Title IV-E Waiver

As implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act gradually rolls out, Los Angeles County anticipated that the move away from its special agreement on federal child welfare funding would mean an annual loss of more than $200 million.

Layoffs and spending cuts could be on the horizon for some of California’s largest county child welfare systems amidst a major shift in how the federal government finances child welfare. Earlier this month, a delegation of California county child welfare directors departed Washington, D.C.,

According to California child welfare officials, the state’s foster care system will take a big hit if federal Title IV-E waivers are allowed to expire at the end of September. “Our counties are likely to see a decrease of federal funds in the neighborhood of $320-some odd million at the conclusion of the waiver,” said Greg Rose, deputy director of the Children and Family Services Division of the California Department of Social Services (DSS), in a state budget hearing last week.

Proponents of a bill to extend flexible funding waivers for child welfare services in some states are looking for a member of Congress willing to lead the charge in the House of Representatives.

Imagine being a child protection agency director 20 years ago and making a bold decision to use the flexibility that comes with capped federal dollars to keep kids from entering foster care – instead of using the funding only as intended, to remove children from struggling families and place them into the system.

Last week, national TV news was filled with images of newly elected Members of Congress descending on Capitol Hill for their “freshman orientation.” My hope is that this change – and momentum on the heels of a major federal foster care law signed earlier this year – will create a new opportunity to get child welfare financing closer to what advocates, practitioners and lawmakers have long said they want, but have failed to deliver: True child maltreatment prevention.

Federal legislation that would mean sweeping changes to the nation’s foster care system will again be up for a vote by the House of Representatives and Senate later today or tomorrow as part of a temporary spending bill.

Talk to child welfare advocates about federal child welfare finance reform and the conversation almost immediately turns to Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. This is for good reason: Title IV-E, including the foster care, guardianship and adoption assistance programs, represents the only federal entitlement program targeted specifically to the needs of children who have experienced abuse and neglect.

Since coming to Washington, D.C. in 2010, Los Angeles Congresswoman Karen Bass has fast become one of the House’s lead champions on child welfare issues. Her first major piece of legislation, the Uninterrupted Scholars Act, was signed into law in 2013 and allows for caregivers to access education records of foster youth to help guide their academic process.