ERIC Number: ED252282
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1984-Aug-10
Pages: 93
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Better Federal Program Administration Can Contribute to Improving State Foster Care Programs.
Comptroller General of the U.S., Washington, DC.
The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 provides for annual federal incentive payments to states if they improve foster care programs by (1) avoiding unnecessary removal of children from their homes; (2) preventing extended stays in foster care; and (3) reunifying children with their families or placing them for adoption. To be eligible for funds, states must conduct an inventory of all children in foster care, operate a statewide information system on each child, and have a case review system that meets certain requirements. This report from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) discusses the guidance the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has given to states and reports how HHS has determined whether states have complied with requirements. Besides obtaining information from HHS, in 1982 the GAO investigated implementation of the Act in seven states. The GAO concluded that confusion as to state eligibility for funds occurred because HHS neglected to provide specific guidelines for interpreting the law and because it failed to require implementation of all the Act's requirements. The GAO recommends that HHS revise the program regulations and undertake new compliance reviews. Appendices include results of the GAO review of seven states' implementation of the Act and letters from four of the seven states and from HHS commenting on the preliminary version of this report. (CB)
Descriptors: Adoption, Eligibility, Federal Legislation, Federal State Relationship, Foster Care, Guidelines, Incentive Grants, Program Evaluation, State Federal Aid, State Programs
U.S. General Accounting Office, Document Handling and Information Services Facility, P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg, MD 20760 (First five copies of an individual report are free of charge. Additional copies require a fee).
Publication Type: Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Comptroller General of the U.S., Washington, DC.
Identifiers - Location: Colorado; Maine; Maryland; South Carolina; Tennessee; Utah; Virginia
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act 1980
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A