On October 3rd, 2023, the House of Representatives removed Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from his position of Speaker of the House, marking the first time in history that a Speaker has been voted out. Eight Republicans led the effort and were joined by the House Democrats. Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC) was appointed as Speaker Pro Tempore,
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty hosted a webinar on October 4, 2023, entitled “Ensuring Access to High-Quality, Affordable Care and Education for Low-Income Families”. Panelists Julia Henly from the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Yoonsook Ha from Boston University’s School of Social Work, and Gina Adams from
A new Child Trends brief from Drs. Tyreasa Washington and Brittany P. Michalec-Adkins studied children in out of home care (OOHC) and found that children in kinship care performed better academically than children in non-relative foster care. Children placed with kin tend to have better academic, behavioral, and mental health outcomes, and an increased sense
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation released their 2023 School Discipline and School to Prison Pipeline Report as part of Project THRIVE. This report focuses on data from a survey of LGBTQ+ youth in 2022. The report finds that in-school suspension and expulsion increases the likelihood of incarceration by 128%, and specifically targets and disproportionately impacts
After several weeks without making significant progress on a deal to keep the government running, Congress passed a bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) on Saturday, September 30, 2023, just hours before the end of the fiscal year. For much of last week, the House and the Senate were on two different paths. House Republicans were unable
On Thursday, September 28, 2023, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee held a hearing about Title IV-B of the Social Security Act entitled, “Modernizing Child Welfare to Protect Vulnerable Children.” Title IV-B is a small but important source of funding for child welfare agencies and community-based organizations, and it is due to be reauthorized this
On September 28, 2023, it was announced by the White House that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final regulation that will allow states to simplify the licensing process for kinship caregivers to become foster care providers and require that states provide these kinship caregivers with the same financial support that any other
On Thursday, September 28, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions to support children and families in foster care. These actions include releasing three regulations to strengthen services and supports for children and families in the child welfare system. Final Rule: Support kinship caregivers – family members and loved ones who step forward to care
The United States Department of Labor released its annual report on international child labor and hosted an event to launch it. Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee opened the event by talking about the state of the child labor in the world today. It’s a growing issue, driven by the changes in the international
Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund released a new report on September 29, 2023, highlighting the impact of state gun laws over a 20 year span in preventing firearm suicide. The report, entitled “Two Decades of Suicide Prevention Laws: Lessons from National Leaders on Gun Safety Policy,” shows that from 1999 to 2022, rates of
