The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) quietly passed and was signed into law under the auspices of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (H.R. 1892), Division E, Title VII, on Feb. 9, 2018 and restructures the federal financing available for child welfare. Most importantly, the new law:
- Limits the length of stay for children and youth in congregate care settings.
- Loosens restrictions (starting in FY 2020) on Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to pay for services (include mental health and substance abuse treatment and in-home, skill-based parenting services) that may allow children to stay with their families rather than enter foster care.
Since 1980, Title IV-E could be used by child welfare agencies for services and supports only after a child was removed from the home (unless a state had a Title IV-E waiver, allowing more flexible use of the funds). The new legislation makes available earlier in the process federal money that agencies formerly had to wait to spend on foster care. Approximately one-quarter of child welfare agency spending is funded by Title IV-E and the easing of restrictions makes available some of this money for preventive services.
The legislation also directs federal reimbursements to support placements in families and shortens dramatically the amount of time that children can live in congregate care facilities. When foster care is deemed necessary, FFPSA allows federal reimbursement for family-based settings and certain residential treatment programs for children with emotional and behavioral disturbances that require special treatment. The services may be provided for a year to children who are at imminent risk of entering foster care, their parents and relatives to assist the children, and pregnant or parenting teens. Federal funding is limited to children in family foster homes, qualified residential treatment programs, and special treatment settings for pregnant or parenting teens, youth 18 and over preparing to transition from foster care to adulthood, and youth who have been found to be–or are at risk of becoming–victims of sex trafficking.
In addition to the limits on congregate care and the easing of restrictions that will allow more preventative services, other key provisions of the new law include:
- Cuts to adoption assistance.
- Extends incentives for adoption and guardianship.
- Lifts time limits on funding services towards reunification if a child is placed in foster care.
- Adds a 50 percent match on any funds spent by a state for a kinship navigator program that has earned the promising/supported/well-supported status.
- Requires states to participate in a new electronic interstate case-processing system by the year 2027.
- Requires states to certify–or waive for relatives–HHS model licensing standards for foster family homes, expected in October 2018.
- Adds the “support and retention” of foster families as a newly defined service (including money to recruit and retain foster parents).
- Requires states to implement a plan to prevent deaths due to maltreatment and compile complete and accurate information on maltreatment-related deaths.
- Raises eligibility threshold for foster care until age 23.
- Provides additional money for states and raises age limit to 26 for youth aging out of care for college expenses.
We will continue to keep you informed as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau, releases guidance to states on how to implement this new law.
In addition to the passage of the Families First Act, Congress has reauthorized Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) under the guise of theAdvancing Chronic Care, Extenders, and Social Services (ACCESS) Act, enacted Feb. 9, 2018, as Division E of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA 2018; P.L. 115-123). The ACCESS Act is a large legislative package that was enacted to address a number of issues before Congress, including the need for an extension of temporary appropriations set to expire on Feb. 8, 2018.
Impact of the Budget Bill on the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
CHIP is a joint federal-state program that provides health coverage to low-income, uninsured children with family incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid. In fiscal year (FY) 2016, CHIP covered 8.9 million children (MACPAC 2017a). Fiscal year 2016 CHIP spending totaled $15.6 billion, 92.5 percent paid by the federal government and 7.5 percent by the states and territories (MACPAC 2017b). Under ACCESS, CHIP funding has been extended through FY 2027.
More information on CHIP, and a state by state breakdown of the program, is available onlineopens in new window.
Impact of the Budget Bill on MIECHV Program
Section 50601 of the ACCESS Act provides for mandatory funding of $400 million for the MIECHV program for each of FY2017 through FY2022. Additionally, the ACCESS Act adds new language to enable an eligible entity to use up to 25 percent of its MIECHV grants for a pay-for-outcomes initiative that satisfies the requirements for providing evidence-based home visiting services. Funding for pay-for-outcomes initiatives may be expended by the eligible entity for up to 10 years after the funds are made available. (H. R. 1892—109; SEC. 50605; Page 166-67opens in new window).
