On February 1, 2023, the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth (CCFY) co-hosted with the National Foster Youth Institute (NFYI), Youth Villages, and iFoster a “Learn, Listen, Lead” event at the U.S. Capital. The program included introductions and remarks from caucus chairs and a panel discussion on priorities and legislative agendas for the 118th Congress. Representative
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) recently released a report, “Substance Use Disorder in Pregnancy: Improving Outcomes for Families,” which details the Administration’s plan to improve access to effective treatment for people who are pregnant and have substance use disorders, support families and prevent unnecessary foster care placements, and make better use of
The Century Foundation released a commentary on ONDCP’s report about maternal health and substance use disorder on January 13th, 2023, noting that “the increasing criminalization of substance use in pregnancy disproportionately affects Black pregnant and postpartum people,” and makes recommendations for Congress to act. From the commentary: “Due to systemic racism and inequality, Black birthing
On January 23, 2023, the Children’s Equity Project partnered with the Bipartisan Policy Center and Start Early to host part one of their three-part webinar series concerning the impact of the Early Head Start Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCPs), titled “Building Supply, Enhancing Quality, and Advancing Equity.” Shantel Meek, the Founding Director of the Children’s Equity
A new study in NEJM concludes that trans and nonbinary teenagers who receive gender-affirming hormones experience less depression and anxiety and more satisfaction with life than before the treatment. This new study adds to a substantial body of research that shows gender-affirming care improves mental health and comes at a time when this care is
On Thursday, January 19th, 2023, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen announced that the United States had officially reached its debt limit and that the Treasury Department is deploying “extraordinary measures” — in this case, suspending investments in government retirement funds — to avoid defaulting. In a letter to Congressional leaders, Secretary Yellen urged Congress
The Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (or SUPPORT Act), passed in 2018, included a provision titled “Coverage Continuity for Former Foster Care Children Up to Age 26,” on page 10, which took effect on January 1st, 2023. This important provision requires states to cover youth under
CSH released a new, first-of-its-kind national needs assessment of supportive housing, which was developed by looking at data across a spectrum of public systems and found that an estimated 1,125,000 homes are needed to meet the need for supportive housing. From the Summary: “Supportive housing is affordable housing with flexible services that help vulnerable people
On January 10th, 2023, New America announced updated and improved state paid leave briefs as well as information on wages, benefit caps, and payroll contributions for the coming year. The announcement offered resources that discussed the federal FMLA and the State Paid Family and Medical Leave Programs as well as information on duration and utilization
This past Congress has certainly had its challenges. Throughout the last Congress, CWLA has joined with national stakeholders and coalitions to increase funding levels across 44 separate funding programs – many of which received an increase in the spending omnibus, and some remained at level funding. While a notable disappointment was the failure to reauthorize