IV-B Reauthorization Features Both Promise and Pitfalls for Adoption

Reauthorization of federal programs covered by Title IV-B of the Social Security Act appears to be on the table again this year, at least in the House of Representatives.

Title IV-B covers multiple programs of interest to Voice for Adoption, including diligent recruitment and the Court Improvement Program, so reauthorization of the law could provide substantial opportunities for improvement. However, some proposals currently being considered could potentially be harmful to adoptive families and children if they are not implemented carefully. 

On September 28, during a House Ways and Means Work and Welfare Subcommittee hearing on the issue, Subcommittee Chairman Darin LaHood (R-IL) indicated that there are numerous areas that are ripe for bipartisan agreement. They include youth aging out of foster care, increased support for kinship care, strengthening the capacity of family courts and family resource centers, and addressing nationwide shortages of case workers.

“Earlier this month, I sat down with Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston of the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services,” he said. “Our conversation was very productive and revealed a number of areas where Title IV-B could be improved.”

There is no shortage of suggestions from advocates. The National Child Abuse Coalition recently issued a set of recommendations for IV-B reauthorization that Voice for Adoption has endorsed. They include increased support for families, including adoption and kinship care, and greater focus on mental health and workforce needs. The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), a VFA member, also submitted recommendations to the committee.

House Republicans, however, have placed one particular goal at the center of their reauthorization efforts -- greater flexibility and streamlining of existing IV-B programs.

During the hearing, Utah child welfare administrator Tracy Gruber testified that the regulatory burden imposed by programs like IV-B is considerable.  “The administrative burden placed upon caseworkers through required documentation results in more time spent at a computer than with a family,” she testified.

“Our central office has over 20 program administrators responsible for various federal programs,” she continued. “Title IV-B contributes to the need for this extensive administrative infrastructure simply by having different funding allocation formulas and purposes for its two parts.” To deal with this, Gruber suggested reducing administrative costs and replacing regulatory compliance with a combination of increased flexibility and targeted child outcomes.

In a survey of adoption organizations that VFA conducted this fall, we found similar frustrations. High paperwork and administrative burdens were ranked as one of the top contributors to workforce shortages, with 72% of survey respondents calling them either a large or the largest contributor to staff turnover. This suggests significant sympathy for the goal of reducing unnecessary red tape.

Nevertheless, some of the proposals to increase flexibility are concerning. One option that is being considered is eliminating the current set-asides in the Promoting Safe & Stable Families program (IV-B, part 2). Unfortunately, this would include the 20% set aside for adoption promotion and support, potentially placing about $80 million per year for these services at risk.  More broadly, flexible block grants similar to those being considered can lead to reduced funding over time.

CWLA flagged the importance of these adoption funds in its recommendations to the committee:

Research indicates that approximately 5 to 20 percent of children who exit foster care to adoption or guardianship experience discontinuity. These adoption and reunification funds are essential to family stability for those children that are exiting foster care into permanency, especially in light of the fact that there are no services for these populations that have been approved for the Family First Clearinghouse at this time.

VFA will continue to work with the committee on these and other issues as Title IV-B reauthorization moves forward.