Changes Coming to Foster Care.

• Author: Brown, Jerard
• Position: TRENDS

A new federal law, the Family First Prevention Services Act, has the potential to radically change child welfare systems across the country. It was tucked inside the massive federal spending bill, and is the most extensive overhaul of foster care in nearly four decades.

The foster care population increased by more than 10 percent between 2012 and 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency linked the increase in child welfare caseloads to the nation's opioid epidemic. To help reverse the trend, the new law allows states, territories and tribes to spend some of their annual foster care funding on certain preventive programs. It prioritizes keeping families together and encourages at-home parenting classes, mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment. States will be reimbursed for evidence-based prevention services for up to 12 months.

Under the new law, children must be formally assessed, within 30 days of placement, to determine whether their needs can be met by family members, in a family foster home or in another approved...