CHILD PROTECTION

Under a federal law known as the Fostering Connections Act, Texas recently began providing financial assistance to relatives when they became legal guardians of children who have been abused or neglected, cannot return home, or be adopted. This paper will explore whether these payments have increased overall permanent placements with relatives or have only led relatives to shift from adoption to legal guardianship, thereby increasing permanency through legal guardianships, but potentially decreasing adoptions. Early evidence suggests that while there have been increases in both overall permanency and relative guardianship, the proportion of children being adopted by a relative has declined.

On Wednesday, March 21, Senior Policy Analyst Jane Burstain, Ph.D., gave invited testimony at the Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee hearing on interim charges affecting Child Protective Services (CPS). Her testimony provided recommendations for reducing caseworker turnover, anticipating increased incidents of child abuse and neglect in 2012, and battling the affects of budget cuts for almost every type of CPS service.

We want our child protective services (CPS) system to keep children safe at home whenever possibleâ€"it’s better for the child and cheaper for the state and federal government. The reality, however, is that Texas (and every other state) spends most of its CPS budget on foster care and adoption. This report discusses why this disconnect exists and recommends ways to better align what we want with what we buy

Senior Policy Analyst Jane Burstain, Ph.D., on the recently released federal Child Maltreatment report. The report showed a decline in the rate of kids being identified as abuse and neglect victims in 2010 as compared to rates in 2008. Some are claiming this means that there are fewer kids being abused and neglected.

“A more likely explanation for falling rates of identified maltreatment is that budget cuts are forcing state agencies to selectively spend their limited resources on fewer cases. And, in fact, the Child Maltreatment report shows state child welfare agencies are investigating fewer abuse and neglect reports and, when they do investigate, are less likely to identify kids as a victim. So it probably isn’t that there’s less child abuse and neglect; it is more likely that with budget cuts, state agencies can do less to identify and address it."

The 2011 Legislature lost the momentum of reform efforts from previous legislative sessions due primarily to a brutal budget session. And an anticipated deficit in the 2013 Legislature will affect work in the interim. CPPP has produced a series of policy pages that look back at the 2011 session while looking forward to 2013.

Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) Senior Policy Analyst Jane Burstain released the following statement today regarding the Federal Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act:

CPPP applauds and supports the bipartisan Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act introduced on Monday by the Chairman and Ranking Member of the U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources, Geoff Davis and Lloyd Doggett. The bill provides needed support to help states better address child abuse and neglect and CPPP urges the U.S. House to pass the bill as quickly as possible.

Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Tom Suehs asked Howard Baldwin to serve as interim commissioner for the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), succeeding retiring Commissioner Anne Heiligenstein. Executive Director F. Scott McCown made the following comments.

In a brutal budget session, child protective services (CPS) fared better than most state services for 2012-13. The proposed rate cuts for foster care and adoption payments were not implemented and some caseload growth for these programs was funded. At this funding level, CPS hopes to move forward with its proposal to redesign foster care to help children move to permanency faster. With the budget, CPS can actually start hiring new staff to work with children and families at the start of state fiscal year 2012. Finally, funding for families services was maintained at 2010-11 levels.

But the overall budget for CPS is 10 percent less than what CPS estimated it needed for the biennium to help families affected by child abuse and neglect. Caseload growth for family services was not funded and statewide intake staff, adoption services, and child abuse and neglect prevention programs were cut. The specifics are discussed below.

In 2008, the federal government enacted the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act which was the first major revision to child welfare laws in a decade. One of the goals of the federal law is to encourage the use of relative caregivers, who are often the best resource for children who cannot return home, and through whom children are able to maintain ties to their family, community, culture, and religion.

But Texas’ demanding licensing process can make it difficult for relatives to become foster parents. This special report explores how to adapt Texas’ licensing process to accommodate relatives who care for kids, while holding child safety as a top priority.

There is a conflict between the outcomes the federal government says it wants and the outcomes it actually spends its money supporting. Ultimately, that conflict needs to be addressed through further federal child welfare financing reform. But until that happens, the federal government should create a new Title IV-E waiver program so states can pilot ways to use dedicated child welfare federal funds to achieve the outcomes the federal government wants.

Jane Burstain provided testimony to the Senate Finance Committee on the importance of the Title IV-E waiver program as a tool for states to more efficiently and effectively use child welfare funds.

Preserving families and protecting children from abuse and neglect is the very essence of an essential state function and the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has been getting the job done. Despite a growing volume of cases, DFPS has improved investigations, kept more children safe in their homes or with relatives, and increased the number of adoptions for children who could not return home. The cuts to the DFPS budget in SB 1, however, threaten all this progress and will force DFPS back to the days when removals were high, caseloads were unmanageable and children were sleeping in DFPS offices.

In the budget bills for CPS, funding for family-based protective services falls short by 30 percent, or about $51 million. But shorting family-based protective services will not save the state money. It will simply force CPS to send maltreated children who could have stayed safe in their own homes or with relatives into the more expensive alternative of foster care.

