On Thursday, July 25, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) released a Senate “Dear Colleague” letter opposing the House Appropriations Aderholt Amendment. The letter was signed by 40 senators. There are some members who did not sign the letter due to their leadership roles on the Appropriations Committee and in the Senate, who are all but certain
According to numbers released last Friday, of the 2551 children and youth ages five through 17 originally counted as eligible for reunification, 1442 children have been reunified with parents while 378 were placed with guardians or sponsors. But that leaves an additional 700 children still in government shelters. The 700 children remaining in government shelters
CWLA submitted its recommendations and comments in response to the HHS request for comments on how to approach the issue of defining and listing services and programs that will qualify under the Family First Prevention Services Act. There was a very quick turn-around time with comments due by July 22. CWLA emphasized the need to
Groups were coming together last week to oppose the Aderholt Amendment. The amendment was offered by Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) as part of the House Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill when it was debated in House Appropriations Committee. It is similar to language and legislation sponsored by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Congressman Mike Kelly (R-PA). The
On Tuesday, July 17, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute hosted their annual Foster Youth Intern (FYI) legislative forum. The annual invent invites in a number of young people who have been in foster care and have served as interns on Capitol Hill to share their ideas and proposals on child welfare policy. This year’s
According to numbers released last Friday, of the 2551 children and youth ages five through 17 originally counted as eligible for reunification, 450 have been reunited. Another 954 had been interviewed and are ready for reunification. According to the same information provided by HHS to Judge Dana Sabraw, 136 parents have waived their right to
On Monday, July 9 the Administration for Children and Families released their first guidance on the Family First Prevention Services Act. The program instruction (PI), ACYF-CB-PI-18-07, was released along with the • Children’s Bureau Regional Program Managers • Certification of Required Legislation • Request for Delay • Title IV-E Plan Pre-Print (including Pre-Print Attachments I
On Monday, July 9 the Administration for Children and Families released their first guidance on the Family First Prevention Services Act. The program instruction (PI), ACYF-CB-PI-18-07 does not deal with the services component of the new law (see below for comment request) but directs states on how they need to amend their Title IV-E and
Last Thursday, when the House Appropriations Committee acted on their Labor-HHS-Education bill, Committee Republicans included an amendment that could promote discrimination in the placement and recruitment of children and parents based on gender and sexual preference. The amendment was offered by Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and it is similar to language and legislation sponsored by
On Thursday, July 12 the House Appropriations Committee passed their Labor-Health and Human Services and Education bill after two previous delays. Most of the votes cast were along party line with a great deal of the debate focused on immigration and family separation. In the end the bill was approved along party lines with several