On November 18, 2019, the Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act (HR 4300) passed unanimously in the House of Representatives. Shortly after the passage, Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the companion bill in the Senate and hopes to pass it by unanimous consent next week. We need your help! Urge your Senators
Late on Friday Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) released their bill, “Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act.” It includes provisions identical to the Family First Transition Act—the bill that would provide $500 million to states to help implement the Family First Act. The bill also extends home visiting programs for two years.
Following up on a Friday, November 1, press announcement, on Tuesday, November 19, HHS published both their notice of non-enforcement of anti-discrimination provisions implemented during the Obama Administration and a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the Obama nondiscrimination regulation regarding federal funding under HHS programs including child welfare funding under Title IV-E and Title IV-E.
On Monday, November 18, the House passed the Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act (FSHO) (H.R. 4300) by unanimous consent. Congressman Mike Turner (R-OH) stated that this is a “bill of the heart and that he is looking forward to working with his colleagues in the Senate to ensure this bill becomes law and that aging
Last week S. 2777 and H.R. 4980, the Family First Transition Act was introduced in both houses with bipartisan support. CWLA has endorsed the legislation. The two identical bills will provide $500 million to all states and jurisdictions distributed under Title IV-B, part 1 formula. States will have two years (retroactive to October 1, 2019)
On Friday, November 1, HHS announced a “notice of exercise of enforcement discretion” along with an unpublished notice of proposed rulemaking to say that they would not enforce nondiscrimination rules or regulations except those specifically passed in law or ruled on by the Supreme Court. In effect, they won’t enforce the Obama era nondiscrimination rules
On Thursday, November 7, a federal appeals court announced that it would revisit the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) August decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that upheld ICWA as constitutional. The 5th Circuit rejected a lower court ruling that sought to strike down ICWA. The decision by the U.S.
On Wednesday, October 30, 2019, the District of Columbia became the first state to have their Family First Prevention Plan, “Putting Families First in DC,” approved by the Children’s Bureau under the federal Family First Prevention Services Act. . DC was the first jurisdiction to submit their plan. Arkansas, Kentucky, and Utah plans are pending
Last month the Children’s Bureau provided guidance allowing states to use Title IV-E Administrative funding for the costs of evaluation of the new Family First Act prevention services. The Child Welfare Policy Manual in response to the question: May a title IV-E agency claim title IV-E administration for the costs of conducting a well-designed and
On Thursday, October 24, 2019 HHS released the 26th AFCARS Report indicating 3,788 fewer children in foster care in FY 2018 (437,283) from the 441,071 in FY 2017. The AFCARS reports are based on the number of children in the system as of the last day of the federal fiscal year, which is September 30,