Welfare Reform Bill

* I wish to express my strong opposition to the child protection block grant currently being considered by the Senate Finance Committee. I am a retired college professor serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for the Los Angeles County Children’s Dependency Court. CASAs are volunteers appointed by a judge to a specific child to make an independent investigation of the child’s circumstances. Currently, there are almost 50,000 children under court jurisdiction in Los Angeles County. These are children who were removed from their homes because of sexual, physical or emotional abuse, severe neglect or abandonment. Current budget restrictions dictate that judges spend an average of eight to 10 minutes per case, hearing between 35 and 40 cases every day; social workers are so overworked that the turnover is nearly 50% each year, and court-appointed attorneys often don’t recognize their clients’ names because they have hundreds. Fewer than 2% of these children have an advocate.

The child protection block grant does not belong in welfare reform. Child protection is a national interest, not something to be funded at the discretion of cash-strapped state legislatures. Funding for foster care, adoption assistance, child abuse prevention and treatment should be guaranteed for the children who need it.

MIMI WARSHAW

San Pedro