On June 8, the Senate Finance Committee approved, by voice vote, a measure (as-yet-unnumbered) to set aside $40 million in competitive grant funds annually beginning in FY2007 and continuing through FY2011, to support programs that provide assistance to the children of methamphetamine users, such as family-based, long-term drug treatment, early intervention and preventative services, family counseling, mental health services, and parenting skills training. The grant funds would be derived from the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program.
In his opening statement, Chair Charles Grassley (R-IA) said he has been “persuaded that meth abuse and addiction have created a unique and pressing problem, notably in rural states like Iowa and Montana,” and went on to voice his support for the legislation, saying, “these partnerships [among grant recipients] will increase the well-being of, and improve the permanency outcomes for, children affected by methamphetamine abuse and addiction.”
Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT) said he hoped “that this legislation will help to ensure that families no longer struggle in secret with addiction…and will help to ensure that families can get effective and comprehensive treatment [and] will help to ensure that children whose parents are addicted to meth no longer have to shuttle from one temporary solution to another, never to resolution.”
The committee also approved, by voice vote, the reauthorization of the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program through FY2011 (as-yet-unnumbered). The program supports public and private entities that provide services to the children of prisoners in areas with a substantial number of incarcerated parents.
In addition, a bill (as-yet-unnumbered) was passed, by voice vote, which alters the way in which Indian Health Service and Indian Tribe health professionals may seek reimbursement under Medicaid, Medicare, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. The measure would add a new section to the Social Security Act encouraging states to heighten outreach efforts to enroll Indians living on or near a reservation in these federal health programs.
