[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 111 (Monday, July 11, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1079-E1081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               H.R. 5456

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. VERN BUCHANAN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 11, 2016

  Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following extraneous 
materials on H.R. 5456, the Family First Prevention Services Act of 
2016:
                                            New York Coalition for


                                 Child Welfare Finance Reform,

                                                    June 20, 2016.
       Dear New York State Federal Delegation: As a coalition 
     representing numerous child welfare stakeholders, including 
     advocacy organizations, providers, parents' attorneys, 
     children's attorneys and philanthropy in New York, we are 
     writing to express our support for H.R. 5456, the Family 
     First Prevention Services Act of 2016. Every child deserves 
     to grow up in a safe and caring family, and the Family First 
     Prevention Services Act would help ensure that more children 
     have this opportunity.
       The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2016 contains 
     many important provisions that would strengthen the child 
     welfare system here in New York and make a significant impact 
     in strengthening and keeping families together. For the first 
     time, New York would be able to use federal dollars from 
     Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to provide time-
     limited, evidence-based services to families. The services 
     are aimed to help prevent children from entering the foster 
     care system by allowing federal reimbursement to families for 
     mental health services, substance abuse treatment, and in-
     home parent skill-based programs. New York State and New York 
     City are ahead of many other states and localities, having 
     already invested a significant amount of resources to prevent 
     foster care and enable children to live safely in their 
     homes. The ability to access federal funding to enhance the 
     work being done in New York, could enable many more families 
     to remain intact.
       In addition, the bill incentivizes states to ensure that 
     children are placed in family-based settings by only allowing 
     federal reimbursement after an assessment has occurred and it 
     has been determined that the child should be placed in a 
     quality residential treatment program. In addition, for those 
     youth who are assessed to need to be placed in a congregate 
     care setting, the law will ensure that these settings provide 
     children with the trauma-informed and on-site services they 
     need.
       The legislation also includes a number of other provisions 
     aimed to reform and strengthen the child welfare system 
     including the extension of the Title IV-B program, improving 
     supports for youth transitioning to adulthood, establishing 
     model foster care licensing standards, and calling for a GAO 
     review to examine compliance of states in reinvesting savings 
     from the federal adoption assistance reimbursement for 
     special needs kids.
       We look forward to working with you to ensure these new 
     child welfare finance reforms will truly benefit children who 
     come to the attention of the child welfare system and to 
     continue to explore additional improvements on their behalf 
     to ensure they all have safe, permanent families. Thank you 
     for your continuing leadership on behalf of these children. 
     If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Gendell 
     from Citizens' Committee for Children.
       The following Coalition members from New York support the 
     Family First Prevention Services Act (H.R. 5456):
     CASA-NYC,
       Center for Family Representation, Citizens' Committee for 
     Children, New Yorkers for Children, You Gotta Believe!
     Graham Windham,
       Children's Village, JCCA, Schulyer Center for Analysis and 
     Advocacy.

[[Page E1080]]

     
                                  ____
                                            Illinois Department of


                                   Children & Family Services,

                                       Chicago, IL, June 22, 2016.
     Illinois Department of Children and Family Services 
         Encourages Speedy Passage of H.R. 5456

       Springfield, IL.--The U.S. House of Representatives this 
     week approved H.R. 5456, the Family First Prevention Services 
     Act, to give Illinois and other states substantially more 
     flexibility and federal support to keep families together and 
     avoid reliance on foster care. The Illinois Department of 
     Children and Family Services stands in strong support of this 
     legislation.
       ``This landmark legislation, years in the making, will help 
     the Department achieve its primary goal of effectively 
     working with families and children in crisis to prevent 
     children from entering foster care,'' said Department of 
     Children and Family Services Director George Sheldon in a 
     letter to the Illinois Congressional Delegation. ``This 
     legislation is not only good for children and families, but 
     for federal and state budgets as well. The evidence of what 
     works in child welfare is almost universal in focusing on 
     early intervention. Over the long term, evidence-based 
     prevention services reduce the need for costly, long-term 
     foster care and will improve outcomes for children and 
     families.''
       The legislation is a dramatic change in federal support for 
     states child welfare programs. For decades, the federal 
     government has shared the cost of children in foster care but 
     has offered little support for programs that help keep 
     children out of foster care by helping troubled families. The 
     new legislation provides federal matching dollars for 
     programs that preserve families.
       The legislation also limits state reliance on long-term 
     residential treatment facilities rather than community-based 
     family-type placements, including foster homes. The Illinois 
     Department of Children and Family Services has been 
     implementing this under the Rauner Administration by 
     gradually transferring 350 children and youth to group homes 
     and foster care.
       The Family First Prevention Act was introduced on Friday, 
     June 10, 2016 with strong bipartisan support. Ranking 
     Republicans and Democrats on the House Ways and Means 
     Committee and the Senate Finance Committee of Congress led 
     the effort. On Tuesday, June 21, the House of Representatives 
     passed H.R. 5456 without opposition. The legislation now 
     moves to the U.S. Senate.
       Please see attached letter of support from Director Sheldon 
     to the Illinois Congressional Delegation.

