Federal Legislation
House Ed and Labor Committee Approves Bill Targeting Child Abuse and Neglect at Residential Treatment Centers for Teens
The House Education and Labor Committee today approved legislation that targets abuse and neglect at residential treatment centers for troubled youth. H.R. 911, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009, was reported out of committee by a bipartisan vote of 32-10. The bill is almost identical to legislation passed in the House last year (H.R. 6358).
Analysis of H.R. 911, the “Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009” available here.
You can access the full bill text here.
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, H.R. 6893, signed into law
The President signed the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-351) into law on October 7, 2008. Generally, the law amends the Social Security Act:
- to extend and expand adoption incentives through FY2013;
- create an option to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments;
- create an option to extend eligibility for title IV-E foster care, adoption assistance and kinship guardianship payments to age 21;
- de-link adoption assistance from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) eligibility; and,
- provide federally-recognized Indian Tribes or consortia with the option to operate a title IV-E program, among many other provisions
For more information, including a summary of the bill, click here.
New Federal CFSR Standards Make Some Changes
The federal Children's Bureau reviewed the Texas child welfare system from March 24 through March 28 of 2008. Texas was measured on progress made on their Program Improvement Plan to meet designated federal measures. This was the second round of Child and Family Service Reviews (CSFR) which are intended to hold states more accountable for delivering key outcomes in the areas of safety, permanency and well-being for children and families in child welfare systems across the country.
The same seven outcomes were identified for Round 2; however, measures have changed and benchmarks are higher. A change has been made to measures regarding placement stability and timelines for family reunification. Those measures will only included children who have been in foster care for at least 8 days. This means that children involved in short-term emergency placements (under 8 days) will not be counted in these measures.
