 National Conference of State Legislatures
December, 2006
The Changing Landscape of Federal Child Welfare Financing
Although states have primary responsibility for protecting children from abuse and neglect, they rely heavily on federal funding to fulfill this responsibility. Currently, about half of the cost of child welfare services nationally is paid with federal funds from a variety of sources. According to the Urban Institute's latest child welfare financing survey, states spent a total of $23.3 billion on child welfare in FY 2004, including $11.7 billion in federal funds. The extent of states' reliance on federal funds in general—and any given funding stream in particular—varies widely over time and from state to state.
Recent federal legislation will have the effect of shifting more of the cost of child welfare to the states and imposing additional limits on state flexibility to spend federal funds, trends that some child welfare experts say are at odds with the federal policy goal of improving the performance of state child welfare systems. This paper examines some of these changes in federal policy and their likely effect on states. It also briefly examines what are considered to be the major flaws in the current system of federal child welfare financing and proposals for reform.
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For more information about NCSL's Child Welfare work, please contact Steve Christian or Nina Williams-Mbengue at 303.364.7700 or cyf-info@ncsl.org.
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