From January 2002 NASW NEWS
Copyright ©2002, National Association of Social Workers, Inc.

Reform's Effect on Families Studied

States Said to Direct Little Funding to Prevention

Nearly a quarter of children living with relatives face multiple risks.

The Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism project, in which NASW is a partner, has issued three reports in an ongoing examination of the impact of welfare reform on families and children.

"Children Cared for by Relatives: Who Are They and How Are They Faring?" focuses on the 1.8 million children who live full-time with relatives instead of parents. The study found that nearly a quarter face multiple social and economic risks. The findings indicate that these children, many of whom have suffered abuse or neglect, frequently fail to receive the benefits and services that they are entitled to.

Based on data from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families, the report categorizes kinship caregivers into: private kinship care, or children being cared for by relatives without the involvement of a public child welfare agency (1.3 million); kinship foster care, in which children were removed from their parents by a child welfare agency and taken into state custody, then placed with relatives (200,000); and voluntary kinship care, in which children had come to the attention of child protective services and were placed with kin, but were not in state custody (300,000).

The report also analyzes the home environments of children in kinship care. Forty-one percent of the children live in families with incomes less than 100 percent of the federal poverty level. Thirty-six percent live with caretakers who do not have high school diplomas; 55 percent live with unmarried caretakers; and 19 percent live in households with four or more children.

An even greater concern, the report states, is that one in five, or 22 percent of all kinship care children, faces three or more risks simultaneously. By comparison, only 8 percent of all children in the U.S. fall into this category.

Another report generated by the project, "Welfare Reform's Effect on Child Welfare Caseloads," examines the links between the cash assistance and child welfare systems. Interviews with more than 350 child welfare administrators, researchers, supervisors, legislative representatives and advocates in 13 states found no evidence that welfare reform had significantly increased the number of families referred to child welfare agencies.

The study's authors note one reason for that may be that welfare families have not yet felt the brunt of the reforms because none of the families has reached lifetime limits on assistance. Concern for dual-system families, the authors say, may be well founded, since many respondents noted the challenges faced by families involved in both systems.

A third report, "The Cost of Protecting Vulnerable Children II: What Has Changed Since 1996?" found that states spent at least $15.6 billion on child welfare services in 1998, an increase of 3 percent over 1996. Spending from Title IV-E increased 22 percent, while the eligible caseload increased by 11 percent.

The report found that states targeted little funding to prevention services. Nontraditional funding streams such as Medicaid represented 39 percent of federal funds expended on child welfare in 1998.

The report states that welfare reform's impact on child welfare financing is not clear. The report also documents states' spending on contracted services, changes in placements, adoption, administration and other services.

For reports: bnowak@ui.urban.org

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