congress laid
a new way forward with the passage of the Family First
Prevention Services Act, and I would work with colleagues in
and outside of the Federal Government to live out the promise
that Family First envisions.
Throughout ACF programs, I would lead with a commitment to
reduce racial disparities and build equity, and to lift up
whole-
family and community-based strategies to increase safety,
financial stability, and economic mobility for kids, youth, and
families. And that includes accessible child care.
Each time I have been entrusted with the responsibility of
stewarding public resources and executing mission-critical
services, I have been grateful. And each time, I have remained
focused on the faces I was entrusted to serve: children, youth,
and families who need allies to help them thrive; trafficking
and domestic violence survivors looking for safety and
security; and families with low incomes looking for help to
keep the lights on.
If confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Children and
Families, I will remain focused on the faces ACF has been
entrusted to serve. If confirmed, I am ready to get to work
with every ACF colleague and partners across the country to
carry out this important mission.
Thank you for your consideration of my nomination. I look
forward to answering the questions that you have.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Contreras appears in the
appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much. And I particularly
appreciate your coming back to legal aid and your work there. I
think about my time when I was Director of the Legal Services
for the Elderly program in our State. And when I would go out
to our offices--which were far-flung, with a number of them in
rural areas--I was struck by how often whoever was seeking
legal representation came with their family. You saw it in
those waiting rooms. So, I appreciate your background, and I
think it is a real plus for you in consideration for this
appointment.
Okay, we are now ready for Ms. Jones Gaston. What a thrill
to have somebody we have decided to proclaim to be an Oregonian
from this point on.
STATEMENT OF REBECCA E. JONES GASTON, NOMINATED TO BE
COMMISSIONER, ADMINISTRATION ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES,
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, WASHINGTON, DC
Ms. Jones Gaston. Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo,
members of the committee, thank you for your consideration of
my nomination to be the Commissioner of the Administration on
Children, Youth, and Families. I am honored by President
Biden's decision to nominate me for this role and, if
confirmed, look forward to serving children, youth, and
families under his and Secretary Becerra's leadership.
Before I begin my testimony, I would like to thank my
family. Here with me today are my children's godmothers,
friends who have become family. And watching virtually are my
son and daughter, my mother and many of my family, friends,
mentors, and colleagues. With me in spirit are my ancestors and
my birth parents. I would not be here today without the love
and support of all of these people.
I was adopted at a very young age after a number of foster
care placements and grew up in a small Iowa farming community.
Throughout my career in human services and child welfare, I
have infused my lived experience, and the experience of others,
into my work because I believe that those who have been served
by children and family services systems should have a role in
changing these systems.
If confirmed as the Commissioner of the Administration on
Children, Youth, and Families, I would prioritize shifting the
focus of child welfare systems from placement to prevention by
promoting cross-system partnerships and shared outcomes, and
helping States implement the Family First Prevention Services
Act; leading from the ground up by keeping the perspective of
States and those with lived experience at the fore; and
ensuring equity and inclusion are at the center of all that we
do. I have been working in human services and child welfare for
almost 25 years. During that time, I have transformed child
welfare systems under both Democratic and Republican Governors.
I have worked across the Nation to recruit foster and adoptive
parents; have implemented innovative policies and programs; and
have sat side-by-side with families and youth being served by
these systems as a person with lived experience as a parent, an
advocate, and a social worker.
As a result of my personal and professional experiences, I
know that transforming children and family services systems
into family well-being systems that serve children, youth,
parents, and families as a whole cannot be done without
collaborating with public and private partners, Tribal Nations,
communities, and faith-based partners, including those with
diverse perspectives.
I currently serve as the Director of Child Welfare at the
Oregon Department of Human Services. Together with my team and
community partners, we developed a strategic plan focused on
well-being and prevention that has already yielded results.
Despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have reduced the
number of children in foster care by more than 20 percent over
2 years and are on a path towards long-term change.
I led similar change efforts as the head of the Social
Services Administration in Maryland, where I served under the
leadership of Republican Governor Larry Hogan. In both Maryland
and Oregon, I successfully led the States' Family First
Prevention Services Act plans from development through Federal
approval. If confirmed, I will prioritize supporting States to
fully implement this landmark law so that children, youth, and
families do not have to wait any longer for the
transformational change that it offers.
In addition to Family First, there are a number of other
levers at the Federal level to support States that are working
hard to be innovative and improve how they meet the needs of
children, youth, parents, and families. However, the key word
here is ``support,'' as it is also important for the Federal
Government not to put up unnecessary barriers.
Transforming children and family services systems into
family well-being systems cannot be done without a focus on
equity and inclusion. In these systems across the Nation, we
see disproportionality at every decision point. This impacts
rural communities, communities of color, Tribal Nations, and
other vulnerable communities.
In these communities, we often see limited access to
services and resources, impacts of poverty, and disparate
outcomes. To build towards well-being, I have heard from those
who have experienced the child welfare system, that many
families and youth could have been supported earlier by meeting
needs related to homelessness, child care, and access to other
concrete supports, such as addressing family violence
prevention, mental health, and substance use needs. If
confirmed, I look forward to continuing to be a voice for those
who have experienced these systems and leading transformation
to better meet their needs.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my work and vision.
I look forward to answering your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Jones Gaston appears in the
appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Jones Gaston. At
this point I am going to put into the record a number of
organizations that sent letters to Senator Crapo and I. By
unanimous consent, we will put them into the record right at
this point.
[The letters appear in the appendix beginning on p. 88.]
The Chairman. Now we have some formalities. I think you all
have been advised on these. First--and we will just go right
down the row--is there anything that you are aware of in your
background that might present a conflict of interest with the
duties of the office to which you have been nominated? Mr.
Gordon?
Mr. Gordon. No.
Ms. Contreras. No.
Ms. Jones Gaston. No.
The Chairman. Second, do you know of any reason, personal
or otherwise, that would in any way prevent you from fully and
honorably discharging the responsibilities of the office to
which you have been nominated?
Mr. Gordon. No.
Ms. Contreras. No.
Ms. Jones Gaston. No.
The Chairman. Third, do you agree without reservation to
respond to any reasonable summons to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Congress if you are
confirmed?
Mr. Gordon. Yes.
Ms. Contreras. Yes, Senator.
Ms. Jones Gaston. Yes.
The Chairman. Finally, do you commit to provide a prompt
response in writing to any questions addressed to you by any
Senator of this committee?
Mr. Gordon. Yes.
Ms. Contreras. Yes.
Ms. Jones Gaston. Yes.
The Chairman. Okay. We are going to get into some
questions, and Senator Crapo and I will start this off.
First, Ms. Jones Gaston, I think I heard you say, but I
want to make sure we get it in the record, that you are already
on the way to getting, I believe you said, an over 20-percent
reduction in foster care placements in Oregon?
Ms. Jones Gaston. Yes, Mr. Chairman. In Oregon over the
last 2 years, we have reduced the number of children in foster
care by 20 percent, about 1,000 children.
The Chairman. Very good. And our State really likes the
idea that we are getting out in front on this. This is an area,
as you know, where we have had a lot of problems historically,
and we want this turned around.
Now, not all the States in the country are as far along as
we have come with your leadership. You have led two States
through the process of development and implementation. So, as
you and I talked about, we want to surge that progress. We want
to have dramatic advancements in the number of States on your
watch that pick up on Family First.
Tell us a little bit--you and I talked about it--about your
kind of game plan to do that?
Ms. Jones Gaston. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, it
is to be able to talk with the team, if I am confirmed, that is
within ACYF and ACF. And then also, listening to the States
around what the experience has been, and where are the possible
hurdles, and what is needed to be able to actually help them
move forward and get approval for those plans that are actually
already submitted and under consideration. And then working
with the States that have not yet submitted to identify what
the concerns are, what the issues might be, and identifying how
we might be able to support having all of our States
participating in the Family First opportunity.
The Chairman. Now, we talked also about increasing
transparency so that everybody can work towards this goal of
having a system that is really based on hard evidence that
something really is working, in terms of implementing Family
First. How do you see that going forward?
Ms. Jones Gaston. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Transparency is
absolutely important. I think being able to have good open
communication with the States and the families that we are
working with, with yourself and members of Congress, in the
partnership and collaboration--all of the work that we do
absolutely depends on the ability to partner and collaborate
and identify solutions and strategies for meeting the needs of
children and families to move towards transparency. That
includes data, information, evidence, making sure that we have
the practices and services in place to actually meet the needs
that children and families have in the way that they need them
to be delivered, and supporting being able to have those added
into our toolkit, per se, for providing the supports to
families and children.
The Chairman. Good. I want to move on, but I also want to
note that you worked with a Democratic Governor, you worked
with a Republican Governor. Senator Crapo and I talk about this
often. Human Services is about what we can make work, and what
we have to look at anew because it is not coming through to our
families and particularly our kids. So I just want to note that
for the record.
And I would not have allowed you to leave Oregon unless it
was to achieve more on what you have been building in Oregon.
And I am very pleased that we are having a chance to consider
your nomination today. I intend to support you fully.
Ms. Jones Gaston. Thank you.
The Chairman. Okay.
Ms. Contreras, you too will be involved in Family First,
and I think I have pummeled this subject with both of you
previously. Tell us a little bit about the first steps you
would take to address racial equity in this position. This has
also been an important part of the committee's work on prenatal
care, for example. We have just been stunned at how minority
moms, Black moms in particular, have just not been able to get
the kind of services that you see in affluent White suburbs.
And we are very much committed to turning around these issues
where, with so many measures of racial equity, it is just
something you talk about but you do not deliver on. And that is
what we want to change.
So, tell us your first steps with respect to how you would
proceed, and if you have any suggestions for us in terms of
what we could do to achieve the goal.
Ms. Contreras. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for that question.
And thank you for your leadership and the leadership of this
body in passing Family First, and in being brave enough to say
we need to move from intervention to prevention; that we need
to support families and their well-being.
If confirmed, what my priority will be in this area is to
make sure that as we move forward, as we are building
prevention into everything we do at ACF, that that is done with
an equity lens.
I think my approach, if confirmed, would be to, number one,
make sure that we are talking to a lot of diverse partners on
the ground--States, nonprofits, families themselves--and make
sure that there are more people at the table.
Number two, that we are looking at ACF and who is in the
room, and who is at the decision table; that we are making sure
that those who are impacted, professionals who have been
personally impacted by the child welfare system, are at the
table, and that those professionals are bringing diverse
perspectives and diverse backgrounds.
Three, in my home State--I come from a State with 22 Tribes
in Arizona. There is a lot of opportunity for collaboration
with Tribal Governments and Tribal communities to make sure
that we are addressing racial disparities.
I met with a juvenile judge and an Attorney General of a
Tribe not too long ago, and they were sharing more about the
pilot program they have started, which is sharing data, which
is not being afraid to share that data so that they can
actually look at ZIP codes and look at where families need the
most help, so that we can reduce the number of placements.
That is the kind of work that needs to happen. And if
confirmed, I look forward to working with you to make sure that
we are making equity a priority.
The Chairman. Thank you, Ms. Contreras. Thank you for your
thoughtful answers.
Senator Crapo?
Senator Crapo. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Gordon, as Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources,
you would play a critical role in ensuring the efficient use of
our taxpayer resources. HHS has the largest budget of any
Federal agency, totaling nearly $1.7 trillion for fiscal year
2022. A budget of that size requires careful oversight. And we
are currently emerging from an unprecedented public health
crisis, which some have argued requires what could be described
as ``spend now and validate results later.''
I am concerned about that. And I just want to ask you to
respond to your commitment to reviewing the Department's
programs to determine where we do have waste, fraud, and abuse
of taxpayer resources, and what can be done to strengthen that
review going forward.
Mr. Gordon. Thank you for that question, Senator. And you
have my commitment to take with utmost seriousness the
responsibility to make sure that dollars are spent as
effectively as possible, and that we are always minimizing
waste, fraud, and abuse. I have done that throughout my career,
so I think there are multiple ways we can do that, including in
the context of the pandemic.
I talked a little bit about performance management. This
office is responsible for the Department's performance
management and metrics. And I think setting metrics, being
publicly accountable for results, making adjustments in real
time, that is a meaningful approach across multiple dimensions.
I think using evidence in policymaking--I talked a little
bit about the maternal MIECHV program, which requires the use
of evidence. I think that is an approach we should use more
often in government.
And lastly, with respect to waste, fraud, and abuse, it has
been a commitment throughout my career to address that. When I
arrived in Michigan, I asked for funding increases in only a
few areas, but one of them was for the Department's Inspector
General to address challenges with waste, fraud, and abuse in
the State's Medicaid and SNAP programs. We need to do it in a
way that is sensitive to legitimate claims, that does not put
up undue barriers, but it is always a challenge. And ASFR plays
a key role in marshaling the Department's resources against
erroneous payments, and that is something I would be committed
to act on if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed.
Senator Crapo. Well, thank you. I appreciate that
commitment and that focus, and I appreciate your record of
being able to do that kind of thing. So, thank you.
Ms. Contreras, you mentioned there are a number of Tribes
in Arizona. There are a number of Tribes in Idaho too. So I
completely identified with your comment there and appreciate
your focus on collaboration in that context.
I have long been a champion of the MIECHV program, which
expires at the end of this fiscal year. It supports evidence-
based home visiting services for at-risk families with young
children. And home visiting programs have been proven to help
prevent child abuse and neglect, improve maternal and child
health, and promote child development.
I know you understand all of that. As you are aware, MIECHV
is administered by the Health Resources and Services
Administration, HRSA, in collaboration with the Administration
on Children and Families, or ACF. My question to you is, as we
work on reauthorizing the program, do you have any reforms or
suggestions that you would recommend to us now to help even
improve it?
Ms. Contreras. Ranking Member Crapo, thank you for that
question. When we are talking about home visits, it is a
perfect example of the creation of a gateway for families to a
universe of services, to a universe of supports for them. And
that is really a model that we need throughout our work, where
there are more gateways for young families and for parents who
are looking for those supports and who need them.
As we move forward, if confirmed I certainly am committed
to collaborating with HRSA--HRSA is an important partner--and
to making sure that we also reach our rural areas, which is
important. I think the kinds of reforms--my approach would be
to recommend that we are working together to, again, build in
that equity lens so that there are no families left behind in
terms of having accessibility to home visits, that we are doing
our part to make sure that the entire suite of services that is
available through ACF to support families and children is part
and parcel of what they are introducing to families. It is
really a part of a larger strategy that this administration is
committed to, to again build prevention, to build family well-
being. Home visits are an important part of that, and if
confirmed, I would look forward to working with partners on
that issue.
Senator Crapo. Well, thank you. And I am about out of time,
but, Ms. Jones Gaston, I did want to note, Senator Wyden
mentioned that it was impressive that you have worked with both
Republican and Democrat Governors and have a strong record.
The question I have for you I will submit for the record,
but it focuses--in fact, this is a question that you will
probably get too, Ms. Contreras. But it focuses on how critical
it is for us to work broadly as we administer these programs
for children, and how you feel about the importance of working
with faith-based providers as they play a role in the child
welfare system. But I will submit that for the record.
[The question appears in the appendix.]
The Chairman. Senator Crapo--either of you, would you care
to answer?
Ms. Jones Gaston. Thank you. I would be happy to, Ranking
Member Crapo. I have had lots of experience throughout my
career in partnering with faith-based organizations. I think
when we are talking about the well-being of children and family
and communities, we need everybody working together to create a
safety network for our vulnerable populations, and faith-based
partners are a part of that.
Senator Crapo. I appreciate that. And I will not go on to
Ms. Contreras, but I will put it in my questions for the record
for you to respond to that as well. Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Crapo, and your point with
respect to faith-based providers very much respects and very
much aligns with our views here as well. We are going to need
everybody. There are just too many young people, too many
families falling between the cracks, and I thank you for that.
Senator Cortez Masto, I believe is online, and then Senator
Whitehouse will be next--two strong advocates for kids and
families.
Senator Cortez Masto?
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman
and Ranking Member. Thank you to all of the nominees for your
willingness to serve in these critical roles at the Department
of Health and Human Services.
Ms. Jones Gaston, let me start with you. As you know, the
pandemic has been incredibly difficult across the child welfare
space. We have seen communities hit hard by the twin economic
and public health crisis, and then you are still dealing with
COVID-related obstacles, workforce challenges, and exacerbated
health conditions. This has been difficult not just for kids
and their families, but also for the front-line child
protective service workers who go above and beyond every day.
So my question for you is, what initiatives are there at
the Federal level to support case workers with mental health
and other services so that they are able to deal with the very
difficult things they experience as part of their job?
Ms. Jones Gaston. Thank you for the question, Senator. And
you are absolutely right. The impact of the pandemic has been
really profound for the families that we are serving, as well
as for the workforce that is serving these families.
First of all, thank you to the congressional body for the
funding that was provided, and the flexibilities provided for
the resources needed to be able to serve children and families
and our young adults experiencing the variety of things that
came up unexpectedly during the pandemic. And to our workforce,
the gratitude I have for them continuing to show up every day
and putting themselves at risk by continuing to make sure that
we are working with children and families and keeping child
safety at the forefront--it has absolutely been difficult. And
I look forward to working with partners across the organization
and members of Congress to really continue to look for ways to
continue to strengthen our workforce, and to provide the
services and supports that they need to be well in order to be
able to do the important work of serving children and families.
Thank you.
Senator Cortez Masto. So let me ask you this: given the
pending reauthorization of IV-B, are there other opportunities
within that act that may help address this issue for our front-
line workers?
Ms. Jones Gaston. Thank you, Senator. The IV-B funding is
incredibly helpful for States to be able to meet a variety of
needs, including the services for children and families, the
flexibilities of being able to do things that might not be
covered by Medicaid or other funding streams, as well as
thinking about what are the wellness things that are in place
for our workforce in being able to help support them through
this.
In Oregon we have been able to implement a trauma-informed
response when workers experience trauma in the workplace with a
child or a family that they are working with, so that there is
immediate support going to them and to their colleagues to be
able to work through their trauma, again to be able to do the
important work that they do. And so I look forward to being
able to explore a variety of different ways that we might be
able to support that at the Federal level.
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you.
And now, Ms. Contreras, it is great to see you again, and
congratulations on the nomination. One of my top priorities
here at the Federal level is to make sure that our Federal
partners are working constructively with the States and
counties on the front line to meet our children's needs.
I am hoping that you can speak to your experience at the
State and local levels, and how it will inform the way you will
approach your Federal role.
Ms. Contreras. Thank you for that question, Senator Cortez
Masto, and it is wonderful to see you as well. My experience at
the State and local level is really what brought me here to
this moment today. It has always been about who we are serving.
And in this case with ACF, it is such a sacred duty that we
have here to protect the safety and the well-being of families
and children.
In my own experience being at the State Medicaid agency, we
had a lot of collaboration. We had a chance to be very
innovative, to use demonstration waivers that are available,
and we did a lot of work with our Federal partners as well.
So for me, that experience really comes to bear, I guess in
part because I have been an end-user of a State working with
Federal funding, but then also when I had the chance to work at
the Department of Homeland Security. Again, where are the gaps?
Being able to listen to the community, being able to listen to
staff who have ideas that they have been ready to have
implemented, it is a very unique opportunity to figure out how
you keep making things work better.
In this case with ACF, you have done great work in Congress
to pass Family First, which gives a very unique and landmark
opportunity to build new systems to support our States, to
support the workforce that you just asked about, to support the
partners on the ground and make sure that we do our part to
make it as--I do not want to use the word ``easy''; it is not
easy work--but to make sure that we are providing technical
assistance, we are providing resources, we are showing what are
the best practices and the data that we are building the
systems around. And so for me, that is my approach. That is the
experience that I bring with me.
And if confirmed, it is what will help me to make sure that
I am working together with Congress, and with our partners, and
with the families and children and youth who are most impacted.
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you. My time is up. I will
submit the rest of my questions for the record.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[The questions appear in the appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator. And I just want to
reference the point that the Senator just made with respect to
State and local governments being involved in human services.
As the Senator knows, in Nevada and Oregon we are thousands
and thousands of miles from Washington, DC. And so often, our
constituents feel Washington, DC might as well be Mars for all
the real connection it has with the nuts and bolts of their
life challenges. So I really appreciate Senator Cortez Masto
asking, as she has often, about relationships with the States,
and the fact that you both are going to have them front and
center. For westerners, it is just a lifeline. We are just so
far from Washington. Thank you.
Okay; Senator Whitehouse?
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome to
the panel.
A little background, I suppose, is in order. I have been a
vigorous advocate for health care delivery system reform for
quite some time. When we were doing Obamacare, I was a very
strong supporter of the ACOs and the CMMI.
I had a weekly meeting with reform advocates to make sure
we got everything from a reform perspective that we could into
that bill. And at the end of the day, we found that we really
had gotten everything we felt we could into that bill. And
however toxic the conversation became about Obamacare between
Democrats and Republicans, those reform measures have been
relatively noncontroversial. And they have been extremely
successful. In particular, in Rhode Island, two of the best
ACOs in the country have flourished and done an amazingly good
job. They are actually driving down per-member per-month costs,
not up--you know, slowing the curve of increase, driving it
down.
So I think my confidence in delivery system reform has been
rewarded by results, and certainly in the Obama administration
that became emblematized, if that is a word, by the so-called
triple aim. And we are continuing to pursue that triple aim. We
kind of came off focus a bit during the Trump years, but
technical people at CMS and HHS continued progress, and it was
a noncontroversial area, and actually some of the ACOs
flourished there.
This work, to me, is a big deal as Medicare closes in on
insolvency, because if we can save a lot of money in Medicare
by having healthier patients, that seems like a pretty obvious
strategy to follow. And so it is really important to me that
Medicare and Medicaid continue their role of leading away from
fee-for-service towards the triple aim, and towards examples
that prove this.
That background connects to progress we have been trying to
make in Rhode Island with respect to what is sometimes called
end-of-life care, and that is sometimes called advanced-care.
There are payment rules in Medicare that are idiotic and
harmful as applied to the end-of-life care/advanced-care
population, things like having to spend a couple of nights in
the hospital before you can get into a nursing home, when you
may be a week or two away from death and the reason you need to
be in the nursing home was because your family just cannot cope
with some of the things that are happening. Not allowing for
in-home care in those circumstances is bad for the patients,
bad for the families, and it runs up the bill.
So it is not the triple aim of good, good, good; it is
stupid, stupid, stupid, and perhaps even stupid and cruel,
stupid and cruel, and stupid. And we have been working on
trying to solve this for a very, very long time. And we have
been working with CMMI through now four, I want to say,
Directors to try to get approval to let this go forward as a
kind of pilot that CMMI is supposed to have. And it is not
entirely Ms. Fowler's fault. She is obviously a veteran of this
committee. But I am tired of Groundhog Day and having to start
from scratch every time there is somebody new. And I am tired
of an organization that seems to have no capacity to listen
when something like this, that seems to be a huge win, is put
right in front of it.
So this is, I guess--I think Mr. Gordon is going to oversee
some of the CMMI stuff, so I guess I will ask him for a
response in the form of a question. But my real audience is the
Sherpas here to fire a flare into space saying that I am tired
of not being listened to on this subject, and of having a blank
wall to deal with when there is no real contest on the merits.
It is just, ``We don't want to listen to you. We don't want to
do it that way. We might think about doing it some other way
some other time, and we are just not here to listen and not
here to help.''
I have been through too many rounds with CMMI for that to
be acceptable any longer. And interestingly enough, actually
the best engagement we had was with one of the Trump CMMI
leaders. So let's see if we can improve on that, and I will let
Mr. Gordon answer briefly, but I have used all my time, so
please make it briefly.
Mr. Gordon. Thank you, Senator. I hear about your passion
and your expertise around the issue. I had the good fortune
early in my career, during the transition, to work with the CMS
Administrator and the CMMI Administrator, and I would look
forward to talking with them about these issues.
My own experience--not getting into the details of the
rules involved, which I don't know--is that of course
increasing access to home-based care can be better for people
and better for budgets, and that alternative payment methods
can yield better care and cost savings, and that going upstream
with medical care, creating incentives for our health system
not just to treat people in the doctor's office and the
hospital, but to improve the conditions in which they live
every day and to work with them on exercise, nutrition,
housing, clean air, clean water, those too can yield better
health outcomes and savings.
So I completely agree, and I am sure----
Senator Whitehouse. If you give us a chance, we will prove
that for this very vulnerable population.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Whitehouse.
We now have Senator Bennet. We are also glad to be joined
by Senator Warren. TBD with respect to others, but let us go
with Senator Bennet.
Senator Bennet. Thank you, Chairman Wyden. Can you hear me?
The Chairman. Yes.
Senator Bennet. Thank you, Chairman Wyden, and thanks to
Ranking Member Crapo as well for holding this hearing on
nominations to fill these critical roles at the HHS. I want to
thank Mr. Gordon, Ms. Contreras, and Ms. Jones Gaston for your
willingness to serve and work to care for our Nation's children
and families.
Ms. Contreras and Ms. Jones Gaston, both of you will have
important roles overseeing programs that take care of our
Nation's most vulnerable children. For years I have worked
alongside Senator Wyden and Senator Grassley to write and pass
the Family First Prevention Services Act. This is aimed to
modernize our Nation's child welfare system and support kids
and families at risk of entering the foster care system. And
although States are moving forward to support these families,
they are still encountering barriers, specifically on how the
Prevention Services Clearinghouse is approving programs.
Colorado has also shared its concerns on the slow timing and
back-and-forth with regional offices simply to have plans
approved.
Where do you see opportunities to enhance oversight and
engagement with States and Tribes to ensure that children and
families across the country are receiving the support we
promised them to stay together? Do you--why don't you go ahead
and please answer that?
Ms. Jones Gaston. Thank you, Senator, for the question. It
is absolutely critical that we find ways to be able to support
States being able to implement that important legislation so
that we are preventing maltreatment and preventing the
utilization of foster care as our only path to serving children
and families.
There has been a lot of information that has been gathered
I know over the last year from some States in regards to the
experience of the Clearinghouse. I think the other important
information that has been gathered has been from the providers
who are submitting information to the Clearinghouse for
consideration.
So I am committed to working with yourself and with the
team, if confirmed, to be able to find ways to get the
evidence-based practices into our Clearinghouse; to make sure
they are the services that are needed for the diverse
populations that we serve across this country; and to work with
the States to be able to really get the prevention plans
submitted, approved, and implemented so that children and
families are getting what was intended from the Family First
Act.
Senator Bennet. Okay. We look forward to working with you
on that. And, Ms. Contreras, I do not know whether you have an
additional answer to that, but let me ask you a different
question, and then you can add that up. My time is short.
Ms. Contreras, I applaud your interest in serving in one of
the most difficult positions. And if you are confirmed, you've
got a lot of hard work set out for you. One of your
responsibilities will be to care for the 9,600 unaccompanied
children that are under the custody of HHS. As I have mentioned
before in this committee, the previous administration almost
did everything in its power to dismantle our legal immigration
system. It cut important services for kids in the government's
custody. Hundreds of kids were separated from their parents
under the last President's policies and were never reunified,
which remains a challenge under the current administration.
In the past month, we have begun to see the number of
unaccompanied kids in HHS custody start to increase again for
number of reasons not under your jurisdiction, but you are
ultimately responsible for caring for them once they are here.
I am disappointed that we have not seen a proactive public
plan from the Biden administration on what they are doing to
best serve these children. If confirmed, will you commit to
establishing a public strategy on caring for unaccompanied
children and sharing that with me and the rest of the Congress?
In the meantime, could you speak to this broader set of
issues?
Ms. Contreras. Senator Bennet, thank you for that question.
If confirmed, my priority is the safety of children and the
well-being of families. That includes all children. That
includes our children who are in the unaccompanied children
program.
I will share that I have represented unaccompanied children
as their lawyer. I have trained ORR staff and providers in the
past. This is a world that I know. And I know that there are
many partners out there who want to work with us to make sure
that we are caring for children in a way that adopts the best
practices from child welfare. And that will be my priority, if
confirmed.
It is to, number one, make sure that we are watching the
data in our planning. Number two, to make sure that we are
trying to build systems that adopt the best child welfare
practices. Number three, we are keeping these kids safe the
whole way as we do that. And number four, we are then
reunifying them with family, or placing them safely with a
vetted sponsor as soon as we can.
Those are my goals. You have my commitment to working with
you and all partners in achieving that.
Senator Bennet. My time is up, but do you think you have
the funding to be able to fulfill the responsibility that you
just described?
Ms. Contreras. Senator, thank you for that question. If
confirmed, I certainly do commit to following up with you on
funding and sharing any input on that.
Senator Bennet. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. All right. Thank you for your outstanding
work for kids all these years, Senator Bennet.
So, we have members--it is a hectic day--coming and going.
We are going to lock in the next three: Senator Grassley,
Senator Warren, and Senator Hassan.
Senator Grassley?
Senator Grassley. Thank you very much. I want to explain
that I was not here for your testimony because I was across the
hall as ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.
I am going to start with Ms. Contreras. Congress passed the
Family First Prevention Services Act in an effort to focus
Federal child welfare resources in keeping families together.
The expectation is that this will result in fewer children
entering foster care. However, the primary goal should be to
improve the safety and well-being of children who are at risk,
not simply to lower the number of kids in care.
If confirmed, how will you work to ensure that the
Department is tracking safety and health outcomes for children
who are impacted by Family First?
Ms. Contreras. Thank you for that question, Senator, and
thank you for your leadership and this body's leadership on
passing Family First, which is a very important piece of
legislation that, when we live out its vision fully, is going
to make a big difference and is making a difference now for
families and children.
My priorities, if confirmed, are to make sure that we are
collaborating with States, counties, and Tribal Governments;
that we are collaborating so that we are providing technical
assistance and resources to help them put those plans together,
to help those plans get approved, to ensure that we are making
the Clearinghouse a robust source for States of best practices,
programs, and services that work for diverse families,
programs, and services that are culturally competent; and
collaborating across HHS and across government.
How can we work better within HHS, how can we work better
with HUD to provide services, to collaborate, and at least to
communicate to families on the ground? All of the ways that
this Congress has passed, and the administration is living out,
to support families and children--those are my priorities.
If confirmed, I look forward to being a partner with you,
with States, with Tribal Governments, and with our partners on
the ground to make sure that we are supporting families and
children and trying to keep them safely together.
Senator Grassley. For Ms. Jones Gaston, across the country,
including my State of Iowa, there is a shortage of foster
parents. This has caused a very unsuitable placement for
children who need to enter foster care. Many foster parents
choose to stop fostering after only 1 year, and most say that
they did not feel supported by the agencies.
So how would you, if confirmed, approach improving the
retention rates of foster parents?
Ms. Jones Gaston. Thank you for the question, Senator
Grassley. And first I would just like to acknowledge and thank
you for your service to Iowa. As a child of Iowa, it is a
pleasure to see you today.
Foster parents have a very difficult job. They are critical
to our work in child welfare and partnering with us in caring
for the children who come to us, oftentimes with experiences
that include trauma and add to challenges that they have. And
so it is critical that we support our foster families, that we
recruit families that diversely represent the children and
families that we are serving, and that we are looking for ways
to be able to support them.
In my experience, I have been able to work really closely
with the foster parent associations in each of the States that
I have served--in Maryland and Oregon--and identify really a
feedback loop so that as the agency was getting information
directly from those that are serving with us, we were able to
identify where are the places where we need improvement, what
are the things that are working?
The other important piece is, we need partners. And so
partnering and collaborating with the community, with
organizations, to also wrap around the support that foster
families and the children whom they are serving need, as well
as their families, is really critical to being able to create,
again, the safety network that is also inclusive of our
resource families and foster parents.
Senator Grassley. Last February--this will be my last
question--last February, Secretary Becerra went before our
committee. He was asked about being responsive to questions
that we would ask him. He committed to Chairman Wyden that he
will be prompt in answering questions by any Senator of this
committee. Secretary Becerra told me in writing, quote, ``I
will provide prompt responses in writing to requests from any
member of the committee.''
Unfortunately, this has not happened. On June the 10th,
2021, at a budget hearing with Secretary Becerra, I submitted
questions for the record, including about rural health and my
oversight into COVID-19 origins. In total, 20 Senators asked
181 questions. Last week, we got answers to these questions--
237 days later. This is not a prompt response. I can understand
it takes time to respond, but HHS needs to respond.
So I guess, instead of asking each of you separately, you
see the problem we have, and I hope you can overcome this and
be more responsive to our questions.
The Chairman. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Senator Warren is next, and then Senator Hassan. And we also
have a great champ for children who has come, Senator Brown. We
will go with Warren then Hassan, the next two we just
announced.
Senator Warren?
Senator Warren. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and
thank you all for your willingness to serve and for being with
us here today. I wish I had time to talk with all of you about
your work, but I want to focus in on one issue in particular.
Ms. Contreras, you are nominated to serve as Assistant
Secretary for Children and Families, and that means that, if
confirmed, you will oversee a number of important programs at
HHS, including Child Care and Head Start.
Now, millions of American families right now rely on child-
care providers so that parents can go to work. And millions of
children are in child care, where they get a chance to play and
learn and grow. But our child-care system is in crisis. Things
were bad enough before the pandemic, with millions of parents
unable to find quality child care that they could afford. But
now, COVID has forced more than 10,000 child-care providers to
close their doors, and thousands more to reduce capacity. Even
with record job creations this past year, the child-care
industry is still down 136,000 workers compared with early
2020. Seven thousand child-care jobs evaporated just during
this latest Omicron wave.
So, Ms. Contreras, may I ask: a child care shortage means
it is even harder for families to find a center with an open
slot for a child. But does it also have an impact on what child
care costs?
Ms. Contreras. Thank you for that question, Senator Warren,
and thank you for your leadership on this issue.
I agree with you that child-care costs are a challenge for
American families. I have represented many struggling young
mothers for whom child care was simply not within reach. When
we look at the costs of child care, I think one thing that we
have seen is, during the pandemic there were too many--there
are too many--child-care providers who are struggling, and too
many who, if not closed, as you mentioned, are facing closure.
