As foster care removals plummet, where’s the promised help for families? For the past five years, the states and the federal Children's Bureau have been congratulating themselves on decline in the number of children in foster care. But dropping foster care caseloads were supposed to be accompanied by an increase in in-home cases, to provide families with the mental health services, drug treatment, and parenting education they needed to keep their children safe. That was half of the purpose of the Family FIrst Prevention Services Act. Yet, nobody seems to be asking or answering the question of whether these services have been forthcoming. If California and Texas are any indication of what is happening nationwide, the answer is a resounding "No." Equally important is the lack of interest in this data--and the failure to require it as part of FFPSA. https://lnkd.in/erVDN2Ny
Judith Schagrin
5mo
I don’t get it. Despite the promises of Family First” the flaws are glaring. I understand, btw, Maryland had collected not one federal dollar. If “we” had a genuine commitment to continuous quality improvement why aren’t we revisiting?!!?
Quite a shame, I had high hopes; I'm interested in the data...
Marge Holland
5mo
Marie-- so glad you continue to fight the good fight!!! Best, Marge
Neighbor and Advocate
5moSince the vast majority of soft social services are paid for out of HHS, it seems to me that that department should be capable of determining if there was a transfer on the balance from Title IV B and E to The line items under community action, agencies and primary care physician/therapists paid for out of Medicaid. Thus a shrinkage of child welfare involvement, but an expansion of more appropriate doorways. Your comment is a very thoughtful one indeed. I'm just calling on HHS to make better use of their incessant data collection efforts. If they do, we can determine if children are safe or not.