On March 4, President Obama released his budget for fiscal year 2015. In sum, the budget allocates $77.1 billion to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is $0.8 billion less than the 2014 enacted level. Child welfare-related highlights of the presidential budget are listed below.

Medicaid Demonstration Project for Youth in Foster Care

One exciting aspect of the presidential budget is the establishment of a Medicaid demonstration project to help states provide evidence-based psychosocial interventions to children and youth in foster care. This is in response to reports over the last few years (including this GAO report on improving oversight of psychotropic medications) showing that children and youth in foster care are disproportionately more likely to be prescribed one or more psychotropic medications. In providing these psychosocial interventions, the hope is that the reliance on psychotropic medications is reduced and outcomes improved among children and youth in foster care.

Now is the Time

The President’s Now is the Time initiative, developed in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and other acts of gun violence, is allocated $164 million in the budget to expand mental health treatment and prevention services. Part of the funding is meant to help states implement “safe school” plans, to include behavioral health referrals for students and Mental Health First Aid training (to help adults recognize signs of mental illness). Another part is dedicated to the Healthy Transitions initiative, whose goal is to help youth transitioning from the children’s mental health system to the adult mental health system.

Early Childhood Programming

Prevention and intervention strategies in child welfare include early childhood programming. For those at risk of entering the child welfare system, evidence-based voluntary home visiting programs and high quality child care can help reduce such risk. These programs can also act as an intervention for young children who have experienced adversity in their short lives by providing them with stability, consistency, and a nurturing environment.

In order to “help every child reach his or her potential,” the budget allocates $15 billion in mandatory funds over the next decade to extending and expanding home visiting programs. There is also $650 million in the base budget and $800 million in the Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative for Early Head Start/Child Care Partnerships to provide high-quality care to more than 100,000 infants and toddlers. Finally, the budget provides $200 million in discretionary funds to improve the quality of child care across the nation.

Teen Parenting Programs

As part of President Obama’s father engagement and involvement initiative, the budget proposes to change current child support enforcement laws in order to encourage non-custodial parents to “take greater responsibility for their children while maintaining rigorous enforcement efforts.”  Additionally, there is funding set aside for programs that aim to prevent teen pregnancy.

Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking

Children who witness domestic violence in the home frequently experience child maltreatment as well. In one national survey in the U.S., over half of the children experienced both domestic violence and child maltreatment in their lifetimes. The presidential budget allocates $140 million for shelters, supportive services, and a hotline for victims of domestic violence.

In addition, the budget allocates funding to establish an HHS initiative to prevent and address domestic human trafficking. This initiative will provide services to victims of domestic human trafficking as well as fund research and evaluation on this issue.

Community Services Block Grant

The president’s budget also cuts and reforms the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG); the budget proposes funding at $350 million for this grant. The Community Services Block Grant funds projects aimed to reducing poverty in communities by addressing the causes and conditions (e.g. employment opportunities, education, access to housing, and nutrition).

For comparison, for FY 2013 the CSBG received $635 million in funding. The presidential budget request for FY 2014 was also $350 million, though the final funding level was $674 million.

More on the Budget

Editor’s note: Edited 4/4/2014 to include more resources.