**Statement of**

**Wade F. Horn, Ph. D.**

**Administration for Children and Families**

**Department of Health and Human Services**

**Before the**

**Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services**

**Education and Related Agencies**

**Committee on Appropriations**

**U.S. House of Representatives**

**Accompanied by**

**William R. Beldon**

**Deputy Assistant Secretary, Budget**

**U.S. Department of Health and Human Services**

**March 8, 2005**

Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, I am honored to appear
before you to discuss the President's FY 2006 budget request for the
Administration for Children and Families. In addition, I am joined by
Dr. Duane Alexander, Director of the National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development, to provide a special focus on early childhood
development as requested by the subcommittee. William R. Beldon, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Budget in the Department, also joins me at the
table.

The FY 2006 budget request for ACF totals \$44.9 billion, with \$31.8
billion for mandatory programs and \$13.1 billion for discretionary
programs. The request sustains funding for important initiatives put
forth in recent years while addressing the need for spending discipline
to support the Administration's initiative to cut the deficit in half
over four years.  This submission also is our first integrated
performance budget.

Therefore, I would like to present highlights of our budget against the
backdrop of our four strategic goals. Additionally, recognizing your
special interest in early childhood development, I would like to take
this opportunity to briefly update you on the progress we are making in
this critical area.

[Increasing Economic Independence and Productivity for
Families]{.underline}

Welfare reform has been a tremendous success in moving families off the
rolls and moving toward self-sufficiency. The number of TANF dependent
families has been cut in half and contrary to predictions of welfare
reform critics the child poverty rate is lower now than in 1996. The
Administration's reauthorization proposal, reflected in our FY 2006
budget request, offers critical building blocks leading to greater
family stability and self-sufficiency. I am hopeful that Congress will
move quickly on the President's welfare reform proposal.

Our FY 2006 budget supports the framework of this proposal by
maintaining funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) program to States and Tribes, matching grants to territories, and
the Tribal work program. Funding is included for the Contingency Fund
and Supplemental Grants for Population Increases. The budget also
includes \$100 million in funding for a TANF Research, Demonstration and
Technical Assistance Program which will be primarily focused on the
promotion of family formation and healthy two-parent marriage
activities, a \$100 million matching state grant program focused on
marriage promotion and \$40 million in mandatory funding to promote
responsible fatherhood activities. This portion of the request
recognizes that children who grow up in healthy married families with
responsible and committed fathers are less likely to experience a host
of negative outcomes compared to those who do not.

As with TANF, the FY 2006 budget supports the continued high level of
success achieved by the Child Support Enforcement Program by including
legislative proposals from the last several years that seek to move the
program toward a focus on healthy, financially strong families and away
from the historic purpose of recoupment of federal and state outlays for
welfare. Over five years it is estimated that these combined proposals
will have a federal cost of \$52 million while resulting in almost \$3.4
billion in additional financial support to families.

In addition, child care provides a much needed support to help
low-income families succeed at work and remain self-sufficient. The FY
2006 budget maintains the historically high level of funding dedicated
to this purpose in both the Child Care and Development Block Grant, at
\$2.1 billion, and the Child Care Entitlement, at \$2.7 billion. States
also would continue to have flexibility to provide child care services
using TANF funds and Social Services Block Grant funds. In addition,
under our welfare reform proposal States would have the ability to use
unobligated TANF balances (almost \$1.9 billion at the end of FY 2004)
on services such as child care.

To help those newly arrived in this country who are in especially
fragile circumstances, our FY 2006 proposal requests \$552 million for
programs serving refugees, asylees, Cubans/Haitians entrants, victims of
torture and trafficking, and unaccompanied alien children. Given the
anticipated increase in refugee arrivals and unaccompanied children,
\$68 million above the FY 2005 enacted level is requested to maintain
current assistance levels for refugees, and provide support for
unaccompanied alien children in federal custody. In addition to meeting
our goal for economic independence and productivity for families, our
request will help promote the goal of social well-being for these
particularly vulnerable children.

[Improving Healthy Development, Safety, and Well-being of
Children]{.underline}

America's future -- its civil society and social fabric -- depends upon
how well families protect and nurture their children. Our budget
supports a broad range of programs that help support families as they
endeavor to promote the cognitive and social development, school
readiness, and health and safety of their children and youth.

