Prior to recessing, Chairman Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Ranking Member John Linder (R-GA) of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support held a hearing to discuss past results from and current opportunities for waivers for Title IV-E, the foster care provisions of the Social Security Act. McDermott stated his intention to introduce legislation reauthorizing up to 10 waivers over 5 years. A panel of experts provided testimony, including Ruth Kagi, Washington State House of Representatives; George Sheldon, who leads the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) member agency the Florida Department of Children and Families; Dr. Fred Wulczyn, University of Chicago researcher and lecturer; Dr. William Bell, President of Casey Family Programs, a CWLA member agency; and Rutledge Hutson, Director of Child Welfare Policy, Center for Law and Social Policy. Title IV-E waivers were first authorized in 1994 and since then, more than two dozen states have made use of the flexibility they afford to launch demonstration projects. Such innovation has spanned prevention, specialized, and postpermanency services, but the panel of experts cited subsidized guardianship as the most successful to date. The panel generally agreed that the inclusion of subsidized guardianship as a state option in the recent Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act reveals how the waiver can be a beneficial tool.
The testimony led to the need for more comprehensive child welfare finance reform, regardless of additional waiver authorizations. While some testimony strenuously maintained emphasis on the need for immediate flexibility in state use of IV-E funds through waivers, others pointed to the potential for action on waivers to delay comprehensive reform, particularly in light of the limited capacity. McDermott and Linder both agreed on the necessity to further evaluate and address the structural deficiencies of child welfare financing. The hearing concluded with the chairman's direct call for comprehensive reform proposals.
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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