Days after leading groups started to re-circulate a letter by more than 80 organizations, including CWLA, in support of action on a Senate bill to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA, S 1169), the President took action to ban solitary confinement of juveniles in federal prisons. At nearly the same time the
A majority-minority report by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Homeland Security Committee was released on Thursday, January 28 detailing abuse and lack of safeguards for children who came into the U.S. unaccompanied. According to the report and the hearing that accompanied its release unaccompanied minors have been subject to various forms of
On Wednesday, January 20 it was all bipartisan with voice votes in approving a jointly drafted committee bill, the Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act of 2016. The substitute bill draft was submitted by Committee Chairman Pat Roberts(R-KS) and Ranking Democrat Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). The unnumbered bill extends a number of child nutrition
As has been the case in past years, CWLA is joining with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities to conduct an annual tax credit outreach initiative to provide updated information and outreach tools to organizations that can help spread the message about refundable tax credits and free tax filing assistance to low income families. The Center is
CWLA and a number of groups have signed onto letters to the US Department of Education urging them to take several actions to implement changes enacted through the recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The law now referred to as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) made a number of improvements
The Republicans in Congress held their annual retreat in Baltimore late last week in an effort to plot out their strategy for 2016. There is a desire to focus on trying to pass each of the 12 appropriations bills on time by October 1. That is something that has not happened since 1994 when there
In his January 12, State of The Union address President Obama shied away from a list of specific policy proposals but he did single out a few areas including the drug use issue that is starting to rattle the foster care numbers. President Obama said, "Helping people who are battling prescription drug abuse and heroin
On Wednesday, January 20 the Senate Agriculture Committee is scheduled to take up a child nutrition bill that it is hoped will strengthen and expand a number of services that effect food access for children and their families. The meeting can be viewed at that time at that time through the Senate website at www.ag.senate.gov.
Late last week the White House circulated an announcement highlighting Administration’s efforts to address the opioid epidemic in 2015. It is a topic that is certain to get greater focus in the February budget and possibly in the State of the Union address. In their highlights they listed the FY 2016 budget requests, some of
The President will deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 12 for the final time in his presidency. The speech is expected to be more general in tone than in the past speeches with the President focusing on his larger vision for the country rather than specific programs or budget requests. The
