States Failing Child Welfare System Test By LAURA MECKLER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Not a single state has passed a rigorous test of its ability to protect children from child abuse and to find permanent homes for kids who often languish in foster care. The 32 states evaluated so far could lose millions of dollars from the federal government if they fail to fix problems within a few years. The problems of child welfare get periodic attention, usually following the tragic death of a child. The Child and Family Service Reviews are the first time federal officials have tried to measure how well children are faring across state systems created to protect them - but that often fall short. The reviews ask whether children are bouncing from one foster home to the next, never able to put down roots; whether siblings taken from their parents are kept together or pulled apart; whether it takes a state too long to finalize adoptions or to send children back to their biological parents. Affected are nearly 550,000 children in foster care and an estimated half million others living at home but under state supervision. "There is a lot of work to be done," said Joan Ohl, commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families. "It's a daunting task." In the past, states were evaluated on bureaucratic benchmarks. Now, the questions are how many children are abused again after entering the system and whether parents are getting promised help. The reviews merge dozens of questions into seven "outcomes" measurements. Fourteen states have failed all seven. An additional 14, plus the District of Columbia, have failed six of the seven, and four states failed five. No state has passed more than two. "We set a very high bar and we don't apologize for that bar," Ohl said in an interview. Problems were found in every state: -In Tennessee, the agency did not respond to abuse reports in a timely manner nearly 30 percent of the time. -In Michigan, more than one in four parents with children in foster care said they had not received needed services such as parenting classes or drug treatment. -In Ohio, 27 percent of the time the agency did not make a diligent effort to help children in foster care maintain connections to family and community. The reviews have spurred change. Georgia began offering assistance to foster parents after it found more than one child out of every 100 was abused in a foster home, almost twice the national standard. Initiatives include a telephone help line, training on dealing with behavior problems and respite care to give foster parents time without the children. After California was found to take too long to finalize adoptions, the state began combining its screening programs for potential foster and adoptive parents. That means the state will not have to conduct a second screening if foster parents decide to adopt. States acknowledge the problems and welcome a clear set of benchmarks for improvement, said Robert Lindecamp, director of the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators. "States don't have a problem with having a high standard," he said. One problem common to all states is the huge load handled by child welfare caseworkers. The reviews found that families do better when caseworkers make more visits, but that requires additional money that budget-strapped states are not inclined to spend. After the first round of reviews, scheduled for completion next year, states must write improvement plans. A second round of tests will determine if states made promised changes. If not, they could lose some of their federal child welfare money. While the seven outcome measurements are the heart of the reviews, states are evaluated on their overall systems - for instance, do computer systems work and is training done properly. That brings the number of benchmarks to 14. Maximum penalties proposed range from $130,000 in Delaware, which failed six of seven measures, to more than $18 million for California, which failed all seven. Whether states will make significant changes is an open question. Ohl says the examples of innovation by the states "are still more of the exception than the rule." "We are still receiving program improvement plans that merely scratch the surface in terms of the real improvements that must be made," she said. Critics, including state officials and outside advocates and experts, say the reviews themselves are flawed. The grades are based on statewide data submitted regularly to the federal government plus in-depth reviews of 50 cases selected randomly from each state. Much of the state data is widely considered unreliable. The critics also say 50 cases, a fraction of any state's caseload, do not accurately represent the state. The measurements are essentially snapshots of a moment in time, which can be misleading, rather than a look at what happens to a child over years. For example, the reviews count how many of the children were reunited with their parents within a year and how many adoptions were finalized within two years. But neither measure looks at the entire caseload to calculate the likelihood of reunification or adoption. Federal officials say the review paints an accurate picture and that the process marks a turning point in child welfare. But it will take even well-meaning states a long time to fix the problems uncovered, said Richard Gelles, dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania. "Some state systems are truly horrible," he said, "and no amount of accountability is going to make them jump from horrible to good in one leap." --- On the Net: Child and Family Service Reviews: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwrp/ 2003-08-18     18:04:13 GMT Copyright 2003 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authorityof The Associated Press. Questions?  Privacy  Site Index  Contact Us     Home   |   Services   |   Working with ACF   |   Policy/Planning   |   About ACF   |   ACF NewsSearch   Child Welfare Reviews Some of these documents need to be viewed in Adobe's Acrobat Reader. Download Acrobat Reader here. Child and Family Services Reviews The child and family services reviews are designed to enable the Children's Bureau to ensure that State child welfare agency practice is in conformity with Federal child welfare requirements, to determine what is actually happening to children and families as they are engaged in State child welfare services, and to assist States to enhance their capacity to help children and families achieve positive outcomes. Resources Reports and Results Special Commentary and Information Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews The reviews of the Federal title IV-E foster care program focus on determining whether children in foster care meet the statutory eligibility requirements for foster care maintenance payments. Title IV-E Information and Reports Back to Top Resources General Information Fact sheets about the child welfare reviews, the Child Welfare Review Project, which supports the Children's Bureau in administering the reviews, and the tentative schedule for the child and family services reviews taking place in fiscal years 2001-2004. Legislation/Policy Information about legislation and policy related to the child welfare reviews, including final rules, press releases, and policy issuances. Instruments/Tools/Guides Procedures manuals, instruments, training materials, and planning documents for the child welfare reviews. Consultant Recruitment The Children's Bureau, through the Child Welfare Review Project, recruits and trains child welfare professionals to serve as reviewers to supplement the Federal review team. This section contains information about how to apply to serve as a consultant reviewer. Cross State Participants Information about the Cross State Participants program. State Team Training Information about the training provided for State review team members. Back to Top Reports and Results Statewide Assessments Before the onsite review, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Regional Office staff will review the completed Statewide Assessment to prepare a preliminary assessment of the State's performance. Information on ordering copies of these reports is provided. Final Reports Following the onsite review component of the child and family services review, the Children's Bureau prepares a Final Report for each state containing the review outcomes. Copies of the Final Reports and Executive Summaries completed to-date are provided. Program Improvement Plans States are required to submit a Program Improvement Plan if found out of conformance on any one of the seven outcomes or seven systemic factors subject to review. Information on ordering copies of these reports is provided. Results of the 2001 and 2002 Child and Family Services Reviews The compiled results of the child and family services reviews completed in this time period. Back to Top Special Commentary and Information Partners in Progress: Improving Outcomes through Systemic Change Presentation by Joan Ohl — Annual Meeting of States and Tribes — January 28, 2003 Changing the Culture of the Workplace Comments by Jerry Milner — Closing Plenary Session — Annual Meeting of States and Tribes — January 29, 2003 Promising Approaches Information about child welfare approaches worth noting that were identified during the child and family services reviews. These approaches are recognized as potential contributions toward good child welfare practice.


Title IV-E Information and Reports Children's Bureau Program Assessment for Child and Family Services Reviews and Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews Fact Sheet Information on the history, purpose, and process of the Child and Family Services Reviews as well as a summary of Title IV-E reviews. Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Review Schedule A listing of when States are scheduled to be reviewed. Title IV-E Legislation and Policy Information about legislation and policy related to the title IV-E reviews. Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews Final Reports Following the onsite review, the ACF Regional Office prepares a Final Report containing the review results, including a summary of the errors and the cases in error; strengths and model practices revealed during the review; and weakness or deficiencies that need to be addressed in the program improvement plan. Copies of the Final Reports completed to-date are provided.