[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18677-18679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8044]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
45 CFR Parts 1355, 1356 and 1357
Federal Monitoring of Child and Family Service Programs; Request
for Public Comment and Consultation Meetings
AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration
for Children and Families (ACF), Administration on Children, Youth and
Families (ACYF), Children's Bureau (CB)
ACTION: Request for public comment and consultation meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Children's Bureau is interested in improving the process
by which we review title IV-B and IV-E plan requirements. CB currently
reviews a State's compliance through Child and Family Service Reviews
(CFSRs). Following two rounds of CFSRs in every State and the passage
of several amendments to Federal child welfare laws since the CFSRs
began, we believe it is time to reassess how CB reviews title IV-B and
IV-E programs through the CFSR and identify enhancements and system
improvements we could make.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section below on or before May 20, 2011. Please see
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional details on consultation
meetings.
[[Page 18678]]
ADDRESSES: Interested persons may submit written comments by any of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected]. Please include ``Comments
on CFSR Federal Register Notice'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail or Courier Delivery: Jan Rothstein, Division of
Policy, Children's Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and
Families, Administration for Children and Families, 1250 Maryland
Avenue, SW., 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20024
Instructions: If you choose to use an express, overnight, or other
special delivery method, ensure that delivery may be made at the
address listed under the ADDRESSES section. We urge interested parties
to submit comments electronically to ensure that they are received in a
timely manner. All comments received will be posted without change to
http://www.regulations.gov. This will include any personal information
provided. Comments provided during a meeting, or in writing, in
response to this Federal Register notice will receive equal
consideration by ACF.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jan Rothstein, Children's Bureau, 1250
Maryland Ave., SW., 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20024, (202) 401-5073.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Child and Family Service Review Background: Section 1123A of the
Social Security Act (the Act) requires the Secretary of the Department
of Health and Human Services to issue regulations for the review of
programs under titles IV-B and IV-E to determine whether such programs
are in substantial conformity with title IV-B and IV-E plan
requirements, implementing regulations and relevant title IV-B and IV-E
plans. ACF issued regulations implementing such reviews, known as the
CFSRs, in the Federal Register on January 25, 2000 (65 FR 4020). The
review process, as regulated, grew out of extensive consultation with
interested groups, individuals and experts in the field of child
welfare and related areas. The consultation affirmed that the broad
goals of child welfare systems are to: Assure safety for all children;
to assure permanent, nurturing homes for all children; and to enhance
the well-being of children and their families. The reviews reinforce
those goals.
The existing CFSRs enable CB to: (1) Ensure conformity with Federal
child welfare requirements; (2) determine what is actually happening to
children and families as they are engaged in child welfare services;
and (3) assist States to enhance their capacity to help children and
families achieve positive outcomes. CB conducts the reviews in
partnership with State child welfare agency staff and other
stakeholders involved in the provision of child welfare services. We
have structured the reviews to help States identify strengths as well
as areas needing improvement within their agencies and programs.
Each CFSR is a two-stage process consisting of a Statewide
Assessment and an onsite review of child and family service outcomes
and program systems. For the Statewide Assessment, CB prepares and
transmits data profiles that contain aggregate data on the State's
foster care and in-home service populations. The data profiles allow
each State to compare certain safety and permanency data indicators
with national standards determined by CB. The on-site review includes
case record reviews, interviews with children and families engaged in
services and interviews with other stakeholders. States determined not
to have achieved substantial conformity in all the areas assessed are
required to develop and implement Program Improvement Plans (PIPs)
within two years addressing the areas of nonconformity. CB supports the
States with technical assistance and monitors implementation of their
plans. States that are unable to complete their PIPs successfully have
some of their Federal child welfare funds withheld until they are found
to be in substantial conformity or have successfully completed a PIP as
prescribed in the Federal regulations.
We believe that the CFSR has been a factor contributing to
increased State and local attention to child welfare practice
improvement and a renewed focus on child and family outcomes and the
systems supporting positive outcomes. Stakeholders have also noted that
there are areas where the CFSRs could contribute to even more positive
changes. To that end, we are interested in learning from stakeholders
in response to the questions below how they would envision a Federal
review process that meets the statutory requirements in section 1123A
of the Act and holds child welfare agencies accountable for achieving
positive outcomes for children and families and continuously improving
the quality of their systems for doing so.
