FosterAdopt Connect, along with our friends at NACAC and Voice for Adoption, ask you to join us in telling Congress to fund Child Welfare.
Please contact your representative in the House and both of your Senators to ask them to be sure to include child welfare funding in the next COVID-19 stimulus package. We want to be sure that adoption and foster care are not forgotten as the federal government moves forward with the next round of legislation.
States are already experiencing significant budget shortfalls and we need to be sure that child welfare services don’t get cut as a result.
What We’re Asking For
—Provide an additional $500 billion in state financial relief as requested by the National Governor’s Association.
—In addition to or as part of state financial relief:
- Increase the FMAP reimbursement rate to 12% under Medicaid and all of Title IVE, and make sure that it extends an entire year. Dedicate the new 6 percent increased FMAP funding to expanded child welfare services, including supporting a temporary increase in foster care maintenance and adoption assistance payments to families.
- Increase funding to Title IV-B, Part 2 (PSSF) by $1 billion.
- Increase Chafee Funding by $500 million.
—Extend eligibility for foster care and Chafee aftercare services to age 23 so no young person ages out during the pandemic.
Learn more about the asks here.
Take Action
Once you’ve identified your members of Congress, you can call their offices directly or simply call the US Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected. (You’ll have to call back for each member.)
Then tell the staff you talk to that you support the above additions to the next stimulus package.
We encourage you to share this alert with others to encourage them to take action too.
Thank you so much for standing up for children and families!