On July 13, 2022, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Representative Karen Bass (D-CA), and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the bicameral Children’s Safe Welcome Act. This bill establishes new standards to ensure that the safety and well-being of migrant children in government custody are prioritized, embedding best practices into every stage of
CWLA joins the country in mourning the tragedies of the past two weeks, first in Buffalo, NY, and now in Uvalde, TX. Once again, senseless gun violence strains our comprehension and calls into question what kind of country and society we want to become. The violence that took the lives of 19 children and two
On April 11, 2022, KHOU in Texas published an article detailing new ramifications of Governor Greg Abbotts’ directive that the Department of Family and Protective Services investigate parents of transgender children: employee resignations. “More than half a dozen child abuse investigators told The Texas Tribune that they either have resigned or are actively job-hunting as
Last week, the National Association for the Counsel for Children (NACC) published recommendations on how to approach legal protections and representation for children involved in the child protective services system. The Recommendation for Legal Representation of Children and Youth in Neglect and Abuse Proceedings. The new recommendations were designed with NACC’s National Advisory Council on Children’s
In a complex unanimous decision in the Philadelphia V Fulton case, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Catholic Charities’ ability to continue to receive funding through the City of Philadelphia for child welfare services. The opinion that gathered all nine justices in varied configurations would appear to apply mainly to the specific circumstances in that contract and city.
On Wednesday, May 19, 2021, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education of the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing, “Picking up the Pieces: Strengthening Connections with Students Experiencing Homelessness and Children in Foster Care.” The witnesses included Ms. Jennifer Erb-Downward, Senior Research Associate, Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan,
This week, a bipartisan Dear Colleague letter was circulated in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Congressmen Frank Mrvan (D-IN), and Dusty Johnson (R-SD). As the Dear Colleague says: Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis led to an increase in the number of children in foster
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
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
Last week, nine House Committees acted on their parts of a reconciliation bill that will make up President Biden’s COVID-19 relief measure. Within the package are key CWLA priorities, including more than $39 billion in child care funding, year one of a Children’s Allowance, $350 billion in state and local government relief, $350 million more in