KatiM

About Kati Mapa

Kati Mapa is CWLA's Director of Public Policy.

Ways and Means Committee Hearing on Supporting Older Youth

On June 12, 2025, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Work and Welfare held a hearing, “Aging Out is Not a Plan: Reimagining Futures for Foster Youth,” which explored recommendations to reform and improve the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (the Chafee program). The purpose of Chafee is

Senate Starts Releasing Reconciliation Text

The Senate Committees began releasing their reconciliation bills over the past two weeks as Congress barrels toward the July 4th deadline that leadership has imposed upon itself. Below is an overview of changes and provisions in the Senate committee texts that CWLA is following; at the time of this writing, the Senate Finance Committee, which

House Committees Mark Up Key Bills

Last week, three key House Committees were able to mark up and move forward their portions of the reconciliation bill. Each bill moved through the relevant committee on a party-line vote, with no amendments to the text; although many amendments were introduced by members of the minority party, each one was voted down. Ways and

House Marks up Education and Judiciary Reconciliation Bills

Congress continues to move forward with the budget reconciliation process, with multiple House committees marking up their versions of the bill last week. As a reminder, both the House and the Senate have passed identical budget resolutions, but the instructions for the House and the Senate are very different, with the House receiving instructions to

President’s Budget Request for FY 2026

On Friday, May 2, 2025, the President released what is known as the “skinny budget” – a high level overview of the FY 2026 Budget Request. The table included with the requests outlines top numbers for departments and groups together changes in funding and policy, with little detail available. It’s worth noting that the President

Leaked: Administration Plans to Request Massive Cuts to HHS

On April 16th, 2025, the press reported that the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is planning to propose massive cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget in the President’s FY 2026 Budget Request, according to a leaked draft. The document, called a “passback,” has not been finalized and

HHS Restructuring Hits ACF Hard

Two weeks ago, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kennedy announced that HHS was being restructured, laying out a vague framework with little detail available. On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, the plan came into somewhat clearer focus as HHS began its reduction in force (RIF) procedure and started laying off nearly 10,000 HHS staff.

Congress Averts Shutdown, Cuts Funding Levels

The House of Representatives passed their Continuing Resolution (CR) to the fund the government through September 30th on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in a mostly party-line 217-213 vote. Representative Golden (D-ME) was the only House Democrat to vote for the bill and Representative Massie (R-KY) was the only House Republican to vote against it. Later

Trump Administration Resumes Family Detention, Holds Families in Texas Facility

Last week, news broke that the Trump Administration resumed family detention of immigrants in a South Texas facility. The practice of family detention was largely halted, but not abolished, during the Biden administration. Children Thrive Action Network, of which CWLA is a member, released a statement condemning this development. From the statement: “This action is

Child Maltreatment 2023 Report

On January 8, 2025, the Children’s Bureau released the annual child abuse and neglect report: Child Maltreatment 2023. This year’s report shows a continued decrease in child maltreatment; it reveals that of the nationally estimated 3,081,715 children who were the subject of a child welfare agency response in FY 2023, 546,159 children were determined to

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