February 2022 The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) stands with national and local organizations in opposition to any attempt to redefine child abuse to include gender-affirming care for youth who are transgender or nonbinary. From Christine James-Brown, President and CEO: “Providing appropriate, compassionate medical care for your child is not child abuse. We know
On March 2, 2022, the Children’s Bureau released a new Information Memorandum (IM), Guidance for Title IV-B and IV-E Agencies When Serving LGBTQI+ Children and Youth. The IM states: “The Department of Health and Human Services and all leading national medical and pediatric associations confirm that providing gender-affirming medical care is in the best interest
On February 28, 2022, the Supreme Court announced that it will hear a challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) by taking up the Brackeen v. Haaland. The case is a ruling by the full Federal U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The Appeals Court ruling was a mixed ruling on the legality
Last week on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, the Senate Finance Committee moved forward on the nominations to fill the leads for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Administration on Children Youth and Families (ACYF). Rebecca Jones-Gaston was nominated by President Biden for the ACYF position on November 18, 2021. January Contreras was
The Biden Administration has proposed reversing the Public Charge rule that was put in place during the previous administration to deny green card applicants who receive certain government benefits. This rule has caused individuals to decline government benefits that were available to them, fearing that it will tamper with their green card eligibility. Reversing this
On Wednesday March 2nd, 2022 the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis held a hearing that highlighted “COVID Child Care Challenges: Supporting Families and Caregivers”. Chairmen Clyburn (D-SC) opening remarks noted that “46% of childcare providers reported in summer 2021 they were likely to close without government relief packages”. He went on to state that
On March 2nd, 2022, the Committee for Education Funding (CEF) hosted a webinar on Shortages in the Education Labor Force. The webinar opened with the CEF Executive Director, Sarah Abernathy, discussing the need for greater federal investment in education. Currently, education accounts for less than 2% of federal spending, with regular education funding remaining flat
On Tuesday, February 22, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, Gender Policy Council Director Jen Klein, and Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Mobility Carmel Martin hosted a conversation with parents and their children at the White House to discuss their struggles with finding and affording childcare
With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the percentage of Black Americans who lack medical insurance has fallen significantly with the percentage of Black Americans who were uninsured decreasing by 8 percentage points from 2011 to 2019. Unfortunately, when compared to White populations, percentages of Black Americans uninsured are still comparatively high. Further, this
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health estimates in a new modeling study that more than 5.2 million children globally have lost their parents or caregivers to COVID-19 through October 2021, equating to 1 child every 6 seconds. The study found more fathers than mothers died, and adolescents were more likely to be orphaned than younger