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Photo - Who cares if the Family First Act passes Congress? Congress is almost over. There are campaigns to be fought. Vacations to be had. Time is short, and this bill is being held hostage by three federal Senators. Cornyn, Boxer, and Enzi. The Family First Act is a bill that will revolutionize the way child welfare dollars are spent. It has passed the house, and the ways and means committee. Now it is on the senate floor. Of the 100 members of the senate, only three senators have reservations about this bill. Even a glass half empty type of a person could agree that 97 out of 100 is pretty good odds. But the three hold outs have stopped this bill, dead in its tracks. Why? This bill must pass by unanimous consensus. All of the senators must agree, or it will not pass. Usually, if there are 97 senators in favor of a bill, a quick and easy vote on the floor will move the bill to the Presidents desk. This bill, however will never, never, never come to the floor for an open vote. Even though 97 of the 100 federal senators have agreed to the passage, a vote will never occur. Why? Because with a vote comes open floor time.....debate...and discussion and transparency. No room for secrets to be hidden in the truth telling circle of the debate floor. The states the senators represent are not willing to take the risk of exposing their states dirty laundry. So it is 100%!!(MISSING)c(MISSING)onsensus or no bill. Two of the Senators have reasonable objections that are being worked out. The senate offices are compromising and working to get the bill passed. So now we are down to one. One hold out. Senator Cornyn from Texas. This Senator is holding out for a reason that has not been stated. Political gain. Senator Cornyn, from Texas is the single hold out to the passage of this bill. You would think he would be a bit more receptive to a solution. Texas foster care is in deep do-do. "U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack ruled that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services must overhaul how it oversees foster services for children in long-term care with the state. The agency, the judge said in a scathing 255-page order, has ignored more than two decades of reports outlining problems and potential solutions, creating a situation where “children have been shuttled throughout a system where rape, abuse, psychotropic medication, and instability are the norm.” “Texas’s foster care system is broken, and it has been that way for decades. It is broken for all stakeholders, including DFPS employees who are tasked with impossible workloads,” Jack wrote. “Most importantly, though, it is broken for Texas’s (Permanent Managing Conservatorship) children, who almost uniformly leave State custody more damaged than when they entered.” Texas is really not in a position to claim that their child welfare system is functioning well as is. But without the approval of Coryn, this bill is dead in the water. Well, I say, baggage be damned. These are CHILDREN who are being damaged by inaction. This bill can and will shift the focus of how our federal government distributes child welfare dollars. The old way is bad. Everyone agrees. No one wants to talk about it. Congress has been aware of this problem, but seemingly unable to figure out what to do for years. A frank and open discussion of the demoralizing unintended consequence of targeting poor families and disabled children for state departmental profit is just too big of a can of worms. But it should not be slammed shut just because it is ugly. We need to air out the dirty laundry so we can fix this problem. The truth is not always pretty. Ugly unintended consequences have occurred in every state of the nation. Damage caused in the seams of our American tradition can be repaired, but not if we close our eyes to the damage. Closing our eyes will not make this problem go away. Healing can only begin with transparency and intent of improvement with the single goal being that the kids need us to step up and do the right thing. There will will be scars. But we must be able to face our imperfections let the truth out to make any real change. Then we will heal....even if we have some battle-scars to carry with us. Here are a few quotes about foster care funding: " In the current system there is a basic belief that the financing structure encourages states TO REMOVE CHILDREN FROM THEIR HOMES, rather than leave them in their homes. Because, that is the only way you get title IVe reimbursement....This is an incentive structure that the congress is well aware of ...and in some ways is just trying to address." Bryon "A system that favors foster care over family must go into the dustbin of history" Senator Ron Wyden "We are swallowing up our children alive in a sea of bureaucracy...what can we do? Senator Stabenow What can congress do? Pass the dang bill. Either by vote or by consensus. Congress must step up to this opportunity to address the unintended consequences of the prior IVe funding structure. This must be fixed. Our kids are counting on us." ~Kathlee Arthur #LiftTheHold: