To renew the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve demonstration projects designed to test innovative strategies in State child welfare programs.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6156) to renew the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve demonstration projects designed to test innovative strategies in State child welfare programs, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 6156.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us today will help States test innovative approaches for improving outcomes for vulnerable children who come to the attention of our child welfare system.

The bill restores the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to permit up to 10 demonstration projects annually to allow States and tribes to test efforts to improve child welfare policy. The legislation is cost neutral, and it provides the renewed waiver authority for the next 5 years.

To both increase our understanding of waiver policies and to ensure improved accountability, the legislation newly requires States to report the various sources of Federal, State, local, and private funds that are used in providing specific services under a demonstration project.

Finally, the bill adds a new Federal emphasis on supporting child welfare waivers that identify and address problems related to domestic violence that lead to children being placed in foster care and for waivers that provide early intervention and crisis intervention services that safely reduce out-of-home placements.

Past experience has taught us that child welfare waivers can help States improve outcomes for children while also informing child welfare policy at the national level. Twenty-three States received one or more waivers under the previous demonstration authority, which began in fiscal year 1996 and ended in March of 2006. Although the authority has expired, a handful of States continue to have demonstration projects in operation today.

One of the most successful strategies tested through the prior waiver authority was providing assistance to grandparents and other relatives who assume legal custody of children in foster care. Through the use of kinship care and guardianship assistance arrangements, children were able to find safe and loving homes with family members. This strategy proved to be successful in improving the outcomes of foster children, and it became Federal policy when it was incorporated into the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, which was signed into law 2 years ago.

While providing waivers can be a useful tool in improving child welfare policy, we ultimately need more comprehensive changes to fully reform the system:

Waivers cannot correct certain basic flaws within our current method of financing child welfare programs, starting with the fact that increasing numbers of children are not eligible for Federal foster care assistance because of badly outdated eligibility criteria;

We also need systemic reforms which place a much greater emphasis on preventing abuse and neglect from occurring in the first place. I intend to continue to work towards broader reform to address these and other challenges facing programs serving children at risk of maltreatment.

Before I close, I want to quickly note that this bill continues a proud tradition of the Ways and Means Committee and of the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support of reporting out bipartisan legislation to improve our child welfare system.

During the last Congress, I worked with Representative Jerry Weller of Illinois to enact the Fostering Connections Act, which made a series of important changes to Federal policy related to children in foster care. It passed here by unanimous consent.

Today, I am joined by the ranking member of the subcommittee, Representative John Linder, in bringing this legislation to the floor; and I expect that it will also pass by unanimous consent. It has been a great pleasure to work with John.

I know you are retiring, and I am going to have to work with a new subcommittee chairman one way or another, or with a ranking member.

So I am looking forward to continuing this tradition of dealing with the problems of children who need somebody to look out for them, and it should be a bipartisan issue every time.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to enter into the Record letters of support for H.R. 6156 that I received from the National Conference of State Legislatures and from the American Public Human Services Association.

National Conference

of State Legislatures,

Washington, DC, September 21, 2010.

Re Renewing Waiver Authority in State Child Welfare Programs

(H.R. 6156).

Hon. Nancy Pelosi,

Speaker of the House, Cannon HOB, Washington, DC.

Hon. John Boehner,

House Minority Leader, Longworth HOB, Washington, DC.

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner: On behalf

of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), we

urge you to support H.R. 6156, a bill to renew the authority

of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human

Services to approve demonstration projects designed to test

innovative strategies in state child welfare programs.

Congressman McDermott and Congressman Linder have fashioned

bipartisan legislation that helps create opportunities to

enhance the state/federal partnership to assist our nation's

most vulnerable children.

NCSL supports reinstating and expanding federal waiver

authority so that states can test the results of increased

funding flexibility on the development of service

alternatives and on the overall delivery of child welfare

services, targeting programs to address the needs of their

children. By renewing Title VI-E waiver authority from 2011

through 2016, H.R. 6156 will give states an enhanced ability

to provide early intervention and crisis intervention

services that will safely reduce out-of-home placements and

improve child outcomes.

H.R. 6156 will allow states to improve the quality of their

child welfare interventions and reinvest savings in their

programs. It will also provide both state and federal

legislators more information on what innovations are

effective to transform the lives of children who are at risk

of abuse and neglect. We applaud Congressmen McDermott and

Linder for crafting this legislation.

Sincerely,

Representative Mary Jane Wallner,

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Chair, NCSL

Standing Committee on Human Services and Welfare.

Representative Wes Keller,

Alaska House of Representatives, Chair, NCSL Standing

Committee on Human Services and Welfare.

