Last month, on Wednesday, August 19, 2020, the House Ways and Means Committee Democrats released a report led by Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, the late John Lewis (D-GA) on the issue of discrimination in placement decisions for foster care and adoption. The
On Monday, June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court struck down state laws that permitted discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation. The decision was a powerful vote of 6 to 3 margin with the majority Supreme Court decision, written by Trump appointee Justice Neil Gorsuch. The dissent was written by Justice Samuel Alito
The Trump Justice Department filed a brief with the Supreme Court on the upcoming FULTON, ET AL. v. CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, ET AL.in support of plaintiffs and in opposition to the City of Philadelphia and that City’s ban on discrimination in children’s placement through their child welfare system. The brief offers little in terms of
On Thursday, June 11, Zero to Three released the State of Babies Yearbook: 2020, a comprehensive report and advocacy tool that tells the story of how the United States’ babies are faring and provides a clear view of the significant disparities in opportunity for the youngest children throughout the country. Speakers included Myra Jones-Taylor from
On Tuesday, May 12, HHS published final rule for the updated Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) regulations and requirements. AFCARS data reported by states annually helps to build a profile of the “child welfare” population by producing annual numbers on children in out-of-home (foster) care, adoptions and youth aging out to
On Monday, February 24, 2020, the Supreme Court announced it will take up a case pursued by Catholic Charities of Philadelphia claiming the City of Philadelphia was engaged in religious discrimination when it pulled a child welfare contract because of the charity’s policy of not recognizing same sex couples for placements involving foster and adoptive
On Thursday, February 27, 2020, Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Chairman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties held a hearing entitled The Administration’s Religious Liberty Assault on LGBT Rights. The hearing focused on how the Trump Administration has been undermining LGBTQ
The Commonwealth Fund published a new report that analyzes health care data in the United States and offers a cross-national comparison. The report looks at how the United States compares to wealthy countries, including Canada, Norway, and the United Kingdom, and found that the U.S. holds the highest suicide rates and lowest life expectancy, despite
On Tuesday, January 21, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation hosted the fourth annual celebration of the National Day of Racial Healing, which was established in 2017 to promote healing as a critical path for ending racial bias and creating a society in which all children can thrive. The program featured Kellogg Foundation’s President and CEO La
Utah became the 19th state to ban LGBTQ conversion therapy, the practice, aimed at changing a patient's sexual orientation or gender identity. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) does not recognize the practice of conversion therapy and considers it unethical. Republican Gov. Gary Herbert proposed this new rule to ban conversion therapy on minors in November