Last Wednesday, September 15, 2021, the United States Department of Treasury released a study on the significance of child care to the U.S. economy and to families. The report, The Economics of Child Care Supply in the United States, indicated that for an average family with at least one child under age 5, approximately 13 percent
ASPE released a new brief, How Some States Use Title IV-E Foster Care Funding for Family-based Facilities that Treat Substance Use Disorders, highlighting four states, California, Minnesota, Montana, and Utah. The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) allows states to claim reimbursement from the federal title IV-E foster care program for foster care maintenance payments
Mathematica Planning Title IV-E Prevention Services: A Toolkit for States includes a section on Identifying and Engaging Partners in implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). With states at various stages of successfully planning and implementation and must consider the following things: 1) understanding their candidacy of foster care, 2) figuring out the
On September 13, 2021, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) event, On Their Own Two Feet: Helping Foster Youth Transition to Adulthood, examined how to improve outcomes for young adults in the child welfare system. The panel included Ruth White of the National Center of Housing and Child Welfare, Eric Gilmore of Immerse Arkansas, and Tim
On Thursday, September 9, 2021, the National Foster Youth Institute (NFYI) hosted a Congressional Briefing with Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth Co-chair, Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI). Kenneth Chancey, Policy Manager of NFYI, organized this Congressional Briefing to highlight H.R. 5167. In this legislation, Chafee pandemic funding would extend into 2022, including access to increased funding eligibility to extended youth in foster care
Last week the House Ways and Means Committee and other committees began to work on their parts of the reconciliation package. The Ways and Means Committee began work on their version of family and medical leave, trade, retirement, and Medicare expansion, but they have left other actions for this week. The House Education and Labor started their work
An August analysis based on Census data released after the first Child Tax Credit (CTC) was issued in July indicated that the percentage of American families with kids who report not having enough to eat fell dramatically. The data offer proof that the monthly payments are having a major and immediate impact on millions of households.
On Thursday, September 9, 2021, the House Education and Labor Committee began their work on that Committee’s reconciliation instruction. A key part of their effort is the expansion of child care, pre-kindergarten, and Head Start. The Committee draft starts out with child care funding that would be provided on a sliding scale. Families making
On August 10, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent letters to the states of Ohio, South Carolina, and Utah that followed up on February 12 letters, rejecting those states Medicaid waivers that attempted to impose work requirements for people seeking health care coverage under Medicaid. The letters signed by CMS Administrator
On Monday, August 16, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a re-evaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan, used to calculate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. As a result, for the first time in more than 45 years, the Thrifty Food Plan is being updated, and the average SNAP benefit will increase for the