The passage of these new laws provides a huge victory for society’s most vulnerable children and families. We encourage you to reach out to your members in the House and Senate to thank them for their support and passage of these critical pieces of legislation. Don’t know who your elected officials are? Please find them onlineopens in new window.
In addition to the measures above, there are several other bills that have seen committee action/been introduced in the 115th Congress that we believe are important to members of Div. 37, Section on Child Maltreatment.
H.Res 443/S.Res. 346 Recognizing the Importance and Effectiveness of Trauma Informed Care (Gallagher-R-WI-8/Johnson-R-WI)
These bills recognize the importance, effectiveness and need for trauma-informed care among existing federal programs and agencies. Trauma-informed care takes into account a patient's history of trauma in the design of the patient's treatment plan, encourages the application of trauma-informed care within federal government agencies, and expresses support for the designation of National Trauma Awareness Month and National Trauma-Informed Awareness Day.
These resolutions have passed both the House and Senate and are now on the desk of the president awaiting signature. Although these bills do a great job raising awareness for the development and implementation of trauma informed treatments, they do not provide federal resources to support these developments at the state level. We would like you to reach out to your elected officials and encourage them to support HR 1757, the Trauma Informed Care for Children and Families Act, as a means to ensure the spirit of these resolutions can be fully realized. Don’t know who your elected officials are? Please find them online.
HR 4547 The Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2017 (Johnson (R-TX-3)
HR 4547 includes two bipartisan child welfare provisions:
Section 103: Protecting Beneficiaries through Information Sharing
The Social Security Administration (SSA) would be required to enter into monthly data exchanges with state foster care programs to identify when a child receiving Social Security benefits has entered or exited foster care or changed foster care placement. The SSA also would be required to re-determine the appropriate representative payee when a change in placement occurs. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) would be required to produce a report on SSA beneficiaries who are minors and in foster care and their representative payees.
Section 104: Clarifying Overpayment Liability for Children in Child Welfare System
When a Social Security beneficiary or a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient is overpaid while in foster care, and the state foster care agency is the payee, the beneficiary or recipient would not be liable for the overpayment. Instead, the state foster care agency would be required to repay the SSA for the overpayment it received. This provision would apply to overpayments made on or after the date of enactment, as well as any overpayments that have not been recovered as of the date of enactment.
HR 4547 has passed the House and has now been referred to Senate Committee on Finance for consideration.
HR 3105/S. 1091 - Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act (McGovern (D-MA-2/Collins, R-ME)
S. 1091 establishes a task force to support grandparents who are primary caregivers for their grandchildren. The task force assigned shall identify, promote, coordinate and disseminate information publicly about federal information, resources and best practices available--on the date of the determination--to help grandparents or other relatives raising children in their care meet the health, educational, nutritional and other needs of the children in their care as well as maintain their own physical and mental health and emotional well-being, including those raising children in their care as a result of the opioid epidemic. This bill’s assigned task force also seeks to ensure that the needs of members of Native American tribes are addressed.
Within 180 days of enactment, the bill’s task force shall submit a report to the Special Committee on Aging and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate that includes best practices, resources, and other useful information for grandparents and other relatives raising children in their care; and an identification of the gaps in needs of grandparents and other relatives raising children in their care.
This bill also stipulates a follow-up report from the Task Force to the Special Committee on Aging and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate within two years of the enactment of this bill. The task force shall establish a process for public input to inform the development of, and updates to, the best practices, resources, and other useful information and the gaps in needs, including a process for the public to submit recommendations to the task force and an opportunity for public comment. The task force will terminate after five years.
Status: Introduced concurrently in the House and Senate; referred to the House Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Health and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).
We encourage you to reach out to your members in the House and Senate to voice support for passage of these important bills. Don’t know who your elected officials are? Please find them onlineopens in new window.