[WPRT 109-9]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress WMCP:
COMMITTEE PRINT
2nd Session 109-9
_______________________________________________________________________
COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
__________
REPORT
on
P.L. 109-288, THE ``CHILD AND
FAMILY SERVICES IMPROVEMENT
ACT OF 2006''
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TONGRESS.#13
OCTOBER 11, 2006
Prepared for the use of Members of the Committee on Ways and Means by
members of its staff. This document has not been officially approved by
the Committee and may not reflect the views of its embers.
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COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
BILL THOMAS, California, Chairman
E. CLAY SHAW, JR., Florida CHARLES B. RANGEL, New York
NANCY L. JOHNSON, Connecticut FORTNEY PETE STARK, California
WALLY HERGER, California SANDER M. LEVIN, Michigan
JIM MCCRERY, Louisiana BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
DAVE CAMP, Michigan JIM MCDERMOTT, Washington
JIM RAMSTAD, Minnesota JOHN LEWIS, Georgia
JIM NUSSLE, Iowa RICHARD E. NEAL, Massachusetts
SAM JOHNSON, Texas MICHAEL R. MCNULTY, New York
PHIL ENGLISH, Pennsylvania WILLIAM J. JEFFERSON, Louisiana
J.D. HAYWORTH, Arizona JOHN S. TANNER, Tennessee
JERRY WELLER, Illinois XAVIER BECERRA, California
KENNY C. HULSHOF, Missouri LLOYD DOGGETT, Texas
RON LEWIS, Kentucky EARL POMEROY, North Dakota
MARK FOLEY, Florida STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES, Ohio
KEVIN BRADY, Texas MIKE THOMPSON, California
THOMAS M. REYNOLDS, New York JOHN B. LARSON, Connecticut
PAUL RYAN, Wisconsin RAHM EMANUEL, Illinois
ERIC CANTOR, Virginia
JOHN LINDER, Georgia
BOB BEAUPREZ, Colorado
MELISSA A. HART, Pennsylvania
CHRIS CHOCOLA, Indiana
DEVIN NUNES, California
Allison H. Giles, Chief of Staff
Janice Mays, Minority Chief Counsel
C O N T E N T S
__________
Page
Overview......................................................... 1
Explanation of Provisions........................................ 2
Congressional Budget Office Report............................... 8
Letters of Support............................................... 12
OVERVIEW
The Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-
288), signed into law on September 28, 2006, makes a number
ofimprovements to the nation's child protection system. The legislation
includes provisions to (1) reauthorize the Promoting Safe and Stable
Families (PSSF) program, (2) target resources towards ensuring children
in foster care are visited on a monthly basis by caseworkers and
towards assisting regional partnerships with their efforts to combat
the effects of parental substance abuse, particularly methamphetamine
abuse, on the child protection system, (3) improve the Child Welfare
Services (CWS) program, (4) reauthorize the Court Improvement Program,
(5) reauthorize and improve the Mentoring Children of Prisoners
Program, and (6) appropriate for fiscal year (FY) 2006 the additional
$40 million in mandatory funding provided under the Deficit Reduction
Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171) for the PSSF program.
The Committee on Ways and Means marked up an earlier version of
this legislation (H.R. 5640), on June 29, 2006 and ordered the bill, as
amended, favorably reported. The Committee on Ways and Means
Subcommittee on Human Resources held a hearing on May 23, 2006 on
proposals to improve child protective services such as those supported
by the PSSF and CWS programs. Witnesses at this hearing provided
comments on draft legislation reflecting provisions subsequently
introduced by Subcommittee on Human Resources Chairman Wally Herger (R-
CA) and Ranking Member Jim McDermott (D-WA) as H.R. 5640. In recent
years, the Subcommittee on Human Resources also has conducted a series
of oversight hearings on various aspects of the child protection
system, which generally indicated a need for improved oversight and
accountability throughout these programs.
On July 25, 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives amended S.
3525, as previously passed by the Senate by inserting the text of H.R.
5640 and sending the measure back to the Senate for its consideration.
The final version of S. 3525, as amended, that is described in this
report reflects agreement between Members of the House and the Senate
on final provisions to be included in this legislation. The Senate
unanimously passed S. 3525, as amended, on September 20, 2006, followed
by the U.S. House of Representatives which unanimously passed the
legislation on September 26, 2006.
Explanation of Provisions
S. 3525, The Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006 (P.L.
109-288)
Section 1 -- Short Title
``The Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006''
Section 2 -- Findings
The legislation makes a number of findings regarding the provision
of services under two child welfare programs authorized under Title IV-
B of the Social Security Act, the Child Welfare Services (CWS) program
and the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program. The findings
note the importance of monthly caseworker visits in improving outcomes
for children. They also outline the relationship between the entry of
children into the child welfare system and their parent's abuse of
methamphetamine and other substances.
Section 3 - Reauthorization of the Promoting Safe and Stable Families
Program
Current Law
For fiscal year (FY) 2006, authorizes mandatory funding of $345
million for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program
(Title IV-B, Subpart 2 of the Social Security Act) and discretionary
funding of $200 million for each of FYs 2002 through 2006.
S.3525
The legislation extends the mandatory PSSF funding authorization of
$345 million for five years (FYs 2007 through 2011) and extends the
discretionary funding authorization of $200 million for each of those
same five years. The legislation expands the reporting requirement to
include both proposed spending and actual spending under the CWS and
PSSF programs, and at State option, other programs that support child
abuse prevention activities and child welfare services. The legislation
also prohibits HHS from making any payment of PSSF funds to a State for
administrative costs that exceed 10 percent of total program
expenditures (Federal and non-Federal) of a State.
Reason for Change
The PSSF program supports four categories of services provided to
children and families: family preservation services, community-based
family support services, time-limited reunification services, and
adoption promotion and support services. The legislation recognizes the
importance of encouraging States to invest in these activities. Thus
the legislation provides for the $200 million increase in mandatory
PSSF funds over the next five years included in the Deficit Reduction
Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171). In total $345 million in mandatory funds
(the recent $305 million allotment of annual mandatory funds, plus a
$40 million annual increase provided under the Deficit Reduction Act of
2005) will be provided in each of FYs 2007 through 2011.
The legislation also will ensure better oversight and
accountability of spending under the CWS and PSSF programs by requiring
States to report on projected and actual spending under these two
programs. Specifically, data on actual spending will help track State
investments for the four priorities of the PSSF program.
Section 4 -- Targeting of Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program
Resources
Current Law
Current law requires States to include assurances in their PSSF
plan that they will spend significant portions of their PSSF funds in
each of four priority areas: (1) family preservation services; (2)
community-based family support services; (3) time-limited family
reunification services; and (4) adoption promotion and support
services.
S. 3525
The legislation retains the four priorities of PSSF while targeting
the additional $40 million per year provided under the Deficit
Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171) to two new priorities: (1) support
for monthly caseworker visits; and (2) competitive grants to promote
the well-being of children in or at risk of placement in the child
welfare system as a result of their parent's abuse of methamphetamine
or other substances.
The legislation provides a total of $95 million to States to
support monthly caseworker visits of children in foster care under the
responsibility of the State, with a primary emphasis on activities
designed to improve caseworker retention, recruitment, training, and
ability to access the benefits of technology. States will receive $40
million from FY 2006 PSSF funds (with these funds available through FY
2009), $5 million in FY 2008, $10 million in FY 2009, and $20 million
in each of FYs 2010 and 2011 to support monthly caseworker visits.
States cannot use these funds to supplant any Federal funds already
paid to the State under the Title IV-E program that could be used for
the purposes outlined above.