I believe one study that I read showed that providers have
seen nearly a 50-percent increase in their costs, in part due
to the pandemic. And that is since the start of the pandemic.
We have to do better.
You have my commitment, if confirmed, that I will be
working with you as a partner, working with providers on the
ground, to support their workforce and to support providers so
that we are making sure that we are taking care of the people
who are taking care of our kids.
Senator Warren. Well, I very much appreciate that. You
know, the numbers are just really awful in this area. HHS
considers child care affordable when it costs no more than 7
percent of a family's income. And yet the median family--that's
the family right in the middle--that is using child care right
now is paying 25 percent of their income. Think about that.
More than three times what HHS deems as affordable.
So families are paying more for child care. And let me just
ask: has the cost of providing that care gone up during the
pandemic, Ms. Contreras?
Ms. Contreras. Thank you, Senator. I think they go hand in
hand. That is what we have seen, that the cost of child care
and even the availability of it, are greater problems than they
were before the pandemic. But also, we are seeing that
providers are experiencing these very high increases in the
costs to them.
And our job is to make sure we have a stable child-care
sector for kids and for parents. And you have my commitment to
work with you on that so that we are speaking with providers on
the ground, that we are helping them to support their
workforce, and that we are building stability into that sector.
Senator Warren. So families are paying more. Child-care
centers are spending more--things like masks and tests, their
ratios of supervisors to children--and yet child-care workers
are not making any more money. In fact, for many of them, they
would make more money if they left and went to Walmart than
they will working at a child-care center.
One survey found--and this has real consequences for
families--one survey found that to save money on child care, 94
percent of parents had recently resorted to reducing work
hours, switching jobs, or leaving the workforce altogether.
So let me ask one last question to see if we can do this
quickly. There is a lot we need to do to invest in child care
in this country. Are you worried that if more help does not
come quickly, we are going to see more centers closing their
doors and even fewer children and parents who have access to
high-quality, affordable child care?
Ms. Contreras. Senator, we do have to get to work to make
sure that we have a stable sector, and we need to put the
supports there. You have a partner, if confirmed.
Senator Warren. Good. We need to make big investments in
child care. That is part of what Build Back Better is all
about, and it is time for us to get this done. Thank you. And
thank you all for being here.
The Chairman. The Senator makes a number of important
points. She and I have talked about it. In a sense--Democrats
do not use this word very much--but also as supply-siders, we
need to create a bigger supply, and then some of the other
points that Senator Warren correctly points out. So we will be
following up on that.
The next member, per tentative agreement, is Senator
Hassan, then Senator Brown, Senator Casey, and then Senator
Cassidy. And I think that has been agreeable on all sides.
Senator Hassan?
Senator Hassan. Thanks very much, Mr. Chair. And I just
want to start by thanking you and the ranking member for this
hearing. And to all of our nominees, thank you so much for
being willing to serve, and thank your families too, because
this is a family effort, I know.
I want to start with a question to Ms. Jones Gaston. Good
morning. One of our greatest societal responsibilities is to
keep our children safe, a responsibility that all too often
goes unmet because of systemic failures. Recognizing this, it
is essential that child welfare agencies make improvements. In
your current role as Child Welfare Director in Oregon, you have
overseen major system reforms and set an example for what other
States may want to consider to improve their own child welfare
systems.
If confirmed, how will you help States improve their child
welfare agencies so that no child falls between the cracks?
Ms. Jones Gaston. Thank you for that question. The systemic
change is absolutely needed, and it is possible. And it cannot
be child welfare agencies alone; it has to be in partnership
with health, with education, with Medicaid, with community
partners, to really build the supports around families and
communities so that, ultimately, we are preventing
maltreatment, so that children are safe and not harmed.
And then for the response system that the child welfare
agency is, when there is a safety concern, it is being able to
make sure that we have a workforce that is skilled, that we
have partnerships and services available. Congress has provided
a number of supports throughout the pandemic that we have been
able to use flexibly in being able to meet some of the
unexpected needs of families and children that we are serving.
And it is paramount that we are also in partnership with other
departments and organizations, and this body, as we continue to
try and solve the complex challenges that children and families
and communities are facing, ultimately with the focus of child
safety and family well-being at the forefront. Thank you.
Senator Hassan. Thank you. I think one of the issues that
is kind of perpetual is that adults tend to focus on adults
when we set policy. And we really need to put our kids first,
and I would really look forward to working with you on that.
I want to follow up on Senator Warren's line of questioning
with you, Ms. Contreras, about our child-care system, our
deficits, what we need to do. And I just want to drill down on
one area, because I agree with Senator Warren's analysis. I am
hearing from constituents all over New Hampshire about the
difficulty of finding child care, about the expense when they
do, and about the difficulty that certain kinds of work
schedules pose in terms of aligning a reliable, stable child
care setting with somebody's work obligations.
But I want to drill down on what you think could be gained,
if anything, if the Office of Child Care and Office of Head
Start work together to increase access to early childhood
education programs? Are there ways we can strengthen that
partnership to really strengthen our overall child-care system?
Ms. Contreras. Thank you for that question, Senator.
Absolutely. Part of the approach for me, if confirmed, is to
make sure that we are trying to break down silos throughout
ACF, and throughout HHS, but in particular throughout ACF. We
have incredible services and programs available to families and
to kids on the ground, and we are not always presenting that
through gateways where they are aware of all of the supports
that are available.
When we talk about early ed and child care, our goal is to
build systems, to support systems that have diverse providers,
so that we are communicating with them and not just with the
State, but with the providers directly, and trying to really
build the supply. As was just mentioned, really trying to build
accessibility and support providers in a way that they can
support their workforce, those people who are taking care of
our kids, so that we can make sure that they can afford the
expenses of staying in business so that families have somewhere
to go, and that they can afford that.
Senator Hassan. Well, thank you. And I want to follow up
with one final question on the same issue generally of child
care, but we know the importance of early intervention to the
overall development and success of young children with
disabilities.
Unfortunately, the pandemic has resulted in many infants
and toddlers with disabilities not being identified and with
delay in getting necessary supports and services to children.
I recently introduced a bill that would increase funding
for the early intervention services under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act to better support infants and
toddlers with disabilities and their families. I realize I am
over time, so we should be very brief here and we can follow
up, but if confirmed, how will you ensure that families are
connecting with the right resources and supports for their
young kids with disabilities?
Ms. Contreras. Thank you for that question, Senator.
Briefly, at home in my home State, I worked in our Medicaid
agency as Assistant Director and at our State Department of
Health Services overseeing some of the partnerships that were
linked to this specifically. What we need to do is make sure we
are talking to our State and local governments, that we are
listening not just talking, to understand what they need to
support the families and the kids in their State. And that is
my commitment to you, if confirmed.
Senator Hassan. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The Chairman. I thank my colleague and look forward very
much to working with her on her bill. It sounds very important.
Senator Brown?
Senator Brown. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to start with asking a question of your
constituent, if I could, Ms. Jones Gaston, and thank you for
our conversation the other day.
Family First created the QRTP, the Qualified Residential
Treatment Program, to ensure children being cared for by
families could access appropriate residential treatment. This
policy reflects recommendations from individuals with lived
experience in the foster care system who have experienced
trauma from institutional phenomena.
CMS has issued guidance to clarify that the Medicaid IMD
exclusion rule applies to QRTPs with more than 16 beds, as you
know. There has been confusion in my State regarding which
providers are eligible to receive Federal Medicaid dollars. Our
office continues to get outreach from QRTPs asking for
clarification, and that is where you come in.
So how can ACF and CMS work together to clear up any
remaining confusion to provide clarity for States like Ohio and
others to ensure the integrity of the QRTP models so that youth
and group care can get the evidence-based trauma-informed
services they need, and perhaps bring in your experience
implementing that model in Oregon and Maryland? Thank you.
Ms. Jones Gaston. Thank you, Senator. The issue is complex,
and it is absolutely necessary for us to be partnering across
CMS, child welfare, and within the departments.
In Oregon, the partnership that I have had with the
Medicaid Director, as well as our health department, has been
critical to trying to both identify the appropriate services
and the service array that children with complex needs need,
and also do the problem-solving around how we actually make
sure that we are in compliance with the Federal requirements,
as well as our State statutes.
My commitment is to work with CMS, if confirmed, and
others, and to hear from States around what are the questions
and the challenges that are being faced, and to find some
resolution for being able to provide the clarity that is needed
so that States can fully take advantage of Family First and,
most importantly, children are able to get the services that
they need in the manner that they need to get them.
Senator Brown. Thank you. I plan to vote for your
confirmation, and we will work on that, on those issues,
together.
My other question is for Ms. Contreras. It is nice to see
you, and thank you for the conversation earlier. Research shows
that racial disparities occur at nearly every major decision-
making point in our child-care system, from disproportionate to
suspected maltreatment reports, to child protective services
investigations, to out-of-home placements.
There are a variety of factors that contribute to this
disparity, as we know, including higher rates of poverty in
under-represented communities, and including structural racism.
Last week, ACF published various resources regarding its
commitments to advancing racial equity for all, including
preventive services, as a means of improving family well-being,
decreasing potentially traumatic interventions, and building
some kind of family resilience.
The Family First Prevention Services Act has helped to
encourage this important shift towards prioritizing prevention
services. My questions, two questions together, and if you
would, answer: how do you work to address these systemic
disparities that exist in the child welfare system by improving
prevention services through Family First? And how can Congress
aid these efforts as we work on title IV-B reauthorization?
Ms. Contreras. Thank you for the question, Senator.
Prevention is the vision that this body passed through Family
First, and I thank you for your leadership in passing Family
First as a body.
When it comes to equity, as you mentioned, ACF recently did
make a commitment around equity. The racial disparities that
occur in child welfare systems, and in other systems around
ACF, are issues that we need to address.
Number one, we need to pay attention to the data. We need
to collect the data in the right way in working with State
partners. And we need to pay attention to it. We cannot afford
to look away. And number two, we need to support States in
understanding what are some best practices. Here is what is
happening in this jurisdiction that is a program that is really
working, whether that is working with grandparents, kinship,
whether that is working with communities in other ways. Number
three, we really need to make sure we are building a diverse
workforce of people who have different experiences, different
lived experience, so that they are at the table.
That brings new partnerships, new relationships, people who
do not know they could have applied for grants in the past but
are providing very exceptional services coming to the table.
From my perspective, it is not taking our eye off the ball.
You also asked about prevention services and the
reauthorization that is coming up. If confirmed, my commitment
is along those same lines. It is prevention. It is, how do we
help States understand all the services that are available? How
do we help States understand what works? How do we support them
in taking advantage of all these services at a time when, as we
discussed earlier in this hearing, they are experiencing
workforce shortages and have a lot of issues themselves from
the pandemic?
You have my commitment, Senator, that I will be a partner
with you in this work; that we will take racial disparities on;
that we will look for creative ways from people who are working
on this across the country; and that we will make prevention
the center of what we are doing, because family well-being is
the direction that we are committed to moving forward.
Senator Brown. Thank you, Ms. Contreras. I plan to support
your nomination, and we will work together. Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Brown. And the nominees
should know, when you say you will make kids the center of your
work, that has been the center of Sherrod Brown's time in
public service. So thank you so much, and I thank my colleague.
Okay. We have been calling some audibles, and what we are
going to do now, with the agreement of the members, is we will
have Senator Casey, Senator Thune, and Senator Cassidy. And I
think Senator Casey is online.
Senator Casey, are you out there in cyberspace?
Senator Casey. Yes, Mr. Chairman. Thanks very much. And I
want to thank each of the nominees for their commitment to
public service. It has never been more important to have
committed individuals doing the work that you all are doing for
children and families, and so much else.
But I wanted to start with a question that I will direct at
both Ms. Contreras and Ms. Jones Gaston regarding your roles
overseeing a number of vital programs that relate to both
children and families.
As you know, children flourish when their needs across many
domains are met. I outlined in early 2020 the five freedoms for
America's children: the freedom to be healthy, the freedom to
be economically secure, the freedom to learn, the freedom to be
safe from harm, and the freedom from hunger.
And as you know, within the Administration on Children and
Families there are a number of programs that support these
needs for children, including Head Start, child-care programs,
child welfare, foster care, family violence prevention, and so
much else. And here is my basic question. In your roles, how
would each of you work to build bridges within HHS itself, as
well as build bridges among States and community organizations
that you fund, so that they can better coordinate programming
for both children and families that they serve?
We will start with Ms. Contreras.
Ms. Contreras. Thank you, Senator, for that question. If I
could start with an example, because it is exactly what you are
talking about, I have represented many trafficking survivors in
my career. I will give you an example of the first trafficking
survivor I served.
Her mother had serious mental health issues. Her father had
serious substance abuse issues. She went into the foster care
system. Ultimately, after several placements, she ran away from
a group home, which is when she met her trafficker, whom she
thought was her boyfriend, but quickly it became apparent he
was not. And she was in a violent situation for a couple of
years.
I think all the things that you are speaking to and the
promise that lives in Family First is to follow her journey.
How could we have supported dad's substance abuse? How could we
have supported mom in her mental health issues? How could we
have worked to make sure that she did not have a traumatic
experience in a group home?
And the good news is, the homeless and runaway youth system
that this Congress supports found her. The good news is, the
trafficking grants that you have at ACF funded my organization
to provide legal services to her. And the good news is, we are
meeting kids, young adults, but our job and my priority, if
confirmed, is that we are meeting them sooner, and that we are
not forgetting that the real opportunity we have is to support
those parents from day one when we can tell that they may be
entering crisis. And, if confirmed, you have my commitment to
work with you on that. Thank you again for that question.
Senator Casey. Thank you.
Ms. Jones Gaston?
Ms. Jones Gaston. Thank you, Senator. Concrete supports are
absolutely needed for meeting the needs, and the collaboration
across agencies, organizations, and communities for meeting
these needs. We know that almost half, if not a little more
than half, of the families that become involved with child
welfare become involved because of reasons around neglect. And
those are oftentimes connected to consequences of the
experience of poverty.
And so, we need to be able to work with the organizations
and the agencies and the departments, as well as with the
congressional members like yourself, to get those concrete
supports to the families and children that need them so that we
are preventing maltreatment, preventing the unnecessary
involvement with a child welfare agency, and moving deeper into
a foster care system. Young people who are experiencing
homelessness, family violence--all of those issues are
critical. And the concrete supports to be able to help resolve
some of those challenges are needed.
The other thing that I would just mention briefly is that
the partnership and hearing the voices of those young people,
those parents, those families, is also critical to
understanding what it is that is needed to be able to prevent
maltreatments, prevent further involvement with the child
welfare systems, and the experiences that people are having
related to homelessness and family violence.
And I look forward to partnering with you and members of
this committee in continuing to look for solutions and
supporting our families and children.
Senator Casey. Well, thanks so much. What I will do is
submit a question, as well, for the record to you regarding
infant plans of safe care, and to Ms. Contreras regarding
domestic violence and some of the legislation that we are all
working on. But, Mr. Chairman, I want to turn it back over to
you. Thank you very much.
[The questions appear in the appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Casey. And for our
witnesses, Senator Casey also has had a long career of focusing
on families and kids. So you are going to have a number of
members on both sides of the aisle who are going to want to
follow up with you.
Senator Thune?
Senator Thune. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks to our
nominees for being here today.
Ms. Contreras, as you know, Federal employees on or near
our southern border have been tasked with addressing historic
levels of migrants. Many of them have been taken into custody
after crossing illegally, outside of legal points of entry,
which has put a tremendous strain not only on the men and women
of the Border Patrol, but on the resources dedicated to the
children who end up in the custody of the Office of Refugee
Resettlement.
I do not mean to suggest that the unaccompanied children
who are often trafficked to the United States are not
vulnerable, but you would think that the services of ORR
contribute to the pull factor of the unprecedented immigration
pressures that we are seeing at the border.
Ms. Contreras. Thank you for that question, Senator. When
it comes to ORR, the responsibility of the ACF remains similar
to our responsibility elsewhere, and that is trying to protect
the children, their safety, as they are in our care.
In regards to the ORR program, what I will be doing is
trying to work to make sure that we are looking at the data.
There are influxes that happen in the referrals to ACF, and we
need to be prepared for that. And that will be my job, to make
sure we are keeping them safe, and we are reuniting them with
family, or placing them with embedded sponsors as soon as we
safely can.
Senator Thune. Well, and I hope you will look at the
question of whether or not that is acting as an incentive, and
one of the pull factors associated with the number of people
who are currently coming.
At the same time that ORR is responding to the border
crisis, you will also be tasked with assisting a large
population of Afghan arrivals. If confirmed, how will you
deconflict the competition for resources? And will you ensure
that resources will not be steered from our Afghan security
partners in favor of the situation at the border?
Ms. Contreras. Thank you for that question, Senator. If
confirmed to this position, it will be my approach to make sure
that we can keep moving forward on multiple fronts. That just
comes with the job.
The ACF staff and the staff at ORR take the
responsibilities of both very seriously, and it will be my
commitment to you that we are supporting Afghan refugees, the
families and the children that come into our care, and working
with our partners to provide the services that they need, at
the same time as we are fulfilling our responsibilities to
unaccompanied children.
Senator Thune. If confirmed, you are going to be tasked
with overseeing the Office of Head Start. And as you know, late
last year Secretary Becerra published an Interim Final Rule
mandating that all staff and volunteers in Head Start
facilities be vaccinated and need to wear a mask. But they went
beyond that. The rule, in my view, absurdly--absurdly--mandates
that children as young as 2 years old must also be masked while
at the Head Start facility, including while outside on the
playground.
I am wondering what your view on that is? Not even the
World Health Organization recommends masking children under the
age of 5, according to their analysis of science and data
around this. They say it just does not have the impact on
safety for children under 5.
If confirmed, what will you do about that? Can you rescind
this policy? It has obviously become a big issue for a lot of
parents, administrators, teachers, and kids around the country.
Ms. Contreras. Thank you, Senator. Head Start is a very
important part of the responsibilities of ACF. And if
confirmed, it will be my priority to work with States and
localities and the providers on the ground to hear what they
are experiencing, to hear how we can support them and their
workforce.
Because at the end of the day, the number one priority is,
yes, we are protecting the health and safety of children and
families and staff, but also that we are trying to help as many
providers keep their doors open as possible in a safe way.
Senator Thune. I would just urge you, as you do that, as
you do examine that and you talk with providers and with the
people, the stakeholder community, to really encourage allowing
these decisions to be made by the States. I just do not know
why the Federal Government is wading into having children as
young as 2 years old have a requirement, even when they are
outside, to wear a mask. It just does not make any sense, and
even the World Health Organization, as I said, has come to that
conclusion.
Ms. Jones Gaston, South Dakota has a sizeable Native
American population. Therefore, given your current role as
Child Welfare Director for the State of Oregon, I imagine that
part of your job includes interacting with Tribal leaders and
families about how best to address matters affecting the safety
and well-being of children on Native American reservations.
Could you just share with the committee, if confirmed, how
you would ensure Tribal Governments have a seat at the table,
and more importantly, that the needs of families and children
across Indian country are always given consideration?
Ms. Jones Gaston. Thank you for that question, Senator. In
my time in Oregon, I have been able to happily partner with the
nine federally recognized Tribes that are in Oregon. And they
have had a seat at the table with us in the development of the
Vision for Transformation, in the development of our Family
First Prevention Services Plan, and in fact are working side by
side with us in our implementation of that plan. And we are
actually, as the State, learning from their example in many
ways about the way in which prevention services are provided to
the community and to families.
And I will continue, if confirmed, to be committed to
partnering with Tribal Nations and Tribal communities to make
sure that the services and programs under my purview are
available, open, and in conversation with Tribal Nations to
make sure that the things that are moving forward are in
support of the well-being of Tribal children, and families as
well.
Senator Thune. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. I thank my colleague. I am just going to make
a very brief closing statement. I want to thank both colleagues
who are here, Senator Crapo and Senator Thune, because they
have been part of the effort in this committee to focus in a
bipartisan way.
Family First was a historic development. And we saw already
from Ms. Jones Gaston the results, the 20-percent reduction in
foster care placements, and the third kind of option in Oregon
and around the country. You would not just have a kid in an
unacceptable situation at home, or go into a placement, a
foster care placement that was not going to work. You were
going to do something different.
And Family First was a bipartisan breakthrough. The CHRONIC
Care bill, which we have referenced here today, would modernize
the Medicare guarantee--that is you, Mr. Gordon. We are going
to be able to play a pivotal role in it, recognizing that acute
care is not the only part of health care today, but we are
dealing with chronic disease. And yesterday, Senator Crapo and
I showed that the Finance Committee is going to try to move in
a bipartisan way on mental health, which is urgent--urgent--
business because, if we just go forward with business as usual
on the mental health front, we could lose much of a generation.
So what you had to say today, and being responsive to
members on both sides of the aisle today, is very welcome. We
look forward to considering your nominations. I intend to vote
for all three of you. I am happy to vote for all three of you.
And I would just like to thank all the members today for their
participation.
And regarding questions for the record, the deadline for
members to submit QFRs will be this Friday, February 11th, at 5
p.m. That 5 p.m. deadline, I would say to colleagues, is firm.
We want to thank everyone for their cooperation. And with
that, the committee is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:43 a.m., the hearing was concluded.]
A P P E N D I X
Additional Material Submitted for the Record
----------
Prepared Statement of January Contreras, Nominated to be Assistant
Secretary for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human
Services
Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, members of the committee,
thank you for considering my nomination to be the Assistant Secretary
for Children and Families. I am grateful to President Biden for
nominating me for this role and, if confirmed, will work diligently
each day under his leadership and that of Secretary Becerra.
Before beginning, I would like to thank my family. Here with me
today are my youngest son and my sister. And watching from home are my
wonderful husband of 27 years; my oldest son, who's in college; the
woman who shaped me, my mother; my proud dad; his wife and my brother;
and my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Without a doubt, watching over my
shoulder are my nana and tata, my Fontes grandparents, whom I carry in
my heart each day. I am always grateful to my family for supporting me
in all that I do.
Growing up, I was fortunate to learn the value of service and hard
work from my own family. My grandfather was a paratrooper in World War
II. My grandmother raised 11 children on a shoestring budget. I was
born on Bergstrom Air Force Base in Texas, where my father served. By
the time I was a toddler, we moved to Arizona, where my family has
lived for generations.
My parents both began long careers at the U.S. Postal Service,
where they worked the second shift for most of my childhood. This meant
my grandparents pitched in to help until I was old enough to stay home
by myself. My sister was born when I was 11 years old. And my very
first leadership role was launched when I began taking care of her a
couple of years later--cooking her dinner and tucking her in every
night. Being responsible for my sister's well-being gave me a deep
sense of purpose that has stayed with me throughout my 25 years of
public service.
My public service career began as a prosecutor in the State of
Arizona. I went on to serve as Assistant Director of our State Medicaid
agency, one of the most cost-efficient, high-quality Medicaid programs
in the country. I also served as a member of Governor Janet
Napolitano's Cabinet when I led the Department of Health Services. In
each of these roles, collaboration was key. I worked with diverse,
bipartisan stakeholders including State, local, and Tribal Government
leaders, advocacy organizations, health-care providers, faith-based
organizations, and government contractors.
I value my State agency experience because it's where I managed
large organizations and budgets; it's where I learned how to bring
talented teams together to achieve common objectives; and most
importantly, it's where I first experienced the heavy responsibility of
delivering results that make a difference in people's lives.
In 2013, after a long career in government, I founded Arizona Legal
Women and Youth Services or ALWAYS--an organization that provides life-
changing legal services to some of the most vulnerable people in my
home State. The people ALWAYS serves are the same people the
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) serves: children in
foster care, young adults who have transitioned out of foster care,
youth who are homeless, unaccompanied children, and survivors of
domestic violence and human trafficking. The mission of the ACF is my
professional mission.
If confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families,
I will work with the talented men and women of ACF to prioritize
prevention and family well-being, including strengthening supports for
grandparents and kinship caregivers. Congress laid a new way forward
with the passage of the Family First Prevention Services Act, and I
would work with colleagues in and outside of the Federal Government to
live out the promise that Family First envisions. Throughout ACF
programs, I would lead with a commitment to reduce racial disparities
and to lift up whole-family and community-based strategies to increase
safety, financial stability, and economic mobility for kids, youth and
families, including accessible child care.
Each time I have been entrusted with the responsibility of
stewarding public resources and executing mission-critical services, I
have been grateful. Each time I have been in these roles, I have
remained focused on the faces I was entrusted to serve: children,
youth, and families who need allies to help them thrive; trafficking
and domestic violence survivors looking for safety and security; and
families with low incomes looking for help to keep the lights on.
If confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families,
I will remain focused on the faces ACF has been entrusted to serve. If
confirmed, I am ready to get to work with every ACF colleague across
the country to carry out this important mission.
Thank you for your consideration of my nomination. I look forward
to answering the questions that you have.
______
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
STATEMENT OF INFORMATION REQUESTED
OF NOMINEE
A. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
1. Name (include any former names used): January Esquivel Contreras.
Former: January Fontes Esquivel, January Joy Esquivel.
2. Position to which nominated: Assistant Secretary for Children and
Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
3. Date of nomination: January 7, 2022.
4. Address (list current residence, office, and mailing addresses):
5. Date and place of birth: January 15, 1971; Bergstrom Air Force
Base, Austin, Texas.
6. Marital status (include maiden name of wife or husband's name):
7. Names and ages of children:
8. Education (list all secondary and higher education institutions,
dates attended, degree received, and date degree granted):
Westwood High School, Mesa, Arizona.
Attended: August 1986-May 1988.
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Attended: August 1988-May 1993.
Bachelor of Arts, May 1993.
University of Arizona, College of Law, Tucson, Arizona.
Attended: August 1994-December 1996.
Juris Doctor, December 1996.
9. Employment record (list all jobs held since college, including the
title or description of job, name of employer, location of work, and
dates of employment for each job):
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title/Description of Employer and
Job Location Start Date End Date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transition Advisor Arizona Legal Women 7/2021 10/2021
and Youth Services
(ALWAYS), Phoenix,
Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Director/ Arizona Legal Women 11/2018 7/2021
Chief Executive and Youth Services
Officer (ALWAYS), Phoenix,
Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Director/ Arizona Legal Women 10/2013 10/2017
Chief Executive and Youth Services
Officer (ALWAYS), Phoenix,
Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contract Attorney Self-Employed, 7/2013 12/2014
Phoenix, Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contract Policy Advisor Fred Duval for 2/2013 12/2014
Governor, Phoenix,
Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lecturer Barret Honors 5/2013 6/2013
Summer Scholar
Program, Arizona
State University,
Tempe, Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chief Operating Officer/ Halle Center for 12/2012 7/2013
Interim Director Family Justice,
Arizona State
University,
Phoenix, Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of the U.S. Department of 11/2009 4/2012
Citizenship and Homeland Security,
Immigration Services Washington, DC
Ombudsman
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Senior Advisor to the U.S. Department of 3/2009 11/2009
Secretary Homeland Security,
Washington, DC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Director Arizona Department 7/2008 1/2009
of Health
Services, Phoenix,
Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Senior Health Advisor Office of the 7/2006 7/2008
to the Governor Governor, Phoenix,
Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assistant Director and Arizona Health Care 12/2004 7/2006
Legislative Liaison Cost Containment
System, Phoenix,
Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assistant Attorney Office of the 9/2000 5/2003
General Attorney General,
Fraud and Public
Corruption
Section, Phoenix,
Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deputy County Attorney Maricopa County 9/1997 9/2000
Attorney's Office,
Trial Bureau,
Phoenix, Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer Service Temporary agency 1997 1997
Representative placement at Bank
of America,
Phoenix, Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer Service Temporary agency 1995 1995
Representative placement at Days
Inn, Phoenix,
Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Broadcast Associate Ventura County News 1993 1994
Network, Oxnard,
California
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sales Associate Macy's, Ventura, 1993 1993
California
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Government experience (list any current and former advisory,
consultative, honorary, or other part-time service or positions with
Federal, State, or local governments held since college, including
dates, other than those listed above):
City of Tucson Housing Department Domestic Violence/Human
Trafficking Service Standards Work Group, 2021.
Arizona Supreme Court Task Force on Juvenile Sex Trafficking,
2017.
City of Phoenix Judicial Selection Commission, 2015-2017.
United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and
Security, Supporting Agency role, Deputy Secretary's Designee,
2011.
White House Council and Women and Girls, Secretary's Designee,
2009-2012.
Governor's Children Cabinet, 2006-2009.
Arizona Early Childhood Development and Health Board, 2008-
2009.
11. Business relationships (list all current and former positions held
as an officer, director, trustee, partner (e.g., limited partner, non-
voting, etc.), proprietor, agent, representative, or consultant of any
corporation, company, firm, partnership, other business enterprise, or
educational or other institution):
Vitalyst Health Foundation: Board of Directors, 2019-present.
Technical Assistance Partnership of Arizona: Board of
Directors, 2019-present.
Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services: Board of Directors,
2013-December 2021; Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer,
2013-2017 and 2018-2021.
Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network: Board of Directors, 2019-
2021.
Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence: Board of
Directors, 2012-2017.
Los Abogados Hispanic Bar Association: Board Member for 10+
years between 1996-2013; member, 1996-present.
Contreras Law Office, PLC: Principal, 2013-2015.
Mujer, Inc.: Board of Directors, 1999-2002.
12. Memberships (list all current and former memberships, as well as
any current and former offices held in professional, fraternal,
scholarly, civic, business, charitable, and other organizations dating
back to college, including dates for these memberships and offices):
State Bar of Arizona: Member, 1997-present.
Fostering Arizona Advocates: Advisory board, 2016-present.
Hispanic National Bar Association: Member, 2021-present.
National Association of Counsel for Children: Member, 2021-
present.
International Women's Forum: Member, 2017-present.
International Women's Forum--Arizona: Member, 2017-present.
Arizona Partnership to End Domestic Trafficking: Steering
Committee, 2014-2018.
National Latino Children's Institute, Summit Steering
Committee, 2012, Summit Co-Chair and Summit Steering Committee,
2013-2014.
Hispanic National Bar Association Law Student Division,
Regional President, 1995-1996.
Latino Law Student Association, Co-President, 1994-1995.
Mortar Board Honorary, 1991-1992.
Minority Action Council, 1989-1992.
Chi Omega, Member, 1989-1992.
13. Political affiliations and activities:
a. List all public offices for which you have been a candidate
dating back to the age of 18.
Attorney General, State of Arizona, 2018.
b. List all memberships and offices held in and services
rendered to all political parties or election committees,
currently and during the last 10 years prior to the date of
your nomination.
Arizona Democratic Party, precinct committeeman, 2017-present.
Arizona Democratic Party, State Committee Member, 2018-2020.
c. Itemize all political contributions to any individual,
campaign organization, political party, political action
committee, or similar entity of $50 or more for the past 10
years prior to the date of your nomination.
See table.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contribution Description Date Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obama for America 2/23/2012 $100
8/28/2012 $100
11/1/2012 $60
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kyrsten Sinema for Congress 8/21/2012 $150
11/2/2012 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carmona for Arizona 9/27/2012 $250
10/26/2012 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ron Barber for Congress 10/24/2014 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mary Rose Wilcox for Congress 3/31/2014 $100
5/20/2014 $150
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kirkpatrick for Arizona 10/24/2014 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hillary for America 10/16/2016 $250
7/30/2016 $100
10/3/2016 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kirkpatrick for Senate 9/15/2016 $400
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kyrsten Sinema for Congress 7/30/2016 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gallego for Arizona 6/29/2016 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hillary Victory Fund 10/16/2016 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kirkpatrick for Senate 5/27/2015 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gallego for Congress 8/31/2015 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kyrsten Sinema for Congress 8/31/2015 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom O'Halleran for Congress 10/13/2016 $55
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hillary for America 7/30/2016 $100
10/3/2016 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gallego for Congress 6/30/2019 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Kelly for Senate 6/9/2019 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biden for President 4/28/2020 $250
10/12/2020 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stanton for Congress 12/31/2020 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hirai for Congress 10/20/2020 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Montanans for Bullock 11/3/2020 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Register Her! 9/27/2021 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yassamin Ansari for City Council 2/21/2021 $150
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arena 527 12/1/2020 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Kurland for Arizona 10/18/2020 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coral 4 AZ 10/18/2020 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gabriella for Recorder 10/12/2020 $50
6/24/2020 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peten for People First 10/12/2020 $100
9/26/2020 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mendoza for Arizona 9/26/2020 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stephanie Stahl Hamilton for State 9/26/2020 $50
Senate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adam Ragan for TUSD 9/14/2020 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul for Arizona 7/3/2020 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AJ for State Senate 7/3/2020 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adelita for Supervisor 7/3/2020 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Berdetta Hodge for Tempe School Board 6/27/2020 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona Coalition for Change 6/3/2020 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aaron Conner for Treasurer 5/24/2020 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whitney for Maricopa County 3/31/2020 $100
8/23/2020 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vania Guevara for City Council 5/3/2019 $150
2/6/2019 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vania Guevara for City Council 12/15/2017 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Raquel Teran for Arizona Legislature 11/23/2017 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Penzone for Sheriff 8/8/2016 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Debbie Nez-Manuel for Arizona 12/7/2019 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Francisca Montoya for Phoenix 1/30/2020 $200
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jevin Hodge for Supervisor 5/13/2020 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adrian Fontes for County Recorder 2/28/2020 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rex Scott for Supervisor 11/23/2019 $100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Honors and awards (list all scholarships, fellowships, honorary
degrees, honorary society memberships, military medals, and any other
special recognitions for outstanding service or achievement received
since the age of 18):
Rosa Carrillo Torres Humanitarian Award, Valle Del Sol, 2021.
Heart of Justice Champion, Arizona Legal Women and Youth
Services, 2021.
Legal Aid Attorney of the Year, State Bar of Arizona, 2020.
YWCA Tribute to Leadership Award, 2020.
Judge Learned Hand Public Service Award, American Jewish
Committee, 2017.
Mujer Leadership Luminaria, 2016.
Outstanding Woman in Business, Phoenix Business Journal, 2016.
Outstanding Mentor, Phoenix Business Journal, 2016.
Shriver Center on Poverty Law, Racial Justice Institute
Fellowship, 2016.
