On Tuesday, June 4, the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth sponsored briefing on Right to Counsel in Child Abuse and Neglect Dependency. The focus of this meeting was to educate individuals about the importance of high-quality legal representation for children and parents. The five panelists included Frank Utomo and Levi Zwick-Tapley, former foster care
The National Academies’ report, The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development, health, well-being, resilience, and agency including the science of positive youth development. Adolescents defined as young people between the ages of 10 to 25, make up nearly one-fourth of the U.S. population. The
On Thursday, May 23, AEI hosted, “After the fanfare: Family First one year later,” to discuss the challenges and opportunities of implementing the historic legislation – the Family First Prevention Services Act by October 1, 2019. Panel of experts included Naomi Schaefer Riley from AEI, Sean Hughes from Social Change Partners, Mark Mecum from Ohio
Shaquita Ogletree Earlier this month, House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Chairwoman Karen Bass (D-CA-37) and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1) introduced H.R.1585, the bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019. H.R. 1585 reauthorizes the bill that includes enhancements that address gaps identified by victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence, as well as varies disciplines
Shaquita Ogletree On March 20, the Brookings Institute convened a panel of experts to assess the state of play on juvenile criminal justice records policy. While the juvenile justice system has recently undergone a wave of progressive reforms focused on creating pathways to re-entry, there remains an uneven treatment of juvenile records that make
Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis (D-GA) and Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) sent a letter to two the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials regarding an HHS waiver that exempts organizations from federal foster care religious non-discrimination rules under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) wants you to know about a new law that went into effect last year that has the potential to help out some young people in foster care who are frequemntly victims of credit and identity fraud. The new law, that took effect last September, lets parents and child welfare
The DREAM and Promise Act was introduced on Tuesday, March 12 by Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), with Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) as the lead sponsors out of a total of 202 cosponsors. It takes 218 votes to pass the House. The bill addresses two issues: the fate of young people
A group of 40 senators sent a letter to Health and Human Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday, March 13, condemning the recent decision by HHS to grant a religious exemption from federal nondiscrimination laws and regulations for state-contracted child welfare agencies in South Carolina. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-OR, Senator Dianne Feinstein
Nick Cervone The Children’s Bureau, within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released a summary of their Youth At-Risk of Homelessness (YARH) program. YARH is a three-phase grant program to determine new and effective ways of preventing homelessness among youth and young adults who have been involved in the child welfare system.
