Congress left Washington, D.C., on Thursday, December 14, 2023, without reaching an agreement on funding for FY2024, a bad sign for the new year. Although the Senate is expected to be back this week to work out an agreement on aid for Ukraine, Israel, and new immigration policies for the southern border, it’s unclear if
On Thursday, December 14, 2023, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law held it’s fourth hearing on foster care as part of the bipartisan inquiry into Georgia’s child welfare system. Subcommittee Chairman Jon Ossoff (D-GA) opened the hearing by reminding those in the room that “we are talking about the most vulnerable
On December 15, 2023, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released it’s 2023 Annual Homeless Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time Estimates, which is an annual snapshot of the number of individuals in shelters, temporary housing, and in unsheltered settings. The report found more than 650,000 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced the release of the All Children - All Families team's latest report, The State of LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Child Welfare. As is highlighted in the report, we are ecstatic to announce that the ACAF program reached a record-breaking 172 child welfare agencies employing over 30,500 professionals and serving more than
With only one work week left in the first year of the 118th Congress, lawmakers have stalled on a number of top priorities, including appropriations and a forthcoming tax package, as well as supplemental funding for both foreign and domestic policies. On the tax policy front, there continues to be talk about a bipartisan package
On December 6, 2023, Representative Kevin Mullin (D-CA) introduced the Poverty Line Act, which would update the way the Federal government calculates the federal poverty line by accounting for real costs and adjusting for regional differences. This would make millions more families eligible for safety net programs such as Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), LIHEAP (energy
On December 6, 2023, the House Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee held a hearing to “Expand Growth and Increase Prosperity for American Families”. Chairman Mike Kelly [R-PA] opened the conversation by talking about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, many of the codes of which are set to expire in 2025, and how he would
The National Women’s Law Center, held a webinar on December 4th entitled, “Providing Care for the Care Workforce - How Kentucky is Supporting Early Educators,” to discuss Kentucky’s strategy to eliminate childcare staffing shortages by giving childcare workers free childcare for their children. Across the country, 50% of the childcare workforce qualifies for assistance to
On December 5, 2023, Spotlight on Poverty & Opportunity hosted a briefing, “Family Economic Mobility: Finding Bipartisan Pathways to Support Pro-Family Policies,” on Capitol Hill that featured Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA). They highlighted the Connected MOM Act, which would allow expectant mothers to receive medical monitoring remotely during their pregnancies, and
On November 8, 2023, the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) published a new brief, “Behavioral Health Diagnoses and Treatment Services for Children Involved with the Child Welfare System.“ ASPE found that nationally, more than 40 percent of children involved with the child welfare system -- including children and youth in foster care as