National Hispana Leadership Institute, Executive Leadership
Fellow, 2013.
Top Forty Under 40, Phoenix Business Journal, 2008.
40 Hispanic Leaders Under 40, AZ Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,
2008.
Dean's Achievement Award, University of Arizona, College of
Law, 1994.
Mary Anne Richey Scholarship, Arizona Women Lawyers
Association, 1995.
Outstanding Senior Robie Medal, University of Arizona, 1993
Commencement.
Outstanding Senior, University of Arizona, 1993 Hispanic
Convocation.
Outstanding Junior Woman of the Year, Mortar Board, 1992.
National Hispanic Scholarship Fund, 1991, 1992 (approximately).
15. Published writings (list the titles, publishers, dates, and
hyperlinks (as applicable) of all books, articles, reports, blog posts,
or other published materials you have written):
Youth Today, Vulnerable youth need justice, and legal aid needs
community, September 23, 2021: https://youthtoday.org/2021/09/
vulnerable-youth-need-justice-and-legal-aid-needs-community/.
Arizona Mirror, Prosecutors must be held accountable for
charging protesters as gang members, March 1, 2021: https://
www.azmirror.com/2021/03/01/prosecutors-must-be-held-
accountable-for-charging-protesters-as-gang-members/.
Arizona Mirror, I worked at Homeland Security. Actions ignore
constitutional basics, September 16, 2020: https://
www.azmirror.com/2020/09/16/i-worked-at-homeland-security-the-
agencys-shocking-actions-ignore-constitutional-basics/.
Arizona Daily Star, Epstein is dead, sex trafficking is not,
August 14, 2019: https://tucson.com/opinion/local/arizona-
opinion-epstein-is-dead-sex-trafficking-is-not/
article_cc60792d-73a7-50c2-8e6b-7b32d49902bc.html.
Arizona Daily Star, We must live the Declaration of
Independence, July 4, 2018: https://tucson.com/opinion/local/
january-contreras-we-must-live-the-declaration-of-independence/
article_3be11533-37a4-5378-be51-00509c747faf.html.
Real Clear Policy, Obamacare Lawsuit Threatens Arizonans'
Health Care, January 27, 2018: https://www.realclearpolicy.com/
articles/2018/09/27/obamacare
_lawsuit_threatens_arizonans_health_care_110827.html.
Arizona Republic, Arizona Licenses Banned Deferred Action
Immigrants, September 19, 2013 (link is no longer available).
White House blog message, November 3, 2011: https://
obamawhitehouse.
archives.gov/blog/2011/11/03/continuinq-advance-our-work-
combating-domestic-violence-and-other-crimes.
White House blog message, January 3, 2012: https://
www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/01/03/department-homeland-
security-releases-u-visa-law-enforcement-certification-
resource-.
2010 Ombudsman Annual Report to Congress: https://www.dhs.gov/
sites/default/files/publications/
cisomb_2010_annual_report_to_congress.pdf.
2011 Ombudsman Annual Report to Congress: https://www.dhs.gov/
sites/default/files/publications/cisomb-annual-report-2011.pdf.
16. Speeches (list all formal speeches and presentations (e.g.,
PowerPoint) you have delivered during the past 5 years which are on
topics relevant to the position for which you have been nominated,
including dates):
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speech Forum Date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
City of Phoenix Human Trafficking Commission 5/2021
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coalition for Juvenile Justice Racial Disparities 11/2019
Conference
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Bar of Arizona Human Trafficking Training 4/2019
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southern Arizona Homeless Youth Summit 4/2019
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Association for the Education of Homeless 11/2016
Children and Youth Conference
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Bar of Arizona Domestic Violence Training 10/2016
------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. Qualifications (state what, in your opinion, qualifies you to
serve in the position to which you have been nominated):
For more than 20 years, I have served the public by leading
nonprofit and government agencies and prosecuting crimes of
abuse and exploitation to protect the safety and health of
children, vulnerable adults, and families. As part of these
roles, I have directly supported survivors of child abuse,
child neglect, domestic violence, human trafficking, and youth
homelessness. I have also developed and implemented rules,
regulations, budgets, laws, policies, and programs to better
serve the public. I have chosen to take on these roles because
I believe deeply that every person and child should live in
safety, be treated with dignity, and have an opportunity to
build a secure future.
These same beliefs are what led me to build a legal aid center
8 years ago, from the ground up. While leading this
organization, I worked with courts and agencies to empower
families and individuals during their most difficult moments.
This experience instilled in me a sense of urgency to
strengthen support and protections for children and families,
such as those passed in the bipartisan Family First Prevention
Services Act. When a family in crisis can turn to an efficient
and reliable safety net, they are better equipped to get back
on their feet, and their children can be better supported and
protected. When prevention is the focus and a crisis can be
avoided altogether, the better off a child, a family, and our
communities will be.
In my home State of Arizona, I was a member of Governor Janet
Napolitano's Children's Cabinet and the Arizona Early Childhood
Development and Health Board, which worked to strengthen access
to quality child care, early education, and health services to
empower families as they prepare children for success in school
and life. I also served as the leader of the Arizona Department
of Health Services and an Assistant Director of the State's
Medicaid agency. In these leadership roles, I worked with
committed colleagues to deliver high-quality services that make
a difference in the lives of Arizonans in efficient and cost-
effective ways. To achieve results, we remained guided by
bipartisan collaboration and evidenced-based policy
development; the same values needed to cut through bureaucracy
in any government setting.
During the Obama-Biden administration, I led the Office of the
Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman at the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, where we launched innovative
programs and digital services to increase the value of the
office to the public and stakeholders. The success we had would
not have been possible without partnerships. If there is one
thing I have learned throughout my career, it is that the most
effective Federal agencies are good-faith partners to community
leaders on the ground and to State, local, Tribal, and
territorial governments. In my role at the OHS and in other
roles prior and since, I have placed high value on input from
community members, local leaders, front-line staff, first
responders, law enforcement, and faith-based organizations who
carry out a shared mission in their own communities in every
corner of our country.
I am grateful to have been entrusted, time and again, with the
responsibility of stewarding public resources and executing
mission-critical services. Each time I am afforded this
responsibility, I remain focused on the faces of those I am
entrusted to serve, whether a child who is missing their
family, a grandfather in need of access to his cancer
treatment, or a trafficking survivor seeking safety and a new
start. If entrusted with the responsibilities of the Assistant
Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families at
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I will work
collaboratively and with a sense of urgency each day to empower
safe and thriving families and children. For me, there is no
professional duty more worthy.
B. FUTURE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIPS
1. Will you sever all connections (including participation in future
benefit arrangements) with your present employers, business firms,
associations, or organizations if you are confirmed by the Senate? If
not, provide details.
Yes.
2. Do you have any plans, commitments, or agreements to pursue
outside employment, with or without compensation, during your service
with the government? If so, provide details.
No.
3. Has any person or entity made a commitment or agreement to employ
your services in any capacity after you leave government service? If
so, provide details.
No.
4. If you are confirmed by the Senate, do you expect to serve out
your full term or until the next presidential election, whichever is
applicable? If not, explain.
Yes.
C. POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
1. Indicate any current and former investments, obligations,
liabilities, or other personal relationships, including spousal or
family employment, which could involve potential conflicts of interest
in the position to which you have been nominated.
Any potential conflict of interest will be resolved in
accordance with the terms of my ethics agreement, which was
developed in consultation with ethics officials at the
Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of
Government Ethics. I understand that my ethics agreement has
been provided to the committee. I am not aware of any potential
conflict other than those addressed by my ethics agreement.
2. Describe any business relationship, dealing, or financial
transaction which you have had during the last 10 years (prior to the
date of your nomination), whether for yourself, on behalf of a client,
or acting as an agent, that could in any way constitute or result in a
possible conflict of interest in the position to which you have been
nominated.
Any potential conflict of interest will be resolved in
accordance with the terms of my ethics agreement, which was
developed in consultation with ethics officials at the
Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of
Government Ethics. I understand that my ethics agreement has
been provided to the committee. I am not aware of any potential
conflict other than those addressed by my ethics agreement.
3. Describe any activity during the past 10 years (prior to the date
of your nomination) in which you have engaged for the purpose of
directly or indirectly influencing the passage, defeat, or modification
of any legislation or affecting the administration and execution of law
or public policy. Activities performed as an employee of the Federal
Government need not be listed.
House Bill 2055, Arizona Legislature, advocated for passage of
this bill, 2019.
Senate Bill 1422, Arizona Legislature, advocated for passage of
this bill, 2017.
Signed on to letters supporting passage of Family First
Prevention Services Act, 2016-2018.
Signed on to letters in support of increased funding for victim
support via the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Victims
of Crime Act (VOCA), and the Family Violence Prevention and
Services Act (FVPSA), 2015-2020.
Signed on to letter in support of funding for the Legal
Services Corporation (LSC), 2017.
4. Explain how you will resolve any potential conflict of interest,
including any that are disclosed by your responses to the above items.
(Provide the committee with two copies of any trust or other
agreements.)
Any potential conflict of interest will be resolved in
accordance with the terms of my ethics agreement, which was
developed in consultation with ethics officials at the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of
Government Ethics. I understand that my ethics agreement has
been provided to the committee. I am not aware of any potential
conflict other than those addressed by my ethics agreement.
5. Two copies of written opinions should be provided directly to the
committee by the designated agency ethics officer of the agency to
which you have been nominated and by the Office of Government Ethics
concerning potential conflicts of interest or any legal impediments to
your serving in this position.
I understand that my ethics agreement has been provided to the
committee.
D. LEGAL AND OTHER MATTERS
1. Have you ever been the subject of a complaint or been
investigated, disciplined, or otherwise cited for a breach of ethics
for unprofessional conduct before any court, administrative agency
(e.g., an Inspector General's office), professional association,
disciplinary committee, or other ethics enforcement entity at any time?
Have you ever been interviewed regarding your own conduct as part of
any such inquiry or investigation? If so, provide details, regardless
of the outcome.
No.
2. Have you ever been investigated, arrested, charged, or held by any
Federal, State, or other law enforcement authority for a violation of
any Federal, State, county, or municipal law, regulation, or ordinance,
other than a minor traffic offense? Have you ever been interviewed
regarding your own conduct as part of any such inquiry or
investigation? If so, provide details.
No.
3. Have you ever been involved as a party in interest in any
administrative agency proceeding or civil litigation? If so, provide
details.
I have not been named as a party in personal litigation. I have
been named as a party in litigation in my official capacity as
Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services.
4. Have you ever been convicted (including pleas of guilty or nolo
contendere) of any criminal violation other than a minor traffic
offense? If so, provide details.
No.
5. Please advise the committee of any additional information,
favorable or unfavorable, which you feel should be considered in
connection with your nomination.
N/A.
E. TESTIFYING BEFORE CONGRESS
1. If you are confirmed by the Senate, are you willing to appear and
testify before any duly constituted committee of the Congress on such
occasions as you may be reasonably requested to do so?
Yes.
2. If you are confirmed by the Senate, are you willing to provide
such information as is requested by such committees?
Yes.
______
Questions Submitted for the Record to January Contreras
Questions Submitted by Hon. Ron Wyden
mental health
Question. One cross-cutting issue the Finance Committee is looking
into is mental health. This week, we hosted the Surgeon General to hear
specifically about his recent advisory on youth mental health. This is
going to be a major priority for the committee moving forward, both in
terms of continuing to implement the Family First Prevention Services
Act and looking forward to the reauthorization of title IV-B child
welfare programs by the end of this Congress.
Can you address how you will prioritize youth mental health needs
in your work implementing Family First, and within the title IV-B
programs?
Are there other initiatives focused on youth mental health you plan
to implement?
Answer. I believe ACF is uniquely positioned to play a key role in
addressing the youth mental health crisis in this country. If
confirmed, I would work to break down silos among various ACF programs,
including child welfare, runaway and homeless youth, Community Service
Block Grants, and early childhood to comprehensively address youth
mental health and support whole family approaches to wellness. I would
also support ACF's leadership role on the HHS Behavioral Health
Coordinating Committee Subcommittee on Youth and Children, including
its focus on identifying opportunities to support resilience in
children and youth affected by trauma and disasters, including the
COVID-19 pandemic. The upcoming reauthorization of IV-B and the
continued implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act
provide important opportunities to focus on prevention and family well-
being. In addition, if confirmed, I would work with SAMHSA, CDC, and
others to target our resources and address mental health and the
impacts of adverse childhood experiences and trauma, in particular,
more effectively. I look forward to partnering with you on this issue.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Maria Cantwell
Question. One of the harsh realities that the COVID-19 pandemic
exposed is the lack of affordable child care options in the United
States. During the pandemic, parents, mostly women, were forced to
balance online learning, their own jobs, taking care of their children,
and many other tasks.
This has led to women quitting the workforce in unprecedented
numbers during the pandemic so that they can take care of the needs of
their families. According to the National Women's Law Center, women in
the United States have lost more than 5.4 million net jobs since
February, 2020.
In Washington State and many other parts of the country, child care
was already difficult to find even before COVID-19. Some parents end up
having to place their children on wait lists while others can't find
any affordable or available options.
It is estimated that the average cost of licensed infant care can
consume about 20 percent of an average Washington family's income. The
child-care industry in my home State is also facing high staff turnover
caused by low wages and other concerns.
The lack of child care does not just take a toll on women and
families, but also on the economy. I have supported legislation to
provide tax credits for working families who may need help paying the
cost of child care. I was also pleased to see that the House-passed
Build Back Better Act included a $100-billion investment to support
high-quality child care.
We must explore more options to improve child care access in the
United States to make families' lives easier, and also to help with the
social and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In your opinion, what are the main causes of the child care
shortage today? How has COVID-19 made the situation worse?
Answer. If confirmed, I want to partner with you to bring
affordable, high-quality child care within reach for all families. The
COVID-19 pandemic has placed a severe strain on our child-care system,
which relied on razor-thin margins to stay open. Providers are faced
with increased costs to pay for PPE, cleaning supplies, and
ventilation, as well as staff shortages and turnover. These challenges
mean it can be hard for families to find and afford the care they need.
Question. If confirmed, how would you work to improve affordable
child-care access through your respective roles? What approach would
you take to fix this issue?
Answer. A stable child-care sector is essential for both the
healthy development of children and the ability of parents to fully
participate in the workforce. If confirmed, I would listen to providers
to understand their needs, and work across ACF programs and with
Congress to strengthen support for child-care providers and families to
address this issue.
______
Question Submitted by Hon. Robert P. Casey, Jr.
domestic violence programs
Question. Family and domestic violence programs provide essential
support to help people leave unsafe relationships and reestablish their
lives. With Senator Murkowski, I am working to reauthorize the Family
Violence Prevention and Services Act, the main Federal funding stream
for emergency shelter and assistance for victims of family violence,
including children of victims of domestic violence. Our legislation
includes improvements to allow these programs to address the large
unmet demand for services.
Based on your prior experience, how will you work in this role to
ensure that we are reaching victims of family violence and
strengthening the services we provide to them?
Answer. Thank you for co-leading reauthorization of the Family
Violence Prevention and Services Act. During my career, I have
represented many victims of intimate partner violence and worked to
provide the services victims and survivors need to increase safety and
to rebuild their lives. ACF's family violence work is a critical part
of the agency's mission, and if confirmed, I would look forward to
enhancing the delivery of services to victims of domestic violence,
including through ensuring that services are accessible to all victims
and that they are delivered in a culturally competent manner.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Sheldon Whitehouse
Question. How can the Administration for Children and Families work
to improve housing stability for families and young adults living in
unstable or unsafe housing or who are homeless?
Answer. All families and young people deserve the security of
having a safe place to call home. ACF plays a significant role in
providing services to children and families experiencing homelessness.
If confirmed, I commit to working within ACF, and with partner agencies
such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other
partners, to ensure our most vulnerable children, youth, and families,
including those experiencing homelessness, are supported.
Question. Do you agree it is important to embed a focus on
diversity, cultural competency, and equity in the programs administered
by ACF? How will you incorporate these metrics into your evaluations of
programs administered by ACF?
Answer. The Biden-Harris administration and Secretary Becerra are
committed to advancing equity and support for underserved communities,
as reflected in the executive order the President signed on his first
day in office, ``Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved
Communities Through the Federal Government.'' I agree this focus is
important, and if confirmed, I will strive to advance this goal in all
ACF work so that we can deliver services and programming in the ways
that best make a positive difference in the lives of the children and
families we serve. I would also work to advance ACF's recent
Information Memorandum, Equity in Action: Prioritizing and Advancing
Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities, which outlines
ACF's unequivocal commitment to address disparities.
Question. What is your position on increasing flexibility for
States to provide benefits youth and young adults under the Chafee
Foster Care for Successful Transition to Adulthood Program? What is
your position on extending benefits to young adults exiting foster care
as was provided through the Division X of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2021? Do you see this initiative as requiring
additional funding?
Answer. The supports offered by the Chafee program for older foster
youth and those transitioning out of care can be the difference between
former foster youth going to college or getting a job and youth ending
up without a roof over their heads. No youth should exit foster care to
homelessness. The increased resources and flexibilities Congress
provided have been critical, and if confirmed, I would work to examine
what worked among those flexibilities and hear from those young people
about their experiences.
Question. If confirmed, how will you expand the list of evidence-
based programs that qualify for reimbursement under the Family First
Prevention Act (title IV-E) program?
Answer. If confirmed, I will work to ensure that the title IV-E
Prevention Services Clearinghouse has adequate resources to be able to
review and rate programs that support child and family well-being in a
timely manner. I believe this must include programs that are focused
specifically on serving historically underserved communities. I will
also support the continued development of evidence-based practices
through support of quality evaluation.
Question. Are there any additional wraparound services that the
Federal Government should provide to support families where a parent
has a SUD?
'Answer. If confirmed, I will work across ACF programs and with
other entities within HHS, including SAMHSA, to support families
impacted by substance use disorder. In addition, I am committed to
fully implementing the Family First Prevention Services Act to deliver
evidence-based supports to more parents struggling with substance use
disorder.
Question. If confirmed, what steps would you take to provide
parents with the tools to protect their children from counterfeit pills
and other narcotics?
Answer. If confirmed, I will work with other Operating Divisions
within the Department, including FDA, SAMHSA, and the CDC, to
counteract the impacts of illicit drug use on the children and families
ACF serves.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Catherine Cortez Masto
Question. Local jurisdictions are working hard to get Family First
programs off the ground. So many of the challenges they face don't need
a statutory change, but rather willing agency partners. Will you commit
to working with those States and counties to ensure that the
administration is doing everything possible to support a smooth
implementation process?
Answer. If confirmed, successful implementation of the Family First
Prevention Services Act will be a top priority. This law represents a
unique opportunity to re-orient our child welfare system toward
prevention and family well-being. I am committed to working with
States, counties, Tribes, and other partners to provide the guidance
and technical assistance needed for all communities to benefit from
this law.
Question. Recently, the Finance Committee heard from Dr. Vivek
Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, about the children's mental health
crisis. What do you see as your role in addressing kids' mental health
needs? Based on your previous experience, where can we do better in
breaking down silos between Federal programs and arming you with the
resources you'll need?
Answer. If confirmed, I would work across ACF programs and with
other Operating Divisions within the Department, including SAMHSA and
the CDC, to integrate support for youth mental health and addressing
childhood trauma into all of our work. ACF is uniquely positioned to
reach families and young people where they are and connect them with
the supports they need to address mental health needs. I look forward
to partnering with you on this important issue.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Elizabeth Warren
Question. Having founded the Arizona Legal Women and Youth
Services, which provides legal representation to unaccompanied children
and other vulnerable young people, you undoubtedly understand the
importance of legal representation for unaccompanied children.
Unfortunately, many unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings
lack attorneys.
In an oversight hearing in the House of Representatives last year,
Acting Assistant Secretary of ACF JooYeun Chang affirmed the importance
of legal representation for unaccompanied children and committed to
working with Congress to ensure legal representation for all
unaccompanied children.
If confirmed as Assistant Secretary of ACF, do you similarly commit
to working to ensure legal representation for all unaccompanied
children, and to requesting robust funding from Congress for this
purpose?
Answer. Ensuring equitable access to justice is the heart of my
career. If confirmed, the safety and well-being of unaccompanied
children referred to ACF's Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) will be
a top priority, and that includes doing everything possible to provide
access to legal representation for children referred to ORR. If
confirmed, I will work with Congress as well as the non-profit sector
to increase access to legal representation for unaccompanied children
and be transparent with Congress about the resources required to do so.
Question. Following their release from ORR custody to the care of
family members, unaccompanied children must prepare their legal cases
and attend immigration proceedings, often while coping with significant
trauma and a range of transitions. Post-release case management
services, including social services supports, medical and mental health
services, and family reunification support, can provide children with
much-needed assistance.
If confirmed as Assistant Secretary of ACF, what steps will you
take to ensure that all children have access to vital post-release
services?
Answer. Children referred to ORR have often experienced significant
trauma in their lives. Many children are fleeing unimaginable violence
in their home countries and have endured a long journey to the United
States by themselves. If confirmed, I am committed to protecting the
safety and well-being of all children referred to ORR. The provision of
post-release services is a critical part of the work that ORR does for
care to unaccompanied children, and if confirmed, I will work with you
and other partners to enhance the scope of those services, expand the
provision of services to reach more children and families, and be
transparent with Congress about the resources required to do so.
Question. To date, some unaccompanied children are leaving ORR care
following placements in temporary facilities or emergency intake sites
that lack comprehensive services. If confirmed, what steps will you
take to ensure that these children are quickly connected to post-
release services upon reunification with a sponsor to ensure that they
can obtain legal orientation, representation, and other social services
supports?
Answer. If confirmed, I will work to protect the safety and well-
being of all children referred to ORR, and that includes ensuring that
all types of placements adhere to the law, are appropriate places for
children, and follow child welfare best practices. Under my leadership,
I would endeavor to expand ORR's traditional licensed bed capacity,
including focusing on family-based foster care, in order to reduce
ORR's reliance on emergency intake sites. So long as emergency intake
sites are required, I will work to ensure they can provide
comprehensive services to care for unaccompanied children. ACF has a
legal and moral obligation to provide care to the children referred to
ORR, and I take those obligations very seriously.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Mike Crapo
Question. According to the Adoption Foster Care Analysis Reporting
system, the foster care system has served over 600,000 children each
year for the past 10 years. For many States, faith-based organizations
provide the majority of child welfare services to these foster
children. In order to best prioritize the well-being and safety of this
vulnerable population, the Federal Government must continue to
collaborate and support a wide variety organizations dedicated to
providing these services.
Can you please speak to the important role that faith-based
providers play in the child welfare system?
Answer. Faith-based providers are critical to the child welfare
system. Throughout my career, I've worked closely with the faith
community and understand how essential they are to our safety net. Our
Nation's vulnerable children and families are best served with a robust
network of providers ready to support them. If confirmed, I look
forward to listening to and working closely with faith-based providers.
Question. If confirmed, how will you communicate and collaborate
with faith-based organizations and providers, so they can continue to
help serve this vulnerable community?
Answer. Faith-based providers are critical to the child welfare
system. Throughout my career, I've worked closely with the faith
community and understand how essential they are to our safety net. If
confirmed, I look forward to listening to and working closely with
faith-based providers.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. John Cornyn
uacs/orr
Question. As Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at HHS,
you would oversee the Office of Refugee Resettlement. ORR is charged
with the care and placement of unaccompanied migrant children
apprehended along the southwest border. In 2015, the HSGAC Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations published a report that identified a
number of incidents in which children were placed with abusive
sponsors.
In one incident, HHS placed a number of children into the hands of
a ring of human traffickers who then forced them to work on egg farms
in Ohio.
In another incident, a Guatemalan boy was placed with the partner
of his maternal uncle. The uncle and his partner forced the boy to work
without pay for 4 months, and threatened to accuse him of viewing child
pornography if he did not continue working. No background check was run
on the uncle.
Last year, the administration terminated a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) between HHS and the Department of Homeland Security. Under that
MOA, ORR had been required to request information from ICE about all
potential sponsors and adult members of potential sponsor's households
before making a placement.
While I understand that undocumented members of potential sponsors'
households may be nervous about submitting to a background check, we
really need to prioritize the safety of the children here. As Assistant
Secretary, what actions would you take to ensure that potential
sponsors and all adult members of their households are properly vetted?
Answer. The core of my career has focused on protecting the most
vulnerable people in our society, including immigrant children. If
confirmed, the safety and well-being of all unaccompanied children
referred to ORR will be a top priority. Ensuring these children's
safety and well-being is both the legal duty and moral obligation of
ACF. ACF is required to release children to an appropriate and vetted
sponsor without unnecessary delay and in a manner consistent with the
law. When a child enters care, I will focus on placing the child safely
with their parents, relatives, or other sponsors as expeditiously as
possible and require all necessary background checks and other
safeguards in the sponsor assessment process to protect the child's
safety and ensure the appropriateness of the placement.
foster youth
Question. You will be charged with carrying out policies impacting
foster youth. These individuals are among the most vulnerable
Americans, and we need to make sure the foster care system works for
them, not the other way around.
Sadly, we have thousands of children in the foster care system who
go missing each year. In 2019, there were a total of 423,997 children
in foster care. Of that population, about 1 percent or 4,115 children
were designated as ``runaway.'' Some foster care advocacy groups do not
think these data on runaways are accurate as some cases are
preemptively closed out, even though many of those children are likely
to return. However, the data is not conclusive and remains incomplete.
Fortunately, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting
System (AFCARS) will soon be updated to more accurately reflect where a
child stands in the foster care system. I plan on sending the
administration a letter regarding this change and how we can get this
up and running as soon as possible. I am also working on draft
legislation to create a feedback loop from States to ACF, which will
provide technical assistance at the Children's Bureau to update best
practices on preventing and mitigating runaway episodes as well as
caring for missing and runaway foster youth.
How do you plan to address the issue of missing and runaway foster
youth?
Answer. I strongly believe in the importance of data and evidence
in driving decisions in the child welfare system and doing what is in
the best interests of children. If confirmed, I will work with you to
continue to ensure that AFCARS is collecting and reporting data that
will help us to keep children safe and move us toward a system of child
and family well-being. It is critical that we both account for children
who have left their placements and understand why they have left so we
can provide the support they need to stay safe. You have my commitment
to work on this issue with you.
Question. If confirmed, will you prioritize accelerating the update
to AFCARS and provide Congress with periodical progress reports?
Answer. If confirmed, I commit to keeping you and the committee up
to date about all programs within ACF. I understand the critical
importance of AFCARS and would look forward to working closely with you
on all needed updates to the system.
______
Question Submitted by Hon. Richard Burr
Question. If you are confirmed, you will play a key role in the
development of Federal policy related to youth in the child welfare
system.
Senator Feinstein and I have introduced a bill to ensure that
foster children placed in qualified residential treatment programs, or
QRTPs, with more than 16 beds would not lose eligibility for Medicaid
because of an antiquated law often called the ``IMD exclusion.''
QRTPs are required by law to have a trauma-informed treatment model
designed to address the clinical needs of foster children with serious
emotional or behavioral issues. In other words, these programs are
legally required to provide a clinically-appropriate level of care for
vulnerable foster children who are in serious need of such care.
Do you believe that children receiving treatment in QRTPs should
lose their Medicaid coverage if that QRTP has more than 16 beds?
Answer. If confirmed, I am committed to listening to States,
counties, and providers about challenges and opportunities related to
the implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act,
including the Qualified Residential Treatment Program provisions. Given
the complex interactions with Medicaid, I am committed to working with
CMS and other parts of the Department to provide clear and responsive
guidance to the field. My top priority will be ensuring that children
receive the type of care they need in a setting that is most
appropriate to the delivery of that care. If confirmed, I look forward
to working with you on this issue.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Tim Scott
Question. The recommended child care provisions in President
Biden's Build Back Better agenda changes the law to mandate that faith-
based providers comply with Federal laws, which will force providers to
choose between their religious mission and Federal dollars.
If confirmed, will you commit to ensuring that faith-based
providers are able to fully participate in the child care system
without having to compromise their religious missions in your capacity
as Assistant Secretary for Family Support?
Answer. Faith-based providers are critical to the child welfare
system. Throughout my career, I've worked closely with the faith
community and understand how essential they are to our safety net. Our
network of providers must be as robust as possible to meet the needs of
kids and families. If confirmed, I look forward to listening to and
working closely with faith-based providers.
Question. Additionally, President Biden's proposal will undermine
the parent-
driven mixed delivery system that is already in place by favoring
grants and contracts to Head Start centers and public schools over
certificates that allow parents to choose for themselves where to send
their child. Parents, not government, know their children best and
should have access to high-quality, affordable child-care options which
include community-based centers, family child care homes, private
providers, or faith-based providers.
If confirmed, will you commit to working on behalf of parents to
ensure affordable access to child care options and opposing any
proposals that would limit such options?
Answer. If confirmed, I look forward to working to increase access
to high-quality, affordable child care options for all families.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. James Lankford
unaccompanied minors
Question. The Biden administration walked back certain vetting
requirements for sponsors of unaccompanied minors. Can you walk me
through your understanding of these requirements and whether you agree
with the Biden administration's decisions?
Answer. If confirmed, the safety and well-being of unaccompanied
children referred to ORR will be a top priority. Ensuring these
children's safety and well-being is both the legal duty and moral
obligation of ACF. ACF is required to release children to an
appropriate and vetted sponsor without unnecessary delay and in a
manner consistent with law. When a child enters care, I will focus on
placing the child safely with their parents, relatives, or other vetted
sponsors, as expeditiously as possible and require all necessary
background checks and other safeguards in the sponsor assessment
process to protect the child's safety and ensure the appropriateness of
the placement.
Question. A record number of unaccompanied minors crossed the
border last year, and we've begun seeing reports that some of these
minors after they are released from ORR custody are being placed in
labor trafficking situations. Reuters had an in-depth investigation
earlier this week about minors being trafficked to work on poultry
farms. If confirmed, what will your plan be to address this situation?
Answer. I have spent a good part of my career representing victims
of trafficking, and if confirmed, I will work to protect all the
children served by ACF from the horrors of trafficking. I will work
with experts within ACF as well as within other Departments to ensure
we are implementing best practices to prevent and respond to
trafficking and that we are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to
protecting children in our care.
Question. ORR and DHS (ICE and CBP) have historically had a bad
working relationship when it comes to the care and custody of
unaccompanied minors. Do you believe ICE plays an important role in
caring for unaccompanied minors? If confirmed, what steps will you take
to fix this relationship?
Answer. Yes, I agree that inter-departmental relationships are
critical when unaccompanied children are referred to ORR, including
their timely transfer to ORR care and custody. If confirmed, I would
work to establish strong channels of communication with the Department
of Homeland Security to ensure that children referred to ACF can be
quickly and safely moved to a setting that adopts child welfare best
practices. As a former senior leader within DHS, I would bring that
experience to bear.
Question. ORR often faces issues with ``age-outs'' and young adults
who lie about their age to be placed in ORR custody. If confirmed, what
steps will you take to ensure that only minors receive care under ORR's
custody?
Answer. If confirmed, I am committed to following the law while
managing the unaccompanied children's program and that includes
ensuring we are only serving individuals eligible for the unaccompanied
children's program and following Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act requirements when making prompt age determinations.
Question. I am still waiting on a data request that my office
placed in September for the number of children ORR was unable to locate
after they were released. The latest data we saw indicated that ORR
lost track of 1 out of every 3 kids released from sponsors. Again, that
data is over 6 months old. Do you think the Biden administration's
policies at ORR are to blame for this situation? What efforts will you
take to improve this situation moving forward?
Answer. I am committed to being responsive to congressional
inquiries and believe in the critical oversight role that Congress
plays within our system of checks and balances. If confirmed, I will be
responsive to congressional requests.
Question. During his time in the Obama administration, then-Deputy
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called on Congress to reform the
Flores settlement agreement to better address the flow of unaccompanied
minors to the southwest border. If confirmed, do you commit to working
with Congress to fix the Flores settlement agreement?
Answer. If confirmed, I will follow the law and am committed to
partnering with Congress to ensure our ability to safely care for all
unaccompanied children referred to ACF.
human trafficking
Question. Human trafficking and child exploitation have continued
to be issues that families and children in our Nation face,
particularly vulnerable children in foster care or who are
experiencing. If confirmed, what will you do to prevent and combat
child sexual exploitation and human trafficking?
What can we do on the front end to decrease the demand for human
trafficking?
Answer. A focus of my career has been combatting human trafficking,
and I will always carry with me the experiences of clients who have
been victims of trafficking. If confirmed, I will work closely with
each component of ACF to incorporate anti-trafficking efforts into our
programs, particularly in child welfare. In addition, I would listen to
survivors about what would have made a difference in their situation,
and I would bring those lessons to ACF programs. Responding to human
trafficking is essential, but we must also prioritize preventing this
crime and the conditions that make survivors vulnerable in the first
place. I look forward to working closely with you on this issue.
faith-based child welfare
Question. Faith-based child welfare providers perform vital
services for hundreds of thousands of foster children nationwide and
are often the best at finding forever homes for children in need.
According to HHS's AFCARS report, 407,493 children are in foster care,
117,470 of whom are waiting to be adopted.
Unfortunately, one day before the 2021 AFCARS report came out, HHS
announced the rescission of waivers that were previously granted to
faith-based adoption and foster care agencies in Michigan, Texas, and
South Carolina, which put providers in these States in the untenable
position of choosing between serving children or operating in
accordance with the tenets of their faith.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court unanimously validated the
principle that religious adoption agencies have a right to be free from
discriminatory exclusion from adoption and foster care programs because
of their beliefs in Fulton v. Philadelphia. The Supreme Court found
that ``the refusal of Philadelphia to contract with Catholic Social
Services for the provision of foster care services unless it agrees to
certify same-sex couples as foster parents cannot survive strict
scrutiny, and violates the First Amendment.'' However, HHS and the
Biden administration appear to be ignoring the Court's clear direction
that religious foster care agencies cannot be shut down because of
their religious beliefs.
