Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee
Department
of Children and Families
Appendix B
Appendix
B
Summary
of Federal Mandates Related to Children's Services
Adoption
Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980
·
Provides
a nationally uniform response to issues raised by children at risk of needing
out-of-home care.
·
Provides
federal assistance for services enabling children to remain with birth families.
·
Assures
children placed out-of-home eventually return to safe birth homes or are placed
in a timely manner with adoptive families.
Adoption
and Safe Families Act of 1997
·
Reaffirms
safety of children and making reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify
families.
·
Clarifies
instances in which states are not required to make efforts to keep children with
their parents.
·
Sets
forth provisions establishing time limits for making permanency planning
decisions and promotes adoption of children who cannot return safely to their
homes.
·
Authorizes
financial incentives to states to increase the number of children who are
adopted.
·
Prohibits
delay or denial of adoptive placements across state or county jurisdictions.
·
Ensures
that adopted children with special needs have health insurance coverage.
Child
Abuse Prevention & Treatment Act
·
Provides
funds to support: research on the causes, prevention, and treatment of child
abuse and neglect; demonstration programs to identify the best means of
preventing maltreatment and treating troubled families; and development and
implementation of training programs.
·
Grants
for these projects are provided nationwide on a competitive basis to state and
local agencies and organizations.
Child
and Family Service Plan: Title IV-E
·
Requires
states develop a five-year comprehensive Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP),
annually update the plan, and submit a final report on the progress made toward
implementing the plan to be eligible for Title IV-E funds.
Child
and Family Services Program: Title IV-B
·
Objective
is to provide for supportive services to prevent out-of-home placement.
·
Authorizes
federal government to pay 75 percent and state 25 percent of the cost for
services to protect the welfare of children.
·
No
federal income eligibility requirements for this program.
Child
Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998
·
Mandates
state implementation a statewide automated child support system.
·
Creates
a new federal incentive system to reward states with effective child support
enforcement programs.
Community
Mental Health Services Performance Partnership Block Grant
·
Mandated
by Part B of Title XIX of the Public Health Service Act, Center for Mental
Health Services, Mental Health Performance Partnership administers state grant
program, formerly known as the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant.
·
Grants
awarded to the states to provide community-based mental health services to
people with mental disorders and to develop a State Mental Health Plan for
improving community-based services and reducing reliance on hospitalization.
Independent
Living Assurances Act
·
Mandates
Title IV-E foster care for youth 16 and older to assist transition to
independent living.
Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
·
Requires
adjudicated juvenile delinquents be placed in the “least restrictive”
setting in reasonable proximity to the family and the home community and are not
detained or confined in any adult institution.
·
Mandates
juveniles treated equitably on the basis of gender, race, family income, and
mentally, emotionally, or physically “handicapping conditions”.
Title
IV-E Adoption Assistance
·
Objective
is to facilitate the placement of hard to place children in permanent adoptive
homes and prevent long, inappropriate stays in foster care.
·
Provides
funds to states to assist in paying maintenance costs for adopted children with
special needs who are AFDC or SSI eligibl and for administrative and training
costs of the program.
Title
IV-E Foster Care
·
Objective
is to help states provide proper care for children in out-of-home placement in a
foster family home or an institution.
·
Provides
funds to states to assist with: the costs of foster care for eligible children;
administrative costs to manage the foster care program; and training for state
and private provider staff and foster parents.
Title
IV-E: Promoting Safe and Stable
Families
·
Objective
is to prevent the risk of abuse and promote nurturing families, assist families
at-risk of having a child placed out-of-home, and assisting children return to
their birth homes or permanently placed.
·
Provides
funds to states to provide family support, family preservation, time-limited
family reunification services, and services to promote and support adoptions.