Generations United released a new fact sheet highlighting the positive outcomes for children who are raised by grandparents rather than a traditional foster family placement. More than 2.5 million children across the U.S. are raised in kinship families, in which grandparents, another adult family member, or a close family friend are raising children who cannot
On Saturday, June 3rd, President Biden signed the debt limit bill, titled the Fiscal Responsibility Act, into law, one week after he and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had struck a deal on the details of the legislation and just ahead of the June 5th deadline. As reported last week, the bill raises
A publication released by the Child Welfare Information Gateway in 2023 provides a legal overview of the rights and supports available to youth in foster care who identify as LGBTQIA2S+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual, Two-Spirit, or other gender or sexual identities), children who are often subjected to adverse experiences while in care.
On May 31, 2023, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing focused on the stabilization funds for early childhood care centers that were initially disbursed as part of the American Rescue Plan following the COVID-19 pandemic. While Ranking Member Cassidy (R-LA) and other committee members expressed concerns that federal funding
The National Health Collaborative on Violence & Abuse (NHCVA) presented policy recommendations on mental health and substance-use-related effects of violence at a policy briefing on June 1, 2023. During the previous years, Congress has provided unprecedented financing for behavioral health programs and victim assistance. There was an emphasis on how to use the funds to
On May 23, 2023, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released an audit of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), “The Office of Refugee Resettlement Needs To Improve Its Oversight Related to the Placement and Transfer of Unaccompanied Children.” ORR manages the Unaccompanied Children (UC) Program, which serves children with no lawful immigration status
Consistent with the growing efforts to move from enforcement and surveillance across child and family services, the Administration for Children and Families announced on June 2nd, 2023, that the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement is now the Federal Office of Child Support Services (OCSS). “First impressions matter, and the Office of Child Support Services
On May 31, 2023, the National Women's Law Center published a new fact sheet, "The Child Care and Early Learning Workforce Is Underpaid and Women are Paying the Price." This fact sheet includes data and tables on who comprises the child care workforce, their educational attainment, parental status, and their pay. Key findings include: Women
News broke on Saturday, May 27, 2023, that President Biden and Speaker McCarthy (R-CA) had reached an agreement on the key provisions of a bill to raise the debt ceiling until after the 2024 election. Both the White House and the Speaker of the House released talking points and statements about the agreement, and bill
On May 24, 2023, Bloomberg reported that the House Ways and Means Committee is planning to release a tax package after the debt ceiling has been addressed, and Representative Blake Moore (R-UT) said the Child Tax Credit is “absolutely” on the table and has been part of committee discussions on the package, though the extent
