JohnS

About John Sciamanna

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

Congress Returns With Goal of Single Budget Resolution

Congress returns this week with one of its top goals the passage of a single House-Senate budget resolution. The agreements that allowed the House and Senate budget resolutions (H. Con Res 27 and S. Con. Res. 11 ) to pass included significant defense spending increases but those increases were included because both houses classified it

Groups Issue Joint Statement On LGBT Parenting

Last week the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) joined Voice for Adoption (VFA), the Donaldson Adoption Institute, and the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) in issuing a joint statement on Parenting of Children by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Adults. The statement says: (we) “believe that children deserve every opportunity to have

Letter In Support of SSBG Now Open For More Signatures

A letter that went to Capitol Hill on March 12, with more than 65 national organizations signing on in support of the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) has now been re-opened for signatures by state and local organizations, associations and governments. Sign up can be accessed here. The two budget resolutions being negotiated did not

Bipartisan Senate ESEA Legislation Released, Votes Start Tuesday

Late Tuesday, April 7, HELP Committee Chair and Ranking Member Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) released a bipartisan draft to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The law more commonly known as the “No Child Left Behind Act” since its last reauthorization in 2002, will be taken up and

Doc Fix Would Extend Home Visiting, CHIP, Medicaid TMA, Teen Pregnancy

When the Senate returns it is hoped that they will quickly follow up on a March 26 approval by the House of Representatives to replace the Medicare SRG “doc fix” and also extend by two years two key programs: the home visiting program, MIECHV for two years and a two year extension of the CHIP

HHS Will Seek Comments on ICWA AFCARS Issues

ACF has followed the recent request for comments on revised AFCARS data reporting with a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on additional (Indian Child Welfare Act) ICWA-Related Data Elements.  On April 2 the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released a notice of intent to publish a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) related to

HHS Seeks Comments: CAPTA Guidance On Child Fatalities Disclosure

On March 31, ACF published a notice seeking public comments in the Federal Registry (80 FR 17045) on the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) in regard to public disclosure of findings or information about a case of child abuse or neglect which results in a child fatality or near fatality. The notice comes

Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Proposal of President Obama

An analysis of the President's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2016 (October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016) as submitted to Congress in February 2015.  Both an analysis and chart of some of the key child welfare and children's programs. Here

House and Senate Pass Budget Resolutions, To Negotiate Differences

Last week both the House and Senate passed their budget resolutions setting up a negotiation over the spring break.  On Wednesday, March 25 the House of Representatives gave final approval to their version of a budget resolution (H. Con Res 27). The resolution passed with Republican votes only.  It passed by a vote of 228

Social Services Block Grant Letter Open for More Signatures

A letter in support of the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) is open for additional signatures.  The original letter in support of SSBG was sent to Capitol Hill on March 12, with over 65 national organizations signing on to a letter that asked Congress to protect the human services funding from further budget cutting. The

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