Fall 2002
by Miriam A. Rollin, JD*

IN MEMORY OF SENATOR PAUL WELLSTONE

There are few Members of Congress whose passion and dedication to the improvement of the lives of children, youth and families can equal that of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone. He was an outspoken and courageous advocate for what he believed was right – and the children, youth and families of this nation are better off because of his advocacy. He will be missed.

FY 2003 APPROPRIATIONS: STALLED
Congress has remained deadlocked since July on FY 2003 appropriations for programs affecting children, youth and families. The full Senate has not considered either S. 2766, the FY 03 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education appropriations bill (which funds child abuse/neglect and family services programs) or S. 2778, the FY 03 Commerce, Justice, State appropriations bill (which funds juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs) – both of which had been reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee in July. The House has not taken any action on either of these FY 03 appropriations bills.

In the absence of final FY 03 appropriations bills for almost all of the federal government agencies, Congress has passed a series of “Continuing Resolutions” (enabling funds to continue flowing at last year’s levels) to keep these agencies open. The latest Continuing Resolution funds these agencies through November 22. Prospects for final FY 03 appropriations action by Congress in the post-election “lame-duck” session are unclear at this time.

WELFARE REFORM, CHILD CARE, SOCIAL SERVICES BLOCK GRANT: ALSO STALLED

Congress has remained deadlocked on welfare reform (“TANF”) and mandatory child care reauthorization legislation since July (when the Senate Finance Committee reported out H.R. 4737). That legislation – a different version of which had passed the House in the Spring – is awaiting Senate floor action. S. 2758, the bill to reauthorize discretionary child care funding was marked-up in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in early September, but has also failed to see Senate floor action. Similarly, other bills that were serving as vehicles for the restoration/expansion of the Social Services Block Grant – H.R. 7 (as reported by the Senate Finance Committee), the Senate CARE Act (faith-based initiative), and S. 812, the Senate prescription drug bill – have not made any progress since July.

CAPTA: PROGRESS, BUT NO ENACTMENT YET

The House of Representatives had passed H.R. 3839, a bill to reauthorize the programs under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, in the spring. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee reported out its version of the bill (S. 2998) in late September, but the full Senate has not yet considered this bill. Meanwhile, on October 10, the House (after some behind-the-scenes negotiations with Senate staff) passed a revised bill that addressed most (but not all) of the differences between the House and Senate bills: H.R. 5601. All three versions of the legislation include only relatively modest changes from current CAPTA programs, and all three versions maintain the CAPTA requirement for a guardian ad litem for abused and neglected children. S. 2998 and H.R. 5601 add to the GAL requirement that a GAL “has received training appropriate to the role.”

The Senate, during the post-election lame-duck session, could pass either S. 2998 (and then a House/Senate Conference Committee would have to be appointed to work out the differences), or pass H.R. 5601 – and send it on to the President for his signature. We remain hopeful that legislation to reauthorize the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, together with the Adoption Opportunities Act and the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act, can be enacted before Congress adjourns later this year.

JUVENILE JUSTICE LEGISLATION REACHES ENACTMENT (FINALLY)!

On November 2, 2002, the President signed into law, as P.L. 107-273, a bill (H.R. 2215, the Department of Justice authorization bill) that includes provisions to reauthorize the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) and to authorize the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG). The JJDPA reauthorization was in the works for the past six years, and the JABG has never been fully authorized (other than through annual appropriations bills). Previous versions of the reauthorization legislation had eliminated or weakened key protections for children and a key prevention program (Title V). They also included punitive provisions (such as trying more children as adults) that research had shown to be contrary to juvenile crime reduction goals. The final bill:

maintains all of the core protections for children (removing children from adult jails except for brief periods of time under limited circumstances; separating children from adults when they are held briefly in adult facilities; removing status offenders such as runaways, curfew violators and truants from locked facilities; and addressing racial disparities in the juvenile justice system), maintains the Title V prevention program, and does not include the punitive provisions that were in earlier versions.

In fact, the bill includes some positive new provisions to enhance the treatment and care of juveniles. This legislation has been “in the works” for a long time, and the very significant improvements over time in this bill are a credit to juvenile justice advocates on the Hill (including key Members of Congress and staff) and around the nation. For all who have contributed to this advocacy success: THANK YOU!

CHILD PROTECTION THROUGH VOLUNTEER/PROVIDER SCREENING

Just before Congress left town in mid-October for the election recess, the Senate passed S. 1868, a bill to improve the availability of timely and affordable criminal background checks for volunteers and providers who work with children. A similar bill – H.R. 5556 – was introduced in the House on October 7, by a bi-partisan group of members, but has not yet been considered.

FAMILY OPPORTUNITY ACT

In early September, the Senate Finance Committee reported out S. 321, the Family Opportunity Act, which would provide families of children with disabilities the opportunity to purchase health coverage under the Medicaid program for their children. The full Senate has not yet considered the bill, and there has been no action yet on H.R. 600, the House companion bill.

PROTECTIONS FOR UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN

While there has been no further action on freestanding bills to provide protections for unaccompanied alien children (H.R. 720, H.R. 1904, S. 121), related legislation is moving forward as part of the homeland security bill, about which debates have been raging on Capitol Hill. Good provisions to protect unaccompanied alien children – including requiring “timely” appointment of “qualified and independent legal counsel” to “represent the interests of each such child” – are included in the homeland security bill (H.R. 5005) that passed the House in July. The Senate floor debate on its homeland security bill (S. 2452) took up much of the Senate floor time between Labor Day and the election recess, without any final resolution. The Senate may try to complete action on the bill during the post-election lame duck session.

CHILD ABDUCTION-RELATED POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

In addition to a White House Conference on child abduction (October 2), there have been several legislative developments in that area in recent months. On September 10, the Senate passed S. 2896, a bill to provide for a nationwide “Amber Alert” communications system to utilize when a child is abducted. On October 8, the House passed H.R. 5422, the Child Abduction Prevention Act, which, inter alia, increases penalties for various federal offenses against children, including child abduction, and also provides for a nationwide “Amber Alert” system. Other relevant legislation introduced recently in the Senate include: S. 3140, the Prevention and Recovery of Missing Children Act of 2002, introduced on October 17 by Senators Dodd and Collins; and S. 2917, the Comprehensive Child Protection Act of 2002, introduced on September 10 by Senators Hatch and Feinstein among others. There has been no further action on these two bills.

MISCELLANEOUS LEGISLATION NOT MAKING PROGRESS

There has been no action since the last Guardian “Policy Update” in August (and action in the post-election lame-duck session is not expected) on any of the following bills:

A bill to promote partnerships between child welfare agencies and drug and alcohol abuse prevention and treatment agencies (S. 484, Senators Snowe and Rockefeller; also, H.R. 1909).

A bill to establish a program to assist family caregivers in accessing affordable and high-quality respite care (S. 2489, Sen. Clinton; H.R. 5241, Rep. Langevin) – this bill had been reported out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in July, but there has been not action in the House.

Legislation to strengthen the child welfare workforce (H.R 1371, Rep. Stark).

Legislation to provide equitable access to foster care and adoption services for Indian children in tribal areas (H.R. 2335; S. 550).

The Indian Child Welfare Act amendments bill (H.R. 2644, H.R. 4733).

Younger Americans Act (H.R. 17; S. 1005).

Don’t Forget: You can access all bills (including the text of legislation and public laws), committee reports, and budget/appropriations funding charts via the Internet at thomas.loc.gov.

*Miriam Rollin is the NACC Policy Representative in Washington, D.C.