[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 106 (Friday, July 1, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1016-E1018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
H.R. 5456
______
HON. VERN BUCHANAN
of florida
in the house of representatives
Friday, July 1, 2016
Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following on H.R. 5456, the
Family First Prevention Services Act of 2016:
Voice for Adoption,
Washington, DC, June 13, 2016.
Dear Chairman Brady and Ranking Member Levin:
Dear Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden:
Dear Chairman Buchanan and Ranking Member Doggett:
Today I offer Voice for Adoption's full support of the
proposed Family First Prevention Services Act (H.R. 5456). It
takes historic and long overdue steps to direct federal child
welfare dollars to improve outcomes for vulnerable children
and families. I urge you to move toward a timely mark up in
both the House and the Senate so these vulnerable
[[Page E1017]]
children do not have to wait longer for these important
reforms. Voice for Adoption (VFA) is a national advocacy
organization with a mission to speak in a single voice with
policy-makers, representing the interests of more than
100,000 foster children awaiting adoption and the families
who adopt them.
The Family First Prevention Services Act would allow
adoptive families to receive needed post-adoption services by
allowing states to use Title IV-E funds to pay for up to 12
months of family services that can prevent children from
reentering foster care, and help keep the children safely in
their adoptive families.
While the Families First Prevention Services Act would
delay final implementation of additional federal adoption
assistance reimbursement for the adoptions of infants and
toddlers, VFA is willing to support this delay as a way to
extend needed services. VFA was pleased to see a Government
Accountability Office (GAO) study that will examine
compliance with the Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-135) requirement
that states reinvest the state funds freed up by providing
additional federal reimbursement.
Beyond the important post-adoption support this Act will
provide, the Family First Prevention Services Act takes
important steps to ensure children who need care will be
placed in the least-restrictive, most family-like setting
appropriate to their needs.
VFA will offer our continued support in the implementation
of the Families First Prevention Services Act to ensure that
the voice of the adoption community is heard--specifically to
assure that the Act does provide critical post-adoption
services that assist in keeping children with their adoptive
families and helps children to avoid reentering the foster
care system and in crafting the GAO report.
VFA looks forward to working with all of you to make the
proposed improvements for children in the Family First
Prevention Services Act (H.R. 5456) a reality. Thank you for
your continuing leadership on behalf of the most vulnerable
children and their families.
Sincerely yours,
Schylar Baber,
Executive Director.
____
Ways and Means Committee
Family First Prevention Services
Act of 2016
Strengthen families by providing evidence-based prevention
services to keep children out of foster care and reduce
inappropriate group home placements.
Support for the Family First Prevention Services Act (National)
1. AAJ Research & Evaluation (Florida)
2. Adoption Exchange Association
3. Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine, Inc and the
Kinship Program
4. Advocates for Children and Youth (Maryland)
5. Advocates for Children of New Jersey
6. Alliance for Strong Families and Communities
7. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
8. American Bar Association (ABA)
9. American Psychological Association (APA)
10. American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
11. Arizona's Children Association
12. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
13. Association of University Centers on Disability
14. Brazelton Touchpoints Project, Inc.
15. CASA Youth Advocates (Pennsylvania)
16. Catholic Charities USA
17. Center for Children's Justice (Pennsylvania)
18. Center for Native American Youth
19. Center for Public Priorities (Texas)
20. Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP)
21. Child and Family Policy Center (Iowa)
22. Child and Family Services of New Hampshire
23. Child Care Aware of America
24. Child First, Inc.
25. Child Welfare League of America
26. Children & Families First (Delaware)
27. Children and Family Futures
28. Children Awaiting Parents (New York)
29. Children First for Oregon
30. Children's Action Alliance (Arizona)
31. Children's Advocacy Alliance (Nevada)
32. Children's Advocacy Institute
33. Children's Defense Fund--California
34. Children's Defense Fund--Minnesota
35. Children's Defense Fund--Mississippi
36. Children's Defense Fund--New York
37. Children's Defense Fund--Texas
38. Children's Defense Fund (CDF)
39. Children's Home + Aid (Illinois)
40. Children's Home Society of America
41. Children's Home Society of North Carolina
42. Children's Hospital Associations
43. Children's Hospital of Wisconsin
44. Children's Leadership Council
45. Children's Rights
46. Citizens' Committee for Children of New York, Inc.
47. Coalition of Human Needs
48. Conference of Chief Justices
49. Conference of State Court Administrators
50. Connecticut Voices for Children
51. Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH)
52. Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch (North Dakota)
