Child Welfare Bill Adopted: Last week, the House passed by voice vote a landmark child welfare bill, The Fostering Connections to Success Act (H.R. 6307). Introduced by Reps. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Jerry Weller (R-IL), Chair and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support of the House Ways and Means Committee, the bill would establish, among other provisions, federal subsidies for income-eligible relative guardians. The measure also reauthorizes and updates the Adoption Incentives program. Click here for a copy of the bill, or here for a summary of the bill prepared by the Alliance for Children and Families. 

As reported in earlier NACHSA e-Alerts, Senate Finance Committee Ranking member Grassley (R-IA) has introduced a similar measure (S. 3038) which creates a subsidized guardianship program and reauthorizes the Adoption Incentives program. Senate Finance Committee Chair Baucus (D-MT) may mark up legislation containing those provisions and others he deems important before the August recess. 

H.R. 6307 will help to ensure safe permanent families for children by: 

·         Extending federal support to help children in foster care be raised permanently by relatives;

·         Requiring notice to grandparents and other relatives when children enter foster care;

·         Authorizing funding to help relative caregivers navigate the services and supports the children they are raising need ;

·         Promoting the placement of siblings together when in foster care;

·         Expanding incentives to states to place children in foster care with adoptive families;

·         Improving attention to the health and mental health needs and educational stability of children in foster care;

·         Extending additional support and protections to Indian children in foster care by increasing access by Indian tribes to the federal foster care and adoption assistance programs.

Mental Health Parity Bill Advances: After months of negotiations, the House and Senate reached a compromise in June on the mental health parity bills (H.R. 1424 and S. 558). The agreement includes provisions to end discrimination against mental health and substance use benefits. Despite bi-partisan support, the bill's sponsors still need to find funding to offset the new costs, estimated to range from $1.5 billion over five years and $4.2 billion over ten. Once that hurdle is overcome, it is expected that the agreement will be adopted by both houses and sent to the president. If the bill is enacted, it would:

·         Completely end insurance discrimination against mental health and substance use disorder benefits for over 113 million Americans, requiring full parity coverage with physical health benefits;

·         Extend to all aspects of plan coverage, including day/visit limits, dollar limits, coinsurance, copayments, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums;

·         Preserve strong state parity and consumer protection laws while extending parity protection to 82 million more people who cannot be protected by state laws;

·         Ensure parity coverage for both in-network and out-of-network services.

Medicaid Regulations on Hold: Today, President Bush signed a bill (H.R. 2642) to fund the Iraq war. Included in the legislation are moratoria on six of the seven Medicaid regulations proposed by the administration. The bill delays further administrative action on those rules until April 1, 2009, giving a new White House time to decide how to proceed with them. Regulations in the final bill included moratoria on implementing rules restricting Medicaid funding for targeted case management, rehabilitation services, school based services, and rules restricting state and county governments' ability to finance public hospitals and elimination of federal funding for graduate medical education at those facilities.

Social Services Block Grant Restored:The Senate Appropriations Committee last week rejected the administration's proposed $760 million cut to the Social Services Block Grant. Earlier in June, the House Labor /HHS Appropriations Subcommittee also rejected the cut. While the appropriations process is not finished, the actions in both houses make it a certainty that SSBG funding for Federal Fiscal Year 2009 will remain at the current level of $1.7 billion.

Differential Response to Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect: A growing number of State and local child protective services agencies are employing some form of differential response. In these systems, families reported for suspected child abuse or neglect may receive either a traditional investigation or an alternative assessment, depending on the severity of the allegation and other considerations. Prepared by the Child Welfare Information Gateway, this issue brief for child welfare administrators and policymakers provides an overview of differential response systems, highlights the lessons learned through research and experience, and offers some guiding principles for implementation.

Welfare Time Limits: An Update on State Policies, Implementation, and Effects on Families: One of the most controversial features of the 1990s welfare reforms was the imposition of time limits on benefit receipt. This comprehensive review, written by The Lewin Group and MDRC, includes analyses of administrative data reported by states to the federal government, visits to several states, and a literature review. Click here for state by state tables.

Child Care Voucher Programs: Provider Experiences in Five Counties: From the Urban Institute, this report looks at child care centers and their experiences with the child care subsidy voucher system. Authors provide details on child care providers and the child care voucher system by integrating quantitative data from a survey of providers and qualitative data from site visits that included interviews and focus groups. The research focuses on providers in five counties: Jefferson County, Alabama (Birmingham); San Diego County, California; Monterey County, California; Hudson County, New Jersey (Jersey City); and King County, Washington (Seattle). There is a 19 page executive summary.

Federal On-line Directory of Local Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs: A new, updated guide to finding local substance abuse treatment programs is now available from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  The National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs 2008 provides information on thousands of alcohol and drug treatment programs located in all 50 states.

The directory includes public and private facilities that are licensed, certified, or otherwise approved by substance abuse agencies in each state. It is organized in a state-by-state format for quick reference by social workers, health care providers and the general public. Information is given on the types of facilities, including those with programs for adolescents, persons with co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders, individuals living with HIV/AIDS, and pregnant women.  Also included are searchable road maps to the nearest treatment facilities, with addresses and phone numbers.

New York City Campaign to Recruit Child Protective Specialists Features 12 "Real" Caseworkers: The New York City Administration for Children's Services launched its first large-scale public advertising campaign in 2008 to recruit Child Protective Specialists, the frontline caseworkers who investigate child abuse and neglect. The recruitment campaign advertisements, titled "We Stand By New York City's Children," feature the photographs of 12 current Children's Services caseworkers and supervisors who work in Field Offices throughout the City. The ads challenge potential applicants to consider whether they have the key attributes necessary to doing the job well, asking: "Are You Smart Enough, Are You Brave Enough, Are You Strong Enough, to be a Child Protection Specialist?"

NACo Requests NACHSA Member Innovations and Successes in Aging Out Foster Care Services: The National Association of Counties has requested NACHSA's help in identifying best practices in serving youth who are emancipating from the foster care system. The information will be collected and made available to NACHSA members and other county officials. To provide information on your program, click here. This effort will be highlighted at the upcoming NACo Annual Conference, July 11-15.  

NACo Annual Conference Details Available: NACo recently released a listing of times and locations for the affiliate meetings, policy committee events and workshops. On Friday, July 11, NACHSA will meet in the morning with the National Association of County Aging Programs, followed by a Board meeting open to all members and a meeting with NACo's Aging Out of Foster Care Task Force. Click here to view the program at a glance.