House Passes Trone Provision to Develop and Retain a High-Quality Workforce in the Child Welfare System
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hannah Muldavin, Hannah.Muldavin@mail.house.gov
House Passes Trone Provision to Develop and Retain a High-Quality Workforce in the Child Welfare System
Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today unanimously passed the Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (Stronger CAPTA), which includes a provision authored by Congressman David Trone (MD-06) that will help develop and retain a high-quality workforce in the child welfare system.
The amendment comes just as the opioid epidemic has caused the rate of child maltreatment to tick up in recent years across the country. Stronger CAPTA improves federal efforts to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect by providing funding to build networks of prevention services designed to strengthen families and improve the quality of child protective services.
You can see the video of Congressman Trone’s speech here, and the text is below:
Madam Speaker:
I rise today to show my support for Stronger CAPTA.
The opioid crisis is devastating communities across the country, and we are seeing rising rates of child abuse and neglect as a result of this crisis.
In order to reverse these trends, we must invest in smart primary prevention efforts like those included in this bill.
Passing Stronger CAPTA will mean stronger networks of prevention services that will benefit children and communities for decades to come.
It will also mean a stronger child welfare workforce.
Some states see a 40% annual turnover rate among the child welfare workforce.
We must do more to equip our workers to better serve our most vulnerable children and families.
That’s why I am pleased that this bill includes a provision I authored with my colleague Mr. Wright of Texas that will help develop and retain a high-quality workforce in the child welfare system.
I urge a yes vote from my colleagues on this commonsense bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
To read the fact sheet on H.R. 2480, click here.
Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Education and Labor, Foreign Affairs, and Joint Economic Committees, where he is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders, including the opioid epidemic, criminal justice reform, and funding for medical research.
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