Older Youth

Children’s Budget Shows Some Improvements

On November 3, 2021, First Focus on Children hosted the Children’s Budget Summit to highlight the release of their 15th annual Children’s Budget Analysis. Over the last 10 years, the Children’s Budget analysis has documented federal spending for children. Typically, this means watching federal spending for children be cut at a high rate. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused devastation across the world, Congress was compelled to make investments in early childhood, child care, education, family

Davis-Walorski Bill Extending 2021 Chafee Provisions Passes House

Last Tuesday, October 26, 2021, Congressman Danny Davis (D-IL) and Congresswoman Jackie Walorski (R-IN) introduced a new bill (HR 5661) to extend the temporary relief for youth exiting foster care. On Wednesday it passed the House by a fast-track voice vote. The December 2020 Covid-19 relief package included flexibility in certain programmatic services for Chafee-eligible

Q & A on IMD and the QRTP- Children Still Not Covered

On October 19, 2021, CMS put out a new, Qualified Residential Treatment Program (QRTP) Reimbursement: Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) Requirements, Q & A. The new question and answer appear to be an attempt to address the conflict that some states are facing that by adhering to the new Title IV-E foster care Qualified

Children’s Bureau Advice on Youth in Foster Care

On October 12, 2021, Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau Aysha Schomburg, issued a letter to the child welfare community urging continued vigilance in assisting young people who exit foster care and to be proactive in reaching out and helping. The end of federal fiscal year 2021 on September 30, 2021, meant the expiration of

MACPAC on Behavioral Health for Children in Foster Care

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) has released an analysis: Access in Brief: Behavioral Health Services for Youth in Foster Care. The report is an analysis of the experience of adolescents aged 12–17 who reported staying overnight in foster care in the past 12 months. The report and research examine selected characteristics,

Senate Committee Looking for Recommendations on Mental Health Substance Use Issues

On September 21,2021 the Senate Finance Committee asked the public for their comments on ways to address substance use and mental health services.  In the letter Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) asked members of the behavior health community and other interested parties about how the committee can best address

Strategies to Improve Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Care

In drafting comments on how we can improve behavior health services for children, youth, and their families (especially child welfare) there are some important sources of recommendations Earlier this year, Child Trends issued:  A National Agenda for Children’s Mental Health.   The paper says that “Efforts to promote children’s mental health are often spread across

Davis-Walorsky Commit to Helping Foster Youth

When the CR was passed last Thursday, it did not extend pandemic relief funding for youth exiting foster care including additional $400 million in Chafee-pandemic relief funding (annual mandatory Chaffee funds are set at $143 million).  The addition $400 million expired at the end of fiscal year 2021. It is not clear how much of

IMD-Fix for QRTP Bill Introduced in House

A House companion bill to address the IMD/QRTP issue was introduced in the House on Wednesday, September 29, 2021.  The bill H.R. 5414, is the same as the Senate version (S. 2689) with Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12) and Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), as primary sponsors.   Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

November is National Adoption Month

November is national adoption month. This year’s theme is “Every Conversation Matters”, which means engaging youth in permanency plans through open conversations about adoption. As Adoption Month approaches, the Children’s Bureau kickstarted the conversation by hosting the webinar Every Conversation Matters featuring two young women with lived experience and an adoption supervisor. The first young

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