Last week the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on the issue of unregulated custody transfers what some in the news media have labeled as "rehoming." The GAO report, Steps Have Been Taken to Address Unregulated Custody Transfers of Adopted Children was undertaken at the request of Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Congressman Jim
The Child Welfare and Supportive Housing Resource Center brought together participants from five place-based initiative sites to discuss the progress of their new efforts. The pilots are attempting to better assist child welfare involved families through an intensive approach that combines supportive housing and human services in an effort to keep families together. The five
With Congress likely to be discussing appropriations into December there is time for a number of issues and in some cases Congress will have to act. One possibility that was mentioned in early August by Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is a mark-up of child welfare legislation. That is still uncertain and contingent on
On August 7, Associate Commission Joo Yeung Chang, announced her departure from her position as head of the Children’s Bureau. She will be leaving on September 3. President Obama appointed Commissioner Chang to head the Children’s Bureau in September 2013 and she is the only person to hold that position in the Obama Administration. The
Just before the Senate departed for their summer break they gave approval to Rafael J. Lopez as the new Commissioner for the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF). Lopez was confirmed on August 5th, after having been formally nominated by President Obama in January 2015. Lopez will fill a position that has been vacant
On Wednesday, August 5, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee introduced the Family Stability and Kinship Care Act, S 1964 with 7 additional cosponsors for the Senate Finance Committee. The legislation had been circulated as a draft in the late spring and Wyden received feedback from more than 60
On Tuesday August 4, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on foster care and alternative to foster care placements. The hearing included testimony from five panelists representing state, kinship care, youth and parent perspectives. Perhaps the most significant news made was when the Chairman, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), indicated in opening remarks that they
The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is expected to introduce his child welfare reform proposal later this week. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, the Family Stability and Kinship Care Act, is the result of an earlier draft bill
On Tuesday, July 28 Capitol Hill participants heard from a number of young people as they presented their ideas on how to reform child welfare. The event was a presentation by a dozen Capitol Hill interns who were sponsored by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI). The interns work the summer months in various
On Wednesday, July 22, Congressmember Karen Bass (D-CA) introduced the Foster Youth Independence Act, HR 3160. The legislation, which has 29 cosponsors, allows states that have opted to extend foster care to 21 year olds to expand the current use of federal funds to age 23 under the under the John H. Chafee Foster Care