Mission-based Advocacy Toolkit from Alliance for Children & Families

Appendix I
based on the latest high-profile case or audit. Instead, a portion of federal and
state funding should be dedicated to internal quality improvement within child
welfare organizations.
• In order for a child welfare system to be successful, we must interact on a daily
basis through both policy and funding with multiple federal agencies and funding
streams as they play out at the local level. Both the federal government and state
governments need to clearly identify these agencies and funding streams and
assure that we are working together to adopt and achieve a common set of child
and family-centered outcomes and values that will guide them in their daily work
and accountabilities. For instance, it is time that Medicaid and the child welfare
system work together in a concerted way to assure that the unique physical and
behavioral health needs of children in the child welfare system are being met.
• The deteriorating state of the child welfare workforce can no longer be ignored,
and in fact is at a crisis point needing both federal an state response. Adequate
education and training, continued competence, quality of supervision, pay and
benefits of critical front-line staff must be addressed. The Alliance supports
legislation such as Representative Cardin’s bill (H.R. 1534) that works to reduce
the many substantial barriers to maintaining a qualified and effective human
services workforce.
• It is time that we address the clear connection between poverty and family
violence. Safety, permanency, and wellbeing of children must include a family’s
ability to assure the needs of a child can be met and work with these families to
improve their economic security. Since we now know clearly that there is a
correlation between the stresses of poverty and the neglect and abuse of children,
these families simply are at a higher risk.
• The outcomes of the IV-E Demonstration Projects and Waivers should guide the
way for child welfare reform. Before significant reform policies can be crafted, an
analysis of those states using flexible funds with current IV-E dollars should be
conducted. The challenges and lessons learned from these states can be used
effectively to revamp the current child welfare system to better serve children,
families and communities. In the future, once a demonstration program has proven
success through outcomes and cost neutrality, all states should be able to
implement the program without a waiver.
Alliance Key Concerns Regarding the Administration’s Flexible Funding Proposal
The Administration has attempted to respond to the needs of the child welfare system
with a proposal that would dismantle the current entitlement system and restructure the
Title IV-E foster care program. While legislation has not yet been introduced, many
aspects of the Administration’s proposal have been revealed through congressional
testimony and public conversations with Administration officials.
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© January 2006 The Alliance for Children and Families