General

Senate Officially Returns While House Holds Off

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced Tuesday, April 28, 2020, that the House would delay returning on Monday, May 4, after discussing the situation with the Capitol Hill physician. The Congressman pointed to the continuing increases in coronavirus cases in Washington, DC, going from 3,098 to 3,994 between April 20 and April 27. Washington

Children’s Bureau Guidance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

On Friday, April 17, 2020, Associate Commissioner Jerry Milner highlighted the challenges surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the health and human services systems inability to conduct services in the traditional approach. Milner’s letter to child welfare leaders urges them to collaborate with their governors and “to work with their emergency management and public health leadership

Children’s Bureau Guidance for Court Leaders to Collaborate with CIPs

On Tuesday, April 14, 2020, the Children’s Bureau released new guidance highlighting and strongly encouraging court leaders to engage Court Improvement Programs (CIPs) in assisting dependency courts to respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Associate Commissioner Jerry Milner instructed Chief Justices and State Court Administrators to “work closely with the CIP in your state or

Children’s Bureau Delays IV-E & NYTD Reviews

On Friday, April 10, the Children’s Bureau released a letter from Jerry Milner suspending the Title IV-E Eligibility and National Youth in Transition (NYTD) reviews in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Milner stated the following: “Dear Child Welfare Leader: Over the past several weeks, I have had the opportunity to speak with many of you

Supreme Court Suspends Hearings

The Supreme Court has once again delayed oral arguments this time for April. The announcement came on Friday, April 3, 2020. The arguments which form the basis for Supreme Court rulings take up a two-week period in April and are usually the last of the Court's term before they wrap up work with a flourish

New York State Flow Chart on Unemployment Compensation

New York State has created a flow chart that can help unemployed persons understand the routes to unemployment compensation. In non-economic crisis times, the unemployment system is funded, and systems are run by the individual states with the federal government assisting in some of the administrative costs. In times of economic stress, the federal government,

U.S. Suicide Rates Increased 35 Percent, Before the Pandemic

Last week the CDC announced that suicide rates increased by 35 percent since the start of this century. From 1999 to 2018, the suicide rate went from 10.5 per 100,000 to 14.2. The CDC report shows that the increases have accelerated over time, increasing by one percent a year through 2006 but have been going

Bipartisan Governors’ Message: Far More Needed, No Time to Waste

Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD) and Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) joined together in a bipartisan plea through the Washington Post: What governors need from Washington during this health emergency. In their comments posted on Tuesday, March 30, 2020, the two governors, who have both been bold and aggressive in their actions to contain COVID-19, called on

Small Business Loans Should Assist Many Nonprofits

According to the Treasury Department, small businesses can apply for emergency loans on Friday, April 3, 2020. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion stimulus bill included $349 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program, providing small businesses with the capital they need for overhead and payroll. Starting Friday, April 3,

Congress Adopts Coronavirus Emergency Package #2 With Third Bill To Follow

On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the Congress completed work on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, HR 6201: • An increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for Medicaid and Title IV-E by 6.2 percent (state by state Medicaid increase, Center on Budget Policy and Priority) • Women, Infants and Children (WIC)—$500 million •

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