Family First Act of 2016’s Negative Impacts on Eligiblity for Federal Benefits for Certain Children
On August 12, a document was released by Family First Act proponents in an attempt to defend the Act in its current form against charges that children who are placed with relatives while they receive prevention services under Title I of the Act, and subsequently enter foster care without first returning to their parents’ home, would lose eligibility for federally funded foster care benefits under Title IV-E. The following document explains why that reasoning is faulty and why the negative impacts to children who are living with relatives prior to removal will occur if this legislation is passed without an amendment to correct this issue.