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Congressional Research Service (CRS)

 

Child Welfare: An Overview of Federal Programs and Their Current Funding

Emilie Stoltzfus,  Specialist in Social Policy

September 16, 2014

http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43458.pdf?

[full-text, 37 pages]

 

Summary

Child welfare services are intended to prevent the abuse or neglect of children; ensure that

children have safe, permanent homes; and promote the well-being of children and their families.

As the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted, states bear the primary responsibility for ensuring

the welfare of children and their families. In recent years, Congress has appropriated just above or

below $8 billion in federal support dedicated to child welfare purposes. Most of those dollars

(97%-98%) were provided to state, tribal, or territorial child welfare agencies (via formula grants

or as federal reimbursement for a part of all eligible program costs). Federal involvement in state

administration of child welfare activities is primarily tied to this financial assistance. The

remaining federal dollars dedicated to child welfare purposes are provided, primarily on a

competitive basis, to a variety of eligible entities to support research, evaluation, technical

assistance, and demonstration projects to expand knowledge and improve child welfare practice

and policy. At the federal level, child welfare programs are primarily administered by the

Children’s Bureau, which is an agency within the Administration for Children and Families

(ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). However, three competitive

grant programs (authorized by the Victims of Child Abuse Act) are administered by the Office of

Justice Programs (OJP) within the Department of Justice (DOJ).

 

Final FY2014 child welfare funding was appropriated as part of the Consolidated Appropriations

Act, 2014 (P.L. 113-76). Because that act maintained discretionary funding at the statutory limit

provided for in the recent Bipartisan Budget Agreement of 2013 (P.L. 113-67), FY2014 funding

for child welfare programs that receive discretionary funding was not affected by sequestration.

While most federal child welfare programs receive discretionary funding, the largest amount of

federal funding is provided to child welfare programs through mandatory funding authorized

under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. Nearly all of that funding (related to foster care,

adoption assistance, kinship guardianship assistance, and services to youth aging out of foster

care) is statutorily exempted from sequestration in every year. Finally, a few child welfare

programs receive mandatory funding and may be subject to sequestration; principally this

includes the mandatory funding provided for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program.

For FY2014, the final funding level for these nonexempt mandatory child welfare programs was

reduced from their otherwise appropriated level by 7.2%.

 

Child welfare support is provided via multiple federal programs. Title IV-B of the Social Security

Act authorizes funding to states, territories, and tribes for a broad range of child welfare-related

services to children and their families. Title IV-E of the Social Security Act entitles states to

federal reimbursement for a part of the cost of providing foster care, adoption assistance, and (in

states electing to provide this kind of support) kinship guardianship assistance on behalf of each

child who meets federal eligibility criteria. Title IV-E also authorizes capped entitlement funding

to states (and some discretionary funds as well) for provision of services to youth who “age out”

of foster care, or are expected to age out without placement in a permanent family. Legislation

concerning programs authorized in Title IV-B and Title IV-E, which represents the very large

majority of federal child welfare dollars, is handled in Congress by the House Committee on

Ways and Means and the Senate Finance Committee.

 

Additional federal support for child welfare purposes is authorized or otherwise supported in the

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), the Adoption Opportunities program, and

the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act. Legislation concerning these programs is handled in the

House Education and the Workforce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and

Pensions (HELP) Committee.

 

Finally, the Victims of Child Abuse Act authorizes competitive grant funding to support

Children’s Advocacy Centers, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and Child Abuse Training for

Judicial Personnel and Practitioners. Authorizing legislation for these programs originated

primarily with the House and Senate Judiciary committees.

 

Contents

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1

FY2014 Appropriations for Child Welfare ...................................................................................... 2

Effect of Sequestration on FY2014 Child Welfare Funding ...................................................... 2

Federal Child Welfare Programs ...................................................................................................... 3

Title IV-B of the Social Security Act ............................................................................................... 4

Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services ......................................................................... 4

Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program (PSSF) .............................................................. 5

Reservation of PSSF Funds for Related Grants and Activities ........................................... 7

Family Connection Grants ......................................................................................................... 7

Child Welfare Research, Training, or Demonstration Projects .................................................. 9

Title IV-E of the Social Security Act ............................................................................................... 9

Foster Care............................................................................................................................... 10

Adoption Assistance ................................................................................................................ 11

Kinship Guardianship Assistance ............................................................................................ 12

Final Budget Authority by Title IV-E Program Component .............................................. 13

Tribal Title IV-E Plan Development and Technical Assistance ............................................... 13

Chafee Foster Care Independence Program ............................................................................ 14

Chafee Educational and Training Vouchers ............................................................................. 15

Final Funding for the CFCIP Program, Including ETVs ................................................... 15

Adoption Incentives ................................................................................................................. 16

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) ...................................................................... 17

CAPTA State Grants ................................................................................................................ 17

CAPTA Discretionary Activities ............................................................................................. 18

Community-Based Grants to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect ............................................. 19

Children’s Justice Act Grants .................................................................................................. 20

Victims of Child Abuse Act ........................................................................................................... 21

Improving Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse Cases ............................................ 22

Court-Appointed Special Advocates ....................................................................................... 23

Child Abuse Training for Judicial Personnel and Practitioners ............................................... 24

Other Programs .............................................................................................................................. 25

Adoption Opportunities ........................................................................................................... 25

Abandoned Infants Assistance ................................................................................................. 28

 

Tables

Table 1. Final Funding for Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program ...................... 5

Table 2. Final Funding for Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) Program .......................... 6

Table 3. Final Discretionary and Mandatory PSSF Funding, by Program/Activity ........................ 7

Table 4. Final Funding for Family Connection Grants .................................................................... 8

Table 5. Final Funding for Child Welfare Research, Training, or Demonstration Projects ................... 9

Table 6. Budget Authority Provided Under the Title IV-E Program ..............................................

Table 7. Final Funding for Tribal Title IV-E Plan Development and Technical Assistance (TA) ............... 14

Table 8. Final Funding for the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) ................... 16

Table 9. Final Funding for Adoption Incentive Payments ............................................................. 16

Table 10. Final Funding for Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) ..................... 20

Table 11. Final Funding for Children’s Justice Act Grants ............................................................ 21

Table 12. Final Funding for Programs Under the Victims of Child Abuse Act (VOCAA) ................. 25

Table 13. Final Funding for Adoption Opportunities ..................................................................... 27

Table 14. Final Funding for Abandoned Infants Assistance .......................................................... 29

Table A-1. Funding Authority and Sequestration Status of Child Welfare Programs .................... 31

 

Appendixes

Appendix. Child Welfare Programs by Type of Funding Authority and Sequestration Status .................................................... 30

 

Contacts

Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 32

 

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