A number of my colleagues and I wrote to Secretary Becerra on this
issue last year, but we have yet to receive a response
Do you agree that our primary goal should be safe, loving, and
permanent placements for all children?
Answer. Yes.
Question. Do you agree that faith-based adoption and foster care
agencies should be able to continue to partner with the government to
serve children and families without sacrificing their sincerely held
religious beliefs?
Answer. Faith-based providers are critical to the child welfare
system. Throughout my career, I've work closely with the faith
community and understand how essential they are to our safety net. If
confirmed, I look forward to listening to and working closely with
faith-based providers.
Question. Do you agree that without faith-based providers, our
Nation would be unable to properly care for the number of children in
need of homes and families?
Answer. Faith-based providers are absolutely essential to our child
welfare system.
Question. If confirmed, will you commit to maintaining the notice
of non-
enforcement for the 2016 grants rule and disavow its enforcement moving
forward?
Answer. It is my understanding that this is an issue that spans
across the Department. If confirmed, I will look into how the
Department is addressing this issue and report back to Congress. I also
commit to doing everything in my power, if confirmed, to ensure that
grantees and their beneficiaries are not unfairly discriminated
against.
Question. If confirmed, will HHS exclude from the title IV-E
program religious adoption and foster care providers that cannot assist
in the placement of children in same-sex households without violating
their religious exercise when those households have alternative
providers available to assist them in the State?
Answer. If confirmed, I will follow the law. I will also work
closely with faith-based providers so that children and families have a
strong network of support.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. John Barrasso
Question. Faith-based organizations play an important role in the
child welfare system. The actions of the Biden administration are
making it more difficult for these groups to participate in the
process. This continues a troubling pattern of the Department of Health
and Human Services discriminating against people and organizations of
faith.
On November 18, 2021, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Office
for Civil Rights (OCR), announced it was withdrawing waivers previously
granted under the Trump administration. Please explain your position on
this decision.
Please describe how you will help faith-based groups participate in
the child welfare process and identify previous professional
experiences where you have specifically worked with faith-based groups.
Please describe how you will ensure faith-based organizations will
not have to violate their own religious beliefs to participate in
Federal programs.
Answer. Faith-based providers are critical to the child welfare
system. Throughout my career, I've worked closely with the faith
community and understand how essential they are to our safety net. If
confirmed, I look forward to listening to and working closely with
faith-based providers.
Question. Rural States and communities face unique challenges when
delivering governmental services.
Please describe specific instances and experiences where you have
improved the delivery of social services in rural communities?
Explain how, if confirmed, you will ensure the policies of the
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) will take into account
the unique needs of rural States and people.
Answer. Ensuring equitable access to ACF programs for rural
communities is critical. If confirmed, I would partner with rural
communities to identify barriers to accessing ACF programs and would be
committed to thinking creatively to solve those problems and meet the
needs of children and families in rural communities. During my career,
I have worked with rural communities and have seen firsthand the issues
caused by long distances to service providers, lack of reliable
Internet, and staffing challenges for many providers. In Arizona, I
worked within and outside of government to increase support for access
to health-care providers such as family physicians and health-care
centers in rural counties. I would bring that experience to ACF if I am
fortunate enough to be confirmed.
Question. As the former chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs
Committee, ensuring American Indian and Alaska Native children receive
the help and support they need is an important personal priority of
mine.
Can you please identify previous professional experiences and
actions where you worked with tribal communities?
Can you please identify specific policies and ways you plan on
working with tribal communities if confirmed?
Answer. Thank you for raising the importance of working with tribal
communities. If confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for the
Administration for Children and Families, I will prioritize working
with tribal communities to advance the well-being of Native American
children and families. As an Assistant Director of Arizona's Medicaid
agency, an advisor to Governor Janet Napolitano, and as the leader of
the Arizona Department of Health Services, I consistently developed
relationships with tribal leaders centered in meaningful consultation
and government-to-
government relationships. If confirmed, I will work with tribal
communities to reduce concerning disparities and support the delivery
of ACF services and programs that can make a difference in tribal
communities of every size. I will work closely with the ACF
Administration for Native Americans to coordinate and personally
participate in consultation sessions and roundtables with tribal
leaders, visit tribal communities, and ensure that ACF is a responsive
partner in supporting Native American children and families throughout
the country.
Question. The Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) previously issued a rule
entitled ``Vaccine and Mask Requirements to Mitigate the Spread of
COVID-19 in Head Start Programs.''
Do you believe the scientific data supports the masking of young
children to participate in Head Start?
If you believe the masking of young children is justified, please
provide specific medical or scientific studies to support this
position.
Answer. Head Start is a vital resource to many underserved
communities around the country. If confirmed, keeping Head Start
Centers open and safe will be a top priority. I would prioritize
listening to the needs and concerns of Head Start providers and
families to ensure ACF is providing the guidance and support they need
to keep students safe and in classrooms, while also following Centers
for Disease Control (CDC) guidance for masking.
Question. The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly difficult on
children who lost the ability to attend in-person school. Teachers are
classified as mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect under
State law, since they are in such frequent and close contact with
children.
From a child welfare perspective, can you explain your position on
the importance of in-person learning?
Answer. Schools and the supports that students receive in schools
are an important part of the safety net for children and families.
Children do best when they can safely access a full range of supports,
including those provided by in-person learning.
Question. Human trafficking is a tragedy and must be stopped. The
actions of the Biden administration are only making the situation
worse, especially along our southern border. With that being said, the
Administration for Children and Families plays an important role
combating human trafficking.
Can you please identify specific policies you believe Congress
should consider that would improve the ability of ACF to combat and
provide assistance to victims of human trafficking?
Answer. A focus of my career has been combatting human trafficking,
and I will always carry with me the experiences of clients who have
been victims of trafficking. If confirmed, I will work closely with
each component of ACF to incorporate anti-trafficking efforts into our
programs, particularly in child welfare. A central way to combat
trafficking is to address the housing and economic instability that
make many survivors targets for trafficking predators. In providing
assistance to survivors, housing and shelter, legal services, and
mental health support are all services that I have seen help survivors
move forward to build stability for themselves, and their families.
Survivor-led services can be key in addressing trauma. In addition, I
would listen to survivors about what would have made a difference in
their situation, and I would bring those lessons to ACF programs. I
look forward to working closely with you on this issue.
______
Prepared Statement of Hon. Mike Crapo,
a U.S. Senator From Idaho
Today's nominees will have significant responsibilities overseeing
programs that affect some of the most vulnerable populations in
America.
As Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources, Mr. Gordon would
have a critical role in stewarding resources across the breadth of
HHS's programs. I look forward to hearing his views on how HHS can
improve its service delivery to provide more effective care in programs
that affect nearly every American.
If confirmed, Ms. Contreras and Ms. Jones Gaston would oversee
programs that protect and support children and youth. I am eager to
hear how these nominees propose improving service delivery toward these
particularly at-risk groups.
I urge all the nominees to be forthcoming in this discussion, in
all questions for the record, and, should they be confirmed, in the
roles to which they have been nominated. Congress is a critical partner
to the work of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the
programs you may oversee are of unique importance. Working in a
bipartisan way with the members of the Finance Committee, we have the
opportunity to evaluate and implement policies that better serve the
American people.
Once again, I congratulate the nominees here today and look forward
to this discussion.
______
Prepared Statement of Robert Michael Gordon, Nominated to be Assistant
Secretary for Financial Resources, Department of Health and Human
Services
Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, members of the committee,
thank you for considering my nomination to be the Assistant Secretary
for Financial Resources at the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS). I am honored by President Biden's decision to nominate
me, and I look forward, if confirmed, to serving under the leadership
of Secretary Becerra.
Before beginning, I would like to thank my family for their love
and support. My wife Catherine and older son Silas are here today.
Government funding decisions each day make an enormous difference
to millions of Americans in every corner of the country. For all of us,
government must run as effectively and efficiently as possible. If
confirmed, I will use data, evidence, and evaluation to make government
deliver results, strengthen the integrity and transparency of taxpayer-
funded programs, and advance equity.
This has been the work of my career, spanning 3 decades in Federal,
State, and local governments, in leadership roles handling health and
human services, and in key positions managing budget and finance. For
more than 4 years, I served as a senior official at the U.S. Office of
Management and Budget, including as Acting Deputy Director. While at
OMB I played a key part in launching evidence-based initiatives at four
Federal agencies. These included HHS's Maternal, Infant, and Early
Childhood Home Visiting program, which now funds 19 service delivery
models supported by solid evidence. Together with HHS leadership,
including the official in the role for which I am nominated, I also
worked to develop the Head Start recompetition, innovations in child
welfare, and improvements in programs for the aging.
In this period, I also helped negotiate bipartisan budget
agreements to keep the government open and the country from defaulting
on its debts. And I had particular responsibility for program integrity
investments to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.
The private and nonprofit sectors offer important lessons for
government. After leaving OMB and becoming the senior vice president of
finance and global strategy for the nonprofit College Board, I worked
as part of a team to reform procurement processes, cut organizational
costs, and drive technology changes that improved services for students
and schools alike.
That experience informed my work as the director of the Michigan
Department of Health and Human Services, an agency with 14,000
employees and a $27-billion budget. I played a key part in the State's
response to COVID-19, expanded access to health coverage, drove
improvements in child welfare programs, increased use of effective
approaches to mental health and substance use disorders, and cut
technology costs while improving customer service.
One of my proudest accomplishments in Michigan was ending severe
delays in delivery of Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) benefits. When I arrived, the State had just rolled out
a flawed new system which meant that more than 30 percent of
Michiganders in some rural counties were not receiving needed help
within the required 30 days. Legislators in both parties were angry,
and rightly so. In partnership with extraordinary colleagues, we
listened to front-line staff, improved technology, shifted work
patterns, and held ourselves accountable with a public dashboard
showing our progress each week. Within a few months, rural counties
were performing as well as others, and we went on to simplify and
improve the delivery of benefits in ways that earned national praise.
Should I be confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources, I
would apply the same performance focus at HHS.
As the response to COVID-19 continues, the work of HHS has never
been more important. And it has never been more personal for me. Among
more than 900,000 Americans who have died from COVID was my father,
Alan Gordon. A psychiatrist who spent decades working on behalf of
homeless individuals and ex-offenders, he inspired me to public
service.
I would be honored to play my part, as HHS's chief financial
officer, in sustaining a robust COVID response--and in strengthening so
many vital HHS programs--from cancer research to the Indian Health
Services to Medicare. Should I be confirmed, I would work with
President Biden, Secretary Becerra, and members of Congress to fund
health and human services programs that work.
Thank you again for considering my nomination. I look forward to
your questions.
______
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
STATEMENT OF INFORMATION REQUESTED
OF NOMINEE
A. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
1. Name (include any former names used): Robert Michael Gordon.
2. Position to which nominated: Assistant Secretary for Financial
Resources, Department of Health and Human Services.
3. Date of nomination: September 20, 2021.
4. Address (list current residence, office, and mailing addresses):
5. Date and place of birth: June 9, 1971; New York, NY.
6. Marital status (include maiden name of wife or husband's name):
7. Names and ages of children:
8. Education (list all secondary and higher education institutions,
dates attended, degree received, and date degree granted):
Yale Law School.
Dates Attended: 9/1995-6/1998.
Degree Received: Juris Doctor.
Date Degree Granted: 6/1998.
Harvard University.
Dates Attended: 9/1989-6/1994.
Degree Received: Bachelor of Arts.
Date Degree Granted: 6/1994.
Dalton School.
Dates Attended: 9/1985-6/1989.
Degree Received: H.S. Diploma.
Date Degree Granted: 6/1989.
9. Employment record (list all jobs held since college, including the
title or description of job, name of employer, location of work, and
dates of employment for each job):
See chart.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dates of
Employer Title Location Employment
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Center on Budget Senior Counselor Washington, DC May 2021-present
and Policy (remote)
Priorities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
University of Public Service Ann Arbor, MI February 2021-
Michigan Law Scholar present
School
------------------------------------------------------------------------
University of Senior Advisor Ann Arbor, MI February 2021-
Michigan Poverty present
Solutions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Self-Employment Consultant * Okemos, MI March February
2021-present
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michigan Director Lansing, MI January 2019-
Department of January 2021
Health and Human
Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The College Board Senior Vice Washington, DC March 2015-
President, January 2019
Global Strategy
and Finance
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Department Acting Assistant Washington, DC September 2014-
of Education Secretary, March 2015
Office of
Planning,
Evaluation and
Policy
Development
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Self-Employment Consultant* Washington, DC April 2013-
(based) September 2014
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Office of Acting Deputy Washington, DC January 2009-
Management and Director; March 2013
Budget Executive
Associate
Director;
Associate
Director,
Education,
Income
Maintenance, and
Labor
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Self-Employment Consultant* Washington, DC August 2007-
December 2008
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York City Managing Director New York, NY May 2006-June
Department of for Resource 2007
Education Allocation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Center for Senior Vice Washington, DC January 2005-
American President; PMay 2006
Progress Senior Fellow
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Senate/ Legislative Washington, DC November 2004-
Senator John Director PJanuary 2005
Edwards
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kerry/Edwards Domestic Policy Washington, DC April 2004-
2004 PDirector PNovember 2004
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edwards for Policy Director Raleigh, NC July 2003-PMarch
PPresident 2004
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Senate/ Legislative Washington, DC September 2001-
Senator John Director/Counsel PJuly 2003
Edwards
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Supreme Law Clerk Washington, DC July 2000-July
Court/Justice 2001
Ruth Bader
Ginsburg
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Legal Aid Society/ Skadden Fellow/ Bronx, NY July 1999-June
PJuvenile Rights Staff Attorney 2000
PDivision
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Court of Law Clerk New York, NY August 1998-
Appeals, 2nd PAugust 1999
Circuit/Judge P.
N. Leval
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Department Intern Washington, DC June 1998-
of Justice, PAugust 1998
Civil Rights
Division
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bredhoff and Summer Associate Washington, DC July 1997-
Kaiser PAugust 1998
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Intern Washington, DC June 1996-July
Lawyers' 1996
Committee for
Civil Rights and
Urban Law
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Professors Paul Research New Haven, CT September 1996-
Gewirtz, Jerry Assistant PMay 1997
Mashaw, Jean Koh
Peters, Yale Law
School
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Attorney's Intern Brooklyn, NY July 1996-
POffice, EDNY PAugust 1996
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Department Intern Washington, DC June 1996-July
of Justice, 1996
Office of Legal
Counsel
------------------------------------------------------------------------
White House Policy Analyst Washington, DC January 1995-
National PJuly 1995
Economic Council
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporation for Special Assistant Washington, DC November 1994-
National and PJanuary 1994
Community
Service
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chuck Robb for Speechwriter Maclean, VA September 1994-
PSenate PNovember 1994
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporation for Special Assistant Washington, DC June 1994-
National and PSeptember 1994
Community
Service
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Individual consulting clients listed under Question 11.
10. Government experience (list any current and former advisory,
consultative, honorary, or other part-time service or positions with
Federal, State, or local governments held since college, including
dates, other than those listed above):
None other than above.
11. Business relationships (list all current and former positions held
as an officer, director, trustee, partner (e.g., limited partner, non-
voting, etc.), proprietor, agent, representative, or consultant of any
corporation, company, firm, partnership, other business enterprise, or
educational or other institution):
I have served as a consultant or contractor to the following
organizations (alphabetical within each time period):
2021
Boston Consulting Group.
Code for America.
Results for America.
Schmidt Futures/Federation of American Scientists.
2013-2014
America Achieves.
The College Board.
Teach for All.
The Next Generation, Inc. (Too Small to Fail).
Results for America.
2007-2008
Center for American Progress (Senior Fellow).
Freedman Consulting.
The Fund for Educational Excellence (Baltimore City Public
Schools).
Gates Foundation.
New York City Department of Education.
Student Achievement Partners.
12. Memberships (list all current and former memberships, as well as
any current and former offices held in professional, fraternal,
scholarly, civic, business, charitable, and other organizations dating
back to college, including dates for these memberships and offices):
See table.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name of Organization Dates of Membership Position Held
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schmidt Futures 2021-present Innovation Fellow
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michigan Public Health 2019-2021 Board Member
Institute
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Results for America 2017-2019 Board Member and
Treasurer
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Achievement Network, 2017-2019 Board Member
Limited
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Urban Institute 2018-2019 Nonresident Fellow
------------------------------------------------------------------------
J.B. and M.K. Pritzker 2013-2014 Member
Early Childhood
Accelerator Advisory
Committee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technical Advisory Group 2013-2014 Member
of the Campaign for
Grade-Level Reading
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brookings Institution 2013-2014 Guest Scholar
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Center for American 2005, 2007-2008 Senior Fellow
Progress
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EdLabs 2007-2008 Creative Board
Member
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NGA Advisory Committee on 2007-2008 Member
Teacher Effectiveness
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music National Service 2007-2008 Board Member
Initiative
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York State Bar 1999-Present Member
------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Political affiliations and activities:
a. List all public offices for which you have been a candidate
dating back to the age of 18.
N/A.
b. List all memberships and offices held in and services
rendered to all political parties or election committees,
currently and during the last 10 years prior to the date of
your nomination.
N/A.
c. Itemize all political contributions to any individual,
campaign organization, political party, political action
committee, or similar entity of $50 or more for the past 10
years prior to the date of your nomination.
See table.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contribution Description Date Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Pannill Fletcher for 10/28/2018 $50
Congress
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leslie Cockburn for Congress 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committee to Elect Jared Golden 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spanberger for Congress 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friends of Dan Feehan 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friends of Dan Feehan 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harder for Congress 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clarke Tucker for Congress 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elect Carolyn Long 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spanberger for Congress 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cindy Axne for Congress 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leslie Cockburn for Congress 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amy McGrath for Congress 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Pannill Fletcher for 10/28/2018 $50
Congress
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elaine for Congress 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TJ Cox For Congress 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Williams for Montana 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Davis for Kansas 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aftab for Ohio 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alyse for Alaska 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brindisi for Congress 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xochitl for New Mexico 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linda Coleman for Congress 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committee to Elect Jared Golden 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committee to Elect Richard Ojeda 10/28/2018 $50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Pannill Fletcher for 10/21/2018 $250
Congress
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lauren Underwood for Congress 10/21/2018 $500
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committee to Elect Jared Golden 10/21/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colin Allred for Congress 10/21/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kristen Carlson for Congress Committee 10/21/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friends of Dan Feehan 10/21/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brendan Kelly for Southern Illinois 10/14/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katie Hill for Congress 10/14/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elissa Slotkin for Congress 10/06/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heidi for Senate 09/15/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bredesen for Senate 09/15/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spanberger for Congress 09/04/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leslie Cockburn for Congress 09/04/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Malinowski for Congress 09/04/2018 $500
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katie Porter for Congress 09/04/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colin Allred for Congress 7/10/2018 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indivisible Action 06/07/2018 $12,500
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friends of Gina Raimondo 04/17/2018 $500
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friends of Gina Raimondo 02/11/2018 $1,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doug Jones for Senate Committee 12/06/2017 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doug Jones for Senate Committee 11/11/2017 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Perriello Campaign Committee 02/062017 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friends of Gina Raimondo 09/24/2017 $500
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friends of Gina Raimondo 02/22/2017 $500
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kelly Gonez for School Board 11/01/2016 $1,100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hillary Victory Fund 09/15/2016 $2,200
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hillary for America 09/15/2016 $2,200
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hillary Victory Fund 09/06/2016 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hillary for America 09/06/2016 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hillary for America 08/21/2016 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hillary Victory Fund 08/21/2016 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hillary for America 01/16/2016 $1,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lesser Committee 11/18/2015 $75
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friends of Gina Raimondo 03/01/2014 $1,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friends of Gina Raimondo 07/18/2013 $1,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obama for America 10/17/2012 $1,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obama Victory Fund 2012 10/17/2012 $1,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kate Anderson for School Board 2012 $250
------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Honors and awards (list all scholarships, fellowships, honorary
degrees, honorary society memberships, military medals, and any other
special recognitions for outstanding service or achievement received
since the age of 18):
Skadden Fellow: 1998-1999.
Summa Cum Laude, Phil Beta Kappa, John Harvard Scholarship,
Harvard University: 1993-1994.
15. Published writings (list the titles, publishers, dates, and
hyperlinks (as applicable) of all books, articles, reports, blog posts,
or other published materials you have written):
``A Progressive Vision Is Possible If We Spend Money
Thoughtfully Now,'' N.Y. Times, April 29, 2021 (w/M. Jolin),
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/opinion/American-rescue-
plan-kids-lead-use-money-wisely.html.
``Grateful to Have Served,'' Medium, March 2, 2021, https://
gordonrobert.
medium.com/grateful-to-have-served-738586290412.
An order that can save lives from COVID-19, MDHHS website,
October 2021 (as MDHHS Director), https://www.michigan.gov/
mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-73970_71692-541432--,00.html.
``Changes Big and Small: What's Needed in the Fight Against
Poverty,'' April 2020 (first given as a speech discussed here)
(as MDHHS Director), https://poverty.umich.edu/files/2020/07/
PovertySolutions-ChangesBigAndSmall-Policy
Report-r2.pdf.
``Michigan's Plan to Improve Behavioral Health Care,'' Detroit
Free Press, December 4, 2019 (as MDHHS Director), https://
www.detroitnews.com/story/opin
ion/2019/12/04/opinion-michigans-plan-improve-health-care/
2595973001/.
``Does Brett Kavanaugh Agree with Bush v. Gore?,'' The
Atlantic, August 30, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/
archive/2018/08/does-brett-kava
naugh-agree-with-bush-v-gore/568420/.
``Yes We CCCan,'' Democracy Journal, Summer 2018, https://
democracy
journal.org/magazine/49/yes-we-cccan/.
``Courage and Grace in Puerto Rico,'' Medium, October 24, 2017,
https://medium.com/@rgordon--75288/for-more-than-50-years-the-
college-board-has-had-an-office-based-in-puerto-rico-
8595467ab6f4.
``What Happened to Teen Pregnancy Prevention?'', Democracy
Journal, May 25, 2017, https://democracyjournal.org/briefing-
book/what-happened-to-teen-pregnancy-prevention/.
``An Abdication at OMB,'' Democracy Journal, May 2, 2017,
https://democracyjournal.org/briefing-book/an-abdication-at-
omb/.
``The Trump Administration's Misleading Embrace of `Evidence,'
'' Politico, March 31, 2017 (w/R. Haskins), https://
www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/03/the-trump-
administrations-misleading-embrace-of-evidence-000385/.
``Trump's First Budget Bill Undoes Trump's First Budget,''
Democracy Journal, March 16, 2017, https://
democracyjournal.org/briefing-book/trumps-first-budget-bill-
undoes-trumps-first-budget/.
``Making Tax Evasion Great: The $100 Billion Giveaway,''
Democracy Journal, March 9, 2017 (w/D. Kamin), https://
democracyjournal.org/briefing-book/making-tax-evasion-great-
the-100-billion-giveaway/.
``Constructing the Security State,'' Democracy Journal,
February 28, 2017, https://democracyjournal.org/briefing-book/
deconstructing-the-administrative-state-constructing-the-
security-state/.
``A Bipartisan Moneyball Agenda,'' in Moneyball for Government
(eds. J. Nussle and P. Orszag), 2014 (w/R. Haskins), https://
moneyballforgov.com/moneyball-for-government-the-book/.
``How to Fix Head Start,'' The New Republic, March 24, 2014 (w/
S. Mead), https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/how-to-fix-head-
start/.
``New Motto for a Leaner Washington: Pay for What Works,'' The
Atlantic, February 24, 2014 (w/F. Hess), https://
www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/02/new-motto-for-a-
leaner-washington-pay-for-what-works/284029/.
``No Time To Waste in Making STEM Education Work,'' U.S. News
and World Report, June 28, 2013 (w/Robert Shea), https://
results4america.org/tools/u-s-news-world-report-no-time-waste-
making-stem-education-work/.
``Extending Lower Student-Loan Interest Rates Is Not the
Answer,'' The New Republic, June 11, 2013, https://
newrepublic.com/article/113451/extending-lower-student-loan-
interest-rates-not-answer.
``McCain Channels Phil Gramm to Attack `Lucky Duckies,' '' The
New Republic, October 15, 2008, https://newrepublic.com/
article/45170/mccain-channels-phil-gramm-attack-lucky-duckies.
``Gordon and Kvaal on How America Will Change,'' The New
Republic, October 13, 2008, https://newrepublic.com/article/
45088/gordon-and-kvaal-how-america-will-change.
``The Return of Big Government,'' The New Republic, September
19, 2008, https://newrepublic.com/article/44492/the-return-big-
government.
``Alpha-Bits,'' The New Republic, September 18, 2008, https://
newrepublic.com/article/63170/alpha-bits.
``From Fear to Sneer,'' The New Republic, September 4, 2008,
https://newrepublic.com/article/44148/fear-sneer.
``McCain's Tax Increase on Health Care,'' The New Republic,
September 2, 2008, https://newrepublic.com/article/44030/
mccains-tax-increase-health-care.
``More Equity and Less Red Tape: Rethinking the Comparability
and Compliance Provisions in Title I of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act,'' Center for American Progress
(October 2008), https://cdn.americanprogress
.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2008/10/pdf/
title1.pdf?_ga=2.203895952.1212
894662.1622890526-809548641.1620915449.
``Impossible to Pigeonhole,'' The New Republic, August 28,
2008, https://newrepublic.com/article/43928/impossible-
pigeonhole.
``The Coming Tax Battle,'' The New Republic, August 27, 2008,
https://newrepublic.com/article/43851/the-coming-tax-battle.
``Talking Like Bill Clinton,'' The New Republic, August 25,
2008, https://newrepublic.com/article/43739/talking-bill-
clinton.
``It's Like Shooting Fish in a Barrel--So Shoot!'', The New
Republic, August 25, 2008, https://newrepublic.com/article/
43751/its-shooting-fish-barrel-so-shoot.
``Procomp strikes solid balance in attracting and retaining
teachers,'' Rocky Mountain News, August 20, 2008 (w/A.
Rotherham).
``Family's Value,'' The New Republic, August 4, 2008, https://
newrepublic.com/article/64125/familys-value.
``McContradiction,'' The New Republic, July 8, 2008, https://
newrepublic.com/article/64486/mccontradiction.
``Reverse Robin Hood: Why Is John McCain Wrong on Health Care?
Think Credit Cards,'' Slate, May 19, 2008, https://slate.com/
news-and-politics/2008/05/why-is-john-mccain-wrong-on-health-
care.html.
``McCain's Delusional Tax Plan,'' The American Prospect, May 2,
2008, https://prospect.org/article/mccain-s-delusional-tax-
plan/.
``Johnny-Come-Lately,'' The New Republic, April 15, 2008,
https://newrepublic.com/article/62732/johnny-come-lately.
``Did Liberals Cause the Sub-Prime Crisis?'', The American
Prospect, April 7, 2008, https://prospect.org/article/liberals-
cause-sub-prime-crisis/.
``Criminal Intent,'' The New Republic, March 25, 2008, https://
newrepublic.com/article/63542/criminal-intent.
``Five Easy Pieces and Two Trillion Dollars,'' The Center for
American Progress, March 21, 2008 (w/J. Kvaal), https://
www.americanprogressaction.org/article/five-easy-pieces-and-
two-trillion-dollars/.
``Going from B to A: How to Fix the No Child Left Behind Act,''
Slate, September 24, 2007, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/
2007/09/how-to-fix-the-no-child-left-behind-act.html.
``Pay Teachers More,'' Chronicle of Higher Education, April 6,
2007 (w/T. Kane and D. Staiger), https://www.chronicle.com/
article/pay-teachers-more/.
``Political Realities,'' Education Next, Fall 2006, https://
www.educationnext.org/political-realities/.
``Should We Repair `No Child Left Behind' or Trade It In?'',
Center for American Progress/Economic Policy Institute,
September 5, 2006, https://www.epi.org/publication/rothstein-
gordon-nclb/.
``Tax Reform That's Fair and Meets the Country's Needs,''
Baltimore Sun, March 23, 2006 (w/John Irons), https://
www.americanprogress.org/article/fair-progressive-tax-reform-
would-be-good-policy-good-politics/.
``The Federalism Debate,'' Education Week, March 15, 2006,
https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/opinion-the-federalism-
debate/2006/03.
``Identifying Effective Teachers Using Performance on the
Job,'' Hamilton Project, Brookings Institution (w/T. Kane and
D. Staiger, April 2006), https://www.hamiltonproject.org/
assets/legacy/files/downloads_and_links/Identifying_
Effective_Teachers_Using_Performance_on_the_Job.pdf.
``Taking Charge,'' Washington Monthly, December 2005 (w/D.
Douglas), https://washingtonmonthly.com/2005/12/01/taking-
charge-2/.
``Alito or Scalito?'', Slate, November 1, 2005, https://
slate.com/news-and-politics/2005/11/alito-or-scalito.html.
``Friendly Fire,'' Slate, August 11, 2005, https://slate.com/
news-and-politics/2005/08/friendly-fire.html.
``Class Struggle,'' The New Republic, June 6, 2005, https://
newrepublic.com/article/68236/class-struggle.
``Failing Grade,'' The American Prospect, February 14, 2005,
https://prospect.org/education/failing-grade/.
``Drifting Through Byzantium: The Promise and Failure of the
Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997,'' 83 Minnesota Law
Review 637 (1999), https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlr/2251/.
``The Limits of Limits on Divorce,'' Note, Yale Law Journal
(1998), https://openyls.law.yale.edu/handle/20.500.13051/9077.
``The Dangers of Deliberation,'' Book Note, Yale Law Journal
(1998), https://openyls.law.yale.edu/bitstream/handle/
20.500.13051/9008/
45_106YaleLJ1313_1996_1997_.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y.
``Keeping Out the Riffraff,'' The Harvard Crimson, February 19,
1992, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1992/2/19/keeping-out-
the-riffraff-pbobnce-
again/.
``The Big Lie,'' The Harvard Crimson, April 12, 1991, https://
www.
thecrimson.com/article/1991/4/12/the-big-lie-pbmbore-than-one/.
``Troops Stop Shooting Now!'', The Harvard Crimson, January 25,
1991, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1991/1/25/troops-stop-
shooting-now-pbto-the/.
``Bush's Ally in Albany,'' The Harvard Crimson, September 21,
1991, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1991/9/21/bushs-ally-
in-albany-pbibt-is/.
Commentaries for Harvard Perspective (not able to locate) and
Harvard Political Review (not able to locate).
16. Speeches (list all formal speeches and presentations (e.g.,
PowerPoint) you have delivered during the past 5 years which are on
topics relevant to the position for which you have been nominated,
including dates):
I have records of the following speeches or hearing testimony
in the past 5 years, and I have included the video or text link
where available.
Michigan House of Representatives Oversight Committee hearing
on separation agreement, April 29, 2021.
Michigan Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic
hearing on epidemic orders, December 2, 2020.
Michigan Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic
hearing on COVID data, September 23, 2020.
Michigan Senate Oversight Committee hearing on protections for
agricultural workers related to COVID-19, September 17, 2020.
Michigan Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic
hearing on nursing homes, September 16, 2020.
Michigan Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic
hearing on contact tracing, August 13, 2020.
Michigan Senate Oversight Committee hearing on nursing homes,
May 13, 2020.
Michigan Joint Appropriations Subcommittee meeting on
behavioral health redesign, December 4, 2019.
``Changes Big and Small: What's Needed in the Fight Against
Poverty,'' (https://poverty.umich.edu/files/2020/07/
PovertySolutions-ChangesBigAnd
Small-PolicyReport-r2.pdf) published by University of Michigan
Poverty Solutions in April 2020, first given as a speech on
October 31, 2019, discussed here, https://
www.michigandaily.com/campus-life/director-michigan-health-and-
human-services-talks-food-insecurity-and-child-health/) (as
MDHHS Director).
Michigan Joint Appropriations Subcommittee meeting on asset
test policies.
Michigan House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee
on Health and Human Services budget testimony for 2020,
February 19, 2020.
Speech on behavioral health redesign to the Community Mental
Health Association of Michigan, October 22, 2019, https://
www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mdhhs/Folder3/
Folder96/Folder2/Folder196/Folder1/Folder
296/
20191022_RG_CMHA_speech_prepared_for_delivery.pdf?rev=f471125559
10
4258b1c4f77e9e505569.
Michigan House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee
on Health and Human Services budget testimony for 2019, March
6, 2019.
Michigan Senate Advice and Consent Committee hearing, February
14, 2019.
17. Qualifications (state what, in your opinion, qualifies you to
serve in the position to which you have been nominated):
What government chooses to fund--or not fund--has a lasting
impact on Americans, especially those who are most vulnerable.
Policymakers' decisions can be the difference between someone
having insurance or not, having a job or not, paying the bills
or not. A year out of law school, I represented children in
foster care and saw firsthand the difference that effective
services could make. That knowledge has inspired me in a 30-
year career in public service. If confirmed, the beliefs that
all individuals deserve to be treated with dignity, and that
evidence-based decision-making can advance that goal, would
inspire my work as Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources
at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
I have extensive experience working for Federal, State, and
local governments in leadership roles handling health care,
human services, and budget and finance matters. For more than 4
years, I served as a senior official at the U.S. Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), including service as Acting Deputy
Director. For the first 2 years that I was at OMB, I handled
large aspects of the HHS budget, including Head Start, CCDBG,
and LIHEAP, and I worked closely with the HHS official in the
role for which I am nominated. For the second 2 years, I
regularly worked on Medicaid and Medicare. I also served in the
presidential transition as co-lead of the HHS agency review
team, examining operations across the department. I will arrive
at HHS with a strong working knowledge of its responsibilities
on day one.
Evidence-based policymaking has been core to my work for many
years. While at OMB, I led the Obama administration's evidence-
based policymaking initiatives, tying government funding to
evaluation. Sometimes, a program that sounds like good policy
or good politics doesn't work, and funding it is a poor use of
taxpayer dollars. In my time at OMB, I was proud to play a part
in launching the evidence-based maternal and infant home
visiting program, in designing the Head Start recompetition
regulation, and in developing other
evidence-based programs on a bipartisan basis. Many of these
initiatives continue to benefit Americans today.
