On Thursday February 7, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held their first hearing in the 116th Congress on family separation policies in regard to immigration enforcement. According to testimony from the Inspector General’s Office at HHS, Ann Maxwell, “…the total number of children separated from a parent or guardian by U.S. immigration authorities and
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has re-introduced the Families Not Facilities Act, legislation that CWLA endorsed in the last Congress and now in this 116th Congress. • The bill prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from using U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) information provided by an unaccompanied child, or initially obtained to evaluate
Jay Williams On Wednesday, January 30, Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) reintroduced the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act (S.274), similar to legislation he sponsored along with Congressman Mike Kelly (R-PA) last year. The legislation, which CWLA does not support, would require HHS to penalize state child welfare agencies who are found in violation of “provider inclusion”
Last week, H.R. 507, the Put Trafficking Victims First Act, sponsored by Congressperson Karen Bass (D-CA) passed the House of Representatives by a near unanimous margin. The legislation addresses a need for expanded victim services, improved data-gathering on the prevalence and trends in human trafficking, and effective mechanisms to identify and work with victims in
HHS has released the annual child abuse report: Child Maltreatment 2017. The numbers are similar to past years. For FY 2017, there are an estimated 674,000 victims of child abuse and neglect. The victim rate is 9.1 victims per 1,000 children in the population. The numbers are like the previous year—2016 when 676,000 victims. Much
Kylie Hunter On January 29, the Committee for Children, Futures Without Violence, and the National Children’s Alliance held a congressional briefing to discuss strategies to prevent child sexual abuse. Panelist consisted of Delegate C.T. Wilson, Maryland; Deborah Chosewood, Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services; Dr. James Mercy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC);
James Carroll, Director of National Drug Control Policy, or “Drug Czar” released the Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy on Thursday, January 31. In announcing the report Mr. Carroll says that the strategy will require “ongoing efforts with a holistic approach. Families, communities, faith organizations, education, and mass media…” in supporting the process. The strategy is
On January 22, Senate Finance Committee Chair, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to the head of the United States Olympic Committee, Sarah Hirshland asking what actions the Committee has taken to prevent future instances of sexual abuse of Olympic athletes. The letter is a follow up to last year’s congressional action in response
On Wednesday, January 23, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a long-delayed decision that grants a child welfare agency in the state of South Carolina a waiver from anti-discrimination requirements under Title IV-E foster care and adoption assistance. The action permits one child welfare agency, Miracle Hill, to continue restricting their recruitment practices
This week CWLA reached out to the more than 100 new members of the 116th Congress with a child welfare background package of information including Investing in All of Child Welfare. This piece argues for investing in ALL of child welfare services: Child welfare’s continuum of care includes prevention of child abuse before it happens