When and if Congress moves forward on a tax package late this year or next year one of the more vulnerable tax provisions is the Adoption Tax Credit. CWLA has been a longtime supporter of this tax credit which has taken on various forms and sizes over the past two decades. At times, it has
A Wednesday vote on a series of child welfare bills was cancelled last week after the Congressional baseball practice shooting. Instead the House Ways and Means Committee discharged the bills with the intent they will be taken up on the House floor. That floor date and vote has been set for Tuesday, June 20. The
On Wednesday, June 7, the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, along with Florida-based Camelot Community Care, hosted a discussion, REAL kids, REAL voices, REAL time – Roundtable Discussion by Youth in Foster Care. The discussion focused on the experiences of nine young people in foster care. The hour-long dialogue included question and answers by Tavyla
The Administration released their full 2018 budget on Tuesday, May 23, titled A New Foundation for American Greatness. The good news is that they do not propose converting Title IV-E into a block grant and most of the core discretionary funding for specific child welfare programs is at the same level as 2017. The bad
Senator Todd Young (R-IN) is reintroducing the Modernizing the Interstate Placement of Children in Foster Care Act. Referred to by some as the NEICE bill, standing for the National Electronic Interstate Compact Enterprise project, the legislation was included in last year's Families First Act. It would provide some small amount of funding to states to
On Thursday, May 25, Congressman Danny Davis (D-IL) introduced new legislation that attempts to develop and promote strategies to reduce the rate of teen and unplanned pregnancies within the foster care population. The legislation, which has been endorsed by CWLA, is called the Supporting Foster Youth in Successful Parenting Act of 2017, would direct states
The Rand Corporation has come up with a new study of a model of care that they say can address both prevention and child welfare treatment. It focuses on investments into three elements of this model: prevention of child maltreatment, family preservation and supported kinship care. In turn this can reduce overall costs and the
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1809, the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2017. The bill was adopted on a voice vote reflecting the bipartisan sponsors that they can get a reauthorization done this year. The bill was introduced by Congressman Jason Lewis (R-MN) and House Education and Workforce Ranking Member, Congressman Bobby
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), will release their updated study of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) on Wednesday, May 24. Technically the House is still holding the bill pending the CBO before it is sent to the Senate. There has been some wild speculation that the House may have to re-vote again if the
If you haven’t seen it before, a coalition group including CWLA has sent Capitol Hill a letter of support of SSBG that will serve as a reminder to Capitol Hill on the importance of SSBG if the Tuesday budget includes its elimination. The letter includes more than 75 national organizations and organizations and agencies from
