Researchers, child advocates and state and local policymakers have worked tirelessly for years to reduce the number of children placed into group care settings. The Family First Law represents an important step in this regard.
The American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law has produced this Legal Guide for attorneys and judicial officers in order to better comprehend and apply the Family First Act and its implications.
What is the Family First Law?
Family First marks a dramatic shift in federal child welfare funding since TANF passed in 1980, shifting emphasis towards prevention efforts like mental health and substance abuse treatment, parenting skills training and in-home parent counseling to keep children safely with their families at home. Furthermore, it limits federal funds from being spent on placement in congregate care settings such as group homes.
Research and practice experience have long demonstrated the benefit of placing children involved with child welfare systems with families rather than residential settings such as group homes. Family First leverages this experience by opening funding for such family placements while restricting which types of group care settings continue to receive federal reimbursement.
Child welfare agencies, courts, attorneys and judicial officers play vital roles in incorporating Family First Act priorities into legal proceedings to ensure children and families gain from its new opportunities and restrictions. This article highlights those provisions of law most directly impacting legal practice as well as implementation tips for agencies, attorneys and judicial officers.
What is the Family First Prevention Services Act?
President Trump signed into law the Family First Prevention Services Act in February 2018, revamping federal child welfare funding streams and encouraging states to prioritize keeping children from entering foster care by expanding eligibility for federal funds to support parenting capacity, mental health treatment and in-home parenting skills training; restricting congregate care (such as group homes); and strengthening state systems’ ability to facilitate family reunification or kinship placements.
The law also expands the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, to assist young adults who were overrepresented in foster care as they age out, such as providing funding for education, employment and housing assistance, along with case management support services.
The Center for Children and the Law is currently collaborating with an extensive coalition of partners to produce a comprehensive resource on the Family First Act. This toolkit highlights specific provisions which directly affect legal practice as well as considerations for agency attorneys, children’s advocates, parents’ attorneys and judicial decision makers who wish to integrate Family First into individual case work.
What is the Family First Treatment Services Act?
Family First changes the way states receive and spend federal child welfare funds, redirecting Title IV-E funding towards preventive services like parenting support, mental health treatment for substance abuse issues, in-home family therapy sessions, family preservation assistance programs and adoption assistance services as well as kinship navigator programs.
This legislation also makes changes to foster care reimbursement and restricts funds used to place children in congregate placements like group homes, as research demonstrates that young people involved with child welfare systems thrive best within families.
State and local agencies, child welfare researchers, attorneys, and judicial decision makers should familiarize themselves with Family First before its implementation. Our Legal Guide contains in-depth coverage on its provisions – an essential read for anyone interested in child welfare law and policy. Many key provisions became effective as of October 1; others are taking longer to implement and refine.
What is the Family First Transition Services Act?
CWLA and the Children’s Defense Fund supported this bill that permits states, territories, and tribes to use Title IV-E funding from federal sources to pay for front-end prevention services that allow candidates for foster care placement to remain with parents or relatives rather than going into care themselves – such as mental health and substance abuse treatment, home visiting services, in-home training sessions and so forth. Furthermore, GAO must study how states reinvest delink savings from adoption assistance into family support services.
Young people involved with child welfare benefit most from living within families, and the Family First Act takes an important step toward that end by restructuring how Congress funds child welfare services. It reduces foster care placements while restricting group home placements and improving services for older youth who have already left foster care.
Some provisions of the Family First Law took effect in October, while other parts will take longer to implement and refine at state and local levels. This brief guide highlights key aspects of the Family First Law with links to resources for legal practitioners and judges making judicial decisions.