Using DFPS’ New Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) Strategic Plan to Keep Kids with their Families, Reduce Racial Inequities, and Strengthen the Quality and Oversight of Foster Care Providers
The Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) recently released its Family First Prevention Services Act Strategic Plan. The 2018 Family First Act (FFPSA) restructured how the federal government finances state child welfare systems by prioritizing prevention and higher-quality foster care providers. The FFPSA, which takes effect on October 1 next year, must be a priority for the Texas Legislature during the upcoming session.
We'll have more analysis soon, but in the meantime, here are a few initial reactions to the plan:
(1) DFPS provides multiple options to better leverage prevention services to try to keep more children safely with their families and out of foster care.
We're glad to see DFPS is proactively planning to modify its definition of foster care candidacy (which determines eligibility for prevention services under FFPSA) and is already allowing prevention services to start earlier in the CPS process. We hope the Legislature will strongly consider some other implementation options outlined in the DFPS plan that would incentivize contracted Family Based Safety Services (FBSS) providers to offer more evidence-based services, expand services for pregnant and parenting youth in foster care, and increase access to prevention services in rural areas. Keeping kids safe with their families should be a top priority for Texas. We urge the Legislature to invest as much as possible in keeping children out of foster care by getting more children and families connected to the support and services they need. Under the FFPSA, the federal government will match 50 percent of the cost of eligible prevention programs, which would amplify any increased state investment.
(2) State leaders must be intentional about reducing racial disproportionality and disparities through FFPSA implementation.
Although the overrepresentation of Black children in the Texas CPS system was not explicitly addressed in the state’s FFPSA strategic plan, DFPS has acknowledged this challenge in other reports. We urge state leaders to ensure this is a clear priority throughout implementation and avoid policy steps that could exacerbate inequities.
(3) Texas is projected to lose substantial federal funding — $52 million per biennium — because none of the state’s foster care providers meet the heightened federal quality standards for facilities that care for our most vulnerable children.
Historically, all types of foster care providers could be eligible for federal reimbursement. Under FFPSA, states will only receive federal reimbursement for foster care facilities that meet a heightened set of standards (with a few other exceptions for highly specialized placements). Further, the evidence is clear that too many kids in foster care are unsafe in these group or institutional care settings, referred to in the DFPS plan as “congregate care.” Examples of the state violating children’s rights or children experiencing physical and sexual abuse — and in the worst cases even death — can be found in the federal lawsuit against CPS, media coverage, and more. We support DFPS’ primary strategy of reducing the use of congregate care altogether. However, the state also needs clear long-term strategies to elevate the quality of care provided in Residential Treatment Centers (RTCs), a type of congregate care that serves children with more complex needs. Although no providers in Texas currently meet all the FFPSA standards, some RTCs are very close and have indicated that they would meet all the new federal requirements if they were allowed to offer discharge planning and after care services (a function currently performed by CPS). This was not discussed in the DFPS report, but making this change could help protect some federal funding. In a year where the state is reeling from a pandemic and revenue shortfall, state leaders should take all necessary steps to avoid a $52 million loss in federal funding for foster care during the next two-year budget cycle.
(4) Another key step to avoid losing federal funding is to strengthen DFPS and court oversight of congregate care.
To draw down federal funding for foster care under the FFPSA, not only must congregate care providers meet heightened quality standards, but the courts must review and approve placements in foster care facilities that meet the new standards — an added layer of oversight. Although the FFPSA only requires this additional oversight for higher quality providers, the Legislature should amend the Texas Family Code so all children in congregate care settings can benefit from heightened court oversight. As shown in the hearings in the federal lawsuit last week, many safety concerns go unaddressed in congregate care settings, especially for children in long-term foster care who have less frequent court oversight of their placement. Enhanced court oversight would not only remove barriers to receiving federal funding for foster care, but — most importantly — may keep children in foster care safer.
(5) DFPS offers several options that would expand the scope of Community-Based Care.
We encourage state leaders to closely examine the potential benefits and challenges of these approaches given that Community-Based Care is still in the relatively early stages of rolling out.
We look forward to working with state leaders and other stakeholders to keep more children safe with their families, reduce racial inequities, improve the quality of RTCs, and strengthen oversight of congregate care. Stay tuned for additional analysis and next steps.