Child welfare agencies seek to ensure the well-being of children and their families, including protecting children from abuse or neglect and ensuring that they have a safe and permanent home. Federal-State Framework for Child Welfare Policy

As the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted, states have the primary obligation to ensure child welfare. In FY2008, Congress appropriated just under $7.9 billion for child welfare purposes. This represents a modest decline from the estimated 511,000 children in care on the last day of FY2005, but is well below the recorded high of 567,000 children in care on the last day of FY1999 (when there were about 8.0 children in foster care per 1,000 in the population). These services and activities may take a variety of forms and include the following:
efforts to educate the public about child abuse or neglect and how to report suspected maltreatment; efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect and improve child and family well-being generally (such as provision of community-based family support services like parenting education classes); procedures to identify children who have been abused or neglected (such as operating a hotline to receive and screen referrals and investigating abuse or neglect allegations); procedures and services to protect children from unsafe home situations by providing services to prevent the need for their removal (such as parenting education, respite care, counseling, or mental health, substance abuse or other treatment services); or, when necessary, finding a temporary foster home for children and supporting their stay in foster care; services and activities to enable children removed to foster care to be returned to their families (e.g. Legislation that would respond to a number of the concerns raised in the child welfare hearings held during 2007, including proposals to change the federal child welfare financing structure, has been introduced in the 110 th Congress. Other legislative proposals would authorize or require new services and protections for children in (or about to enter) foster care; seek to improve services for youth who are aging out of care (including those who have already exited due to age); encourage greater access to a range of services for kinship caregivers and further encourage their involvement as decision-makers and use as caregivers for children who cannot remain safely with their parents; aim to improve foster and adoptive parent recruitment efforts of state child welfare agencies; permit direct access to federal Title IV-E funds for tribal governments; and make other related changes intended to enhance the safety, permanence, and well-being of children. Proposals to Expand Title IV-E Eligible Populations

A number of bills would expand the population of children who are eligible for federal assistance under Title IV-E of the Social Security by de-linking the program (or parts of it) from the eligibility rules of the former federal cash welfare program (repealed in 1996 by P.L. 5466 , H.R. S. 1462 and H.R. 2188 , H.R. 5466 , S. 3038 and H.R. 2188 , H.R. 2188 , H.R. 5466 , and H.R. S. 661 , S. 3038 , and H.R. 3409 ), would each permit youth who remain in foster care until their 21 st birthday to remain eligible for federal foster care support. S. 1512 and H.R. Funding for Services to Children and Families

A common criticism of federal child welfare financing is that most federal support is for children after they have been removed from their homes (i.e., funds provided for foster care or adoption assistance) and that relatively little federal funding is provided to encourage states to provide services that would prevent placement of a child in foster care or to help children who are placed in foster care be successfully reunited with their parents. 5466 , H.R. 5466 and H.R. 4208 , S. 2560 , and H.R. 4208 , S. 2560 , and H.R. Funding Authorization and Youth Served

H.R. Additionally, H.R. H.R. S. 382 and H.R. On the last day of FY2006, only about 125,000 children were in formal (court-ordered) foster care and were living with a relative. 5466 , S. 661 , H.R. Licensing Standards

H.R. 2188 , S. 661 , H.R. 4688 and H.R. Plan Requirements

With certain exceptions, S. 1956 , H.R. (However, H.R. Improving the Child Welfare Workforce

H.R. 5466 and H.R. 273 , H.R. 471 , H.R. Increased Adoption Tax Benefits

H.R.
As the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted, states have the primary obligation to ensure child welfare. However, Congress provides significant federal funds to help states exercise this responsibility ($7.9 billion appropriated in FY2008). Most of this support is provided for children who are in foster care and who meet specific federal eligibility criteria. This report discusses the federal framework for child welfare policy; reviews the scope of activities, and children and families served, by state child welfare agencies; summarizes several child welfare-related hearings that were held in 2007; describes child welfare and related legislative proposals that have been introduced in the 110th Congress; and reviews child welfare programs for which funding authorization has expired or is set to expire on the last day of FY2008.
Child welfare agencies seek to ensure the well-being of children and their families, including protecting children from abuse or neglect and ensuring that they have a safe and permanent home. In FY2006 child protection agencies found 905,000 children to be victims of abuse or neglect. Some of these children were removed to foster care, some remained in their homes and received services, while others received no further follow-up from the agency. After reaching a recorded high of 567,000 on the last day of FY1999, the number of children in foster care has declined by about 10%, and on the last day of FY2006, an estimated 510,000 children were in foster care. Less than half of these children are eligible for federal foster care support under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act.
Legislation that would respond to a number of the concerns raised in 2007 child welfare hearings has been introduced in the 110th Congress. These proposals would expand the eligible populations served with Title IV-E funds to include (potentially) all children in foster care or adopted (with special needs) from foster care (H.R. 5466, H.R. 4207, S. 2900, S. 1462, H.R. 4091, and S. 3038), as well as children leaving foster care for legal guardianship with a relative (S. 661, H.R. 2188, H.R. 5466, and S. 3038), and youth who choose to remain in foster care until their 21st birthday (S. 1512, H.R. 4208, S. 2560, and H.R. 5466). Other introduced proposals would authorize additional support for child and family services (H.R. 5466 and S. 2237); authorize or require new services or protections for children in, or about to enter, foster care (H.R. 3283, S. 379, S. 382, H.R. 687, and H.R. 5466); seek to improve services for youth who have, or are expected to, age out of care (S. 2341, H.R. 2188, H.R. 4208/S. 2560, and H.R. 3409); help support or permit access to services for kinship caregivers and further encourage their use as caregivers (S. 661, H.R. 2188, H.R. 5645, and H.R. 5466); provide new support for training or other related efforts to improve the child welfare workforce (H.R. 5466, H.R. 2314 and S. 2944); aim to improve foster and adoptive parent recruitment efforts (S. 2395 and H.R. 4198); permit direct access to federal Title IV-E funds for tribal governments (S. 1956, H.R. 4688, and H.R. 5466); and make other related changes intended to enhance the welfare of children, including requiring states to have licensing standards for certain residential programs for youth with emotional or behavioral issues (H.R. 5876), and expanding or making permanent the current Adoption Tax Credit rules (H.R. 273, H.R. 471, S. 561, H.R. 1074, H.R. 3192, and H.R. 4313). This report will be updated as legislative activity occurs.