The President is deeply committed to ensuring that low-income and
disadvantaged children enter school healthy and ready to learn and this
commitment is reflected in our \$6.9 billion request for Head Start, an
increase of \$45 million above the FY 2005 enacted level. This increase,
coupled with the President's proposal to reauthorize and strengthen Head
Start, will support comprehensive, high quality services for an
additional 10,000 children in areas of the U.S. with the greatest unmet
need for Head Start services. The \$45 million increase would be
targeted to support state implementation of a pilot project that would
allow up to nine states to coordinate their pre-K, Head Start, and child
care programs to assess the extent to which states could better meet the
needs of low-income pre-school age children and their families by
designing a comprehensive system, reducing bureaucratic overlap and
achieving cost efficiencies.

Since I testified before this Subcommittee last year on early childhood
learning in the Head Start Program, significant progress has been made.
I am pleased to report that the National Reporting System on Head Start
Outcomes has moved from two years of planning and development into the
completion of the first full year of implementation. The first year data
from the 2003 -- 2004 school year show that some of our earlier efforts
to address school readiness are beginning to have an impact. The data
show higher levels of alphabet knowledge, early literacy and early math
skills than that found in the 2000 -- 2001 Family and Child Experiences
Survey (FACES) data I shared with you last year. However, much like
FACES, the data show we must still do more to improve children's
learning and Head Start outcomes, and enactment of the President's
reauthorization proposal is a critical next step to this end.

In addition, the FY 2006 budget for ACF continues to support the
President's other priority initiatives aimed at improving the healthy
development, support and well-being of children, youth and families. For
example, building on last year's expansion, the budget requests \$143
million, an increase of \$39 million, for community-based abstinence
education program activities focused on educating teens and parents
about the health risks associated with early sexual activity and \$50
million to reauthorize state-based abstinence education grants as part
of welfare reform reauthorization. Furthermore, recognizing that
prevention is one of the most important tools we have to eliminate the
tragedy of child abuse and neglect, the budget maintains funding at the
increased FY 2005 enacted levels for the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment State Grants and community-based child abuse and neglect
prevention activities.

Further, our budget continues to support healthy outcomes for youth by
providing \$99 million for the Runaway and Homeless Youth program,
including an additional \$10 million to support Maternity Group Homes.
We also are seeking \$50 million for the President's Mentoring Children
of Prisoners program to continue support for this vulnerable population.
As a group, these children are less likely than their peers to succeed
in school and more likely to engage in risky behavior such as substance
abuse and sexual activity.

The FY 2006 budget also reflects our ongoing commitment to the child
welfare system and supporting those who need help transitioning from
foster care. The budget includes \$60 million, a \$13 million increase,
for the Independent Living Education and Training Vouchers program, that
will allow an additional 2,600 youth to receive training and education
vouchers. Additionally, to support the Administration's commitment to
helping families in crisis and protecting children from abuse and
neglect, the President's FY 2006 Budget requests \$410 million (\$305
million in mandatory spending and \$105 million in discretionary
spending), an increase of \$6 million, for the Promoting Safe and Stable
Families program. The budget also provides \$32 million for Adoption
Incentives -- to fully fund the rewards earned by states for increasing
adoptions from the public child welfare system. Finally, the
Administration is proposing a nearly \$4.6 billion entitlement budget
for foster care which includes continued support for the President's
child welfare program option to provide states more flexibility in both
the population served and activities funded.

[Increasing the Health and Prosperity of Communities and
Tribes]{.underline}

ACF achieves its goal of increasing the health and prosperity of
communities and tribes by strengthening local community partnerships,
improving civic participation, and working with Native American
communities to build capacity and infrastructure for social and economic
development. To this end, the FY 2006 budget provides \$126 million to
provide on-going support for the critical core services to individuals
and families impacted by domestic violence and \$3 million to support
the National Domestic Violence Hotline. In order to meet the demands for
home energy assistance for vulnerable populations, we are proposing
\$1.8 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
and \$200 million for the LIHEAP Contingency Fund.

We also maintain funding for the various components of the programs that
allow ACF to serve families with members with developmental
disabilities, and \$15 million for voting access for those with
disabilities.

In addition, we remain dedicated to advancing the efforts of
community-based, charitable organizations, including faith-based
providers in delivering social services and better serving those in
need. To this end, the FY 2006 budget requests \$100 million for the
Compassion Capital Fund, an increase of \$45 million. We propose to
dedicate \$50 million of the Compassion Capital Fund for the President's
and First Lady's Helping America's Youth initiative to help improve
outcomes for boys with a special focus on assisting them to overcome the
risk of gang influence and involvement.

