KCFSA- Keeping Children and Families Safe Act PDF

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Keeping Children and Families Safe Act...

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Running Head: POLICY ANALYSIS

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Abstract LIMITATIONS Although significant improvements have been made to CAPTA and the overall welfare of children within the nation with the enactment of KCFSA, lack of funding and shortage of trained professionals in the child welfare field has impeded its services and programs. It is recommended that federal funding is secured for programs and populations that have been hindered, and populations that have not been provided with culturally and linguistically appropriate services.

Analysis of the Policy The tenets of the policy recognizes that addressing child maltreatment requires a multifaceted approach, which takes into account conditions of the home environment; the resources and funding available to child protective agencies to create and train a skill-full workforce and provide adequate, time-efficient services, intervention and treatment. Despite these authorizations, however, the HHS (2019) indicated that in 2017 there were “approximately 674,000 victims of child abuse and neglect which equates to a rate of 9.1 victims per 1000 children in the nation.”(p. X) The statistics alone represents a 131 percent increase in the number of victims between 2000 and 2017. Of equal concern, is the percentage of reports that were unsubstantiated or investigated timely partly because of an already overwhelmed child protective system. Legislators deemed it crucial to expand, strengthen and improve previously authorized bills (which consisted of programs already funded at some levels beyond 2003), as opposed to proposing a new independent bill requiring multiple logistics, new regression models, among

POLICY ANALYSIS

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other variables and could potentially be more costly. However, there continues to be a "shortage of professionals trained to provide" (Herman-Smith, 2009, p. 182) the early interventions required through the implementation of IDEA's Part C program, therefore, as referrals dramatically increase with KCFSA's requirements and set guidelines, a gap in funding and qualified professionals are likely to arise in this specific program. Conclusion The Keeping Children and Families Safe Act (KCFSA) of 2003 has significantly strengthened previous legislation by implementing new and updated policies in which to address and ultimately eliminate child abuse and neglect within the United States. The objectives of KCFSA are feasible in the sense that it has obtained sufficient and reliable support from significant political individuals and groups to sustain its implementation. By prioritizing networking between agencies, children are more likely to receive the treatment necessary to combat current child abuse and the lingering consequences of maltreatment. Because of this, early interventions, as well as timely and proper referrals, are critical in order to prevent subsequent incidents of child abuse. KCSFA fully supports and pushes for prompt intervention, referral, and treatment of children who are experiencing or have experienced child abuse or neglect. In addition to this, adequate training and re-training funded for and provided to individuals and organizations at the forefront of the child welfare system allow for the timely recognition risk factors and signs of abuse, resulting in appropriate measures for the child involved Although this partnership brings a positive outlook on the reduction of parental responsibility required in locating low-cost and effective resources, there is still a lack of trained professionals to thoroughly and reliably carry out this implementation.

POLICY ANALYSIS

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Newly implemented interventions and training address crucial improvements and provide knowledge and assistance to those involved in child welfare by requiring set plans and strategies in addressing child abuse, but they are all dependent on federal funding, which most programs received, but not all. This is depicted in the lack of trained professionals and thus, the growing number of children referred but never assessed because of this lack of effective and skilled professionals in the child welfare field. Recommendations It is also imperative that adequate funds are authorized to meet the demands of the child protective system. Due to a lack of funding, this has created a delayed response times in investigating reports of child abuse. This is counterproductive to the well-being of children as evidence suggests victims who are subjected to prolonged abuse without receiving appropriate treatment faces the additional risk of battling with the trauma well into adulthood. (Cloitre, Stoval-McClough, Miranda, & Chemtob, 2004). Lack of funding and little advancement in the recruitment and retention of competent child protective workers continues to create considerable difficulties in fulfilling the demands of the act and child welfare in general. For more effective implementation, the states’ early intervention providers will need to increase the capacity of the early intervention system, identify and obtain extra funding, find ways to successfully work with resistant families, and find new interagency linkages (Derrington & Lippitt, 2008)....