Two Senate Committees and one House Committee are focusing on the challenges of access to mental health and substance use services in the next few weeks. The Senate HELP Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the full House Ways and Means Committee are all focused on the subject and what can be done. The HELP
In April of 2021, The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) reported findings on the effectiveness of mobile responses - “an alternative to using law enforcement to respond to mental health and social crisis.” In December CLASP generated a letter (that CWLA joined onto) to CMS to support these efforts. On December 28, 2021 HHS issued guidance and announced
Last week the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report: Students’ Experiences with Bullying, Hate Speech, Hate Crimes, and Victimization in Schools, indicating that about one in five students aged 12 to 18 were bullied annually in school and of students who were bullied in school about one in four students experienced bullying related
Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the Helping Foster and Homeless Youth Achieve Act last Thursday, December 9, 2021. CWLA has endorsed the legislation. The bipartisan legislation seeks to improve access to educational opportunities by requiring that higher education institutions receiving federal assistance waive application fees for young people who are
Last Tuesday, October 26, 2021, Congressman Danny Davis (D-IL) and Congresswoman Jackie Walorski (R-IN) introduced a new bill (HR 5661) to extend the temporary relief for youth exiting foster care. On Wednesday it passed the House by a fast-track voice vote. The December 2020 Covid-19 relief package included flexibility in certain programmatic services for Chafee-eligible
On October 12, 2021, Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau Aysha Schomburg, issued a letter to the child welfare community urging continued vigilance in assisting young people who exit foster care and to be proactive in reaching out and helping. The end of federal fiscal year 2021 on September 30, 2021, meant the expiration of
When the CR was passed last Thursday, it did not extend pandemic relief funding for youth exiting foster care including additional $400 million in Chafee-pandemic relief funding (annual mandatory Chaffee funds are set at $143 million). The addition $400 million expired at the end of fiscal year 2021. It is not clear how much of
On September 13, 2021, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) event, On Their Own Two Feet: Helping Foster Youth Transition to Adulthood, examined how to improve outcomes for young adults in the child welfare system. The panel included Ruth White of the National Center of Housing and Child Welfare, Eric Gilmore of Immerse Arkansas, and Tim
On Thursday, September 9, 2021, the National Foster Youth Institute (NFYI) hosted a Congressional Briefing with Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth Co-chair, Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI). Kenneth Chancey, Policy Manager of NFYI, organized this Congressional Briefing to highlight H.R. 5167. In this legislation, Chafee pandemic funding would extend into 2022, including access to increased funding eligibility to extended youth in foster care
On Wednesday, August 18, the John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) webinar, Learn How Santa Clara County Got Over $135K to 45 Foster Youth in Need of Income During the Pandemic, shared the results of a pilot project with Santa Clara County Social Services Agency (SSA) and other local partners to increase foster youth utilization of
