On Wednesday, February 15th, First Focus on Children and The Education Trust hosted a webinar to educate on struggles that may arise with the reauthorization of the FARM Bill this year. Katie Bergh, Senior Policy Analyst for the Food Assistance Team at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, spoke about her previous experience with
The Quality Improvement Center (QIC) on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency recently released a new publication regarding the ways children and youth can be engaged in child welfare proceedings. Below are tools that courts can use to authentically and directly engage with children to best determine what they want and what options will work best
On February 8th, 2023, The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held its first hearing of the year, titled “American Education in Crisis.” The hearing called attention to the challenges the education system still faces after recovering from the pandemic. Witnesses were Virgnia Gentles of the Education Freedom Center at the Independent Women’s Forum,
On February 14, 2023, the Senate held a full committee hearing in an attempt to discover how to protect our children online. Several witnesses who spoke about either lived experience, scientific research, or implementation practices, stressed the importance of addressing the danger of social media and its role in the mental health crisis. Led by
A new study in the American Journal of Psychiatry indicates that childhood adversity leaves a mark on the brain, changing regions that process stress and trauma. By analyzing MRI scans, researchers found small differences in certain brain structures that they believe could accumulate over time and lead to mental health problems later. Black children were
On February 16th, 2023, President Biden signed an Executive Order to support the advancement of racial equity and service to underserved communities, specifically in federal agencies. Ambassador Susan Rice, White House Domestic Policy Advisor, and Shalanda Young, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, hosted a briefing on the content of the
On February 7, 2023, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) held a rally to shed light on the child care crisis. Along with several other senators, representatives, and guest speakers, Murray highlighted the importance of rebuilding the infrastructure of our child care system, and the steps President Biden should take in order to mitigate and solve this
Last Thursday, February 2, 2023, the Council for a Strong America hosted a briefing on childcare and presented findings from a study conducted by ReadyNation, a coalition advocating for public investment in early childhood. The event opened with a statement from Rep. Jeff VanDrew (R-NJ), who emphasized the importance of ReadyNation’s work and the findings
On February 1, 2023, Democratic lawmakers marked the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) with a press conference announcing a new legislative package to establish a paid family and medical leave program and to expand and modernize FMLA. The FMLA program has successfully allowed employees to take reasonable time off to
On Tuesday, December 6, 2022 the National Foster Care Youth & Alumni Policy Council released a priority statement entitled Supporting Immigrant Children and Youth in Foster Care. Council members consulted with experts in immigration and foster care and polled current and youth formerly in foster care for their insight. The Council has forwarded three priorities: