ACTION NETWORK FOR SOCIAL
WORK EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (ANSWER Coalition)
 April 2005
- Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program
Directors (BPD)
- Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education
(GADE)
- Institute for the Advancement of Social Work
Research (IASWR)
- National Association of Deans and Directors
of Schools of Social Work (NADD)
- National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
- Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
STATEMENT & ACTION ALERT ON TITLE IV-E TRAINING
The Title IV-E child welfare training program is one of the
top legislative priorities of the ANSWER Coalition and the
program is in jeopardy. The program's continued existence is
threatened both by proposals to block grant Title IV-E, which
would eliminate the training program's current federal entitlement
and enhanced federal matching rate of 75 percent, and by draconian
funding cuts in social programs mandated by the House and Senate
budget resolutions.
The IV-E training program is important to social work education,
practice, and research. The bulk of the training funds are
awarded to schools and departments of social work and are used
to support a variety of training programs, including university-agency
training partnerships, and program evaluations. Funds are used
to prepare prospective students to work in child welfare and
to improve the knowledge and skills of current child welfare
staff, as well as to train foster and adoptive parents.
ANSWER strongly supports maintaining the Title IV-E training
program's entitlement funding and enhanced federal matching
rate. Without both components, states will find it much more
difficult to fund training and evaluations and efforts to improve
the education, skills, and competencies of child welfare staff
will falter.
ACTION NEEDED FROM ANSWER CONSTITUENCIES
Very few Members of Congress or congressional staff even know
that the IV-E training program exists. Therefore, it is critical
for social work educators, social work students, social work
researchers, and social work professionals to make every effort
to raise awareness of the program among U.S. Representatives
and Senators.
Federal lawmakers find it very easy to eliminate programs
that they know nothing about. It is much more difficult for
them to cut funding for programs that they know have strong
constituencies and that provide significant benefits to their
states or districts.
TAKE ACTION
- E-mail or fax letters to your Representatives
and Senators … and convince at least three
(3) of your colleagues and all of your students to do
the same. A sample letter follows and is posted on NASW's
Congress Web site: http://63.66.87.48/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=NASW
E-mailing the letter from the Web site is quick and easy and
provides us with a record of which Members of Congress have
been contacted. Go to the Web site, enter your contact information,
and click on the “Child Welfare: Title IV-E Training” letter.
The program does the rest—it identifies your congressional
representatives, enters their e-mail addresses, and sends the
letters automatically. You will receive an acknowledgement
that a letter has been sent.
Note: As with all letters to Members of
Congress, the letter will be more effective if you include
specific information about the IV-E training program at your
school or program or in your state.
- Invite your Representatives and/or
Senators to visit your training program or agency. If
a Member of Congress visits a program, its value becomes
much more concrete to him/her, much more real. If the Member
is unavailable, invite one of their top-level staff to
attend instead. Congressional staff can be critical allies
in promoting and protecting the program.
- Engage your university government
relations staff in your efforts. While the IV-E
training program may not be the university's top government
relations priority, a quick telephone call or line in a
letter or e-mail sent by the university to congressional
lawmakers can be extremely helpful.
- Engage state and local partners in
making the case for maintaining the Title IV-E training
entitlement. Meet
with state or local agency administrators, state lawmakers,
and your governor.
- Connect with the media to raise visibility
for the program. Be proactive—meet with local
editorial boards or invite reporters who have written stories
on child welfare to visit your program—or be ready to fire
off a letter to the editor or op ed when the next child
welfare “horror
story” appears. Explain how well trained, competent staff
are critical to improving the quality of child welfare
service delivery and how the Title IV-E training program
is critical to creating those well trained, competent staff.
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT
An Advocacy Toolkit for the Title IV-E Training Program has
been created and is posted on the ANSWER Web site: http://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/answer/cwResources/default.asp
Among the tool kit resources:
COORDINATION NEEDED
Since a coordinated advocacy campaign has a much greater chance
of success, please let the ANSWER Coalition staff know what
you have done and what you are planning to do. Staff are available
to assist in your efforts.
Staff contacts:
Site visits/Grassroots: Dina Zarrella, Senior Field Organizer,
NASW, dzarrella@naswdc.org ;
202-336-8218
TITLE IV-E TRAINING LETTER FOR U.S. REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS
Date
The Honorable [First name; Last name]
U.S. Senate or U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510 or 20515
Dear Senator or Representative [Last name]:
I am a constituent, social worker,
and member of the National Association of Social Workers, and am concerned
about the effect proposed changes in child welfare, including possible cuts
in funding, will have on abused and neglected children in our state and those
at-risk of abuse or neglect.
I am writing to
ask that you oppose any proposals to block grant the Title IV-E foster care
program or to reduce federal funding for any child welfare program. Either
action will severely hamper our state's efforts to improve outcomes for children
and their families outlined in the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs).
Among my concerns is that proposals made by the Bush Administration
and others would negatively impact current education, training, and evaluation
programs that are proving successful in improving our state's child welfare
workforce. One proposal would eliminate the entitlement funding and enhanced
federal match for the Title IV-E training program and pit it against funding
for needed services for children and families in a fixed-sum block grant.
Another would change IV-E eligibility determinations, and a
third would simply reduce funding to comply with instructions
in the FY06 budget resolution.
Several recent studies
highlight the necessity of a qualified workforce in meeting the Adoption
and Safe Families Act (ASFA) goals of safety, permanence, and
well-being. Others detail the difficulty child welfare agencies
continue to have in recruiting and retaining qualified workers.
Still others confirm the value of Title IV-E funded agency-university
training partnerships in improving the recruitment and retention
of competent and caring child welfare workers. Ensuring that vulnerable children receive high quality care
must become a higher national priority. To help make that happen,
I urge you to support congressional efforts to maintain the
current Title IV-E entitlement, the enhanced federal match
for training, and to secure additional funding to help states
address the needs of the child welfare workforce and the needs
of children in their care.
Without your support, children will continue to suffer and
die at the hands of the government designed to protect them.
I look forward to your support.
Sincerely, |
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