Foster Care 101

Early 1800s

In the United States, by the 19th century, many laws were enacted that systemized Poor Law traditions from the U.K., allowing children to be indentured to protect them from neglect or remove them from the streets.

1853

The Children's Aid Society (CAS) was founded by Charles Loring Brace, who believed orphans, "half-orphans" (children with one parent instead of two), and children whose parents were coerced into relinquishing their children could find a better life with Protestant families. In 1884, the CAS sent children away on "orphan trains" that transported them to small towns and rural areas where families could adopt and raise these children. CAS represents an early example of child welfare services being utilized to "save" children by relocating them from ethnic or racial minority families and communities and assimilating them into majority families and communities. The removal of indigenous children from their families and communities during the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, as well as their placement in boarding schools where they were prohibited from engaging in their cultural practices, serves as a later example of the use of child welfare services akin to what Brace and the CAS utilized.

1874

The origin of widespread media attention and public concern over the rampant issue of child maltreatment is generally traced to the case of Mary Ellen Wilson, a young girl living in New York City. In 1874, due to intervention by Henry Bergh, the leader of the New York chapter of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NYSPCA), Mary Ellen Wilson was removed from the home of her abusive caregivers. After this intervention, Bergh and other individuals with the same goal of combating child abuse and neglect established the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC).

1909

The first White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children was mainly called in response to rising concerns about the institutional placement of children, marking a high point in the Progressive Era. At this conference, measures were recommended to prevent the relocation of children from their homes and to place them with families instead of in institutions.

1912

The U.S. Children's Bureau, the first department of the federal government devoted to the welfare of children, was created in 1912 in response to the recommendations of the 1909 White House Conference. The first assignment given by the president was to "investigate and report… upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all classes of our people."

1935

The first major update to the Children's Bureau would be the signing of The Social Security Act By President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. Title V of The SSA would grant the Bureau responsibility for administering three leading children's programs: maternal and child health services, medical care for disabled children, and child welfare services, in addition to its original task of research and report. The second major update came in 1946 with the transfer of the Children's Bureau from the Labor Department to the Social Security Administration within the Federal Security Agency.

1962

Title V of the Social Security Act was changed, including authorizing federal matching funds for children in foster care to be distributed to states. In return, states were required to develop a plan for each child in foster care, with periodic reviews of the necessity for care, and provide services to expedite children's safe return home.

1974

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was signed alongside the creation of the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (now known as the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect) within the Children's Bureau.

1978

Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to protect the best interests of children and promote the stability and security of Native Nations and Native families. A study by the Association on American Indian Affairs from 1976 showed that twenty-five to thirty-five percent of Native children were being removed from their homes by state courts and welfare agencies. Eighty-five percent of these were moved to non-Native placements, resulting in lost connections between children and their communities. The ICWA granted jurisdiction to the child's Nations regarding child custody and adoption matters involving them.

1980

The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act, signed by President Carter, reflected a new federal focus on permanence for children. Among its mandates was the first federal adoption assistance program for children with special needs and for states to make "reasonable efforts" to prevent foster care placement or to return children to their homes quickly. The Act gave funds per state for health and education costs and payments for foster caregivers to receive food, shelter, and clothing, ensuring the safety of children's basic human needs.

1986

The first Independent Living Program was established in response to statistics showing many youth aging out of foster care (i.e., turning eighteen) with little or no preparation and/or support. Congress would require that each state create initiatives to prepare foster children ages 16 or over for a more successful adulthood, with support from the Children's Bureau.

1997

The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) made the most significant changes to the child welfare provisions since they were established in their current form in 1980. ASFA principally addressed three general perceptions about the current child welfare system: 1) Children continued to remain too long in foster care; 2) the child welfare system was biased toward family preservation at the expense of children's safety and well-being; and 3) inadequate attention and resources were devoted to adoption as a permanent placement option for abused and neglected children.

Key provisions of ASFA were designed to:

1. Ensure that child safety, permanency, and well-being are of paramount concern in any child welfare decision;

2. Encourage states to expedite permanency decisions for children in foster care;

3. Promote and increase the number of adoptions, particularly through a new adoption incentive payment program;

4. Establish performance standards and a state accountability system whereby states face financial penalties for failure to demonstrate improvements in child outcomes and

5. Encourage states to test innovative approaches to delivering child welfare services by expanding the existing waiver program.

