New Evidence On Effectiveness Of Teen Pregnancy Prevention

On Friday the Office on Adolescent Health (OAH) released the results of 41 rigorous evaluations on the effectiveness of teen pregnancy prevention programs.  The studies, 90 percent of which were randomized controlled trials between 2010 through 2015, is expected to offer a significant contribution to the field’s knowledge of where, when, and with whom programs

Families First Status Discussions Continue

Holding Pattern in Senate Last week efforts to adopt the House version of the Family First Prevention Services Act, (HR 5456) (Conference Report 114-628) continued but success has stalled—at least temporarily.  By week’s end the only thing that was clear is that they had not yet reached unanimous support for the bill and passing it. 

Coalition Launches Effort to Assist Homeless Youth Avoid JJ

The Coalition on Juvenile Justice has launched Collaborating for Change: Addressing Youth Homelessness and Juvenile Justice, a project with two main goals: to decrease the likelihood that homeless youth become involved with the juvenile justice system; and to prevent youth homelessness among justice-involved youth. The project is a collaboration between the Coalition and with project partners, the National

Education-HHS Offer Guidance on Foster Care student Access to Education

On Thursday the Education Department and HHS issued guidance, Non-Regulatory Guidance:  Ensuring Educational Stability for Children in Foster Care  that is intended to help implement new provisions of the reauthorized Education and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that seek to protect the education access for student who are also in foster care.  The guidance includes 40

Homeless Youth Talk About Their School Challenges

On Monday, June 13 a group of advocates and organizations led by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY)  hosted a forum to discuss the challenges of homeless students in America’s public schools. Under the federal McKinney-Vento Education Act there is a small amount of money in the federal budget

Families First Child Welfare Bill Released, Goal To Move Quickly

Late Friday afternoon a group of House and Senate Republicans and Democrats released the, Family First Prevention Act along with a summary.  The legislation includes three overarching pieces: a reauthorization of the Title IV-B programs (Promoting Safe and Stable Families, Child Welfare Services), new definitions of foster care including greater oversight and limitations of residential/institutional

Murray Weighs-In On GAO, Calls on Ed to Respond

After the GAO report was released Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the ranking member on HELP Committee, sent a letter urging the Department of Education to address obstacles unaccompanied homeless students face in applying for and receiving financial aid. The Senator asked the Department to exclude burdensome parental information requirements and to clarify the definition of

GAO Report Highlights Ed Problems For Foster Homeless Youth

The resource kit released by the Education Department follows a report by the GAO earlier this month, Actions Needed to Improve Access to Federal Financial Assistance for Homeless and Foster Youth (GAO-16-343: May 19, 2016) that program rules can make it more difficult for unaccompanied homeless youth (those not in the physical custody of a

White House Hosts Hackathon

On Thursday, May 26, the White House capped off May as National Foster Care Month with a two-day “White House and Foster Care and Technology Hackathon.” The event sought to bring together child welfare leaders, organizations, families and foster alumni into a meeting with engineers and leaders from the technology sector. As part of the

GAO Report Highlights Ed Problems For Foster Homeless Youth

The resource kit released by the Education Department follows a report by the GAO earlier this month, Actions Needed to Improve Access to Federal Financial Assistance for Homeless and Foster Youth (GAO-16-343: May 19, 2016) that program rules can make it more difficult for unaccompanied homeless youth (those not in the physical custody of a

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