On Tuesday, August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, marking a significant win for his administration that meets several of his campaign promises. As previously reported, this spending bill was negotiated primarily between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and focuses on climate change, healthcare,
On Friday, July 29th, 2022, the Children's Bureau released a Dear Colleague letter highlighting a new question and answer in the Child Welfare Policy Manual that encourages child welfare agencies to implement across-the-board policies that require an assignment of the rights to child support for children who receive title IV-E FCMPs only in very rare
On Monday, July 18th, 2022, the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services (HHS) hosted legislative briefing on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s transition to 988, days after the new mental health hotline number officially launched over the weekend. Secretary Xavier Becerra, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Dr. Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, and other
On Thursday, July 14th, 2022 the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) hosted a virtual panel discussion strategies to improve systems and services for families in the child welfare system who are affected by parental substance use disorders. The discussion focused on the importance of collaboration among social service, health, and court
On Tuesday, June 28th, 2022, the Children’s Bureau’s Learning & Coordination Center hosted, “Laying the Groundwork: Paid Family Leave as a Prevention and Promotion Strategy.” During this Digital Dialogue session, Laura Weeldreyer, Executive Director of the Maryland Family Network, discussed how policies that provide universal concrete and economic supports to families have a powerful impact
Of the more than 5,000 children who, court documents say, were separated from their parents under the previous administration's zero-tolerance policy for unauthorized border crossers and those who presented themselves legally at ports of entry, about 180 children have yet to be reunited with their parents, according to VOA News, though the ACLU believes the
On Saturday, June 25th, 2022, President Biden signed the bipartisan gun safety package into law, the first major gun violence legislation passed in decades. The bill, titled the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, was released by Republican Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). Fifteen
The Children's Bureau recently issued the sixth report to Congress on the Regional Partnership Grants program, which support collaboration among child welfare and substance abuse treatment agencies to improve the well-being, permanency, and safety outcomes for children in or at risk of entering foster care due to a parent or caregiver's substance use. The December
By Alex Lord-Wilkinson, Policy Intern, Pizzigati Fellow On Wednesday, June 15th, 2022 the President issued an Executive Order (EO) on “Advancing Equality for LGBTQI+ Individuals.” The Executive Order directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other key agencies to establish initiatives to support LGBTQ children and families and address discriminatory state legislation.
By Taylor Savage, Policy Intern On Wednesday, June 15th, 2022, the Bipartisan Policy Center hosted “988: Answering the Call” to discuss their new report containing recommendations for a more comprehensive mental health crisis response system, as well as the transition of the already existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to a new dialing code, 988, this