November 29, 2021 New AFCARS data indicates foster care number down, but a closer examination may suggest a pandemic impact on entries and exits. The new AFCARS report was released last week, and it shows a significant decrease in foster care placements decreasing from the 2019 figure of 426,566 children in care to 407, 493
On Thursday, November 18, 2021, the President nominated Rebecca Jones Gaston to become the Commissioner for the Administration on Children Youth and Families (ACYF). The position has been vacant since Elizabeth Darling stepped down during the presidential transition. Currently Gaston is the Child Welfare Director for the State of Oregon’s Department of Human Services. Before
On Monday, November 1, 2021, the Child Welfare League of America submitted its recommendations to the Senate Finance Committee on how the Committee and country can make critical changes to the nation’s mental health and substance use treatment systems. The Committee had asked the behavioral health community and other parties to submit recommendation to the
On Thursday, November 4, 2021, Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA) introduced 21st Century Children and Families Act (HR 5856). The bill bans discrimination in placement and recruitment of foster and adoptive parents and places added emphasis on kinship care. It requires states to substantiate with clear and convincing data and analysis that the child welfare agency
The HHS Prevention Services Clearinghouse released more program evaluations last week. The clearinghouse identified Familias Unidas as a “well supported.” Familias Unidas is a “family centered intervention that aims to prevent substance use and risky sexual behavior among Hispanic adolescents” by empowering parents with adolescents aged 12-16. The program implements five steps: parent support network
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) has released an analysis: Access in Brief: Behavioral Health Services for Youth in Foster Care. The report is an analysis of the experience of adolescents aged 12–17 who reported staying overnight in foster care in the past 12 months. The report and research examine selected characteristics,
On Monday, September 27th, CWLA hosted a Child Tax Credit (CTC) webinar that was sponsored by the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN). In the webinar Debbie Weinstein, the executive director of the Coalition of Human Needs, explored the benefits, logistics, challenges, and eligibility for the Child Tax Credit. In March 2021, The American Rescue
On Monday, September 27, 2021, Congressperson Karen Bass (D-CA), co-chair of the House Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, announced she would be leaving Congress to run for Mayor of Los Angeles. The primary for that office is scheduled for June 7, 2022, with a November 8, general election. Mayor Eric Garcetti has been nominated for
On September 18, the Concord Monitor published a story about the child welfare workforce that is probably too typical of several state and local child welfare workforce situations. The workforce is vital to any successful changes, improvements, or reforms in prevention, reducing the number of separated families, and helping children and youth reach a permanent
Mathematica Planning Title IV-E Prevention Services: A Toolkit for States includes a section on Identifying and Engaging Partners in implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). With states at various stages of successfully planning and implementation and must consider the following things: 1) understanding their candidacy of foster care, 2) figuring out the