[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 11, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCING THE CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 11, 2003

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Child 
Protection Services Workforce Improvement Act. This bill is aimed at 
helping states improve their child protection services through grants 
and assistance that allow them to expand and enhance their child 
welfare workforce.
  Many State child protection agencies are the last line of defense in 
caring for abused and neglected children. Today, these agencies are 
suffering from staffing problems that have been compounded by budget 
cuts and inadequate funding. The result in many cases is a failure to 
meet the needs of the most vulnerable children in our society.
  I am sure that many of my colleagues have seen in their local 
newspapers or heard of a case where a child was severely abused or 
killed because a child protection agency ignored dangers posed to a 
child by their foster family or adoptive parents. Just look at the case 
of Indiana. A total of 70 kids died there from abuse and neglect in 
July 2001 to July 2002--this was a new State record. The U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Service Children Family and Service 
Review found that the cause of this was in part due to the state child 
protection agencies failure to sufficiently reduce incidences of 
repeated mistreatment. It also warned that state budget cuts will 
further impact Indiana's limited ability to track such incidences.
  In Colorado, State budget cuts have reduced the size of foster care 
review teams to the point that the State won't be able to meet federal 
requirements that foster children be checked on at least twice a year. 
In Arizona, budget cuts there have led to 32 percent of children in 
State custody being stuck in temporary placements for over 2 years. In 
South Carolina, some 500 positions in the State's social service 
agency--many involving child welfare--have been zeroed out. The same is 
true for many other States. There is no question that States need 
federal help to improve their ability to help and care for children in 
need.
  These nationwide problems are why I am introducing the Child 
Protection Services Workforce Improvement Act. It provides States with 
$500 million in matching grants over 5 years to improve these services 
where it is needed most: Increasing the number of qualified child 
welfare workers. States can use these matching grants for their private 
and public child welfare agencies to: 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, improve child welfare workers' 
wages, and increase the number of child welfare workers,

  To retain qualified child welfare workers, my bill also allows 
student loan forgiveness for those who have been with an agency for at 
least two years. In order to improve the availability of quality 
services, this legislation provides a 75 percent federal match to pay 
for training of private child welfare workers, which is the same match 
rate provided to public child welfare agencies. My bill also allocates 
funding for child welfare agencies to provide short-term mental health 
training to caseworkers.
  A recent General Accounting Office (GAO) report found that child 
welfare workers are leaving the child welfare profession because of low 
wages, risk of on the job violence, staff shortages, high caseloads, 
administrative burdens, lack of support from supervisors, and lack of 
proper training for child welfare workers and their supervisors.
  The high turnover rate and high caseloads of child welfare workers 
limits the ability and efficiency of agencies to investigate and solve 
problems of child abuse and neglect. For instance, the study found that 
the above staff problems: Provides insufficient time for remaining 
staff to establish critical trusting relationships with the families 
and children which are important to make the necessary decisions to 
ensure safe and stable permanent placements; delays the timeliness of 
child abuse and neglect investigation; limits the frequency of worker 
visits with children who are the victims or alleged victims of child 
abuse or neglect; and hampers agencies' attainment of some key federal 
goals of ensuring the safety of children and placing them in permanent 
homes either through adoption, kinship care or reuniting them with 
their families.
  The Child Welfare League of America, the Alliance for Children and 
Families, the National Association of Social Workers, the Lutheran 
Services in America and the Catholic Charities of America have endorsed 
this bill. These organizations understand the needed support this 
legislation will provide State efforts to help abused and neglected 
children.
  Please join with us in supporting the Child Protection Services 
Workforce Improvement Act and provide much needed financial resources 
to our child welfare workforce to protect the most vulnerable children 
in our society. Congress has a responsibility to respond to this urgent 
need.

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