by Christina Romo, NACAC Program Assistant
On May 24, 2007, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), introduced legislation that would extend foster care for young adults over the age of 18. The Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act (S. 1512) would extend federal foster care funding for young adults 18 to 21, therefore improving services provided to youth making the transition from childhood to adulthood. As Senator Boxer said in an op-ed, "These are not just statistics – these are the lives of the young people who, without our help, have very limited options."
Each year, about 23,000 foster youth age out of care to a bleak future. No longer covered by foster care services, many have no one to turn to and no place to go. An alarming number of emancipated foster youth end up homeless or in jail. While turning 18 is exciting for most of America’s youth, it is a frightening prospect for those who are about to age out of foster care.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 50 percent of young adults age 18 to 24 are currently living at home (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March and Annual Social and Economic Supplements, 2006). With the knowledge that the average young adults in America are leaving home in their mid-20s, it is hard to expect 18-year-olds aging out of foster care to be ready for life on their own.
With the Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act, Senator Boxer’s hope is that federal IV-E funding will be provided to states so that essential foster care services such as housing, food, and legal services will be provided to youth over the age of 18. Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut, and Florida currently offer support for foster youth over the age of 18, but state and local monies are used to fund continuing foster care support for youth in these states. Boxer proposes that federal IV-E funding should match state and county funds to provide foster care payments and additional costs for foster youth 18 to 21. This will allow youth to voluntarily remain in foster care until the age of 21, thus providing them with the services and support needed to transition more successfully into adulthood.
In the words of Senator Boxer, “We must do more for these young adults who deserve much better.”
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
It’s a Matter of Justice—Tribes Should Have Access to Direct Federal Funding
by Mary Boo, NACAC assistant director
On August 2, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced legislation that will provide Indian tribes with the same direct access to federal foster care and adoption funding that states receive. The Tribal Foster Care and Adoption Act of 2007 (S. 1956) will make it possible for tribes to establish independent foster care and adoption programs, and therefore provide culturally competent services to the many Native children in care in the U.S.
Enacted in 1980, the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Act did not consider that thousands of American Indian children receive child welfare services through their tribal governments. This oversight has essentially made a class of children ineligible for federal entitlement services simply because of where they live in the United States.
As a recent General Accountability Office report noted: "Native American children ... experience higher rates of representation in foster care than children of other races or ethnicities. Just over 2 percent of children in foster care at the end of fiscal year 2004 were Native Americans, while they represented less than 1 percent of children in the United States."
Currently, to receive federal Title IV-E funding, tribes must negotiate separate contracts with the states in which they are located. These agreements are discretionary on the part of the state and less than half of the tribes in the United States have been able to develop an agreement with their state. The legislation would help children and families in the following ways:
• Tribes would be better able to offer permanency services for the children in their care—just as states do for the children under their guardianship and custody. With the current patchwork of funds that tribes use, continuity of services is almost impossible and it is challenging to achieve the goals of safety, permanence, and well-being for children and youth in their care.
• Many Native families, especially on reservations, have very low incomes and need support to be able to keep their children.
• Currently, states have about 12 sources of federal funds that they use for child welfare services. Tribes only have access to about six. As a result, when foster care caseloads increase, funds must be diverted from prevention and support services.
• Although the Indian Child Welfare Act rightly gave tribes have responsibility for tribal children in foster care, it did not provide the funding necessary to support tribal foster care programs. To currently access federal Title IV-E funding, tribes must develop agreements with their state to receive support to for their children and families. It’s a simple matter of justice that tribes should have access to these entitlement funds to meet the needs of their most vulnerable community members.
As Senator Baucus explains, “This bill provides Tribes with the ability to serve their children directly with culturally appropriate care and understanding. This bill serves some of our most vulnerable children and Congress must stand up for those kids. It is only logical to put Tribal adoption services on equal footing with the states, and I intend to work with my colleagues to do just that.”
The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John McCain (R-AZ), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA.).
On August 2, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced legislation that will provide Indian tribes with the same direct access to federal foster care and adoption funding that states receive. The Tribal Foster Care and Adoption Act of 2007 (S. 1956) will make it possible for tribes to establish independent foster care and adoption programs, and therefore provide culturally competent services to the many Native children in care in the U.S.
Enacted in 1980, the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Act did not consider that thousands of American Indian children receive child welfare services through their tribal governments. This oversight has essentially made a class of children ineligible for federal entitlement services simply because of where they live in the United States.
As a recent General Accountability Office report noted: "Native American children ... experience higher rates of representation in foster care than children of other races or ethnicities. Just over 2 percent of children in foster care at the end of fiscal year 2004 were Native Americans, while they represented less than 1 percent of children in the United States."
