Congress continued to focus and debate immigration policy through a series of actions last week. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform held two hearing on Wednesday, “Kids in Cages: Inhumane Treatment at the Border” and a hearing, “The Trump Administration’s Child Separation Policy: Substantiated Allegations of Mistreatment” on Friday. In addition there were several
On June 28, 2019 the Supreme Court announced that it will take up a legal challenge to the Obama Executive Order that created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) protections. The Court announcement came as the Justices wrapped up this year’s 2018-19 session. The Court term begins the first Monday in October and the
Congress gave final approval to a border funding bill totaling approximately $4.6 billion negotiated between Senate Republicans and Democrats. The final bill approved in the House by a vote of 305 to 102 included a mix of Democrats and Republicans. Many House Democrats were unhappy about the fact that, earlier in the week, a Democrats-only
On June 20, HHS released the latest Foster Care GAO report for Congress, States with Approval to Extend Care Provide Independent Living Options for Youth up to Age 21. Since 2008 when the Fostering Connections Act was enacted, HHS has approved 26 states and six federally recognized tribes to claim title IV-E funding to extend
Last week the Child Welfare League of America endorsed and signed onto a national letter of support for two bills by Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) that would extend protections and rights to children and families that have been separated by U.S. immigration policies. The two bills are the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections (HELP) for
The Constitution requires an accurate count of the nation's population-–a census--every ten years. Unfortunately, the 2010 census missed more than 10 percent of young children, about 2.2 million children, age four or younger. Unless we act, we might miss even more young children in 2020. When we miss young children in the census it has
The State Department has released its annual Trafficking in Persons Report: June 2019 (TIP Report). The annual report examines each country through the world and reviews conditions around human trafficking, including sex trafficking and forced human labor. The annual report is inspired by worldwide protocols written in Palermo, Italy. In 2000, the United Nations adopted
On Tuesday, June 25, the Education and Labor Committee held a hearing titled “Do No Harm: Examining the Misapplication of the ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act.’” The hearing was a review of recent cases involving the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and how new proposed legislation, the Do No Harm Act is intending to narrow the
On June 24, the Future of the Middle Class Initiative at the Brookings Institution held an event Improving Opportunity Through Access to Family Planning. The event was based on the recent Brookings report Preventing Unplanned Pregnancy: Lessons from the States by Isabel V. Sawhill and Katherine Guyot. The focus of the event was to highlight
On June 5, Representatives John Lewis (D-GA) and Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) introduced HR 3114 – Every Child Deserves A Family Act and on June 13, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced S 1791, the Senate version. This legislation prohibits organizations receiving federal funding from discriminating against children and families and promotes safety, well-being, and permanency
