After the ICPC vote, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill HR 4724 that would eliminate the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). The vote and the bill was part of a strategy to get a budget resolution adopted (see below). Members of the Republican conservative caucus (Freedom Caucus) have told Speaker Paul Ryan
As part of the Senate HELP Committee’s debate of a mental health reform measure (see below), senators also endorsed S 2687, the Plan of Safe Care Improvements Act. The legislation, introduced by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) would alter CAPTA and the current language around safe care plans and existing directives to states to have a
While the Senate HELP Committee was debating mental health legislations and amendments to CAPTA, on Tuesday, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce used testimony from Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell to raise questions in regard to enforcement of the same CAPTA provisions. In his opening remarks Chairman John Kelley
The Senate finished its work on S 524, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), when it approved the legislation on Thursday by a vote of 94 to 1. The bill was introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) with the bipartisan co-sponsorship of Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Senator Kelley Ayotte (R-NH),
On Wednesday, March 16 the Senate HELP Committee will take up a major draft bill to strengthen mental health services in the United States. The committee will also address other legislation, including an amendment to CAPTA, building on that body’s recent attempts to address substance abuse. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
The criticism of SSBG leveled by some members of Congress and even a few advocates in recent years has been that it lacks accountability and outcomes. One legislative committee report described it as “no-strings-attached slush fund for states with no accountability…Ending this program …continues efforts to focus limited taxpayers’ dollars on outcomes, not inputs, of
By Dusty Murphy On Tuesday, March 8, the Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) and the National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) held a briefing to highlight the importance of their two programs and the need for full appropriations in FY 2017. The briefing, cosponsored by Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX) and Congressman Jim Costa (D-CA), co-chairs of
On Tuesday, February 23 the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the prescription drug to heroin addiction issue. The hearing highlights the continued intense interest within Congress on the issue of heroin and opioids use. With sixteen senators in attendance at one time or another there was a great deal of interest on a
--Dusty Murphy, CWLA On February 24, 2016, Representatives Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) sponsored a briefing, “Reducing Demand for American Children Trafficked for Sex: King County, WA as a National Model.” Briefing panelists included Tim Matsui, director of The Long Night, a documentary about youth in the American sex trade, Alisa Bernard, survivor
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) five-year reauthorization ran out in FY 2010 and has been extended through a series of short term extensions ranging from a few months to a year at a time. In this year’s budget, for the first time, the Administration proposes several changes and enhancements. There appears to be