People

Adoption/Kinship Incentive Payment Dropped Last Year

The Adoption and Legal Guardianship Incentives released earlier this year provided just $24 million in incentive funding for states that placed children in adoptive families or in legal subsidized guardianship during 2020. In recent years the awards have exceeded over $60 million.  In fact, in recent appropriations, Congress has appropriated additional funding ($75 million) so

Report on Effectiveness of Youth Mobile Response

In April of 2021, The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) reported findings on the effectiveness of mobile responses - “an alternative to using law enforcement to respond to mental health and social crisis.”   This week CLASP started a letter to CMS to support these efforts (see following article for what you can do). In the report, CLASP dissects successful mobile response systems

FY 2022 Appropriations Extended Through February 18

The Senate agreed to a CR extension through February 18, 2022, late Thursday night (November 2) after a week of threats by some Republican senators who objected to the Biden Administration vaccination policies. The House of Representatives reached a deal to extend funding beyond January, as Democrats had originally sought, and they compromised on the

ProPublica Article Raises Concerns on “Shadow Foster Care”

On December 1, 2021, ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine published an article titled, ‘They Took Us Away From Each Other’: Lost Inside America’s Shadow Foster System” by reporter Lizzie Presser.   The article details what some have labeled diversion from foster care by using informal kinship care placements. It doesn’t question kinship care, but

Pediatrician Groups Release Data on COVID-19 Children

On Wednesday, December 1, 2021, the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a summary of data taken between May 21, 2020 through August 26, 2021 across 49 states, New York City (NYC), DC, Puerto Rico (PR), and Guam (GU) detailing COVID-19 data for children.    Overall, there were 4,797,683 total child COVID-19 cases reported, despite this overwhelming number, children tend to show less

House Passes Build Back Better Reconciliation

The House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act reconciliation bill (HR 5376) on Friday, November 19, 2021, after a week of waiting.  The waiting was driven by the need for a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) “score” or estimation of costs and savings. That score came back on Thursday at the expected $1.7 trillion.

Administration Nominates Oregon’s Gaston to ACYF

On Thursday, November 18, 2021, the President nominated Rebecca Jones Gaston to become the Commissioner for the Administration on Children Youth and Families (ACYF). The position has been vacant since Elizabeth Darling stepped down during the presidential transition. Currently Gaston is the Child Welfare Director for the State of Oregon’s Department of Human Services. Before

CDC Confirms Continuing Trend of Increasing Drug Overdose Deaths

Data released by to CDC on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, confirmed earlier reports that drug overdoses continued to skyrocket with the country reaching 100,000 for the first time in U.S. history. The data measures overdose deaths from May 1, 2020, through April 30, 2021, a big heart of the pandemic. The total is even more

Full FY 2022 Appropriations in Doubt Along With Funding

Current funding for federal fiscal year ends on December 3, 2021, and while it appears likely Congress will pass another CR for a matter of weeks, a full year long appropriation adding new funds now seem much in doubt. A CR that extended for the rest of FY 2022 means that there would be a

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