Currently, to receive federal Title IV-E funding, tribes must negotiate separate contracts with the states in which they are located. These agreements are discretionary on the part of the state and less than half of the tribes in the United States have been able to develop an agreement with their state. The legislation would help children and families in the following ways:
• Tribes would be better able to offer permanency services for the children in their care—just as states do for the children under their guardianship and custody. With the current patchwork of funds that tribes use, continuity of services is almost impossible and it is challenging to achieve the goals of safety, permanence, and well-being for children and youth in their care.
• Many Native families, especially on reservations, have very low incomes and need support to be able to keep their children.
• Currently, states have about 12 sources of federal funds that they use for child welfare services. Tribes only have access to about six. As a result, when foster care caseloads increase, funds must be diverted from prevention and support services.
• Although the Indian Child Welfare Act rightly gave tribes have responsibility for tribal children in foster care, it did not provide the funding necessary to support tribal foster care programs. To currently access federal Title IV-E funding, tribes must develop agreements with their state to receive support to for their children and families. It’s a simple matter of justice that tribes should have access to these entitlement funds to meet the needs of their most vulnerable community members.
As Senator Baucus explains, “This bill provides Tribes with the ability to serve their children directly with culturally appropriate care and understanding. This bill serves some of our most vulnerable children and Congress must stand up for those kids. It is only logical to put Tribal adoption services on equal footing with the states, and I intend to work with my colleagues to do just that.”
The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John McCain (R-AZ), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA.).
Thursday, August 2, 2007
NACAC Passes New Position Statement
On July 25, NACAC passed the following position statement opposing restrictions that limit the pool of prospective foster and adoptive families.
Eliminating Categorical Restrictions in Foster Care and Adoption
Philosophy
Children and youth should not be denied a loving family due to restrictions on particular types or categories of prospective foster or adoptive parents. Limitations that prevent classes of individuals or groups from becoming foster or adoptive parents hurt children and youth who are in need of loving families. Experience and research have shown that diverse and non-traditional families can successfully parent children and youth in foster care and adoption.
Practice and Policy Recommendations
NACAC opposes rules, legislation, and practices that prevent the consideration of current or prospective foster or adoptive parents based on any of the following characteristics: age, race/ethnic background, gender, family size (including single parent status or number of siblings in the family), marital status, health or disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, prior professional relationship with the child or youth, or status as foster care or adoption agency employee.
All child-placing agencies should fairly and equitably consider each applicant for certification as a foster or adoptive parent based on the individual’s or family’s ability to care for foster or adopted children and youth who need a family. Specific placement decisions should be made based on whether an individual or family can meet a specific child’s or youth’s needs.
For more information about NACAC's positions on a variety of issues, visit our web site.
Eliminating Categorical Restrictions in Foster Care and Adoption
Philosophy
Children and youth should not be denied a loving family due to restrictions on particular types or categories of prospective foster or adoptive parents. Limitations that prevent classes of individuals or groups from becoming foster or adoptive parents hurt children and youth who are in need of loving families. Experience and research have shown that diverse and non-traditional families can successfully parent children and youth in foster care and adoption.
Practice and Policy Recommendations
NACAC opposes rules, legislation, and practices that prevent the consideration of current or prospective foster or adoptive parents based on any of the following characteristics: age, race/ethnic background, gender, family size (including single parent status or number of siblings in the family), marital status, health or disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, prior professional relationship with the child or youth, or status as foster care or adoption agency employee.
All child-placing agencies should fairly and equitably consider each applicant for certification as a foster or adoptive parent based on the individual’s or family’s ability to care for foster or adopted children and youth who need a family. Specific placement decisions should be made based on whether an individual or family can meet a specific child’s or youth’s needs.
For more information about NACAC's positions on a variety of issues, visit our web site.
More Support Needed for Young Mothers in Care
by Sabra Jackson, New York
In 2004, my two children, ages 10 years and 3years, were removed from my home and placed in foster care. I was one of the lucky ones: they were returned to me in 2005 and to date my children have made successful transitions to reunification.
I am a Parent Organizer for New York City’s Child Welfare Organizing Project, a parent advocacy organization that helps parents who are involved with the child welfare system. As a CWOP organizer, I help other parents learn how to become effective advocates and I advocate for child welfare reform.
Thankfully, my own children are able to live with me again and I can give them the stable and nurturing life they deserve. Unfortunately, this is not true for many young people in care. Some of the most frightening stories I hear are those of young foster girls becoming mothers. These girls, who are already victimized due to the abuse or neglect they received in their own homes, are being victimized again when their children are removed from them. The children are not being removed because they are being abused or neglected—they are being removed solely because these girls are in state custody. To add insult to injury, these young women are often denied a reasonable chance of ever getting their children back.
