Federal waiver key to keeping kids out of foster care

Opinion: Federal waiver key to keeping kids out of foster care
APRIL 7, 2010

Our bottom-of-the-barrel approach to managing Florida's basic responsibilities to its citizens has children's advocates on edge — and rightfully so.



It took securing a federal waiver for Florida to snag much-needed stimulus dollars for education last year. Additional federal dollars will be needed again this year, though only the state Senate is acknowledging this reliance.

The ugly truth is that Florida is just scraping by on its own resources, yet there are a number of social-service federal-matching programs that the state cannot afford to lose out on.

One in which we absolutely must do our part is the very successful tool that has helped the state's foster care program enormously, almost turned it around into a national model. Called the "IV-E waiver," it finances a pilot program that allows state agencies and service providers to intervene early in cases of suspected neglect or abuse involving minor children. To retain this waiver, Florida legislators must keep $4.1 million in nonrecurring funds that have kept the program going since 2006. The pilot program, however, is set to expire in 2011.

"We can't seek a waiver for a waiver," said Jane Johnson, executive director of the Children's Home Society, explaining that there's no way for Florida to get around seeking this aid. "We're going to pay for these children one way or another, either now or five or 10 years down the road (in corrections)," Ms. Johnson said.

The Children's Home Society is one of the first responders when Florida's Department of Children and Families caseworkers are called to investigate claims of abuse or neglect. Money provided through the IV-E waiver allows CHS and other service providers to intervene in the hours and days following such a call, instead of waiting until after the child has been removed from the home, a situation that is much more grave.

Where the claim would normally tip off a chain of events that could lead to the dissolution of a family, services ranging from counseling to emergency living-expense assistance are paid for using IV-E money, allowing more families to stay together in a safe and healthy way. This approach decreases the number of children living in out-of-home care or being thrust into the child-welfare system.

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Ms. Johnson, along with David Bundy, president of CHS, point to the numbers as indicators of the IV-E waiver's success.


Before the waiver was granted, 30,000 children were in out-of-home care; that number dropped to 22,000 after the intervention tool was introduced. The average number of adoptions has doubled from 1,500 annually to 3,000 each year. Some 800 older children (teenagers close to aging out of the system, though they lacked adequate preparation to live on their own) received aid from CHS before the waiver; afterward, some 2,000 received aid, including those learning to make their own way through Independent Living Services.

This legislative session could be a tipping point for Florida. The programs legislators chose to adequately fund will determine our ability to bounce back when the economy turns around. Programs tied to federal matching money should be protected to the best of our ability — especially those like the IV-E waiver, which affects the lives of children and families for a generation or more.

Florida cannot afford to let this match be broken. Thousands of dependent children depend on it.

Ms. Johnson, along with David Bundy, president of CHS, point to the numbers as indicators of the IV-E waiver's success.



Before the waiver was granted, 30,000 children were in out-of-home care; that number dropped to 22,000 after the intervention tool was introduced. The average number of adoptions has doubled from 1,500 annually to 3,000 each year. Some 800 older children (teenagers close to aging out of the system, though they lacked adequate preparation to live on their own) received aid from CHS before the waiver; afterward, some 2,000 received aid, including those learning to make their own way through Independent Living Services.

This legislative session could be a tipping point for Florida. The programs legislators chose to adequately fund will determine our ability to bounce back when the economy turns around. Programs tied to federal matching money should be protected to the best of our ability — especially those like the IV-E waiver, which affects the lives of children and families for a generation or more.

Florida cannot afford to let this match be broken. Thousands of dependent children depend on it.
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20100407/OPINION01/4070307/1006/opinion/Our-Opinion-Federal-waiver-key-to-keeping-kids-out-of-foster-care