Family & Community Support

Despite Progress, Dramatic Differences in Infant Mortality Rates, Teen Pregnancy

Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its 42nd report on the country’s health status, Health, United States, 2018. The new report indicates progress in infant mortality and teen pregnancy rates but still highlights differences within subpopulations. While infant mortality was down by 14 percent between 2017 and 2007, the differences

House Hearing: Deferred Action Policy Change to Deport Critically Ill Immigrants

On Wednesday, October 30, 2019 the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties hearing, “The Administration’s Decision to Deport Critically Ill Children and Their Families,” discussed the actions that lead up to the decision and the policy moving forward. The issue was a policy decision this past summer that would have

Update on Adoption and Guardianship Awards

Last week we noted that the Children’s Bureau released the latest history of the Adoption and Legal Guardianship Incentives Payment Program—Earnings History by State. The table also shows the state awards for FY 2019. A few days later, the Bureau published the individual categories of awards for each state. The individual categories of awards that

CBO Projects Deficits Just Under $1 Trillion

While general budget talks continued last week, it comes against a backdrop of increasing budget shortfalls. In early October 2019, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected its near-final report on the 2019 federal budget deficit. The deficit rose to just under $1 trillion for the fiscal year that ended on September 30, with the total

AFCARS Shows Decline of Children in Foster Care

On Thursday, October 24, 2019 HHS released the 26th AFCARS Report indicating 3,788 fewer children in foster care in FY 2018 (437,283) from the 441,071 in FY 2017. The AFCARS reports are based on the number of children in the system as of the last day of the federal fiscal year, which is September 30,

ACA: Health Insurance Prices Go Down, Availability Goes Up for 2020

Last week information from the Centers on Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in HHS indicated that health insurance premiums for 2020 would decrease by an average of 4 percent. At the same time, just 12 percent of ACA customers will be living in counties that will only have one insurer providing coverage. Additionally, 20 more

The High Price of Child Care

In the United States, the high price of child care remains a burden on many American families, regardless of marital status and income. This is extremely troubling considering the benefits of high-quality child care to parents and caregivers and their children. On October 23, 2019 Child Care Aware® of America held a briefing on their

Davis Introduces Home Visiting Expansion Legislation

Last week Congressman Danny Davis introduced HR 4768, the Home Visiting to Reduce Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Act. The legislation will increase funding for the home visiting program, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program. The Davis bill will increase funding from the current $400 million in mandatory funding to $600 million

HHS Releases FY 2019 Adoption/Guardianship Incentives For States

The Children’s Bureau has released the latest history of the Adoption and Legal Guardianship Incentives Payment Program—Earnings History by State. The table also shows the state awards in FY 2019. FY 2019 ended on September 30, 2019, and the awards of $75 million in appropriated funds are provided to states based on their ability to

The Promise of Adolescence

On Tuesday, October 22, the Center for the Developing Adolescent and the Funders for Adolescent Science Translation (FAST) held a briefing to spotlight the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report “The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth” key findings, featuring five distinguished panelists. Panelists included Joanna Lee Williams, report co-author,

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