HEARING ON RACIAL DISPROPORTIONALITY IN FOSTER CARE HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON INCOME SECURITY AND FAMILY SUPPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JULY 31, 2008 Serial No. 110–94 Printed for the use of the Committee on Ways and Means ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 48–117 WASHINGTON : 2009 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 23:50 Jul 20, 2009 Jkt 048117 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 E:\HR\OC\48117.XXX 48117 WWOODS2 on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with HEARING COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS CHARLES B. RANGEL, New York, Chairman FORTNEY PETE STARK, California JIM MCCRERY, Louisiana SANDER M. LEVIN, Michigan WALLY HERGER, California JIM MCDERMOTT, Washington DAVE CAMP, Michigan JOHN LEWIS, Georgia JIM RAMSTAD, Minnesota RICHARD E. NEAL, Massachusetts SAM JOHNSON, Texas MICHAEL R. MCNULTY, New York PHIL ENGLISH, Pennsylvania JOHN S. TANNER, Tennessee JERRY WELLER, Illinois XAVIER BECERRA, California KENNY HULSHOF, Missouri LLOYD DOGGETT, Texas RON LEWIS, Kentucky EARL POMEROY, North Dakota KEVIN BRADY, Texas STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES, Ohio THOMAS M. REYNOLDS, New York MIKE THOMPSON, California PAUL RYAN, Wisconsin JOHN B. LARSON, Connecticut ERIC CANTOR, Virginia RAHM EMANUEL, Illinois JOHN LINDER, Georgia EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon DEVIN NUNES, California RON KIND, Wisconsin PAT TIBERI, Ohio BILL PASCRELL, JR., New Jersey JON PORTER, Nevada SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland KENDRICK MEEK, Florida ALLYSON Y. SCHWARTZ, Pennsylvania ARTUR DAVIS, Alabama JANICE MAYS, Chief Counsel and Staff Director BRETT LOPER, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON INCOME SECURITY AND FAMILY SUPPORT JIM MCDERMOTT, Washington, Chairman FORTNEY PETE STARK, California JERRY WELLER, Illinois ARTUR DAVIS, Alabama WALLY HERGER, California JOHN LEWIS, Georgia DAVE CAMP, Michigan MICHAEL R. MCNULTY, New York JON PORTER, Nevada SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada PHIL ENGLISH, Pennsylvania CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland KENDRICK MEEK, Florida Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public hearing records of the Committee on Ways and Means are also published in electronic form. The printed hearing record remains the official version. Electronic submissions are used to prepare both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process of converting between various electronic formats may introduce unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the current publication process and should diminish as the process is further refined. ii VerDate Nov 24 2008 23:50 Jul 20, 2009 Jkt 048117 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 E:\HR\OC\48117.XXX 48117 WWOODS2 on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with HEARING C O N T E N T S Page Advisory of July 24, 2008, announcing the hearing .............................................. 2 WITNESSES Kay E. Brown, Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security, Gov- ernment Accountability Office ............................................................................. 7 Marian Harris, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Washington State Racial Disproportionality Advisory Committee, Tacoma, Washington ....................................................... 33 Terry Solomon, Ph.D., Executive Director, Illinois African American Family Commission, Chicago, Illinois ............................................................................. 60 Oronde A. Miller, Director, Systems Improvement Methodologies, Casey Fam- ily Programs ......................................................................................................... 66 Daryle Conquering Bear, FosterClub, Stoneham, Colorado ................................. 79 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Child Welfare League of America, Statement ....................................................... 96 Child Defense Fund, Statement ............................................................................. 106 Darlene King, Statement ........................................................................................ 115 Elizabeth Bartholet, Statement .............................................................................. 116 Joe Salmonese, Statement ...................................................................................... 122 Washington Health Policy Coalition, Statement ................................................... 123 iii VerDate Nov 24 2008 23:50 Jul 20, 2009 Jkt 048117 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 E:\HR\OC\48117.XXX 48117 WWOODS2 on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with HEARING VerDate Nov 24 2008 23:50 Jul 20, 2009 Jkt 048117 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 E:\HR\OC\48117.XXX 48117 WWOODS2 on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with HEARING HEARING ON RACIAL DISPROPORTIONALITY IN FOSTER CARE THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2008 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, SUBCOMMITTEE ON INCOME SECURITY AND FAMILY SUPPORT, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., in room B–318, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Jim McDermott (Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding. [The advisory announcing the hearing follows:] (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 23:50 Jul 20, 2009 Jkt 048117 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 E:\HR\OC\48117.XXX 48117 WWOODS2 on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with HEARING 2 ADVISORY FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE ON INCOME SECURITY AND FAMILY SUPPORT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (202) 225–1025 July 24, 2008 ISFS–18 McDermott Announces Hearing on Racial Disproportionality in Foster Care Congressman Jim McDermott (D–WA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, today announced a hearing to examine racial disproportionality in the foster care system. The hearing will take place on Thurs- day, July 31, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in room B–318 Rayburn House Office Building. In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consider- ation by the Subcommittee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing. BACKGROUND: Research has concluded that a significantly greater portion of African American children enter and remain in the foster care system when compared to children of other races and ethnicities. The disproportionate representation of these children in foster care occurs despite the fact that there are no inherent differences in the rates at which they are abused or neglected, according to the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect. Native American children also experience higher rates of representation in foster care. A report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in July 2007 found African American children across the nation were more than twice as likely to enter foster care compared to white children in FY 2004, and these children re- mained in foster care roughly 9 months longer. Furthermore, GAO found Native American children represented just 1 percent of all children in the 2000 Census, but comprised over 2 percent of children in foster care at the end of FY 2004. Higher rates of poverty, limited access to vital support services, racial bias, and difficulty recruiting prospective adoptive families for these children are often cited as the pri- mary factors that contribute to the problem. The GAO report highlighted the potential benefits of increased Federal support for relatives who become legal guardians of foster children for reducing the over- representation of African American children in the system. Bipartisan legislation (H.R. 6307) introduced by Chairman McDermott and Ranking Member Jerry Weller and passed by the House last month would provide for these guardianship pay- ments, among other things. In announcing the hearing, Chairman McDermott stated: ‘‘Racial disproportional- ity challenges our ability to ensure the well-being and permanency of every child in our nation’s foster care system. Overcoming this problem is critical to achieving positive outcomes for all children in care. This hearing will allow us to get a better understanding of the factors that contribute to this problem and promising strate- gies that will lead to a long-term solution.’’ VerDate Nov 24 2008 23:50 Jul 20, 2009 Jkt 048117 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 E:\HR\OC\48117.XXX 48117 WWOODS2 on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with HEARING 3 FOCUS OF THE HEARING: The hearing will examine the prevalence of racial disproportionality in the foster care system, the primary factors that contribute to this problem, and promising ini- tiatives that are currently being implemented in several States to address it. DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS: Please Note: Any person(s) and/or organization(s) wishing to submit for the hear- ing record must follow the appropriate link on the hearing page of the Committee website and complete the informational forms. From the Committee homepage, http://waysandmeans.house.gov, select ‘‘110th Congress’’ from the menu entitled, ‘‘Hearing Archives’’ (http://waysandmeans.house.gov/Hearings.asp?congress=18). Se- lect the hearing for which you would like to submit, and click on the link entitled, ‘‘Click here to provide a submission for the record.’’ Once you have followed the online instructions, complete all informational forms. ATTACH your