Last weekend, on Sunday, May 9th, 2022, Politico reported that Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) is in the process of pitching a new child care proposal to the rest of the Democratic party, taking a bold step to keep child care in the conversation about a potential reconciliation
On May 4th, in an op-ed for Fox News, Representative Jackie Walorski (R-IN) and former First Lady Melania Trump highlighted National Foster Care Month, calling on Americans to support families and give older youth in foster care the tools they need to thrive as they transition to independence. They noted legislation that increased support for
On Tuesday, April 26, 2022, the Economic Policy Subcommittee of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing, “Child Care and Other Policy Tools to Combat Bottlenecks and Inflation.” Chair Senator Warren (D-MA) started the hearing with an overview of the problem – inflation is on the rise due, in part, to
Congress must pass legislation that addresses barriers to mental health care for youth and their families, including maternal mental health care, services and prevention for children and adolescents, Medicaid reform, and bolstering the workforce. Maternal mental health: postpartum depression affects up to 15% of women, and the negative short-and long-term effects on child development are
On April 12th, 2022, the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group and GRACE & End Child Poverty California campaign hosted a webinar entitled ‘Ending Child Poverty at the Federal and State Level.’ This webinar focused on how states have promoted child welfare, as well as sharing the importance of the passage of the Child Poverty Reduction
Tuesday, April 5th, 2022 the Health Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on several important bills, including H.R. 7236, the Strengthening Kids' Mental Health Now Act. If enacted, H.R. 7236 would expand the availability of mental, emotional, and behavioral health services under the Medicaid program. This bipartisan legislation would bolster the infrastructure for
On Wednesday, March 30th, 2022 the Senate Finance Committee continued their series on mental health with a hearing entitled ‘Behavioral Health Care When Americans Need It: Ensuring Parity and Care Integration.’ Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) emphasized the need to hold insurance companies accountable for not adhering to parity laws. Wyden referenced a recent GAO report,
On Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022 the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing entitled ‘Child Care and Preschool: Cutting Costs for Working Families.’ The hearing centered around how to provide affordable childcare to families. Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) and Democrats advocated for the proposal included in President Biden’s Build Back Better package, which would expand the
The Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University has released its newest monthly report on child poverty, finding that 3.4 million more children were in poverty in February 2022 than in December 2021, when families were still receiving the monthly Child Tax Credit payments. Monthly poverty remained elevated in February. Child poverty rates
On Monday, March 8, 2022, U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), along with U.S. Representative Brenda L. Lawrence (D-MI) led a bipartisan, bicameral letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asking for information to determine what additional resources states and territories need to ensure children in foster care
