Second annual tripApril 27 – May 1, 2014

Three Days On the Hill

Welcome…

Three Days On the HillMorning Agenda

10:00 am – Welcome and Purpose of Event

► OHIO YAB Mission and Accomplishments

► Top Five Issues for this Trip

10:30 am – Federal Legislation and Financing

► State Legislation vs. Federal Legislation

► Brief Overview of Legislative Process

► How Federal Child Welfare Finance Works

11:00 am – Current Bills on the Hill

► S. 1518► S. 1870

► Other Bills

Three Days On the HillAfternoon Agenda

1:00 pm – Roles During Legislative Visits

► Role Plays of Legislative Visits

2:00 pm – Legislators We Will Be Meeting With ► Talking Points That Might Be Effective

► Framing the “Ask” for Each Legislator

► How Do Our Issues Fit Into Existing Legislation Being Discussed On the Hill?

3:00 pm – Federal Funding for Housing for Transition Aged Youth

► Available funding streams

We exist to be the knowledgeable statewide voice that influences policies and practices that effect all youth who have or will experience out of home care.

OHIO Youth Advisory Board Mission Statement

Last Year’s Participants

Top Five Issues Identified By Youth

1. Housing resources for youth transitioning from foster care to adulthood.

2. Federal funding to support foster youth between ages 15-21 years old.

3. Quality training for foster youth to prepare them for adulthood.

4. Credit challenges for foster youth transferring from one school to another.

5. Extending foster care supports in Ohio to 21.

Questions That Came Up Last Year

1. Housing: Point-in-time count and “couch-surfing”

2. Chafee funding: Having states lose funding for noncompliance negatively impacts youth.

3. IL Preparation: Could Title IV-E funds ever be expanded to allow them to be used to train youth directly, not just adults? (Comparison to the game of Telephone)

4. Uninterrupted Scholars Act: Could it be expanded to address credit challenges for foster youth transferring from one school to another?

Federal vs. State vs. Local Legislation• Federal laws are rules that apply throughout the United

States. These laws apply in every state, such as

• Each state has its own system of laws and courts that handle state matters, including welfare, public assistance and Medicaid.

• Local laws: Counties, cities, and municipalities within a state often have their own system of laws and courts that handle rent laws, zoning and local safety.

Who Can Introduce a Bill?

A bill can come from a variety of sources:• Individual citizens• Special interest groups• Corporations• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

Only a member of Congress can introduce the bill.

A bill can start in either House.

1. A bill is introduced

2. The bill is assigned to a committee for consideration.

3. A subcommittee considers the bill, marks it up and reports out, by majority vote.

4. The full committee considers the bill, marks it up and reports out, by majority vote.

5. The bill goes to the House floor for a vote by all members. Members can offer amendments. A final majority vote passes or fails to pass the bill.

6. The bill is sent to the Senate where it goes through steps 2-5 as outlined above.

7. After both houses of Congress pass their versions of the bill, a Conference Committee is appointed to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.

8. The Conference Committee’s version of the bill is reported back to the House and Senate for their consideration.

9. After passage of the Conference bill, in identical form by both the House and the Senate, the bill goes to the President for his consideration. The president either signs or vetoes the bill.

10. Congress can override a Presidential veto by a 2/3 vote of both houses.

How A Bill Becomes A Law

How A Bill Becomes A Law

Child Welfare Reform Efforts

1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act

• Clarified “reasonable efforts” by emphasizing children’s health and safety

• Sets a time limit to avoid children languishing in care (12 months, 24 months)

1999 Foster Care Independence Act

• Chafee funding and independent living classes• Requires states to contribute a 20% match for

Independent Living program funds, and use federal training funds to prepare foster parents to train teens for Independent Living

• Gives states the option to extend Medicaid for foster youth until age 21

2008 Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act

• Gives states the option to extend IV-E foster care supports until age 21

• Mandates 90-day transition plan with youth input• Requires that case plans include a plan for

ensuring the educational stability of the child in foster care

Child Welfare Reform Efforts

2011 Child And Family Services Improvement and Innovations Act

• Requires that annual case reviews for every child ages 16+ in foster care include a credit report

