The National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators (NAPCWA), an affiliate of the American Public Humans Services Association (APHSA), has released its final recommendations for extensive child welfare financing reform. The proposal has already been reviewed with members of Congress and opens the door for greater conversation to evolve. The objectives of the proposal are to:
- preserve federal protections required in Title IV-E. (Requires states to make reasonable efforts to prevent removal and finalize the permanency plan, for courts to make a contrary to the welfare determination and for licensing of out of home placements.)
- preserve the entitlement to foster care. (Continues the local, state and federal commitment to child protection calling for a more diversified approach to risk sharing.)
- extend eligibility for Title IV-E to all children. (Remove family income and circumstances)
- align federal financing with desired outcomes for children by allocating resources across the continuum of services.
- align federal funding with requirements of the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) outcomes by funding a continuum of services.
- require a maintenance of effort by state and federal governments. Funds that are freed up from states choosing alternatives to foster care will be maintained in the child welfare system.
- streamline administrative requirements across federal child welfare programs and fund sources (CAPTA, Title IV-E, Title IV-B, etc.)
- contain cost to the federal government by establishing a new state specific participation rate.
About Kay Casey
Kay Casey has over 20 years of experience in federal and state child welfare policy and programs, having worked for the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Florida Department of Children and Families prior to joining PCG. She is responsible for the review and assessment of fiscal processing systems that impact a state’s ability to identify, document, and report expenditures for federal reporting purposes accompanied with the programmatic impact on the state’s system of care. Among her projects since joining PCG, Kay has managed fiscal monitoring of Florida’s privatization of child welfare services for allowability and compliance with federal guidelines,; served as Technical Advisor and Policy Reviewer for a Pennsylvania (PA) statewide quality control administration for Title IV-E compliance services for 67 PA counties; served as Business Project Manager for a PA SACWIS feasibility study; and provided ongoing technical assistance on federal policy changes as they impact the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Children and Families,and State of Indiana Department of Children Services.
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