McDermott Bill: "Bipartisan Child Welfare Bill Passes House"
Press Release
Last night, the House passed with bipartisan support legislation to improve the child welfare system, authored by Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA). The legislation would allow the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to grant waivers for state demonstration projects to test innovations in child welfare programs.
"At-risk children and families often fall through the cracks and don't get the services they need from our child welfare system," said Congressman McDermott. "Some states are ready to develop the next generation of reforms to give this vulnerable population the attention and opportunity they deserve."
The legislation is titled, "To Renew the Authority of the Department of Health and Human Services to Approve Demonstration Projects Designed to Test Innovative Strategies in State Child Welfare Programs" (H.R. 1194; see "Background" below for more details). The bill would allow states to build on the historic "Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act," which McDermott also authored and was signed into law in 2008. Under the legislation, interested states could, with federal approval and oversight, develop and test innovative strategies to improve services for at-risk children and families. States could focus on priorities such as early intervention, domestic violence, and kinship guardianship.
"These waivers would build upon the Fostering Connections Act -- we knew then that different approaches would work for different states and this legislation will give states the ability to test innovative programs," said McDermott. "I am particularly excited to see Washington State's innovations to help vulnerable children. Additional resources and improvements will be needed to serve all children and families at risk."
The legislation that passed the House yesterday evening will now be referred to the Senate, where Senators Baucus (D-MT), Hatch (R-UT), Enzi (R-WY) and Rockefeller (D-WV) recently introduced similar bipartisan child welfare waiver legislation.
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