On April 26, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a notice of $30 million in Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers. The announcement combines 2017 funding that had not been released, with additional FY 2018 FUP funding. FUP vouchers are for families that lack of adequate housing and that lack of housing is
The new Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) was working with his Democratic counterpart in the Senate, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to determine a path forward on 2019 appropriations. Shelby, who took over this month when Senator Thad Cochrane (R-MS) retired due to health issues, wants to move appropriations bills to
Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, On Wednesday, April 25 was offering up what may be one of the first Administration responses to the President’s earlier proclamation on “welfare reform.” Carson’s initiative would raise subsidies to 35 percent of income from the current 30 percent. He also is seeking to get rid of
Part of the CWLA National Conference includes the release of CWLA 2018 legislative agenda and supporting materials on the reauthorization of the JJDPA, preservation of SSBG, preserving the ACA and Medicaid, the dangers of block grants, but the main talking points for Capitol Hill will focus on greater funding through the Title IV-B programs to
Last week, Budget Director and Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Mick Mulvaney, was again talking up a rescission package that may not get through Congress but could block the release of some spending—at least for a while. Mulvaney indicated that the package of proposed cuts to the just passed 2018 appropriations would likely
The CWLA National Conference starts this week. The opening takes place on Thursday, April 26, but there will be a preview event for state advocates and CWLA members going to Capitol Hill on Wednesday afternoon, April 25, the National Advocacy Leaders Convening. The Wednesday session includes a discussion with Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau
A new study released through the Journal of Social Work estimates the cost of U.S. child poverty totals more than $1 trillion a year. The research, Estimating the Economic Cost of Childhood Poverty in the United States, indicates that these costs are concentrated around loss of economic productivity, increased crime and health care costs, and
With members returning last week, there was a lack of congressional interest in pursuing a rescission package of cuts to the just-passed 2018 appropriations but the White House appeared to be feeling just the opposite. Reports are that Budget Director—Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Mick Mulvaney is assembling a package of $60 billion
The Children’s Bureau has released an information memorandum (IM) describing the Family First Act (PL 115-123). The IM is a basic description of the law and not a guidance or clarification of the many questions on the detailed implementation. The IM does prove that the extensive law cannot be explained in any quick fashion as
The report and briefing came at the end of the week when the President issued another executive order, Reducing Poverty in America by Promoting Opportunity and Economic Mobility. This order directs various federal Departments (Treasury, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education) to double-down and toughen work requirements.