Child Welfare Spending during a Time of Fiscal Stress

Brief #1 from the series Child Welfare Research Program

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State and local public child welfare agencies provide a safety net for maltreated children. For example, child welfare agencies directly provide or fund programs to prevent abuse and neglect, investigate reports of abuse or neglect, provide services so children can remain safely in their own homes, and place children in foster care when they cannot. These and additional child welfare activities are funded by federal, state, and local dollars.

This brief, focusing on state fiscal year (SFY) 2002, marks the fourth time that the Urban Institute has collected child welfare spending data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This information allows us to continue tracking spending trends and explore several new questions. First, the data show states' responses to the early period of the fiscal crunch resulting from the 2001 recession; there was concern that states' social service systems would be overwhelmed and face cuts in state funding because of declining revenues. Second, the data show states' fiscal actions when the nation began raising the bar on child welfare performance—through the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) and the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs). Many have argued that public child welfare agencies are underfunded and require additional financial support to meet these standards. Third, the comprehensive methodology of this study allows us to track changes in spending from all levels of government—federal, state, and local—and, in particular, shifts in the composition of federal funding. With several federal programs funding child welfare activities likely to receive congressional attention this year, this information is particularly useful.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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