A group of 40 senators sent a letter to Health and Human Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday, March 13, condemning the recent decision by HHS to grant a religious exemption from federal nondiscrimination laws and regulations for state-contracted child welfare agencies in South Carolina. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-OR, Senator Dianne Feinstein
On Thursday, March 7, four key congressional leaders on child welfare asked HHS Secretary Alex Azar to increase the HHS efforts on the implementation of the Family First Act. The letter signed by Senate Finance Committee Chair Charles Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ways and Means Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support
Shaquita Ogletree The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a long-standing federal law protecting the well-being of Native children by upholding family integrity and stability within their community; and the “gold standard” in child welfare policy. October 2018, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that
Nick Cervone The Children’s Bureau, within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released a summary of their Youth At-Risk of Homelessness (YARH) program. YARH is a three-phase grant program to determine new and effective ways of preventing homelessness among youth and young adults who have been involved in the child welfare system.
Kylie Hunter The Committee on Homeland Security on Wednesday, March 6, held a hearing, The Way Forward on Border Security. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kirstjen Nielsen was the main witness. Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) opened with remarks observing that since the last time the Committee met was a year
A reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) is still in the evolutionary stage but while talks and discussions are taking place, CWLA and others are seeking significant increases in CAPTA state grants and the CB-CAP program. The increase CWLA and others are seeking is $500 million for Title I of CAPTA
On Thursday, February 28, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS) released the results of their nearly two year study on reducing child poverty in the United States, A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty. CWLA President & CEO Chris James-Brown was one of the 15 member committee that studied the issue and wrote
Shaquita Ogletree On Tuesday, February 26, 2019, Zero to Three and Child Trends held the Think Babies Policy Forum and announced the release of the State of Babies Yearbook: 2019. “The first three years of a child’s life shape every year that follows, and the state where a baby is born makes a big difference
A reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) could move early this spring. Behind the scenes the key committees in the House and Senate have been working and discussing potential changes. The key committees are the House Education and Labor Committee and the Senate HELP Committee. Although Congress has added to
Shaquita Ogletree The State of Babies Yearbook (The Yearbook), an initiative of the Think Babies campaign, created by Zero to Three and Child Trends is a tool that shows the well-being of babies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The data illuminate the fact that what state a baby is born in