Recently I served as the Director of the Michigan Department of
Health and Human Services (MDHHS), an agency with 14,000
employees and a $27-billion budget. In that role, I oversaw
Medicaid programs, Child Protective Services, food assistance,
public health, including aspects of the State's response to
COVID-19, and aging programs. One of my proudest
accomplishments at MDHHS was to drive forward the reform of the
State's child welfare system. When I arrived, that system had
been under Federal court oversight for more than a decade,
because of deaths in the State's custody and inadequacies in
moving children toward permanency. Together with extraordinary
colleagues, we held ourselves accountable for measurable
results, moved State dollars into more evidence-based
permanency practices, and canceled contracts with agencies that
failed children. The State's safety performance improved. The
Federal judge overseeing the case praised our progress as
unlike any she had seen previously, and on her own initiative
raised the possibility of ending Federal oversight of the case.
Should I be confirmed, I would apply the same emphasis on
measuring performance and driving dollars to effective
strategies as Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources.
I bring additional experience with financial oversight from
time as senior vice president of finance and global strategy
for the nonprofit, The College Board. In this role, I served as
the chief financial officer for The College Board, responsible
for all budgeting, accounting, auditing, and procurement. As
the Acting Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and
Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education (ED), I
served in a role with similarities to the role at HHS, managing
the department's internal budget process and advancing
evidence-based policies.
As Americans continue to respond to and recover from the COVID-
19 pandemic, the work of HHS has never been more important. I
bring to this work a personal perspective that millions of
Americans sadly share. Late last year, both my parents
contracted COVID-19. My father Alan Gordon, a life-long public
servant, died of resulting complications. He continues to
inspire my work today. I am honored by President Biden's
nomination to be the Assistant Secretary for Financial
Resources at HHS and believe my experience and expertise
qualify me for the role. Should I be confirmed, I would look
forward to the opportunity to work with President Biden,
Secretary Becerra, and members of Congress to fund health and
human services programs that work.
B. FUTURE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIPS
1. Will you sever all connections (including participation in future
benefit arrangements) with your present employers, business firms,
associations, or organizations if you are confirmed by the Senate? If
not, provide details.
Yes.
2. Do you have any plans, commitments, or agreements to pursue
outside employment, with or without compensation, during your service
with the government? If so, provide details.
No.
3. Has any person or entity made a commitment or agreement to employ
your services in any capacity after you leave government service? If
so, provide details.
No.
4. If you are confirmed by the Senate, do you expect to serve out
your full term or until the next presidential election, whichever is
applicable? If not, explain.
Yes.
C. POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
1. Indicate any current and former investments, obligations,
liabilities, or other personal relationships, including spousal or
family employment, which could involve potential conflicts of interest
in the position to which you have been nominated.
Any potential conflict of interest will be resolved in
accordance with the terms of my ethics agreement, which was
developed in consultation with ethics officials at the
Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of
Government Ethics. I understand that my ethics agreement has
been provided to the committee. I am not aware of any potential
conflict other than those addressed by my ethics agreement.
2. Describe any business relationship, dealing, or financial
transaction which you have had during the last 10 years (prior to the
date of your nomination), whether for yourself, on behalf of a client,
or acting as an agent, that could in any way constitute or result in a
possible conflict of interest in the position to which you have been
nominated.
Any potential conflict of interest will be resolved in
accordance with the terms of my ethics agreement, which was
developed in consultation with ethics officials at the
Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of
Government Ethics. I understand that my ethics agreement has
been provided to the committee. I am not aware of any potential
conflict other than those addressed by my ethics agreement.
3. Describe any activity during the past 10 years (prior to the date
of your nomination) in which you have engaged for the purpose of
directly or indirectly influencing the passage, defeat, or modification
of any legislation or affecting the administration and execution of law
or public policy. Activities performed as an employee of the Federal
Government need not be listed.
In my position at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, I
write, edit, and provide strategic advice with the aim of
encouraging Congress to enact legislation that provides robust
economic and social supports for lower-income Americans.
4. Explain how you will resolve any potential conflict of interest,
including any that are disclosed by your responses to the above items.
(Provide the committee with two copies of any trust or other
agreements.)
Any potential conflict of interest will be resolved in
accordance with the terms of my ethics agreement, which was
developed in consultation with ethics officials at the
Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of
Government Ethics. I understand that my ethics agreement has
been provided to the committee. I am not aware of any potential
conflict other than those addressed by my ethics agreement.
5. Two copies of written opinions should be provided directly to the
committee by the designated agency ethics officer of the agency to
which you have been nominated and by the Office of Government Ethics
concerning potential conflicts of interest or any legal impediments to
your serving in this position.
I understand that my ethics agreement has been provided to the
committee along with the accompanying transmittal documents.
D. LEGAL AND OTHER MATTERS
1. Have you ever been the subject of a complaint or been
investigated, disciplined, or otherwise cited for a breach of ethics
for unprofessional conduct before any court, administrative agency
(e.g., an Inspector General's office), professional association,
disciplinary committee, or other ethics enforcement entity at any time?
Have you ever been interviewed regarding your own conduct as part of
any such inquiry or investigation? If so, provide details, regardless
of the outcome.
No.
2. Have you ever been investigated, arrested, charged, or held by any
Federal, State, or other law enforcement authority for a violation of
any Federal, State, county, or municipal law, regulation, or ordinance,
other than a minor traffic offense? Have you ever been interviewed
regarding your own conduct as part of any such inquiry or
investigation? If so, provide details.
No.
3. Have you ever been involved as a party in interest in any
administrative agency proceeding or civil litigation? If so, provide
details.
In my official capacity as Director of Michigan's Department of
Health and Human Services, I was sometimes named in litigation.
In June 2011, the District of Columbia's Office of Planning
filed a notice of infraction based on our having improperly
replaced a broken window, without the permit that is required
in the historic district where we resided. We were found to
have unknowingly committed the infraction and fined $1,750 in
an order stipulating that the fine would be refunded if we
obtained the right permit and installed the right window. We
followed that course and received a full refund.
4. Have you ever been convicted (including pleas of guilty or nolo
contendere) of any criminal violation other than a minor traffic
offense? If so, provide details.
No.
5. Please advise the committee of any additional information,
favorable or unfavorable, which you feel should be considered in
connection with your nomination.
N/A.
E. TESTIFYING BEFORE CONGRESS
1. If you are confirmed by the Senate, are you willing to appear and
testify before any duly constituted committee of the Congress on such
occasions as you may be reasonably requested to do so?
Yes.
2. If you are confirmed by the Senate, are you willing to provide
such information as is requested by such committees?
Yes.
______
Questions Submitted for the Record to Robert Michael Gordon
Questions Submitted by Hon. Maria Cantwell
Question. The broad support for the premium tax credits provided in
the American Rescue Plan demonstrates the need for more affordable
options for those who are seeking health insurance. These subsidies
directly lowered the out-of-pocket expenses for families across the
country.
The House-passed Build Back Better Act contains provisions that
would extend these premium tax credits to 2025, ensuring that no one
has to spend more than 8.5 percent of household income on insurance
premiums. Yet, there is a need to look at additional options to keep
costs low for patients, States, and the Federal government. The Basic
Health Plan is an option that has shown to produce these savings.
Thanks to language I fought for in the Affordable Care Act, we have
two States that are using the Basic Health model to make coverage more
affordable for people earning under 200 percent of the Federal poverty
level. We've seen incredible outcomes in New York and Minnesota.
Savings for the States, savings for the Federal Government, and savings
for individuals.
In New York, approximately 800,000 people are enrolled in the
Essential Plan that cost less than $500 annually for a family of four
buying separate coverage, saving $1,000 in premiums compared to Silver
plans on the exchange. The State saved nearly $1 billion by
transitioning individuals from State funded plans to the Basic Health
Plan.
Now is the time to expand the Basic Health Plan option to encourage
more States to administer the plan, just as we have improved access to
affordable options in the American Rescue Plan.
Do you agree that there is a need to lower health-care costs for
people in the United States? At the same time, do you think there is a
need to explore options that would also lower health-care expenditures
for the government?
Answer. Making sure that all Americans have access to quality,
affordable health care is one of the Biden-Harris administration's top
priorities. The Basic Health Program is an important option for States
to provide comprehensive health coverage to low- and moderate-income
families. If confirmed, I look forward to working with Congress, and in
concert with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, on a
bipartisan basis to address this. At the same time, I also look forward
to looking at short- and long-term strategies--including delivery
system reform--to make sure that our Federal health programs like
Medicare remain a bedrock of our health-care system.
Question. If confirmed, would you work with me to secure sustained
funding for the Basic Health Plan and help encourage more States to
adopt the program?
Answer. The Basic Health Program is an innovative option for States
to improve access to care and in line with the Biden-Harris
administration goals of affordability and coverage for all. The
American Rescue Plan made additional investments in the Basic Health
Program last year, and if confirmed, I would be happy to work with you
on this issue.
Question. Home and community-based services have become extremely
popular in Washington State and across the country. I have worked with
my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to increase support for home
and community based care.
These services help millions of older adults and people with
disabilities avoid high-cost institutional care, while letting them
live in the comforts of a surrounding that they are familiar with.
People want to stay in their own homes as they age, and home and
community-based care can cost as little as one-third the amount of
nursing home care.
This shows that there is a need to innovate health-care delivery
for seniors and people with disabilities. One successful program to
achieve this is the Money Follows the Person program, which I have led
with Senator Portman. This program allows older adults and people with
disabilities to leave institutional care settings to live in their
community, yet has not received permanent funding.
In Washington, the Money Follows the Person program has been
incredibly successful, helping more than 8,000 individuals transition
from long-term care facilities back into their own homes since 2008. It
was also able to save the State Medicaid program millions of dollars.
We must support efforts to have sustained funding for this program so
that States can effectively use these funds to expand the program.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it dangerous for immunocompromised
people and seniors to live in crowded facilities. Home and community-
based care became one of the solutions to solve this issue. If
confirmed, would you work with me to secure funding for programs like
Money Follows the Person?
Answer. Thank you for your leadership on this important issue. The
Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration gives Medicaid
beneficiaries more options for their care and allows them to choose to
receive care in the community, rather than institutions. This
demonstration has shown promising results, including improving
participant quality of life and lowering the cost of care. It is my
understanding that the administration supports a permanent extension of
MFP. If confirmed, I look forward to working with you on extending this
program.
Question. Home and community-based services cannot exist without a
robust caregiving workforce. Home-care workers are often low-income,
racial minorities, underpaid, and overworked. If confirmed, would you
pledge to support programs that bolster the caregiving workforce in a
fair and equitable manner?
Answer. Our caregiving workforce is critical to ensuring access to
home and
community-based services--and we know the needs will only grow as our
population continues to age. If confirmed, I look forward to working
with you to ensure this workforce has the support it needs to serve
older adults and people with disabilities.
Question Submitted by Hon. Sherrod Brown and Hon. James Lankford
Question. Every day, our offices receive calls from constituents
who can't afford their prescription drugs. High out-of-pocket costs at
the pharmacy counter are especially difficult for older Americans, who
are often on fixed incomes and sometimes have to make the impossible
decision between paying for groceries or their prescription medicines
because they can't afford both. Policymakers--both Congress and the
administration--can and must do more to address system challenges that
inadvertently drive out-of-pocket costs up for seniors, including
direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees which often lead to
increased costs for seniors at the pharmacy counter and threaten the
viability of pharmacies across the Nation.
CMS recently proposed a regulation that would address pharmacy DIR.
If finalized, CMS's part D Rule for CY 2023 would reduce out-of-pocket
costs for beneficiaries by $21.3 billion over 10 years. While CMS has
yet to take action in this space, we also look forward to working with
you, HHS, and CMS to implement standardized pharmacy quality measures
that help to provide more certainty to community pharmacies and the
Medicare beneficiaries they serve.
Will you commit to working with our offices and the Senate Finance
Committee to ensure this rule is finalized, and that the reforms
applied to all Medicare beneficiaries?
Answer. Small and rural pharmacies are critical to our Nation's
health-care system and have been especially important during the
pandemic. We must do all we can to ensure that Americans can access
important health-care services, including from local pharmacies in
their communities. If confirmed, I look forward to working with
Congress to ensure that community pharmacists have predictability and
to lower drug prices for patients and families.
______
Question Submitted by Hon. Mike Crapo
Question. As I understand it, you left your position with the
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services due to policy
disagreements with Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Without opining on the
specifics of that disagreement, I respect your willingness to resign a
position if you disagree with a policy and believe that you cannot
implement it in good faith. I also believe that Congress has an
important role to play in conducting oversight and ensuring government
accountability.
Will you commit to respond to all the members of this committee,
fulsomely and in good faith, during your nomination process, the term
in which you would act as Assistant Secretary, and afterward regarding
questions on your tenure?
Answer. I deeply respect the oversight function of Congress. If
confirmed, I am committed to being responsive to requests from all
members of this committee and providing Congress with the information
that it needs consistent with appropriate law and regulation, during my
tenure and subsequently.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Chuck Grassley
Question. Since the COVID pandemic began, I have engaged in
oversight on two fronts: (1) the origins of the virus; (2) the
connection between the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the Wuhan lab and
coronavirus research. In my July 27, 2021, Senate floor remarks, I
challenged the Federal Government's failure to oversee grants sent by
NIH to EcoHealth which then sub-awarded the money to the Wuhan lab. If
you are confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources, you
will oversee the HHS Office of Finance and Office of Grants. During the
past 3 years, I've conducted oversight on what steps the HHS has taken
to detect and deter foreign threats to
taxpayer-funded research. This work includes determining whether or not
the NIH complied with all Federal regulations in funding activity at
the Wuhan Lab. If confirmed, will you ensure the HHS is fully
transparent and compliant in all Office of Inspector General audits and
congressional inquiries?
Answer. I deeply respect the oversight function of Congress and the
HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG). If confirmed, I am committed to
being responsive to inquiries from Congress and OIG consistent with
appropriate law and regulation.
Question. If confirmed, will you commit to conducting, supporting,
and responding to any investigation into taxpayer money involving
China-related research?
Answer. The President, Secretary Becerra, and the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) all support the need to identify the origins
of the COVID-19 virus, including by cooperating with the intelligence
community's recent investigation. If confirmed, I would be happy to
work to ensure the Department is responsive to information requests
from Congress.
Question. In confirmed, will you commit to determining with
certainty that HHS money wasn't misused by the Chinese Government and
related entities, including gain-of-function research?
Answer. I deeply respect the oversight function of Congress and the
laws that govern foreign-sponsored research. If confirmed, I am
committed to being responsive to inquiries from Congress and ensuring
that grant dollars are used for their intended purpose.
Question. I am concerned about an action recently made by the Biden
administration is a Notice of Funding Opportunity for Harm Reduction
Program Grants by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
This $30-million grant program, which will begin in May, would provide
funds to nonprofits and local governments to make drug use safer for
those with a substance use disorder. Specifically, grant funds must be
used to support certain harm reduction activities, including purchasing
equipment like FDA-approved overdose reversal medication, syringes, but
also safe smoking kits/supplies. In my review, this is the first time a
grant solicitation has included anything about safe smoking kits/
supplies. Without any explanation or context, the administration
seemingly endorsed the dispersal of drug paraphernalia by the Federal
Government. If you are confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Financial
Resources, you will oversee HHS grant compliance to Federal law. Do you
support the use of ``safe smoking kits/supplies'' for the purpose of
harm reduction policy to respond to the drug overdose crisis? Can you
explain how the dispersal of these kits and supplies would not violate
21 U.S.C. 863, which makes it unlawful to transport drug paraphernalia?
Answer. I support evidence-based practical strategies that prevent
deadly overdoses, reduce the spread of disease associated with drug
use, and engage individuals that use drugs in treatment productively.
If confirmed, I will work with the appropriate subject-matter experts
on this issue and follow the law.
Question. Has HHS noticed funding or provided grant funding for
``safe smoking kits/supplies'' prior to FY 2022? If so, please provide
the specific grant number or Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Answer. As a private citizen, I am not aware of all previous HHS
grant opportunities.
Question. It has been reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ)
is considering supporting the use of safe injection sites. Safe
injection sites are public facilities for drug users to consume illicit
drugs like fentanyl, methamphetamine, or heroin, under the supervision
of medical staff. This position by the Justice Department could violate
Federal law. 21 U.S.C. 856 prohibits any person from knowingly or
intentionally maintaining a place for the purpose of illegal drug use.
The Trump administration DOJ opposed safe injection sites for this
reason, and the Third Circuit agreed with this position, finding that
it is a Federal crime to open and operate a safe injection site for
illegal drug use. Is the funding of ``safe injection'' for the purpose
of harm reduction policy compliant with Federal law? Please cite the
specific Federal statute if you believe it is compliant.
Answer. I am not aware of Department of Justice's position or
actions on this issue. However, the opioid overdose crisis plaguing our
Nation requires a forceful response that is rooted in evidence about
what works to save lives, reduce the spread of disease, and engage
individuals in treatment productively. If confirmed, I will follow the
law and commit to working with my Federal, State, Tribal, local, and
territorial public health leaders to address this deadly epidemic.
Question. Should Federal dollars fund ``safe injection'' sites?
Answer. If confirmed, I will work together with the appropriate
subject-matter experts and follow the law.
Question. It has been reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ)
is considering supporting the use of safe injection sites. Safe
injection sites are public facilities for drug users to consume illicit
drugs like fentanyl, methamphetamine, or heroin, under the supervision
of medical staff. This position is concerning for a number of reasons.
First, reports show that safe injection sites do not reduce overall
overdose deaths or opioid-related emergency calls. Safe injection sites
have led to an increase in crime, discarded needles, and social
disorder in the surrounding neighborhoods. Advocates in favor of safe
injection sites assert that they provide connections for those with
substance use disorders to find housing and treatment options.
Additionally, ``safe injection'' sites have a poor record of moving
drug users into treatment and recovery, with some referral rates as low
as 1 percent. What outcome evidence is there, including treatment and
recovery referral rates, for ``safe injection'' sites?
Answer. If confirmed, I will work across the Department to ground
the Department's programs in evidence.
______
Question Submitted by Hon. Richard Burr
Question. As the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions, I take my oversight responsibilities
very seriously, particularly as Congress provided billions of dollars
in funding for the response to COVID-19 over the last 2 years.
While you are currently before the Senate Committee on Finance, if
you are confirmed, you will oversee financial resources for a wide
range of agencies, programs, and initiatives under the HELP Committee's
jurisdiction.
As I have told Secretary Becerra, congressional oversight is not an
option. There has to be accountability for the historic levels of
funding that have gone out the door for this response. Until we get a
full picture of how the funds provided by Congress so far have been
spent, it is difficult to justify any potential requests for additional
funds.
Do you commit to providing me regular reports in a timely manner
that detail each account that the administration is using for spending
on COVID-19 response, how much money is in each account, how much has
been obligated, how much has been spent, and what specific activities
those funds have been spent on?
Answer. I deeply respect the oversight function of Congress,
including the responsibility for oversight of financial expenditures.
Currently, the Department complies with Federal law requiring regular
reports for spending on COVID-19 activities. These reports are
delivered to the Appropriations Committee on a monthly basis, as
required by law. If confirmed, I commit to thoughtfully reviewing and
responding to your request, and will provide the committee with
information to support its oversight functions.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Tim Scott
Question. During his confirmation hearing last February, the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra
stated the following: ``I believe deeply in religious freedom, and I
will make sure that as Secretary of HHS that you will know that I will
not only respect the law when it comes to these issues of religious
freedom, but I will enforce them as Secretary of HHS within my
department.''
If confirmed, will you commit to supporting robust funding for the
Office for Civil Rights' Conscience and Religious Freedom Division to
assist the Secretary in this regard?
Answer. I support ensuring all HHS offices have sufficient
resources to fulfill their mission in an efficient and effective
manner. If confirmed, I will work with others across the Department to
protect the civil rights of all people who participate in HHS programs.
Question. If confirmed, will you commit to ensuring the fair and
equal access and treatment of faith-based organizations with regard to
agency grant opportunities without them having to compromise their
religious missions?
Answer. Faith-based providers are critical to the child welfare
system. In my current role, I work closely with the faith community and
understand how essential they are to our safety net. If confirmed, I
look forward to listening to and working closely with faith-based
providers.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. James Lankford
hyde
Question. If confirmed, you will be responsible for the financial
resources and budget at HHS. As you know, Congress has continued to
maintain the Hyde Amendment on a bipartisan basis each year in annual
funding bills since 1976. If confirmed, will you continue to uphold and
enforce the restrictions of the Hyde amendment--that no Federal funding
can pay for abortions except in the case of rape, incest, or to protect
the life of the mother--as enacted by Congress, as well as other
prolife protections currently in Federal law?
Answer. If confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Financial
Resources, I will follow the law.
Question. Will you commit to not attempting to weaken the Hyde
Amendment and similar prolife policies or strip them from future
budgets or appropriations bills?
Answer. If confirmed, I will follow the law.
Question. Congress has also continued to include conscience
protections for individuals who have a religious or moral objection to
participating in an abortion. Specifically, the Weldon Amendment, which
has been included in funding bills since 2004, restricts Federal
funding from going to agencies or programs that discriminate against
health-care providers that do not provide, pay for, provide coverage of
or refer for abortions. Unfortunately, this administration has walked
back enforcement of the Weldon Amendment, including rescinding
enforcement action on California for violating Weldon. If confirmed,
will you continue to uphold and enforce the Weldon Amendment and other
conscience protections enacted by Congress to ensure that no health-
care providers are discriminated against with Federal dollars?
Answer. If confirmed, I will follow the law.
Question. A report from the Obama administration in 2010 reinforced
the importance of faith-based partnerships. Among the recommendations
put forward in the report was to draw more on the local expertise and
relationships of faith-based organizations as a way of filling gaps in
the provision of essential services. Faith-based organizations are
excellent, effective, and efficient at meeting the needs of our most
at-risk populations. The report also highlighted the need to ease
overly burdensome reporting and regulation requirements placed on
social service agencies. Do you agree that it is important to continue
pursuing ways to engage and expand faith-based partnerships as a way of
effectively addressing some of the most critical social service needs
in our country?
Answer. Faith-based providers are critical to the child welfare
system. In past roles, I have worked closely with the faith community
and understand how essential they are to our safety net. If confirmed,
I look forward to listening to and working closely with faith-based
providers.
Question. The Supreme Court has, in multiple decisions, reiterated
that religious organizations cannot be discriminated against in the
distribution of a public benefit for which they otherwise qualify
because of their religious beliefs or identity. Will you commit to
ensuring that no policy in HHS will disqualify a religious organization
from receiving aid or participating in grant programs simply because of
the organization's religious beliefs or because the organization
receives statutory protections for religious freedom like those in
title VII and title IX?
Answer. If confirmed, I will follow the law.
budget/grants
Question. The office of ASFR oversees arguably some of the most
important offices at HHS, particularly those overseeing the agency's
budget. Something that I think every person on this committee can agree
on is that HHS's budget could use some additional transparency,
especially after the several billions thrown its way over the course of
the pandemic. I authored the Taxpayers Right to Know Act which was
enacted in 2020, and OMB is in the early phases of discussing
implementation. This provision will create a searchable list of every
program in the Federal Government, how many employees are dedicated to
that task, how much we spend on the program, and how it is evaluated,
or if it is evaluated at all.
Are you aware of these new requirements, and what you can do to
help facilitate the implementation of Taxpayer's Right to Know Act
within the thousands of multi-layered programs at HHS should you be
confirmed? What value do you see in having HHS's spending inventoried
for all to see?
Answer. I am aware of these requirements. As a senior official at
the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, including as Acting Deputy
Director, I worked to advance transparency in congressional budget
justifications and supported the ongoing work of Federal agencies to
track and report performance and financial data through implementation
of the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act and the
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act. I have also strongly
supported increased evaluation of program effectiveness, using a broad
range of tools. I value the importance of improving transparency in
government programs so taxpayers have access to information to
understand how Federal funds are expended. If confirmed, I will work to
advance transparency and evaluation so taxpayer dollars are spent
effectively and taxpayers have access to information about how public
funds are expended.
Question. The need to fully understand how grant dollars are used
has been something I have highlighted for years. In Oklahoma, we have
several state-of-the-art facilities that often are the recipients of
research grants through one of the many HHS sub-agencies. Though you
have yet to be installed in office, through your background in several
administrations and other large public agencies, I am hoping you can
provide some insight into how HHS makes decisions on who gets grants,
who makes these decisions, how often or if the decision-making panel
changes, and how or if HHS works with the applicants who are not
awarded the grant they applied for to see if there are other funding
sources available to them.
Answer. From my time at OMB my understanding is HHS, like all
Federal agencies, must design and execute a merit review process for
applications for competitive grants or cooperative agreements. That
review process must be guided by the program objectives and review
criteria in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. An agency must first
select objective reviewers who are knowledgeable in the field of
endeavor. HHS has department-wide policies that agencies are required
to implement to avoid conflict of interest. Program leadership makes
recommendations for funding to the grants official and must include a
statement explaining why unfunded applications were not selected. The
grants office conducts a risk assessment as required by regulation on
each recommended application and, in consultation with the program
office, makes the final decision to fund an application. With respect
to applicants not receiving an award, my understanding is agencies must
notify unsuccessful applicants in writing within a month of the
decision. Agencies may after the announcement work with those
applicants on other funding sources in a fair and equitable manner that
does not give an unfair advantage to any potential applicant of another
grant. In addition, I understand all competitive HHS funding
opportunities are posted to Grants.gov as much in advance of the
application closing date as possible. If confirmed, I would welcome the
opportunity to work with you and others on ideas consistent with the
law for improving this process.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. John Barrasso
Question. Lower-population States at times feel the participation
requirements in certain programs at the Department of Health and Human
Services require too much administrative burden compared to the level
of Federal support. In other words, the State is forced to devote large
sums of staff time and expense to receive relatively small amounts of
Federal financial help.
Do you believe there are ways the department could streamline or
reduce the administrative burden placed on States, especially those
with smaller populations to participate in HHS programs?
If so, can you identify policies you believe Congress could examine
to achieve this goal.
Answer. From my time in State government, I am personally aware of
the burdens which Federal requirements can place on States, and I can
appreciate that smaller States may face particular challenges. If
confirmed, I look forward to working within the Department and with
Congress and States to find ways to reduce administrative burden while
preserving or even strengthening the effectiveness and transparency of
public spending.
Question. You have previously stated the importance of reducing
waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal programs. This is something we all
support.
Can you discuss an experience in your career where you reduced
wasteful spending in a government program?
Answer. When I arrived at the Michigan Department of Health and
Human Services, the Department's technology budget--which funded
systems that delivered Medicaid payments to hospitals, tracked children
in foster care, and enrolled individuals in SNAP and Medicaid--faced a
$45-million structural deficit. To address that imbalance without
sacrificing vital services, with colleagues I eliminated scores of
government positions in technology middle management. I stopped
spending on a failed new approach to managing public assistance
caseloads. I undertook a benchmarking exercise to identify excesses of
costs over value, and then personally engaged vendor executives to
renegotiate contracts. I also improved controls in the agency's
approval processes. These steps and others greatly improved the
Department's financial position.
Question. Can you also discuss ways HHS can better collaborate with
State Governments to achieve this shared goal, especially regarding HHS
programs that are jointly funded by States and the Federal Government?
Answer. It is critical that HHS works together with States to
protect the integrity of Medicaid and other programs funded by the
Federal Government and States. Reducing waste, fraud, and abuse has
been a priority for me as a senior official at OMB and as the Director
of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. HHS has a
critical opportunity and responsibility to collaborate with State
Governments to ensure we are protecting taxpayer dollars, improving the
efficiency of our programs, and reaching the intended populations. If I
am confirmed, I would continue this focus and partner with Congress and
States to ensure strong oversight of Federal and State-supported
programs like Medicaid to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.
______
Prepared Statement of Rebecca E. Jones Gaston, Nominated to be
Commissioner, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families,
Department of Health and Human Services
Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, members of the committee,
thank you for considering my nomination to be the Commissioner of the
Administration on Children, Youth, and Families. I am honored by
President Biden's decision to nominate me for this role and, if
confirmed, look forward to serving children, youth, and families under
his and Secretary Becerra's leadership.
Before I begin my testimony, I would like to thank my family. Here
with me today are my children's godmothers, friends who have become
family. And watching virtually are my son and daughter; my mother; and
many of my family, friends, mentors, and colleagues. With me in spirit
are my ancestors and my birth parents. I would not be here today
without the love and support of all of these people.
I was adopted at a very young age after a number of foster care
placements and grew up in a small Iowa farming community. Throughout my
career in human services and child welfare, I have infused my lived
experience, and the lived experience of others, into my work, because I
believe that those who have been served by children and family services
systems should have a role in changing these systems.
If confirmed as the Commissioner of the Administration on Children,
Youth, and Families, I would prioritize shifting the focus of child
welfare systems from placement to prevention by promoting cross-system
partnerships and shared outcomes, and helping States implement the
Family First Prevention Services Act; leading from the ground up by
keeping the perspective of States and those with lived experience at
the fore; and ensuring equity and inclusion are at the center of all
that we do.
I have been working in human services and child welfare for almost
25 years. During that time, I have transformed child welfare systems
under both Democratic and Republican Governors. I have worked across
the Nation to recruit foster and adoptive parents; have implemented
innovative policies and programs; and have sat side-by-side with
families and youth being served by these systems as a person with lived
experience, and as a parent, advocate, and social worker.
As a result of my personal and professional experiences, I know
that transforming children and family services systems into family
well-being systems that serve children, youth, parents, and families as
a whole cannot be done without collaborating with public and private
partners, Tribal Nations, and community and faith-based partners,
including those with diverse perspectives.
I currently serve as the Director of Child Welfare at the Oregon
Department of Human Services. Together with my leadership team and key
community partners, we developed a strategic plan focused on well-being
and prevention that has already yielded results. Despite the onset of
the COVID-19 pandemic, we have reduced the number of children in foster
care by more than 20 percent over 2 years and are on the path toward
long-term change.
I led similar change efforts as the head of the Social Services
Administration in Maryland, where I served under the leadership of
Republican Governor Larry Hogan. In both Maryland and Oregon, I
successfully led the States' Family First Prevention Services Act plans
from development through Federal approval. If confirmed, I will
prioritize supporting States to fully implement this landmark law, so
children, youth, and families do not have to wait any longer for the
transformational change that it offers.
In addition to Family First, there are a number of other levers at
the Federal level to support States that are working hard to be
innovative and improve how they meet the needs of children, youth,
parents, and families. However, the key word here is support, as it is
also important for the Federal Government not to put up unnecessary
barriers.
Transforming children and family services systems into family well-
being systems cannot be done without a focus on equity and inclusion.
In these systems across the Nation, we see disproportionality at every
decision point. This impacts rural communities, communities of color,
Tribal Nations, and other vulnerable communities. In these communities,
we often see limited access to services and resources, impacts of
poverty, and disparate outcomes.
To build towards well-being, I have heard from those who have
experienced the child welfare system that many families and youth could
have been supported earlier by meeting needs related to homelessness,
child care, and access to other concrete supports, such as addressing
mental health and substance use needs. If confirmed, I look forward to
continuing to be a voice for those who have experienced these systems
and leading transformation to better meet their needs.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my work and vision with you
today. I look forward to answering your questions.
______
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
STATEMENT OF INFORMATION REQUESTED
OF NOMINEE
A. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
1. Name (include any former names used): Rebecca Ellen Jones Gaston,
Rebecca Jones Gaston, Bekki Jones Gaston, Bekki Jones, Rebecca Jones.
2. Position to which nominated: Commissioner for the Administration
on Children, Youth, and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
3. Date of nomination: January 7, 2022.
4. Address (list current residence, office, and mailing addresses):
5. Date and place of birth: October 25, 1969; Mankato, Minnesota.
6. Marital status (include maiden name of wife or husband's name):
7. Names and ages of children:
8. Education (list all secondary and higher education institutions,
dates attended, degree received, and date degree granted):
Roland-Story High School, Story City, Iowa.
August 1984-May 1988.
High School Diploma, May 1988.
Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
August 1988-May 1994.
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, May 1994.
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
August 1995--May 1997.
Master's of Social Work, May 1997.
9. Employment record (list all jobs held since college, including the
title or description of job, name of employer, location of work, and
dates of employment for each job):
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Company/Agency Position Dates of Employment
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oregon Department of Director, Child October 2019-present
Human Services Welfare
Salem, OR
ICF Capacity Building Consultant July 2019 August 2019
Center for States
Fairfax, VA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maryland Department of Executive Director, January 2016-November
Human Services Social Services 2019
Administration
Baltimore, MD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jones & James One time Consulting, Summer 2014
Strategic Plan for
the Center for Law
and Social Policy
Waldorf, MD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Casey Family Programs Technical Assistance
Unit
-------------------------------------------------
Director 2013-December 2015
-------------------------------------------------
HQ--Seattle, WA Project Manager June 2012-2013
-------------------------------------------------
Washington, DC office Manager March 2007-2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adoption Exchange National Campaign and March 2003-March 2007
Association Fulfillment Director,
AdoptUsKids
White Marsh, MD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Army One-time Diversity Summer 2005 (est.)
workshop
Tempe, AZ
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Association Director, Group Home July 2002-March 2003
of Former Foster Programs
Children of America
(NAFFCA)
Washington, DC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Center on Program Coordinator December 2000-July 2002
Permanency for
African American
Children (Howard
University)
Washington, DC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Child and Family Social Worker March 1999-December 2000
Services Agency
Washington, DC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family and Child Social Worker January 1998-March 1999
Services
Washington, DC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Center for Adoption Social Worker-- 1998-2009 (volunteered
Support and Education Clinical Counselor or and assisted with
Group Leader events ad hoc until
2015)
Burtonsville, MD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adoptions Together Social Worker 1997-1998
Silver Spring, MD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marion Adoption Contract Student June 1996-May 1997
Social Worker
Plymouth Meeting, PA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
University of Safety Assistant 1995-1997
Pennsylvania Security
Office
Philadelphia, PA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DC Halfway House Residential Counselor 1994-1995 (est.)
