When reporters cover government or industry they know they must “follow the money.” Yet when covering the child welfare system, that famous admonition often is ignored.
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At the federal level, foster care is an “entitlement.” For every eligible child placed in care, a portion of the cost is reimbursed. There is no comparable “open spigot” for programs to keep children out of foster care. The National Commission on Children found that children often are removed from their families “prematurely or unnecessarily” because federal aid formulas give states “a strong financial incentive” to remove them.
The incentives can get worse when private agencies enter the picture. These agencies provide two-thirds of the foster care in Chicago and they are lobbying to do it all. They already do it all in New York City. Typically, they are paid on a per diem basis. That is, they are paid for every day they keep a child in care. Send a child home, and the money stops.
New York State has begun to look at the issue, however. The state Department of Social Services is considering changing the financial incentives governing private agencies.
One billion dollars is more than enough incentive to launch attacks against family preservation, yet reporters have not questioned the financial interests of the attackers.