Young girls and boys who become parents while in foster care should be given a chance to be good parents to their children. The system should help them break the cycle of abuse and neglect. They should be supported with education, jobs, and housing, and should get guidance on how to prevent pregnancies in the first place.
If Congress wants to help these young people, it should provide enough funding to prevent the need to break families apart in the first place. When children do need to enter foster care, funding has to go to help parents get the services they need so that families do not have to be separated for long. And when parents can’t care for their children, we should permanently connect the children with relatives or other adults who can give them the love they need. In addition, teen pregnancy prevention programs should be in place to educate young people; transition services should help them learn how to manage their money and stay in school; and funding should be available to help them become educated and employed.
I’m lucky that my children were able to come back home and I can watch them grow into young adults under my own roof. They are lucky too. We need to do more for those young people who are not so lucky.
In 2004, my two children, ages 10 years and 3years, were removed from my home and placed in foster care. I was one of the lucky ones: they were returned to me in 2005 and to date my children have made successful transitions to reunification.
I am a Parent Organizer for New York City’s Child Welfare Organizing Project, a parent advocacy organization that helps parents who are involved with the child welfare system. As a CWOP organizer, I help other parents learn how to become effective advocates and I advocate for child welfare reform.
Thankfully, my own children are able to live with me again and I can give them the stable and nurturing life they deserve. Unfortunately, this is not true for many young people in care. Some of the most frightening stories I hear are those of young foster girls becoming mothers. These girls, who are already victimized due to the abuse or neglect they received in their own homes, are being victimized again when their children are removed from them. The children are not being removed because they are being abused or neglected—they are being removed solely because these girls are in state custody. To add insult to injury, these young women are often denied a reasonable chance of ever getting their children back.
Young girls and boys who become parents while in foster care should be given a chance to be good parents to their children. The system should help them break the cycle of abuse and neglect. They should be supported with education, jobs, and housing, and should get guidance on how to prevent pregnancies in the first place.
If Congress wants to help these young people, it should provide enough funding to prevent the need to break families apart in the first place. When children do need to enter foster care, funding has to go to help parents get the services they need so that families do not have to be separated for long. And when parents can’t care for their children, we should permanently connect the children with relatives or other adults who can give them the love they need. In addition, teen pregnancy prevention programs should be in place to educate young people; transition services should help them learn how to manage their money and stay in school; and funding should be available to help them become educated and employed.
I’m lucky that my children were able to come back home and I can watch them grow into young adults under my own roof. They are lucky too. We need to do more for those young people who are not so lucky.
Senate Passes Key Legislation/Action Needed in House
On July 20, the U.S. Senate passed the Higher Education Access Act of 2007 (H.R. 2669) with an amendment that would allow foster youth adopted after age 10 to maintain their financial aid eligibility as if they remained in foster care, regardless of their adoptive parents’ income. Originally part of the Fostering Adoption to Further Student Achievement Act co-sponsored by Senators Norm Coleman and Mary Landrieu, the legislation would remove a barrier that currently forces some youth to choose between adoption and higher education. Currently youth who age out of care qualify for virtually all loans and grants, while those who are adopted must factor in their parents’ income, even though these parents have not had the opportunity to save for college.
NACAC has met many former foster youth who had to make the terrible choice between having a permanent family and pursuing a college education. As a teenager, Sheila lived in foster care with her aunt. She knew that if she remained in foster care, she would receive financial assistance that would enable her to go to college. “I’m smart and very good with money,” Sheila explains. “If my aunt adopted me, I would lose my benefits. I mean adoption is great and everything, but you sacrifice a lot. It is crazy the way the system works.”
The U.S. House of Representatives’ version of the bill does not include this provision, and if your representative is on the Committee on Education and Labor (see list below), we urge you to ask him or her to support inclusion of the Senate’s FAFSA provision during reconciliation of the House and Senate versions of this legislation. (The list of those members who will actually be involved in reconciliation has not yet been finalized, but we would like you to act now since action may happen before Congress recesses next week.)
Committee on Education and Labor
Democrats
George Miller, Chairman
Rush D. Holt
Dave Loebsack
Joe Courtney
Republicans
Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Ranking Member
The best way to reach your representative is to call the main Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121. To find your Representative’s direct address, phone number, or e-mail, visit http://www.house.gov/writerep.
