On Monday, March 1, 2021, the ABA Center on Children and the Law, Casey Family Programs, Children’s Defense Fund, and Generations United hosted a webinar presenting a new tool that lays out the necessary steps for effective implementation of the kinship provisions under the Family First Prevention Services Act (Family First Act) which includes kinship
On Thursday, February 24, 2021, the Administration for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services announced JooYeun Chang's appointment as the acting assistant secretary and principal deputy assistant secretary for the Biden Administration. Before this role, JooYeun served as the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Services Agency
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
Generations United conducted a webinar on February 9, 2021, in collaboration with the Children’s Defense Fund and the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law. This webinar discussed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and its implications for "grandfamilies." Divisions of the Appropriations Act outline provisions to help relative caregivers and allow the
The new Social Services Block Grant annual report once again documents the significance of SSBG to child welfare services. The SSBG Annual Report 2019 was posted in mid-January, and it complements information provided by the new Child Maltreatment 2019 report, also released this past January. According to the 2019 Child Maltreatment report and its analysis of prevention services,
CWLA has published its transition paper for the new Administration and new Congress. The report has been circulated with key staff over the past several weeks. It reflects a look forward to improving child welfare services and more broadly strengthening families across the country. This A Stronger Foundation for America’s Families reflects the collective wisdom, insights, and concerns
On Wednesday, November 4, 2020, the Supreme Court considered the Sharonell Fulton et al. v City of Philadelphia. A case involving a local Catholic Charities agency claiming that the city of Philadelphia is unfairly targeting them due to the city's non-discrimination policy regarding child welfare placements and recruitments. In 2018 a report in the
As part of CWLA’s pre-summit webinar series, Washington State’s Kinship Navigator Program shared modifications that were made to the enhanced model due to COVID and how the program has continued to maintain model fidelity despite the pandemic. Presenters included Dr. Angelique Day, from the University of Washington School of Social Work, Rosalyn Alber and
The ABA Legal Center for Foster Care and Education, the Center, and CWLA held a special member call on Wednesday, September 9, 2020, to discuss the education needs of children and families involved with child welfare during COVID-19. In normal circumstances, foster students experience unique challenges in the education system, but now given the nature
CWLA continues to support the Child Welfare Emergency Assistance Act (Brown), S4172, which now has 15 cosponsors, including 7 Senators from the Senate Finance Committee. On Thursday, July 2, 2020, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the Child Welfare Emergency Assistance Act. The bill’s original cosponsors include Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).