April 8, 2015

To:Senator Daniel DaPonte, Chairperson of the Senate Finance
Senator Louis DePalma, Vice Chair
Senator Walter Felag, Jr., 2nd Vice Chair
Members of the Committee

From: Brother Michael Reis, FSC, LICSW

CEO Tides Family Services

Vice President Board of RI Chapter of NASW

While NASW endorse the administration’s efforts to redistribute and reallocate funding to improve capacity and access to community based services we also strongly refute the idea that child and family services within the child welfare system has sufficient funding.

  1. Over $30 million has been removed from the child welfare system in recent years. It is our strong feeling that the consistent funding shortfalls and the lack of program development to build alternative capacity to reduce dependence on placement has severely hurt the Department’s ability to provide appropriate child welfare services.
  2. There has been consistent erosion in provider funding and service quality relative to existing community based and residential programming in recent years. Budgets have been cut relative to preventative services that has effectively diverted families away from deeper involvement in the child welfare system, clinical, nursing and other positions have been eliminated, resources to stabilize and support kinship families have been cut, aftercare and other community based services have been significantly reduced or are no longer viable resources.
  3. The State of RI lacks a fair, systematic rate setting process across its service continuum that assesses the real cost of providing service. Historically, there has been little rhyme or reason for what has occurred. That said, providers know that in nearby New England and other states community based and other strategically oriented residential services provided in RI can be significantly undervalued financially.
  4. Previous Governor’s and the General Assembly fail to appreciate the economic development context of non-profit organizations serving the state’s most vulnerable children and families. This occurs in two ways; first, in relation to these organization’s potential to reduce long term institutional and other services expensed to the state (i.e. hospital, corrections, homelessness etc.). Second, this sector employs hundreds of Rhode Island residents (i.e. social workers, clinicians, nurses, child care worker’s, Psychologists, Psychiatrists etc.) that contribute to local communities and the state’s economy. Providers believe that investment and strategic utilization of this sector has consistently been minimized in recent years to the detriment of the state’s health and well being.
  5. DCYF need to effectively utilize and blend multiple funding sources (i.e. Medicaid, 4E, 4B etc.) in a coherent manner for the purpose of building greater community based service capacity. Hopefully, The Office of the Secretariat under Secretary Roberts, will work to more effectively coordinate these services. This needs to also include Child and Family Behavioral Health Services .
  1. There are a number of recommendations in the Casey Report. We are in support of most of the recommendations. We strongly believe that DCYF needs a strong community based orientated cohort of Social Workers who are actively involved in a local/regional system of care focused on supporting families, foster and kinship placements and actively involved with community providers to provide the support needed to make community based programing a reality.
  1. NB: section #2 highlights the need for the provider community to once again become whole and provide the support that the DCYF social workers will need to make this plan work.
  1. The Annie E Casey foundation has illustrated the importance of “homegrown” programs to meet the needs of families where there is not a “stable” caretaker. These programs are designed to restructure “families”.

9.State Agency Collaboration and Cross-Coordination

This includes all EOHHS agencies that have significant policy and service related impacts on children and families. This includes DCYF and BHDDH as well as DHS (i.e. TANF, SNAP, Youth Success, Early Intervention and other supportive services) and Department of Health (ACA funded early childhood services, health equity etc.). In addition, RIDE as well as the Workforce Partnership. We need to look broadly across systems if we are going to serve families in a comprehensive manner.