Children’s Monitor

Ways and Means Hearing on Tax Policy

On April 11th, 2024, the House Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing entitled “Expanding on the Success of the 2017 Tax Relief to Help Hardworking Americans,” with the intent to discuss the impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), enacted by former President Donald Trump, and consider upcoming 2025 tax policy.

Joint Economic Committee Hearing on Early Childhood Education

The Joint Economic Committee held a hearing on Wednesday April 10, 2024 entitled, Building Blocks for Success: Investing in Early Childhood Education. The goal of this hearing was to address the need for funding in the world of early childhood education and those families who need child care. Four witnesses came to testify before the

The Administration: Final Rule on Gun Safety

On April 11, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration and the Department of Justice announced a final rule regarding federal gun background check system outlined in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This rule clarifies and expands the types of gun dealers that are required to conduct background checks on customers prior to selling. President Biden and Vice

2022 AFCARS Data Show Decreases in Foster Care

On March 20, 2024, the Administration for Children and Families released the AFCARs data for 2022. Again this year, the report shows a significant decrease in foster care placements from the 2021 figure of 391,641 to 368,530 children in care in 2022, a 5.9 percent decrease from 2021 and a more than 15.6 percent decrease

Congress Passes Final 2024 Spending Bills

On Saturday, March 23, 2024, President Biden signed the final six appropriations bills into law, bringing the drawn-out FY 2024 appropriations process to a close at last. Although government funding ran out at midnight on Friday March 22, because it was a weekend and the bill was signed quickly, the impact of the brief government

Interrupting Intergenerational Poverty: Webinar

The Institution for Research on Poverty hosted a webinar on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 entitled “Interrupting Intergenerational Poverty: New Research And Recommendations For Policy and Practice”. The panelists included Greg Ducan from University of California, Irvine, Mary E. Pattillo from Northwestern University, Michael R. Strain from American Enterprise Institute, and Rita Hamad from Harvard School

The President’s Budget 2025

This year the President’s budget was released on Monday, March 11, 2024. The fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget begins on October 1, 2024. This is the fourth budget for the Biden Administration. Due to the unusual FY 2024 budget situation, it was delayed by one month from the statutory first Monday in February outlined under

Tax Package Still Stalled in Senate

The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, the tax bill that includes a small but significant expansion to the child tax credit, continues to be stalled in the Senate after passing the House in a 357-72 vote, a major win in a Congress that has not been marked by bipartisan agreement and has

Giving Children a Voice: Legal Representation Webinar

In the webinar entitled, Giving Children a Voice, there was a discussion regarding the benefits of client directed council among the panelists. Two of the panelists were Allison Green and Natalece Washington from the National Association of Counsel for Children. The other three were, J. Kendall Seal, Tom Jose, and Tim Keller representing the Center

National Kinship Convening Hosted in Washington, D.C.

On March 14, 2024, Think of Us in partnership with the Children’s Bureau hosted the National Convening on Kinship Care to discuss the new rule on Separate Licensing Standards for Relative or Kinship Foster Family Homes, which was finalized last fall. The convening kicked off with remarks from leadership of the Administration for Children and

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