On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1809, the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2017. The bill was adopted on a voice vote reflecting the bipartisan sponsors that they can get a reauthorization done this year. The bill was introduced by Congressman Jason Lewis (R-MN) and House Education and Workforce Ranking Member, Congressman Bobby
On Wednesday, the House Subcommittee on Human Resources conducted an oversight hearing labeled, Opportunities for Youth and Young Adults to Break the Cycle of Poverty. The hearing focused on private and non-profit strategies to move young people into the education and workforce systems. Subcommittee Chair Adrian Smith (R-NE) said, “There is an alarming trend happening
Last week the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth held a panel presentation and discussion on, Financial Literacy and Consumer Credit Issues facing Transition-Age Youth. Participants included: Carol Behrer, Executive Director of the Youth Policy Institute of Iowa (YPII) a state organization focused on improving youth policy and practice, particularly as it relates to system-involved and
Just before the spring recess committees in both houses took a go at moving a reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Protection Act (JJDPA). The last time the JJDPA was reauthorized was in 2002 with the current programs operating without an authorization since 2007. In July 2016, the Senate Judiciary Committee had taken the
Efforts to better coordinate access to education for children and youth in foster care may have suffered a setback last week Thursday. The Senate approved a roll-back of Obama Administration regulations to implement the new education law. The regulations covered numerous parts of the newly reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education ACT (ESEA). In part the
On Tuesday, February 28, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on juvenile justice issues. The hearing began with remarks by the Chairman, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), who in his opening statement, discussed the fact that last year he, along with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) crafted a bill that garnered bipartisan support to reauthorize the
Over the weekend a leaked copy of a draft ACA repeal bill was made public by Politico magazine. The bill draft would implement some of the general descriptions Speaker Paul Ryan outlined in a white paper the week before and like that white paper it leaves questions to be answered on how the bill will
The Legal Center for Foster Care & Education has created a guide and factsheet, Roadmap for Foster Care and K–12 Data Linkages, that promotes the cooperation between state and local education and child welfare agencies in the sharing of data. The Center points out that by sharing data, child welfare and education agencies can work
As reported last week the Trump Administration is considering an executive order that will “respect religious freedom” and could be so broad that it will allow the discrimination in the placement of children in adoptive, foster and kinship placements. It would extend these provisions beyond religious or faith based agencies to “any organization” including for-profit
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a new report on foster care and oversight of prescription drug medication. The report, HHS Has Taken Steps to Support States’ Oversight of Psychotropic Medications, but Additional Assistance Could Further Collaboration, as the title suggests indicates more needs to be done in terms of the overuse and prescribing
