This is a time for action on the part of Council members and staff. The PCCYFS Public Policy Committee discussed strategies for response in their meeting today. There was consensus around promoting the need for public funding for the full cost of providing mandated services.

Several services have been clearly identified as fulfilling legislative and regulatory mandates. It is the intent of the Council to generate data that will be formulated into a brief report that illustrates the disparity between the actual cost of providing foster care, residential, and family preservation services and the current rates of reimbursement. This selection in no way minimizes the importance of the vast array of services that members provide, but rather focuses on three mandated services that are clearly defined, thus likely to result in cleaner data. The report will also include basic data regarding the number of children served in mandated programs by member agencies as well as the number of staff members and foster parents (i.e. potential voters) member agencies employ. Once the report is complete, providers are strongly encouraged to utilize the results to initiate dialogue with their local legislators and other potential allies.

Attached, please find a questionnaire designed to gather the necessary data. This survey is also being sent via regular mail. The impact of the survey results is directly related to the number of providers that respond, thus full membership participation is vital. Quick turn-around time is imperative as well. Please complete the questionnaire in its entirety and forward to the Council office by Friday, February 15, 2002. You may choose to download it, complete the document and return it by e-mail or print it out, complete it, and return it by fax. Thank you in advance for your participation!

Fax-717-651-1729
E-mail-pachild@aol.com

Click here to download the questionnaire in Microsoft Word Format