Even in cases of abuse and neglect, the primary job of Child Protective Services (CPS), is to preserve families. With the resources the Legislature has provided to CPS in recent years, removals have dramatically declined so that now, in about eight of every 10 new cases opened for services, CPS avoids a removal and keeps the family intact.

The proposed state budget bill filed on Tuesday [House Bill (HB) 1] endangers all the progress CPS has made and threatens to push CPS back to the days when removals were high, children were sleeping in CPS offices and caseworkers were overwhelmed.

The goal of a child welfare system is to ensure that children are protected from abuse and neglect, preferably by helping families safely care for children in their own homes. When that’s not possible, the system looks for other alternatives, so that all children grow up in a loving, permanent home. Many different individuals and groups help make this happen in Texas.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is the state agency charged with protecting children from abuse and neglect. DFPS fulfills this mandate through its Child Protective Services (CPS) Division. Courts also play a critical role. If the abuse or neglect is serious enough to warrant removing children from their home, courts become the ultimate arbiter of what happens to them. The federal government and Texas Governor and Legislature are involved as well, creating laws that govern how CPS operates and establishing policy priorities for the system through what is funded in the CPS budget. Finally, advocates, organizations that work with children and families and the families themselves play a crucial role in ensuring that the system works in supporting families and communities to keep children safe and protected.

In recent years, there have been significant efforts to improve the CPS system in Texas. CPPP has participated in many of these efforts and this guide is a continuation of our work. Chapter 1 discusses how Texas fits into a national context and recent state reform efforts. Chapter 2 describes how the system is structured based on a review of federal and state law, the Texas administrative code and CPS internal policy. It also uses data to describe how children and families are actually moving through the system.

This guide is primarily designed as a resource for researchers, advocates, policymakers, and those who work in and with the CPS system. This overview should make it easier to identify problem areas and policy gaps so the system can better support families and their communities in providing safe and permanent homes for all the children of Texas.

The best way to reduce the number of children in foster care is to prevent child abuse and neglect from occurring in the first place. But this is easier said than done, especially in Texas where funding prevention has not been a priority. Even in this difficult economic environment, however, the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) can maximize the effect of the limited resources it has.

How to best regulate immigration and treat immigrantsâ€"both those lawfully and unlawfully hereâ€"are hotly debated questions. To promote responsible action, the center recently proposed a common-sense set of principles to secure our borders and reform our immigration system.1 Now we turn our attention to a much smaller issue, perhaps one on which consensus may be more readily reached: How should the United States deal with undocumented children who are here through no fault of their own and have suffered abuse or neglect? Using Texas as a case study, this paper looks at who these children are and discusses why a blanket policy to send them home will not work. It also discusses how to improve the process through which these children can obtain legal residency. Finally, this paper explains how federal immigration and child welfare law should be aligned to ensure our country acts responsibly and that the federal government provides the necessary financial support to the states to care for this vulnerable population.

When a child cannot remain safely at home, one option to prevent removal into foster care is for the parents to identify another home in which they agree the child can stay, which is referred to as a parental child safety placement. This type of placement can occur during the investigation stage, during the time the family is receiving family based safety services (FBSS), or both. Although the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has some policies regarding such placements, there are several areas that need greater detail to ensure that these placements are appropriate, that everyone understands their rights and responsibilities, and that the placements last no longer than necessary.

The new permanency care assistance program, which pays relatives who take permanent custody of a child in state care, is well intended. But due to federal and practical constraints, implementation may not go as planned. That is why the 2017 sunset provision is important. It allows sufficient time for the program to get up and running but provides an important “out” if the program does not achieve its intended goals.

CPPP senior policy analyst Jane Burstain delivered this testimony on the permanency care assistance program to the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services.

More than one of every five Texas children, or nearly 1.5 million kids, lived in poverty during 2008â€"and when data from 2009 are compiled, that number is likely to increase to one of every four kids, according to a new analysis released Wednesday by First Focus and Brookings researcher Julia Isaacs. The increase in poor children is placing an even heavier burden on an already strained network of private charities and state agencies already reeling from the triple punch of inadequate funding, staffing shortages, and a broken eligibility system that withholds critical assistance to needy families.

Recently, a spotlight has been focused on deaths from child abuse and neglect in Texas. Texas does have a higher death rate per capita compared to other states. The exact reasons for the higher rate are difficult to determine but seem to be related to two factors. First, other states may be undercounting their child abuse and neglect deaths. Second, Texas probably has a larger number of child abuse and neglect deaths per capita related to the difficult circumstances families face in Texas, specifically high child poverty, a high teen birth rate, and low child abuse and neglect prevention.

CPPP Senior Policy Analyst Jane Burstain recently offered testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means regarding the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act.

The investments the 79th and 80th Legislatures made in the child protective services (CPS) system are paying off. More children are safely staying in their homes or with relatives and, when that is not possible, more are being adopted. As a result, fewer children are in foster care. The 81st Legislature built on these successes, making additional investments in CPS and passing legislation to further reduce the number of children entering the state’s care and improve outcomes for those children who do. This policy page discusses the details of that legislation and what needs to be done next.

