Senate adjourns without passing child welfare bill; ABA had warned of funds cut
The U.S. Senate adjourned on Thursday without passing a child welfare bill that had the backing of the ABA.
According to reporting by the Chronicle of Social Change, the adjournment “ended any chance for the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2016.” The ABA had issued a press release on Thursday calling on the Senate to act on the legislation, which supports keeping children in families and extends funding for child welfare courts in the states.
The press release warned that if the Senate didn’t act by Friday—the end of the fiscal year—federal funding for the co-called Court Improvement Program would likely drop from $30 million to $10 million. The court funding is part of the larger bill, which received unanimous approval in June by the House of Representatives.
“The bipartisan legislation will improve the lives of many children,” ABA President Linda Klein said in the press release. “It will end fiscal incentives to place children in foster care and instead provide services that can keep children and families safely together. The urgency to keep the Court Improvement Program fully funded makes passing this bill soon imperative.”
The ABA expressed support for the bill in a letter sent to the House in June. One of the bill’s provisions allows use of federal child welfare funds under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to help children stay in relatives’ homes while needed services and support are provided. Title IV-E is the largest conduit of funds to states for child welfare services, according to the Chronicle of Social Change.
The bill also focuses on ensuring that children entering foster care are placed in the least restrictive, most appropriate family-like setting.
