[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 20, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9849-S9850]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2006
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask that the Chair now lay before the
Senate the House message to accompany S. 3525.
The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message
from the House of Representatives:
S. 3525
Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 3525) entitled
``An Act to amend subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the
Social Security Act to improve outcomes for children in
families affected by methamphetamine abuse and addiction, to
reauthorize the promoting safe and stable families program,
and for other purposes'', do pass with amendments.
Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I applaud the Senate's unanimous approval
of the Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006. I am proud to
have cosponsored this legislation with Senators Grassley, Rockefeller,
Hatch, and Snowe. The bill reauthorizes and improves the Promoting Safe
and Stable Families Program and the Child Welfare Services Act.
Every child deserves the chance to grow up in a safe and stable home,
and we need to root out the problems that too often force children into
the child welfare system, particularly the growing scourge of
methamphetamine, or ``meth,'' abuse. This bill makes some real
improvements to our child welfare system and gets us closer to the goal
of a thriving, secure childhood for every American youngster.
In Montana, meth is wreaking havoc on our child welfare system.
Prevention and intervention are key to stopping the vicious cycle. That
is why I have worked hard to secure these funds so we can be one step
closer to stamping out meth in Montana and around the country.
In hearings held earlier this year, the Senate Finance Committee
heard testimony that ``over 65 percent of all foster care placements in
Montana are directly attributable to drug use, and of those, meth is a
primary factor 57 percent of the time,'' and that ``meth use among
residents of the seven Indian tribes in Montana is far in excess of
epidemic proportion.''
I am proud to have worked to include $145 million in competitive
grants to address the problem of methamphetamine and substance abuse
related to child welfare and foster care. The funding is targeted to
regional partnerships that include State agencies and will be available
for family-based, comprehensive, long-term substance abuse treatment,
early intervention and preventive services, and other innovative
initiatives. I also have worked to insure that historically under-
funded child welfare programs for Indian tribes received increased
monies to help combat new and challenging issues. I am grateful to
Chairman Grassley and others for recognizing these needs and working
with me to enact these provisions.
The reauthorized Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program will also
require States to provide additional information on efforts to get
children into safe family situations and keep them there. Congress will
receive actual spending data on adoption and postadoption services,
efforts to keep families together, and efforts to provide permanent,
safe, and loving homes for children.
In addition, the bill supports the training and hiring of more child
welfare caseworkers so that more children in foster care will receive
at least monthly visits. The bill requires States to achieve the
standard of monthly social worker visits for 90 percent of foster
children by 2011. This will help ensure proper monitoring of the
development of children for whom the State has taken responsibility.
It also continues the Mentoring Children of Prisoners Program and
creates a 3-year demonstration program to help provide mentoring
services in underserved areas.
The child welfare system protects the most vulnerable people in our
society. It provides a safe harbor for children. It looks out for
children whose birth families, for one reason or another, have not been
able to provide fertile soil in which to grow. Each year, almost 3,000
Montana children enter foster care. They come because of abuse. They
come because of neglect. They come because of other serious
difficulties in their families.
The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program supports efforts to
rebuild families. And it helps to find permanency for kids when that
proves impossible. This program is the largest dedicated source of
Federal funds for services to children and families. Last year, Montana
received a little over $2 million from the program. These funds are
critical to Montana's child welfare system, and this legislation is a
pivotal opportunity to ensure adequate support for strong families.
I look forward to quick passage by the House so that we can begin to
better safeguard the well-being of our children.
Mr. ROCKEFELLER. I support S. 3525, the Child and Family Services
Improvement Act. This is a bill that will reauthorize the Promoting
Safe and Stable Families Program, legislation that I have worked on
since its creation in 1997.
I am proud to join my colleagues Senators Grassley, Baucus, Hatch and
Snowe in support of this bill. Chairman Grassley deserves our deep
thanks and gratitude for real leadership on this legislation and a
truly bipartisan process. The Finance Committee has a strong history of
bipartisanship on child welfare and foster
[[Page S9850]]
care. And I should note that this bipartisanship is palpable at the
staff level as well and the fine staff of the Finance Committee also
deserve our thanks for making this agreement possible.
The children at risk of abuse and neglect in their own homes are
among our most vulnerable children. Over the years, progress has been
made to promote each child's safety, health and need for a permanent,
safe home. But with 518,000 in foster care, there is clearly more work
to be done for our children.
The 2006 Deficit Reduction Act included an additional $40 million per
year provided for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program. Our
legislation will target this new money to clear needs for our child
welfare system. One priority will be to create new competitive grants
to support regional partnership to combat methamphetamine, ``meth,'' or
other drug abuses that are affecting the child welfare system. Meth is
devastating areas in West Virginia and around our country. When law
enforcement breaks up a home meth lab, child welfare workers are often
needed on site to deal with the children as their parents are taken to
jail. Such children have been exposed to toxins and are at risk of
having been abused or neglected when their parents were high on meth.
Substance abuse is a huge problem for families in the child welfare
system, but there is hope that prevention and treatment can help.
Family-based comprehensive long term treatment facilities are reporting
some impressive results in helping children and families. Other
innovative court projects and law enforcement programs are being
developed. This bill invests real dollars to promote and evaluate the
most effective programs.
The other priority of this legislation will be to make new
investments to help states achieve what is considered the best practice
of having monthly caseworker visits to 90 percent of the children in
foster care. This standard helps improve outcomes for our most
vulnerable children, and it is a worthy goal.
The bill will also reauthorize and expand the Mentoring Children of
Prisoners Program, created in 2002 as part of the reauthorization. The
expansion is a 3-year pilot program to use vouchers as a new delivery
mechanism for services in the hope of helping children in rural and
underserved areas. Three States, West Virginia, Vermont and Utah, do
not have any Mentoring Children of Prisoners grants, but there are
children living there and in rural areas who need a mentor. Under the
voucher program, qualified mentoring programs in local communities
could get funding to serve such children. This is worth trying as a new
model.
Earlier this year, I hosted a roundtable in Beckley, WV on adoption,
foster care and child welfare. I met with a judge, local officials and
parents involved in our system. I heard an inspiring story of a young
man who was adopted from foster care and has become a spokesperson for
other children. Following this roundtable, it was very clear to me that
we need to provide support and services to families in the system, and
this new legislation should help.
For years, I have worked with my colleagues to try and improve our
child welfare system and foster care. This bill is our next step
forward. Its costs have been offset, and the priorities of combating
meth and substance abuse, as well as more caseworker visits are goals
that we all can rally to support. My hope is that this bill will
provide the incentives and push for West Virginia and every state to do
more for our most vulnerable children.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
concur in the House amendments, with amendments; the motion to
reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the
bill be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 5024) was agreed to.
(The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of
Amendments.'')
The amendment (No. 5025) was agreed to, as follows:
In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the
amendment of the House to the title of the Act, insert the
following: ``An Act to amend part B of title IV of the Social
Security Act to reauthorize the promoting safe and stable
families program, and for other purposes.''.
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