The best interests of children do not allow one of these priorities to be sacrificed for another.

184 Pages·2007·4.94 MB·English

dication hearing, before the parent has legal Timelinessmeasures,suchasthefollowing,
counsel,runstheriskofviolatingconstitutional can help judges and courts isolate the causes
due process guarantees. ofinappropriatedelay,andmoveforwardwith
Followingarefairlyexhaustivelistsofpoten- appropriate reforms:
tially useful performancemeasures for juvenile
andfamilycourts.NCFApresentsa“shortlist” (cid:1) Length of stay—i.e., time between entry
of the highest-priority measures at the end of into and exit from state care, by type of
this brief, under the heading, “Conclusion: permanency placement
Strategic Priorities for Measuring Court (cid:1) Timebetweenentryintocareandperma-
Performance.” nency hearing
(cid:1) Percentageofcasesinwhichpermanency
hearing is not held within 12 months of
The best interests of children do not
entry into care
allow one of these priorities to be (cid:1) Timebetweenentryintocareandprelimi-
sacrificed for another. nary protective hearing (at the prelimi-
nary protective hearing, the court deter-
mines whether a child can or cannot be
TIMELINESS:Themostcommon,systemiccourt- immediately and safely returned home
performance problems today revolve around while the matter is pending)
issues of the timeliness of permanency deci- (cid:1) Timebetweenentryintocareandadjudi-
sions.Whiletimelinessshouldnotbeachieved cation(atadjudication,thecourtdecides
at the expense of the other priorities, it is a whether the allegations of abuse or ne-
necessary condition to ensure that foster chil- glectaresupportedbytheevidence,and,
drenarewellserved.Courtshavetheauthority ifso,whetherthereisneedforcontinued
andresponsibilitytocontrolthetimingoftheir state involvement)
decisions and actions, in accordance with (cid:1) Time between adjudication and perma-
statute. nency hearing (at the permanency hear-
Timeliness is a priority of ASFA and HHS’s ing, the court makes the decision as to
outcomesandmeasures.Acourt’sawarenessof thepermanentplacementforachild,such
the time that passes before foster children find as adoption or reunification, and deter-
permanence is critical to meaningful court re- mines the plan for realizing the perma-
form.So,too,aredataonthetimelinessofthose nency decision)
“interimdecisions”inbetweensystementryand (cid:1) Frequency of review hearings
permanent placement—including measures of (cid:1) Numberofcontinuancesforasinglecase,
timebetweenpreliminaryprotective,adjudica- by reason
tion, and permanency hearings. Absent such (cid:1) Percentageofcasesinwhichacourtcon-
specificity, courts will lack data necessary to tinues a permanency hearing, by reason
identify the causes of delay, which could lead (cid:1) Percentage of cases in which the court
toinappropriatesystemchanges.Courtsshould makes a “no reasonable efforts” finding,
therefore examine the timeliness of each step by number, such as 10% of cases with 2
in the permanency process, as outlined below. “no reasonable efforts” findings
Likewise, it is important for courts to track (cid:1) Time between entry into care and filing
both the frequency of review hearings and the of TPR petition
numberofcontinuances,withreasons.Thisad- (cid:1) Percentage of cases in which TPR pro-
ditional information will be necessary to shed ceedings are not initiated upon a child
light on explanations for overly lengthy time- residing in care 15 out of the latest 22
frames. Finally, courts should analyze adher- months
ence to statutory requirements, such as is re- (cid:1) Time between initiationof TPR proceed-
quired by ASFA. ings and termination order
Performance Measures for Courts: The Next Step in Foster Care Reform 309
(cid:1) Timebetweenterminationorderandcon- with a guardian, by length of time until
clusion of any appeal re-entry
(cid:1) Time between TPR order and initiation (cid:1) Numberandpercentageofchildrenwho,
of adoption proceedings while in foster care, experience:
(cid:1) Timebetweeninitiationofadoptionpro- (cid:1) 1 placement
ceedings and finalization of adoption (cid:1) 2 placements
(cid:1) 3 placements
PERMANENCE:Placement permanence is an es- (cid:1) 4 or more placements
sential measure of the rightness of placement
decisions. Courts should strive to find a safe DUE PROCESS: It is necessary to provide due
andstablehomeforeachchildundertheircare, process for all parties in foster care cases, in
in accordance with clear standards for deter- ordertoensurethemeaningfulparticipationof
miningtheappropriatecasegoalforeachchild. biological parents, legal caretakers, and other
To do so, courts must have data that address interested parties. Without this participation,
whetherandhowfosterchildrenexitthefoster courts run the riskof making uninformed per-
caresystem.Alsoimportantisanalysisofplace- manencydecisions.Thefailuretoaffordparties
ment stability—both in and out of state care. due process also sets the stage for appeals,
Disruptionscanbecausedbyunpredictablefac- which delay permanence. On the other hand,
tors outside a judge’s control. But disrupted courts should not delay processes on account
placementscanalsobeevidenceoffaultycourt ofaparty’slackofparticipation,iflegallyvalid
performance. Courts should measure the suc- notice has been served, to which the party has
cess rate of permanency decisions through the not responded.
