On Wednesday, April 29 CWLA participated in a policy briefing at the White House that focused attention on youth and homelessness at the White House. The session included a series of comments from key Administration officials as well as panel discussions. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness established under the McKinney Vento Act has
In light of last week’s hearings, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse have reintroduced a bill from the last Congress that would reauthorize the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). The legislation carries over some of the reforms included in that legislation which was introduced at the end of last year. It
On Tuesday, April 21, the Senate Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing Improving Accountability and Oversight of Juvenile Justice Grants Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) with a focus on some recent whistleblower complaints alleging a lack of enforcement by the federal government in requiring states to meet the JJDPA requirements. Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) sent a
Last week the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) joined Voice for Adoption (VFA), the Donaldson Adoption Institute, and the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) in issuing a joint statement on Parenting of Children by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Adults. The statement says: (we) “believe that children deserve every opportunity to have
Late Tuesday, April 7, HELP Committee Chair and Ranking Member Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) released a bipartisan draft to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The law more commonly known as the “No Child Left Behind Act” since its last reauthorization in 2002, will be taken up and
Last week the Senate cast more votes to overcome a filibuster on S 178, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. It ran into major problems over an abortion-related issue. That became even more complicated early last week when Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) tied a delay in a vote to confirm attorney general designee
On Tuesday February 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered the issue of human trafficking and two bills that approach the issue beyond what was debated within child welfare in 2014 through amendments to child welfare law. Under the hearing title, Human Trafficking in the United States: Protecting the Victim, senators focused attention on providing services,
On February 25 the Bureau of Indian affairs in the Interior Department issued new guidelines and regulations regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The guidelines are the first update since 1979 shortly after the law was enacted by Congress. These updated guidelines are intended to provide procedures and best practices for use in Indian
Some in Washington are advocating the elimination of SSBG as a way to fund child welfare services. The theory is that eliminating the $1.7 billion in SSBG dollars might free up some funds for child welfare and perhaps also cut federal spending at the same time. Such calculations however ignore the fact that SSBG funds
One of the first human service issues to be taken up by Congress will be education. The Senate HELP Committee has been in deep discussions with the Chairman, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) hoping to move quickly on a bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in the next month. The last time
