On November 17, 2021, CLASP released a new national CTC survey findings. According to the research parents reported reduced financial stress, help in affording necessities and, for about one-quarter of respondents receiving monthly payments, working more hours outside of the home. The survey included 1,012 eligible families with children ages 0-17 living at home. It
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will provide some relief for an important human service need, reducing children’s exposure to dangerous lead in our drinking water. In the middle of the last decade, the country saw close-up the havoc lead contamination can mean to a city and more importantly the families that live there.
On November 2nd, 2021, First Focus on Children hosted a Congressional briefing, “Covering all Children – the Path Forward.” Panelists included, Kelly Whitener, Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families, Dr. Glenn Flores, Holtz Children’s Hospital and Dr. David Rubin, Population Health Innovation at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The panelists
On November 3, 2021, First Focus on Children hosted the Children’s Budget Summit to highlight the release of their 15th annual Children’s Budget Analysis. Over the last 10 years, the Children’s Budget analysis has documented federal spending for children. Typically, this means watching federal spending for children be cut at a high rate. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused devastation across the world, Congress was compelled to make investments in early childhood, child care, education, family
CWLA joined over 300 other state and national organizations in calling on Congressional leadership to support the historic inclusion of the child care and pre-kindergarten expansions in the Build Back Better plan. The groups tell Congress: “The historic investment and policies outlined in the framework would support the transformative work of building a strong,
Early on Thursday, October 28, 2021, the White House released a new final framework for the reconciliation bill, the President’s Build Back Better agenda. The rest of the day was spent working out details and strategies with the end game still not finalized. The good news for the President was that the House Progressive Caucus
Negotiations continued into the weekend as the White House and Democratic leaders from the Senate and House continued to work on what gets in the final reconciliation legislation. Most if not all proposed programs will be at least reduced in size or length of time while other issues could be left out altogether. One of
The Democratic strategy to try and keep as much and as many parts of the original House reconciliation bills, meant that many program will be reduced in length. Perhaps the prime example is the fate of the Child Tax Credit (CTC). Continuing and making permanent the CTC has been one of CWLA prime issues this
On Monday, October 18, 2021, Senate Democrats put out a series of 12 appropriations bills that would fund the government through the rest of FY 2022 (September 30, 2022). The Labor-HHS-Education numbers are similar to the House numbers; however, any final Senate bills will have to have at least some agreement with Senate Republicans. The
Domestic violence is a critical issue that, according to recent reports, has been made worse since the pandemic. On average, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience intimate partner violence. Nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner (NCADV). Escaping domestic violence can result in homelessness as many