monitoringandreportingofhowmanychildren Important due process measures for courts
re-enterstatecareafterreunification,adoption, include:
and guardianship.
Useful permanency measures for courts (cid:1) Percentage of cases in which the court
include: has ordered one or more continuances
(cid:1) Percentage of continuances that are re-
(cid:1) Numberandpercentageofeachcasegoal lated to inadequate notice
forchildreninfostercare—reunification, (cid:1) Percentage of cases for which timely no-
adoption, guardianship, long-term foster tice of hearings to all parties is docu-
care, and emancipation mented in the court file
(cid:1) Numberand percentageof childrenwho (cid:1) Percentageofcasesinwhichthereisiden-
exitthefostercaresystemthroughaper- tification of the father, categorized by
manency placement, by type stage of the case
(cid:1) Numberand percentageof childrenwho (cid:1) Stage of case by which time biological
“ageout”offostercare(neverfindperma- parents or legal caretakers have retained
nencepriortoreachingtheageofmajor- or been appointed legal counsel, such as
ity),bythosehavingresidedinlongterm by the adjudication hearing
fostercarewithonefamilyandthosethat (cid:1) Percentage of cases in which there are
have not documented efforts to meet the needs of
(cid:1) Numberand percentageof childrenwho thechildandfamily,throughearlyidenti-
re-enterstatecarefollowingreunification, fication of family service needs and at-
by length of time until re-entry tempts to provide access to needed ser-
(cid:1) Numberand percentageof childrenwho vices
re-enterstatecarefollowingadoption,by (cid:1) Stage of case by which time there are
length of time until re-entry documented efforts to meet the needs of
(cid:1) Numberand percentageof childrenwho thechildandfamily,throughearlyidenti-
re-enter state care following placement fication of family service needs and at-
310 Adoption Factbook IV
tempts to provide access to needed ser- care.Legislatures;publicchildwelfaresystems;
vices outsidegroups,advocates,andexperts;theme-
(cid:1) Percentage of cases in which parties par- dia and general public; and the courts them-
ticipate in the decision-making process, selves allhave the importantresponsibilities of
by type of intervention, including family monitoring and reporting court performance
conferencing, mediation, and alternative with respect to the aforementioned measures.
dispute resolution Insodoing,theseinstitutionshelpeducatethe
courts in strategies for court improvement and
SAFETY:If there is a “top” priority among these
motivatethecourtsbyshiningthelightofpub-
fourpriorities,itisthesafetyofthechild.Time-
lic scrutiny.
liness,permanence, anddueprocess aremoot,
if the child is unsafe. ASFA, HHS’s Child Wel-
fare Outcomes and Measures, and the CFSR
The most common, systemic court-
outcomessimilarlyemphasizethispoint.ASFA
performance problems today revolve
includes funding for the Promoting Safe and
around issues of the timeliness of
Stable Families Program, which requires state
plans to assure that the safety of children is permanency decisions.
paramount. The initial CFSR outcome reads:
“Children are, first and foremost, protected
from abuse and neglect.” Two child welfare
COURTS: Courts should, on their own accord,
outcomes address the importance of reducing
initiatetheuseofperformancemeasures.Judges
the recurrence of abuse and neglect, including
andcourtadministratorsarewellpositionedto
while in foster care. Fault for harm to a child,
selectimportantindicators.Theycanappreciate
ofcourse,residesfundamentallywiththeperpe-
the interplay among “competing” goals and
tratoroftheharm.Butcourtshavetheresponsi-
measures, and understand the laws and issues
bilityofprotectingthesafetyofchildreninstate
athand.Theyknowbesttheuniquechallenges
care, to the best of their abilities.
