On Tuesday, March 16, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 485 – Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) by 345-73, and now it heads to the Senate. It proposes robust funding increases for states and local communities to implement strategies and programs that prevent child abuse is critical to strengthen families and protecting
The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief measure has a lot in it that directly and indirectly addresses the impact of this year-long pandemic. It includes several issues that have received increased focus because of this past year’s struggles (for example, the racial and regional inequities within the economy and health care system). There are limited added funds specific
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection released statistics on Wednesday, March 10, showing that the number of migrants attempting to cross the border every day in February was close to 3,500- which is a 28% increase since January. The number of unaccompanied minors also rose 60% since January, to over 9,400. This increase in
After an initial delaying tactic by Senator Ron Johnson (R-WS) that called for a reading of the bill throughout Thursday, the Senate moved on the American Rescue Plan on Friday morning. A CWLA description of the still-changing package can be found here. Earlier in the week, the Senate Democratic leadership was negotiating various alterations from the
Last week, the Health and Human Service (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a new report confirming that HHS's Administration for Children and Families (ACF) cannot ensure that all children who have been abused or neglected have court representation during judicial proceedings. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) mandates that a State
In addition to the Children’s Bureau, other critical appointments included Katie Hamm, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development; Dr. Bernadine Futrell, Director Office of Head Start; Cindy Huang, Director Office of Refugee Resettlement; and Dr. Lanikque Howard, Director Office of Community Services. Hamm has a lengthy resume in the child care arena.
On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) hosted an event on child allowances, presenting an array of arguments for and against, including conversations on welfare reform. The Biden Administration, House Democrats, and Republican Senator Mitt Romney have child allowance proposals that address child poverty in America with different measures. Senator Romney (R-UT)
Senate Democrats are hopeful they can complete action on the COVID-19 relief/reconciliation legislation sometime late this week. The goal is to have a package on the President’s desk before extended unemployment runs out on March 14, 2021. There was a major setback for advancing a minimum wage increase as part of the package on
CWLA will be joining FRAC, the Coalition on Human Needs, MomsRising, NETWORK Lobby, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, First Focus, many other leading anti-poverty organizations, and advocates across the country on Monday, February 22 for a Digital/Call-in Day of Action urging Congress to pass the American Rescue Plan. Follow CWLA’s Action Center
Last week the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) released, Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder May Reduce Substantiated Cases of Child Abuse and Neglect. The report, which builds on earlier analysis by ASPE regarding substance use and the child welfare system, indicated that increased treatment capacity predicts decreased rates of substantiated abuse