NACAC has met many former foster youth who had to make the terrible choice between having a permanent family and pursuing a college education. As a teenager, Sheila lived in foster care with her aunt. She knew that if she remained in foster care, she would receive financial assistance that would enable her to go to college. “I’m smart and very good with money,” Sheila explains. “If my aunt adopted me, I would lose my benefits. I mean adoption is great and everything, but you sacrifice a lot. It is crazy the way the system works.”
The U.S. House of Representatives’ version of the bill does not include this provision, and if your representative is on the Committee on Education and Labor (see list below), we urge you to ask him or her to support inclusion of the Senate’s FAFSA provision during reconciliation of the House and Senate versions of this legislation. (The list of those members who will actually be involved in reconciliation has not yet been finalized, but we would like you to act now since action may happen before Congress recesses next week.)
Committee on Education and Labor
Democrats
George Miller, Chairman
Rush D. Holt
Dave Loebsack
Joe Courtney
Republicans
Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Ranking Member
The best way to reach your representative is to call the main Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121. To find your Representative’s direct address, phone number, or e-mail, visit http://www.house.gov/writerep.
Action Needed on Guardianship Legislation
A new report from the Government Accountability Office confirms that children of color are over-represented in care and highlights that the federal government needs to act to address this disparity.
As the leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee note in a press release, the report recommends subsidized guardianship as one solution to the problem since so many foster children of color are in the care of relatives. Congressman Charles Rangel explains, “Every foster child dreams of a permanent home. For far too many African American children, this is a dream deferred. We need to work to reduce barriers to permanency for all foster children, but such an effort is particularly necessary for Black children. The GAO report highlights several reforms that might make a positive difference, including providing federal assistance for relatives providing permanent homes for foster children."
The time for action is now. States currently get federal support for foster care and adoption but not for guardianship. Subsidized guardianship is an important permanency option because it allows children and youth to have a permanent, legal family when termination of parental rights is not possible or is not the right option for a particular family.
About 20,000 children have lived for a year or more with relatives in foster care, but they cannot leave the system because they do not have any other options. A court has ruled that reunification with the parents or adoption is not feasible. The caregivers often cannot afford to give up the financial assistance that helps them meet these children’s needs. Subsidized guardianship would provide them with permanence now!
NACAC is asking you to contact your U.S. senators and your representative in support of subsidized guardianship. There are two pending bills that would make subsidized guardianship a reality, and provide other necessary support to kinship caregivers. Please contact your represehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifntatives today to ask them to sign on as co-sponsors of the Kinship Caregiver Support Act (Senate Bill 661 or House Resolution 2188).
Take Action Today!
CALL: A call is best, and all members of Congress can be reached by calling 202-224-3121.
WRITE: Mailing addresses for senators are: The Honorable [Senator’s name], U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510. For representatives, address your letter to: The Honorable [Representative’s name], U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
To find your Representative’s direct address, phone number, or e-mail, visit http://www.house.gov/writerep. For Senators, go to http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.
As the leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee note in a press release, the report recommends subsidized guardianship as one solution to the problem since so many foster children of color are in the care of relatives. Congressman Charles Rangel explains, “Every foster child dreams of a permanent home. For far too many African American children, this is a dream deferred. We need to work to reduce barriers to permanency for all foster children, but such an effort is particularly necessary for Black children. The GAO report highlights several reforms that might make a positive difference, including providing federal assistance for relatives providing permanent homes for foster children."
The time for action is now. States currently get federal support for foster care and adoption but not for guardianship. Subsidized guardianship is an important permanency option because it allows children and youth to have a permanent, legal family when termination of parental rights is not possible or is not the right option for a particular family.
About 20,000 children have lived for a year or more with relatives in foster care, but they cannot leave the system because they do not have any other options. A court has ruled that reunification with the parents or adoption is not feasible. The caregivers often cannot afford to give up the financial assistance that helps them meet these children’s needs. Subsidized guardianship would provide them with permanence now!
NACAC is asking you to contact your U.S. senators and your representative in support of subsidized guardianship. There are two pending bills that would make subsidized guardianship a reality, and provide other necessary support to kinship caregivers. Please contact your represehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifntatives today to ask them to sign on as co-sponsors of the Kinship Caregiver Support Act (Senate Bill 661 or House Resolution 2188).
Take Action Today!
CALL: A call is best, and all members of Congress can be reached by calling 202-224-3121.
WRITE: Mailing addresses for senators are: The Honorable [Senator’s name], U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510. For representatives, address your letter to: The Honorable [Representative’s name], U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
To find your Representative’s direct address, phone number, or e-mail, visit http://www.house.gov/writerep. For Senators, go to http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.
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