facing their courts, such as enormous judicial
Useful safety measures for courts include:
caseloadsandthechallengeofobtainingimpor-
(cid:1) Numberand percentageof childrenwho tant case details. With or without empirical
havebeenthesubjectofanotherabuseor data,courtshavetheresponsibilitiesofexamin-
neglect petition after exiting the system, ingwheretheyfallshortandidentifyingcondi-
examined in the contexts of time, such tions that impair their ability to function
as6,12,18,24monthsafterexitingfoster smoothly.
care, and of perpetrator demographics, Courts’ self-regulation requires the leader-
such as biological or adoptive parent ship of committed judicial leaders with suffi-
(cid:1) Numberand percentageof childrenwho cientauthority.Whetherafamily-courtadmin-
arethesubjectofanotherabuseorneglect istrative judge or the chief justice of a state
petitionwhileinfostercare,examinedin supreme court, judicial leaders must possess
the contexts of length of time in specific qualities that earn the respect and cooperation
placement,timeinfostercare,andperpe- of other members of the bench. Likewise, they
trator demographics needtobeabletoinspirethetrustandsupport
of other players in the child welfare process
Roles and responsibilities
outsidethecourt—suchaschildwelfarework-
in court accountability
ers,casemanagers,andofficials;attorneys;and
and improvement court-appointed special advocates—all of
Variousinstitutionsandleadershavevitalroles whom, without their cooperation, could seri-
to play in ensuring that family and juvenile ously impair and undermine reform efforts.
courts improve the timeliness and rightness of Even with court self-evaluations, however,
theirplacement decisionsforchildren infoster otherinstitutionsneedtobeinvolvedinmoni-
Performance Measures for Courts: The Next Step in Foster Care Reform 311
toring and evaluating court performance, and tate easier court review of cases, for example,
in prioritizing performance measures. byincludingacasesummarysheetineachfile,
whichquicklybringsthejudgeup-to-date.Four
LEGISLATURES: It cannot be left solely to the
states have recently passed laws designed to
courtstoensuretheproperfunctioningoftheir
ensuretimelyhearings,specifyingdeadlinesfor
ownsystems.Statelegislatureshavenotonlythe
various case phases. And three states passed
responsibility to fund court and public agency
laws to ensure that files reflect all major mile-
childwelfareservices,theyalsoplayanimpor-
stones and decisions, such as documentation
tantroleinimprovingcourtperformance.Leg-
of “reasonable efforts” by the state.
islatures, of course, should take care to adhere
Lawsthatincludeprovisionsformonitoring
to the constitutional principle of separation of
and reporting court performance are still rare.
powers. But they are in a unique position to
Utah has demonstrated leadership in this re-
facilitate court improvement through the pas-
gard. It enacted a law in 1995, which created
sage of laws that impose standards for court
a child welfare oversight panel whose function
performance, in addition to their shared social
was to oversee execution of child welfare stat-
responsibilitytomonitor andreportcourtper-
utes.In2001,lawmakersstrengthenedthemea-
formance with respect to these standards.
surebyrequiringannualreportingbythejudi-
cial system, state attorney general, and child
welfaresystemontheextentofnoncompliance
Courts should measure the success rate
with statutory timeframes and related reasons.
of permanency decisions through the
The first reports were submitted in October
monitoring and reporting of how many
2002.
children re-enter state care after Following the example of Utah’s law, states
reunification, adoption, and shouldexplorehowtheycansupporttheefforts
of the judiciary to enhance the likelihood of
guardianship.
courts designing and using effective measures.
