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Date: Monday, June 17, 1996 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Michael Kharfen (202)401-9215
HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala joined Delaware Governor Thomas R. Carper today to announce approval of a demonstration project to initiate reforms in child welfare services for Delaware. This is the first of what may be as many as 10 such demonstrations to be approved by HHS through waivers of statutory and regulatory provisions. The announcement was made at the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families in Wilmington.
Under the demonstration, Delaware will use federal foster care funds for assisted guardianship placements for children who cannot be reunited with their parents. The guardianship project provides a much-needed placement option for children in foster care, many of whom are already in the care of relatives. The state will also use federal funds to provide substance abuse treatment for parents, in order to reduce the need for placing children in foster care.
"The Clinton Administration has given states unprecedented flexibility under the welfare and Medicaid programs. Today, we're taking another step by giving states new flexibility to reform and improve their child protective systems," said Secretary Shalala. "I commend Governor Carper and his talented human services staff for developing a promising project to ensure safe and nurturing homes for Delaware's most vulnerable children.
"Governor Carper has been a national leader in the welfare reform debate, and I am anxious to see his tremendous energy and intellect devoted to the crucial task of improving child welfare services."
Across the country, states have experienced a tremendous growth in the number of children in foster care. The national foster care caseload grew from 340,000 cases in 1988 to 460,000 cases in 1994, an increase of 35 percent. The cost of the foster care program, both in maintenance payments and administrative costs, has grown from $800 million in 1988 to $2.7 billion in 1994, an increase of 350 percent. The rise of children in protective care has been attributed to family breakdown and drug use, among other factors. Delaware's innovative projects will address these problems by encouraging and strengthening the child's immediate and extended family in order to provide a stable home.
"Using this new waiver authority, Delaware is changing its child welfare system to better meet the needs of children, by helping to strengthen families and provide stable homes," said Mary Jo Bane, assistant secretary for children and families. "We look forward to sharing the results of their efforts with other states and federal policymakers."
On Oct. 31, 1994, President Clinton signed legislation to support states' efforts to reform their child welfare systems. Today, Secretary Shalala exercised this new authority granted by the legislation to approve waivers of federal requirements of Titles IV-B and IV-E, the sections of the Social Security Act which govern foster care, adoption assistance, independent living, child welfare services, and family preservation and support programs.
The projects, which must be cost neutral with regard to federal funds, will last for no more than five years and will include a third-party evaluation.