HHS APPROVES CHILD WELFARE DEMONSTRATION FOR ILLINOIS

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today approved a child welfare demonstration project that will allow Illinois to develop and implement an enhanced training program for public and private sector child welfare staff. These staff members are on the front lines, serving families on issues such as foster care and adoption. The project will give the state the flexibility to use federal funds to examine whether enhanced training will lead to better outcomes for children. It is the first child welfare demonstration project focusing on training.

"A significant priority for this country is assuring the well-being of vulnerable children. Improved training of caseworkers, those on the front lines, is essential in achieving this goal," said Secretary Thompson. "I look forward to working in partnership with Illinois to find new and improved solutions to ease the problems that burden too many American children."

Under the demonstration, Illinois will implement a new training system to prepare child welfare staff to consistently ensure timely and safe decision making for families and children. The training program will focus on risk assessment, competent casework intervention and results-based evaluation of families' needs and progress. Project goals include improved staff competency levels; increased stability of placements; demonstrated improvements in children's health and education; and accelerated reunification with parents or adoption.

"We are hopeful that this demonstration will allow Illinois to develop a new model of child welfare training that will lead to a more professional work force," said Wade Horn, assistant secretary for children and families. "Children and families will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this improvement in casework practice."

The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 authorized HHS to approve up to 10 demonstrations each year through 2002 to improve the delivery of child welfare services. There are now 22 demonstration projects in 18 states and the District of Columbia. This is the third demonstration awarded to Illinois under this provision; the state is also conducting demonstrations on subsidized guardianship and services to parents with substance abuse problems. Other states are testing ideas related to managed care, assisted guardianship, kinship permanence, parental substance abuse, intensive service options, adoption, capped IV-E (foster care) allocations, and tribal administration of IV-E funds.

The demonstration project will be cost neutral, independently evaluated and last up to five years.

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