The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) released a policy brief on May 12, 2023, exploring the connection between the TANF proposals in the debt ceiling negotiations and child welfare involvement. The paper cites research from Chapin Hall, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and others that illustrate that “policies that take cash assistance away for not meeting a work requirement have been linked to greater hardship and higher risk that the family will become involved in the child welfare system.” The paper also points out that “child welfare involvement can cause negative outcomes for kids, which is especially egregious if children are unnecessarily exposed to the child welfare system.” Reducing poverty and stress for families is the first line of defense in child abuse and neglect prevention, and the TANF proposal in the Republican debt ceiling bill would move our government in the wrong direction.