The new 114th Congress will begin this week on Tuesday. Most of the week will be about conducting the formal start up actions. That start up includes the selection of the various leaders, all returning from the last Congress with the Senate leaders swapping their majority/minority roles. We will also see the formal selection of
The next Congress will have the opportunity to reauthorize more than a dozen programs that have a significant impact on children but whether that happens seems less than likely. Generally federal programs are reauthorized for periods of four to five years. The reauthorization process is intended as a way to provide needed oversight but in
On Saturday, December 6, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) lost her bid for re-election in a Senate run-off race in Louisiana. With her departure a long time advocate on child welfare issues will be leaving the Senate in a few days. Although Landrieu was not on the two key committees that oversee child welfare programs, the
After the House of Representatives narrowly passed HR 83 by a vote of 219 to 206 late on Thursday night December 11, the Senate acted late Saturday to approve the legislation (HR 83). The package represents one of the last acts by a Congress that has been rated by some critics as one of the
With the clock ticking toward the expiration of FY 2015 funding (December 11), Congress ended the week with an uncertain strategy toward an extension in funding. There seemed to be agreement on not shutting the government down but how that would be avoided is still not clear or final. House Republicans, largely leading the strategy,
Congress will likely make this week their last week before they leave for the August break and that will happen regardless of the unaccompanied minor issue. Going into this week there are three general proposals: the President’s, the Senate’s and the House’s. It seems certain that none of them can garner enough votes to get
On Wednesday, July 23, the House of Representatives passed HR 4980, the “Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act.’ The legislation will reauthorize the Adoption Incentive Fund for three years and extend it to guardianship placements. It will also extend the Family Connections Grants by one year through this current fiscal year of 2014. After
By the end of last week, July 18, Congress’s path forward to address the issue of the surge of unaccompanied minors across the US boarder was becoming less clear with each house pursuing different approaches. The President has requested $3.7 billion in emergency funding mainly for services both legal and humanitarian with the bulk of
On Monday, July 7 the Child Welfare League of America formally endorsed the “Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act.” The legislation extends the Adoption Incentives Fund for three years, provides a current-year extension to the Family Connections Grants, strengthens provisions that direct states to re-invest state savings from the expansion of federal funding for
Here is the Latest: The Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (CECANF), a federal advisory committee established by the Protect Our Kids Act of 2012 (P. L. 112-275), will hold there next meeting next week.If youwant to participate register now! Meeting time: Thursday, July 10, 2014, from 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. EDT. Location: Children’s Board of
