Last week CWLA called on the Office of Management and Budget to include new funds in the 2018 budget to better address key child maltreatment strategies. The preparation of the 2018 budget is a placeholder for the new administration. The new President will be sworn in on January 20 and as a result the 2018
On Tuesday, September 20, the Urban Institute was the scene for a discussion of the 10th annual report on how federal spending for children’s programs is doing in Washington DC budgeting. The Kids Share Report and a panel discussion that accompanied the release of the report suggests that children are not doing well, at least
The best news regarding the passage of the Family First Prevention Services Act, (HR 5456, Conference Report 114-628) is that Congress did not get a budget deal and adjourn last week giving supporters and opponents at least one more week to find a path forward. Behind the scenes discussions have continued but it is unclear
A potential long-term result of the current debate on the Families First Prevention Services Act is the pitting of the need for front end prevention of child maltreatment against the need for intervention services that prevent foster care. In reality true comprehensive reform of the nation’s child welfare systems requires both of these vastly underfunded
On Monday, September 12, groups including First Focus, the Children’s Advocacy Institute, the National Association of Counsel for Children, and the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law conducted a briefing on the need for greater and required legal protection for children across a number of legal systems. The focus of the briefing
At the end of August, HHS issued an information memorandum (ACYF-CB-IM-16-0) to inform and assist states in implementing a “Plan of Safe Care” under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) as amended by the recent Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 the “CARA” legislation. The drug treatment reform bill amended CAPTA in
Some critics of the Families First Prevention Services Act have recently argued that the proposed bill does not truly provide prevention services. In part this depends on how the individual defines prevention. CWLA views the Families First Act as providing an important part of the child welfare continuum, intervention services that can prevent placement into
The two Title IV-B programs along with the adoption and kinship incentive fund expire on October 1, 2016 and so they need to be reauthorized either through the Families First Act or or another measure which could include a short term extensions included any CR. A CR however may just extend the program for a
You may have missed it in August but the Brooking Institute released important findings and conclusions about the Head Start program with, The Long-Term Impact of the Head Start Program. In the past some critics of Head Start have argued that the benefits of Head Start “fade-out” as the child moves further into grade school
The “CARA” legislation under title five includes amendments to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) regarding a plan of safe care for infants exposed to substances. It does not reauthorize CAPTA but amends current provisions around a plan of safe care. The plan of safe care for infants requires a state that receives