Washington, DC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Red Top Cab Dispatch Operator 1994-1995
Arlington, VA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CACI Records Reviewer 1994 (est.)
Alexandria, VA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Community Services, Residential Counselor 1994-1995 (est.)
Inc.
Alexandria, VA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Georgetown University Administrative 1990-1995
Assistant Work Study 1988-1990
Student
Washington, DC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Government experience (list any current and former advisory,
consultative, honorary, or other part-time service or positions with
Federal, State, or local governments held since college, including
dates, other than those listed above):
None other than listed above.
11. Business relationships (list all current and former positions held
as an officer, director, trustee, partner (e.g., limited partner, non-
voting, etc.), proprietor, agent, representative, or consultant of any
corporation, company, firm, partnership, other business enterprise, or
educational or other institution):
Black Administrators in Child Welfare: Board Member, 2021-
present (unpaid and non-fiduciary).
American Public Human Services Association: Committee Member
for National Association of Public Child Welfare
Administrators, 2018-present (unpaid and non-fiduciary).
Child Welfare League of America: Conference Committee Member,
2018-present.
Center for Adoption Support and Education: Board Member, 2015
(unpaid and non-fiduciary).
National Training Institute: Advisory Board-Adoption Competency
Project, 2014-2019 (unpaid and non-fiduciary).
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute: Foster Youth
Internship Selection Committee, 2003-2021 (unpaid and non-
fiduciary).
12. Memberships (list all current and former memberships, as well as
any current and former offices held in professional, fraternal,
scholarly, civic, business, charitable, and other organizations dating
back to college, including dates for these memberships and offices):
National Association of Social Workers: Periodic member since
1997, not currently a member.
National Association of Black Social Workers: Periodic member
since 1997, not currently a member.
Graduate Black Student Association: Member, 1995-1997.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.: Member, March 1990-present;
Basileus (chapter president, Omicron Pi Chapter), 1991-1992
(not currently active).
Black Student Association: Member, 1988-1994.
13. Political affiliations and activities:
a. List all public offices for which you have been a candidate
dating back to the age of 18.
N/A.
b. List all memberships and offices held in and services
rendered to all political parties or election committees,
currently and during the last 10 years prior to the date of
your nomination.
N/A.
c. Itemize all political contributions to any individual,
campaign organization, political party, political action
committee, or similar entity of $50 or more for the past 10
years prior to the date of your nomination.
N/A.
14. Honors and awards (list all scholarships, fellowships, honorary
degrees, honorary society memberships, military medals, and any other
special recognitions for outstanding service or achievement received
since the age of 18):
Casey Family Programs, Outstanding Employee Award (2014 and
2015).
University of Pennsylvania, Emily Brown Porreca Memorial Award
(1997).
University of Pennsylvania, Samuel Sylvester Award and
Certificate of Merit (1997).
Georgetown University, Louis Maghill Award (1994).
15. Published writings (list the titles, publishers, dates, and
hyperlinks (as applicable) of all books, articles, reports, blog posts,
or other published materials you have written):
Oregon Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Division,
``Vision for Transformation'' (November 2020).
Maryland Department of Human Services, Social Services
Administration, ``Integrated Practice Model for Child Welfare
and Adult Services: A Framework for Maryland's Human Services
Workforce'' (January 2019).
CWLA Special Issue Vol. 82 No 2, 2003, article, ``A Model of
Culture-Centered Child Welfare Practice,'' by Oronde Miller and
Rebecca Jones Gaston.
16. Speeches (list all formal speeches and presentations (e.g.,
PowerPoint) you have delivered during the past 5 years which are on
topics relevant to the position for which you have been nominated,
including dates):
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speech Forum Date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Panel Discussion with Our Children Oregon 9/2021
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Presentation to the Oregon Senate Committee on Human 2/2021
Services, Mental Health and Recovery
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Child Welfare League of America Annual Conference 4/2019
------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Bar Association, National Conference on Access 4/2019
to Justice for Children and Families
------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Public Human Services Association, ISM 9/2018
Technology Annual Conference
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Child Abuse, Neglect and Dependency Options, Annual 10/2016-P10/
Maryland Court Conference 2019
------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. Qualifications (state what, in your opinion, qualifies you to
serve in the position to which you have been nominated):
I was born in Minnesota and was adopted following a number of
foster care placements. For most of my childhood, I grew up
with my adoptive family in a small Iowa farming community of
approximately 2,500. My life experiences have been shaped by
the loss and grief of family separation, and the immeasurable
love for my children and family and the hope I hold for
vulnerable communities. I have also been shaped by the
intersectional experiences of a rural upbringing with an urban
coming of age, as well as lived experiences both leading and
being a part of foster care systems in America.
If there is one thing that is clear to me it's that my purpose
is to be a voice for all children and families, particularly
for those who experience the worst societal outcomes. And that
is what I have been doing for almost 25 years--work that is
informed by both my personal and professional commitments and
experiences. I was trusted to help to lead transformation
efforts at child welfare agencies and social services agencies
under both Democratic and Republican Governors, and I have sat
side by side with families in the system as a person with lived
experience, and as a parent, an advocate, social worker, and
therapist.
My extensive experience leading child welfare agencies,
recruiting foster and adoptive families across the Nation, and
providing leadership and technical assistance to
jurisdictions--through foundations and through executive level
roles within State Governments from coast to coast, as well as
my own lived experience as a child in foster care and an
adoptee--qualify me for the Commissioner of the Administration
on Children, Youth, and Families. I have a deep understanding
of what it will take to transform child welfare systems across
the Nation into family well-being systems, and I am eager to
get to work to ensure these systems best serve children and
families.
Currently, I lead Oregon's child welfare system. When I came to
Oregon, the child welfare agency was in need of true
transformation--lawsuits, leadership changes, staffing and
infrastructure challenges, and data that pointed to a real need
for strategic revisioning of how to become a family well-being
system and one primed for true partnership with Tribes,
communities, and families. Working with my leadership team,
those who experience the system, Tribes, private- and public-
sector partners, I developed a strategic plan focused on
preventing children and families from entering the system at
all. Now, Oregon's child welfare agency is well on its way
towards transformation. For example, despite the onset of
COVID-19 4 months after I started leading the agency, we have
been able to dramatically decrease the number of children under
our care, in part by partnering with those most impacted to
create buy-in for the hard work ahead.
I led similar change as the head of the Social Services
Administration in Maryland, where I served under the leadership
of Republican Governor Larry Hogan. In both Oregon and
Maryland, I developed the State child welfare agency's Family
First Prevention Services Plan and got both approved. If
confirmed, I look forward to helping other States do the same
so children and families do not have to wait any longer to reap
the benefits of this landmark law. Moving any child welfare
system to a family well-being model requires centering equity
and inclusion and collaborating with all those who are touched
by the system--most importantly children and families. Those
who experience the child welfare system should have a role in
changing it and often know best how to do so.
Prior to my roles in Oregon and Maryland, I was the national
campaign director for AdoptUSKids, the first national ad
campaign for recruiting foster and adoptive families. I made
sure that this campaign was informed by foster and adoptive
families. I am proud of our work to ensure that children do not
languish in the system. Prior to this role, I was the director
of Casey Family Programs and worked with child welfare agencies
across the Nation to implement innovative strategies and
Federal policies and programs.
B. FUTURE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIPS
1. Will you sever all connections (including participation in future
benefit arrangements) with your present employers, business firms,
associations, or organizations if you are confirmed by the Senate? If
not, provide details.
Yes.
2. Do you have any plans, commitments, or agreements to pursue
outside employment, with or without compensation, during your service
with the government? If so, provide details.
No.
3. Has any person or entity made a commitment or agreement to employ
your services in any capacity after you leave government service? If
so, provide details.
No.
4. If you are confirmed by the Senate, do you expect to serve out
your full term or until the next presidential election, whichever is
applicable? If not, explain.
Yes.
C. POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
1. Indicate any current and former investments, obligations,
liabilities, or other personal relationships, including spousal or
family employment, which could involve potential conflicts of interest
in the position to which you have been nominated.
Any potential conflict of interest will be resolved in
accordance with the terms of my ethics agreement, which was
developed in consultation with ethics officials at the
Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of
Government Ethics. I understand that my ethics agreement has
been provided to the committee. I am not aware of any potential
conflict other than those addressed by my ethics agreement.
2. Describe any business relationship, dealing, or financial
transaction which you have had during the last 10 years (prior to the
date of your nomination), whether for yourself, on behalf of a client,
or acting as an agent, that could in any way constitute or result in a
possible conflict of interest in the position to which you have been
nominated.
Any potential conflict of interest will be resolved in
accordance with the terms of my ethics agreement, which was
developed in consultation with ethics officials at the
Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of
Government Ethics. I understand that my ethics agreement has
been provided to the committee. I am not aware of any potential
conflict other than those addressed by my ethics agreement.
3. Describe any activity during the past 10 years (prior to the date
of your nomination) in which you have engaged for the purpose of
directly or indirectly influencing the passage, defeat, or modification
of any legislation or affecting the administration and execution of law
or public policy. Activities performed as an employee of the Federal
Government need not be listed.
In my tenure as Executive Director, Social Services
Administration at the Maryland Department of Human Services and
in my tenure as Child Welfare Director at Oregon Department of
Human Services, I have been involved in a number of legislative
and public policy issues at the State level on behalf of my
respective Departments and Administrations. In these roles, I
have also been involved in informing and educating at the
Federal level on human services policies of concern to Maryland
and Oregon.
4. Explain how you will resolve any potential conflict of interest,
including any that are disclosed by your responses to the above items.
(Provide the committee with two copies of any trust or other
agreements.)
Any potential conflict of interest will be resolved in
accordance with the terms of my ethics agreement, which was
developed in consultation with ethics officials at the
Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of
Government Ethics. I understand that my ethics agreement has
been provided to the committee. I am not aware of any potential
conflict other than those addressed by my ethics agreement.
5. Two copies of written opinions should be provided directly to the
committee by the designated agency ethics officer of the agency to
which you have been nominated and by the Office of Government Ethics
concerning potential conflicts of interest or any legal impediments to
your serving in this position.
I understand that my ethics agreement has been provided to the
committee.
D. LEGAL AND OTHER MATTERS
1. Have you ever been the subject of a complaint or been
investigated, disciplined, or otherwise cited for a breach of ethics
for unprofessional conduct before any court, administrative agency
(e.g., an Inspector General's office), professional association,
disciplinary committee, or other ethics enforcement entity at any time?
Have you ever been interviewed regarding your own conduct as part of
any such inquiry or investigation? If so, provide details, regardless
of the outcome.
No
2. Have you ever been investigated, arrested, charged, or held by any
Federal, State, or other law enforcement authority for a violation of
any Federal, State, county, or municipal law, regulation, or ordinance,
other than a minor traffic offense? Have you ever been interviewed
regarding your own conduct as part of any such inquiry or
investigation? If so, provide details.
No.
3. Have you ever been involved as a party in interest in any
administrative agency proceeding or civil litigation? If so, provide
details.
I have not been involved in any administrative proceedings or
civil litigation in my personal capacity. I have been named in
litigation in my official capacity as Director of the Oregon
Department of Human Services.
4. Have you ever been convicted (including pleas of guilty or nolo
contendere) of any criminal violation other than a minor traffic
offense? If so, provide details.
No.
5. Please advise the committee of any additional information,
favorable or unfavorable, which you feel should be considered in
connection with your nomination.
N/A.
E. TESTIFYING BEFORE CONGRESS
1. If you are confirmed by the Senate, are you willing to appear and
testify before any duly constituted committee of the Congress on such
occasions as you may be reasonably requested to do so?
Yes.
2. If you are confirmed by the Senate, are you willing to provide
such information as is requested by such committees?
Yes.
______
Questions Submitted for the Record to Rebecca E. Jones Gaston
Questions Submitted by Hon. Ron Wyden
mental health
Question. One cross-cutting issue the Finance Committee is looking
into is mental health. This week, we hosted the Surgeon General to hear
specifically about his recent advisory on youth mental health. This is
going to be a major priority for the committee moving forward, both in
terms of continuing to implement the Family First Prevention Services
Act and looking forward to the reauthorization of title IV-B child
welfare programs by the end of this Congress.
Can you address how you will prioritize youth mental health needs
in your work implementing Family First, and within the title IV-B
programs?
Are there other initiatives focused on youth mental health you plan
to implement?
Answer. If confirmed, I am committed to moving our child welfare
system from a system of placing children outside of the home to one
that focuses on prevention and family well-being. A family well-being
system is only possible if we address the mental health and well-being
of parents, caregivers, and children. I would focus on swift
implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act and
supporting more States to submit successful plans that can fully take
advantage of the law's focus on parental well-being. In addition, I
would look forward to working with you on the reauthorization of IV-B
and a deeper focus on evidenced-based prevention strategies.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Maria Cantwell
Question. One of the harsh realities that the COVID-19 pandemic
exposed is the lack of affordable child-care options in the United
States. During the pandemic, parents, mostly women, were forced to
balance online learning, their own jobs, taking care of their children,
and many other tasks.
This has led to women quitting the workforce in unprecedented
numbers during the pandemic so that they can take care of the needs of
their families. According to the National Women's Law Center, women in
the United States have lost more than 5.4 million net jobs since
February, 2020.
In Washington State and many other parts of the country, child care
was already difficult to find even before COVID-19. Some parents end up
having to place their children on wait lists while others can't find
any affordable or available options.
It is estimated that the average cost of licensed infant care can
consume about 20 percent of an average Washington family's income. The
child-care industry in my home State is also facing high staff turnover
caused by low wages and other concerns.
The lack of child care does not just take a toll on women and
families, but also on the economy. I have supported legislation to
provide tax credits for working families who may need help paying the
cost of child care. I was also pleased to see that the House-passed
Build Back Better Act included a $100-billion investment to support
high-quality child care.
We must explore more options to improve child care access in the
United States to make families' lives easier, and also to help with the
social and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In your opinion, what are the main causes of the child care
shortage today? How has COVID-19 made the situation worse?
If confirmed, how would you work to improve affordable child-care
access through your respective roles? What approach would you take to
fix this issue?
Answer. A stable child-care sector is essential for both the
healthy development of children and the ability of parents to fully
participate in the workforce. While child care would not be under my
direct purview if confirmed as Commissioner, this issue greatly affects
the children and families who ACYF supports, and I would look forward
to supporting ACF and congressional efforts on this issue where
possible.
______
Question Submitted by Hon. Robert P. Casey, Jr.
capta
Question. I have long supported CAPTA's so-called ``plans of safe
care,'' which Congress created as a tool to support infants whose
parents or caregivers are affected by substance use disorder and to
prevent these infants from being placed into foster care if they may
safely remain with their families. I am engaged in ongoing discussions
with constituents, stakeholders and policy-makers in Congress and the
administration about how we can continue to strengthen this vital
support for vulnerable infants, and I would like to ask for your
commitment to join those conversations and help us make plans of safe
care the best tool they can be to protect infants.
How will you work on this issue?
Answer. If confirmed, I am committed to moving our child welfare
system toward a family well-being system. The Plans of Safe Care
provisions within the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act provide
an important tool to bring together a care team to help support a
family struggling with substance use disorder and provide the necessary
services to keep a child safe and keep the family together. I have
worked extensively on plans of safe care in both Maryland and Oregon,
and if confirmed, I would look forward to working closely with you and
other partners on this issue.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Sheldon Whitehouse
Question. How can the Administration for Children and Families work
to improve housing stability for families and young adults living in
unstable or unsafe housing or who are homeless?
Answer. All families and young people deserve the security of
having a safe place to call home. ACF plays a significant role in
providing services to children and families experiencing homelessness.
If confirmed, I commit to working within ACF, and with partner agencies
such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other
partners, to ensure our most vulnerable children, youth, and families,
including those experiencing homelessness, are supported.
Question. Do you agree it is important to embed a focus on
diversity, cultural competency, and equity in the programs administered
by ACF? How will you incorporate these metrics into your evaluations of
programs administered by ACF?
Answer. As you know, the Biden-Harris administration and Secretary
Becerra are committed to advancing equity and support for underserved
communities, as reflected in the executive order the President signed
on his first day in office, ``Advancing Racial Equity and Support for
Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.'' If confirmed,
I will strive to advance this goal in all ACF's work. The Children's
Bureau, for example, reviews States' child welfare practices through
its Child and Family Services Reviews. I intend to explore how to use
this and other vehicles at our disposal to assist States in assessing
and addressing equity issues in their child welfare systems. I would
also work to advance ACF's recent Information Memorandum, Equity in
Action: Prioritizing and Advancing Racial Equity and Support for
Underserved Communities, which outlines ACF's unequivocal commitment to
address disparities.
Question. What is your position on increasing flexibility for
States to provide benefits youth and young adults under the Chafee
Foster Care for Successful Transition to Adulthood Program? What is
your position on extending benefits to young adults exiting foster care
as was provided through the Division X of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2021? Do you see this initiative as requiring
additional funding?
Answer. The supports offered by the Chafee program for older foster
youth and those transitioning out of care can be the difference between
former foster youth going to college or getting a job and youth ending
up without a roof over their heads. The increased resources and
flexibilities Congress provided have been critical, and if confirmed, I
would work to examine what worked among those flexibilities and hear
from those young people about their experiences.
Question. If confirmed, how will you expand the list of evidence-
based programs that qualify for reimbursement under the Family First
Prevention Act (title IV-E) program?
Answer. If confirmed, I will work to ensure that the title IV-E
Prevention Services Clearinghouse has adequate resources to be able to
review and rate programs in a timely manner. I believe this must
include programs that are focused specifically on serving historically
underserved communities. I will also support the continued development
of evidence-based practices through support of quality evaluation.
Question. Are there any additional wraparound services that the
Federal Government should provide to support families where a parent
has a SUD?
Answer. If confirmed, I will work across ACF programs and with
other entities within HHS, including SAMHSA, to support families
impacted by substance use disorder. In addition, I am committed to
fully implementing the Family First Prevention Services Act to deliver
evidence-based supports to more parents struggling with substance use
disorder.
Question. If confirmed, what steps would you take to provide
parents with the tools to protect their children from counterfeit pills
and other narcotics?
Answer. If confirmed, I will work with other Operating Divisions
within the Department, including FDA, SAMHSA, and the CDC, to
counteract the impacts of illicit drug use on the children and families
ACYF serves.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Catherine Cortez Masto
Question. Local jurisdictions are working hard to get Family First
programs off the ground. So many of the challenges they face don't need
a statutory change, but rather willing agency partners. Will you commit
to working with those States and counties to ensure that the
administration is doing everything possible to support a smooth
implementation process?
Answer. If confirmed, successful implementation of the Family First
Prevention Services Act will be a top priority. This law represents a
unique opportunity to re- orient our child welfare system toward
prevention and family well-being. I am committed to working with
States, counties, Tribes, and other partners to provide the guidance
and technical assistance needed for all communities to benefit from
this law.
Question. Recently, the Finance Committee heard from Dr. Vivek
Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, about the children's mental health
crisis. What do you see as your role in addressing kids' mental health
needs? Based on your previous experience, where can we do better in
breaking down silos between Federal programs and arming you with the
resources you'll need?
Answer. The Family First law and upcoming reauthorization of title
IV-B provide many opportunities to address the mental health needs of
young people and families involved in the child welfare system. If
confirmed, my priority will be to move our child welfare system toward
a system of family well-being that focuses on keeping families
together.
Question. Child welfare programs are seeing increases in cases
where children have very acute social and behavioral challenges. These
cases require intensive services that are often not available in a home
setting. In Nevada, Clark County is facing a crisis in finding
facilities to provide the necessary treatment for them. This lack of
providers too often has resulted in kids spending time in inappropriate
care settings while they wait for treatment. What can the Federal
Government do to partner with counties to ensure that these children
and their families receive the intensive services they need and deserve
in the most clinically appropriate treatment setting?
Answer. As we increase our focus on keeping families together, it
is possible that the children who end up in out-of-home placements will
have acute and specialized needs. I believe that our goal should be to
provide children with the care they need when they need it and in the
most appropriate setting to deliver that care. If confirmed, I will
work to address the needs of all children involved in the child welfare
system.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Elizabeth Warren
Question. Tribal Nations provide critical child welfare services
and adjudicate child welfare matters. However, as they attempt to
exercise their sovereignty to protect Tribal families, they often face
barriers to accessing Federal funding and are subjected to policies
that interfere with their ability to establish effective programs.
It is of the utmost importance that the Federal Government protect
Tribal sovereignty and advance Tribal self-determination. And as
President Biden stated in a Presidential Memorandum, ``History
demonstrates that we best serve Native American people when Tribal
Governments are empowered to lead their communities, and when Federal
officials speak with and listen to Tribal leaders in formulating
Federal policy that affects Tribal Nations.''
How do you believe the Federal Government could remove barriers to
Federal funding and other barriers that interfere with Tribal Nations'
abilities to establish effective programs?
Answer. If confirmed, I would ensure that ACYF remains strongly
committed to working in partnership with Tribes, Tribal organizations,
and urban Indian organizations. The Biden-Harris administration is
committed to regular, meaningful, and robust consultation and
collaboration, and at ACYF, I would work to ensure ACYF respects the
unique government-to-government relationship that exists between the
U.S. Federal Government and Tribal Governments. If confirmed, I look
forward to working with Tribal leaders on identifying barriers that
limit access to Federal funding and other resources and working
collaboratively to identify and implement solutions that remove those
barriers.
Question. The Federal Government has a trust responsibility to
protect American Indian and Alaska Native children, and as the Senate
stated in a resolution it adopted (S. Res. 707, 115th Congress), Tribal
Nations have the inherent sovereign authority to be involved in child
welfare decisions. Today, numerous Tribal Nations are developing
promising child abuse prevention strategies that are reducing the risk
of child abuse and helping children stay safely at home rather than
being placed in foster care.
There are nine federally recognized Tribal Nations in Oregon. How
did you support Tribal child welfare programs through your position as
Child Welfare Director of Oregon's Department of Human Services?
Answer. In Oregon I worked closely with Tribal Governments and
Tribal leaders to improve delivery of child welfare services and ensure
we were supporting them in a culturally competent manner that accounted
for their unique needs. Recognizing the sovereignty of Tribal
Governments and establishing relationships based on transparency and
accountability were critical to this work, and if confirmed, I am
committed to bringing that same focus to ACYF.
Question. How would you support Tribal welfare programs if you are
confirmed as ACYF Commissioner?
Answer. If confirmed, I will listen to the needs of Tribes and look
forward to providing robust technical assistance and support that
recognizes the unique needs of Tribes while respecting the government-
to-government relationship. In Oregon, I have worked closely with the
nine federally recognized Tribes to increase access to prevention
services, keep families together, and deliver services in a culturally
competent manner.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Mike Crapo
Question. According to the Adoption Foster Care Analysis Reporting
system, the foster care system has served over 600,000 children each
year for the past 10 years. For many States, faith-based organizations
provide the majority of child welfare services to these foster
children. In order to best prioritize the well-being and safety of this
vulnerable population, the Federal Government must continue to
collaborate and support a wide variety organizations dedicated to
providing these services.
Can you please speak to the important role that faith-based
providers play in the child welfare system?
Answer. I have closely worked with faith-based providers throughout
my career and firmly believe that when it comes to the well-being of
children, we need everyone at the table. Faith-based providers are a
critical part of the child welfare system, and if confirmed, I would
work closely with the faith sector.
Question. If confirmed, how will you communicate and collaborate
with faith-based organizations and providers, so they can continue to
help serve this vulnerable community?
Answer. As I have in Oregon, I would seek to collaborate with the
faith-based sector, listening to their needs and ideas to better serve
children and families. It is important that ACYF provides clear
guidance to all partners, including faith-based organizations. If
confirmed, you have my commitment to partnering with and working
closely with faith-based organizations.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. John Cornyn
foster youth
Question. You will be charged with carrying out policies impacting
foster youth. These individuals are among the most vulnerable
Americans, and we need to make sure the foster care system works for
them, not the other way around.
Sadly, we have thousands of children in the foster care system who
go missing each year. In 2019, there were a total of 423,997 children
in foster care. Of that population, about 1 percent or 4,115 children
were designated as ``runaway.'' Some foster care advocacy groups do not
think these data on runaways are accurate as some cases are
preemptively closed out, even though many of those children are likely
to return. However, the data is not conclusive and remains incomplete.
Fortunately, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting
System (AFCARS) will soon be updated to more accurately reflect where a
child stands in the foster care system. I plan on sending the
administration a letter regarding this change and how we can get this
up and running as soon as possible. I am also working on draft
legislation to create a feedback loop from States to ACF, which will
provide technical assistance at the Children's Bureau to update best
practices on preventing and mitigating runaway episodes as well as
caring for missing and runaway foster youth.
How do you plan to address the issue of missing and runaway foster
youth?
Answer. I strongly believe in the importance of data and evidence
in driving decisions in the child welfare system and doing what is in
the best interests of children. If confirmed, I am looking forward to
working with you to continue to ensure that AFCARS is collecting and
reporting data that will help us to keep children safe and move us
toward a system of child and family well-being. It is critical that we
both account for children who have left their placements and understand
why they have left so we can provide the support they need to stay
safe. You have my commitment to work on this issue with you.
Question. If confirmed, will you prioritize accelerating the update
to AFCARS and provide Congress with periodical progress reports?
Answer. If confirmed, I commit to keeping you and the committee up
to date about all programs within ACYF. I understand the critical
importance of AFCARS and would look forward to working closely with you
on all needed updates to the system.
______
Question Submitted by Hon. Richard Burr
Question. If you are confirmed you will play a key role in the
development of Federal policy related to youth in the child welfare
system.
Senator Feinstein and I have introduced a bill to ensure that
foster children placed in qualified residential treatment programs, or
QRTPs, with more than 16 beds would not lose eligibility for Medicaid
because of an antiquated law often called the ``IMD exclusion.''
QRTPs are required by law to have a trauma-informed treatment model
designed to address the clinical needs of foster children with serious
emotional or behavioral issues. In other words, these programs are
legally required to provide a clinically appropriate level of care for
vulnerable foster children who are in serious need of such care.
Do you believe that children receiving treatment in QRTPs should
lose their Medicaid coverage if that QRTP has more than 16 beds?
Answer. If confirmed, my priority will be to ensure that ACYF is
doing everything to ensure that all children receive the care they
need, when they need it, and in the setting that is best able to
provide that care. In Oregon, I have worked closely with the State
Medicaid agency to support providers in implementing and understanding
the Family First Prevention Services Act and other policies where
Medicaid and child welfare intersect. If confirmed, I would continue
that collaboration at the Federal level with an eye toward getting
clear and comprehensive guidance to States, counties, and providers,
and working to solve any barriers that prevent children from receiving
the best care and support possible.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. Tim Scott
Question. In December, Congressman Ralph Norman and I led a letter
with 102 of our colleagues regarding the rescission of waivers from
faith-based providers in South Carolina, Texas, and Michigan. Miracle
Hill in South Carolina had their waiver revoked. This is a shame,
especially since Miracle Hill does important work to recruit foster
families in accordance with their religious beliefs and place children
in need of a home in their care. To further this point, studies suggest
that 82 percent of families cited faith or church support as a factor
that facilitated successful fostering.
If confirmed, will you commit to protecting religious adoption and
foster care providers by ensuring they are able fully participate in
the adoption and foster care systems without violating their religious
exercise?
If confirmed, will you commit to reinstating the waiver to Miracle
Hill in South Carolina in order to ensure that this organization can
continue their critical work of finding children a home?
If not, will I at least receive a written response to the 20
questions that were posed by members of Congress in the letter?
Additionally, if Miracle Hill's waiver is not reinstated, can you
explain why the Supreme Court in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia
unanimously concluded that faith-based child welfare providers should
be able to provide adoption and foster care services in accordance with
their beliefs, but the Biden administration is choosing to ignore this
important decision from our Nation's highest court?
If confirmed, when discrepancies arise, will you commit to
consulting career professionals in the Conscience and Religious Freedom
Division before taking action with regard to cases involving religious
institutions or providers?
Answer. I have closely worked with faith-based providers throughout
my career and firmly believe that when it comes to the well-being of
children, we need everyone at the table. Faith-based providers are a
critical part of the child welfare system, and if confirmed, I would
work closely with the faith sector.
If confirmed, I will follow the law. I deeply respect the oversight
function of Congress and this committee. I am committed to ensuring
that the Department is responsive to oversight requests, like your
letter, and provides Congress with the information that it needs
consistent with appropriate law and regulation.
If confirmed, I will work with the career subject matter experts
within ACYF and the Department to come to the best decisions possible
for the children and families ACYF is entrusted with serving.
______
Question Submitted by Hon. Bill Cassidy
Question. The passage of the Family First Prevention Services Act
in 2018 brought numerous opportunities for States and Tribes to access
Federal resources to safely support families, in lieu of unnecessary
family disruption and placement in foster care. There also are
considerable avenues through Medicaid to support these types of
services. States, Tribes, and numerous stakeholders have elevated the
need for better coordination and communication among the agencies in
HHS--namely CMS and ACF. It's been years, and still these challenges
exist. In your role as the ACYF Commissioner should you be confirmed,
how will you move this effort forward to provide meaningful, responsive
information to jurisdictions to ease these challenges?
Answer. If confirmed, I am committed to listening to States,
counties, and providers about challenges and opportunities related to
the implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act,
including the Qualified Residential Treatment Program provisions. Given
the complex interactions with Medicaid, I am committed to working with
CMS and other parts of the Department to provide clear and responsive
guidance to the field. My top priority will be ensuring that children
receive the type of care they need in a setting that is most
appropriate to delivery that care. If confirmed, I look forward to
working with you on this issue.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. James Lankford
faith-based child welfare
Question. Faith-based child welfare providers perform vital
services for hundreds of thousands of foster children nationwide and
are often the best at finding forever homes for children in need.
According to HHS's AFCARS report, 407,493 children are in foster care,
117,470 of whom are waiting to be adopted.
Unfortunately, one day before the 2021 AFCARS report came out, HHS
announced the rescission of waivers that were previously granted to
faith-based adoption and foster care agencies in Michigan, Texas, and
South Carolina, which put providers in these States in the untenable
position of choosing between serving children or operating in
accordance with the tenets of their faith.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court unanimously validated the
principle that religious adoption agencies have a right to be free from
discriminatory exclusion from adoption and foster care programs because
of their beliefs in Fulton v. Philadelphia. The Supreme Court found
that ``the refusal of Philadelphia to contract with Catholic Social
Services for the provision of foster care services unless it agrees to
certify same-sex couples as foster parents cannot survive strict
scrutiny, and violates the First Amendment.'' However, HHS and the
Biden administration appear to be ignoring the Court's clear direction
that religious foster care agencies cannot be shut down because of
their religious beliefs.
A number of my colleagues and I wrote to Secretary Becerra on this
issue last year, but we have yet to receive a response
Do you agree that our primary goal should be safe, loving, and
permanent placements for all children?
Answer. Yes.
Question. Do you agree that faith-based adoption and foster care
agencies should be able to continue to partner with the government to
serve children and families without sacrificing their sincerely held
religious beliefs?
Answer. I have closely worked with faith-based providers throughout
my career and firmly believe that when it comes to the well-being of
children, we need everyone at the table. Faith-based providers are a
critical part of the child welfare system, and if confirmed, I would
work closely with the faith sector.
Question. Do you agree that without faith-based providers, our
Nation would be unable to properly care for the number of children in
need of homes and families?
Answer. Faith-based providers are absolutely essential to our child
welfare system.
Question. If confirmed, will you commit to maintaining the notice
of non-
enforcement for the 2016 grants rule and disavow its enforcement moving
forward?
Answer. It is my understanding that this is an issue that spans
across the Department. If confirmed, I will look into how the
Department is addressing this issue and report back to Congress. I also
commit to doing everything in my power as, if confirmed, to ensure that
grantees and their beneficiaries are not unfairly discriminated
against.
Question. If confirmed, will HHS exclude from the title IV-E
program religious adoption and foster care providers that cannot assist
in the placement of children in same-sex households without violating
their religious exercise when those households have alternative
providers available to assist them in the State?
Answer. If confirmed, I am committed to working closely with faith-
based providers to ensure that children have the supports they need and
in the settings that are best positioned to provide those supports.
______
Questions Submitted by Hon. John Barrasso
Question. Faith-based organizations play an important role in the
child welfare system. The actions of the Biden administration are
making it more difficult for these groups to participate in the
process. This continues a troubling pattern of the Department of Health
and Human Services discriminating against people and organizations of
faith.
On November 18, 2021, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Office
for Civil Rights (OCR), announced it was withdrawing waivers previously
granted under the Trump administration. Please explain your position on
this decision.
Please describe how you will help faith-based groups participate in
the child welfare process and identify previous professional
experiences where you have specifically worked with faith-based groups.
Please describe how you will ensure faith-based organizations will
not have to violate their own religious beliefs to participate in
Federal programs.
Answer. Faith-based providers are critical to the child welfare
system. In my current role, I work closely with the faith community and
understand how essential they are to our safety net. If confirmed, I
look forward to listening to and working closely with faith-based
providers, and will follow the law.
Question. Rural States and communities face unique challenges when
delivering governmental services.
Please describe specific instances and experiences where you have
improved the delivery of social services in rural communities?
Explain how, if confirmed, you will ensure the policies of the
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) will take into account
the unique needs of rural States and people.
Answer. Ensuring equitable access to ACF programs for rural
communities is critical. If confirmed, I would partner with rural
communities to identify barriers to accessing ACF programs and would be
committed to thinking creatively to solve those problems and meet the
needs of children and families in rural communities. During my career I
have worked with rural communities and have seen firsthand the issues
caused by long distances to service providers, lack of reliable
Internet, and staffing challenges for many providers. I would bring
that experience to ACF if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed.
Question. As the former chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs
Committee, ensuring American Indian and Alaska Native children receive
the help and support they need is an important personal priority of
mine.
Can you please identify previous professional experiences and
actions where you worked with tribal communities?
