The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has found the state of West Virginia in violation of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it comes to providing services to children with significant mental health conditions. The Justice Department holds that the state has a very high rate of placements into segregated
In light of some recent Capitol Hill briefings and discussions highlighting the issue of unregulated child custody transfers or what has been framed in news reports as “rehoming” CWLA joined with several other child welfare and adoption groups to issue a set of comments and recommendations to address the problem. In addition to CWLA, the
On Thursday, June 18 the Supreme Court upheld the use of a child’s comments to a mandatory child abuse reporter (a teacher) in the trial of his abuser. The ruling Ohio V Clark was 9 to 0 with Justice Alito writing the main opinion with a separate opinion by Thomas and a third opinion by
The Coalition on Juvenile Justice and the Tribal Law and Policy Institute have published a new brief paper, "American Indian/Alaska Native Youth & Status Offense Disparities: A Call For Tribal Initiatives, Coordination & Federal Funding." The paper examines the overrepresentation of American Indian and Alaskan Native youth in the nation’s juvenile justice system. The research indicates that
The Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) have released a new injury prevention policy report. The Facts Hurt: A State-By-State Injury Prevention Policy Report, The study is a report card based of 10 key indicators of leading evidence-based strategies that help reduce injuries and violence. One person dies from
Research, by the Foundation for Child Development, indicates that 3 and 4 year old children are being expelled from preschool at a rate higher than school children in grades K through 12. The research was a focus of a briefing on Capitol Hill briefing on Thursday, June 12. The event was hosted by Zero to
On Wednesday and Thursday of last week, the Department of Health and Human Services along with the White House coordinated a convening of states to help address the implementation of last year’s Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act. In announcing the event, the National Convening on Trafficking and Child Welfare , the White House
On June 11, Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Education and Workforce Committee introduced HR 2728, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2015. It picks up on some of the key provisions of a bipartisan Senate version (S 2999) by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senate Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Like
On May 29, the President signed into law the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (Public Law No: 114-22) The legislation would do several things, mainly through Department of Justice (DOJ) programs and actions. Among the provisions: imposes a federal fine of $5,000 on people convicted of slavery or trafficking, sexual abuse; sexual exploitation and
On Tuesday, May 19, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the use of congregate care. The hearing was titled, "No Place to Grow Up: How to Safely Reduce Reliance on Foster Care Group Homes." The hearing focused on the desire to make sure that children do not grow up or stay in