To promote the well-being of children affected by their parent's
abuse of methamphetamine or other substances, the legislation provides
a total of $145 million to the Secretary of the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) to award competitive grants to regional
partnerships to pursue innovative approaches to help children and
families. Funding will be $40 million in FY 2007, $35 million in FY
2008, $30 million, in FY 2009 and $20 million in each of FYs 2010 and
2011. Partnerships must include the State child welfare agency or an
Indian tribe and at least one other eligible partner, including: child
welfare service providers (non-profit and for-profit), community
providers of health or mental health services, local law enforcement
agencies, judges and court personnel, juvenile justice officials,
school personnel, the State agency responsible for administering the
substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant (authorized under
Title XIX-B, Subpart II of the Public Health Services Act), and any
other providers, agencies, personnel, officials or entities related to
the provision of child and family services. Grants of between $500,000
and $1 million per year will be awarded for 2 to 5 year periods.
A priority will be given to grant applications that propose to
combat methamphetamine abuse, given its substantial affect on child
welfare in some areas. Funding for the grants must be used to support
the purposes of this program, which may include family-based
comprehensive long-term substance abuse treatment services, early
intervention and prevention services, mental health services, parent
skills training, and replication of successful models for providing
family-based comprehensive long-term substance abuse treatment
services. Grantees must provide a 15 percent match in the first and
second year, a 20 percent match in the third and fourth year, and a 25
percent match in the fifth year. In-kind contributions can qualify
towards the match requirement. The Secretary of HHS must consult with
State leaders to develop performance indicators and reporting is
required of all grant recipients.
The legislation also redirects current PSSF research funding to
support evaluation, research, and technical assistance related to the
above two PSSF funding priorities. In each of FYs 2007 through 2011, at
least $1 million must be spent for research and technical assistance
activities that support monthly caseworker visits and at least $1
million must be spent for research and technical assistance activities
with respect to the competitive grant program to promote the well-being
of children in or at risk of placement in the child welfare system due
to a parent's abuse of methamphetamine or other substances.
Reason for Change
The targeting of funds to support monthly visits of foster children
is in response to research highlighting how monthly visits lead to
better outcomes for children. The Child and Family Service Reviews
(CFSRs) completed in each State found a strong correlation between
frequent caseworker visits with children and positive outcomes for
children, such as timely achievement of permanency and other indicators
of child well-being. However, despite the fact that nearly all States
had written standards suggesting monthly visits were State policy, a
December 2005 report completed by the HHS Office of the Inspector
General found that only 20 States were able to produce reports showing
whether caseworkers actually visited children in foster care on at
least a monthly basis. States are encouraged to invest these resources
in those activities with proven effectiveness in supporting monthly
caseworker visits of foster children and should be cognizant that these
funds may not supplant what States already spend from their Title IV-E
programs for these activities. These resources are intended to increase
State investment in these important areas.
Parental substance abuse is a well-known problem affecting the
child welfare system, and the Office of Applied Studies of the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that
the number of new uses of methamphetamines (meth) has increased 72
percent in the past decade. A study by the National Association of
Counties which surveyed 300 counties in 13 States reported that meth
abuse is a major cause of child abuse and neglect. Forty percent of all
the child welfare officials in the survey reported an increase in out-
of-home placements due to meth abuse in 2005.
Section 5 -- Allotments and Grants to Indian Tribes
Current Law
Requires that 1 percent of all mandatory PSSF funds, and 2 percent
of any discretionary appropriations for the PSSF program, be set aside
for tribal programs. (The minimum tribal funding provided is $3.45
million and the maximum annual tribal funding possible is $7.45
million.)
ut of the tribal funds reserved, Indian tribes or tribal
organizations with an approved plan must be allotted PSSF funds (based
on the relative share of tribal persons under age 21 but only among
tribes or tribal organizations with approved plans). The Secretary of
HHS may exempt a tribe from any plan requirement that it determines
would be inappropriate for that tribe (taking into account the
resources, needs, and other circumstances of that tribe). However, no
tribe or tribal organization may have an approved plan (or receive
funds) unless its allotment is equal to at least $10,000. Funds
allotted are paid directly to the tribal organization of the Indian
tribe to which the money is allotted.
