Budget

June 21st is #ChildTaxCredit Awareness Day

Help us spread the word about the largest child tax credit ever and learn more at ChildTaxCredit.gov. The Child Tax Credit, part of the American Rescue Plan, is here to help families raising children make ends meet. Experts estimate the new Child Tax Credit has the potential to cut child poverty in half. We need

Less Than 2 in 5 Children Now Covered by Federal Foster Care Funding

In the federal fiscal year 2020, only 39 percent of children in foster care were covered by federal Title IV-E foster care funding. For the first time, the percentage of children not eligible for Title IV-E foster care exceeds 60 percent. That also means that Title IV-E administrative costs and services do not extend to more than

Sequestration Budget Cuts Continue for Some Programs: SSBG, Home Visiting, PSSF

The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF), and the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs will all be reduced by 5.7 percent this coming year due to sequestration.   The ten-year Budget Control Act of 2011 that set up budget caps from 2011 to 2021 included a

Budget and Reconciliation Likely to Reach Into Holiday Season

Last week the House Budget Committee moved on a budget or “deeming” resolution that will allow the House to proceed on their twelve appropriations bills. It is not a joint budget resolution that would require adoption by the Senate and would establish a reconciliation procedure. That action will likely wait for later this summer.  

Full Budget This Week, Appropriation on Tap For Summer

The Biden Administration will release its first full budget on Thursday, May 27, 2021.  The release of the budget fills in the blanks from the broad overview the Administration released on April 9.  That document included the allocation between domestic (non-defense) spending at $769 billion and defense spending at $753 billion.  That amounts to a

What CWLA Said About Education and Foster Care

In submitting our testimony to the House Subcommittee on Family and Worker Support this is what we said about education issues:   As we emerge from the pandemic, assessments will need to be made of the current and long-term impact of this crisis on every child’s education goals and attainment.  This is especially true of

House Subcommittee Focus on Child Welfare During National Foster Care Month

The Ways and Means Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support held a hearing on "Making a Difference for Families and Foster Youth." The hearing was intended as a review of potential updates and changes to the two Title IV-B programs for reauthorization later this year.   The witnesses included William Bell, President and CEO, Casey

What Are the IV-B Programs?

There are two child welfare programs created under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act. Despite the call for flexible funding through child welfare, these two programs have been around for decades and provide very flexible child welfare funding, although neither program has had strong support and, in fact, been continuously cut since 2005.  

Washington Waits on Negotiations

This past week President Biden met with Republican and Democratic leaders to discuss how to move forward on an infrastructure bill.   The negotiations are vital because, over the remaining weeks of May, such discussions will determine how Congress proceeds this summer on his two major reforms on infrastructure and the American Family Plan. Some

Treasury Releases State and Local Relief Funds

On Monday, May 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of Treasury released details and funding on the state and local government fiscal relief that was included in the March COVID-19 relief legislation.   The $350 billion in relief is divided into the following: States & District of Columbia $195.3 billion; Counties $65.1 billion; Metropolitan Cites $45.6 billion; Tribal

Value prop about becoming a member