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The Foster Care Straightjacket: Innovation, Federal Financing and Accountability in State Foster Care Reform
by Fostering Results ![]()
Our foster care system is in trouble, and it's in trouble, says Fostering Results, because of the federal financing straightjacket imposed on the system.
"As the federal government and states across the country grapple with record budget shortfalls, state efforts to reform troubled foster care systems are further hampered by rigid federal financing rules that stifle innovation and severely restrict spending federal dollars on services that could help reduce the number of children in foster care. These efforts come as the federal government nears completion of a three year process to evaluate state child welfare systems against a set of performance benchmarks. States that fall short of meeting performance targets risk losing a portion of the more than $4.6 billion in annual federal funding for children in foster care. This report highlights a common hurdle faced by nearly every state - the federal "straightjacket" - the inability to spend federal dollars earmarked for foster care on the services and strategies that could actually help give children safer, more stable, permanent homes. |