[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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