S.3525
The legislation increases the set-aside for tribal programs to 3
percent of any discretionary funds appropriated. It also increases the
set-aside for tribal programs to 3 percent of the mandatory funds
authorized and which remain after the separate reservation of funds is
made for (1) monthly caseworker visits, and (2) competitive grants to
combat methamphetamine and other substance abuse. Therefore, the
minimum funding available per year for tribal programs would be $9.15
million and the maximum funding would be $15.15 million. The
legislation eliminates the ability of the Secretary of HHS to exempt
tribes from the PSSF plan requirements related to nonsupplantation,
data reporting, and monitoring. However, the Secretary retains the
ability to waive for Indian tribes the PSSF requirement to invest
significant amounts of program funds in each of the four PSSF
activities and to spend no more than 10 percent of PSSF funds on
administrative costs.
The legislation also permits tribal consortia to have access to an
allotment of PSSF funds (and related technical assistance) on the same
basis as such funds are currently available to Indian tribes. A tribal
consortium's allotment is to be determined based on the number of
tribal persons under age 21 in each tribe that is a part of the tribal
consortium. If tribes choose to apply collectively as a consortium, the
population of tribal persons under age 21 for each tribe would be
combined in order to determine the size of the grant to the consortium,
including whether the consortium meets the $10,000 eligibility
threshold in the Act. A tribal consortium could select which Indian
tribal organization (among the tribes in the consortium) would receive
the direct payment of its allotment.
Reason for Change
The legislation recognizes the importance of assisting tribes in
their efforts to assist abused and neglected children. The legislation
significantly increases the amount of funds provided to tribes and
allows tribal consortia to apply for PSSF funds. This step is being
taken to encourage the further development of tribal child welfare
programs, which largely serve severely disadvantaged communities and
families and can do so in a culturally appropriate manner. Permanency
outcomes for Indian children can be improved if tribal consortia are
able to have access to an allotment of PSSF funding on the same basis
as is currently available to Indian tribes. This will facilitate
smaller tribes' building their own programs and will allow for
administrative efficiencies in tribal program administration.
To collect additional data and ensure proper oversight of these
funds, tribes and tribal consortia interested in applying for this
substantial increase in PSSF funds will be required to adhere to the
same data and monitoring plan requirements as States. This additional
data will inform how these funds have helped the tribes better ensure
the safety, permanency, and well-being of tribal children.
Section 6 -- Improvements to the Child Welfare Services (CWS) Program
Current Law
Up to $325 million annually is authorized on an indefinite basis
for the Child Welfare Services (CWS) program, which provides funds to
States to support a wide range of child welfare activities. Federal
funding represents 75 percent of total funding for this program, and
States are required to contribute 25 percent of total CWS funding from
State funds.
S.3525
The legislation maintains the annual discretionary authorization
level of $325 million per year but limits the funding authorization to
FYs 2007 through 2011. The legislation also specifies that the purpose
of the CWS program for which funds may be expended is to promote State
flexibility in the development and expansion of a coordinated child and
family services program that utilizes community-based agencies and that
ensures all children are raised in safe, loving families, by: (1)
protecting and promoting the welfare of all children; (2) preventing
the neglect, abuse, or exploitation of children; (3) supporting at-risk
families through services which allow children, where appropriate, to
remain safely with their families or return to their families in a
timely manner; (4) promoting the safety, permanence and well-being of
children in foster care and adoptive families; and (5) providing
training, professional development and support to ensure a well-
qualified child welfare workforce.
The legislation eliminates the plan requirements related to child
day care standards and those related to the use of paraprofessionals or
volunteers and restates and renumbers the remaining provisions with
generally the same intent. It rewrites the provision concerning
policies and procedures for children abandoned shortly after birth to
assert that a State must have in effect administrative and judicial
procedures for children who are abandoned at or shortly after birth
(including policies and procedures providing for legal representation
of the children) to ensure expeditious decisions can be made for their
permanent placement. Further, it clarifies that the State may include
residential educational programs as a living arrangement for children
for whom reunification, adoption, or guardianship have been ruled out
as permanency goals. This provision does not undermine current State
policies regarding placement of children in adoptive homes and does not
eliminate the 25 bed policy.
