1. Second annual trip
April 27 – May 1, 2014
Three Days On the Hill

2. Welcome…

3. Three Days On the Hill
Morning Agenda
10:00 am – Welcome and Purpose of Event
► OHIO YAB Mission and Accomplishments
► Top Five Issues for this Trip
10:30 am – Federal Legislation and Financing
► State Legislation vs. Federal Legislation
► Brief Overview of Legislative Process
► How Federal Child Welfare Finance Works
11:00 am – Current Bills on the Hill
► S. 1518
► S. 1870
► Other Bills

4. Three Days On the Hill
Afternoon Agenda
1:00 pm – Roles During Legislative Visits
► Role Plays of Legislative Visits
2:00 pm – Legislators We Will Be Meeting With
► Talking Points That Might Be Effective
► Framing the “Ask” for Each Legislator
► How Do Our Issues Fit Into Existing
Legislation Being Discussed On the Hill?
3:00 pm – Federal Funding for Housing for
Transition Aged Youth
► Available funding streams

5. We exist to be the
knowledgeable statewide voice
that influences policies and
practices that effect all youth who
have or will experience out of
home care.
OHIO Youth Advisory Board
Mission Statement

6. Last Year’s Participants

7. Top Five Issues Identified By Youth
1. Housing resources for youth transitioning from
foster care to adulthood.
2. Federal funding to support foster youth
between ages 15-21 years old.
3. Quality training for foster youth to prepare them
for adulthood.
4. Credit challenges for foster youth transferring
from one school to another.
5. Extending foster care supports in Ohio to 21.

8. Questions That Came Up Last Year
1. Housing: Point-in-time count and “couch-surfing”
2. Chafee funding: Having states lose funding for
noncompliance negatively impacts youth.
3. IL Preparation: Could Title IV-E funds ever be expanded to
allow them to be used to train youth directly, not just adults?
(Comparison to the game of Telephone)
4. Uninterrupted Scholars Act: Could it be expanded to
address credit challenges for foster youth transferring from
one school to another?

9. Federal vs. State vs. Local Legislation
• Federal laws are rules that apply throughout the United
States. These laws apply in every state, such as
• Each state has its own system of laws and courts that
handle state matters, including welfare, public
assistance and Medicaid.
• Local laws: Counties, cities, and municipalities within a
state often have their own system of laws and courts that
handle rent laws, zoning and local safety.

10. Who Can Introduce a Bill?
A bill can come from a variety of sources:
• Individual citizens
• Special interest groups
• Corporations
• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
Only a member of Congress can introduce the bill.
A bill can start in either House.

11. 1. A bill is introduced
2. The bill is assigned to a committee for consideration.
3. A subcommittee considers the bill, marks it up and reports out, by
majority vote.
4. The full committee considers the bill, marks it up and reports out, by
majority vote.
5. The bill goes to the House floor for a vote by all members. Members can
offer amendments. A final majority vote passes or fails to pass the bill.
6. The bill is sent to the Senate where it goes through steps 2-5 as
outlined above.
7. After both houses of Congress pass their versions of the bill, a
Conference Committee is appointed to resolve the differences between
the House and Senate versions of the bill.
8. The Conference Committee’s version of the bill is reported back to the
House and Senate for their consideration.
9. After passage of the Conference bill, in identical form by both the House
and the Senate, the bill goes to the President for his consideration. The
president either signs or vetoes the bill.
10. Congress can override a Presidential veto by a 2/3 vote of both
houses.
How A Bill Becomes A Law

12. How A Bill Becomes A Law

14. Child Welfare Reform Efforts
1997 Adoption and Safe
Families Act
• Clarified “reasonable efforts” by emphasizing
children’s health and safety
• Sets a time limit to avoid children languishing in
care (12 months, 24 months)
1999 Foster Care
Independence Act
• Chafee funding and independent living classes
• Requires states to contribute a 20% match for
Independent Living program funds, and use
federal training funds to prepare foster parents to
train teens for Independent Living
• Gives states the option to extend Medicaid for
foster youth until age 21
2008 Fostering Connections to
Success and Increasing
Adoptions Act
• Gives states the option to extend IV-E foster care
supports until age 21
• Mandates 90-day transition plan with youth input
• Requires that case plans include a plan for
ensuring the educational stability of the child in
foster care

