JohnS

About John Sciamanna

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

House Committee Adopts Labor-HHS Bill—Next Step CR & November

On Wednesday the House Appropriations Committee Approved a bill that would fund the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (Labor-HHS).  The bill and committee report reduces spending below current year funding and attaches a number of provisions the President would reject. Overall the bill provides $161.6 billion which is a cut of

New Evidence On Effectiveness Of Teen Pregnancy Prevention

On Friday the Office on Adolescent Health (OAH) released the results of 41 rigorous evaluations on the effectiveness of teen pregnancy prevention programs.  The studies, 90 percent of which were randomized controlled trials between 2010 through 2015, is expected to offer a significant contribution to the field’s knowledge of where, when, and with whom programs

Families First Status Discussions Continue

Holding Pattern in Senate Last week efforts to adopt the House version of the Family First Prevention Services Act, (HR 5456) (Conference Report 114-628) continued but success has stalled—at least temporarily.  By week’s end the only thing that was clear is that they had not yet reached unanimous support for the bill and passing it. 

Coalition Launches Effort to Assist Homeless Youth Avoid JJ

The Coalition on Juvenile Justice has launched Collaborating for Change: Addressing Youth Homelessness and Juvenile Justice, a project with two main goals: to decrease the likelihood that homeless youth become involved with the juvenile justice system; and to prevent youth homelessness among justice-involved youth. The project is a collaboration between the Coalition and with project partners, the National

Congress Works On Drug and Mental Health Acts—Includes CAPTA Changes—In Last Days

Squeezed in between last week’s presidential politics, the House and Senate were trying to work out final deals on mental health and drug legislation. House-Senate Conferees agreed to a bill or conference report on the “CARA” legislation although the Democrats were holding out for increased appropriations that would fund the new provisions.  The House adopted

Children’s Budget Review Includes Passionate Call To Address Violence

On Thursday, July 7, First Focus conducted their annual Children’s Budget Summit and released their new Children’s Budget 2016 book but it may have been the keynote remarks that captured the moment. New York Times columnist, Charles Blow reflected on the fresh news of a second shooting in as many days of a black man

House Subcommittee Approves Labor-HHS Bill

On Thursday the House Subcommittee on Appropriations for the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (Labor-HHS) approved a bill that reduces spending below current year funding and attaches a number of provisions the President would reject. Overall the bill provides $161.6 billion which is a cut of $569 million below this year. 

Families First Status Discussions Continue Later This Week

Holding Pattern in Senate The Senate comes back mid-week for the waning days of the summer session.  Plans are to depart by July 15 with no return until post-Labor Day.  As a result, last week there were on-going discussions involving various organizations, foundations, and government representatives with some state and local governments and advocacy groups

CWLA and NASW Join Together on Workforce Briefing

On Tuesday, June 28 the Child Welfare League America and the National Association of Social Workers cosponsored a briefing on the child welfare workforce.  The briefing entitled, Let's Improve Child Welfare Outcomes: The Workforce Matters, provided background on what it takes to perform some of the critical work within the child welfare field. Panelists included

Appropriations Update—Labor-HHS Subcommittee Scheduled This Week

Congress acting on an omnibus appropriations bill is certain.  The only question is when they will pass such a bill and how long it will run. There are days not weeks left before the summer break starts.  That break will run through Labor Day.  It is expected that there will be limited days in September

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