[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 140 (Monday, October 30, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H11584-H11585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 WAIVING CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF CHILD IN NEED OF PROTECTION AMENDMENT 
                              ACT OF 2000

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 5537) to waive the period of congressional review 
of the Child in Need of Protection Amendment Act of 2000.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5537

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. WAIVER OF CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW PERIOD.

       Notwithstanding section 602(c)(1) of the District of 
     Columbia Home Rule Act (sec. 1-233(c)(1), D.C. Code), the 
     Child in Need of Protection Amendment Act of 2000 (D.C. Bill 
     13-796) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of 
     such Act or the date of the enactment of this Act, whichever 
     is later.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis).


                             General Leave

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks on H.R. 5537.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5537, a bill to waive 
the period of congressional review of the Child in Need of Protection 
Amendment Act of 2000.
  The legislation will waive the 30-day congressional review period for 
the District of Columbia bill 13-796, the Child in Need of Protection 
Amendment Act of 2000, a critical bill which will have a direct impact 
on the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency and the children in its 
care.
  Ordinarily, the congressional review period is required under the 
D.C. Home Rule Act before any D.C. legislation can be enacted. However, 
due to the CFSA crisis, it is imperative that H.R. 5537 pass in order 
to protect the Child in Need of Protection Amendment Act of 2000 to 
take effect on the day it is enacted by the City or on the day that 
H.R. 5537 is enacted, whichever is later.

[[Page H11585]]

  CFSA has languished in receivership for 5 years. Even under direction 
of its second court-appointed receiver, CFSA has continued to 
demonstrate extreme deficiencies in the delivery of expected service. 
In fact, one child, Brianna Blackmond, died when she was returned to 
her neglectful mother. This was a tragic death which may have been 
avoided if CFSA had provided the court with all of the relevant 
information regarding Brianna's home environment.
  As a result, this year the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia 
held two hearings regarding this receivership. We heard promises about 
CFSA's court appointed reform efforts, which are required so that the 
agency can function efficiently and return to the District of Columbia 
Government.
  Unfortunately, the operational breakdowns at CFSA have continued and 
the receivership has not delivered on their promises.
  At our second hearing, in September, the subcommittee called on all 
parties involved in this situation: CFSA, the plaintiffs, the court 
system, and the District Government to come together to create and 
implement an emergency plan to reform CFSA and the receivership. The 
City's legislation will accomplish just that.
  The Child in Need of Protection Amendment Act of 2000 will reorganize 
CFSA as a separate and distinct agency with personnel authority. The 
legislation ends the bifurcation of the abuse and neglect system to 
provide better care and protection for the children. It also includes 
provisions to limit the amount of time that a child is required to 
spend in foster care, to provide financial support for neighborhood-
based family support services to at-risk families, to amend the 
confidentiality provisions to allow foster and adoptive parents greater 
access to information about the needs of a child, streamline the court 
process, and provide more placement options for children who cannot 
return home.
  I would like to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the 
majority whip, for his involvement and assistance with the Child and 
Family Services Agency crisis in the District. As a foster parent 
himself, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) has a strong personal 
interest in helping and protecting abused and neglected children in the 
child welfare system. His leadership has helped the City obtain the 
necessary resources to make informed decisions about the organizational 
reforms needed at CFSA in order to comply with the court orders and 
return the agency to the District Government.
  I also want to thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from the District 
of Columbia (Ms. Norton), for her leadership and support as we have 
examined the progress of this agency as well as the other D.C. agencies 
under receivership.
  With the District's most vulnerable and underrepresented voices in 
dire need of our assistance, we must let them know that help is on the 
way by working together to institute the best course of action needed 
to correct CFSA's systematic inadequacies. Therefore, I urge all of my 
colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 5537.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5537, a bill to waive 
the period of congressional review of the Child in Need of Protection 
Amendment Act of 2000. This noncontroversial legislation is necessary 
to ensure the District of Columbia's swift compliance with the consent 
order to return the Child and Family Services Agency now in 
receivership to the District Government.
  The District of Columbia Home Rule Act requires that all civil 
legislation passed by the Council and signed by the Mayor undergo 
congressional review for 30 legislative days before taking effect. H.R. 
5537 merely waives this requirement for legislation that will be passed 
shortly by the D.C. City Council to restructure the District's Child 
and Family Services Agency.
  Earlier this year an infant, Brianna Blackmond, was found dead after 
being returned to her mother's care. The decision to return Brianna to 
her mother was criticized because her mother had previously been found 
in neglect of Brianna and her seven siblings.

                              {time}  1545

  The tragic death of baby Brianna prompted the Subcommittee on the 
District of Columbia to hold two hearings examining the District's 
Child and Family Services Agency and to pass legislation, now on its 
way to the President for his signature, requiring receiverships to 
adhere to best practices and cost controls. H.R. 5537 is a continuation 
of congressional efforts to assist the District government in its 
efforts to reform the District's foster care system.
  The Child and Family Services Agency has been under court 
receivership since 1995 because of serious failings in the delivery of 
child welfare services. However, despite court control, fiscal and 
management problems persist in the agency, necessitating a return of 
the agency to the control of the District government. The recent 
consent order returning the agency to the District requires the city to 
pass legislation that restructures its processes for delivery of child 
welfare services. H.R. 5537 will ensure that the District's legislation 
will take effect upon passage without any congressional delay.
  H.R. 5537 has the support of the city's elected representation to 
this Congress, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. 
Norton), and the District of Columbia government. I urge its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Barrett of Nebraska). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5537.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________