President to Sign Bill to Aid Abused and Neglected Children

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin today called passage of the Child and Family Services Improvement Act “an important step in helping child welfare agencies provide needed services to stabilize families and prevent child abuse and neglect.”

The measure extends funding for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program for five years.  This program provides funds to assist states in preventing child abuse, supporting and keeping at-risk families together and promoting the adoption of children in foster care.

The legislation, which President Bush has said he will sign, also provides an additional $95 million to improve state oversight of welfare cases and to improve caseworker retention, recruitment and training.  The bill also provides funding for substance abuse treatment, for disasters planning to lessen the impact on families, and to help courts identify and locate children in need of services.

As a member of the Human Resources Subcommittee of the Ways & Means Committee, Rep. Cardin has long advocated for greater oversight by child welfare agencies of children identified as at risk.  In 2004, he participated in a hearing into the Baltimore child welfare system in the wake of the murders of one-month-old twins by their 17 year-old mother, Sierra Swann, who was in the foster care system.

“The safety of vulnerable children in our society is a job for all levels of government,” said Rep. Cardin.  “This bill provides additional resources to help states better identify and protect children who are at risk of abuse or neglect.  It also will provide for better training and recruitment of child welfare caseworkers who are on the frontlines dealing with families at risk on a daily basis.”

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