Legislaturesshouldmonitorcourtsfortheirad-
Legislatures should pass enforceable laws herence to statutory requirements designed to
that establish performance requirements and facilitate right and timely placements for these
that require measurement of relevant data. All children.Statescouldrequireindividualcourts
states have enacted statutes in response to to report annually on their performance with
ASFA. Some have adopted the ASFA require- regardtoselectmeasuresforcomparison,analy-
ments directly, such as beginning termination sis, and public dissemination—a “state of the
of parental rights after a child is in care 15 out court,”ifyouwill.Theycouldalsoholdpublic
of the last 22 months. Others have enacted hearings at which court administrators and
more stringent laws with, for example, shorter judges could testify about court performance
compliance timeframes. Regardless, these laws andobstaclestocourtimprovement.Otherap-
do not generally address issues pertaining to propriate stakeholders could also provide
development of performance measures or en- testimony.
forcement mechanisms. The overuse, by some A note regarding funding: Clearly, it is the
courts, of the 15/22 rule exceptions is a good responsibility of legislatures to fund juvenile
example of why court performance measures and family courts. Improving information sys-
and accountability are necessary. temsanddatamanagement,andreducingcase-
The National Court Improvement Progress loads by increasing the numbers of judges and
ReportandCataloguedocumentswaysinwhich administrators,forexample,costmoney.Butit
statesarebeginningtouselegislationtofurther is not the purpose of this analysis to address
sound court reform. During 2004, approxi- the issue of the adequacy of funding in the 50
matelyahalf-dozenstatespassedlawstofacili- states.Rather,ourpurposeistoadvocatetheuse
312 Adoption Factbook IV
of strategic performance measures to improve mote collaboration, bring additional expertise
court performance and prioritize court spend- and resources to the task, motivate the judi-
ing, whatever the level of funding. ciary,andsuggestotherlegislativeandadminis-
trative solutions.
If there is a “top” priority among these MEDIAANDTHEGENERALPUBLIC:Themedia,too,
can promote court improvement by educating
four priorities, it is the safety of the
judicial and policy leaders regarding effective
child. Timeliness, permanence, and due models for court improvement and by shining
process are moot, if the child is unsafe. the light of public attention on performance
measures for family and juvenile courts. It is
theworkofreportersandjournaliststoeducate
CHILD WELFARE SYSTEMS: As previously dis- citizensonhowwelltheirgovernmentofficials,
cussed,courtreformisdifficult,ifnotimpossi- including courts and judges, are fulfilling their
ble, without the cooperation and collaboration responsibilities.Bypublicizingreportsoncourt
of the child welfare system. Child welfare offi- performance, highlighting both success stories
cialsatthefederal,state,andlocallevelsshould and failures, the media will inform the public
intentionally facilitate and encourage healthy and empower citizens to expect improvement
relationships with courts. Their interactions from their courts. There could not be a more
withcourtofficialscanbeamodelforcasework- compellingcaseforchangethantheawareness,
ers and managers, and all those who interact forexample,thatachildlivesinadozendiffer-
daily with judges and court staff. Caseworker entfostercareplacements,onlytoexitthesys-
adherence to court protocol will further the tem on reaching the age of 18. In these ways,
timelinessofcourtdecisions,andpromoteright themediacaninformpublicopinionandcreate
and timely permanence for children in state powerful incentives for court improvement.
care. Foster care workers and managers have Conclusion: strategic priorities
an inside perspective on court performance,
for measuring court performance
and have a duty to the children to speak up
All the performance measures for family and
aboutit,bothprivatelyandpublicly,asneeded.
juvenile courts proposed in this brief have the
OUTSIDE GROUPS, ADVOCATES, AND EXPERTS: potential of yielding significant positive results
Child welfare and adoption experts and advo- for family and juvenile courts’ understanding,
cates from nonprofit organizations, adoption accountability, and performance. In our view,
agencies,andtheacademicscanplayanimpor- asmanyaspossibleshouldbeputintopractice.
tant role in promoting court improvement. Butthe challengeofmobilizing Americansoci-
Theycanprovidecourtsandlegislaturesuseful etytodemandexcellentcourtperformance,for
information for setting performance measures, the sake of foster children, requires focusing
allocatingfunding,andpassinglaws.Equipped onalimitednumberofstrategicmeasurescapa-
withdatabasedonperformancemeasuresadvo- ble of capturing public attention.
cated in this brief, they can publicize courts’ FollowingisNCFA’sshortlistoftop-priority
records with respect to children in foster care. performance measures for family and juvenile
Child welfare and adoption organizations can courts. These measures provide an informative
beapowerfulvoiceforfosterchildrenbyusing andcompellingoverviewofcourtperformance.