15. Child Welfare Reform Efforts
2011 Child And Family
Services Improvement
and Innovations Act
• Requires that annual case reviews for every child
ages 16+ in foster care include a credit report
• Requires case plans to consider educational stability
during every placement change, not just the child’s
initial placement in foster care
• Mandates improved quality of monthly caseworker
visits, focusing on safety, permanence and well-being
• Requires States to develop a plan for trauma-
informed care, and protocols to monitor psychotropic
medications
2010 Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act
• Extension of Medicaid until age 26 for former foster
youth, beginning in January 2014
2012 Uninterrupted
Scholars Act
• Helps child welfare agencies get access to school
records in a timely manner, without requiring written
permission from parents

16. Federal Funds for Child Welfare
Title IV-E
Foster Care Maintenance,
Adoption Assistance, and
Guardianship Assistance
• The Children’s Bureau provides these funds to states,
as an open-ended entitlement, on a formula basis to
provide reimbursement for a portion of the costs of
providing foster care, adoption assistance, and, if
elected by the State or Tribe, guardianship assistance
to eligible children
Chafee funds
Chafee Foster Care
Independence Program
(CFCIP)
• These programs are funded under Title IV-E on a
formula, fixed-grant basis to assist States in providing
services and supports that help foster youth acquire
the training and skills needed for self-sufficiency.
ETV
Education and Training
Voucher Program
• Ohio’s ETV funds are administered through Foster
Care 2 Success, but the funding ultimately comes
from Title IV-E.
WIA
Workforce Investment Act
• While this funding is not directly related to child
welfare, the services funded by

17. Federal Financing for Child Welfare
1. Federal Registration is passed
2. Children’s Bureau provides guidance.
3. Children’s Bureau disperses funds.
4. States develop programs and policies.
5. Children’s Bureau monitors State service.
► The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting
System (AFCARS): Annual Assessment Review
► National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD)
6. Children’s Bureau reports to Congress.

19. Bills to be Familiar With…
1. S.1518: Improving outcomes for youth at risk of sex trafficking
and other purposes
2. S.1870: Supporting At-Risk Children Act

20. SB 1518
Case Plan • Foster youth ages 14+ would have a voice
Higher Education • Extend ETV to foster care alumni older than 21
• Develop an information clearinghouse
Housing • Increased funding for housing
Normalcy
*if this bill is passed
into law
• Develop a reasonable and prudent parent
standard for the child's participation in age or
developmentally appropriate extracurricular,
enrichment, and social activities.
• This standard would be required of any foster
home or child care institution receiving Title IV-E
funds.
Vital Records • Birth certificate, Soc. Sec. card, bank account

21. Direct Quotes from S.1518…
1. The latest research in adolescent brain development indicates
that young people learn through experience and through trial
and error and, as part of healthy brain development, young
people need to take on increasing levels of decision-making
through their teenage years.
2. In order to improve outcomes for youth in foster care, systemic
changes need to be made that focus on greater youth
interaction with case planning while in foster care and
improved policies and procedures that encourage age or
developmentally appropriate activities for children in foster
care and permit more opportunities to make meaningful and
permanent connections with adults.

22. SB 1870
Adoption • Post-adoptive and post-guardianship support
Case Plan • Youth can choose up to two members of his or her case
planning team
Emancipation
if this bill is passed
into law
• Require foster youth to be discharged from care only if
provided with an official birth certificate, Social Security
card, a driver's license or equivalent state-issued
identification care, and bank account. States would
receive an administrative penalty for noncompliance.
Family Search and
Engagement
• Increased standards, within 30 days of a child entering
foster care
Housing • Amends part A of SSA title XI to require the head of
each federal agency to report to Congress
recommendations for expanding safe housing for youth
victims of trafficking.

23. Roles During Legislative Visits
1. Introduce the Group: (name of group, name and county of
each youth, and which youth is that particular legislator’s
constituent)
2. Overview/Background Information: (the problem)
3. Personal Story: (why it matters to you)
4. Statistics: (how this story fits into the big picture)
5. What You Are Asking For: (simple, clear request)
6. Thanks for Your Time and Packet of Information (fact
sheets, talking points, contact information)

24. Becky Shipp, Health Policy Advisor
to the Senate Finance Committee

25. Representative Pat Tiberi

26. Representative Mike Turner

27. Second Day on the Hill
1. Representative Joyce Beatty (Franklin County)
2. Representative Jim Jordan (NE Ohio)
3. Senator Rob Portman (Statewide)
4. Representative Bob Gibbs (NE Ohio)