On May 20, the House Government Reform Committee heard testimony on the need to streamline federal child welfare programs.
In his opening remarks, Chair Tom Davis (R-VA) stated, “Over the past three decades, Congress has created 51 federal programs, spread across the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, Agriculture, and Education, to deal with the problem of child abuse and neglect.” These programs, he said, “fall under a bigger umbrella of 339 federal programs…identified as playing a role in the general field of child welfare.” Rep. Davis said that he favors granting the president the authority to “initiate reorganizations within the Executive Branch, and to have them subject to an up-or-down vote in Congress” in order to avoid delays and “jurisdictional battles.”
“We have a particular obligation to make sure the government is efficient,” stated Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). She gave the example of the ‘one-stop center’ in the District of Columbia as a centralized solution to multiple agencies and services.
Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-CA) agreed that “reforms are necessary,” but did not support “transferring most of the responsibility for reorganization from Congress to the White House.”
House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX) testified before the committee, noting that despite “generous appropriations” spent on federal child welfare programs, “the Office of Management and Budget has rated 68% of those 339 programs as either ‘results not demonstrated’ or ‘ineffective.’” He suggested that the committee avoid reform plans that “aggravate current bureaucratic inefficiencies,” and grant the president reorganization authority.
Speaking on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Wade Horn stated, “During 2002, an estimated 896,000 children were found to be victims of neglect or abuse.” He acknowledged that “funding alone will not produce effective solutions to our greatest problems” and stressed the importance of coordinating programs at the state and federal level to “prevent and intervene effectively in cases of child abuse and neglect.” As examples of interagency collaboration, Mr. Horn highlighted the Federal Interagency Work Group on Child Abuse and Neglect, which includes representatives from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau at the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health; and the Federal Workshops on Prevention of Child Maltreatment, which will be promoted through the office of the surgeon general.
“In addition to these ongoing efforts,” Mr. Horn said, “key legislative changes are needed.” He proposed full funding for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program, the Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act (CAPTA), and the Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention program.
Robert Flores of the Department of Justice also stressed the importance of interagency collaboration, citing several Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention programs as examples: Children’s Advocacy Centers, the Model Dependency Court Initiative, the Tribal Youth Program, and the Title V Community Prevention Grants Program. Mr. Flores also commended the Coordinating Council, “an independent organization within the Executive Branch that allows federal agencies to create effective, institutionalized departmental partnerships.” Council members include the Attorney General, members of federal agencies, members appointed by President Bush, the Senate Majority Leader, the Speaker of the House, and Mr. Flores. The body “provides a mechanism for departmental representatives to invite other federal agencies to coordinate with them on child welfare and related concerns,” Mr. Flores said.
Highlighting the importance of using “scarce financial resources” effectively, Colien Hefferan of the Department of Agriculture offered the 4-H program and the Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) programs as success stories. Ms. Hefferan noted that 4-H reaches over 7 million people in the country and said that CYFAR “has supported programs in more than 600 communities in all states and territories, addressing topics such as youth violence, drug abuse, mental and physical health, and family relationships.” Pointing out that “at least 65% of CYFAR programs are sustained through non-federal funds for at least 6 years after the end of their federal funding,” Ms. Hefferan concluded, “The delivery of these programs, by community based experts, coupled with the involvement of dedicated volunteers, represents a low-risk, high-payoff investment of Federal program dollars for the improvement of communities across the nation.”
During the question and answer period, Mr. Horn and Mr. Flores emphasized the need to adequately fund preventive programs. Mr. Flores described the Nurses Visitation Program, a DOJ-HHS funded program that provides health care and counseling for pregnant girls.
Mr. Horn stated that the real problems of redundancy and duplication are at the state and local levels. To overcome this, he suggested states have a single data collection and reporting point, rather than multiple data banks for multiple programs.