1999

The Foster Care Independence Act 1999 (Public Law 106-169) replaced the Independent Living Program with the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP). In addition to increasing funding, CFCIP expanded the existing independent living program to include services for adolescents transitioning from foster care to self-sufficiency and former foster youth up to age 21. Authorized services, including financial and housing assistance, counseling, and other support services, needed to help foster youth successfully transition to independence.

In addition, CFCIP gave states the option to provide continuing Medicaid coverage to certain former foster youth.

2008

The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act was established in 2008 and amended the Social Security Act to improve outcomes for children in foster care, connect and support relative caregivers, and offer incentives for adoption. For the first time, it also provided the opportunity for federally recognized Native nations, tribal organizations, and tribal consortia to directly manage a Title IV-E program.

Child Welfare: History and Policy | Encyclopedia of Social Work

Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

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Childwelfare.gov defines the child welfare system as "a group of services designed to promote the well-being of children by ensuring safety, achieving permanency, and strengthening families. While the primary responsibility for child welfare services rests with the states, the federal government supports states through program funding and legislative initiatives."

Children's Bureau is housed within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families and is primarily responsible for implementing federal child and family legislation. Children's Bureau works with state and local agencies to develop programs that focus on preventing child abuse and neglect by strengthening families, protecting children from further maltreatment, reuniting children safely with their families, and finding permanent families for children who cannot safely return home.

Most families first become involved with the child welfare system because of a report of suspected child abuse or neglect, which is also referred to as "child maltreatment." CAPTA defines child maltreatment as serious harm (e.g., physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect) caused to children by parents or primary caregivers, such as extended family members or babysitters. Child maltreatment also can include harm that a caregiver allows to happen to a child or does not prevent from happening.

Child welfare agencies are responsible for supporting children and their families in many different ways. However, their most frequent methods include coordinating services or supporting existing services to prevent child abuse and neglect, receiving and investigating reports of suspected or witnessed child abuse and neglect, assessing child and family needs, strength, and the resources available to them, and arranging out-of-home care (such as foster care, kinship care, or other planned permanent living arrangements) when children and youth cannot safely remain at home.

Child welfare agencies frequently collaborate with other public and private agencies, community organizations, and other supporting agencies that provide children, youth, and their families with the necessary services and assistance, including supportive childcare, parenting programs, in-home family preservation services, and much more.

A more detailed list of ways the child welfare system supports children and families regularly from childwelfare.gov includes:

– Coordinate or support services to prevent child abuse and neglect.
– Receive and investigate reports of possible child abuse and neglect and assess child and family needs, strengths, and resources.
– Provide services to families who need help protecting and caring for their children.
– Arrange for out-of-home care (foster care, kinship care, or other planned permanent living arrangements) when children and youth cannot remain safely at home.
– Support the well-being of children living with relatives and foster and adoptive families, including ensuring that children's physical health, mental health, and educational needs are addressed.
– Work with children, youth, and families to achieve family reunification, adoption, or other permanent family connections for children and youth leaving out-of-home care.

How the Child Welfare System Works

Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect

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The primary goals of the child welfare system are to provide safety for children from abuse and neglect by parents or primary caregivers and to achieve permanency for the children who are removed. Child welfare agencies use a variety of strategies to achieve permanency for children by either reunifying children within their families of origin or placing them with other permanent families.

The history of child welfare in the United States can be characterized by a continuous thematic shift between family preservation and child safety. The 1970s saw several efforts to reduce children’s time in foster care and expedite paths to permanency. The 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) (P.L. 105–89) marked the first time issues related to permanency were explicitly stated in legislation, which was pivotal in changing the landscape of child welfare practice. The law specified that States had to improve the safety of children, promote adoption and other permanent homes for children who needed them, and support families. ASFA also required child protection agencies to provide more timely assessment and intervention services to children and families involved with child welfare. Additionally, ASFA paved the way for the legal sanction of concurrent planning (simultaneously identifying and working on a secondary goal, such as guardianship, with a relative) by requiring that agencies make reasonable efforts to find permanent families for children in foster care should reunification fail.

In 2008, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (P.L. 110–351) amended the Social Security Act to improve outcomes for children in foster care, connect and support relative caregivers, and offer incentives for adoption. Fostering Connections enhanced services for youth aging out of care and created new programs to help children and youth in or at risk of entering foster care to reconnect with family members. The act also provided the opportunity for federally recognized Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Tribal consortia—for the first time in history—to directly operate title IV-E programs.

