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Maximus Inc. is an American government services company, with global operations in countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The company contracts with government agencies to provide services to manage and administer government-sponsored programs. Maximus provides administration and other services for Medicaid, Medicare, health care reform, welfare-to-work, and student loan servicing among other government programs. The company is based in Tysons, Virginia, has 39,600 employees and a reported annual revenue of $4.9 billion in fiscal year 2023.
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is headed by the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Children and Families. It has a $49 billion budget for 60 programs that target children, youth and families. These programs include assistance with welfare, child support enforcement, adoption assistance, foster care, child care, and child abuse. The agency employs approximately 1,700 staff, including 1,200 federal employees and 500 contractors, where 60% are based in Washington, DC, with the remaining in regional offices located in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City (Missouri), Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle.
The United States Children's Bureau is a federal agency founded in 1912, organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. Today, the bureau's operations involve improving child abuse prevention, foster care, and adoption. Historically, its work was much broader, as shown by the 1912 act which created and funded it:
The said bureau shall investigate and report to [the Department of Commerce and Labor] upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all classes of our people, and shall especially investigate the questions of infant mortality, the birth-rate, orphanage, juvenile courts, desertion, dangerous occupations, accidents and diseases of children, employment, legislation affecting children in the several states and territories.
Kinship care is a term used in the United States and Great Britain for the raising of children by grandparents, other extended family members, and unrelated adults with whom they have a close family-like relationship such as godparents and close family friends because biological parents are unable to do so for whatever reason. Legal custody of a child may or may not be involved, and the child may be related by blood, marriage, or adoption. This arrangement is also known as "kincare" or "relative care." Kinship placement may reduce the number of home placements children experience; allow children to maintain connections to communities, schools, and family members; and increase the likelihood of eventual reunification with birth parents. It is less costly to taxpayers than formal foster care and keeps many children out of the foster care system. "Grandfamily" is a recently coined term in the United States that refers to families engaged in kinship care.
The California Medical Assistance Program is the California implementation of the federal Medicaid program serving low-income individuals, including families, seniors, persons with disabilities, children in foster care, pregnant women, and childless adults with incomes below 138% of federal poverty level. Benefits include ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder treatment, dental (Denti-Cal), vision, and long-term care and support. Medi-Cal was created in 1965 by the California Medical Assistance Program a few months after the national legislation was passed. Approximately 15.28 million people were enrolled in Medi-Cal as of September 2022, or about 40% of California's population; in most counties, more than half of eligible residents were enrolled as of 2020.
Child protective services (CPS) is the name of an agency responsible for providing child protection, which includes responding to reports of child abuse or neglect. Some countries and US states use other names, often attempting to reflect more family-centered practices, such as department of children and family services (DCFS). CPS is also sometimes known by the name of department of social services, though these terms more often have a broader meaning.
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is a California state agency for many of the programs defined as part of the social safety net in the United States, and is within the auspices of the California Health and Human Services Agency. Federal and State funds for adoptions, the largest SNAP program in the country, CalWORKs program, foster care, aid for people with disabilities, family crisis counseling, subsistence payments to poor families with children, child welfare services and many other efforts are distributed through this department.
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is an agency of the New York state government within the Department of Family Assistance. The office has its headquarters in the Capital View Office Park in Rensselaer.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is a principal department of state of Michigan, headquartered in Lansing, that provides public assistance, child and family welfare services, and oversees health policy and management.
The Heart Gallery is a photographic exhibit of children in foster care who are awaiting adoption. Photographers across the United States donate their services to create compelling portraits that capture the spirit and personality of each child. Display of the photographs online and in public venues raises awareness of the need for foster care adoption and helps connect interested families and waiting children. The Heart Gallery began in New Mexico in 2001 and has since grown nationwide.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services is an agency of the government of Oklahoma. Under the supervision of the Oklahoma Secretary of Health and Human Services, Oklahoma Human Services is responsible for providing help to individuals and families in need through public assistance programs and managing services for seniors and people with disabilities.
The Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) is a state agency of Missouri. It has its headquarters in the Broadway State Office Building in Jefferson City. The department operates the state's social services.
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 was an Act of Congress in the United States signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 7, 2008. It was previously unanimously passed in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate. The law made numerous changes to the child welfare system, mostly to Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, which covers federal payments to states for foster care and adoption assistance. According to child welfare experts and advocates, the law made the most significant federal improvements to the child welfare system in over a decade.
The Ministry of Children, Seniors and Social Development is a provincial government department in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The department is headed by a member of the provincial cabinet, typically a Member of the House of Assembly, who is chosen by the premier and formally appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward or a non-minor, typically aged 18–21, who volunteers for placement, is placed in a relative placement, a non-related extended family (NREFM) placement, a community family home, an institution, or a group home. Relative, NREFM, and community caregivers certified by the state are typically referred to as "foster parents," "kin caregivers," "resource parents," or other local terms. The placement of the child is usually arranged through state or county social services. The institution, group home, or caregiver is reimbursed for the expenses related to caring for the child. The state via the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions, while the caregiver is responsible for the day-to-day care of the minor. Even while their child is in Care, typically birth parents retain Education and Medical rights and the right to contact with their child unless parental rights are terminated by the Court.
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) is an agency of the Wisconsin state government responsible for providing services to assist children and families and to oversee county offices handling those services. This includes child protective services, adoption and foster care services, and juvenile justice services. It also manages the licensing and regulation of facilities involved in the foster care and day care systems, performs background investigations of child care providers, and investigates incidents of potential child abuse or neglect. It administers the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program, the child care subsidy program, child support enforcement and paternity establishment services, and programs related to the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) income support program.
The Child Welfare Information Gateway is the congressionally mandated and funded information service of the United States Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, United States Department of Health and Human Services. It was established in 2006 to replace the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information and the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse. The Child Welfare Information Gateway covers child-welfare topics, including family-centered practice, child abuse and neglect, abuse and neglect prevention, child protection, family preservation and support, foster care, achieving and maintaining permanency, adoption, management of child welfare agencies and related topics such as child and family assessment, laws and policies, statistics and coincident family issues. Its website links to sources of print and electronic publications, websites, databases and online learning tools on these topics.
David Meade is an American politician and Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives representing Kentucky's 80th House district since January 2013. His legislative district includes Garrard and Lincoln Counties as well as part of Pulaski County. Meade serves as Speaker pro tempore of the Kentucky House of Representatives, a constitutional office and the second-highest position in the 100-member legislative chamber.
Michelle Lane (Smithwick) is a former Maryland public official who released information in the early 2000s about the state's foster care system, which led to investigations toward better monitoring and care of its participants. More specifically, Lane discovered and reported children were neglected and dying while in the Maryland foster care system, and discovered inaccuracies that were being submitted within a federal consent decree court document.
The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (AACWA) was enacted by the US Government on June 17, 1980. Its purpose is to establish a program of adoption assistance; strengthen the program of foster care assistance for needy and dependent children; and improve the child welfare, social services, and aid to families with dependent children programs. This act amended titles IV-B and XX of the Social Security Act.
References
- ↑ "Home - Virginia Department of Social Services". www.dss.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
- ↑ "Virginia Department of Social Services | Orange County, VA - Official Website". orangecountyva.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
- ↑ "Assistance". www.dss.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
- ↑ "Department of Social Services". Virginia.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
- ↑ Zibton, Jenna (2024-10-14). "Frequently asked questions about foster care and adoption in 2024". WSLS. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
- ↑ Report of the Virginia Department of Social Services [on] a Study on the Implementation of the Virginia Independence Program and the Virginia Initiative for Employment Not Welfare in the Culpeper and Lynchburg Regions to the Governor and the General Assembly of Virginia. Commonwealth of Virginia. 1997.
- ↑ "Operation and Performance of Virginia's Social Services System" (PDF). Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. 2005.