Mr. Chairman, thank you for your kind remarks.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this bill comes to the floor in a fashion too many bills have not in this Congress:

First, we held a subcommittee hearing. Then the legislation was drafted with bipartisan support. Finally, we ensured that it does not increase the deficit by a penny. It is an example of what can happen if we pursue goals that are widely shared and that have been demonstrated to achieve results.

The legislation before us would allow all States to follow the successful child welfare reform model tested in Florida and other places. As we learned in our hearing, those reforms reduced the number of Florida children in foster care by 36 percent. It increased adoptions by 12,000, and it improved child safety, all without spending more taxpayer money.

I would like to insert into the Record a letter of support for this legislation from Youth Villages, which has worked with local officials to achieve such successes in Florida.

Since 1994, 22 States have joined Florida in using child welfare waivers. This legislation extends the authority for all States to do so for 5 years. This will allow other States to test and replicate policies that are working. It is my hope that this one day will pave the way for successful Federal reforms covering all States.

While it appears to be good policy to allow States to waive Federal rules, perhaps future Congresses will find it equally propitious to abolish them. Meanwhile, let's move this bill forward and continue our efforts to improve the lives of all children.

Youth Villages,

Arlington, VA, September 20, 2010.

Chairman Jim McDermott,

Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family

Support, Washington, DC.

Ranking Member John Linder,

Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family

Support, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman McDermott and Ranking Member Linder. On

behalf of Youth Villages, I am writing in support of your

bill, H.R. 6156. This legislation provides critical authority

for the Department of Health and Human Services to extend the

Title IV-E waiver program, which has demonstrated substantial

impact since creation in 1994. These waivers provide states

with greater flexibility in the use of Federal funds for

alternative services and supports that promote safety,

permanency and well-being for children in the child

protection and foster care system.

Youth Villages is a leader in innovative and effective

services for troubled youth and their families. Since 2008,

Youth Villages has had the opportunity to work

collaboratively with several local, privatized child welfare

organizations, known as Community Based Care agencies in

implementing Florida's Title IV-E waiver. Youth Villages has

three offices in Florida and is working with local entities

to implement our intensive in-home Intercept services,

identify and serve underserved or `stuck' populations, and

provide them with outcome data to support the impact of their

waiver effort.

As a result of the flexibility afforded by the Title IV-E

waiver, intensive reunification and targeted prevention

services are given greater focus in the state's child welfare

service approach. Without the award of the waiver, it would

have been difficult for Youth Villages to expand its

Intercept program into the state to serve the child welfare

population. In the two years that Youth Villages has been

operating in Florida, we have served over 225 children and

families across the Central and Southern regions of the

state. Over 77% at six months post-discharge are still living

at home or in a home-like environment. The savings associated

with serving these 225 children through Intercept instead of

congregate, out-of-home placements amounts to roughly $19

million dollars when considering recidivism rates associated

with both Intercept and non-Intercept placements.

Youth Villages pledges its full support of H.R. 6156, as

this legislation has the ability to transform the child

welfare system from one that incentivizes out-of-home

placement to a system that promotes in-home treatment and

family unification.

Regards,

Patrick Lawler,

CEO, Youth Villages.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to offer my strong support for H.R. 6156, the Renewing Authority for State Child Welfare Demonstration Programs. This bill would permit the Secretary of Health and Human Services to allow up to 10 demonstration projects a year to test innovative approaches to improving the child welfare system.

I am an ardent supporter of the waiver program. My home State of Illinois has been a leader in developing and demonstrating the effectiveness of pioneering child welfare reforms using these waivers. Most notably, Illinois's subsidized guardian waiver was critical to documenting the success of this permanency option in preserving families, improving child well-being, and reducing the number of children in care. I am proud that the Illinois waiver helped lay the ground work for the statutory change in 2008 via The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act that allowed states to use Federal funds to support family caregivers raising relatives who were in the foster care system.

More recently, Illinois has received a waiver to provide innovative services for caregivers with substance use disorders. Illinois's demonstration project showed positive outcomes children and families as well as substantial cost savings--approximately $6.6 million over the lifetime of the waiver. Further, the research related to the program reveals important information for improving these programs, especially related to the complexity of problems faced by families experiencing substance abuse and the types of interventions needed to improve reunification and reduce out-of-home placements.

Although waivers are helpful in strengthening our child welfare policy, policymakers must work to implement comprehensive changes to the child welfare system--especially with regard to financing and emphasizing prevention. I am glad that this legislation includes some improvements to the waiver program, including increased reporting on the nature of funding used for a demonstration project and prioritizing early intervention and crisis intervention to safely reduce the number of children removed from their homes. I promise to continue to work actively with my colleagues to push for comprehensive reform for the child welfare system so that we can improve the well-being of children and families.