--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
The new annual HHS Child Welfare Outcomes report 2010 through 2013 has been released and the summary continues to highlight a greater focus on youth coming into care at 12 or older as an area that could be strengthened. In short they said: “Moderate correlations were found between the measure of reentry into foster care
The Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) is a combination of funding streams for different but related services. Like Title IV-B part 1, Child Welfare Services (CWS), PSSF was reauthorized in 2014 as part of the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act. In FY 2017, the President is requesting PSSF funding at the
President Obama released his final budget for fiscal year 2017 last Tuesday. While the politics of this year and the President’s lame-duck status makes this a difficult budget to adopt there are some key proposals that can build on a vision for reforms and changes for child welfare. It also offers the potential for some
The Administration included in the budget a new strategy to expand and strengthen the child welfare workforce. The budget request would amend Title IV-E foster care and adoption assistance law to expand state access to current training funds. Currently states can receive a 75 percent match on state dollars spent on worker training. This funding,
The Administration is proposing that, as part of the need to reauthorize the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program, (title IV-B part 2) that the set-aside that targets drug treatment be increased from $20 million to $60 million a year. The drug treatment funding was created as part of the 2006 reauthorization of the
More than 35 groups, including CWLA, signed onto a letter circulated by the Foster Family-based Treatment Association (FFTA) calling on Senate leaders to move legislation that would provide emergency financial assistance to address the lead poisoning crisis now confronting Flint, Michigan. Michigan’s senators are attempting to get the money to help address the lead poising
Key child welfare programs including those that are authorized or are a part of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) were all flat funded for 2017. State grants would remain at $25 million a year. Discretionary funding would receive an $11 million boost to $44 million but as just in last year’s budget
The Administration carries over earlier child welfare reform measures submitted in the past few years. These include an ACF-CMS Demonstration Projects to address over use of Psychotropic Medication in the treatment of foster children. The proposal envisions for each of the next five years, $50 million a year through ACF matched by $100 million a