August 1, 2010

Child Welfare Finance Reform Policy Proposal

The National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators wrote a position paper including recommendations to give states greater flexibility of how they use federal funding and to align funding with overall child welfare system outcomes. A key facet of this proposal called for eliminating eligibility linked to the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. These recommendations were crafted to meet eight broad objectives:

1. Preserve federal protections required in Title IV-E, including the requirement that states make reasonable efforts to prevent removal and finalize a permanency plan

2. Preserve the entitlement to foster care to ensure that states would be able to claim federal reimbursement on behalf of eligible children in foster care, even if demand rises during times of higher admission rates, longer durations, or need for higher levels of care

3. Extend eligibility for Title IV-E to all children, regardless of family income and circumstances

4. Align federal financing with desired outcomes for children to permit states to reallocate Title IV-E maintenance funds to their Title IV-B program, as long as foster care utilization reductions are consistent with maintaining children’s safety

5. Align federal funding with requirements of the Child and Family Services Review by allowing funding for a continuum of services

6. Require maintenance of effort by state and federal governments so that a continuum of services would continue to be available, even if fewer children have need of them

7. Streamline administrative requirements across federal foster care programs to reduce the amount of time consumed by eligibility determinations, audits, and program improvement plans

8. Contain costs to the federal government by establishing a new state-specific participation rates