Last Thursday, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources posted a transcript of the July 24, hearing update on implementation of the Family First Act along with a joint letter highlighting a few key questions and answers on implementation. The letter, is signed by the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee Congressman
A new report by the HHS Inspector General (IG), released last week, Treatment Planning and Medication Monitoring Were Lacking for Children in Foster Care Receiving Psychotropic Medication was critical of health care services and treatment of children in foster care as it relates to the use of psychotropic medication. The report by the in-house investigator
The Senate voted on their opioids legislation on Tuesday, September 18 and passed it by a vote of 99 to 1 (Senator Mike Lee (R-UT)-no). Immediately they began negotiations on the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018, with their House counterparts. The hope is that they can get a quick deal and pass it before
Cutting their week short due to the hurricane, the Senate gave final approval to a Military Construction and Veterans -Energy and Water--Legislative Branch FY 19 spending package sending it back to the House for a final approval. The bill goes to the White House for signature and marks the first FY 2019 bills enacted before
The Senate delayed a vote on an opioids package of legislation until this week. The Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018, addresses a range of programs and agencies, sometimes building on 2016 Congressional action though the CARA and CURES acts of that year. Senators had intended to debate the bill on Thursday but put off
Last week Congress continued on a path that would allow some appropriations bills to be signed into law by October 1, the start of the fiscal year. Last week Republican leadership met with the President, appointed some House-Senate conferees and continued to negotiate. All of this was done with the President sending some mixed messages.
On Friday, September 7, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a federal register notice that proposes, through the regulation process, to amend a court agreement relating to the apprehension, processing, care, custody, and release of children detained at the U.S. border. The notice, Apprehension, Processing,
On Thursday, August 23, the Senate passed H.R. 6157 an $857 billion appropriations package that combines the Defense Department appropriations with the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 85 to 7. Now the bill will likely go to a House-Senate conference committee where they will have to act fast before
The Senate will return this week on August 15. There will be additional judicial votes but it is expected that they will then turn to appropriations shortly after those actions. The Senate hopes to debate and vote on a bill that will combine both the Defense Department Appropriations bill and the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations. The combination
According to numbers released last Thursday evening, of the approximate 2551 children and youth eligible for reunification, HHS had identified 386 children with parents who have been removed and in another country. HHS indicated that through the Office of Refugee Resettlement parents of 299 children had been contacted by that point. The Administration informed Judge