Letter to Chairman Specter and Ranking Member Harkin of the Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education
The Honorable Arlen Specter The Honorable Tom Harkin
Chairman Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education
and Related Agencies Appropriations and Related Agencies Appropriations
184 Dirksen Senate Office Building 123 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Specter and Ranking Member Harkin:
We are writing in support of increased funding for Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (CAPTA) programs. CAPTA established a focal point within the federal
government to identify and address issues of child abuse and neglect, and to support effective
methods of prevention and treatment.
While our protection system remains sorely in need of resources, funds for CAPTA
programs have not kept pace with the needs of communities for supporting families and
protecting children. In 2004, according to the most recent data released this month by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, an estimated 3 million reports of possible abuse and
neglect were made to states, and almost 900,000 ofthese reports were substantiated. States are
hard-pressed to treat children or protect them from further harm when they lack basic resources
to do so. In 2004, just over 40 percent of the child victims received no services following a
substantiated report of maltreatment. Almost 1,500 children died as a result of abuse or neglect.
To compound this tragedy, the most endangered are disproportionately the youngest. The recent
data show that more than 80 percent of children who were killed by abusers were younger than 4
years old, and 44 percent of those never reached their first birthday.
CAPTA's Title I basic state grants help states strengthen their child protection systems.
The nation's child welfare system has long been stretched beyond capacity. When measured
against the federal Child and Family Service Reviews developed by HHS to evaluate a state's
performance in protecting children, no state passed the test. Federal officials repeatedly cited
states for certain deficiencies: significant numbers of children suffering abuse or neglect more
than once in a six-month period; caseworkers not visiting children often enough to assess needs;
and not providing promised medical and mental health services. CAPTA's Title I grants are
designed to help states provide the necessary attention to protect children.
CAPTA's Title II authorizes grants to states to help develop community-based prevention
services and resources to support families, including parenting education classes, home visiting
services, mutual support groups for parents, respite care for families with disabled children, as
well as family resource centers to connect families and children to the services they need.
Billions of dollars are spent every year on foster care -- too often the only option for families in
crisis. While we should be protecting children who have been the most seriously injured, we can
do a much better job at protecting children before the damage is so bad that we have no other
choice than to remove them from their homes. Increasing funding for CAPTA's basic state grants
and community-based prevention grants will help in a modest yet constructive way to begin to
address the current imbalance.
Additional funds for CAPTA would support prevention services, including parent
education and home visiting, for children and their families who are unserved in their
communities. Additional funding for CAPTA state grants would help to shorten the time for the
delivery of post-investigative services and increase the number of children receiving services. It
is time to invest additional resources to work in partnership with the states to help families and
prevent children from being abused and neglected.
Sincerely,
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