PA Coalition for Children and Families. PA Families Separated by the Government. Corruption and Abuse of Power by Children and Youth Services. News around Berks County. Proud member of the Trump Family Preservation Team
The number of youth in foster care declined for the
first time since 2011, according to an annual report on youth in care
released by the Department of Health and Human Services. But the length
of time children stay has risen, with fewer of them returning to their
parents.
The number of youth in care during fiscal 2018 was 437,283, according to the annual report from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System
(AFCARS), which was released today. The 2017 count was 442,995, and had
been adjusted down to 441,000, according to the statement released
today by the U.S. Children’s Bureau (CB).
“It is encouraging to see the first decrease since 2011 in the number
of children in foster care,” said Lynn Johnson, HHS’ assistant
secretary for children and families, in the statement. “This
administration has focused on primary prevention and adoption, and we
are starting to see some better results.”
The AFCARS figures are in line with projects made by The Chronicle of Social Change in its annual “Who Cares” reporting project, which covers various aspects of foster care capacity. Each year, The Chronicle asks each state for the number of youth in foster care on March 31.
Our estimate for 2018 was 439,020, about 2,000 more than this AFCARS report. Our 2019 estimate
is that the number of youth in care has dropped to 428,006, which would
be about 2 percent less than this AFCARS report shows for 2018.
The number of youth entering foster care during the year also
declined, from 270,000 down to 263,000, according to AFCARS. And the
number of youth exiting care has increased, up from 246,964 in 2017 to
250,103.
“The current decrease in the number of kids entering care, and those
in care, is promising,” said CB Association Commissioner Jerry Milner,
in the statement. “As our agency funds prevention projects we hope to
see a continued indication that child welfare systems are relying less
on foster care and serving more children and families in their home and
communities.”
Nearly two-thirds of removals to foster care were associated with
neglect, as opposed to physical or sexual abuse, and 36 percent of
removals were associated with drug abuse of parents.
For the second year in a row, AFCARS shows troubling trends in the pathway to permanency
for youth. The median length of time in care has risen to 13.2 months,
up from 12.6 months in 2015. The length of stay had plummeted over a
two-decade period – in 1998, it was 20.6 months.
Less than half of children exiting foster care were reunified with their parents or caregiver – last year was
the first time since the annual AFCARS reports began in the 1990s that
less than half of permanency outcomes were reunification. The increase
in youths existing foster care this year is accounted for mostly by
upticks in adoption and guardianship agreements.
The number of youth who age out into adulthood has declined to
17,844. That total remained stubbornly between 20,000 and 25,000 for
years, but dropped to 19,945 on last year’s AFCARS report. The positive
trend on aging out is likely aided by the expansion of extended foster care plans to more states, where youth are allowed to remain in care past the age of 18.
The two main provisions of the Family First
Prevention Services Act took effect this month, opening up federal funds
for preventing the use of foster care while limiting support for group
homes.
There is a bill in the works to help more states take on the law this
year, rather than take the permitted delay of up to two years. But for
now, it looks like about one in four states will hold off at least until
2020 on implementing Family First.
Seven states have notified the U.S. Children’s Bureau (CB) of plans
to delay on Family First until 2020, and an additional 32 states plan to
delay until 2021. Washington State notified CB of a delay, but only
until December of this year.
Of the 11 tribal systems with their own IV-E plans, five plan to implement this year and six have taken a delay.
In addition to Washington, the other systems that plan to implement
Family First in 2019 are: Alaska, Arkansas, the District of Columbia,
Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, North Dakota, Utah, Virginia and
West Virginia.
Family First was signed into law in February of 2018, as part of a
stopgap spending bill to keep the government open. It permits states to
use Title IV-E entitlement funds – previously reserved for foster care
and adoption costs – for certain evidence-based services aimed at
keeping families together in more child welfare cases.
The law also limits IV-E funding for group homes and other
“congregate care” settings to two weeks, with some notable
exceptions. States that seek a delay can hold off on the limits to
congregate care funds, but cannot access the foster care prevention
funds during that time.
Of the 12 systems planning to implement Family First this year, six
have already submitted the required plans for approval to CB: Arkansas,
Kansas, D.C., Kentucky, Maryland and Utah. The bureau has yet to approve
any of the plans.
It will be interesting to see if the Family First Transitions Act,
which seems to have bipartisan and bicameral support, can move up the
timeline for some of the states taking a delay. The law, a pared down
version of the bill first introduced by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)
and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) over the summer, does three things:
A one-time, $500 million fund to help states prepare for the Family First Act provisions
A sweetener for states with a recently expired IV-E waiver, to help them cover anticipated short-term losses
A more lenient structure for the law’s evidence-based standards, at least for the first few years.
Click here for a more in-depth rundown of that bill.
States planning to delay through 2020: Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Oregon, Pennsylvania.
States planning to delay through 2021: Alabama, Arizona, California,
Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,
Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming. The Family First Act was signed into law in February 2018, and mostly took effect this month.
Gregg Richman is running for Common Pleas Judge in Montgomery County. The swamp establishment despises him. All the more reason he deserves to get elected. One has to wonder, why are they afraid of him and dislike him so much? Because he is a "Free Thinker!"
I am a mom of 2 sons, Ian and Elliott. I have spent all of the past 32+ years being a MOM and Nana to 4 grandchildren. Dennis is my husband and best friend. We enjoy a peaceful life in PA and NC. I have also been a foster mom to 4 teenage girls. Dennis and I took pride in helping children during difficult times in their lives by providing a safe home and guidance. As an investigative reporter I collected a lot of information about the illegal tactics used within child welfare agencies to steal children from good families. I continue to help families that are dealing with the corruption within which landed me on the Trump Family Preservation Team. I want to clarify for everyone that follows my page or finds me through a search about their fight with child welfare. I am NOT an attorney. This blog was set up to provide information from experience and or my opinion. After seeing the abuse within children and youth services and small government. At no time is the information in this blog to be construed as legal direction. I will refer attorneys for legal advice.
