On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the Congress completed work on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, HR 6201: • An increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for Medicaid and Title IV-E by 6.2 percent (state by state Medicaid increase, Center on Budget Policy and Priority) • Women, Infants and Children (WIC)—$500 million •
The President had requested $2.5 billion for coronavirus on February 24, and Congress instead sent him a package of $8.3 billion on March 5, which was followed by last week’s bill that tops $100 billion. This third package looks likely to exceed $1 trillion. On Thursday, the Administration released an emergency package that includes a
With the unveiling of the Republican coronavirus # 3, CWLA submitted a letter to Congress outlining some key child welfare concerns. It is challenging to make such recommendations because it isn’t clear how current practice and needs will change, and it isn’t clear how much Congress will spend in this third round of emergency funding.
After several days of back and forth, the House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, HR 6201, on Friday night. The House vote was 363 to 40. The Senate left on Thursday but is expected to take the legislation up this week after canceling their one week break. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
The Constitution requires an accurate count of the nation’s population-–a census–every ten years. Unfortunately, the 2010 census missed more than 10 percent of young children, about 2.2 million children, age four or younger. Unless we act, we might miss even more young children in 2020. When we miss young children in the census it has
On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the House Ways and Means Worker and Family Support Subcommittee held a hearing on “Combating Child Poverty in America.” The hearing focused on how we can work to end child poverty and ways in which Congress can work “together with researchers, local leaders, and the communities themselves to meet that
On Tuesday, March 3, 2020, the Subcommittee on Appropriations for the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing entitled “Reducing Child Poverty.” Seven witnesses gave testimony: Dolores Acevedo-Garci, Professor of Human Development and Social Policy and Brandeis University, Douglas Besharov, Professor at the University of Maryland’s School of
The Children's Bureau released guidance on implementing funds appropriated by the Family First Transition Act, passed in December 2019 by Congress. The Program Instruction, ACYF-CB-PI-20-04, provides guidance States, Territories, and Indian Tribes about what they must do to receive the one-time Family First Prevention Services Act Transition Grant. The $500 million are available to all
A leaked copy of the House Appropriations Committee schedule was published in Roll Call and included a timeline for House Appropriations action. The Subcommittee on Appropriations for Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (Labor-HHS) will be taken up on April 29, 2020. The plan is that the subcommittees will start action on April 21 with the Agriculture
The Administration (through a request by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)) is seeking comments on how to change the U.S. poverty measure. Changes in the poverty measure would affect how and if people, states and communities qualify for federal programs and funding. To ensure consideration, the comments must be provided in writing no