Answer. While with Casey Family Programs, I was the project lead
for the California Disproportionality Project that had teams from 14
counties comprised of Tribes and county staff focused on strategies to
reduce disproportionality and disparity of Tribal communities and
African American communities. Additionally, in Oregon, the relationship
with Tribes has been a priority including ensuring membership of Tribes
within all the advisory groups, as well as the ICWA advisory. In my
current role, I have also supported the passage and implementation of
the Oregon Indian Child Welfare Act as well as the implementation
efforts of prevention and Family First with the Tribes.
Question. Can you please identify specific policies and ways you
plan on working with Tribal communities if confirmed?
Answer. If confirmed, I look forward to working with Tribes to
support the implementation of prevention and Family First as well as
the reduction of the disproportionality and disparity of Tribal
families. Upholding the government-to-government relationship is a
priority and engaging with Tribal leadership to guide and inform what
is needed is the process for which I intend to work.
Question. The Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) previously issued a rule
entitled ``Vaccine and Mask Requirements To Mitigate the Spread of
COVID-19 in Head Start Programs.''
Do you believe the scientific data supports the masking of young
children to participate in Head Start?
If you believe the masking of young children is justified, please
provide specific medical or scientific studies to support this
position.
Answer. Head Start is a vital resource to many underserved
communities around the country. Many children served by State child
welfare systems participate in Head Start. If confirmed, I am committed
to working closely with the Office of Head Start to collaborate on
ensuring the well-being of children in Head Start centers. While Head
Start would not be under my direct purview, if confirmed as
Commissioner, I would look forward to supporting ACF and congressional
efforts on this issue where possible, while also following Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) guidance for masking.
Question. The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly difficult on
children who lost the ability to attend in-person school. Teachers are
classified as mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect under
State law, since they are in such frequent and close contact with
children.
From a child welfare perspective, can you explain your position on
the importance of in-person learning?
Answer. Schools and the supports that students receive in schools
are an essential part of the safety net for children and families.
Children do best when they have access to a full range of supports,
including those provided by in-person learning.
Question. Human trafficking is a tragedy and must be stopped. The
actions of the Biden administration are only making the situation
worse, especially along our southern border. With that being said, the
Administration for Children and Families plays an important role
combating human trafficking.
Can you please identify specific policies you believe Congress
should consider that would improve the ability of ACF to combat and
provide assistance to victims of human trafficking?
Answer. A focus of my career has been combatting human trafficking,
and I will always carry with me the experiences of clients who have
been victims of trafficking. If confirmed, I will work closely with
each component of ACF to incorporate anti-trafficking efforts into our
programs, particularly in child welfare. In addition, I would listen to
survivors about what would have made a difference in their situation,
and I would bring those lessons to ACF programs. I would also look to
partner with law enforcement. I look forward to working closely with
you on this issue.
______
Prepared Statement of Hon. Ron Wyden,
a U.S. Senator From Oregon
This morning the Finance Committee meets to discuss three
nominations for important roles in the Biden administration.
First up, January Contreras is President Biden's nominee to serve
as Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Children and
Families. This role is all about overseeing programs that deal with
caring for some of the most vulnerable people in the country--
particularly young people.
A big part of that job over the last few years has been the
implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act, which is a
once-in-a-generation overhaul of our child welfare system that this
committee wrote on a bipartisan basis. Family First is designed to help
families stay together whenever it's safe and possible, instead of
breaking them up as a matter of course. Implementing that law has
required a lot of close collaboration between the Federal Government
and the States. It's been a challenge, particularly under the previous
administration.
Fortunately, Ms. Contreras is well-versed in the Family First law.
Across her decades in public service, Ms. Contreras has championed the
safety and well-being of women, children, and families. Most recently,
she's led Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services, a legal aid
organization for children and young adults who have experienced abuse,
neglect, family separation, homelessness, and human trafficking. I look
forward to discussing all these issues with her.
Now, I always say that the best nomination hearings are the ones
with nominees from Oregon, and today is no exception. Our second
nominee today is Rebecca Jones Gaston, President Biden's nominee to
serve as HHS Commissioner for Children, Youth, and Families.
Ms. Jones Gaston is a uniquely qualified nominee because she brings
nearly 25 years of experience in the field of human services and child
welfare. She currently serves as Child Welfare Director for Oregon's
Department of Human Services. She is a crusader on behalf of vulnerable
people. Recently, she has been spending her time providing older youth
with additional COVID support services and has been at the helm of
implementing the Family First law in Oregon. I can tell you, she's got
a lot of fans back home across our State, and she has made Oregon
families healthier and safer.
Before she came out west to Oregon, Ms. Jones Gaston served as the
Executive Director of the Maryland Social Services Administration. In
fact, she helped design and implement Maryland's plan for Family First
with Governor Larry Hogan. That means she's worked with officials on
both sides of the aisle and she's proven she knows how to get things
done. In my view, President Biden couldn't have picked a better
nominee. If and when she's confirmed, Oregon's loss will be the
country's gain.
Finally, Robert Gordon is President Biden's nominee to serve as HHS
Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources. Mr. Gordon has worn a lot
of hats during his career in public service.
Most recently, he served as Director of the Department of Health
and Human Services for the State of Michigan, playing a central role in
the State's pandemic response and managing an agency of 14,000
employees and a $27-billion budget. Previously, he held senior roles in
the U.S. Department of Education and at the Office of Management and
Budget, where he championed evidence-based policymaking to use taxpayer
dollars wisely. Earlier in his career, Mr. Gordon served as a senior
official at the New York City Department of Education; a senior aide on
Capitol Hill; a law clerk for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; and a White
House aide, helping create the AmeriCorps program.
All in all, Mr. Gordon is a highly experienced public servant. When
you're working on finances at HHS, the core of your job is upholding
the guarantee of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health
Insurance Program--ensuring that those programs and many others under
the HHS umbrella remain strong for future generations.
I want to thank all of our witnesses for joining the committee
today and for their willingness to serve. I look forward to questions.
______
ALL IN Fostering Futures
12081 W. Alameda Pkwy #482
Lakewood, CO. 80228
Website: www.allinfosteringfutures.org
February 10, 2022
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
It is my pleasure to recommend Rebecca Jones Gaston, the nominee for
the Federal Commission for the Administration for Children, Youth and
Families, Department of Health and Human Services. I have had the
privilege of working with Ms. Jones Gaston during the last 5 years and
believe she would be outstanding in this position. It is an area that
needs strong knowledge and a true dedication on the issues that come
before this office. She is deeply committed to children and families.
In addition to her 24 years of experience as a social worker she has
her own lived experience as an adoptee who believes in transforming
systems. As a Director in Oregon, she led a significant transformation
collaborating with partners throughout the entire state. This ability
to collaborate with unusual partners will enhance all she does at ACYF.
She works with sincere motivation to serve communities and citizens.
Her dependability and drive are character traits that cannot be taught
and are crucial to any leadership position. She is a leader in the
public human services system and has built strong systemic and personal
relationships as well.
Again, I am honored to support Rebecca Jones Gaston for this position.
Please contact me if you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
Lynn A. Johnson
President
American Public Health Association
800 I Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001-3710
202-777-2742
https://www.apha.org/
October 6, 2021
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chair Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
On behalf of the American Public Health Association, a diverse
community of public health professionals that champions the health of
all people and communities, I write to express our support for the
nomination of Robert Gordon for assistant secretary for financial
resources at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He has
both the knowledge and public health experience to serve in this
critical role as we continue to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the
other health challenges we face as a nation.
Mr. Gordon currently serves as senior counselor at the Center on Budget
& Policy Priorities and senior advisor for Poverty Solutions at the
University of Michigan. From 2019-2021, he served as the Director of
the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services where he helped
lead the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, oversaw the state's
Medicaid and aging programs and led efforts to improve maternal-infant
health and address the opioid epidemic. He also has significant
experience serving in several other important senior federal government
roles including as an acting assistant secretary at the U.S. Department
of Education and as acting deputy director and executive associate
director at the Office of Management and Budget.
We are confident that he has the leadership skills and experience
needed to serve as assistant secretary for financial resources at HHS.
We look forward to working with him and the rest of the dedicated staff
at HHS to address the many public health challenges that we face as a
nation. Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding our
support for his nomination.
Sincerely,
Georges C. Benjamin, M.D.
Executive Director
______
American Public Human Services Association
1300 17th Street N., Suite 340
Arlington, VA 22209
TEL (202) 682-0100
FAX (202) 204-0071
https://www.aphsa.org/
February 8, 2022
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chair Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo,
The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) is pleased to
submit this letter of recommendation on behalf of Rebecca Jones Gaston
in support of her nomination for Commissioner of the Administration for
Children, Youth and Families (ACYF).
APHSA is a bipartisan national membership association representing
state and local health and human services agencies and the subject
matter experts that help execute their mission to improve outcomes for
people nationwide. Building on our long-standing relationships with
health and human services leaders, we focus on generating pragmatic
solutions that advance the well-being of individuals, families, and
communities. Through our affinity group, the National Association of
Public Child Welfare Administrators (NAPCWA), APHSA advances policy and
practices priorities of child welfare system leaders to construct child
and family well-being systems.
Ms. Jones Gaston has served as an active member of APHSA and key leader
of NAPCWA during her tenure as a state child welfare administrator. In
these roles, Ms. Jones Gaston has been a bold and visionary leader,
accelerating national dialogues on policy and practice solutions to
advance prevention frameworks, grounded in equity and lived expertise
among leaders across the health and human services system.
As a national leader in advancing cross-system solutions that address
the safety, permanency, and well-being goals for those served by public
agencies, Ms. Jones Gaston is regarded as a forerunner in leveraging
federal policy opportunities, like the Family First Prevention Services
Act, to develop approaches to advance family well-being models that
prevent child welfare involvement for families experiencing economic
hardships, housing instability, lack of access to appropriate clinical
services, or other poverty-related factors. Under her leadership, the
state of Oregon has launched a significant transformation built on
trauma-informed, family- and
community-centered, and culturally responsive programs and services.
Ms. Jones Gaston is highly respected by her state child welfare
administrator peers and national research and advocacy alike, as a
champion for family well-being frameworks that reduce the traumatic
impacts of the child welfare system on families, with the technical
skills to make necessary alignments in financing, procurement, and
state policy.
Equally, Ms. Jones Gaston has the clinical and programmatic backgrounds
to effectively implement child maltreatment response programs,
including integration of trauma-informed services for children who do
experience maltreatment or abuse across human services, law
enforcement, medical and legal communities. Her experiences overseeing
reporting and child protection operations, to ensure safety and
permanency options for all children and youth, with family and
community strengths-based and equity approaches will bring significant
value to the HHS/ACF leadership team.
Most importantly, Ms. Jones Gaston brings her authentic voice and
passion for leading from the ground up. She will ensure that federal
efforts will be designed with the perspectives of states, community-
based organizations, and those with lived expertise at the forefront.
Ms. Jones Gaston will bring both her own lived expertise in the child
welfare system as an adoptee, in addition to her many years of
professional expertise in creating a system that works for children,
youth, and families because they have a seat at the policymaking
tables.
Sincerely,
Tracy Wareing Evans
President and CEO
Sheila Poole
Commissioner, New York State Office of Children and Family Services
Chair, National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators
______
Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence
2700 N. Central Ave., Suite 1100
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 279-2900
(800) 782-6400
TTY (602) 279-7270
[email protected]
February 2, 2022
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
I write on behalf of the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic
Violence (ACESDV) to offer strong support for the confirmation of
January Contreras as Assistant Secretary for the Administration for
Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. January Contreras is precisely the long-time advocate and
leader we need to advance the mission and life-saving services of ACF.
ACESDV is the federally designated coalition in Arizona and is the
state's center of expertise and education on the issues of sexual and
domestic violence. ACESDV has provided training and technical
assistance, provided legislative advocacy, and developed a committed
network of domestic and sexual violence programs and social service
providers to strengthen the safety net for people impacted by sexual
and domestic violence.
January Contreras knows our work well because she was formerly a
respected member of the ACESDV Board of Directors. In addition, our
community knows her work well defending the safety and legal rights of
victims and survivors through the legal aid center she founded, Arizona
Legal Women and Youth Services (ALWAYS). Prior to this work, January
also delivered meaningful change at the federal level when she led an
initiative at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that resulted in
new training and strengthened protections for immigrant victims of
crime, with a particular focus on battered immigrant women. Her history
of supporting survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and
sexual assault will make her an especially effective Assistant
Secretary at ACF because she knows what families and individuals face
when violence enters their lives.
As a coalition, we understand that people who are experiencing violence
are often subjected to multiple forms of oppression and face multiple
barriers and challenges in achieving safety in their lives. This
reality is precisely why a leader such as January Contreras is the
right person to lead ACF. January's work representing survivors of
violence has led her to understand the intersection between domestic
violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and the many challenges
that increase vulnerability such as poverty, housing instability, lack
of child care, and language barriers.
January's leadership and work has made a difference here in Arizona. We
wholeheartedly support her confirmation to serve as the Assistant
Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families so that she
can do the same for the many people in our nation seeking to live
violence-free lives.
Sincerely,
Jenna Panas, CEO
Chief Executive Officer
(817) 939-1577
[email protected]
______
Arrow Child and Family Ministries
1605 Cromwell Bridge Rd.
Baltimore, MD 21234
410-882-9133
410-663-7092 fax
https://www.arrow.org/
February 11, 2022
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
I am writing in support of Rebecca Jones Gaston's confirmation as ACYF
Commissioner. I am the Vice President of Maryland Operations for Arrow
Child & Family Ministries. We are a human services organization in
Texas and Maryland providing foster care (including treatment foster
care), residential intervention, community based programs, and special
education service: to over 1500 children and families across our
programs. I worked closely with Ms. Jones Gasto in her role as
Executive Director of the Social Services Administration for the
Department of Human Services of Maryland. Ms. Jones Gaston made
impactful changes for child welfare in Maryland. During her tenure, the
FFPSA legislation passed. Ms. Jones Gaston immediately engaged various
groups of stakeholders to position Maryland for early adoption of the
requirements, as they aligned with work already underway for our State.
She understands the importance of youth and family voice being
prevalent in conversations regarding the creation and provision of
services. She actively created opportunities for private providers,
State agencies, community members, and court representatives to gather
with youth and families to work on changes and improvements for child
welfare with a greater lens on the intersection of services that impact
families. I greatly appreciated and admired Ms. Jones Gaston's
inclusive efforts paired with her high standards for everyone involved
in serving children and families.
It is my humble opinion that Ms. Jones Gaston is an exemplary candidate
to serve as Commissioner for ACYF. Under her leadership, we experienced
a time of progress and improvement in services for children. To know
that we have an opportunity to expand her impact across our nation
brings me a tremendous sense of hope for our children and their
families.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Renault
______
Brown University School of Public Health
Box G-S121-3
Providence, RI 02912
401-863-3375
[email protected]
October 4, 2021
The Honorable Ron Wyden, Chairman
The Honorable Mike Crapo, Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-6200
Dear Senators Wyden and Crapo,
I am delighted to write in support of Robert Gordon's nomination to be
Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources at the Department of Health
& Human Services. I have become very familiar with Robert's work and
qualifications during my time as Dean of the Brown University School of
Public Health.
I met Robert for the first time in a September 2019 session in Detroit
on the social determinants of health. He turned the discussion towards
the challenges facing government policymakers as they seek to
incorporate evidence into their decision-
making. While Robert knew a lot about the research on health, he also
spoke concretely about putting evidence into action--improving the
collection and use of data, building programs that reward effective
investments, and creating partnerships among government, community
organizations, and universities. He spoke to these approaches in
detail, from a broad range of experiences: federal and state
government; nonprofit organizations and philanthropies; policy,
operations, and finance; and health care, human services, and
education.
As the pandemic got underway, Robert and I began to speak regularly, at
a time when I was advising Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, along
with leaders of other states, on their response to the pandemic. During
this moment of crisis, I again found him deeply interested in
understanding the evolving evidence about the pandemic, how it spreads,
and how government action could respond. He understood the need not
only to address best practice in theory, but also to tackle best
practice in the complicated real world. He understood the shortcomings
of the data we had and the need to both make decisions with limited
data but also to begin to build the data infrastructure to help guide
future decisions.
We spoke about crafting public health orders that would have the
greatest possible impact on saving lives with the minimal possible
invasion of individual freedom. What was clear to me in these
conversations was that he understood that his job was to protect the
health of all Michiganders and to do it in a way that was respectful of
their beliefs and preferences. I believe that Michigan's actions in the
Fall of 2020 did, in fact, save many lives, and they became a model for
other states.
Robert is a model pubic servant--humble, focused on the work and the
people he serves. While at times the pandemic shined a light on all
health leaders, Robert was always clear to me that he does his best
work outside of that light. He is someone who believes deeply that
while we can disagree on the size and role of government, all Americans
agree that the government needs to function effectively. And he is
committed to that.
It is without hesitation that I support Robert's nomination, and I am
happy to answer any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Ashish K. Jha, M.D., MPH
Dean
______
Center for Law and Social Policy
1310 L St., NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 906-8000
https://www.clasp.org/
November 30, 2021
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chairman Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
I am writing on behalf of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
to express strong support for the confirmation of Robert Gordon as
Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources at the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. As an organization that advocates for people
with low incomes at the national and state levels, CLASP has had the
opportunity to work closely with Robert during his service in Michigan
and, prior to that, at the Office of Management and Budget during the
Obama administration. He brings a unique combination of deep
programmatic experience, demonstrated effectiveness at delivering
results, commitment to core principles of public service and to the
individuals and families who benefit from HHS programs, and in-depth
knowledge of public sector finance and budgets.
During Robert's 2 years as Director of the Michigan Department of
Health and Human Services, he led several important reforms in the
delivery of core public benefits to Michigan residents with low
incomes. Among the examples that best illustrate his effectiveness,
focus on results, and ability to keep people and their needs front and
center as he leads a large organization:
Michigan was a national leader in the implementation of Pandemic
EBT (P-EBT), an opportunity offered by the US Department of Agriculture
during the pandemic for states to reach children with nutrition
assistance when they were missing meals at school or in child care
settings. Michigan was the first state to receive approval to issue P-
EBT benefits to nearly a million children, just weeks after the federal
legislation was passed, and provided a model to others in figuring out
how to implement this program.
Robert led an effort within Michigan to identify opportunities
to reduce bureaucracy and red tape in order to get help to families and
individuals. One major success of this effort was the streamlining of
the application and renewal forms, saving both caseworkers and
participants time, and reducing churning. Another was Michigan's
adoption of a policy allowing post-secondary students with low incomes
who are enrolled in career-focused programs to receive nutrition
assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP). When the Trump Administration finalized their public charge
regulation, which created a huge chilling effect, discouraging
immigrants and their families from accessing public, Robert made sure
that Michigan DHHS was proactively sharing accurate information to
ensure that people were not being unnecessarily discouraged from
receiving critical benefits.
Under his leadership, Michigan DHHS introduced an Equity Impact
Assessment tool to ensure that decisions are made with awareness of
their impacts on marginalized people of color and with the goal of
reducing disparities.
Robert's record of accomplishment during the Obama administration
reflected the same qualities of creativity, consistent commitment to
placing families and individuals at the center of his work, and deep
understanding of public sector programs and budgets. He helped to
launch several important initiatives to help children get a good start
in life, including the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home
Visiting program and investments in preschool which are an important
forerunner to the large expansions under consideration today.
At this time of a pandemic and recession that have had tragic
consequences for so many families' and individuals' health and economic
security, and at a time when HHS is central to mounting a vigorous
public response across many dimensions, the position of Assistant
Secretary for Financial Resources is crucial. Robert will bring to this
role far more than deep knowledge of public sector budgeting and
financial management, though he has that. He will also bring personal
experience on the front lines of state service delivery, a record of
demonstrated accomplishment at both federal and state levels, a core
commitment to public service and to families, and deep programmatic as
well as fiscal knowledge. All of those will serve the Department and
the United States well at this crucial moment.
We look forward to the Senate's prompt confirmation of Robert Gordon as
Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources and would be delighted to
provide any additional information that might be helpful.
Sincerely,
Olivia A. Golden
Executive Director
______
Center for Security in Politics
February 2, 2022
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
It has come to my attention that President Biden has nominated Ms.
January Contreras as Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children
and Families at the United States Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS). I write to offer my unqualified support of Ms.
Contreras as you consider her confirmation.
I have known and worked with January for twenty years and believe her
to be a person of the highest level of integrity, moral character and
professional competence. January was a prosecutor in my office when I
served as Arizona Attorney General. January went on to make
extraordinary contributions as my health policy advisor and a member of
my cabinet as the Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services
when I served as Governor of Arizona. January also worked with me in
the Obama Administration at the United States Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) as a Senior Advisor during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and
subsequently as the leader of the Office of the Ombudsman for
Citizenship and Immigration Services. In each of these roles, she
consistently demonstrated a commitment to collaboration, transparency
and accountability. Since that time, she and I have kept in close touch
and I have watched her post government career as she has continued to
support women, children and families through her work with her not-for-
profit and her service in multiple leadership roles in Arizona.
January is a seasoned government and nonprofit executive who will lead
the Administration for Children and Families with discipline, focus and
vision. She understands how the government works and should work, she
embraces its service requirements and knows how to deliver effectively
and efficiently on a critical mission for the people most impacted.
Children and families will be well served with January as Assistant
Secretary. I recommend her without reservation and would be pleased to
provide further information should it be required.
Very truly yours,
Janet Napolitano
Professor, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California,
Berkeley
President Emerita, University of California
Former Secretary of Homeland Security
______
Children's Action Alliance
3030 North Third Street, Suite 760
Phoenix, AZ 85012
5049 East Broadway Boulevard, Suite 158
Tucson, AZ 85711
https://azchildren.org/
[email protected]
602-266-0707
February 3, 2022
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chairman Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
It is with great enthusiasm that I provide this letter of
recommendation in support of the confirmation of January Contreras to
be Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, Department of Health
and Human Services. I have known January for almost two decades as an
attorney, advocate, and community leader in Arizona. Through her work
and tireless advocacy, she has deservedly earned the reputation as one
of our state's strongest, most respected leaders on behalf of children
and families. I currently have the honor to lead a nonprofit,
nonpartisan organization that is one of Arizona's longest standing and
most prominent voices for children and families at both our State
Capitol and at the federal level. For many years, January has been
someone our organization has consistently partnered with to help
vulnerable youth.
We have worked with her through the legal services nonprofit
organization she founded, Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services
(ALWAYS), where she served as the Executive Director and personally
represented victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, and
children and young adults experiencing homelessness, foster care, and
family separation. We have also worked with her through the many task
forces, coalitions, and advisory boards she has served on. One of those
was her service on the community advisory board for the Fostering
Advocates Arizona (FAAZ) Young Adult Leadership Board, a committee we
facilitate that is centered in the lived expertise of young people who
have experienced foster care.
January and her organization, ALWAYS, worked with several FAAZ members
and other transitioning youth to help stabilize their finances when
they had been exploited by someone close to them; to help them obtain
restraining orders when they were victims of domestic violence; and to
assist them in getting medical coverage through our state's Medicaid
program. In other instances, we have worked with January in our efforts
to expand children's access to health care and child care and to
increase the availability of affordable housing.
I also had the opportunity to work with January from about 2005 to 2010
when I served in the Arizona legislature and she served as Senior
Health Advisor to then-Governor Janet Napolitano and later as the
Acting Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. In those
capacities, January demonstrated herself to be someone who could work
with elected officials on both sides of the political aisle and to be
an effective communicator and problem-solver.
I can say with great confidence that January is a person with integrity
and strong character who has demonstrated throughout her career a
commitment to public service and is someone who cares deeply about the
people she serves. I am thrilled to see her have the opportunity to
bring her leadership and experience in improving the lives of children
and families to the current administration.
Sincerely,
David Lujan
President and CEO
______
College Board
250 Vesey Street
New York, NY 10281
https://www.collegeboard.org/
October 20, 2021
Senators Wyden and Crapo,
Robert Gordon is one of the most conscientious, talented, and effective
leaders I've ever worked with. I recommend him wholeheartedly for the
role of Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources at the United
States Department of Health and Human Services, where he'll be an
outstanding administrator, a trusted colleague, and a model public
servant.
I had the privilege of working with Robert most closely during his time
as Senior Vice President of Global Strategy and Finance at the College
Board, where he served from 2015 to 2019. He not only demonstrated the
impeccable judgment and financial acumen required to oversee a large
annual nonprofit budget and its assets, but also brought discipline and
mission-driven focus to every aspect of our work. He was creative and
diligent about identifying opportunities for savings and improved
efficiency to drive greater investment in our core mission, including
his successful effort to introduce a stronger procurement process and
budgetary oversight. He also oversaw College Board's accounting
division, consistently producing clean audits and commanding the
complete trust of our audit committee, external auditors and
colleagues. Robert's finance expertise is complemented by a deft sense
of diplomacy in working with a wide range of partners and constituents,
and he was widely sought for his advice and expertise by colleagues
across the organization, from front-line staff to our Board of
Trustees. He welcomed all of those inquiries with perfect grace and
attentiveness.
Robert's impact on the College Board extends far beyond his impeccable
financial insight. He quickly became a trusted voice on operational
improvement and process modernization, driving a major overhaul of
technology systems and a migration to an Agile workflow. His ability to
manage complex projects involving a wide variety of stakeholders was
invaluable in streamlining the College Board's work and strengthening
our capacity to serve students. He always kept our mission front-and-
center in his own work and in the minds of his colleagues. His impact
on our operations and our culture continues to pay dividends for the
people we serve. The College Board's ability to adapt and thrive
through the acute challenges of the pandemic, serving our members
through one of the toughest periods in the modern history of education,
owes much to Robert's dedicated pursuit of operational excellence and
financial resilience.
The College Board is a large and diverse organization, and Robert was
always intentional about consulting different voices before making
major decisions. His ability to win respect and incorporate the views
of his colleagues made him a favorite among College Board leadership,
widely admired for his integrity and sense of responsibility to his
colleagues. Simply put, people trusted that Robert's decisions were
well-considered, fair, and always in service to our core mission.
Robert seeks out positions not for their rewards, but for their
challenges. Before coming to the College Board, he developed deep
expertise in budgeting and policy during his time at the New York City
Department of Education, at the Center for American Progress, and in
four years of dedicated service to the Office of Management and Budget.
In every one of those roles, he has led by example. Robert is frugal,
hardworking, and an eager listener.
It's no exaggeration to say that Robert Gordon is one of the finest
minds I've ever known, and I will be proud as both a friend and a
citizen to see him take on the crucial responsibility of managing and
strengthening the financial resources of the Department of Health and
Human Services. He is a credit to his country and his profession, and I
hope you'll grant him the opportunity to serve.
I would welcome the chance to answer any questions you might have, and
I appreciate your time and care in your own work on behalf of the
American people.
Respectfully,
David Coleman
CEO
[email protected]
______
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
4900 Tuttle Crossing Blvd.
Dublin, OH 43016
1-800-ASK-DTFA
https://www.davethomasfoundation.org/
February 8, 2022
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chairman Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
I am honored and delighted to provide this letter of support for the
confirmation of Ms. Rebecca Jones Gaston as Commissioner for the
Administration on Children, Youth and Families. I can think of no more
qualified candidate for this critical leadership role serving our
nation's most vulnerable children and families.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national non-profit public
charity dedicated exclusively to moving North America's children
waiting in foster care to be adopted into safe, nurturing and permanent
homes. We do this through the implementation of evidence-based
programs, research, education and advocacy. For example, our Wendy's
Wonderful Kids program, an evidence-based child-focused recruitment
model serving children at risk of aging out of care, is now being
funded through extensive public/private partnerships and taken to scale
across the United States. It has resulted in more than 11,000 permanent
placements of older youth, sibling groups, children with emotional and
physical challenges and youth previously opposed to the notion of
family and adoption across all 50 states and D.C.
It is through this program that I met Ms. Jones Gaston nearly 20 years
ago when she served as the National Campaign Director of the
AdoptUSKids initiative. Similarly, we engaged and collaborated during
her role in the state of Maryland and now as we work toward a cost- and
life-saving public/private partnership to scale Wendy's Wonderful Kids
in the state of Oregon.
In each role and throughout two decades, I have been both impressed and
energized by her commitment to collaboration; her deep understanding of
the complex federal and state child welfare policies, funding and
practices; her focused strategic vision and her willingness to
aggressively address systemic barriers that continue to plague
prevention efforts to keep children out of foster care and the
obstacles that too often contribute to many lingering in or aging out
of care without the birthright of every child--a family and a home.
Significantly, Ms. Jones Gaston brings a deep and personal
understanding of the child welfare system dynamics though her lived
experience as an adoptee and her resulting sensitivity to and respect
for the voices of children and families currently at-risk of entering
the system or now in care.
Ms. Jones Gaston is precisely the leader that the Administration on
Children, Youth and Families requires, particularly now as the dynamics
of child abuse prevention, racial equity and social justice for
children and families converge in federal initiatives, policy and
practice. She understands the urgency and I am certain will respond in
a way that is transformative, inclusive and visionary--all qualities
that our children and families deserve and that we all should demand.
Thank you for this opportunity to provide a letter of support. If there
is any further information that I can provide, know that your call is
always welcome.
With Respect,
Rita L. Soronen
President and CEO
(614) 595-1564
______
FosterClub, Inc.
620 South Holladay #1
Seaside, OR 97138
PH: 503-717-1552
FAX: 503-717-1702
WEB: fosterclub.org
EIN: 93-1287234
CFC: 76187
February 8, 2022
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chairman Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510 Washington DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and Members of the Senate
Committee on Finance,
FosterClub would like to express our strong support of Rebecca Jones
Gaston, nominee for the Federal Commissioner for the Administration for
Children, Youth and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.
Ms. Jones Gaston is an impressive leader who is highly qualified for
the position. We urge the Committee to confirm Ms. Jones Gaston
swiftly.
FosterClub is the national network for young people who experience
foster care. In partnership with Lived Experience Leaders (young people
who have lived in foster care), FosterClub drives change in the child
welfare system and provides direct support to children and youth who
experience the foster care system.
FosterClub's collaboration with Rebecca Jones Gaston began during her
tenure at Casey Family Programs, a long-time funder and partner of
FosterClub's work. Through this partnership, a transformation has taken
place to engage people with lived experience in efforts to reform the
child welfare system; today, lived experience is helping to transform
public policy, improve best practices, and deliver services to
children, youth, and families.
Ms. Jones Gaston brings her own lived experience as an adoptee into her
work. Along with her own experience, Ms. Jones Gaston prioritizes the
engagement of individuals with lived experience in child welfare into
the transformation of the current child welfare system.
FosterClub supported Lived Experience Leaders who provided critical
insight to Members of Congress on their experiences in foster care and
the need for significant change within the system, leading to the
Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018. Under Ms. Jones Gaston's
leadership, we are confident lived experience voices will continue to
play a central role in implementation of FFPSA and other critical
policies at the federal level.
Child welfare provides a critical safety net for many young people.
FosterClub believes improvements to the foster care system are
strengthened when young people who have been disproportionately
impacted, notably Black, Indigenous, and the LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit
community, are centered in that improvement. Ms. Jones Gaston's focus
on equity and inclusion and commitment to lived experience voices will
ensure young people who do enter foster care receive the best care
possible while in foster care, and the support to reunify with their
families, connect with relatives and when neither are possible, find
family through adoption.
Ms. Jones Gaston has a track record of success in child welfare that is
inclusive of partnership with lived experience voices. We need strong
leadership who listen to and value the voices of young people who have
firsthand experience in foster care. By partnering with young people,
we can all work towards a future where every young person has what they
need to thrive.
Our team at FosterClub urges a speedy confirmation of Rebecca Jones
Gaston.
Sincerely,
Celeste Bodner
Executive Director
______
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
October 9, 2021
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chair
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
239 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
I am writing with my full support for the nomination of Robert Gordon
to be the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources in the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. I am Professor of the Practice
in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health. My recommendation is based on my experiences serving
with Mr. Gordon in the Obama Administration, as well as my observations
of his leadership during the pandemic.
I had the privilege of serving as the Principal Deputy Commissioner of
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from March 2009 to January 2011.
During this period, I interacted with Mr. Gordon in his role at OMB. I
found him to be thoughtful and inquisitive about a wide range of agency
issues, asking important questions while respecting the expertise of
senior agency officials. He had a reputation then, as now, as a doer
and not a talker--someone who worked by the book to move important
efforts forward.
We reconnected as he took a senior position in Michigan state
government. I was impressed as he assembled a terrific management team
and tackled some complicated and longstanding issues facing the state,
including lead poisoning and Medicaid reform. He pursued innovative
projects to expand access to health care while controlling costs.
Then came the pandemic--an enormous challenge for all health officials.
Robert worked with his team to lead one of the most effective responses
in 2020, using available evidence to guide the state's approach. He was
very focused on successfully implementing key policies.
Robert's strengths will serve him well as Assistant Secretary. I am
sure he will be laser focused on implementation effectiveness and
efficiency, recognizing the potential for innovative approaches to
achieve more for the American people at less cost. He cares deeply
about getting his job done the right way. For these reasons, I am
enthusiastic about his nomination, and I would urge the Senate to
confirm him for this position promptly.
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Joshua M. Sharfstein, M.D.
Professor of the Practice in Health Policy and Management
Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement
______
Michigan Elder Justice Initiative
15851 S. U.S. 27, Suite 73
Lansing, MI 48906
Phone: 517-827-8023
Fax: 517-574-5301
October 6, 2021
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Re: Nomination of Robert Gordon to serve as an Assistant Secretary of
Health and Human Services
Dear Senators Wyden and Crapo:
I am the Director and Managing Attorney of the Michigan Elder Justice
Initiative, a legal services and ombudsman program that advocates for
low income older adults and people with disabilities. Because I have
had the opportunity to observe Robert Gordon's extraordinary leadership
skills, passionate commitment to improving the health and well-being of
vulnerable individuals, and unquestionable integrity, I write in
enthusiastic support of his nomination to serve as the Assistant
Secretary for Financial Resources in the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
I first became familiar with Mr. Gordon when he was appointed to serve
as the Director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
(MDHHS) in 2019. Within weeks of beginning his demanding new job, Mr.
