In honor of National Children’s Week, on Tuesday, June 12, First Focus on Children, Comic Relief USA, and Child Poverty Action group hosted Spotlight on Child Poverty in America. The event featured Members of Congress, thought leaders, advocates and service providers who are all actively working to address child poverty on the national, state, and
On Monday, June 10, Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) announced they will introduce the “Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act.” The legislation will modify the current tax credit provided to families that adopt by making it refundable. CWLA has endorsed the bill. In their joint statement Senator Blunt
On Tuesday, June 12, the American Psychological Association (APA) and Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) hosted Exclusionary Discipline at the Intersections of Disability Identity, Race, and Gender. The purpose of the briefing was to review the current state of discipline disparity research, the psychological consequences of high expulsion rates among marginalized students, and federal and policy
On Thursday, June 13, the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention met to discuss prevention of and response to child abuse and trauma. The Council is responsible for coordinating federal juvenile delinquency prevention programs, federal programs and activities that detain or care for unaccompanied juveniles, and federal programs relating to missing and exploited
On Wednesday, June 5, Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) and Congresswoman Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR) introduced the Every Child Deserves a Family Act (ECDF). The legislation prohibits discrimination against children, youth, families, and individuals on the basis of religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), and marital status in the administration and provision of child welfare
On Thursday, June 6, the Senate Focus Youth Caucus and Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative (JCYOI) of the Annie E. Casey Foundation sponsored the congressional briefing “Chafee Plus 20” to examine the role the Chafee program has had in supporting better outcomes for youth and facilitate discussion about what how policy can continue to recommend
On Tuesday June 4, the House of Representatives passed HR 6, the Dream and Promise Act by a vote of 237 yes votes and 187 nays. The vote totals included all Democrats and 7 Republicans. The legislation was voted out of committee on May 22 shortly before the Memorial Day break. It includes protection
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
As Congress returned on Monday, June 3, one of their first actions was to extend the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant until the end of this fiscal year. The vote was not without opposition with 357 yes votes to 55 no votes (all Republicans).The extension which now has to go to the
The House will begin to pass the first of the 12 appropriations bill this week. To speed up the process House Leadership has decided to combine 5 of the 12 FY 2020 bills into one package for debate and vote. The creation of the “mini-bus” will package the Labor-HHS-Education, Defense, Energy-Water, Legislative Branch, and State-Foreign
