10/17/2007

In this issue:

• Policy Spotlight: Nebraska Foster Care Rates Lowest in the Country
• Nebraska Court Opinions: no relevant cases to report
• Federal Legislative Actions: Interim Studies Update
• Upcoming Events and Conferences

POLICY SPOTLIGHT

Nebraska’s Foster Care Rates Lowest in the Country

This month, the National Foster Parent Association, the University of Maryland School of Social Work, and Children’s Rights, a New York-based advocacy organization, released a first-of-its-kind study looking state-by-state at current reimbursement rates for foster parents and developing a calculation of the actual expenses necessary to provide care for a child in the foster care system.

The study found that Nebraska’s base rate for children birth to age five is $226 per month, the lowest of any state in the country. By comparison, the study found that the minimum adequate rate for this age group of children in Nebraska to be $636 per month. In order to reach the minimum adequate rate, Nebraska would need to increase reimbursement by 181 percent. (Note that the minimum adequate rate was calculated by taking Bureau of Labor Statistics data on the cost of caring for a child, identifying costs particular to children in foster care, and applying a state-by-state cost-of-living adjustment to arrive at individual rates for each state.) Nebraska’s base rate for children age five and above is $359 per month, compared to the national average of $509 for children ages 5-13 and $568 for children ages 14-18, and minimum adequate rates of $729 and $799 respectively.

State and local child welfare agencies are required by federal law to provide some reimbursement to foster parents to cover the costs – food, clothing, etc. - of caring for foster children. Foster care payments are typically covered by a combination of local, state, and federal funds. However, federal law provides no minimum requirement for foster care payments and states have discretion to set the rate.

The report urges that states and the federal government should adopt the minimum adequate rate and strengthen their commitment to foster care funding. The report also notes that low foster care rates are only one among a number of systemic factors that affect the well-being of children in foster care. “It is also critical that adequate funding and services are available to strengthen families and prevent children from entering foster care in the first place. However, when children cannot remain safely at home and do enter foster care, they must receive appropriate care, which requires adequate foster care rates.”

Click here to read a copy of the report, “Hitting the MARC: Establishing Foster Care Minimum Adequate Rates for Children.”

Click here to read the Lincoln Journal Star/Associated Press article, “HHS officials dispute study on foster care payments.”

Click here to read Nebraska Appleseed’s Letter to the Editor in the Lincoln Journal Star.

NEBRASKA COURT OPINIONS

No relevant cases to report.

LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Interim Studies Update

As we mentioned in the September Update, the Unicameral’s Health and Human Services Committee traveled this month to each of the five HHS service area offices (Lincoln, Omaha, Norfolk, Grand Island and Gering) the week of October 1st-5th as part of an interim study on Nebraska’s foster care system. On October 2nd, a community forum was held in Grand Island as part of LR 201, an interim study to examine policies with regard to non-English speaking families in Nebraska’s child welfare system. The forum was attended by over 60 community members – including state senators and other representatives from the legislature, the new Director of HHS’s Division of Children & Family Services and other HHS representatives, staff from the Foster Care Review Board, Heartland CASA, the Grand Island Public Schools, services providers, attorneys, members of the faith community, foster parents, foster children, and biological parents. Thanks to everyone who participated! If you were not able to attend the community forum, but would like to provide input on foster care issues, you can contact the HHS Committee of the Legislature.

For more information on interim studies, visit: http://www.unicam.state.ne.us

Note: This is not an exhaustive list of legislation or cases. The legislation and cases in this update are selected by Appleseed as those raising systemic issues in the child welfare system.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND CONFERENCES

NSBA Annual Meeting, October 17-19, 2007 – Sessions of interest:

Thursday, Oct. 18th, 9 a.m. – noon – NCLE Public Interest Section Seminar
Thursday, Oct. 18th, 9 a.m. – noon – Parenting Act Update – LB 554
Thursday, Oct. 18th, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. – General Session featuring Morris Dees, chief trial counsel, Southern Poverty Law Center
Friday, Oct. 19th, 8:45 a.m. – noon, 1:30 – 5:00 p.m. – GAL Seminar

For more information about the Child Welfare System Accountability Program, please visit: NeAppleseed.org/children

For more information about Nebraska Appleseed, please visit: NeAppleseed.org

To make an online donation and help us make a difference, please visit: NeAppleseed.org/contribute

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