{
  "id": "RL31082",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31082",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101071,
      "date": "2001-08-13",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:21:47.308941",
      "title": "Child Welfare Financing: Issues and Options",
      "summary": "Although child welfare services are primarily a state responsibility, the federal government helps\npay\nfor these activities, providing states about $7 billion in FY2001 for child welfare services, foster\ncare, and adoption assistance. Although there is widespread frustration with the way these funds are\nprovided from the federal government to the states, there is currently no consensus on a method of\nreform.\n  Most federal funds that are specifically targeted toward child welfare activities are authorized\nby Title IV-B or IV-E of the Social Security Act or the free-standing Child Abuse Prevention and\nTreatment Act (CAPTA). These statutes authorize a variety of funding streams. Some are\ndiscretionary; others are entitlements. Some of the entitlements are open-ended (in other words,\nthere is no limit on federal spending); others are capped. All require states to comply with various\nprogrammatic and procedural rules. In addition, states serve child welfare clients through other, non-\ntargeted federal programs, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, and the\nSocial Services Block Grant.\n  Most proposals to reform federal child welfare financing focus on the two largest funding\nstreams, which are for foster care and adoption assistance, authorized under Title IV-E. Controlling\nfor inflation, the federal share of state spending for these two activities has increased dramatically,\nfrom $1.1 billion in FY1987 to $5.3 billion in FY2000 (in 2000 dollars). Foster care is the larger\nof the two activities, but adoption assistance is growing at a faster pace, both in terms of dollars\nspent and children served. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the number\nof children claimed by states as eligible for adoption assistance will surpass the number claimed as\neligible for foster care, beginning in FY2003.\n  As federal spending for these activities has grown, the financing structure has increasingly been\nseen by lawmakers, administrators, and caseworkers as often conflicting with the needs of children\nand families. The system is criticized as complex, burdensome, and inflexible. Critics assert that\nthe federal eligibility criteria for foster care and adoption assistance (linked to the former Aid to\nFamilies with Dependent Children) are out-of-date and inappropriate, and the system does not\nrecognize the growing role of relatives in caring for foster children. On the other hand, supporters\nof the system believe its open-ended entitlements provide a safety net for states and children, and\nthat the complicated federal rules ensure a minimum level of protection for children. Congress also\nhas allowed states to conduct demonstrations through waivers, which will help inform lawmakers\nin the future.\n  Congress has tentatively discussed reform proposals for a decade, ranging from expansions of\nexisting entitlements to consolidation into block grants. Elimination of the AFDC requirement has\nbeen proposed repeatedly, and interest also has developed recently in performance-based funding. \nBecause the current system is complex, all reform proposals raise complex issues. Also, because\nthe largest parts of the system are open-ended entitlements, virtually all proposals have budgetary\nimplications. Moreover, federal enforcement of child welfare laws -- administratively and through\nthe courts -- is a related issue of ongoing interest to Congress.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Domestic Social Policy"
  ]
}