[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 126 (Wednesday, August 5, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6386-S6387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Casey, Mr. Bennet, 
        Mr. Brown, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. Menendez):
  S. 1964. A bill to amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social 
Security Act to invest in funding prevention and family services to 
help keep children safe and supported at home with their families, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss an issue of great 
importance: helping vulnerable children stay safe and cared for by 
strengthening their families and connecting them to kin.
  I would like to begin with a hypothetical. Imagine a single mom with

[[Page S6387]]

two kids and multiple part time jobs. She works long hours to provide 
for her family, but even then it is a struggle to pay the bills and 
keep food on the table. Reliable child care is extremely costly and out 
of reach. Because her work schedule changes week to week she is forced 
to leave her children unattended at times. Out of concern, a neighbor 
places a call to Child Protective Services, and a social worker then 
has to choose between two bad options--breaking up the family, or doing 
nothing at all to help them.
  Today, most youngsters in foster care aren't there because of 
physical or sexual abuse. Kids predominantly wind up in foster care 
because their biological families, like that hypothetical single mom, 
are ensnared in terribly desperate circumstances that lead to neglect.
  The fact is, whenever you talk with kids who have aged out of foster 
care about what could have helped them the most, you hear them say 
things like, ``helping my mom . . . helping my dad . . . helping my 
family.'' What that tells me is that youngsters know they're best 
served when a family can be propped up, not dismantled.
  Unfortunately, the child welfare system has too few tools for that to 
happen. Yesterday, the Finance Committee held a hearing to explore how 
to turn that system around--how to make a difference for kids early on 
so that they can grow up surrounded by family in a safe and loving 
home. I commend Chairman Hatch for his commitment to improving the 
lives of vulnerable kids and their families. The hearing was an 
important step forward.
  Back in the mid-1990s, there was a debate over whether sending kids 
to orphanages was the right idea. And I saw an opportunity for our 
child welfare policies to break into the enormous, untapped potential 
of kin. So I authored the Kinship Care Act, which said that aunts and 
uncles or grandparents who met the right standards would have first 
preference when it came to caring for a niece or nephew or grandchild. 
It became the first federal law of its kind.
  Now in 2015, I see an opportunity for Congress to take a similar 
approach, but go even further. I believe that building child welfare 
policies around proactivity and flexibility will help a lot more 
families stay together and thrive. States have already shown that with 
waivers from the rigid Federal funding system, they're able to turn 
smart ideas into meaningful results for kids and their families, There 
is a tremendous example that my home state of Oregon is currently 
putting in place. It's called Differential Response. Differential 
Response, as I see it, is all about recognizing that every kid is 
different, and every family faces unique challenges. So Oregon's system 
is approaching every case with the nuance it deserves.
  Today I--along with Senators Stabenow, Bennet, Casey, Brown, 
Cantwell, Schumer, and Menendez--am introducing the Family Stability 
and Kinship Care Act that will make badly needed flexibility a core 
part of our child welfare system. The purpose of this bill is to give 
states and tribes the ability to make modest front-end investments in 
family services and kinship placement in order to reduce costly and 
traumatic stays in foster care. Under current law, title IV-E of the 
Social Security Act, the nation's largest child welfare funding stream, 
provides states and tribes with a Federal funding match for children 
only after they are placed in foster care. In contrast, State and 
tribal innovations implemented through title IV-E waivers suggest that 
permitting spending for preventive family services can reduce the 
prevalence and length of foster care placements while maintaining or 
improving safety and permanency outcomes for children. Further, State 
experiences with subsidized guardianship demonstrate that when children 
cannot remain with their parents, they do best when placed with kin.
  This bill enhances Federal funding available under parts B and E of 
title IV of the Social Security Act for prevention and family services 
to help keep children safe and supported at home with their parents or 
other family members. It gives states and tribes the flexibility to 
adapt evidence-based family services to the specific needs of each 
family. It ensures that states and tribes are held accountable for 
allocating services in ways that maximize safety, permanency, and well-
being for children, while minimizing the prevalence of lengthy foster 
care placements.
  We need more than two options--foster care or nothing--when the child 
protection system gets involved. By helping families afford child care, 
maybe it is possible to prevent outright neglect. Maybe mom or dad 
needs counseling or medical help. Maybe they need help covering the 
bills or finding employment. Oftentimes, a youngster's aunt, uncle, or 
grandparents could step up and take them in, but they shouldn't have to 
take on that job without assistance. More often than not, in my 
judgement, it's absolutely worth exploring those avenues before 
breaking a family apart. In fact, it can save resources in the long run 
without compromising on safety.
  I look forward to working with Chairman Hatch and the full Senate to 
advance this legislation and I am hopeful that together, we can make 
this critical investment in children and their families.
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