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April 8, 2005

The Honorable Ralph Regula
Chair, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education
Committee on Appropriations
2358 Rayburn Building
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington , D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:

As members and affiliates of the National Child Abuse Coalition, we urge your support to include in the FY06 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill funding for the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) programs at the level of the President's request a year ago. The need for services to abused and neglected children and their families is as great today as it was last year when the President challenged Congress to move the CAPTA funding to higher levels. Current funding levels did not meet the President's proposed budget for FY2005, which we urge for the FY2006 appropriations, increasing CAPTA basic state funding from $27.3 million in FY2005 to $42 million in FY2006 and CAPTA Title II community-based prevention grants funding from $42.9 million in FY2005 to $66 million in FY2006. In addition, we urge funding for the CAPTA discretionary research and demonstration grants at the authorized level of $35 million.

The proposed budget for 2006 would fund CAPTA programs at the same level as 2005. Level funding for these programs, when inflation is considered, represents a cut of $2 million. Level funding translates into a cut in support for services to abused children and their families, and a cut in support for the number of caseworkers available to investigate cases of abuse and to protect children from further harm. The President's FY05 budget requested increased CAPTA support for states to improve their child protective services and for community-based programs to prevent abuse and neglect. We believe federal funding to help states and communities protect children and prevent child abuse and neglect should be a priority on the Congressional agenda. Adequate funding is essential. Much more needs to be done.

To date, insufficient funding has been allocated for the prevention of child maltreatment. Appropriate services for families and children who have been victimized by abuse or neglect are lacking. States report that 43 percent of confirmed victims of child maltreatment do not receive services to remediate the negative consequences of abuse and neglect. More children who are already known to child welfare services are getting hurt again. In 2000, according to data from HHS, 29 percent of abused and neglected children were reported again to child protective services within six months. In 2002, that percentage increased to 38 percent.

Our nation's child welfare system is stretched beyond capacity to handle the full scope of child maltreatment. Ninety percent of states report difficulty in recruiting and retaining child welfare workers because of issues like low salaries, high caseloads, insufficient training and limited supervision. The average turnover of child welfare workers is between 30 and 40 percent annually. Nationally, the average caseload for child welfare workers is double the recommended number.

The most recent HHS data show that substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect investigated by child protective service agencies in the United States included an estimated 906,000 children nationally in 2003. Fatalities from child maltreatment remain high: an estimated 1,500 children died of abuse or neglect in 2003. The most endangered are the youngest. Children under 4 account for over three-quarters of the child abuse fatalities , and 44 percent never reached their first birthday.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the CAPTA funding requested for FY2005 would fund prevention services, including parent education and home visitation, for an additional 55,000 children and families. Additional funding for CAPTA state grants, HHS tells us, would enable state child protective service systems to shorten the time for the delivery of post-investigative services by 40 percent and increase the number of children receiving services by almost 20 percent. It is time to invest additional resources to work in partnership with the states to help families and prevent children from being abused and neglected.

Preventing child abuse is cost effective. A GAO evaluation of child abuse prevention efforts found “total federal costs of providing prevention programs for low-income populations were nearly offset after four years.” Community prevention services to overburdened families are far less costly than the damage inflicted on children from abuse and neglect. A 2001 study calculated the total costs of child abuse to exceed $94 billion annually, a figure that includes the immediate direct costs (such as law enforcement, medical treatment, and foster care) and long-term indirect costs (including juvenile delinquency, special education, and lost productivity).

In helping us understand how better to treat child maltreatment and prevent its occurrence, CAPTA R&D dollars are inadequate to satisfy the demand. With current appropriations available for competitive grants, HHS is only able to fund one out of 8 applications for field-initiated research. Federal leadership is crucial to our ability to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect, and CAPTA funding is needed to support research activities, especially since such funds are nonexistent at state and local levels.

Your dedicated support for programs to protect children and to prevent child abuse and neglect can help to focus constructive public policies on these important issues. We hope we can count on your leadership to promote the increased funding levels requested by President Bush last year for CAPTA basic state grants and CAPTA community-based prevention grants, and provide the resources necessary to stem the tide of child maltreatment. Again, many thanks for your advocacy on behalf of children.

Sincerely,

Alliance for Children and Families
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Humane Association
American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children
American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association, Division 37 (Child, Youth, and Family Services)
American Psychological Association, Section on Child Maltreatment
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Child Welfare League of America
Children's Advocacy Institute (California)
Children’s Defense Fund
Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty
First Star
General Federation of Women’s Clubs
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) USA
Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research
Kansas Children's Service League
Kempe Children’s Center (Colorado)
Kempe Children’s Foundation
Massachusetts Citizens for Children
National Alliance of Children's Trust and Prevention Funds
National Association of Counsel for Children
National Association of Social Workers
National Child Protective Workers Association
National Children's Advocacy Center (Alabama)
National Children's Alliance
National Exchange Club Foundation
National Mental Health Association
National PTA
National Respite Coalition
Nebraska Children & Families Foundation
Parents Anonymous® Inc.
Parents as Teachers
Prevent Child Abuse America
Prevent Child Abuse Hampton Roads (Virginia)
Prevent Child Abuse New York
Stop It Now!
Texans Care For Children
Voices for America’s Children
Voices for Children in Nebraska
Voices for Utah Children
Wisconsin Children's Trust Fund