Child-parent separation is an adverse event that can contribute to negative lifelong health and well-being outcomes. Historically, federal, state, and local funding for child welfare has placed very few resources into preventing child removals, with funding for services that preserve or reunite children and families only accounting for about 8% of the roughly $8 billion in federal child welfare spending.[i]
In Wisconsin, between 2010 and 2017 there was a 12.6% increase in the annual number of children removed from their caregivers and placed in foster care.[ii] The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) presents a significant opportunity to prevent children from experiencing the trauma of being placed in foster care. Currently, Wisconsin uses 4.5% of child welfare funds for child abuse prevention services.[iii] 35% of Wisconsin’s child welfare funding comes from federal sources, mostly Title IV-E (72%).[iv] Wisconsin spends a smaller proportion of state/local child welfare funds on preventative services, and a larger proportion on out-of-home placements when compared to the overall state average in the US.[v] The FFPSA shifts federal funding from congregate care to evidence-based services to prevent children at imminent risk of entering foster care, designated as “candidates for foster care,”[vi] [vii] from being separated from their family.
Funding provisions related to the Act are available starting in October 2019, after states submit their initial state plan. Wisconsin opted to defer implementation of FFPSA for two years; 17 states have also deferred implementation.[viii]
The FFPSA is tied inextricably to the child welfare system; the purpose of FFPSA is to prevent the entry of children into the foster care system, and children cannot be deemed a candidate for foster care without child welfare involvement and creation of a family-specific prevention plan. Accordingly, the prevention services funded by the FFPSA is early intervention for families. The early intervention model, and the funding to support it, represents a significant shift from the traditional mindset related to the child welfare system and provision of evidence-based services.
FFPSA provides an opportunity to bring together mental and behavioral health providers, child welfare systems, child abuse prevention efforts, and substance abuse treatment providers to collaborate to meet the needs of families often served by several of those systems. While the FFPSA requires a systemic shift that will take years beyond the initial implementation date to realize, it represents the most significant opportunity in years to revisit how we serve families differently across systems to prevent children from entering foster care while also advancing proven practices.
ICFW issue brief on Family First Prevention Services Act to be released soon.
Learn More:
IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse
PCIT International
TF-CBT