In addition to the foregoing, we would like to clarify that,
although several of the questions below address Tribal involvement in
Federal reviews of title IV-B and IV-E plan requirements, until
regulations are in effect otherwise, Indian Tribes operating title IV-E
programs of their own are not subject to CFSRs. However, Indian Tribes
have participated in CFSRs in the past and Indian children are part of
the CFSRs. Therefore, we are interested at this time in gaining their
insight into how the process could be improved.
Questions
Please identify the question to which you are responding. If you
have additional comments, please identify them by citing to the
appropriate section of the regulations or review process, if
appropriate:
1. How could ACF best promote and measure continuous quality
improvement in child welfare outcomes and the effective functioning of
systems that promote positive outcomes for children and families?
2. To what extent should data or measures from national child
welfare databases (e.g., the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and
Reporting System, the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System) be
used in a Federal monitoring process and what measures are important
for State/Tribal/local accountability?
3. What role should the child welfare case management information
system or systems that States/Tribes/local agencies use for case
management or quality assurance purposes play in a Federal monitoring
process?
4. What roles should State/Tribal/local child welfare agencies play
in establishing targets for improvement and monitoring performance
towards those targets? What role should other stakeholders, such as
courts, clients and other child-serving agencies play?
5. In what ways should targets and performance goals be informed by
and integrated with other Federal child welfare oversight efforts?
6. What specific strategies, supports, incentives, or penalties are
needed to ensure continued quality improvement and achievement of
positive outcomes for children and families that are in substantial
conformity with Federal child welfare laws?
7. In light of the ability of Tribes to directly operate title IV-E
programs through recent changes in the statute, in what ways, if any,
should a Federal review process focus on services delivered to Indian
children?
8. Are there examples of other review protocols, either in child
welfare or related fields, in which Tribal/State/local governments
participate that might inform CB's approach to reviewing child welfare
systems?
[[Page 18679]]
We welcome any other comments you have about Federal review of
child welfare programs, including the current CFSR process.
Additional Consultation Opportunities: In addition to this
opportunity to comment, CB plans to hold four in-person consultations
in ACF Regions III, VI, VIII and IX and two meetings in our offices in
Washington, DC.
CB invites State representatives, Tribal leaders and/or their
representatives, judges, families and youth served by the child welfare
system and other interested stakeholders to attend these in-person
meetings or call in via the conference call number to provide their
input on the questions raised above. Registration for the meetings and
calls must be completed in advance per the details below. You may also
provide written comments as noted in the ADDRESSES section, regardless
of participation in an in-person session or conference call. Finally,
please note that Federal representatives attending the consultation
sessions will not be able to respond directly during the session to the
concerns or questions raised by participants. The consultation sessions
and contact information are listed below:
CB meeting/conference call-1: April 26, 2011, 12-2 EDT.
CB meeting/conference call-2: May 3, 2011, 1-3 EDT.
Register for the meeting/call of your choice by sending an e-mail to:
[email protected] to register.
Region III--April 20, 2011, 10:00-12:00 EDT
150 S. Independence Mall West, Suite 864, Philadelphia, PA 19106-3499,
Please send an e-mail to: [email protected] to register.
Region VI--April 18, 2011, 10:00-12:00 CDT
1301 Young Street, Room 1119, Dallas, TX 75202, Please send an e-mail
to: [email protected] to register.
Region VIII--April 27, 2011, 10:00-12:00 MDT
999 18th Street, South Terrace, Suite 499, Denver, CO 80202, Please
send an e-mail to: [email protected] to register.
Region IX--April 20, 2011, 10:30-12:30 PDT
90 7th Street, 9th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103, Please send an e-
mail to: [email protected] to register.
The Children's Bureau is also hosting Tribal Roundtables for Tribal
leaders and/or their representatives. The dates of these sessions are
listed below:
August 2-3 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;
August 16-17 in Seattle, Washington;
September 13-14 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A portion of the agenda for these roundtables will be set aside to
discuss Federal monitoring of child and family services programs under
titles IV-B and IV-E. The Children's Bureau will send information
directly to Tribal leaders regarding attendance at these roundtables.
Dated: March 31, 2011.
Bryan Samuels,
Commissioner, Administration on Children, Youth and Families.
[FR Doc. 2011-8044 Filed 4-4-11; 8:45 am]
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