May is National Foster Care Month and as a result there have been a number of events on and around Capitol Hill focusing attention on child welfare in an effort to highlight issues around out of home care. On Tuesday the Senate Finance Committee will add to the focus by holding a hearing. It will
As part of their efforts and recognition of May as National Foster Care Month, the Children’s Bureau is hosting two webinars in the next two weeks. The first webinar, Supporting Permanency for LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care, was on Thursday, May 14. A second webinar will be on Thursday, May 21, from 2:00 to 3:30
On Monday, May 5, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee released a “discussion draft” of legislation that would invest new money into child welfare services through Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. The discussion draft would build on the Administration’s FY 2016 budget request that seeks to expand
As part of their efforts and recognition of May as National Foster Care Month, the Children’s Bureau is hosting two webinars in the next two weeks. The first webinar, Supporting Permanency for LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care, is on Thursday, May 14, from 2:00 to 3:30 PM, EST and interested participants can Register here. A
On Wednesday, April 29 CWLA participated in a policy briefing at the White House that focused attention on youth and homelessness at the White House. The session included a series of comments from key Administration officials as well as panel discussions. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness established under the McKinney Vento Act has
In light of last week’s hearings, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse have reintroduced a bill from the last Congress that would reauthorize the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). The legislation carries over some of the reforms included in that legislation which was introduced at the end of last year. It
On Tuesday, April 21, the Senate Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing Improving Accountability and Oversight of Juvenile Justice Grants Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) with a focus on some recent whistleblower complaints alleging a lack of enforcement by the federal government in requiring states to meet the JJDPA requirements. Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) sent a
On Wednesday, April 15 Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced the Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2015. It makes the current adoption tax credit fully refundable. The adoption tax credit was made permanent in the American Taxpayer Relief Act in January 2013 but the law did not extend the refundability
Last week the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) joined Voice for Adoption (VFA), the Donaldson Adoption Institute, and the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) in issuing a joint statement on Parenting of Children by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Adults. The statement says: (we) “believe that children deserve every opportunity to have
ACF has followed the recent request for comments on revised AFCARS data reporting with a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on additional (Indian Child Welfare Act) ICWA-Related Data Elements. On April 2 the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released a notice of intent to publish a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) related to