On July 19, 2023, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a markup of fifteen health bills for the SUPPORT Act Reauthorization. H.R. 4056, the Ensuring Medicaid Continuity for Children in Foster Care Act, was not fully included, but compromise language on this bill was added as an amendment in the nature of substitute
On July 13, 2023, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health held a markup of seventeen bills, including H.R. 4056, the Ensuring Medicaid Continuity for Children in Foster Care Act. This legislation would exempt Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs) from the institutions for mental disease (IMD) exclusion in Medicaid. If this bill were
On June 21, 2023, the House Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee held a legislative hearing entitled “Responding to America’s Overdose Crisis: An Examination of Legislation to Build Upon the SUPPORT Act” to evaluate how the Substance Use–Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act has worked
The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison published an issue (Vol. 39, No. 1) titled "Youth with Foster Care Histories: Emancipation and Well-Being" in June 2023. The issue explores the complexities of foster care and addresses key areas related to the well-being of youth with foster care histories. The issue acknowledges
On June 14, 2023, the Supreme Court released a decision in Haaland v. Brackeen, upholding the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in a 7-2 decision. ICWA was adopted by Congress in 1978 because of an abusive history by the US government that frequently resulted in the placement of Indian children in boarding
In celebration of National Reunification Month, the American Bar Association hosted a free informational webinar titled “What Child Welfare Agencies Can Do to Support Reunification Parent Partnerships and Reunification Practices” on June 7, 2023. The Oregon and Georgia Departments of Human Services shared steps their organizations have taken to best support children and families in
A publication released by the Child Welfare Information Gateway in 2023 provides a legal overview of the rights and supports available to youth in foster care who identify as LGBTQIA2S+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual, Two-Spirit, or other gender or sexual identities), children who are often subjected to adverse experiences while in care.
On Thursday, May 25, 2023, Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL) joined with Representative Blake Moore (R-UT) to introduce the bipartisan H.R. 3662, Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2023. The legislation would make the current Adoption Tax Credit fully refundable, removing income as a barrier to adoption. Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI), Representative Randy Feenstra (R-IA),
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) released a policy brief on May 12, 2023, exploring the connection between the TANF proposals in the debt ceiling negotiations and child welfare involvement. The paper cites research from Chapin Hall, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and others that illustrate that "policies that take cash assistance
On April 27, 2023, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to improve recruitment, retention, and support for foster parents. Across the nation, states are facing a growing shortage of appropriate foster placement for children, undermining federal legislation and policy that has pushed to reduce the use of congregate care and
