Healthy Growth & Development in Child Welfare

400 Economists Endorse CTC Extension

On Wednesday, 15, 2021, over 400 prominent economists outlined their strong support for a permanent extension of the CTC. In part they said:   “Childhood poverty is a staggering problem in the United States, affecting approximately one in seven children, and one in five children of color, even before the Covid-19 pandemic began. Children growing up in

Family and Medical Paid Leave

An earlier piece of reconciliation adopted through the House Ways and Means Committee is the creation of a paid family and medical leave program.  The version the House Committee has envisioned could start as early as 2023, and lost wages would be replaced on a sliding scale formula based on a worker’s annual income.    An employee

Treasury Releases Study Child Care

Last Wednesday, September 15, 2021, the United States Department of Treasury released a study on the significance of child care to the U.S. economy and to families. The report, The Economics of Child Care Supply in the United States, indicated that for an average family with at least one child under age 5, approximately 13 percent

Title IV-E Funding for Family-Based Substance Use Disorders Facilities

ASPE released a new brief, How Some States Use Title IV-E Foster Care Funding for Family-based Facilities that Treat Substance Use Disorders, highlighting four states, California, Minnesota, Montana, and Utah. The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) allows states to claim reimbursement from the federal title IV-E foster care program for foster care maintenance payments

Planning Title IV-E Prevention Services: A Toolkit for States

Mathematica Planning Title IV-E Prevention Services: A Toolkit for States includes a section on Identifying and Engaging Partners in implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). With states at various stages of successfully planning and implementation and must consider the following things: 1) understanding their candidacy of foster care, 2) figuring out the

Helping Foster Youth Transition to Adulthood

On September 13, 2021, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) event, On Their Own Two Feet: Helping Foster Youth Transition to Adulthood, examined how to improve outcomes for young adults in the child welfare system. The panel included Ruth White of the National Center of Housing and Child Welfare, Eric Gilmore of Immerse Arkansas, and Tim

Child Advocates Call on Congress to Extend Chafee (Pandemic Relief Funding)

On Thursday, September 9, 2021, the National Foster Youth Institute (NFYI) hosted a Congressional Briefing with Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth Co-chair, Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI). Kenneth Chancey, Policy Manager of NFYI, organized this Congressional Briefing to highlight H.R. 5167. In this legislation, Chafee pandemic funding would extend into 2022, including access to increased funding eligibility to extended youth in foster care

House Committees Begin Work on Reconciliation

Last week the House Ways and Means Committee and other committees began to work on their parts of the reconciliation package. The Ways and Means Committee began work on their version of family and medical leave, trade, retirement, and Medicare expansion, but they have left other actions for this week. The House Education and Labor started their work

Early Findings CTC Cutting Food Insecurity

An August analysis based on Census data released after the first Child Tax Credit (CTC) was issued in July indicated that the percentage of American families with kids who report not having enough to eat fell dramatically. The data offer proof that the monthly payments are having a major and immediate impact on millions of households.  

House Committee Moves on Child Care and Head Start Expansions

On Thursday, September 9, 2021, the House Education and Labor Committee began their work on that Committee’s reconciliation instruction. A key part of their effort is the expansion of child care, pre-kindergarten, and Head Start.   The Committee draft starts out with child care funding that would be provided on a sliding scale. Families making

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