On May 22, 2024, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing, “The Family First Prevention Services Act: Successes, Roadblocks, and Opportunities for Improvement.” Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), one of the original sponsors and champions of the legislation, opened the hearing with some of the history of the passage of the bipartisan Family First Prevention Services
On May 7, 2024, the American Bar Association’s Center on Children and the Law published a review of state implementation of Federal guidance on the collection of child support from families involved in Title IV-E foster care. On July 29th, 2022, the Children’s Bureau released a Dear Colleague letter highlighting a new question and answer
The Biden Administration has published a number of new regulations in the past few weeks, moving at a very quick pace. The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to disapprove of a final rule, but the resolution must be introduced within a specific time frame: during a 60-days-of-continuous-session period beginning on the day Congress receives the
The Children’s Bureau (CB) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Children and Families (ACF) and the ACF Office on Family Violence Prevention and Services (OFVPS) issued Information Memorandum (IM) ACYF-CB-IM-24-03 on April 25, 2024, on Supporting Families Impacted by Domestic Violence: Opportunities to Partner with Families to Promote Family Violence
The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing, “Challenges in Preserving the U.S. Housing Stock,” on April 16, 2024. Senator Smith (D-MN) indicated that in the USA, more than half of the homes are over forty years old. Also, in rural areas there are an estimated 400,000 government sponsored apartments that are
The Children’s Bureau hosted a webinar, “Thriving and Healthy Kids: We All Have a Role to Play in Promoting Positive Childhood Experiences,” on April 23, 2024. Dr Mandy Cohen from the CDC stated that positive childhood experiences provide safety, stability and bonding, and are related to improved health, while, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) disproportionately affect
On Thursday, March 7, 2024, President Biden delivered his third State of the Union Address before members of Congress, Supreme Court Justices, and invited guests. He used the opportunity to highlight policy advancements that have happened during his administration, declared that “the State of the Union is strong and getting stronger.” The President started with
On March 6th, House Ways and Means Committee Republicans introduced seven bills that would amend the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, addressing specific provisions. The bills would form the basis of a TANF reauthorization, which is long overdue, though they are unlikely to be supported by Democrats in either the House or the
The Housing and Insurance Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee held a field hearing on Thursday, February 22, 2024, “Restoring Prosperity in American Communities: Examining the Failures of Status Quo Housing Policy.” Chairman Davidson (OH-R) stated that the American people have been adversely impacted by bad government decisions and failed federal housing policies. Further,
Introduced by Senator Lujan (D-NM) on February 7, 2024, the Alternative Pathways to Child Abuse Prevention Act would require states to submit an alternative response plan to receive federal grant funding under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). This bill would authorize $500 million for CAPTA Title I state formula grants and $1