On October 12, 2023, CWLA submitted comments for the record on the Ways and Means Subcommittee hearing on, “Modernizing Child Welfare to Protect Vulnerable Children.” Our comments explained the history and background of the programs in Title IV-B of the Social Security Act and highlighted a number of key areas of focus for a potential
A new Child Trends brief from Drs. Tyreasa Washington and Brittany P. Michalec-Adkins studied children in out of home care (OOHC) and found that children in kinship care performed better academically than children in non-relative foster care. Children placed with kin tend to have better academic, behavioral, and mental health outcomes, and an increased sense
On Thursday, September 28, 2023, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee held a hearing about Title IV-B of the Social Security Act entitled, “Modernizing Child Welfare to Protect Vulnerable Children.” Title IV-B is a small but important source of funding for child welfare agencies and community-based organizations, and it is due to be reauthorized this
On Thursday, September 28, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions to support children and families in foster care. These actions include releasing three regulations to strengthen services and supports for children and families in the child welfare system. Final Rule: Support kinship caregivers – family members and loved ones who step forward to care
The Capacity Building Center for States hosted a webinar on September 13th entitled “Keeping Youth at the Center of Kinship Care Practice: Prioritizing Relationships, Community, and Culture”. They brought together three different presenting groups from California, Connecticut, and Alaska to talk about the benefits of kinship care and the different navigator programs that they have
CWLA submitted a public comment in the Federal Register in support of the proposed rule that would allow Title IV-E agencies to adopt separate licensing requirements for kinship family caregivers. "The proposed changes will remove barriers for children to be cared for by their relatives and kin and will decrease burdens on the child welfare
On March 8th, 2023, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report on Kinship Navigator programs titled, “HHS Is Taking Steps to Help States Support Relative Caregivers with Evidence-Based Programs.” This report was requested in 2019 by then-Chairman of the Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Danny Davis (D-IL) and then-Ranking Member late-Representative Jackie Walorski
On February 14th, 2023, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (88 FR 9411) proposing to amend federal regulations to allow title IV-E agencies to adopt separate licensing or approval standards for relative or kinship foster family homes. “The Administration for Children and Families
On December 15th the CHAMPS (Children Need Amazing Parents) initiative held a discussion concerning the conclusion of the five-year program which began in 2017. Hope Cooper facilitated a final informational session discussing findings and lessons learned during the program. Jeremy Kohomban (President and CEO of Children’s Village and Co-chair of CHAMPS) stated that CHAMPS had
On Wednesday, December 13th, 2022, Representatives Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) and Danny Davis (D-IL), Chair of the Worker and Family Support Subcommittee on Ways and Means, introduced the Fostering Secure Family Partnerships Act, a bill to increase federal funding for state Kinship Navigator Programs — which provide caregivers with information, education, and referrals to a wide