On Tuesday, December 17, NPR’s Steve Inskeep and journalist with The Kansas City Star Laura Bauer discussed the investigation of the outcomes for foster care children in America. The 7-minute interview, “Kansas City Star’ Probe Uncover Failures In Foster Care System, illustrated what happens to children who age out of foster care. Bauer and her
On December 30, the Washington Post in an article, “We are just destroying these kids’: The foster children growing up inside detention centers,” documented some of the ongoing problems in the state of West Virginia and the tragedy of some youth ending up in the state’s juvenile justice system when they should have been in
On Wednesday, December 18, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans struck down part of the Affordable Care Act provision, ruling that the requirement that people have health insurance was unconstitutional on a 2-1 decision and sent the case back to the lower court in Texas for further analysis. Several state attorneys
On Thursday, December 12, the Senate HELP Committee approved the reauthorizations of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) (S. 2971) and the Adoption Opportunities Act (S. 2969) by voice vote. Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) remarked that today, the Senate HELP Committee approval of legislation would help states prevent child abuse and ensure the
A reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) S 2971 (Senator Johnny Isakson R-OK) and separate Adoption Opportunities Act Reauthorization, S 2969 (Senator Doug Jones D-AL) was introduced in the Senate on Wednesday, December 4. The bills, which will be joined together as a final package, would reauthorize the CAPTA and the
Shortly before Thanksgiving, the House and Senate passed a second continuing resolution that extended FY 2020 funding until December 20, 2019. Quickly after that, Senator Richard Shelby (D-AL) and Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) as respective chairs of the two appropriations committees agreed to spending allocations between the 12 appropriations bills. Since then, committees have been
Last month, CWLA released the 2020 Presidential candidates platform, Making Children a National Priority, highlighting plans that focused on children and their families. Only two candidates, Julian Castro and Senator Kamala Harris, provided recommendations on foster care. Castro’s Children First Plan for Foster Families is comprehensive reform efforts addressing the full continuum of care. Majority
On Wednesday, December 4, the Coalition on Human Needs hosted the Service Providers and the 2020 Census: What You Need to Know webinar with leaders of the national Count All Kids Campaign, the Census Counts Campaign, and local service provider. The Census is essential for the disbursement of federal funds, which means the accuracy of
On Tuesday, November 19, the National Prevention Science Coalition with support from the Congressional Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus conducted a Capitol Hill briefing on the opioid crisis in terms of dependency and addiction. The briefing focused on how the significant difference between the two conditions and how policymakers misunderstandings are affecting pain management. A
On Tuesday, November 19, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL) and Congresswoman Alma S. Adams (D-NC), co-chairs of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, partnered with March of Dimes and First Focus to bring attention to the significant maternal health crisis happening in America today. “Mothers in our country are more likely to die giving birth than in
