Using TANF to keep kids out of foster care

....New Ohio State University study

A new study out of Ohio State University¹ demonstrates what I think we’ve known in our guts for awhile: that states with more restrictions on TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) cash payments, or lower payment levels, have more children in foster care.

According to the study: “About 29,000 fewer children may have entered foster care during the 12 years of the study if states had made it easier for low-income families to receive cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, the findings suggest.” Restrictions include not only the low monthly benefit allowed in some states but also work requirements and limits on how long benefits last.

Our experience in Georgia reflects the study’s findings, especially when it comes to “voluntary kinship” programs where family members take in a child who otherwise might be placed in foster care. These arrangements are common — think of all the grandparents raising their grandchildren — but it’s difficult for these families when they don’t have financial assistance. As I recall, the monthly TANF benefit for a family voluntarily caring for a relative child is $167. When you’re already struggling, as many of these families are, that’s not enough. When you’re working and have to pay for child care, it’s even worse. As a result, these “voluntary” caregivers often tell DFCS they can’t do it, so the agency or the court places the child in foster care.

The child, the family, and the State would all be better off if we could raise TANF rates or otherwise find ways to fund voluntary kinship programs. First, if we can keep a child in a voluntary placement with a close relative, that placement will be more comfortable for the child. It’s also easier on the family, who have more leeway in caring for the child without having to jump through the hoops that caregivers must when a child is in state custody. And voluntary kinship programs are certainly cheaper for the state, as custodial care (foster or relative) often costs $1000 per month per child or more.

---

In other news:

• CBS had an interesting story about what can go wrong with the child welfare system.

• Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services is suffering an almost 50% turnover in employees each year.

• A judge in Maine denied legislators access to the child welfare agency’s files, even though the legislative committee in question has oversight authority for the agency.

• Speaking of kinship care….

1. A University whose football team will get crushed by UGA on December 31 in the Peach Bowl.