• Requires case plans to consider educational stability during every placement change, not just the child’s initial placement in foster care

• Mandates improved quality of monthly caseworker visits, focusing on safety, permanence and well-being

• Requires States to develop a plan for trauma-informed care, and protocols to monitor psychotropic medications

2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

• Extension of Medicaid until age 26 for former foster youth, beginning in January 2014

2012 Uninterrupted Scholars Act

• Helps child welfare agencies get access to school records in a timely manner, without requiring written permission from parents

Federal Funds for Child Welfare

Title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance, Adoption Assistance, and Guardianship Assistance

• The Children’s Bureau provides these funds to states, as an open-ended entitlement, on a formula basis to provide reimbursement for a portion of the costs of providing foster care, adoption assistance, and, if elected by the State or Tribe, guardianship assistance to eligible children

Chafee fundsChafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP)

• These programs are funded under Title IV-E on a formula, fixed-grant basis to assist States in providing services and supports that help foster youth acquire the training and skills needed for self-sufficiency.

ETV Education and Training Voucher Program

• Ohio’s ETV funds are administered through Foster Care 2 Success, but the funding ultimately comes from Title IV-E.

WIA Workforce Investment Act

• While this funding is not directly related to child welfare, the services funded by

Federal Financing for Child Welfare

1. Federal Registration is passed

2. Children’s Bureau provides guidance.

3. Children’s Bureau disperses funds.

4. States develop programs and policies.

5. Children’s Bureau monitors State service.► The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and

Reporting System (AFCARS): Annual Assessment Review

► National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD)

6. Children’s Bureau reports to Congress.

Bills to be Familiar With…

1. S.1518: Improving outcomes for youth at risk of sex trafficking and other purposes

2. S.1870: Supporting At-Risk Children Act

SB 1518

Case Plan • Foster youth ages 14+ would have a voice

Higher Education • Extend ETV to foster care alumni older than 21• Develop an information clearinghouse

Housing • Increased funding for housing

Normalcy

*if this bill is passed into law

• Develop a reasonable and prudent parent standard for the child's participation in age or developmentally appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities.

• This standard would be required of any foster home or child care institution receiving Title IV-E funds.

Vital Records • Birth certificate, Soc. Sec. card, bank account

Direct Quotes from S.1518…

1. The latest research in adolescent brain development indicates that young people learn through experience and through trial and error and, as part of healthy brain development, young people need to take on increasing levels of decision-making through their teenage years.

2. In order to improve outcomes for youth in foster care, systemic changes need to be made that focus on greater youth interaction with case planning while in foster care and improved policies and procedures that encourage age or developmentally appropriate activities for children in foster care and permit more opportunities to make meaningful and permanent connections with adults.

SB 1870Adoption • Post-adoptive and post-guardianship support

Case Plan • Youth can choose up to two members of his or her case planning team

Emancipationif this bill is passed into law

• Require foster youth to be discharged from care only if provided with an official birth certificate, Social Security card, a driver's license or equivalent state-issued identification care, and bank account. States would receive an administrative penalty for noncompliance.

Family Search and Engagement

• Increased standards, within 30 days of a child entering foster care

Housing • Amends part A of SSA title XI to require the head of each federal agency to report to Congress recommendations for expanding safe housing for youth victims of trafficking.

Roles During Legislative Visits

1. Introduce the Group: (name of group, name and county of each youth, and which youth is that particular legislator’s constituent)

2. Overview/Background Information: (the problem)

3. Personal Story: (why it matters to you)

4. Statistics: (how this story fits into the big picture)

5. What You Are Asking For: (simple, clear request)

6. Thanks for Your Time and Packet of Information (fact sheets, talking points, contact information)

Becky Shipp, Health Policy Advisor to the Senate Finance Committee

Representative Pat Tiberi

Representative Mike Turner

Second Day on the Hill1. Representative Joyce Beatty (Franklin County)

2. Representative Jim Jordan (NE Ohio)

3. Senator Rob Portman (Statewide)

4. Representative Bob Gibbs (NE Ohio)