The Children’s Bureau released the program instructions, ACYF-CB-PI-21-05, for IV-E agencies authorizing programmatic flexibilities from April 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021, for Kinship Navigator Programs. Currently, none of the kinship navigator program models have received an evidence-based standard of practice from the IV-E Clearinghouse, and agencies have not been able to draw down IV-E prevention
The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief measure has a lot in it that directly and indirectly addresses the impact of this year-long pandemic. It includes several issues that have received increased focus because of this past year’s struggles (for example, the racial and regional inequities within the economy and health care system). There are limited added funds specific
Last week the Biden Administration announced the release of $250 million through the HHS Office of Minority Health for initiatives to promote vaccinations to minority and other underserved populations. The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) will offer the funding as health literacy grants to localities, who will partner with community-based organizations. The effort
Last Tuesday, March 9, 2021, the Biden Administration asked the Supreme Court to dismiss a case generated by the Trump Administration to enforce their changes in the “public charge” rule. The action is expected to have the effect of rolling back the Trump rule and retore the rule to the 1999 version. The Department
On Wednesday, March 10, 2021, Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Child Poverty Reduction Act (H.R. 1588/ S. 643), which commits to cutting child poverty in half in 10 years, just as the pandemic pushes child poverty toward record levels. The legislation also creates national, evidence-based benchmarks and monitoring
On Thursday, March 11, 2021, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing to discuss COVID-19 and the mental health and substance use crisis. Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) opened with remarks about the pandemic and how it has increased anxiety and depression, worsened mental health,
After an initial delaying tactic by Senator Ron Johnson (R-WS) that called for a reading of the bill throughout Thursday, the Senate moved on the American Rescue Plan on Friday morning. A CWLA description of the still-changing package can be found here. Earlier in the week, the Senate Democratic leadership was negotiating various alterations from the
Last week, the Health and Human Service (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a new report confirming that HHS's Administration for Children and Families (ACF) cannot ensure that all children who have been abused or neglected have court representation during judicial proceedings. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) mandates that a State
The Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for Marketplace Affordable Care Act (ACA) that opened on February 15 continues through May 15, 2021, as more customers are using the opportunity to get health insurance. Last week, the Administration announced that the number of consumers who chose coverage through HealthCare.gov from February 15 through February 28 totaled 206,236. That was approximately
Fostering Families Today and the National Foster Parent Association (NFPA) hosted a webinar on Thursday, March 4, to discuss recent findings from a survey they conducted. This survey was created to discover how foster families are coping through the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 300 foster parents in the U.S. were surveyed during January and February 2021,