The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on October 25, 2023, entitled “Exploring Paid Leave: Policy, Practice, and Impact on the Workforce”. Committee Chairman Ron Wyden [D-OR] opened the hearing by talking about how crucial paid leave is to supporting the America workforce. Without it, Americans must decide between caring for loved ones and providing
On October 25, 2023, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled, “Ensuring the Well-Being of Unaccompanied Children, Pt. II,” to examine the efforts of federal agencies to protect migrant children from labor exploitation, human trafficking, and abuse and neglect in foster care. Chairman of the Committee, Senator Dick Durbin [D-IL], delivered the opening statement
The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Work and Welfare, held a hearing on October 24, 2023, to examine how the United States government measures poverty. The hearing titled, “How the Biden Administration Plans to Redraw the Poverty Line and Rob Resources from Rural America,” addressed suggestions provided to the government from the National Academy
The Food Research Action Center (FRAC) hosted a webinar on October 25, 2023, entitled “The Pathway for Congress to Pass an Expanded Child Tax Credit”. Alex Ashbrook, the Director of Root Causes and Specific Populations at FRAC, opened the discussion by explaining that one in eight kids struggle with hunger, a jump from one in
The Children’s Bureau hosted a webinar on Thursday, October 19th entitled “Proving Extended Foster Care Works for Young Adults”. Presenters Angie Schwartz, the Deputy Director for the California Department of Social Services and Mark E. Courtney, a CalYOUTH researcher, Co-Director of the Transition Age Youth Research and Evaluation Hub, and Professor emeritus at UC Berkeley’s
As of the writing of this update, the House of Representatives still has not elected a new Speaker to lead them. As we reported last week, Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the position following his successful bipartisan agreement to avoid a government shutdown. The Continuing Resolution that is currently funding the government
On October 12, 2023, CWLA submitted comments for the record on the Ways and Means Subcommittee hearing on, “Modernizing Child Welfare to Protect Vulnerable Children.” Our comments explained the history and background of the programs in Title IV-B of the Social Security Act and highlighted a number of key areas of focus for a potential
Generations United and the RRF Foundation for Aging released a new report and held a webinar to examine how younger and older people can connect with each other through their program initiative, “Strengthening Cultural Responsiveness in Intergenerational Programs.” They conducted a national survey to highlight the ways organizations combat systemic racism and prioritize the voices
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a new report, Reducing Intergenerational Poverty, that examines the drivers of long-term, intergenerational poverty, identifies potential policies and programs to reduce it, and recommends actions to address gaps in data and research. The report identifies possible drivers of intergenerational poverty and lists seven key domains, including
On October 11, 2023, the Children’s Bureau released a new Program Instruction regarding the new finalized rule that allows states to create a separate licensing standard for relative or kinship foster family homes. This Program Instruction provides instructions for title IV-E agencies that opt to adopt licensing or approval standards for relative or kinship foster
