On Thursday, January 25, 2024, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) conducted a webinar, “Culture is Healing: Removing Barriers from Culturally Responsive Services.” The panel provided a comprehensive discussion surrounding the necessity of culturally-informed and community-based supportive services for families and children of color that are often disproportionately underserved or inappropriately served.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) announced on Tuesday a bipartisan, bicameral tax proposal that includes improvements to the Child Tax Credit (CTC). CWLA is pleased that lawmakers have prioritized the reduction of child poverty in this tax proposal. Although the proposal is not as comprehensive as
Congress has returned to Capitol Hill and has a long list of priorities to address, including two impending government funding deadlines on January 19 and February 2, 2024. There has been good news on the budget front: it was announced on January 7 that House and Senate Leadership had reached an agreement on topline numbers
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement held a hearing on Thursday, January 11, 2024, entitled, "The Impact of Illegal Immigration on Social Services." Witnessed included: Manuel Mello III, Fire Department Chief of Eagle Pass, Texas; Danyela Souza Egorov, Vice President of the Community Education Council for New York City School District
On Thursday, December 14, 2023, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law held it’s fourth hearing on foster care as part of the bipartisan inquiry into Georgia’s child welfare system. Subcommittee Chairman Jon Ossoff (D-GA) opened the hearing by reminding those in the room that “we are talking about the most vulnerable
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced the release of the All Children - All Families team's latest report, The State of LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Child Welfare. As is highlighted in the report, we are ecstatic to announce that the ACAF program reached a record-breaking 172 child welfare agencies employing over 30,500 professionals and serving more than
On December 6, 2023, Representative Kevin Mullin (D-CA) introduced the Poverty Line Act, which would update the way the Federal government calculates the federal poverty line by accounting for real costs and adjusting for regional differences. This would make millions more families eligible for safety net programs such as Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), LIHEAP (energy
On December 6, 2023, the House Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee held a hearing to “Expand Growth and Increase Prosperity for American Families”. Chairman Mike Kelly [R-PA] opened the conversation by talking about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, many of the codes of which are set to expire in 2025, and how he would
The National Women’s Law Center, held a webinar on December 4th entitled, “Providing Care for the Care Workforce - How Kentucky is Supporting Early Educators,” to discuss Kentucky’s strategy to eliminate childcare staffing shortages by giving childcare workers free childcare for their children. Across the country, 50% of the childcare workforce qualifies for assistance to
On December 5, 2023, Spotlight on Poverty & Opportunity hosted a briefing, “Family Economic Mobility: Finding Bipartisan Pathways to Support Pro-Family Policies,” on Capitol Hill that featured Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA). They highlighted the Connected MOM Act, which would allow expectant mothers to receive medical monitoring remotely during their pregnancies, and