In July 2008, the United States Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit published a decision in the case of Gates v. the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). The Fifth Circuit set guidelines under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution for state caseworkers to follow in making investigation and removal decisions in child protection cases. This policy page discusses what Gates means for caseworkers in the field, explores its impact on Child Protective Services (CPS), and makes recommendations about what the state and CPS need to do next.

Research shows that abused and neglected children are much more likely than their peers to misinterpret neutral situations as threatening, have poor impulse control, and engage in aggressive behavior with adults and other children. These behaviors present public schools with difficult challenges. Continuing our effort to explore school outcomes for students in foster care, in this paper we compare students in foster care to the general student population and explore differences in how they fare in the school discipline system.

The House budget funds 85 percent of what Child Protective Services (CPS) needs to keep children safe in their families or with relatives, or, when that is not possible, to successfully transition out of care. In contrast, the Senate budget funds only 15 percent. In conference, the Senate needs to move towards the House budget or it will risk more failed family and relative placements, forcing more children into the more expensive alternative of foster care and risking poorer outcomes for Texas’ most vulnerable children.

"We appreciate Representative Dukes for authoring this important legislation to provide better financial support to older children in the long-term care of the state and relative caregivers. Last year, Congress passed and President Bush signed the Fostering Connections to Success Act. The act provides new federal matching funds to support extended assistance payments to older children who are adopted, extended foster care payments for older children in the long-term care of the state who are pursuing an education or a job and payments to support relatives who take permanent custody under certain circumstances. (Under the federal law, permanent custody is referred to as guardianship and under Texas law as conservatorship.) House Bill 2860 creates programs that will take advantage of these new federal funds while the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has requested the state general revenue required to fund the state share of the costs."

"We appreciate Senator West for authoring this important legislation to provide better financial support to older children in the long-term care of the state and relative caregivers. Last year, Congress passed and President Bush signed the Fostering Connections to Success Act. The act provides new federal matching funds to support extended assistance payments to older children who are adopted, extended foster care payments for older children in the long-term care of the state who are pursuing an education or a job and payments to support relatives who take permanent custody under certain circumstances. (Under the federal law, permanent custody is referred to as guardianship and under Texas law as conservatorship.) Senate Bill 1411 creates programs that will take advantage of these new federal funds while the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has requested the state general revenue required to fund the state share of the costs.

CPPP testified on HB 2040, which would provide subsidized kinship care for abused and neglected children. While we support kinship care, we recommended that the Legislature study the issue over the upcoming interim.

The 79th and 80th Legislatures made significant financial investments in Child Protective Services (CPS). CPS used those resources to improve investigations, to keep more children safe in their homes or with relatives, and to increase the number of adoptions for children who could not return to their parents’ care. But challenges remain. To meet these challenges and maintain the momentum of success, the 81st Legislature must continue to invest in CPS.

The 79th and 80th legislatures made significant financial investments in Child Protective Services (CPS). CPS has used those resources to improve investigations, keep more children safe in their homes or with relatives, and to increase the number of adoptions for children who could not return to their parents’ care. It is important that the 81st legislature maintain this momentum of success and continue to invest in CPS so that recent gains are not lost and future challenges can be met.

The 79th and 80th legislatures made significant financial investments in Child Protective Services (CPS). CPS has used those resources to improve investigations, keep more children safe in their homes or with relatives, and to increase the number of adoptions for children who could not return to their parents’ care. It is important that the 81st legislature maintain this momentum of success and continue to invest in CPS so that recent gains are not lost and future challenges can be met.

As every parent knows, children need stability and consistency. For children involved in the child welfare system, who often come from and continue to live in chaotic circumstances, a caseworker may be their only continuous and stable relationship. High caseworker turnover, however, disrupts continuity and stability. To address this problem, this policy paper analyzes turnover data on Texas’ child protective services (CPS) caseworkers and makes recommendations about how turnover can be reduced.

Senate Bill 6 in 2005 directed HHSC to create a new health care delivery model to provide foster children with comprehensive services, a “medical home,” and coordinated access to care. HHSC worked with the DFPS to develop STAR Health, a new Medicaid managed-care model for foster children, which was implemented on April 1, 2008. This report explores the initial implementation of the program and STAR Health’s potential to improve health outcomes for foster children.

On October 7, 2008, the President signed the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (H.R. 6893). The act overhauls the federal child welfare structure for the first time since the Adoptions and Safe Families Act in 1997. The law contains new requirements, changes federal financing for adoptions, and provides additional financial assistance for various optional programs. For Texas, none of the changes require new legislation, though the state must appropriate additional funding to fully benefit from the provisions of the new act. This policy paper discusses provisions of the federal legislation and the potential for helping Texas children.

Protecting children and strengthening families is difficult, complicated work. Doing it well requires successfully engaging the entire communityâ€"both the public and private sectors. In this report, we explore the issues raised by how a state draws the line between public and private responsibility, and we make specific policy recommendations. The report compares Texas to the two states that have most completely privatized, Kansas and Florida.