                                            Illinois Department of


                                   Children & Family Services,

                                       Chicago, IL, June 21, 2016.
       Dear Members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation: On 
     behalf of the Illinois Department of Children and Family 
     Services, I write in appreciation for the introduction and 
     speedy consideration of H.R. 5456, the Family First 
     Prevention Services Act. This landmark legislation, years in 
     the making, will help the Department achieve its primary goal 
     of effectively working with families and children in crisis 
     to prevent children from entering foster care.
       The Family First Prevention Services Act allows states to 
     invest federal foster care funds in evidence-based prevention 
     services. This ends the counter-productive policy under which 
     the federal government has provided long-term funding for 
     kids in foster care, rather than spending to keep kids out of 
     foster care. The legislation aims to reduce inappropriate 
     congregate care placements and strengthens kinship navigator 
     programs to ensure that kids can remain with family whenever 
     possible. By reducing the bureaucracy in licensing foster 
     homes, the bill also will help attract good foster parents.
       This legislation is not only good for children and 
     families, but for federal and state budgets as well. The 
     evidence of what works in child welfare is almost universal 
     in focusing on early intervention. Over the long term, 
     evidence-based prevention services reduce the need for 
     costly, long-term foster care and will improve outcomes for 
     children and families.
       Governor Bruce Rauner has made it a priority to improve 
     Illinois' child welfare system and DCFS has taken significant 
     strides to do so. Over the past year, the Department has 
     reduced the number of children in shelter care by 50 percent. 
     With improved technology, DCFS has streamlined bureaucratic 
     processes so our caseworkers can assist more families quickly 
     and efficiently. Ahead of the policy included in H.R. 5456, 
     at the state level we have worked to limit the length of time 
     children are in congregate care and have moved 350 youth from 
     residential facilities to foster care or other family 
     settings. Those savings have been reinvested back into 
     serving more kids.
       Growing up in a program and not in a home leaves a hole in 
     the heart of a foster child. A home is more than a place to 
     live; it is a feeling of belonging. We want more of our youth 
     to grow up with that feeling of belonging to a family. In 
     order to do so, we need to help families long before they 
     reach the crisis that prompts DCFS to intervene and take 
     their children. I firmly believe this legislation will help 
     us to accomplish this and ensure that all foster children 
     find their ``forever'' home.
       I thank you for your time and urge you to support this 
     important legislation.
           Sincerely,

                                               George Sheldon,

                                     Director, Illinois Department
     of Children and Families.
                                  ____

         First Focus State Policy Advocacy & Reform Center,
                                    Washington, DC, June 17, 2016.
     Hon. Kevin Brady,
     Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Orrin Hatch,
     Chairman, Committee on Finance,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Vern Buchanan,
     Chairman, Human Resources Subcommittee, Committee on Ways and 
         Means, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Sander Levin,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Ways and Means, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Ron Wyden,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Finance, U.S. Senate, 
         Washington, DC.
     Hon. Lloyd Doggett,
     Ranking Member, Human Resources Subcommittee, Committee on 
         Ways and Means, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairmen Brady and Hatch, Ranking Members Levin and 
     Wyden, Chairman Buchanan and Ranking Member Doggett: As 
     members of the State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center 
     (SPARC), a coalition of state-based advocacy organizations 
     committed to improving the safety, health and wellbeing of 
     children and families involved in the child welfare system, 
     we are writing to commend your efforts to advance policy 
     changes to better support the needs of vulnerable children 
     and families through the introduction and consideration of 
     H.R. 5456, the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2016.
       Currently, there are 415,000 children in the foster care 
     system, a number that has increased by 3.5 percent from 2014. 
     Nearly 31 percent of children placed in foster care were 
     removed due to parental alcohol or drug use, and in some 
     states, the percentage of removal due to parental substance 
     abuse is closer to 60 percent. In addition, 57,000 children 
     in foster care live in group homes or congregate care 
     settings. More than 40 percent of these children have no 
     clinical need to be in such a setting, and should be with 
     families who can provide love and support.
       The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2016 contains 
     many important provisions that address these poor statistics 
     and will make a significant impact in strengthening and 
     keeping families together. For the first time states will be 
     able to use federal dollars from Title IV-E of the Social 
     Security Act to provide time-limited, evidence-based services 
     to families. The services are aimed to help prevent children 
     from entering the foster care system by allowing federal 
     reimbursement to families for mental health services, 
     substance abuse treatment, and in-home parent skill-based 
     programs. In addition, the bill incentivizes states to ensure 
     that children are placed in family-based settings by only 
     allowing federal reimbursement after an assessment has 
     occurred and it has been determined that the child should be 
     placed in a quality residential treatment program.
       The legislation also includes a number of other provisions 
     aimed to reform and strengthen the child welfare system 
     including the extension of the Title IV-B program, improving 
     supports for youth transitioning to adulthood, establishing 
     model foster care licensing standards, and calling for a GAO 
     review to examine compliance of states in reinvesting savings 
     from the federal adoption assistance reimbursement for 
     special needs kids.
       We look forward to working with you to ensure these new 
     child welfare finance reforms will truly benefit children who 
     come to the attention of the child welfare system and to 
     continue to explore additional improvements on their behalf 
     to ensure they all have safe, permanent families. Thank you 
     for your continuing leadership on behalf of these children.
       The following SPARC members support the Family Prevention 
     Services Act (H.R. 5456):
     Advocates for Children and Youth (Maryland)
     Advocates for Children of New Jersey
     Arkansas Advocates for Children
     Center for Children's Justice (Pennsylvania)
     Center for Public Policy Priorities (Texas)
     Children's Action Alliance (Arizona)
     Children's Advocacy Alliance (Nevada)
     Child and Family Policy Center (Iowa)
     Citizens' Committee for Children (New York)
     Connecticut Voices for Children
     First Focus Campaign for Children
     Florida's Children First, Inc.
     FosterAdopt Connect
     Juvenile Law Center
     Partners for Our Children (Washington)
     Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children
     Kansas Appleseed
     Kentucky Youth Advocates
     Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
     Michigan's Children
     Nebraska Appleseed
     New Mexico Voices for Children
     Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children
     The Mockingbird Society
     Voices for Alabama's Children
     Voices for Children in Nebraska
     Voices for Ohio's Children
     Youth Law Center (California)

[[Page E1081]]

  

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