their research and educational resources and Considered together, they cover all four
spheresofinfluencetoinformlegislators,exec- priorities—timeliness,permanence,safety,and
utivebranchofficials,fostercaremanagersand dueprocess—andavoidcreatingincentivesthat
workers,themedia,andthepublicaboutmod- prefer one priority at the expense of others.
elsforcourtimprovementandtheperformance Thetimeisripeforconcerted,multidiscipli-
of the judiciary. Such education will help pro- naryeffortstoimprovetheperformanceofjuve-
Performance Measures for Courts: The Next Step in Foster Care Reform 313
NCFA’s short list of top-priority performance measures for juvenile and family courts:
(cid:1) Number and percentage of permanency placements, by type
(cid:1) Length of stay: time between entry into and exit from state care, by type of perma-
nency placement
(cid:1) Time in foster care, for children currently residing there
(cid:1) Time between TPR order and conclusion of any appeals
(cid:1) Number and percentage of children who age out of the foster care system
(cid:1) Total and average number of continuances
(cid:1) Number and percentage of cases for which there is not a permanency hearing within
12 months of entry into care
(cid:1) Number and percentage of exceptions to the 15/22 rule
(cid:1) Numberandpercentageofchildrenwhohavebeenthesubjectofanothersubstantiated
abuse or neglect petition after exiting the system
(cid:1) Numberandpercentageofchildrenwhoarethesubjectofanothersubstantiatedabuse
or neglect petition while in foster care
(cid:1) Number and percentage of re-entries into the foster care system, after reunification,
adoption, and guardianship
nileandfamilycourtsinfulfillingtheirrespon- measures, most notably with regard to perma-
sibility to provide right and timely placements nency planning and termination of parental
with loving, permanent families for foster chil- rights.Specifically,ASFArequiresthataperma-
dren. The lessons learned from recent child nency hearing take place no later than 12
welfare reform underscore the importance of months after a child has entered foster care.
performance measures to achieving this end. The statute requires the state to file a petition
The National Council For Adoption adds its to terminate parental rights for any child who
voice and offers its resources to promote the has been in foster care for 15 out of the most
vital cause of court improvement through per- recent22months.ASFAalsoclarifiesthatcon-
formance measures that highlight successful current planning maybegin immediately upon
models for reform and provide greater court thechild’sremovalfromthehome.Withregard
transparency and accountability, for the sake to safety, ASFA underscores its overriding sig-
of America’s deserving foster children. nificance, identifying numerous circumstances
under which it is proper to terminate parental
Sources and references
rights without reunification efforts.
NCFAreliedongoverninglawandexpertopin-
ioninselectingtheabovemeasures.Eachcorre- AFCARSDATA:AFCARS data helped NCFA to
latestofederalchildwelfareprioritiesreflected identifyfederaltimelinessandpermanencypri-
inASFA;theAdoptionandFosterCareAnalysis orities and, thus, to select critical measures.
Reporting System; HHS’s Child Welfare Out- Some of the data necessary to measure court
comes and Measures; and/or the CFSR out- performancearealreadyavailablethroughpres-
comes. They are also consistent with the opin- ent AFCARS reporting. Key AFCARS data in-
ionsofexperts,includingtheNationalCouncil clude information about: the settings in which
ofJuvenileandFamilyCourtJudges(NCJFCJ), children find permanence; the time between
the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and termination of parental rights and adoption;
the National Center of State Courts (NCSC). A and the length of stay in foster care.
discussion of these sources and their relevance
CHILDWELFAREOUTCOMESANDMEASURESAND
to NCFA’s recommended measures follows.
