Date Published: April 30, 2008
Florida's proposed cuts to programs for abused and neglected children could violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law, a children's advocacy group warned in a letter to top lawmakers Wednesday.
The state's budget, which leaders of the House and Senate finalized in closed-door meetings last weekend, includes $19 million in cuts to foster care agencies statewide. And it fails to include $13.8 million that those agencies say they will need to cover payments to an increasing number of families who have adopted foster children with special needs.
Andrea Moore, executive director of Florida's Children First, says those cuts could violate children's constitutional rights to due process and U.S. laws that require states getting federal foster-care money to pay for adoption assistance.
The shortfall of money meant to offset the expenses of adoptive families will deny many children the opportunity to have new parents, Moore wrote in a letter to Senate President Ken Pruitt and House Speaker Marco Rubio.
"This is a stark reality, particularly for special-needs children who will be stuck in foster care because of the extraordinary expenses families will have to assume in order to adopt these children," Moore wrote.
The cuts will drive up caseloads, she said, making it harder to decide which children need to be removed from their birth parents, slowing reunification of families and making it more difficult to find adoptive parents.
Some lawmakers are making last-minute efforts to get money for the programs. Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach and chairman of the House Healthcare Council, has filed an amendment to a child-protection bill that would let the Legislative Budget Commission consider a one-time appropriation from trust funds to pay for child protection and adoption.
Kathleen Chapman
Palm Beach Post
April 30, 2008