C h i l d We l f a r e F u n d i n g O p p o r t u n i t i e s : T i t l e I V - E a n d M e d i c a i d

C h i l d We l f a r e F u n d i n g O p p o r t u n i t i e s : T i t l e I V - E a n d M e d i c a i d

Federal funds partially offset state and local funding for child welfare. These child welfare investments have long been plagued by a diminishing share of federal government funding. Federally funded child welfare programs include the Title IV-B block grant, the Social Services Block Grant, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for the first year of foster care and other emergency services, Supplemental Security Income for room and board for disabled children, and the open ended Title IV-E (IV-E) entitlement program for children from low-income families requiring foster care or subsidized adoptions. Since 1980, IV-E has reimbursed states for a portion of the cost to keep eligible children in out-of-home care. Over the course of the program, IVE foster care eligibility has dropped from about 70 percent in the mid-1980s to less than 50 percent today, largely due to ridged eligibility requirements. For example, the IV-E family income requirement is still based on the federal
poverty level from 1995.