After several days of back and forth, the House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, HR 6201, on Friday night. The House vote was 363 to 40. The Senate left on Thursday but is expected to take the legislation up this week after canceling their one week break. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the House Ways and Means Worker and Family Support Subcommittee held a hearing on “Combating Child Poverty in America.” The hearing focused on how we can work to end child poverty and ways in which Congress can work “together with researchers, local leaders, and the communities themselves to meet that
On Monday, March 2, 2020, the Supreme Court announced it will take up a case that could ultimately strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA), that is what its opponents are hoping. It also means that the Court in the fall of 2020 will have several highly controversial cases to consider (along with the previous
On Tuesday, March 3, 2020, the Subcommittee on Appropriations for the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing entitled “Reducing Child Poverty.” Seven witnesses gave testimony: Dolores Acevedo-Garci, Professor of Human Development and Social Policy and Brandeis University, Douglas Besharov, Professor at the University of Maryland’s School of
On Monday, March 2, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) hosted “Foster care and Prison: Connecting the (right) dots.” Naomi Schaefer Riley, a resident fellow at AEI, led the panel’s discussion on youth’s outcomes after involvement with the foster care and criminal justice systems. Laura Bauer, a journalist at Kansas City Star, shared results from the
On March 2, 2020, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) demanded answers on reports that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was using confidential child therapy sessions notes in making deportation decisions. The Washington Post reported on how Kevin Euceda, a young Honduran who had arrived as an unaccompanied minor in
On Wednesday, March 4, Parents as Teachers (PATs) held a briefing, “The Role Home Visiting Plays in Reducing,” to discuss the power and impact of home visiting during a time when the United States is dealing with a maternal health crisis. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) provided opening remarks stating that “home visiting is the best
On March 4, 2020, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) hosted a briefing, “Ensuring Timely and Safe Family Reunification: A Juvenile and Family Court Judge’s Role in Providing Hope for a Better Future.” The event was sponsored by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), who closed the event by sharing his plan identified
Last week Maryland became the fourth child welfare agency to receive federal approval of their Family First plan. They join Arkansas, Utah, and the District of Columbia as child welfare systems with approved plans. “I’m so proud of the work we continue to do to prevent child abuse and neglect and ensure Maryland’s children grow
On Monday, February 24, 2020, the Supreme Court announced it will take up a case pursued by Catholic Charities of Philadelphia claiming the City of Philadelphia was engaged in religious discrimination when it pulled a child welfare contract because of the charity’s policy of not recognizing same sex couples for placements involving foster and adoptive