Who cares if the Family First Act passes Congress? Congress is almost over. There are campaigns to be fought. Vacations to be had. Time is short, and this bill is being held hostage by three federal Senators. Cornyn, Boxer, and Enzi. The Family First Act is a bill that will revolutionize the way child welfare dollars are spent. It has passed the house, and the ways and means committee. Now it is on the senate floor. Of the 100 members of the senate, only three senators have reservations about this bill. Even a glass half empty type of a person could agree that 97 out of 100 is pretty good odds. But the three hold outs have stopped this bill, dead in its tracks. Why? This bill must pass by unanimous consensus. All of the senators must agree, or it will not pass. Usually, if there are 97 senators in favor of a bill, a quick and easy vote on the floor will move the bill to the Presidents desk. This bill, however will never, never, never come to the floor for an open vote. Even though 97 of the 100 federal senators have agreed to the passage, a vote will never occur. Why? Because with a vote comes open floor time.....debate...and discussion and transparency. No room for secrets to be hidden in the truth telling circle of the debate floor. The states the senators represent are not willing to take the risk of exposing their states dirty laundry. So it is 100%!!(MISSING)c(MISSING)onsensus or no bill. Two of the Senators have reasonable objections that are being worked out. The senate offices are compromising and working to get the bill passed. So now we are down to one. One hold out. Senator Cornyn from Texas. This Senator is holding out for a reason that has not been stated. Political gain. Senator Cornyn, from Texas is the single hold out to the passage of this bill. You would think he would be a bit more receptive to a solution. Texas foster care is in deep do-do. "U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack ruled that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services must overhaul how it oversees foster services for children in long-term care with the state. The agency, the judge said in a scathing 255-page order, has ignored more than two decades of reports outlining problems and potential solutions, creating a situation where “children have been shuttled throughout a system where rape, abuse, psychotropic medication, and instability are the norm.” “Texas’s foster care system is broken, and it has been that way for decades. It is broken for all stakeholders, including DFPS employees who are tasked with impossible workloads,” Jack wrote. “Most importantly, though, it is broken for Texas’s (Permanent Managing Conservatorship) children, who almost uniformly leave State custody more damaged than when they entered.” Texas is really not in a position to claim that their child welfare system is functioning well as is. But without the approval of Coryn, this bill is dead in the water. Well, I say, baggage be damned. These are CHILDREN who are being damaged by inaction. This bill can and will shift the focus of how our federal government distributes child welfare dollars. The old way is bad. Everyone agrees. No one wants to talk about it. Congress has been aware of this problem, but seemingly unable to figure out what to do for years. A frank and open discussion of the demoralizing unintended consequence of targeting poor families and disabled children for state departmental profit is just too big of a can of worms. But it should not be slammed shut just because it is ugly. We need to air out the dirty laundry so we can fix this problem. The truth is not always pretty. Ugly unintended consequences have occurred in every state of the nation. Damage caused in the seams of our American tradition can be repaired, but not if we close our eyes to the damage. Closing our eyes will not make this problem go away. Healing can only begin with transparency and intent of improvement with the single goal being that the kids need us to step up and do the right thing. There will will be scars. But we must be able to face our imperfections let the truth out to make any real change. Then we will heal....even if we have some battle-scars to carry with us. Here are a few quotes about foster care funding: " In the current system there is a basic belief that the financing structure encourages states TO REMOVE CHILDREN FROM THEIR HOMES, rather than leave them in their homes. Because, that is the only way you get title IVe reimbursement....This is an incentive structure that the congress is well aware of ...and in some ways is just trying to address." Bryon "A system that favors foster care over family must go into the dustbin of history" Senator Ron Wyden "We are swallowing up our children alive in a sea of bureaucracy...what can we do? Senator Stabenow What can congress do? Pass the dang bill. Either by vote or by consensus. Congress must step up to this opportunity to address the unintended consequences of the prior IVe funding structure. This must be fixed. Our kids are counting on us." ~Kathlee Arthur #LiftTheHold

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