COLLINS SEEKS ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR CHILD ABUSE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) today urged Senate Appropriators to increase funding for critical Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) programs. Senator Collins joined eleven of her Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee Subcommitte on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education specifically requesting additional resources for state grant programs under CAPTA that assist communities in stemming child abuse and ensuring that affected children receive proper treatment.
The text of the letter is provided below:
The Honorable Arlen Specter The Honorable Tom Harkin
Chairman Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education
and Related Agencies Appropriations and Related Agencies Appropriations
184 Dirksen Senate Office Building 123 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Specter and Ranking Member Harkin:
We are writing in support of increased funding for Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) programs. CAPTA established a focal point within the federal government to identify and address issues of child abuse and neglect, and to support effective methods of prevention and treatment. While our protection system remains sorely in need of resources, funds for CAPTA programs have not kept pace with the needs of communities for supporting families and protecting children. In 2004, according to the most recent data released this month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an estimated 3 million reports of possible abuse and neglect were made to states, and almost 900,000 ofthese reports were substantiated. States are hard-pressed to treat children or protect them from further harm when they lack basic resources to do so. In 2004, just over 40 percent of the child victims received no services following a substantiated report of maltreatment. Almost 1,500 children died as a result of abuse or neglect. To compound this tragedy, the most endangered are disproportionately the youngest. The recent data show that more than 80 percent of children who were killed by abusers were younger than 4 years old, and 44 percent of those never reached their first birthday. CAPTA's Title I basic state grants help states strengthen their child protection systems. The nation's child welfare system has long been stretched beyond capacity. When measured against the federal Child and Family Service Reviews developed by HHS to evaluate a state's performance in protecting children, no state passed the test. Federal officials repeatedly cited states for certain deficiencies: significant numbers of children suffering abuse or neglect more than once in a six-month period; caseworkers not visiting children often enough to assess needs; and not providing promised medical and mental health services. CAPTA's Title I grants are designed to help states provide the necessary attention to protect children. CAPTA's Title II authorizes grants to states to help develop community-based prevention services and resources to support families, including parenting education classes, home visiting services, mutual support groups for parents, respite care for families with disabled children, as well as family resource centers to connect families and children to the services they need. Billions of dollars are spent every year on foster care -- too often the only option for families in crisis. While we should be protecting children who have been the most seriously injured, we can do a much better job at protecting children before the damage is so bad that we have no other choice than to remove them from their homes. Increasing funding for CAPTA's basic state grants and community-based prevention grants will help in a modest yet constructive way to begin to address the current imbalance. Additional funds for CAPTA would support prevention services, including parent education and home visiting, for children and their families who are unserved in their communities. Additional funding for CAPTA state grants would help to shorten the time for the delivery of post-investigative services and increase the number of children receiving services. It is time to invest additional resources to work in partnership with the states to help families and prevent children from being abused and neglected. Sincerely,
We are writing in support of increased funding for Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) programs. CAPTA established a focal point within the federal government to identify and address issues of child abuse and neglect, and to support effective methods of prevention and treatment. While our protection system remains sorely in need of resources, funds for CAPTA programs have not kept pace with the needs of communities for supporting families and protecting children. In 2004, according to the most recent data released this month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an estimated 3 million reports of possible abuse and neglect were made to states, and almost 900,000 ofthese reports were substantiated. States are hard-pressed to treat children or protect them from further harm when they lack basic resources to do so. In 2004, just over 40 percent of the child victims received no services following a substantiated report of maltreatment. Almost 1,500 children died as a result of abuse or neglect. To compound this tragedy, the most endangered are disproportionately the youngest. The recent data show that more than 80 percent of children who were killed by abusers were younger than 4 years old, and 44 percent of those never reached their first birthday. CAPTA's Title I basic state grants help states strengthen their child protection systems. The nation's child welfare system has long been stretched beyond capacity. When measured against the federal Child and Family Service Reviews developed by HHS to evaluate a state's performance in protecting children, no state passed the test. Federal officials repeatedly cited states for certain deficiencies: significant numbers of children suffering abuse or neglect more than once in a six-month period; caseworkers not visiting children often enough to assess needs; and not providing promised medical and mental health services. CAPTA's Title I grants are designed to help states provide the necessary attention to protect children. CAPTA's Title II authorizes grants to states to help develop community-based prevention services and resources to support families, including parenting education classes, home visiting services, mutual support groups for parents, respite care for families with disabled children, as well as family resource centers to connect families and children to the services they need. Billions of dollars are spent every year on foster care -- too often the only option for families in crisis. While we should be protecting children who have been the most seriously injured, we can do a much better job at protecting children before the damage is so bad that we have no other choice than to remove them from their homes. Increasing funding for CAPTA's basic state grants and community-based prevention grants will help in a modest yet constructive way to begin to address the current imbalance. Additional funds for CAPTA would support prevention services, including parent education and home visiting, for children and their families who are unserved in their communities. Additional funding for CAPTA state grants would help to shorten the time for the delivery of post-investigative services and increase the number of children receiving services. It is time to invest additional resources to work in partnership with the states to help families and prevent children from being abused and neglected. Sincerely,
