On October 16, 2019, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) and Kidsave presented a special screening of the A&E documentary series “The Day I Picked My Parents.” NBC-4 veteran reporter and creator of the Wednesday’s Child program, Barbara Harrison, opened up the briefing discussing the role that the Freddie Mac Foundation had on helping
The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Center on Children and the Law recently released its Youth in Court toolkit. The toolkit provides a basic framework of adolescent brain science, a legal overview of laws relating to youth engagement in case planning and court hearings, and tips for attorneys and judges to engage youth and support their
Capitol Hill is working on a bipartisan deal that is intended to assist states to implement the Family First Prevention Services Act. The bipartisan, bicameral legislation would give states an added $500 million in child welfare funds, allowing states to spend more flexibly on the three categories of evidence-based services and create a guarantee of
The findings of the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR) report, Focus on Youth CFSR Findings: 2015-2017, published by the Children’s Bureau details how child welfare agencies are working with older youth between the ages of 16 and 17 in foster care. The report addressed the following questions: (1) How well do agencies meet the
On Sunday, September 22, Kidsave will be featured in the A&E Television Network docu-series “The Day I Picked My Parents.” This documentary series is about the lives of older children who struggle to find families because of their age. It shines a light on the numerous challenges and hard-fought triumphs of these kids who’ve lived
CWLA continues to engage with committee staff and member offices on a pathway forward to address the proposed legislation. At this time, it is critical that we unite in our message – the Family First Transition and Support Act must pass as a comprehensive package, including the “de-link” from the 1996 AFDC eligibility requirements for
The Adoptive Family Portrait Project seeks to inform Members of Congress and their staff about the impact that adoptions have had in many of their constituents' lives, by pairing adoptive families with their Congress member. For the 15th consecutive year, Voice for Adoption (VFA) will work with adoptive families to compose their family story and
Congress left with a two-year budget deal for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 and now they will need to finish the FY 2020 appropriations. The House of Representatives has passed almost all of their 12 appropriations bills while the Senate has not acted on any. Everyone is expecting a continuing resolution (CR) that will fund
On August 9, 2019 a US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit rejected a lower court ruling that sought to strike down the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). On October 4, 2018 a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, (Brackeen V Zinke), Judge Reed O’Connor, known for his
The Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse releases next round of programs and services for systematic review, on August 8, 2019. The sixteen programs were released for the next round across all relevant domains, including two Kinship Navigator Programs. Programs and services that were recommended by child welfare agencies and other stakeholders were heavily considered for