Legislatures in 46 states and 6 territories are meeting in 2012 and while high on every state’s agenda is the Affordable Care Act (ACA), state legislatures are dealing with a variety of child welfare issues – including privatization, mandatory child abuse reporting, workforce development, and child deaths. The child welfare topic that is getting the most attention is mandatory child abuse reporting. Currently, there are 63 bills in 25 states that have been introduced during the 2012 legislative session. The bills introduced throughout the state legislatures are strongly reacting to lack of reporting of sexual abuse by a football coach at Pennsylvania State University. Many of the bills speak directly to including mandatory reporters who are employees and staff members of higher education programs, specifically coaches, athletic directors, graduate assistants, college administrators, and college presidents. [More]
On January 10, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released a notice in the Federal Register (77 FR 1494) requesting comments on the Child Care and Development Fund's (CCDF) improper payment reports. The purpose of the request is to announce ACF's proposal to collect information on states' compliance with the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) and the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010. Section 2 of the IPIA of 2002 requires states to prepare and submit a report of errors connected with the administration of CCDF grant funds once every three years. The Office of Child Care (OCC) is completing the second three-year cycle of case record reviews. [More]
January 5, 2012: ACF provided dates and information for tribal consultation meetings regarding how the current Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) regulations affect tribes administering a Title IV-E program. With the capacity for tribes to know pursue Title IV-E funding, so also comes additional requirements, one being SACWIS. [More]
January 6, 2012: ACF seeks comments on a program instruction designed to streamline and simplify the application and reporting process for the State Court Improvement Program, funded under Title IV-B. The proposal is a result of changes made by the program’s recent reauthorization. [More]
On January 6, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register to implement statutory provisions related to the Tribal title IV-E program. The rule is effective February 12, 2012 and addresses multiple provisions related to the Fostering Connections Act (P.L. 110-351) that provided tribal agencies with the option of applying to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to operate a Title IV-E program. The legislation provided for planning grants for tribal agencies to use for the purposes of developing infrastructure programmatically and fiscally that would ensure that the tribes were able to operate a Title IV-E program that was consistent with federal guidance. The Interim Final Rule provides further detail on how tribal agencies must operate going forward. Also on January 6, ACF released an Information Memorandum (ACYF-CB-IM-12-01) which informs states, tribes, and territorial agencies that an interim final rule was released. [More]
On December 9, 2011, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released Program Instructions (ACYF-CB-PI-11-09) on changes to the Title IV-E state plan as part of Public Law 112-34. The Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011 amends case plan and case review system requirements and the Adoption Assistance Program reinvestment requirements and requires Title IV-E state plan changes. States were provided with a state plan pre-print that must be completed by January 31, 2012, but the changes have an effective date back to October 1, 2011. [More]
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released the following guidance to provide Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) lead agencies with information to assist them with meeting the government-wide reporting requirements mandated by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA). [More]
On December 13, 2011 the House included Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reauthorization in the bill at the forefront of Congress related to 2 percent reduction in employee contributions to Social Security (known as the payroll tax cut) through 2012. The bill (H.R. 3630) has many components for extending or reauthorizing expiring programs. It passed the House but it is expected that the Senate will be less receptive. [More]
In its semiannual report to Congress, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported on the audits completed and issued for the Title IV-E Adoption Assistance program in the states of Tennessee and Georgia and in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The reports are part of a series of reviews completed by the OIG on the incorrect claims for the Title IV-E federal share of adoption assistance payments. In the 2012 OIG Work Plan, published recently, additional Title IV-E audits of Title IV-E Adoption Assistance are planned. [More]
Senator Bob Casey (D- PA) introduced legislation entitled, “Speak Up to Protect Every Abused Kid Act of 2011,” addressing the necessity for ensuring that child abuse is reported when it occurs. One aspect of the legislation would require that every adult be a mandatory reporter when witnessing any type of child abuse. This proposed legislation, as well as other pending legislation planned by members of Congress, is in response to recent allegations that surfaced at Pennsylvania State University and Syracuse University. In addition to Sen. Casey’s legislation, he requested a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Children and Families. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee, supported Sen. Casey in his request for a hearing and scheduled it for Tuesday, December 13, 2011. [More]
