Groups were coming together last week to oppose the Aderholt Amendment. The amendment was offered by Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) as part of the House Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill when it was debated in House Appropriations Committee. It is similar to language and legislation sponsored by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Congressman Mike Kelly (R-PA). The
On Tuesday, July 17, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute hosted their annual Foster Youth Intern (FYI) legislative forum. The annual invent invites in a number of young people who have been in foster care and have served as interns on Capitol Hill to share their ideas and proposals on child welfare policy. This year’s
According to numbers released last Friday, of the 2551 children and youth ages five through 17 originally counted as eligible for reunification, 450 have been reunited. Another 954 had been interviewed and are ready for reunification. According to the same information provided by HHS to Judge Dana Sabraw, 136 parents have waived their right to
As we begin the last full week in July the House of Representatives will be wrapping up this week and won’t return until after Labor Day. The Senate faces continued action at least for the next two weeks until they take some time off in August. It is unclear how much of August the Senate
On Monday, July 9 the Administration for Children and Families released their first guidance on the Family First Prevention Services Act. The program instruction (PI), ACYF-CB-PI-18-07, was released along with the • Children’s Bureau Regional Program Managers • Certification of Required Legislation • Request for Delay • Title IV-E Plan Pre-Print (including Pre-Print Attachments I
On Monday, July 9 the Administration for Children and Families released their first guidance on the Family First Prevention Services Act. The program instruction (PI), ACYF-CB-PI-18-07 does not deal with the services component of the new law (see below for comment request) but directs states on how they need to amend their Title IV-E and
Last Thursday, when the House Appropriations Committee acted on their Labor-HHS-Education bill, Committee Republicans included an amendment that could promote discrimination in the placement and recruitment of children and parents based on gender and sexual preference. The amendment was offered by Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and it is similar to language and legislation sponsored by
As of this past weekend, it was unclear how many of the approximate 100 children under the age of five that had been reunited with parents. By last Tuesday’s deadline HHS was saying they had reunified over 50 of the approximate 100 children. Some of the reasons for failure to reunite children included parental failure
On Thursday, July 12 the House Appropriations Committee passed their Labor-Health and Human Services and Education bill after two previous delays. Most of the votes cast were along party line with a great deal of the debate focused on immigration and family separation. In the end the bill was approved along party lines with several
HHS has released a new study through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) on opioids with this one focusing on the economic and geographic impact of the drug. The Opioid Crisis and Economic Opportunity: Geographic and Economic Trends Noting the background that is now regularly repeated that opioid use has
