Although the new Congress can repeal all regulations issued since early June 2016, the Administration continued to issue key guidance on human service programs through HHS. On Wednesday, December 14, HHS published final regulations for the updated Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) regulations and requirements. AFCARS data reported by states annually
On Wednesday, December 14, HHS published final regulations for the updated Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) regulations and requirements. AFCARS data reported by states annually helps to build a profile of the “child welfare” population by producing annual numbers on children in out-of-home (foster) care, adoptions and youth aging out to
On December 13, the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute posted a commentary on how the repeal of the ACA could affect child welfare children and families. The piece, Top Five Threats to Child Welfare from ACA Repeal was authored by Olivia Golden, Executive Director, CLASP. Part of January will likely be dedicated to the repeal
On Monday, December 12 the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth held their last round table discussion for 2016. This week’s discussion focused on foster care and “normalcy” or attempts to make foster care placements as family like as possible for children in care. The overview was provided by Jenny Pokempner from the Juvenile Law Center
The fate of the Families First Act wasn’t decided until the very last days of session. While advocates made a final push to get the legislation included in the CR, that did not happen when that bill was published late on Tuesday night. Despite that, discussions continued until the very end. On Wednesday, Senate Finance
On Wednesday, December 7, the Senate gave final approval to HR 34 the 21st Century Cures Act by a vote of 94 to five. The bill (which had temporarily served as a vehicle for passage of the Families First Act) is a compilation of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding increases, changes in the drug
The Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention and Treatment Act (JJDPA), a program that seeks to prevent juvenile incarceration through prevention efforts and better and more appropriate sentencing fell short late in the week. The last time the JJDPA was reauthorized was in 2002 with the current programs operating without an authorization since 2007. In July, the
The fate of the Families First Act, in these last few days of Congress rests with a continuing resolution as the last possible vehicle for enactment. Congressional sponsors are asking advocates to weigh-in with House and Senate leadership to move the bill as part of a CR that must be passed before Congress wraps up.
The Senate Caucus on Foster Youth, on Thursday, December 1, held the first of what is expected to be a series of Hill roundtable discussions on the challenges of youth in foster care. The first roundtable was “A Focus on Older Youth and Young Adults in Foster Care.” This forum began with opening comments by
Congress returns for what is likely to be the last sprint for the 114th Congress. As part of that they are likely to move an updated version of the Families First Act (Conference Report 114-628)as part of a larger package of legislation. Congress may agree to a “21st Century Cures” bill that seeks to add