Administration

Protection in Practice: Lessons in Global Child Labor Enforcement

The United States Department of Labor released its annual report on international child labor and hosted an event to launch it. Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee opened the event by talking about the state of the child labor in the world today. It’s a growing issue, driven by the changes in the international

HHS Announces National Center to Support Mental Health in Child Welfare Services

On September 25, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) awarded $20 million to launch the first-ever National Center for Child Welfare Competent Mental Health Services (the Center). As part of HHS’ Roadmap for Behavioral Health Integration, this investment is one of many ways

Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness with ARPA Funds

On September 26th, 2023, SchoolHouse Connection hosted a webinar about the expiration of this one-time funding in September 2024. Daniel Espinosa of the Learning Policy Institute and Barbara Duffield the executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, shared statistics, barriers to support, and alerted new letter of guidance for how states should use their remaining American Rescue

CWLA Statement on the Creation of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention

On Friday, September 22, President Biden announced the creation of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. CWLA President & CEO, Christine James-Brown, released the following statement: “As an organization with more than a century-long commitment to increasing the safety and well-being of families and communities, we at the Child Welfare League of America know the

New HHS NPRM to Prohibit Discrimination on the Basis of Disability

On September 15, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights announced a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would add new provisions that clarify existing requirements under section 504 prohibiting recipients of financial assistance from the Department (recipients) from discriminating on the basis of disability in their programs

Keeping Youth at the Center of Kinship Care

The Capacity Building Center for States hosted a webinar on September 13th entitled “Keeping Youth at the Center of Kinship Care Practice: Prioritizing Relationships, Community, and Culture”. They brought together three different presenting groups from California, Connecticut, and Alaska to talk about the benefits of kinship care and the different navigator programs that they have

CWLA Commented: Increasing Access to Child Care NPRM

On July 13th, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) designed to improve affordability and access to care options for families and promote financial stability of child care providers participating in the federal child care subsidy program under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). This

New Federal Guidance To Expedite Use of ARP-HCY Funds

On September 12th, 2023 the U.S. Department of Education released a “Dear Colleague Letter” to Chief State School Officers asking States to modify their administrative procedures to expedite spending American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) funds. These funds, that must be obligated by September of 2024, provide supports for students experiencing homelessness who

Congress Returns to Big Challenges Ahead

The Senate returned from recess last Monday, September 4, 2023, and the House will return to Washington, D.C. this week to resume work on the numerous legislative priorities before them, the most pressing of which is finding a way to fund the government past September 30th, the end of the fiscal year. With just about

CMS Takes Action to Protect Health Care Coverage for Children and Families

On August 30, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands requiring them to determine whether they have an eligibility systems issue that could cause people, especially children, to be disenrolled from Medicaid or the Children’s

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