President‘s Budget Starts FY 2016 Debate

  Last Monday, the President started the FY 2016 appropriations process when he sent to Congress his formal budget request.  Although many observers like to describe such budgets as “dead on arrival” or DOA whenever there are two different parties controlling the White House and Congress it none-theless starts a process and sets goals in

Budget Includes Several Initiatives on Child Welfare

The Administration’s budget includes several proposed appropriations increases or changes in law to expand child welfare services, particularly for children and families involved with foster care. It is in fact a change for a budget area that rarely experiences any requested increases beyond what happens under the entitlement programs. Whether any action takes place will

Pilot Speeds Up Child Welfare Placements Across State Lines

On Tuesday, February 3, the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) and Voice for Adoption sponsored a briefing on a current pilot project that is speeding up child welfare placements across state lines. The National Electronic Interstate Compact Enterprise (NEICE) pilot project, is being funded by the Children’s Bureau to test out a new data

HHS Releases 2011 and 2012 Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) Reports

  Last week the office of Community Services released two new annual reports on the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG).  The 2011 and 2012 reports show similar results as the 2010 report and reaffirms how the $1.7 billion in funding continues to support a range of child welfare services—especially as a prime funder of child

New Policy Briefs Released on Immigration and Child Welfare

The Center on Immigration and Child Welfare (CICW), formerly the Migration and Child Welfare National Network (MCWNN), is in the process of issuing a series of seven policy papers on a number of critical child welfare and immigration issues.  The CICW is focused on programs and policies related to immigrant children and families involved in

Completion of Adoption Incentives Reauthorization Hoped for Spring

Now that the new leadership of the Senate Finance Committee is settling in, there is the possibility that the Congress can finalize the Adoption Incentives reauthorization in the coming weeks. In October the House of Representatives approved the “Promoting Adoption and Legal Guardianship for Children in Foster Care Act” (H.R. 3205). The bill was passed on suspension,

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