AFCARS

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and Children’s Bureau are responsible for implementing and managing the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). State and tribal Title IV-E agencies must report AFCARS demographic, case-related, and service information on all children in foster care and children who have been adopted with Title IV-E agency involvement (per §479 of the Social Security Act). There are 7 seven national outcomes established by HHS to be monitored annually:

Outcome 1: Reduce recurrence of child abuse and/or neglect.

Outcome 2: Reduce the incidence of child abuse and/or neglect in foster care.

Outcome 3: Increase permanency for children in foster care.

Outcome 4: Reduce time in foster care to reunification without increasing reentry.

Outcome 5: Reduce time in foster care to adoption.

Outcome 6: Increase placement stability.

Outcome 7: Reduce placements of young children in group homes or institutions.

Concept and History of Permanency in U.S. Child Welfare

Child Welfare Outcomes 2018: Report to Congress Executive Summary

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The largest federal source of child welfare funding is Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, which supports foster care, adoption assistance, guardianship assistance programs, and John. H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Programs.

$5.821 Billion of Tax-Payer Funds:

As an entitlement, Title IV-E foster care funding is determined by the level of need and number of claims filed by states for reimbursement at the federal level. Based on an analysis by CWLA - for 2022, the administration projects that Title IV-E foster care maintenance and administrative costs will be at $5.821 billion, a projected increase from the projected updated cost of $5.796 billion in 2021. Total costs have been increasing over the past several years due to an increase in foster care placements.

The funding, according to the budget appendix, will cover an estimated 191,000 children in foster care in FY 2022. For federal fiscal year 2019 (last complete data), more than 432,007 children were in out-of-home (foster) care, representing a decrease of 2.5 percent in comparison to FY 2018. This is the total number, including children not covered by federal funding through Title IV-E foster care.

According to HHS information provided in 2020, the average monthly number of children for

whom agencies receive federal foster care payments declined from more than 300,000 in FY 1999 to fewer than 157,000 in FY 2012. According to budget documents, in 2000, 51 percent of children in foster care were covered by Title IV-E foster care funding. By 2020, the percentage of children in foster care covered by federal Title IV-E had decreased to 39 percent despite the five years of increases in the foster care population from 2012 to 2017.

Other sources of funds that may be available to foster families include:

– TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy)
– Social Services Block Grant
– Medicaid
– Title-IV B
– State and Local: According to the most recent survey Child Trends conducted in SFY 2018, more than half (56%) of child welfare agencies' funds originated from state and local (county and/or city) sources. Federal funds are matched by state and local funds.

CWLA - The President’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request

State Funding Sources - Child Welfare Information Gateway

An Introduction to Child Welfare Funding, and How States Use It - Child Trends

Child Welfare Financing Survey SFY2018 - Child Trends

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Despite a 5% reduction in cases over the last 5 years, Child Welfare’s goal of permanency has worsened.

As of Sept 30, 2020 AFCARS Reports:

– 407,493 children and youth in foster care, with a total of 631,832 served by the foster care system in 2020, 5% reduction over 5 years [impact of COVID on reduced removals is unclear].
– 117,470 were waiting to be adopted, 1% increase over 5 years.
– 32.7 months was the average time in care, 3% increase over 5 years.
– 20.1 months was the average time a child waited for adoption after parental rights were terminated, 70% increase over 5 years.
– 20,010 (9%) aged-out of the system without ever achieving permanency, despite emancipation being the case goal for only 4%, 0% improvement over 5 years.

Transition-Age Youth (TAY) Support:

– Only 28 states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation to extend foster care beyond age 18.
– Less than 50% of youth age 16 to 21 receive independent living services to help them become self-sufficient.
– 33% of youth age 16-20 have had 5 or more placements.
– 40% of 16-17 year olds live in group homes or institutions.
– 50% receive Pell grants and 60% receive Chafee grants to help pay for college despite 100% being eligible.

Outcomes for Youth Age 19 in Foster Care:

– 20% have been homeless in the last 2 years.
– 22% have been incarcerated in the last 2 years.
– 32% are enrolled in college.
– 33% dropped out of high school.
– 34% are employed part-time or full-time.
– 44% read grade level.
– 84% desire to go to college.

Within 4 Years of Aging Out:

– 70% will be on government assistance.
– 50% will be unemployed.
– 50% will have experienced periods of homelessness (including couch surfing, sleeping in cars).
– 25% will be homeless.
– 8% will have earned a college degree.
– Resulting in $1 Million economic burden to society for each young person we fail.

Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data for FY 2020

Chapin Hall

Briefs written by youth with lived experience. (Click on the pictures to read/download the briefs.)