When CWLA sent its recommendations for the next COVID-19 relief legislation last month (CWLA’s letter and this descriptive letter of child welfare needs) to Congressional leaders, one of its first and prominent asks was for an increase to the federal matching rates for state Medicaid health care programs, usually called the FMAP. Now trends are emerging across states
According to an Associated Press (AP) report, the CDC guidance that had a scheduled release on Friday, May 1, 2020, has been blocked by the Administration. According to a Thursday AP report: “The Trump administration shelved a document created by the nation’s top disease investigators with step-by-step advice to local authorities on how and when
On Monday, April 27, 2020, Associate Commissioner for the Children’s Bureau Jerry Milner, after receiving several inquiries related to the Title IV-E program on addressing the needs of children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced a series of actions states can take to help this population. Title IV-E agencies have the flexibility to allow
On Wednesday, April 29, 2020, CWLA hosted the “Kinship Navigator Response to Covid-19 Pandemic: Virtual Assistance Kinship Navigator” webinar. It is the first of a two-part series, highlighting the importance of virtual assistance for kinship caregivers and what kinship navigators are doing to help these caregivers virtually during Covid-19. The webinar was facilitated by CWLA’s
An analysis by the Center on American Progress suggests that the nation’s child care system could lose millions of child care slots permanently as a result of the pandemic and accompanying recession. In the analysis, Coronavirus Pandemic Could Lead to Permanent Loss of Nearly 4.5 Million Child Care Slots, the authors point to a survey
Politico newspaper hosted Coronavirus Special Report: The Pandemic’s Impact on Minorities April 28, 2020, with the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressperson Karen Bass (D-CA) on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. She was joined by Politico reporter Laura Barron Lopez and by Dr. Uché Blackstock, MD, Founder & CEO, Advancing Health Equity. As noted in
On Monday, April 27, 2020, the US Supreme Court upheld a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that Congress had blocked. The issue involved the “Risk Corridors” provisions of the ACA and whether or not Congress could renege on a provision that sought to level health insurance financing in the first years of the
All parts of the child welfare continuum—child and family serving organizations, social workers, parents, kinship caregivers, adoptive or foster parents, and children themselves—have been fundamentally impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Several CWLA Press titles speak to managing stress and crisis situations; empowering children, youth, and those in the child welfare field; and maintaining safety
While some in Congress are calling for a slow-down in passing the next bill, there is also the possibility the new installment of $320 billion in the loan program could run out rapidly depending on who you believe in their projections. In addition, the bill passed last Thursday does little to address state and local
Young people in and aging out of foster care have been hit hard by COVID-19. Without family to turn to, young people should have access to support and services so they can make it through this crisis healthy and ready to thrive. Congress should provide this assistance to young people by increasing Chafee funds by