Beginning October 1, 2007 (i.e. the beginning of FY 2008), the
legislation limits administrative funding to 10 percent, but defines
administrative funds to exclude caseworker services and supervision of
such services. Also beginning in FY 2008, the legislation limits how
much each State can expend from Federal CWS funding for foster care
maintenance payments, adoption assistance payments, or child day care
to what the State can show that it spent for such purposes in FY 2005.
Further, beginning with FY 2008, States are not allowed to use State
spending on foster care maintenance payments to meet the State matching
requirement to receive Federal CWS fund in amounts that exceed what the
State spent from such funds in FY 2005.
The legislation also adds new requirements to the CWS plan the
State submits to (1) describe how the State consults with and involves
physicians and other appropriate medical professionals in the
assessment of children in foster care and in determining appropriate
medical treatment, and (2) develop a plan on how to respond, track and
continue care for children receiving child welfare services in the
event of a disaster.
Reason for Change
The legislation will reorganize and update the CWS program and
encourage more effective oversight. It also aligns the program to be
coterminous with the reauthorization of the PSSF program to allow for
better coordination between the two programs. It will encourage States
to invest funding in prevention services, but allows each State to
maintain in the coming years its FY 2005 level of spending from Federal
CWS funds for foster care, adoption assistance and child care purposes.
It adds a new State planning requirement to ensure consultation with
medical professionals as well as State planning to continue the
availability of child welfare services during a disaster.
Section 7 -- Monthly Caseworker Standard
Current Law
There is no minimum Federal standard for monthly visits of foster
children in State custody.
S.3525
The legislation requires the State to update its CWS State plan by
October 1, 2007 to describe its standards for the content and frequency
of caseworker visits of foster children in State custody, which at a
minimum must ensure that children are visited on a monthly basis and
that the caseworker visits are well-planned and focused on issues
pertinent to case planning and service delivery to ensure the safety,
permanency, and well-being of children.
The legislation also sets a minimum Federal standard requiring each
State and territory to achieve by October 1, 2011 monthly caseworker
visits for at least 90 percent of foster children in State custody,
with the majority of those visits occurring in the child's residence.
Each State and territory would be held accountable for its efforts and
the legislation prescribes a planning process to achieve this goal. To
receive FY 2008 CWS funds, States must submit to HHS data for FY 2007
on the percentage of foster children visited on a monthly basis by
their caseworker and the percentage of those visits that occurred in
the child's residence. Based on this data, HHS will work with each
State to set target levels for the State to meet to achieve a 90
percent monthly visitation standard by FY 2012 and will establish these
target levels by June 30, 2008. Then, beginning in FY 2009, States must
achieve their annual goal for the percentage of caseworker visits and
the percentage of visits that occur in the child's residence, or face
an enhanced matching requirement in order to draw down their full
allotment of Federal CWS funds. The share of non-Federal spending that
is required in a State that does not meet its visitation target level
in a year increases by a minimum of 1 percentage point, up to a maximum
of 5 percentage points, depending on the degree to which the State has
missed its target level; absent the commitment of additional State
funds, Federal funds would be reduced to yield the modified State share
of overall CWS funding, consistent with the degree of the State's
failure to achieve its visitation target for that year.
No later than March 31, 2010, HHS must submit to the House
Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance a
report that outlines the progress States have made in meeting their
caseworker visitation standards and that offers recommendations,
developed in consultation with State administrators of child welfare
programs and members of State legislatures, to assist States in meeting
this standard.
Reason for Change
Holding States accountable for achieving monthly caseworker visits
for at least 90 percent of foster children responds to research
highlighting how monthly visits lead to better outcomes for children.
