JohnS

About John Sciamanna

John Sciamanna is CWLA's Vice President of Public Policy.

Child Tax Credit

The Child Tax Credit, part of the American Rescue Plan, is here to help families raising children make ends meet. Experts estimate the new Child Tax Credit has the potential to cut child poverty in half. We need your help to spread the word and raise awareness of this major tax relief for working families.

Latest Budget Update

Last week resulted in an initial agreement between the White House and a bipartisan group of senators on an infrastructure bill while Congressional Democrats focused on what should be included in a fall reconciliation bill. On Thursday, June 24, 2021, a group of Democratic and Republican senators gathered at the White House along with the President to

National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health

The Trevor Project's third annual survey, National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, brings to light the difficulties for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth ages 13-24 experiences across the U.S. The Trevor Project is the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning young

Interior Department Grants To Operate Indian Child And Family Service Programs

On Wednesday, June 23, 2021, the Department of Interior, through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), published a notice soliciting grants from Indian Organizations to establish and operate off-reservation Indian child and family service programs.    Indian child and family service programs are to provide services for stabilizing Indian families and Tribes, preventing the breakup of Indian

CMS Announces Release of State ACA Marketplace Funding

The Administration announced the release of $20 million in COVID-19 relief funds for states to make improvements to their ACA marketplace systems. State-based Marketplaces (SBMs) allow potential health insurance customers to buy or make adjustments to their current health insurance. The March COVID-19 relief package expanded tax credits that have the effect of drastically reducing

Youth Mobile Response Programs

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) hosted a conversation this week entitled How to Keep Young People of Color Safe Through Mobile Response. Experts from Connecticut and Oklahoma discussed the success of mobile response services in their state. The panelists underscored that mobile response services are an investment in de-criminalizing mental health, and a powerful

2021 Kids Count Data Book

Last week, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released the 2021 Kids Count Data Book. This annual report with state rankings presents a comprehensive picture of child well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies multi-year trends — comparing statistics from 2010 to 2019. In addition, the report shares data on how families endured throughout the

June 21st is #ChildTaxCredit Awareness Day

Help us spread the word about the largest child tax credit ever and learn more at ChildTaxCredit.gov. The Child Tax Credit, part of the American Rescue Plan, is here to help families raising children make ends meet. Experts estimate the new Child Tax Credit has the potential to cut child poverty in half. We need

New National Holiday—Juneteenth

On Thursday, June 18, 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law bill establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. In 1980, Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. On Tuesday, June 15, 2021, the U.S. Senate approved a bill will make Juneteenth a public holiday, 41 years after Texas.  What is Juneteenth? On

Less Than 2 in 5 Children Now Covered by Federal Foster Care Funding

In the federal fiscal year 2020, only 39 percent of children in foster care were covered by federal Title IV-E foster care funding. For the first time, the percentage of children not eligible for Title IV-E foster care exceeds 60 percent. That also means that Title IV-E administrative costs and services do not extend to more than

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