On Tuesday, December 13th, 2022, President Biden signed bipartisan legislation to safeguard marriage equality after Congress approved federal protections for same-sex marriage. The Respect for Marriage Act repeals the 1996 law known as the Defense of Marriage Act that the Supreme Court found to be largely unconstitutional in a 2013 decision and includes some religious
A new report from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) presents estimates of the number and percentage of children whose parents engage in problematic substance use. Estimates are also provided for each state. The results can support policy, programmatic, and budgetary decision making as leaders seek to provide solutions to
On Tuesday, November 15th, the Children’s Bureau Learning and Coordination Center held a webinar titled “Supporting Children and Youth Dealing with the Loss of a Parent or Caregiver” hosted by Nilofer Ashan. Irwin Sandler, PhD with Resilient Parenting for Bereaved Children discussed that child bereavement is a bigger problem than most people realize. According to
On November 15th, 2022 the Children’s Bureau released a resource guide containing services and organizations that assist with their mission of empowering you to have hope and goals. Their publication highlighted the need to have tough conversations with youth and to express care, challenge growth, and provide support while acting on their feedback and act
On November 10th, 2022, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a new report, National Guidelines for Child and Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Care, describing the urgent need to improve crisis response services for children, youth, and families and provides guidance for communities to address the existing gaps in care for youth.
The Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse issued a new request for recommendations for mental health, substance abuse, in-home parent skill-based, and kinship navigator programs and services to be considered for systematic review and inclusion among services that can be paid for under the Family First Prevention Services Act. This year’s announcement highlighted a preference for
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released several resources to address the impact of parent and caregiver loss on children. It is a necessary and urgent part of addressing the ongoing impact of COVID-19, which has taken so many lives in our communities, as well as the toll that overdose, suicide, violence, and other
On November 1st, 2022, the Administration for Children and Families released the AFCARs data for 2021. Again this year, the report shows a significant decrease in foster care placements decreasing from the 2020 figure of 407,493 to 391,098 children in care in 2021, a 3.9 percent decrease from 2020 and a more than 10.5 percent
This year's National Adoption Month theme is "Small Steps Open Doors." It means that making small efforts, like telling a young person you believe in them or asking what's important to them, could lead to big changes. With burnout and turnover at record levels, workers should know that time-intensive, difficult interventions aren’t the only way
CWLA hosted a seminar featuring the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) sponsored SOAR for Children Program on Thursday, October 13th. The aim of the SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) program is to streamline and speed up SSI/SSDI applications to assist those in need of the funds. The program certifies direct practitioners