The two-year budget deal being approved by Congress provides important increases over the budget caps, but it will provide approximately $10 billion less than the House had designated for their FY 2020 non-defense appropriations. The House-passed Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations bill provides dramatic increases in several CWLA priorities such as child care and some
On Wednesday, July 24, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released two more Title IV-E Prevention Services programs and services ratings for the Title IV-E Prevention Services in accordance with the Family First Prevention Services Act. Healthy Families America (HFA) is a nationally accredited home visiting program that was developed by Prevent Child
On Thursday, July 18, 2019 the Children’s Bureau released guidance to states on how they can include in their state plans procedures to allow for “transitional payments” for prevention services and programs that have not yet been listed in the Family First Prevention Services Clearinghouse. Program Instruction ACYF-CB-PI-19-06: says that the instruction allows a
On July 16, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) hosted the 2019 Foster Youth Internship (FYI) Program Congressional Briefing. This was CCAI's 17th annual hearing consisting of policy recommendations from each presenter of the 2019 FYI Cohort including Anthony Abshire, Joshua Christian, Liliana Cory, Ria Esteves, David Samuel Hall, Sheree Hickman, Mackenzie McGeehan, Alexander
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in HHS has released new findings on Therapeutic Foster Care that analyzes the benefits and challenges of TFC. Therapeutic Foster Care is intended to help children in care who have behavioral or emotional disorders. It is provided in a family-based setting by an
On June 20, HHS released the latest Foster Care GAO report for Congress, States with Approval to Extend Care Provide Independent Living Options for Youth up to Age 21. Since 2008 when the Fostering Connections Act was enacted, HHS has approved 26 states and six federally recognized tribes to claim title IV-E funding to extend
Last week the Child Welfare League of America endorsed and signed onto a national letter of support for two bills by Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) that would extend protections and rights to children and families that have been separated by U.S. immigration policies. The two bills are the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections (HELP) for
On Tuesday, June 25, the Education and Labor Committee held a hearing titled “Do No Harm: Examining the Misapplication of the ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act.’” The hearing was a review of recent cases involving the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and how new proposed legislation, the Do No Harm Act is intending to narrow the
On Thursday, June 20, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released the first ten Prevention Services Clearinghouse rated programs and services that received well-supported, supported, promising, or does not currently meet the criteria for the Title IV-E Prevention Services in accordance with the Family First Prevention Services Act. These practices include mental health services,
On Tuesday, June 18, Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WS) and Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) reintroduced the Treatment Family Care Services Act. Under Therapeutic Foster Care, foster parents –and increasing other care givers including relative care givers and parents—are given special training to address the needs of youths with major mental health challenges and children receive intensive