JohnS

About John Sciamanna

John Sciamanna is CWLA's Vice President of Public Policy.

President Unveils 2019 Budget

On Monday February 12, the President released his first full fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget. It was released just two days after the Congress had passed and the President signed a budget agreement (PL 115-123) that means many of numbers in the budget are off and well below what was agreed to on the previous

Child Welfare in Budget

The budget proposes an optional block grant of Title IV-E foster care funding that could be spent for any services now funded under foster care, adoption assistance or Child Welfare Services and Promoting Safe and Stable Families. As pointed out in earlier CWLA analysis, Child Welfare & Block Grants, the 1995 child welfare block grant

SSBG is Still the One–Targeted for Elimination

Once again SSBG is targeted for elimination and without any doubt, such an elimination would hit child welfare in ways big and small as well as many other human service programs including those that effect domestic violence and elder abuse victims. SSBG provided 11 percent of federal child welfare spending in 2014 (Child Trends Survey

DACA Debate Collapses After White House Targeting

At the start of a Wednesday forum, sponsored by The Hill newspaper dealing with opioids (see below) one of the opening speakers was Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Before sponsors delved into the topic at hand the reporter snuck a question, how is the Senate coming on the DACA debate? Senator Whitehouse described his feeling of

Get It Back Campaign Starts to Promote the EITC

Working with the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, CWLA is joining with other organizations to promote the Get It Back Campaign. The Center regularly works on encouraging families and now some individuals to be sure to apply for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The campaign includes this video. The EITC allows lower income

Adoption Incentives Depleted

The adoption incentive was created by the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) in 1997 and was expanded to some kinship placements because of the 2014 reauthorization. States are awarded if they increase adoptions from foster care over the previous year. That incentive also includes now increased placements into Title IV-E kinship placements. The last

Opioids Forum on the Hill by the Hill

On Wednesday, February 14 of The Hill newspaper sponsored another forum on “Americas Opioid Epidemic.” Some of the featured speakers included Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and Congressman David Joyce (R-OH). In addition, participants heard from Surgeon General Jerome Adams. Senator Whitehouse, who has played a prominent role in crafting some of the recent legislation around both

Congressional Baby Caucus: Invest in Language Early

Macey Shabery Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Rep. Chuck Fleishmann (R-TN) convened a Congressional Baby Caucus briefing on Thursday February 15. The briefing centered on how babies learn language, the importance of exposing babies to “conversational duets” (talking to your child about everyday tasks and regularly communicating with them) and sign language. Dr. Roberta Golinkoff

Juvenile Justice Budget

Shaquita Ogletree The Department of Justice FY 2019 budget request includes $229.5 million for the Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP) Juvenile Justice Programs. Funding for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention has declined to the lowest levels due to drastic budget cuts in recent years. Funding levels in recent years have strained programs to a fraction

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