CFSRS:DevelopedinresponsetoASFA’sman-
ADOPTION AND SAFE FAMILIES ACT (ASFA): dates,HHS’sChildWelfareOutcomesandMea-
ASFA guided selection of certain timeliness suresprovidedadditionalguidanceonpriorities
314 Adoption Factbook IV
for safety, permanence, and timeliness. The nence, due process, and safety. NCJFCJ’s Re-
HHS outcome measures are pertinent to child sourceGuidelines:ImprovingCourtPracticein
safetyinandoutoffostercare;stabilityoffoster Child Abuse Cases and Adoption and Perma-
careplacements;thetimelinessofreunification nency Guidelines provided comprehensive in-
and adoption; and re-entry into foster care. In formation about the appropriate time between
addition,nationalstandards,establishedforsix differentstagesofthepermanencyprocess.The
ofthetwelveoutcomemeasures,helpedNCFA ABA Center on Children and the Law contrib-
isolate the most important areas for court im- utedsignificantlytotheirdrafting.NCFAstud-
provement. ied the NCJFCJ recommendations on hearing
Paraphrasing, the national standards are as timeliness, which are outlined below, in deter-
follows: mining which phases of the judicial process
meritreview.Therecommendationsincluded:
(cid:1) No more than 6.1 percent of children
(cid:1) Preliminary protective hearing: 24-72
who are victims of abuse or neglect have
hours after removal
another substantiated report within 6
(cid:1) Adjudication: within 60 days of removal
months of the previous one.
(cid:1) Permanency hearing: within 12 months
(cid:1) No more than .57 percent of children in
of removal
fostercarearethesubjectofsubstantiated
(cid:1) Initiating termination of parental rights
abuse or neglect by a foster parent or
(TPR): when grounds exist, but no later
facility staff member.
thanuponachildbeinginfostercarefor
(cid:1) Atleast76.2percentofchildrenwhoare
15 out of the last 22 months
reunifiedwiththeirparentsorcaretakers
(cid:1) FilingofTPRpetition:within30daysafter
exitfoster carein lessthan 12months of
agencyorcourtmakesdeterminationthat
the latest removal.
the filing is appropriate
(cid:1) Nomorethan8.6percentofchildrenre-
(cid:1) TPR hearing: within 90 days of filing
enter foster care within 6 months of re-
TPR petition
unification.
(cid:1) Court decision: within 14 days of TPR
(cid:1) At least 32 percent of children who exit
hearing
fostercarebyadoptiondosoinlessthan
(cid:1) Post-terminationreviews,generally:atleast
24 months of the latest removal.
every 90 days until permanence
(cid:1) Forchildrenwhohavebeeninfostercare
(cid:1) Post-termination reviews when no adoptive
less than 12 months from the time of
parents have been recruited: every 30 to
latest removal, 86.7 percent or more ex-
60 days
perience no more than 2 placement set-
NCSC’s Trial Court Performance Standards
tings.
andMeasurementSystemwasusefultoNCFA’s
OTHERSOURCES:NCFA acknowledges the vital measure selection process. NCSC’s system tar-
role of the Pew Commission on Children in gets the following performance areas: “Expedi-
Foster Care in establishing performance mea- tion and Timeliness”; “Access to Justice”;
sures for courts as a strategic reform priority “Equity, Fairness, and Integrity”; “Indepen-
with its report, Fostering the Future: Safety, dence and Accountability”; and “Public Trust
Permanence and Well-Being for Children in and Confidence.” NCSC’s selection of “expedi-
Foster Care. In its selection of performance tion and timeliness” dovetailed with NCFA’s
measures for courts, NCFA referred signifi- concern for timely permanence. More impor-
cantlytoBuildingaBetterCourt,madepossible tant, however, is NCSC’s attention to judicial
bythecollaborationoftheABACenteronChil- processandtreatmentofparties.Theirpriority
dren and Law, NCJFCJ, and 0NCSC. Like toNCSCunderscorestheimportanceofcorres-
NCFA’s recommendations, Building a Better pondingmeasures,andvalidatedNCFA’satten-
Courtpromotesmeasuresoftimeliness,perma- tion to the same.
Performance Measures for Courts: The Next Step in Foster Care Reform 315

Federal Foster Care
19
Financing Reform:
NCFA Statement to the U.S. House
Subcommittee on Human Resources
Committee on Ways and Means
By Thomas C. Atwood†
(cid:1)
T
he National Council For Adoption able, for the sake of America’s deserving fos-
thanks the House Committee on Ways ter children.
andMeansfortheopportunitytosubmit Atthelevelofprinciple,thereiswidespread
thiswrittenstatementfortheJune9,2005hear- agreement that federal foster care financing
ing’srecord,onthesubjectoffederalfostercare must be made more flexible, so that states are
financing. The National Council For Adoption not so narrowly restricted to spending their
(NCFA) applauds the Human Resources Sub- federal dollars on foster care maintenance.
committee’s perseverance in studying and re- NCFA agrees with the many advocates and
formingfederalfostercarefinancing.TheChair- policy makers who have cited the need to
man’s and Subcommittee’s leadership in enable states to direct some of these funds
addressing this issue has helped to create an to prevention and reunification efforts. NCFA
excellentopportunitytotakeanimportantnext wouldaddparentrecruitmentandpreparation
stepinfostercarereform.Inbothpoliticalpar- to this short list of priorities for which states
ties, and across the philosophical spectrum, need more flexibility in their federal foster
there is a rare moment of consensus regarding care funding.
many key principles and policies that can be There are enough parenting resources in
adopted to better serve children in foster care, America to care for the children in foster care,
through financing reform. but they need leadership in order to recognize
Thereareimportantdifferences,whichmust their callings to adopt or foster parent. There
be debated and resolved in the legislative pro- are more than 425 married couples for each
cess. But in reviewing the major federal foster child waiting to be adopted out of foster care,
care financing reform proposals—such as the and millions of qualified singles who could
Child SAFE Act of 2004, the report of the adoptaswell.Therearethreeplacesofworship
Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, foreachchildwaitingtobeadopted,andallof
and the President’s Child Welfare Program America’s faiths exhort their believers to care
Option—it is clear that there are large areas of for orphans. There are private adoption agen-
agreement,bothinprincipleandpolicy.What- cies that, with training, could join in serving
ever one’s ideas regarding the “perfect” reform children in foster care, through adoption and
agenda, many of the ideas that have been pre- foster placements, pre- and post-placement
sentedwouldbeimprovementsupontheexist- counseling, and other services. Increased flexi-
ingpolicy.Weshouldnotlettheperfectbethe bilityinfederalfostercarefundingwouldloose
enemy of the good. NCFA urges all leaders the“laboratoriesofdemocracy”onthisstrategic
and stakeholders to take advantage of this rare agenda of parent recruitment and preparation.
moment of consensus and achieve the achiev- States need to be able to spend their foster
care dollars on effective efforts to prevent chil-
drenfromenteringthesysteminthefirstplace
† AtwoodisPresidentandCEOoftheNationalCouncilFor
Adoption. andtorehabilitatefamiliessotheycanbereuni-
Federal Foster Care Financing Reform 317
incomestandards,tocoverallchildren;extend-
ing foster care and adoption assistance pay-
mentstotribesandterritories;andguaranteeing
increasing foster care funding. If all that Con-
gressaccomplishedwastoenactthesepolicies,
Congress will have achieved a great deal.
Theissueofwhetherfostercaremaintenance
payments should be capped is important. But
considering that both sides support, at a mini-
mum, guaranteed rising foster care spending
and access to contingency funds, it is difficult
toseehowtheoutcomeofthatdebate,whatever
it is, should cause a reformer to oppose the
final legislative product. NCFA will have more
fied. But please consider one cautionary note: to say about these and other related issues in
Whilemovinginthisdirection,letusnotforget a later publication.
one of the main reasons Congress enacted the Mr.ChairmanandMembersoftheSubcom-
AdoptionandSafeFamiliesActin1997.Atthat mittee, if ever there was a good use of federal
time,many childrenwerelanguishing infoster taxpayer dollars, it is to provide for right and
care because the child welfare system’s efforts timely placements of children in foster care.
to preserve the family sometimes went beyond America’s foster children are in public care for
any reasonable expectation that it was in the theirprotection,throughnofaultoftheirown.
child’s interest to do so. We should be careful The National Council For Adoption applauds
to avoid recurrences of that problem. your efforts to ensure that federal foster care
Atthepolicylevel,thereiswidespreadcon- funding is adequate, and appropriately di-
sensus on: allowing states to reinvest unspent rected, in order to ensure the safety, perma-
fostercarefundsinotherchildwelfareservices; nence, and well-being of America’s deserving
expanding and improving child welfare waiver fosterchildren.NCFAstandsreadytoassistyou
optionsforstates;de-linkingfederalfostercare in this worthy cause, in any way possible.
and adoption assistance payments from AFDC
318 Adoption Factbook IV