[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 47 (Tuesday, April 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E528]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INTRODUCING THE CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES IMPROVEMENT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 3, 2001

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Child 
Protection Services Improvement Act.
  This bill provides education loan forgiveness for child welfare 
workers who have been with an agency for at least 2 years. In addition, 
the bill provides States with $500 million in matching grants over 5 
years to improve the quality of their child welfare workers. States can 
use these matching grants: to improve child welfare workers' wages, 
increase the number of child welfare workers, reduce the turnover and 
vacancy rate of child welfare agencies, increase education and training 
of child welfare workers, attract and retain qualified candidates and 
coordinate services with other agencies. These dollars can also go to 
private welfare agencies at the States' discretion.
  The timing of this bill could not be better for 568,000 children in 
our foster care system, who have suffered from abuse and neglect. A 
recent joint survey by the Child Welfare League of America, the 
American Public Human Services Association and the Alliance for 
Children and Families reported that Child Welfare agencies are facing a 
workforce crisis. The study reported that: The average staff turnover 
for child welfare caseworkers in public agencies is 19.9 percent and 40 
percent for private child welfare agencies in a year. The average 
percentage of vacant positions in public agencies is 7.4 percent and 27 
percent for private agencies in a year. 46.2 percent of State child 
welfare workers left their job because of low salaries and 82.1 percent 
reported that they left their job because the workload was too high or 
demanding. 47.9 percent of private child welfare workers left their job 
because salaries were too low and 38.6 percent that they left their job 
because the workload was to high or demanding. Almost half of these 
agencies, both public and private, report difficulty in finding and 
retaining qualified candidates.
  These problems can have horrific consequences for the children who 
are the most vulnerable in our society. Going beyond the numbers, I am 
sure that many of my fellow members have looked in their local 
newspapers and heard of a case where a child was killed because of 
abuse and neglect. After suffering from abuse and neglect, Child 
Protection Services in States is the last line of defense in protecting 
these children. If these agencies falter, many of these children pay 
the price and sometimes that price is their life.
  The Child Welfare League of America, Alliance for children and 
Families, the National Association of Social Workers and the Catholic 
Charities of America have endorsed this bill.
  Please join with us in supporting the Child Protection Services 
Improvement Act and provide much needed financial resources to our 
child welfare workforce to protect the most vulnerable children in our 
society.

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