The Home Visiting Coalition, which CWLA belongs to, is circulating a sign-on letter to congressional leaders urging Congress to act quickly to reauthorize the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program for a period of five (5) years with a doubling of funding from $400 million annually to $800 million annually. The Coalition
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), will release their updated study of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) the week of May 22. CBO normally would score a bill before the House had voted on it but leadership in the House was in a rush to get a final vote once they had enough to pass
The future of the Family First Prevention Services Act remains unclear. The House bill was re-introduced at the start of this Congress as a placeholder for future House action with House members waiting to see what the Senate can agree to. The Congress does have to re-authorize the two Title IV-B programs, Child Welfare Services
The Senate gave final approval to an omnibus appropriations bill on Thursday, May 4. The legislation was unveiled Monday and moved quickly through the process. As a result, we are now finished with FY 2017 which ends on September 30, 2017. After the unveiling the fight turned to who won and who lost. The President
The President issued an executive order last Thursday that was intended to address the goals of his more conservative religious base by providing greater “religious freedom,” but after earlier initial reports, he did not include language that would allow for discrimination in the placement of children in foster and adoptive homes. A draft that had
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) have reintroducing a bill that is intended to help states identify children who come into contact with both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems (dual status children and youth). The Childhood Outcomes Need New Efficient Community Teams or CONNECT Act would authorize competitive grants to
The House of Representatives is once again attempting another effort to repeal the ACA. The effort is a result of the White House push to try and get a vote before the President had reached the informal judgement date of 100 days in office. The vote could still take place this week if Speaker Paul
The 5th National GrandRally is coming in a few days and registration is still open! The GrandRally for grandparents and other relatives raising children will be on May 10, 2017 on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. It is an opportunity to elevate for Members of Congress and the public the critical
Last week the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth held a panel presentation and discussion on, Financial Literacy and Consumer Credit Issues facing Transition-Age Youth. Participants included: Carol Behrer, Executive Director of the Youth Policy Institute of Iowa (YPII) a state organization focused on improving youth policy and practice, particularly as it relates to system-involved and
On Wednesday, March 29, CWLA members gathered in Washington for the annual CWLA National Conference. After the morning policy seminar members were charged up by Congressman Joseph Kennedy III (D-MA). The Congressman has become an outspoken champion of protecting the ACA in particular the expanded access to mental health and substance use treatment. In his