[Managing Resources to Improve Performance]{.underline}

ACF's implementation of performance management has created a consistent
framework for linking agency-wide goals with program priorities and
targeting resources to meet the needs of children and families. It has
provided a shared vision of what needs to be accomplished with our
partners and provides a consistent and effective way to measure our
achievements and to strive for continued improvement.

Given the lack of demonstrated results as noted in its Program
Assessment Rating Tool (PART) review, our budget does not seek funding
for the Community Services Block Grant Program. These functions will be
shifted to the Department of Commerce as part of the President's
initiative to strengthen America's communities. In addition, funding is
not sought for several other programs that duplicate services and
activities funded elsewhere in the federal government

Finally, our budget requests \$187 million for Federal Administration,
the same as FY 2005, supporting 1,313 FTE, a reduction of 69 FTE. In
addition to absorbing mandatory cost of living and inflationary
increases, this budget reflects a reduction in staffing support for
community services programs and FTE savings resulting from increased
productivity.

[Conclusion]{.underline}

I am pleased to have had this opportunity to provide you with the
highlights of our proposed FY 2006 budget and briefly discuss our
progress in strengthening early childhood development. This budget
provides a fiscally responsible and balanced approach to reaching our
strategic goals and supporting the President's Management Agenda and key
priorities. We look forward to working with the Congress on achieving
our mission and objectives, and I welcome your questions.

Dr. Wade F. Horn

Assistant Secretary for Children and Families

Wade F. Horn, Ph.D. was named the Assistant Secretary for Children and
Families in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, on July 30, 2001. The
Administration for Children and Families is responsible for programs
that promote the social and economic well-being of families. ACF\'s
programs include Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, foster care,
adoption assistance, family preservation and support, Head Start, child
care, child support enforcement, runaway and homeless youth, low income
home energy assistance, community services, refugee resettlement, mental
retardation and developmental disabilities.

Prior to this appointment, Dr. Horn was President of the National
Fatherhood Initiative, whose mission is to improve the well-being of
children by increasing the number of children growing up with involved,
committed and responsible fathers in their lives.

From 1989-1993, Dr. Horn was the Commissioner for Children, Youth and
Families and Chief of the Children\'s Bureau in the Administration on
Children, Youth and Families. He also served as a Presidential appointee
to the National Commission on Children from 1990-1993, was a member of
the National Commission on Childhood Disability from 1994-1995, and the
U.S. Advisory Board on Welfare Indicators from 1996-1997. Prior to these
appointments, Dr. Horn was the Director of Outpatient Psychological
Services at the Children\'s Hospital National Medical Center in
Washington, D.C., and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences at George Washington University. From 1993 to 2001,
Dr. Horn was also an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University\'s
Public Policy Institute, and an affiliate scholar with the Hudson
Institute.

Dr. Horn is the author of numerous articles on children and family
issues, including a weekly newspaper column entitled Fatherly Advice,
and is the co-author of several books including The Better Homes and
Gardens New Father Book (Meredith Books, 1998) and The Better Homes and
Gardens New Teen Book (Meredith Books, 1999.) He is also the lead editor
of The Fatherhood Movement: A Call to Action (Lexington Books, 1998.)
Dr. Horn is frequently featured on television and radio as a child
development expert and commentator. He has appeared on NBC\'s Today
Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, McNeil-Lehrer News Hour,
20/20, 48 Hours, ABC World News Tonight, CNN, NBC Nightly News, CNBC,
Fox News Channel, CNN and MS-NBC.

Dr. Horn received his Ph.D. in clinical child psychology from Southern
Illinois University in 1981. He lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with
his wife and two daughters.

Number range CHAPTERDepartment of Health and Human Services

Office of Budget

William R. Beldon

Mr. Beldon is currently serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary, Budget in
the Department of Health and Human Services. He has been a Division
Director in the Budget Office for sixteen years, most recently as
Director of the Division of Discretionary Programs. Mr. Beldon started
in federal service as an auditor in the Health, Education and Welfare
Financial Management Intern program. Over the course of more than 30
years in the Budget Office, Mr. Beldon has held Program Analyst, Branch
Chief and Division Director positions. Mr. Beldon received a Bachelor's
Degree in History and Political Science from Marshall University and
attended the University of Pittsburgh where he studied Public
Administration. He resides in Fort Washington, Maryland.