Just before the Senate departed for their summer break they gave approval to Rafael J. Lopez as the new Commissioner for the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF). Lopez was confirmed on August 5th, after having been formally nominated by President Obama in January 2015. Lopez will fill a position that has been vacant
On Wednesday, August 5, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee introduced the Family Stability and Kinship Care Act, S 1964 with 7 additional cosponsors for the Senate Finance Committee. The legislation had been circulated as a draft in the late spring and Wyden received feedback from more than 60
On Tuesday August 4, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on foster care and alternative to foster care placements. The hearing included testimony from five panelists representing state, kinship care, youth and parent perspectives. Perhaps the most significant news made was when the Chairman, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), indicated in opening remarks that they
The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is expected to introduce his child welfare reform proposal later this week. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, the Family Stability and Kinship Care Act, is the result of an earlier draft bill
On Tuesday, July 28 Capitol Hill participants heard from a number of young people as they presented their ideas on how to reform child welfare. The event was a presentation by a dozen Capitol Hill interns who were sponsored by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI). The interns work the summer months in various
On Wednesday, July 22, Congressmember Karen Bass (D-CA) introduced the Foster Youth Independence Act, HR 3160. The legislation, which has 29 cosponsors, allows states that have opted to extend foster care to 21 year olds to expand the current use of federal funds to age 23 under the under the John H. Chafee Foster Care
Last week Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) introduced legislation that will help extend Medicaid coverage to young people who aged out of foster care. Under the Affordable Care Act if a young person leaves foster care they are eligible for continued Medicaid coverage to the age of 26. This protection applies to all former foster youth
On Thursday, July 16, the Senate approved a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secretary Education Act, S 1177 (ESEA/No Child Left behind Act) by a vote of 81 to 17 sending it on to the next phase of the process and maybe the most difficult phase. The House passed their education bill, HR 5, and
While much of children’s and child welfare programs were level in funding there were some key targets and cuts. This included the Senate elimination of the Abandoned Infants funding (zeroed out all $11 million) and both the House and Senate made severe cuts to teen pregnancy prevention. See budget chart here. The Administration in their
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has found the state of West Virginia in violation of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it comes to providing services to children with significant mental health conditions. The Justice Department holds that the state has a very high rate of placements into segregated