53. Every Child Matters
54. Family Policy Alliance
55. First Focus Campaign for Children (FFCC)
56. Florida's Children First, Inc.
57. Focus on the Family
58. Foster Adopt Connect
59. Foster Adopt Connect (Missouri and Kansas)
60. Foster Club
61. Foster Family-based Treatment Association (FETA)
62. Generations United
63. Governor Gary R. Herbert--State of Utah
64. Healthy Teen Network
65. Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters
(HIPPY)
66. Human Rights Project for Girls (Rights4Girls)
67. Illinois Department of Children & Family Services
68. Juvenile Law Center (JLC)
69. Juvenile Law Center (Pennsylvania)
70. Kansas Appleseed
71. Kentucky Youth Advocates
72. Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services
(DCFS)
73. Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
74. Lutheran Social Services of Indiana
75. Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange
76. Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
77. Michigan's Children
78. Nathan L. Hecht--Chief Justice--The Supreme Court of
Texas
79. National African American Drug Policy Coalition, Inc.
80. National Alliance of Children's Trust and Prevention
Funds
81. National Association for Children of Alcoholics
82. National Association for Children's Behavioral Health
(NACBH)
83. National Association of Black Social Workers
84. National Association of Counsel for Children
85. National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
86. National Association of Public Child Welfare
Administrators (NAPCWA)
87. National Association of Social Workers
88. National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Directors (NASADAD)
89. National Center on Adoption and Pregnancy
90. National Center on Child Welfare and Housing
91. National Center on Shared Leadership
92. National Child Abuse Coalition
93. National Children's Alliance
94. National Family Preservation Network
95. National Foster Parent Association
96. National Foster Parent Association
97. National Indian Child Welfare Association
98. National Kinship Alliance for Children
99. Nebraska Appleseed
100. New Mexico Voices for Children
101. New York Coalition for Child Welfare Finance Reform
102. North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC)
103. Parents Anonymous Inc.
104. Parents as Teachers
105. Partners for Our Children (Washington)
106. Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children
107. Prevent Child Abuse America/Healthy Families America
108. Ray E. Helfer Society
109. Strengthening Families All Across America
110. The Black Administrators in Child Welfare, Inc.
111. The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
112. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
113. The Children's Partnership (California)
114. The Dalton Daley Group
115. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
116. The Donaldson Adoption Institute, Inc.
117. The Mockingbird Society
118. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned
Pregnancy
119. The National Crittenton Foundation (TNCF)
120. The Ounce of Prevention Fund (Illinois)
121. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops'
Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
122. Think of Us
123. University of California Davis Guardian Professions
Program
124. Voice for Adoption
125. VOICES (California)
126. Voices for Alabama's Children
127. Voices for Children in Nebraska
128. Voices for Ohio's Children
129. Voices for Vermont's Children
130. Voices for Virginia's Children
131. YMCA of San Diego County, Kinship Support Program
132. YMCA of the USA
133. Youth Law Center
134. Youth Law Center (California)
135. Youth Villages
136. Zero to Three
Notable Remarks
``[The Families First Prevention Services Act] not only
recognizes the unique needs of children and families in
adversity, but also makes great strides to meet them in a way
that pediatricians can stand behind: through
[[Page E1018]]
evidence-based, prevention-focused approaches. The bill
offers states much-needed federal funding to support mental
health, substance abuse and in-home parenting skills programs
for families of children at-risk of entering foster care.''--
American Academy of Pediatrics
``[The Family First Prevention Services Act] takes historic
and long overdue steps to direct federal child welfare
dollars to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and
families . . . [It] takes important steps to ensure children
who need foster care will be placed in the least-restrictive
most family-like setting appropriate to their needs, and
gives special attention to children whose emotional or other
special needs require residential treatment.''--Children's
Defense Fund
``We greatly appreciate the flexibility in federal funding
for evidence-based prevention services and the strong focus
in the [Families First Prevention Services Act] on child
well-being''--Children's Hospital of Wisconsin
``We strongly support the Family First [Prevention
Services] Act and believe it would greatly improve the
ability of child welfare agencies to keep children in their
own homes and shorten their time in the system if they do
enter.''--Juvenile Law Center
The [Family First Prevention Services Act] aligns very
closely with what we consider an essential focus on
preventing the occurrence and recurrence of child abuse and
neglect whenever possible. It also supports the practice of
keeping or returning kids safely home, rather than in foster
care, whenever possible.''--Massachusetts Law Reform
Institute
``Federal support for prevention services will be a win-win
for children and families throughout the country''--Citizens'
Committee for Children
``The Act will expand the availability of such services and
reflects the reality that many families, including adoptive
families, need targeted, effective services to meet their
children's needs and prevent foster care entry.''--North
American Council on Adoptable Children
``We firmly believe that far too many children are placed
in group care for no therapeutic reason, which research
suggests can harm children.''--North American Council on
Adoptable Children
``We feel that the [Family First Prevention Services Act]
offers the important possibility of allowing funds to provide
vital mental health, substance use and in-home services that
could help children stay with their own families.''--Child
Welfare League of America
``[The Family First Prevention Services Act] takes historic
and long overdue steps to direct federal child welfare
dollars to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and
families.''--Voice for Adoption
``Supports offered through the Family First Prevention
Services Act such as individual and family therapy, home
visiting and kinship navigator programs can offer relatives
the support they need to keep children out of foster care and
help them thrive.''--Generations United
____________________