The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) facilities are responsible for the custody and care of unaccompanied alien children (UAC). The Office of Inspector General (OIG) report, Care Provider Facilities Described Challenges Addressing Mental Health Needs of Children in HHS Custody, on the facilities that care for children
On August 9, 2019 a US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit rejected a lower court ruling that sought to strike down the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). On October 4, 2018 a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, (Brackeen V Zinke), Judge Reed O’Connor, known for his
Submit now for the call for proposals for the CWLA 2020 Conference: 100th Anniversary Year, Sharing Ideas that Strengthen Families and Engage Communities to Promote Child Well-Being to be held from March 25–29, 2020, in Washington, D.C. We look forward to bringing together policy, research, and practice professionals from child- and family-serving systems in the
The President can likely dominate the Washington coverage of immigration in the next month with the courts being the only potential roadblock to any additional aggressive presidential actions. There are a number of immigration bills under consideration by either House of the Congress. The Senate wrapped up their work on Thursday in the most contentious
On July 25, 2019, the House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing entitled “Oversight of Family Separation and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Short-Term Custody under the Trump Administration” to examine the situation of detention at the US and Mexico border and the situations in which families are being separated there. In his
On Thursday, July 25, 2019 CWLA President & CEO Chris James-Brown issued a position statement regarding family separation and national immigration policy. “We are urging Congress and the President to strengthen protections for these families and, where protections don’t exit, to create them in an appropriate way that keeps families together. CWLA also urges great
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a new report on Tuesday, July 23 titled, "Beyond Suspensions: Examining School Discipline Policies and Connections to the School-to-Prison Pipeline for Students of Color with Disabilities" calling on the Trump Administration to replace the Obama Administration 2014 school discipline guidance. The comprehensive 224-page report examines how federal
On July 16, the Civil Rights and Human Services Subcommittee held a hearing entitled Strengthening Federal Support to End Youth Homelessness. Chairwoman Bonamici (D-OR) stated in her opening statement that it is a “responsibility to provide every child and youth with a safe and stable environment to learn and grow.” She noted that the Runaway
On July 16, the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing on “Women and Girls in the Criminal Justice System” to examine the exponential growth of women being incarcerated for nonviolent offenses since the 1980s. In Chairwoman Bass’ (D-CA) opening statement, she noted many consequences of mass incarceration, such as
Congress continued to focus and debate immigration policy through a series of actions last week. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform held two hearing on Wednesday, “Kids in Cages: Inhumane Treatment at the Border” and a hearing, “The Trump Administration’s Child Separation Policy: Substantiated Allegations of Mistreatment” on Friday. In addition there were several