Gordon tackled one of the Department's biggest challenges: thousands of
applicants, including my clients, faced months long delays before their
paperwork could be processed and they could obtain the critical
benefits they needed. Mr. Gordon was entirely transparent about the
Department's failings, made a commitment to do better, and tracked
progress toward eliminating the backlog on a public website. He met
with managers, caseworkers, and clients and talked to legislators,
union representatives and national experts. As a result of these
efforts, communities across the state met the state's target for the
timely processing of applications about 95% of the time throughout his
tenure, even though caseloads surged during the pandemic. No prior
state official in my experience had ever personally engaged in such a
comprehensive, thoughtful, focused, public and determined effort to
acknowledge and correct a problem that imperiled the health and quality
of life of beneficiaries across the state.
Once beneficiaries became eligible for benefits, Mr. Gordon wanted to
be sure they were able to retain them. By introducing a simplified and
straightforward renewal application, MDHHS achieved astonishing results
with 15% more families retaining benefits and 50% fewer beneficiaries
coming into the office with questions about the process.
In short order, Mr. Gordon introduced numerous other bold, sensible
polices that lightened the burdens on beneficiaries and caseworkers
alike. One change allowed caseworkers to accept residents' own
statements about their housing and utility expenses, instead of
requiring them to produce burdensome paperwork. Another innovation
enabled older adults and people with disabilities to use a standard
medical deduction instead of submitting proof of expenses. A third
initiative shortened the waiting period for cash assistance. MDHHS also
extended eligibility for food assistance to many low-income college
students and enabled pregnant mothers to apply for nutrition benefits
online along with other programs.
When the state was engulfed by COVID, Mr. Gordon worked relentlessly to
adjust policies to better protect residents, make the most informed and
thoughtful decisions possible, and retain his unwavering focus on the
well-being of Michiganders. His earnestness, dedication, and profound
concern for those who were suffering were palpable. Mr. Gordon also
recognized the hardships MDHHS's approximately 14,000 employees endured
during this period and scheduled frequent virtual town hall meetings to
offer thanks and support to them. One MDHSS staff member described
those events to me: ``[Mr. Gordon] was incredibly sincere when talking
about our COVID work and expressing concern for employees' well-being.
You could see how pained he was by the deaths of so many people, and
how proud he was of employees working long hours and having an impact.
He came across as an incredible person. I thought he was unlike any
director we've ever had.''
Even in this enormously difficult and exhausting time, Mr. Gordon
sought to be transparent, innovative, and effective. Michigan was the
first state to deliver federal pandemic food benefits to children,
supporting about 800,000 Michigan kids in a time of desperate need.
MDHHS permitted online grocery purchasing, changes to Medicaid enabled
residents to get meals and health care at home, and healthcare workers
got a raise they needed and deserved.
While there are many other achievements I could share, my favorite
experience with Mr. Gordon was early in his tenure at MDHHS when my
colleague, Salli Pung, the State Long Term Care Ombudsman, and I spent
a day touring nursing homes with him. Mr. Gordon had not yet had much
experience with long term care and eagerly accepted our invitation to
visit both poor quality and high quality facilities. Throughout the
day, Mr. Gordon showered us with questions and his lively, curious,
perceptive mind was on full display. While his colleagues who
accompanied us hung behind, Mr. Gordon charged off to talk directly to
resident, genuinely curious about their experiences and how Medicaid
could improve their lives. Although he never identified himself as the
Director of the Department, he came away with precious insights from
beneficiaries about how policies don't always translate into practical
realities and how Medicaid could more effectively use the power of its
purse.
Mr. Gordon is a rare public servant. He combines true brilliance and
fundamental decency, lofty accomplishments and deep humility. While he
has a disciplined commitment to evidence-based, systemic solutions, he
never loses sight of the struggles and realities of the individuals
those systems are designed to serve. If he is confirmed, I am confident
all of these qualities will serve him and the Americans who depend on
HHS extraordinarily well.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my experience with Mr.
Gordon. If I can be of any further assistance, I would be glad to do
so. Sincerely,
Alison Hirschel
Director and Managing Attorney
[email protected]
______
Michigan Federation for Children and Families
620 S. Capitol Avenue, Suite 325
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone (517) 485-8552
Fax (517) 485-6680
www.michfed.org
October 20, 2021
Senator Ron Wyden
Chairman
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
Washington, DC
Senator Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
Washington, DC
Dear Senator Wyden and Senator Crapo, and members of the United States
Senate Committee on Finance,
It is my pleasure to strongly recommend Robert Gordon for the position
of Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources at the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services.
I am Janet Reynolds Snyder, executive director of the Michigan
Federation for Children and Families (the Federation), and immediate
past president for the National Association of State Associations for
Children.
The Federation is a statewide nonprofit association whose 55 member
agencies, all private nonprofit community-based organizations, contract
with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to
provide supportive services to children and their families throughout
Michigan's 83 counties. For over 50 years, the Federation has provided
a collective and expert voice on behalf of its members in working
alongside state departments and legislative leaders, with shared
responsibility, to continuously partner with Michigan communities so
families can lead lives of greater health and opportunity.
As Director of the MDHHS, Mr. Gordon oversaw many large state programs
including, but not limited to, Children's Services, Children's
Protective Services, Medicaid, Food Assistance, Senior Services, and
more, plus Michigan's response to COVID-19. At the time Mr. Gordon
accepted the role of MDHHS Director, Michigan entered its 12th year of
federal court oversight of our state's child welfare system as a result
of a class action lawsuit (Dwayne B. v. Snyder). In addressing the
lawsuit settlement requirements, Mr. Gordon acted swiftly to engage
with providers and other stakeholders to take action, increasing the
level of safety of children in our care and in doing so earned praise
from The Honorable Nancy G. Edmunds of Michigan's Eastern District of
the United States District Court, for the progress that was made.
Without question, Mr. Gordon's professional expertise is beyond
comparison, demonstrated by his strong leadership and ability to engage
and partner with colleagues and with families and communities
throughout the United States.
In my role at the Federation, one of my first experiences with Mr.
Gordon was shortly after he was appointed MDHHS Director when he
reached out to introduce himself to me and ask about the priorities of
Federation member organizations. Mr. Gordon then offered to meet with
our agency executives to discuss child welfare priorities and
initiatives. This meeting took place shortly thereafter and generated a
robust dialogue regarding ways to achieve our shared goals for families
in Michigan.
Mr. Gordon's interest in authentic engagement with youth and
communities was highlighted during a visit at one of Michigan's
residential treatment centers for youth. Mr. Gordon was interested in
understanding more about residential treatment services available for
youth and the centers where services are provided. He arranged to visit
youth at one of our member agencies, Highfields in Onondaga, MI. During
an afternoon, he joined them at meals, sat and listened, and truly
engaged in meaningful ways with the youth and staff at Highfields.
Taking time to connect shows a great deal about the interest Mr. Gordon
has in others and, specifically, his commitment to successful outcomes
for youth and their families.
Through his actions, Mr. Gordon earned respect from private, nonprofit,
child and family serving organizations throughout the state. He is
known as a leader with high ethics and standards, one who shows respect
for others, and leads by demonstrating his deep commitment for
successful outcomes for children and families. Mr. Gordon is a person
of great integrity and would approach the position of Assistant
Secretary for Financial Resources at the Department of Health and Human
Services with expert knowledge, honesty, and strong moral principles,
adding great value to President Biden's vision.
Understanding that a letter of recommendation is a snapshot of talents
and achievements, I would be happy to further elaborate on my time
working with Mr. Gordon. If you would like additional information or
other specific examples, please feel free to contact me at 734.476.3845
or [email protected].
Thank you and with warm regards,
Sincerely,
Janet Reynolds Snyder, MBA
Executive Director
______
Michigan House of Representatives and Michigan Senate
October 5, 2021
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
239 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
We write in support of Robert Gordon's nomination to the position of
Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources at the United States
Department of Health and Human Services.
We came to know Mr. Gordon during his tenure as Director of the
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). MDHHS is our
state's largest department, and leading it is an unusually challenging
job even under ordinary circumstances. Mr. Gordon's time leading MDHHS
intersected largely with the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing him to take on
unprecedented challenges and responsibilities.
Mr. Gordon demonstrated a high degree of acumen in handling complex
policies and operations, a strong commitment to serving the state's
most vulnerable residents, and modesty in recognizing that he was new
to Michigan and had much to learn about our state. He demonstrated his
strong leadership skills and expertise every day while responding to
the pandemic, improving state services, and addressing the needs of
individuals with behavioral health challenges and children in foster
care. Despite his tremendous workload, he was always responsive with
the Legislature, appearing regularly at meetings and candidly answering
questions.
We all feel he showed a high degree of skill, integrity, and leadership
under the most difficult circumstances. He is a dedicated and able
public servant, and it is with our highest recommendation that we
support his nomination.
Please contact our offices should you have any questions regarding our
recommendation of Mr. Gordon.
Sincerely,
Julie Brixie David LaGrand
State Representative State Representative
69th District 75th District
Donna Lasinski Jeremy Moss
House Minority Leader State Senator
52nd District 11th District
Yousef Rabhi Jeff Irwin
Minority Floor Leader State Senator
53rd District 18th District
Abdullah Hammoud Adam Hollier
State Representative State Senator
15th District 2nd District
Matt Koleszar
State Representative
20th District
National Head Start Association
October 12, 2021
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chairman Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo,
The National Head Start Association (NHSA) is pleased to recommend Dr.
Robert Gordon for the position of Assistant Secretary for Financial
Resources of the Department of Health and Human Services. Of the many
accomplished experts with whom NHSA has been fortunate to collaborate
with over the past several decades, Dr. Gordon possesses a unique
understanding of administering early childhood education and care
programs as a critical part of the economy and how, if well supported,
it can transform the lives of individuals and communities.
As you know, we are facing an extraordinary opportunity to rethink how
we prepare our nation's youngest learners and their families for the
future. As the Head Start workforce across the country prepares to
implement this vision, strong leadership is critical. Dr. Gordon brings
a wealth of insight on how to meet ever-changing community needs and
how to build doorways to opportunity for all people. And his focus on
the importance of early childhood education deserves particular focus,
because he knows the effects are so long lasting.
Hailing from a family of economists who have all built their careers
around how to bring real, practical benefits for society, Dr. Gordon
has dedicated his career and life's work to ensuring Americans meet
their potential. For him, it all comes back to improving people's lives
through equity and, without a doubt, he has the knowledge, experience,
and wisdom to realize this vision for our country's future. On behalf
of the Head Start community nationwide, NHSA respectfully urges his
consideration.
Sincerely,
Yasmina Vinci
Executive Director
______
National Network for Youth
February 7, 2022
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
On behalf of the National Network for Youth, I write to urge you to
swiftly confirm January Contreras as the Assistant Secretary at the
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS). Ms. Contreras has proven
qualifications and expertise, as well as a passion for ensuring
America's children, youth, and families are safe, resilient, healthy,
and economically secure.
The National Network for Youth (NN4Y) is the nation's leading network
of youth and young adult homelessness providers. NN4Y envisions a world
where every young person has a safe place to call home, with multiple
opportunities to achieve their fullest potential. Together with our
partners, NN4Y transforms systems through centering youth, training and
technical assistance, policy advocacy, and public education.
NN4Y is enthusiastic about the diversity of expertise Ms. Contreras has
in her over 20 years of experience devoted to women, children, and
families. She served as a public interest attorney and advocate for
many years in Arizona. She also worked tirelessly to support the well-
being of children as a member of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano's
Children's Cabinet and the Arizona Early Childhood Development and
Health Board. When she joined the Obama Administration in 2009, she
continued to make a difference as a designee to the White House Council
on Women and Girls and through her work to enhance protections for
immigrant victims of crime at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
It is through January's next role that Ms. Contreras first interacted
with NN4Y. When Ms. Contreras returned to Arizona in 2013, she
exhibited her passion for youth and families by establishing Arizona
Legal Women and Youth Services (ALWAYS). ALWAYS provides legal counsel
and representation for young people facing physical violence, sexual
assault and exploitation, homelessness, immigration challenges, or
family separation. ALWAYS provides no-cost legal services for current
and former foster youth, youth who are homeless or have run away, and
unaccompanied minors who have crossed the Southern border. Through this
work, Ms. Contreras has been part of the solution to the barriers that
young people experiencing homelessness face. We met in 2015 when she
reached out to learn more about NN4Y's advocacy and to share some of
the experiences she'd observed through ALWAYS. Ms. Contreras's
collaborative approach and broad expertise are vital as the Director of
ACF, which administers a plethora of programs impacting children,
youth, and families.
Now more than ever, children, youth, and families in vulnerable
situations need our attention. The coronavirus outbreak has created
even more challenges as they work to achieve safety, stability, and
achieve upward economic mobility. Ms. Contreras would bring an
exceptional understanding of these challenges because she has been
working alongside youth. Ms. Contreras has delivered legal services
directly to youth who experience homelessness under ACF sex trafficking
and street outreach grants, she has presented at ACF's Runaway and
Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center Conference on
legal aid partnerships, and the organization she founded has been
highlighted as a model program by the American Bar Association's
Homeless Youth Legal Network. Each of these experiences are valuable to
understanding how the position which she is nominated for relates to
ACF colleagues, grantees, partners, and, most importantly, the impacted
children, youth and families themselves.
Ms. Contreras's plethora of experiences and accolades, which have not
all been mentioned, echo her dedication and understanding of children
and families' hardships. In addition, her vast knowledge of youth
homelessness, child welfare-involved youth, juvenile court-involved
youth, immigrant youth, youth who have been trafficked, and women's
rights all relate to the physical and mental health of families
nationwide. Her distinctive experience equips her with the proper tools
ideal for the Assistant Secretary of ACF at HHS.
Sincerely,
Darla Bardine
Executive Director
[email protected]
202-783-7949
______
New America
October 12, 2021
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chairman Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
Washington, DC 20510 Washington DC 20510
Dear Chairman Ron Wyden and Ranking Member Mike Crapo,
We are delighted to support Robert Gordon's nomination to be
assistant secretary for financial resources at the Department of Health
and Human Services.
We write as individuals who lead organizations committed to making
government work better for people. We use data, design, and policy
tools to speed up, simplify, and improve programs to better deliver
benefits and services to residents. Our aim is a government that really
works for the public--one that honors people's dignity, respects their
time, and uses taxpayers' dollars effectively.
Robert Gordon is an effective champion for exactly these goals. In
his time at the Office of Management and Budget, he became known for
working quietly behind the scenes to better use data in health, human
services, and education programs--connecting initiatives that often
worked separately in silos; improving services for the most vulnerable
residents, and creating incentives for innovation. In Michigan, we
cheered him on--and in some cases supported him directly--as he worked
to eliminate excessive documentation requirements for getting access to
public benefits which imposed heavy burdens on residents, but did
little to reduce error or fraud. And, in recent months, he has worked
with many of us to help states effectively invest funds from the
American Rescue Plan.
All of us have worked personally with Robert. Some of us have been
colleagues or collaborators on important projects to make the
government deliver. We know his talent, his high bar for policy making
detail and care for evidence and his management style. We are excited
to see a leader and public servant like Robert join the Department of
Health and Human Services. On a more personal note we know his
character, his care for his family, his way of taking care of staff and
mentoring young people. And we know you will come to see that he is the
type of person you want leading in government and is someone we can
trust to look out for the public good.
Thank you for your care and time on this important nomination.
Signed,
Amanda Renteria Tara Dawson McGuinness
Code for America New Practice Lab, New America
Cecilia Munoz Jeffrey Liebman
Senior Advisor, Public Interest
Technology, New America Professor of Public Policy, Harvard
Kennedy School and Director,
Government Performance Lab
Pauline Abernathy
Benefits Data Trust
______
Oregon Alliance
February 9, 2022
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chairman Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
I am writing in support for Rebecca Jones Gaston's confirmation as
Administration on Children Youth and Families Commissioner.
The Oregon Alliance is a dedicated champion and established voice in
advocating for the safety, health, and well-being of children, youth,
families, and communities across Oregon. We are a diverse group of
organizations serving Oregon's kids and their families at home, in
school, in residential settings, and within the community. We join with
dedicated community leaders, our partners in government, allied fields,
and those we serve to deliver effective policies, best practices, and
resources. We work to help all kids live better lives and for families
and communities to thrive in every corner of Oregon.
I have had the opportunity work collaboratively with Ms. Jones Gaston
as the current the Child Welfare Director for the State of Oregon's
Department of Human Services since 2019. Under her leadership, Oregon
has launched a significant Child Welfare Transformation Plan built on
trauma-informed, family and community-
centered, as well as, culturally responsive programs and services. She
has formed strategic national and state partnerships with organizations
that share the same safety, permanency, and well-being goals for those
served by public agencies. Equity and inclusion are at the center of
this work, improving the context in which children, youth, parents, and
families can thrive, thereby making prevention possible. While in
Oregon, Ms. Jones Gaston began the work to shift the focus of our child
welfare system from placement to prevention through cross-system
partnerships and implementing the Family First Prevention Services Act.
Ms. Jones Gaston will bring significant expertise and a real world
perspective of how our child welfare system can improve for children
and families. More importantly, she will bring an inclusive,
collaborative approach to creating solutions where families and
children are at the center.
In closing, I am more hopeful now with the possibility of Ms. Jones
Gaston being at the helm of the ACYF. I urge you to support Ms. Jones
Gaston's nomination as the ACYF Commissioner.
Royce Bowlin
Executive Director
The Oregon Alliance was founded in 1917 to support the lives of
Oregon's Children. Alliance member organizations provide services and
supports to over 100,000 children, youth and young adults across Oregon
annually.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Organization Main Office Location
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albertina Kerr Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Belloni Ranch Coos Bay
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boys and Girls Aid of Oregon Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bridge Meadows Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bridgeway Recovery Services, Inc. Salem
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Community Action Partnership of Oregon Salem
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connections365 Salem
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Skill Builders Clackamas
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Solutions Medford
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greater Oregon Behavioral Health, Inc. The Dalles
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homestead Youth and Family Pendleton
------------------------------------------------------------------------
J Bar J Bend
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jackson Street Youth Services Corvallis
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Janus Youth Programs, Inc. Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jasper Mountain Jasper
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kairos Northwest Grants Pass
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking Glass Community Services Eugene
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Madrona Recovery Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maple Star Oregon, Inc. Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maslow Project Medford
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Salem
Agency
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morrison Child and Family Services Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neurotherapeutic Pediatric Therapies, Inc. Canby
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Avenues for Youth Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northwest Family Services Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northwest Human Service, Inc. Salem
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oregon Community Programs Eugene
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parrot Creek Child and Family Services Oregon City
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Professional Therapeutic Community Network Salem
------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Mary's Home for Boys Beaverton
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Next Door, Inc. Hood River
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trillium Family Services Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Volunteers of America, Oregon Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yamhill Community Action Partnership Yamhill County
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Youth Progress Association Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Youth Unlimited, Inc. Gresham
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Youth Villages Marylhurst
------------------------------------------------------------------------
______
Oregon Child Abuse Solutions
4300 NE Fremont St., Suite 220
Portland, OR 97213
(503) 455-8339
www.oregoncas.org
[email protected]
February 8, 2022
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chairman Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
Oregon Child Abuse Solutions (OCAS), an Accredited State Chapter of the
National Children's Alliance, would like to show strong support for the
confirmation of Rebecca Jones Gaston as ACYF Commissioner.
OCAS supports Oregon's 23 Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs) and one
tribal CAC. CACs provide forensic interviews, medical assessments,
family advocacy,
trauma-focused therapy, and community-based prevention services for
children impacted by abuse. We are a critical partner on Oregon's 36
multidisciplinary teams and work closely with child protective service
workers to ensure children and their families can grow into adulthood,
safe, supported and full of hope.
I have worked closely with Rebecca Jones Gaston since her hire and have
found Ms. Gaston to be authentic, effective, warm, strategic, and
visionary. What stands out about Ms. Gaston is her ability to lead a
driven, focused, and impactful team and her close partnerships with
community-based providers. Ms. Gaston understands the wide base of
support and focus Oregon needs to make our state safer and more
supportive of families experiencing safety concerns.
Ms. Gaston has been instrumental in building a strong vision for
Oregon's child welfare division and in prioritizing diversity, equity
and inclusion efforts. Despite competing challenges and priorities, Ms.
Gaston never fails to show up to the Child Welfare Advisory Committee
authentically and with action in mind. In her tenure, Ms. Gaston has
helped lead our child welfare division by creating cohesion and
developing shared overarching, agreed upon goals. OCAS supports her
nomination and is very excited to witness what a leader of her caliber
can accomplish as ACYF Commissioner.
Sincerely,
Becky Jones
Executive Director
______
Results for America
October 20, 2021
Honorable Charles E. Schumer Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader Minority Leader
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
322 Hart Senate Office Building 317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chairman Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McConnell, Chairman Wyden, and
Ranking Member Crapo:
As local, state, and national organizations committed to building
and using data and evidence to address our nation's greatest
challenges, we are writing to express our strong support for the
nomination of Robert Gordon to be Assistant Secretary for Financial
Resources at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Mr. Gordon has demonstrated his strong commitment to public service
and evidence-based policy-making over three decades now. During his
illustrious career at all levels of government, he has added to our
nation's understanding of how to drive real results that help working
families. As the Director of the Michigan Department of Health and
Human Services, he led innovative initiatives to improve agency
performance and played a central role in the state's early COVID-19
pandemic response. As a senior official at the White House Office of
Management and Budget, Mr. Gordon stewarded President Obama's
administration's evidence-based policymaking initiatives, which closely
tied program funding to evaluations. In his time at OMB, Mr. Gordon
also led the design of innovative initiatives in maternal and infant
home visiting, early childhood development, and child welfare. He had
direct responsibility for overseeing the Administration for Children
and Families and Administration on Aging at the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, food and nutrition programs at the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, and the Social Security Administration.
Mr. Gordon understands the power and promise of evidence-based
policy solutions to effectively advance equitable economic mobility for
all Americans. His expansive career has allowed him to work on
evidence-based policy initiatives that strengthened outcomes for
students ranging from early childhood to higher education. For all of
these reasons and more, we urge his swift confirmation.
President Biden, in his January 2021 Executive Orders and
Memoranda, has made clear his Administration's commitment to evidence-
based policymaking. By confirming Mr. Gordon, the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services will continue to lead the charge in investing
in initiatives that are proven to work and that promote innovation and
continuous improvement to advance outcomes for all across the country.
Sincerely,
Michele Jolin
CEO and Co-Founder, Results for America
David Medina
COO and Co-Founder, Results for America
Center for Employment Opportunity Leading Educators
Children's Home Society of America Marino Ventures, LLC
Code for America National Prevention Science
Coalition
EDGE Consulting Northwestern University
Finding Common Purpose Project Evident
Grant Thornton LLP RecycleForce
Green and Healthy Homes Initiative,
Inc. REDF
GreenLight Fund Research Institute for Key
Indicators
Harvard Innovation Labs Social Innovation Research Center
International Venture Philanthropy
Center Tobin Center for Economic Policy,
Yale University
Keys2Work
Melody Barnes, Results for America Senior Fellow, Co-Director, UVA
Democracy Initiative; and Former Assistant to the President and
Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council (Obama
Administration)
John Bridgeland, Results for America Senior Fellow; CEO of Civic; and
Former Director, White House Domestic Policy Council (G.W. Bush
Administration); and Member, White House Council for Community
Solutions (Obama Administration)
Lynn Cominsky, Professor, Physics and Astronomy, Sonoma State
University
Rebecca Maynard, Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania
______
Letter Submitted by H. Luke Shaefer, Ph.D.,
and Michael Brennan
October 27, 2021
The Honorable Senator Ron Wyden
Chairman
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
The Honorable Senator Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
Dear Senators Wyden and Crapo:
We were delighted to learn that Robert Gordon has been nominated for
the role of Assistant Secretary of Financial Resources within the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. In our roles as Director of
Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan and special counselor
to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), and as
CEO of Civilla, a human-centered design firm that works closely with
MDHHS, we have had the privilege of working with Gordon during his time
as director of MDHHS starting in 2019, and later as an advisor to
Poverty Solutions. His leadership at MHDDS was a tremendous service to
the people of the State of Michigan. His dedication to evidence-based
and dignified policies to support low-income Michiganders was
inspiring. During his time in Michigan, he spearheaded many innovations
in the delivery of human services. We appreciate the opportunity to
express our support for him as he seeks confirmation to this new role.
He would be a tremendous asset to U.S. DHHS.
Gordon demonstrates a deep commitment to honoring human dignity and
meeting basic human needs by emphasizing efficacy as defined by
evidence. He argues for simplicity when possible in policy and process.
During his tenure with the State and as an advisor at Poverty
Solutions, he not only sent strong messages to the public and staff
about this commitment, but he acted. Michiganders are better off
because of it.
His policy work broke down barriers to access to public benefits,
allowing the State of Michigan to offer low-income residents more life-
saving resources. For example, Gordon led the work of the agency to
simplify asset tests for benefits that created unnecessary red tape and
deterred low income families from saving and seeking benefits. More
importantly, he changed the application so that assets are self
attested, basing this on the evidence that more arduous rules kept many
eligible applicants from getting the aid they needed. This saved time
and work both by those seeking help, and for caseworkers, allowing that
effort to be put to other uses that could do more to support families
in need. Under his leadership, the State enacted a child support ``pass
through,'' which has been shown to increase employment and child
support payments among non-resident fathers.
He acted quickly at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was
inspiring to work with him during that time. While he must have worked
near constantly on the health side of the department, he also empowered
the human services side of the house to change rules so that
individuals could access vital services and social safety net supports
without putting themselves at risk of infection. For instance, under
Gordon's leadership, Michigan became the first state in the nation to
get approval for P-EBT food assistance. We simplified and improved
energy assistance and made changes that would ensure people could get
the help they needed even with stay at home orders in place.
After Michigan had replaced its public benefits application, Gordon
spearheaded the replacement of the benefits renewal form, leading to
thousands more people maintaining access to critical resources and
saving them thousands of hours spent filling out forms or standing in
line in the State office. Committed to better serving Michganders,
Gordon launched projects to simplify language in external
communications and improve office design. His strong focus on
implementation was evidenced by his work to eliminate backlogs in case
processing and his work to ensure staff had the technology to best
serve residents.
Gordon has the track record, skills, and disposition necessary to
address the complex challenge of poverty and the complex world of human
services delivery. He views his work as solving problems for vulnerable
residents, not just processing benefits. He treats those he serves as
well as the individuals he employs with dignity and respect. He is a
true public servant.
Sincerely,
H. Luke Shaefer, Ph.D. Michael Brennan
Associate Dean for Research and
Policy Engagement CEO and Cofounder
Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor
of Social Policy Civilla
Gerald R. Ford School of Public
Policy [email protected] 313.449.1878
Director of Poverty Solutions
University of Michigan
[email protected]
734.615.3894
______
State of Michigan
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Lansing
George W. Romney Building
111 South Capitol Avenue
Lansing, Michigan 48909
www.michigan.gov
GRETCHEN WHITMER GARLIN GILCHRIST II
GOVERNOR LT. GOVERNOR
October 15, 2021
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chairman Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo,
I write in strong support of Robert Gordon's nomination to Assistant
Secretary for Financial Services, Department of Health and Human
Services.
Robert served as Director of the Michigan Department of Health and
Human Services (MDHHS) from January 2019 through January 2021. While
this role would have been demanding under any circumstances, the COVID-
19 pandemic gave rise to unprecedented challenges.
Robert was a core member of our pandemic response team from the start.
Michigan declared a state emergency upon the first confirmed case on
March 10, 2020 and from that day until his departure in January 2020,
Robert advised on all aspects of our response, including testing,
prevention and mitigation, and the health care system. Robert worked
incredibly hard. He led the department during grueling and unimaginable
circumstances. He was thoughtful, creative, proactive, and informed.
And above all else, Robert was committed to protecting public health.
I am proud of the work my administration has done to fight this
pandemic. Robert and his team were an incredibly important part of our
response and I appreciated his service to our state. The nation will be
well-served with Robert confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Financial
Services.
Sincerely,
Gretchen Whitmer
Governor
______
Voices for Vermont's Children et al.
February 8, 2022
Hon. Ron Wyden
Chairman
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Hon. Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance
239 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, who are members of the
State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center (SPARC), a network of state
multi-issue child advocacy organizations, legal advocates, and
organizations focused on children and families involved with the child
welfare system, we write to express our strong support for the
nomination of January Contreras to the position of Assistant Secretary
for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services. Ms.
Contreras is extremely qualified for this position and is uniquely
suited to lead the Administration for Children and Families.
Ms. Contreras is a seasoned administrator at the state and federal
level. She has served in a cabinet level position in state government,
a sub-cabinet position in the federal government, and as an advisor to
Governor Janet Napolitano. Ms. Contreras has managed career and
political staff, policy agendas, operational directives, development
and implementation of rules and regulations, and tribal and legislative
relations. She has managed large teams and budgets effectively with a
constant focus on the people that receive the services.
Ms. Contreras has been a strong advocate and community leader in
Arizona. She founded a legal services non-profit organization, Arizona
Legal Women and Youth Services (ALWAYS), where she served as Executive
Director for nearly eight years. Ms. Contreras personally represented
victims of domestic violence; human trafficking; and children and young
adults experiencing homelessness, foster care, and family separation.
This work has led Ms. Contreras to advocate for key crisis prevention
supports, including affordable housing, childcare, and health services.
Ms. Contreras's entire career has centered on public service. She
advocated for increased access to health care at Arizona's Medicaid
agency. She launched a racial disparities strategic plan at Arizona's
Department of Health Services. At the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, she led efforts to support immigrant victims of crime. In her
work through ALWAYS, Ms. Contreras created a legal home for Arizonans
typically left behind in the justice system, many of whom experienced
the most traumatic crimes imaginable. She has served on state
coalitions, task forces and advisory boards focused on domestic
violence, human trafficking, and young adults transitioning out of
foster care.
We believe that any review of Ms. Contreras's record, will leave no
doubt that she should be confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Children
and Families. We support Ms. Contreras's nomination because, both in
and out of government positions, Ms. Contreras has established a
reputation as a trusted leader with integrity who cares deeply about
the people she serves. In her career, she has worked with local, rural,
and tribal community and government leaders, judiciary members, grass
roots organizations, law enforcement, and the philanthropic community.
She has built a record of working across the political aisle and
successfully collaborating to accomplish meaningful change.
Thank you for your consideration of our views. If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact SPARC's Senior Child Welfare
Policy Manager, Elissa Hyne at (203) 561-7212 or
[email protected].
Sincerely,
Voices for Vermont's Children
Foster Success
Children's Action Alliance
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Florida's Children First
______
Youth Villages
February 8, 2022
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Mike Crapo
Chair Ranking Member
U.S. Senate U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance Committee on Finance
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo:
On behalf of Youth Villages,\1\ a national leader in children's mental
and behavioral health committed to building strong families, delivering
effective services and significantly improving outcomes for children,
families and young people involved in child welfare and juvenile
justice systems across the country, we write to express our strong
support for the confirmation of Oregon's Child Welfare Director Rebecca
Jones Gaston as the Commissioner of the Administration on Children,
Youth and Families (ACYF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS).
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\1\ https://youthvillages.org/.
Throughout her 25-year career in human services and child welfare
spanning Maryland and Oregon, Director Jones Gaston has dedicated her
life to improving the lives of children, youth, and families in a
variety of roles. She has served as a social worker, advocate,
therapist, consultant and administrator throughout her career. She is
highly qualified to serve as the ACYF Commissioner and her nomination
comes at an appropriate time as Congress prepares to take up issues
like Title IV-B reauthorization and the continuing implementation of
the Family First Prevention Services Act. These efforts will need
strong leaders within the Administration to ensure effective
implementation and delivery of services and programs to all Americans
that need them. She is also very clear in what youth are facing today.
As the Committee knows there is a children's mental health crisis that
has been exacerbated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Director
Jones Gaston has been clear about the need to prioritize children and
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adolescent health, including their mental health.
Director Jones Gaston's ``Vision for Transformation''\2\ that she
successfully implemented in Oregon is needed at the federal level and
would be an asset for HHS. Her leadership in transforming Oregon's
child welfare systems into a family well-being system that better meets
the needs of children, youth, and families is well aligned to the Biden
Administration's approach to centering lived experience and their
dedication to prevention where possible, and appropriate interventions
when necessary. Additionally, Director Jones Gaston understands and has
demonstrated that transformational work like she has done in Oregon and
will do for ACYF must be done collaboratively. Director Jones Gaston
has been able to convene and collaborate with public and private sector
partners, including those with differing priorities or vision. She
understands the importance of bringing together tribes, providers,
school leaders, law enforcement, biological families, foster families,
adoptive families, young people, cross-system agencies, and many others
to ensure that children, youth, and families have what they need to
thrive.
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\2\ https://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/
de2445.pdf.
ACYF oversees major federal programs that provide financial assistance
to states, community-based organizations, and academic institutions to
provide services, carry out research and demonstration activities, and
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manage training, technical assistance and information dissemination.
In this role, Director Jones Gaston will oversee two bureaus that are
responsible for improving the lives of children, youth, and families,
as well as carrying out research and evaluation activities. Youth
Villages supports this nomination knowing that in her role as Oregon's
child welfare director she transformed the agencies mission and
purpose; ultimately reducing the number of children in foster care by
approximately 1,000 children over two years.
With the recent appointment of Kimberly Waller as Associate
Commissioner of the Family and Youth Services Bureau and Associate
Commissioner Aysha Schromburg of the Children's Bureau, we are
confident that Director Jones Gaston will successfully advance the
agency's mission of improving the lives of children and families
through programs that reduce child abuse and neglect, increase the
number of adoptions, and strengthen foster care.
Director Jones Gaston is knowledgeable with respect to all of the
programs that are in the jurisdiction of HHS' Administration on
Children, Youth, and Families. We therefore urge the Committee and the
Senate to swiftly confirm her as Commissioner of the Administration of
Children, Youth, and Families.
Sincerely,
Patrick Lawler
CEO
[all]