On Sunday, September 11th, the New York Times, in conjunction with Child Trends, published a new analysis which reports that childhood poverty has fallen 59% since 1993. "With little public notice and accelerating speed, America’s children have become much less poor" over the last 25 years, the article states. The analysis includes data through 2019,
On Wednesday, July 27th, 2022, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced that they had reached a deal on a budget reconciliation package, two weeks after negotiations on climate change fell apart. The news came as a surprise to many colleagues, as the two Senators met in secret to discuss the details and
On Wednesday, July 20, 2022, the House Budget Committee held the hearing “Examining the Powerful Impact of Investments in Early Childhood for Children, Families, and Our Nation’s Economy.” The conversation was centered on whether making federal investments in children is beneficial or not. With the documents and testimonies provided it is very clear that investing
The Senate continues to work on a slimmed-down budget reconciliation package that would extend ACA subsidies for two years and allow Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug costs on certain drugs. Senate leadership expects to vote on the package before the August recess.
On July 20, 2022, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-CA) released the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act, his Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill. The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and other anti-hunger advocates have hailed the legislation, calling it a "comprehensive plan that will increase access to school meals, summer meals, and
A study by University of Kansas researchers and colleagues at two other universities reported every 5% increase in enrollment in the federal nutrition assistance program for low-income families could reduce the number of children a state placed in foster care or protective services from 7.6% to 14.3%. The 50-state study of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
On Wednesday, July 30, 2022, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption institute (CCAI) held their annual Foster Youth Internship Program Congressional Briefing webinar. The FYI program serves as a platform to uplift the voices of current and former foster youth in federal policy to engage and educate Members of Congress on the issues of foster care
On Thursday, July 14th, 2022, Senator Manchin (D-WV) said “unequivocally” during a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) that he will only support reducing drug prices and a two-year extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies as components of the reconciliation package. Although he insisted later during an interview that he still wanted to
On Thursday, June 30th the House Appropriations Committee held a markup on the Labor-HHS FY2023 Appropriations bill, the budget bill that covers the Administration of Children and Families. The bill passed with a 32-24 vote, moving forward without any Republican support, due in part to the removal of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal dollars
The Center on Poverty and Social Policy released its newest monthly report on child poverty, finding that monthly poverty rates rose in April and May 2022, following the temporary decrease in March when most refundable tax credits were delivered to families who filed a federal tax return. In April, the monthly child poverty rate for
