A group of 40 senators sent a letter to Health and Human Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday, March 13, condemning the recent decision by HHS to grant a religious exemption from federal nondiscrimination laws and regulations for state-contracted child welfare agencies in South Carolina. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-OR, Senator Dianne Feinstein
On Thursday, March 7, four key congressional leaders on child welfare asked HHS Secretary Alex Azar to increase the HHS efforts on the implementation of the Family First Act. The letter signed by Senate Finance Committee Chair Charles Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ways and Means Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support
Today, the President will release a part of his FY 2020 budget. The budget is scheduled for the first week of February but due to the government shutdown it was delayed. Today’s unveiling will be only part of the Administration’s proposal. It is expected that the Administration will propose a five percent cut in
Kylie Hunter The Committee on Homeland Security on Wednesday, March 6, held a hearing, The Way Forward on Border Security. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kirstjen Nielsen was the main witness. Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) opened with remarks observing that since the last time the Committee met was a year
Jay Williams While one committee was hearing from the Secretary of Homeland Security last week, the House Judiciary Committee convened a hearing on Protecting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Recipients. The witness panel included Jim Park - Rhodes Scholar, DACA Recipient, Yatta Kiazolu, UCLA Ph.D. Candidate, DED Recipient,
Tessa Buttram On Thursday, March 7, the House Ways and Means Worker and Family Support Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, Leveling the Playing Field for Working Families: Challenges and Opportunities. Chairman Danny Davis (D-IL) opened the hearing saying that “Lack of affordable child care and paid leave are not “some of us” problems but
Shaquita Ogletree On Tuesday, February 26, 2019, Zero to Three and Child Trends held the Think Babies Policy Forum and announced the release of the State of Babies Yearbook: 2019. “The first three years of a child’s life shape every year that follows, and the state where a baby is born makes a big difference
A reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) could move early this spring. Behind the scenes the key committees in the House and Senate have been working and discussing potential changes. The key committees are the House Education and Labor Committee and the Senate HELP Committee. Although Congress has added to
Two House Committees: the Oversite Committee and the Judiciary Committee held hearings last week on family separation at the border. As part of those hearings there were reports that a significant number of children have been subjected to child sexual abuse while being cared for as unaccompanied minors. Figures released indicated that HHS has received
Jay Williams In January, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director, Kathy Kraninger, continued the efforts of her predecessor, Mick Mulvaney, and proposed a rule change to a regulation that is aimed at stopping the debt trap that some low-income wage earners face when they access payday loans. Payday loans allow advance payments on a