Of the more than 5,000 children who, court documents say, were separated from their parents under the previous administration's zero-tolerance policy for unauthorized border crossers and those who presented themselves legally at ports of entry, about 180 children have yet to be reunited with their parents, according to VOA News, though the ACLU believes the
On June 21, 2022, the Nonprofit Organization Adoptees for Justice held a Story Circle to bring awareness to the experiences of adoptees living without citizenship. They elevated the voices of two adoptees who live in the United States and two who were deported. Joe, Jang, Daniel, and Emily were all able to share their stories
National Reunification Month was created in 2010 by the American Bar Assocation (ABA) to celebrate the people and efforts around the country that help families stay together. According to AFCARS data, reunification is the most common permanency option achieved by children in the child welfare system. Visit the ABA's National Reunification Month website for webinars,
In honor of National Foster Care Month, the Capacity Building Center for States hosted “Creating Partnership in Kinship Treatment Foster Care” on Wednesday, May 25th, 2022 to take a look into a Kinship Treatment Foster Care (KTFC) pilot program in North Carolina and research from the African American Families and Kinship Care Lab at the
In an issue brief dated April 18, 2022, the National Association of Medicaid Directors has highlighted that The IMD exclusion can make it challenging for state Medicaid programs to meet the behavioral health needs of their members. Specifically, there are challenges accessing inpatient services and contradictions with other policy goals. NAMD suggests three opportunities for
“National Foster Care Month is an initiative of the Children's Bureau. Each May, we take time to acknowledge foster parents, family members, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, child welfare professionals, and other members of the community who help children and youth in foster care find permanent homes and connections. We use this time to renew our commitment
Several stories of youth being maltreated by residential staff have recently been reported in the news. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report on February 23, 2022, after being asked to review these instances of maltreatment in federally funded residential facilities. State and local agencies are primarily responsible for addressing these concerns, but
On Tuesday, February 8, 2022, the Senate Finance Committee started their series of hearings on mental health with Protecting Youth Mental Health: Part I – An Advisory and Call to Action. This series of hearings will focus on five areas of behavioral health: youth mental health, mental health workforce, parity between mental and physical health,
Last Tuesday and Wednesday two key congressional committees began a set of bipartisan discussions on the challenges of access to mental health and substance use services. On Tuesday the Senate HELP Committee held their first hearings and on Wednesday the House Ways and Means Committee focused hearings on the behavioral health challenges. The subject and
On Tuesday, February 1, 2022, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions held a hearing entitled “Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: Responding to the Growing Crisis.” Chairwoman Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) highlighted that millions of people across the country face mental health disorders, while 130 million Americans live in areas with
