For Immediate
Release:
September 19, 2016
Media Contact:
Manny Rivera
323-892-2080
Coalition of Foster Youth, Family Advocates and Human
Services Leaders Urge Action on the Family First Prevention Services Act
Groups Call on Senate to Embrace Once-in-a-Generation
Opportunity to Reorient the Nation’s Child Welfare System
Washington, DC- Today, a coalition of foster youth,
family advocates and health and human services leaders issued a joint statement
urging immediate action on the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2016
(“Family First Act”), a bipartisan, revenue-neutral bill that would help orient
the nation’s child welfare system toward keeping families together and give new
tools to improve the lives of millions of children and their families. Children
and their families deserve these life changing improvements. The Family First
Act would put families first by:
·
Keeping children safely in their families by investing in evidence-based
programs and promising practices, such as parental substance abuse treatment,
mental health services, and in-home training, that can prevent child abuse and
neglect.
·
Supporting extended family members caring for children who would
otherwise go into foster care.
·
Prioritizing placement of children with families and ensuring that
children receive the most appropriate clinical services to help them heal and
thrive.
The Family First Act passed
unanimously in the U.S. House of Representatives and has the support of over
400 agencies and nonprofit organizations
across the child welfare and family support space. Additionally,
hundreds of foster youth and alumni of
foster care, along with advocates for children and families,
have expressed their strong support. However, despite overwhelming bi-partisan
and bi-cameral support, with less than a week before Congress recesses for the
fall, the Senate has yet to consider this landmark and transformative piece of
legislation.
Alliance for Strong Families
and Communities, FosterClub, Generations United and The National Alliance of
Children's Trust and Prevention Funds issued the following joint statement
supporting the Family First Act and urgently calling for action in the Senate:
“For the first time in generations,
we have an unprecedented opportunity to re-orient our child welfare system to
be more proactive and preventative. Unfortunately, that opportunity will
evaporate by the end of this month if Congress fails to take action before
leaving for fall recess.
“The Family First Act
would usher in a new era of child welfare: one that youth and families have
been urging for decades where we invest resources to keep families together,
whenever possible, rather than tear them apart. Hearing these cries from those
served by the child welfare system led to the overwhelmingly bipartisan Family
First Act. The act will
address a critical flaw in our current federal child welfare financing system
by prioritizing services that help children remain safely with their families.
By supporting families facing challenges, such as drug addiction and mental
health issues, we can address problems earlier and prevent the need to place
children in foster care with unrelated persons. By providing critical resources
for more birth parents and extended families to care for children, we can
ensure children have the stability they need for healthy brain development.
“Continuing the status quo is unacceptable. In the three months since the House of Representatives
unanimously approved the Family First Act, more than 33,000 children have been
removed from their families and placed into foster care. Due to
developments in neuroscience, we now know that the trauma suffered by children
removed from their families has life-long ripple effects on brain development. The Family First Act would provide supportive services to
children, parents and caregivers in their home, ensuring thousands of children
could remain safely with their families. The time is now to align
federal child welfare spending with what we know is best for kids.
“Critics point out that the Family
First Act does not include every provision we had hoped for. The reality is no
bill is ever perfect. The work of Congress is incremental. Each child
welfare bill Congress passes builds on the next in our nation’s journey to meet
the needs of our children. The Family First Act is about
breaking ground and laying the foundation for a critical culture shift. The
Family First Act will provide the biggest step forward in federal child welfare
policy since we abandoned orphanages decades ago, and we have a moral
obligation to not squander this opportunity. If Congress does not act now to
strengthen and invest in our nation’s families, we will lose the best
opportunity in a generation to improve the safety and success of millions of
vulnerable children. We owe it to our nation’s children and their families to
do everything we can to ensure they receive the tools and resources they need
to strengthen and keep families together. The opportunity to act is now.”
The funding that would make the
Family First Act possible will become unavailable after September 30th.
If Congress does not act before reaching agreement on the Continuing Resolution
to keep the government open, $400 million of the bill’s funding will be
allocated elsewhere. Additional funding will be unavailable during a lame duck
session, and even if it were available, the Congressional Budget Office would
have to re-score the legislation next year, resulting in significant delays.
Supporters across the board
believe the Family First Act actively upholds our country’s value of putting
families first. With the fall Congressional recess set to begin as early as the
end of this week, the time to act is now.
To learn more about the Family First Prevention Services Act
of 2016,
click here.
