Two weeks ago, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kennedy announced that HHS was being restructured, laying out a vague framework with little detail available. On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, the plan came into somewhat clearer focus as HHS began its reduction in force (RIF) procedure and started laying off nearly 10,000 HHS staff.
On May 22, 2024, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing, “The Family First Prevention Services Act: Successes, Roadblocks, and Opportunities for Improvement.” Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), one of the original sponsors and champions of the legislation, opened the hearing with some of the history of the passage of the bipartisan Family First Prevention Services
The Biden Administration has published a number of new regulations in the past few weeks, moving at a very quick pace. The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to disapprove of a final rule, but the resolution must be introduced within a specific time frame: during a 60-days-of-continuous-session period beginning on the day Congress receives the
This year the President’s budget was released on Monday, March 11, 2024. The fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget begins on October 1, 2024. This is the fourth budget for the Biden Administration. Due to the unusual FY 2024 budget situation, it was delayed by one month from the statutory first Monday in February outlined under
On March 14, 2024, Think of Us in partnership with the Children’s Bureau hosted the National Convening on Kinship Care to discuss the new rule on Separate Licensing Standards for Relative or Kinship Foster Family Homes, which was finalized last fall. The convening kicked off with remarks from leadership of the Administration for Children and
Generations United and the RRF Foundation for Aging released a new report and held a webinar to examine how younger and older people can connect with each other through their program initiative, “Strengthening Cultural Responsiveness in Intergenerational Programs.” They conducted a national survey to highlight the ways organizations combat systemic racism and prioritize the voices
On October 11, 2023, the Children’s Bureau released a new Program Instruction regarding the new finalized rule that allows states to create a separate licensing standard for relative or kinship foster family homes. This Program Instruction provides instructions for title IV-E agencies that opt to adopt licensing or approval standards for relative or kinship foster
A new Child Trends brief from Drs. Tyreasa Washington and Brittany P. Michalec-Adkins studied children in out of home care (OOHC) and found that children in kinship care performed better academically than children in non-relative foster care. Children placed with kin tend to have better academic, behavioral, and mental health outcomes, and an increased sense
On September 28, 2023, it was announced by the White House that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final regulation that will allow states to simplify the licensing process for kinship caregivers to become foster care providers and require that states provide these kinship caregivers with the same financial support that any other
On Thursday, September 28, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions to support children and families in foster care. These actions include releasing three regulations to strengthen services and supports for children and families in the child welfare system. Final Rule: Support kinship caregivers – family members and loved ones who step forward to care
