In response to the growing mental health crisis in the United States, Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Don Bacon (R-NE), Mary Peltola (D-AK), and Kathy Castor (D-FL) introduced HR 3073 the Community Mental Wellness and Resilience Act of 2023 (CMWRA), on May 2, 2023. The bill aims to address the urgent need for
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on June 8, 2023 titled "Why Are So Many American Youth in a Mental Health Crisis?” exploring causes and solutions to examine the mental health issues youth face and the need for an improved infrastructure for mental health care. Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
The Administration for Children and Families released a new 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Prevention Services Evaluation Partnerships: Building Evidence for Mental Health, Substance Use, In-home Parent Skill-based, and Kinship Navigator Programs and Services. The three-year grants will support evaluations of “programs and services intended to provide enhanced support to children and families,
The Children’s Bureau (CB) has released Program Instruction ACYF-CB-PI-23-07 (Fiscal Year 2023 Title IV-B, Subpart 2 Funding Available to Develop and Enhance or to Evaluate Kinship Navigator Programs) which provides guidance to state, territorial and tribal title IV-E agencies on the actions required to apply for title IV-B, subpart 2 funding to support the development,
The Administration for Children and Families released new data on October 21, 2022, showing that child care stabilization funds provided in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) have served more than 200,000 child care providers, impacting as many as 9.5 million children. The new state-by-state profiles include the total number of child care providers assisted in
On a webinar, hosted on Thursday, February 10, 2022, new research, the First Randomized Controlled Trial of Poverty Reduction in Early Childhood, focused on the impact that cash assistance to families can have on infant brain development. Presenters Sonya Troller-Renfree and Greg Duncan outlined findings that expands the understanding and the implications of poverty on
On February 3, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a series of new reports from the Office of the Assistance Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) that “highlight how pregnant and postpartum women who use substances and their children can benefit from evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies.” Based on a review
These reports are being released while Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is beginning to accept applications for Services Grant Program for Residential Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women. This $10 million grant program will provide pregnant and postpartum women and their children with comprehensive substance use treatment and recovery support services across
On Thursday January 27, 2022, CMS announced the availability of $49 million to fund organizations that can connect more eligible children, parents, and pregnant individuals to health care coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Awardees—including state/local governments, tribal organizations, federal health safety net organizations, non-profits, schools, and others—will receive up to $1.5
The CTC has been federal law since the mid-1990s, but last year’s expansion added several improvements that lifted approximately half of children out of poverty. It did that by making the tax “refundable’ meaning families could benefit even if they did not have enough “earned-income.’ It also added an innovation to make it more immediate: