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The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 and the John H. Chafee Foster
Care Independence Program marked a historic federal investment in the
success and well-being of America’s foster youth.
States are now able to offer an increased amount of support to the youth
in their care, including room and board for young adults, healthcare
through an expanded Medicaid option, and aftercare services for young
people who have left the foster care system and are struggling to survive
on their own. Unfortunately, the child welfare community is unable to
measure the impact of this critical child welfare program.
HHS must implement the National Youth in Transition Database so that
states, services providers, and advocates can assess the impact of the
Chafee Program on the lives and well-being of young people in foster care
as they transition to adulthood.
The Foster Care Independence Act requires that the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services do the following:
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Develop outcome measures (including measures of educational
attainment, high school diploma, employment, avoidance of dependency,
homelessness, nonmarital childbirth, incarceration, and high-risk
behaviors) that can be used to assess the performance of States in
operating independent living programs;
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Identify data elements needed to track—
(i) number and characteristics of children receiving services under this
section;
(ii) type and quantity of services being provided; and
(iii) State performance on the outcome measures; and
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Develop and implement a plan to collect the needed information
beginning with the second fiscal year beginning after the date of the
enactment of this section.
HHS completed the process of developing outcome measures and the data
elements in 2001. A plan for implementing the state performance
assessment, called the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD), was
submitted to Congress in September of 2001.
In 2002, HHS decided to issue a regulation regarding state compliance
and penalties related to NYTD.
As of May, 2005, HHS has neither issued the regulation nor begun the
required data collection on states’ delivery of Chafee services and
outcomes of young people participating in Chafee-funded services.
States began changing their independent living program data collection
and reporting mechanisms in 2001, anticipating the implementation of
NYTD. Due to the excessive delays in implementation, many states have
been unable to complete this process, or to sustain administrative
interest in the data collection requirements for the Chafee Program.
HHS reported to the GAO in December of 2004 that it would issue the
regulation for NYTD in 2005. HHS provided no information regarding the
timeline for implementation of state performance assessment.
HHS’s failure to implement NYTD in a timely manner represents not only a
violation of the statute, but also hinders the ability of advocates,
child welfare professionals, and researchers to get any accurate sense
of the impact of the Chafee Program, any information regarding the
appropriate use of federal funds, and most importantly, any objective
information regarding improved outcomes for foster youth.
For more information see www.natl-fostercare.org
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