On Wednesday, June 5, 2024, CWLA submitted comments for the record about the recent Senate Finance Committee hearing, “The Family First Prevention Services Act: Successes, Roadblocks, and Opportunities for Improvement.” From the comments: “While this legislation offers important advancements in child welfare policy, orienting Federal funding and attention toward the prevention of foster care, the
On May 22, 2024, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing, “The Family First Prevention Services Act: Successes, Roadblocks, and Opportunities for Improvement.” Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), one of the original sponsors and champions of the legislation, opened the hearing with some of the history of the passage of the bipartisan Family First Prevention Services
On May 10th, 2024, the House Ways and Means Committee held a Field Hearing on “Empowering Native American and Rural Communities,” in Arizona, the first Ways and Means Committee hearing ever to be held on sovereign Tribal land. Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) opened the hearing and outlined the issues being discussed, particularly child support, child
On March 14, 2024, Think of Us in partnership with the Children’s Bureau hosted the National Convening on Kinship Care to discuss the new rule on Separate Licensing Standards for Relative or Kinship Foster Family Homes, which was finalized last fall. The convening kicked off with remarks from leadership of the Administration for Children and
Generations United’s National Center on Grandfamilies, along with the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law and Think of Us, held a webinar to overview and explain their 2024 Kinship Unity Action Agenda. This agenda, introduced by Generations United’s Executive Director Donna Butts, was created through a convening of national advocates with professional
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