People

ACA: Health Insurance Prices Go Down, Availability Goes Up for 2020

Last week information from the Centers on Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in HHS indicated that health insurance premiums for 2020 would decrease by an average of 4 percent. At the same time, just 12 percent of ACA customers will be living in counties that will only have one insurer providing coverage. Additionally, 20 more

The High Price of Child Care

In the United States, the high price of child care remains a burden on many American families, regardless of marital status and income. This is extremely troubling considering the benefits of high-quality child care to parents and caregivers and their children. On October 23, 2019 Child Care Aware® of America held a briefing on their

Davis Introduces Home Visiting Expansion Legislation

Last week Congressman Danny Davis introduced HR 4768, the Home Visiting to Reduce Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Act. The legislation will increase funding for the home visiting program, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program. The Davis bill will increase funding from the current $400 million in mandatory funding to $600 million

HHS Releases FY 2019 Adoption/Guardianship Incentives For States

The Children’s Bureau has released the latest history of the Adoption and Legal Guardianship Incentives Payment Program—Earnings History by State. The table also shows the state awards in FY 2019. FY 2019 ended on September 30, 2019, and the awards of $75 million in appropriated funds are provided to states based on their ability to

The Promise of Adolescence

On Tuesday, October 22, the Center for the Developing Adolescent and the Funders for Adolescent Science Translation (FAST) held a briefing to spotlight the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report “The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth” key findings, featuring five distinguished panelists. Panelists included Joanna Lee Williams, report co-author,

Juvenile Justice Group Provides Guidance on Implementation of the Family First Act

Last week the Act 4 Juvenile Justice (Act4JJ) released a new document, Family First Prevention Services Act: Opportunities and Risks for Youth Justice and Campaigns to End Youth Incarceration.” The guide was developed by Lisa Pilnik on behalf of Youth First, with contributions and feedback from several other organizations. Major federal legislation brought changes to

CWLA Mourns the Loss of Chairman Elijah Cummings

The Child Welfare League of America is saddened by the loss of a great leader with the passing of Congressman Elijah Cummings on Thursday morning, October 17, 2019. Congressman Cummings represented Maryland’s seventh congressional district since winning an election in 1996. He was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He received a bachelor’s degree in

Educational Stability for Youth in Foster Care

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) latest report on “Foster Care: Education Could Help States Improve Educational Stability for Youth in Foster Care,” examined the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provisions related to the educational stability of youth in foster care. ESSA requirements as it relates to improving educational stability for youth in

Several Judges Block Trump Administration on Public Charge Rule

On Friday, October 11, 2019, Federal judges in New York, California, and Washington state all issued temporary injunctions on the Trump Administration’s final rule to expand the definition of “public charge.” The rule applies to immigrants legally seeking to enter the United States or adjusting their legal status (green card status). On Tuesday, October 15,

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