HHS shall work with the States to establish a plan to achieve this goal
by FY 2012 and States are encouraged to invest the new PSSF resources
provided in FY 2006 and later fiscal years in activities that have been
shown to be effective in achieving increased caseworker visitation of
foster children. The above accountability measure will ensure that,
even in the case of a State that fails to fulfill its specified level
of caseworker visits, the full Federal CWS allotment to a State will
remain available so long as that State increases its State CWS spending
modestly, according to the provisions of the legislation.
Section 8 -- Reauthorization of Program for Mentoring Children of
Prisoners
Current Law
The Mentoring Children of Prisoners program is administered by HHS
and makes competitive grants to support the establishment or expansion
and operation of programs that provide mentoring services to children
of prisoners.
S.3525
The legislation reauthorizes the existing Mentoring Children of
Prisoners program through FY 2011 at such sums as may be necessary and
increases the HHS set-aside for research, technical assistance, and
evaluation from 2.5 percent to 4 percent. It authorizes a new 3-year
pilot program to provide vouchers to qualified mentoring groups to
offer services to individual children of prisoners, but specifies both
annual caps on funding for this purpose and that at least $25 million
must be available each year for site-based grants provided under the
program. The voucher pilot program will be administered by a national
group that will work closely with HHS to manage the program with the
goal to distribute least 3,000 vouchers in the first year, 8,000
vouchers in the second year and 13,000 vouchers in the third year. The
legislation specifies that the national group must identify in its
voucher distribution plan how the group will prioritize providing
vouchers to children in areas which have not been served under the
current site-based mentoring program. During the third year of this
pilot HHS shall provide a report based on an independent evaluation to
the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on
Finance on the number of children who received vouchers for mentoring
services and any conclusions regarding the voucher pilot program's
effectiveness.
Reason for Change
The continuation of the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program
will enable public and private organizations to establish or expand
projects that provide one-on-one mentoring for children of incarcerated
parents and those recently released from prison. At the same time,
children have not been able to access mentoring services in some States
and rural areas because of the absence of a site-based grant to provide
this service. The voucher pilot program will evaluate the effectiveness
of using vouchers to expand the delivery of mentoring services to
children of prisoners, including to children in rural and underserved
areas.
Section 9 -- Reauthorization of the Court Improvement Program
Current Law
For each of FYs 2002 through 2006, an eligible highest State court
(with an approved application) is entitled to a share of funds to
assess and make improvements to its handling of child welfare
procedures. A set-aside of $10 million from the mandatory funds
authorized and 3.3 percent of any discretionary appropriation is
provided from the PSSF program to support the Court Improvement
Program. To receive its full allotment of these funds the court, in
each of FYs 2002 through 2006, is required to provide at least 25
percent of the expenditures for this purpose.
S.3525
The legislation reauthorizes the funding for the Court Improvement
Program for 5 years, through FY 2011.
Reason for Change
The Court Improvement Program has played an important role in
assisting State courts in their efforts to expedite judicial
proceedings for at-risk children. The legislation will ensure these
funds continue to remain available, and is in addition to the $100
million provided over FYs 2006 through 2010 under the Deficit Reduction
Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171) to support training and data collection
efforts of State courts.
Section 10 -- Requirement for Foster Care Proceedings to Include, in an
Age-Appropriate Manner, Consultation with the Child that Is the
Subject of the Proceeding
Current Law
Current law does not include a standard for consulting with
children in court proceedings.
S.3525
The legislation requires States to assure that in any permanency
hearing held with respect to the child, including any hearing regarding
the transition of the child from foster care to independent living, the
court or administrative body conducting the hearing consults in an age-
appropriate manner with the child regarding the plan being proposed for
the child.
Reason for Change
Each child deserves the opportunity to participate and be consulted
in any court proceeding affecting his or her future, in an age-
appropriate manner.
Section 11 -- Technical Amendments
Section 12 -- Effective Dates
The legislation will become effective on October 1, 2006, except
for provisions with other specified effective date or if HHS determines
that a State legislature must act before the State can comply with the
changes.