On March 14th, 2023, President Biden presented a new executive order, Executive Order on Reducing Gun Violence and Making Our Communities Safer, regarding gun policy in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Monterey Park, California this January. The executive order tasks the Attorney General Merrick Garland and various Administration Secretaries with shoring up “red
On Thursday, March 16, 2023, the Children’s Bureau announced the resumption of Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews. Due to the pandemic, the Title IV-E Reviews to monitor child welfare agencies’ compliance in meeting certain child welfare eligibility requirements had been suspended in March 2020. Their review will start up again at the start of
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released a new report exploring the impact of President Biden’s Child Tax Credit proposal. ITEP estimates that 55 million children would be impacted by the expansion and that millions would be lifted out of poverty. Under the American Rescue Plan Act, the temporary expansion of the CTC
On Thursday, March 9, 2023, President Biden released his budget. It was a partial release with more details to be released this week. CWLA will have a more complete review later this week. Overall, the Administration proposes increases in the human services areas of the budget and medical services while proposing a projected reduction in
On March 10th, 2023, the House Ways and Means Committee hosted a hearing with Treasury Secretary Yellen about President Biden’s budget, released the day prior. The hearing, which lasted more than three hours, was an opportunity for the new majority party to press the Secretary on many of the fiscal policies of the Biden Administration
On March 1, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) with an in-person gathering and a livestream, available here. Assistant Secretary January Contreras opened the event by welcoming federal partners, state, territorial and tribal leaders, other partners, and those with lived
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the Biden Administration proposed a new rule that would reduce the number of refugees that are able to seek asylum in the United States. Under this rule, most asylum seekers who cross into the United States between ports of entry or who present themselves at a port of entry without
On Thursday, February 9, 2023 the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) celebrated its fifth anniversary of being signed into law as part of Public Law 115-123. Since 2018, it has enhanced states’ efforts to support families by reducing the use of congregate care, building the capacity of communities to support children, and helping children
On February 23, 2023, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) hosted a webinar about the behavioral health crisis and the homeless community. Panelists noted that the current crisis response system is broken and perpetuates inequities. Moreover, people in crisis are often stuck in a repetitive cycle of only momentary inadequate care. Lack
On February 14th, 2023, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (88 FR 9411) proposing to amend federal regulations to allow title IV-E agencies to adopt separate licensing or approval standards for relative or kinship foster family homes. “The Administration for Children and Families
