On Tuesday, September 10, First Focus on Children released the 13th annual Children’s Budget 2019 publication, a comprehensive analysis of how kids and families have been faring in the federal budget over the past five years. As child poverty remains high, the children’s share of total federal spending declined between fiscal year 2015 and fiscal
When Congress left with a two-year budget deal for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 it looked like they would be able to finish most of the FY 2020 appropriations in September with perhaps a few weeks of a continuing resolution (CR) to finish up. That possibility crashed last Tuesday shortly after Senate Republican unveiled their
Congress left with a two-year budget deal for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 and now they will need to finish the FY 2020 appropriations. The House of Representatives has passed almost all of their 12 appropriations bills while the Senate has not acted on any. Everyone is expecting a continuing resolution (CR) that will fund
On July 24, the Administration released the proposed rule to eliminate SNAP benefits for millions of people including children by making it harder for low-income families to put food on the table. The proposal, Revision of Categorical Eligibility in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, seeks changes to state eligibility options for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
With a two-year budget deal for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 in place, Congress will need to finish the FY 2020 appropriations. The House of Representatives has passed almost all of their 12 appropriations bills while the Senate has not acted on any. With spending levels set, the Senate, possibly in conversation with the
On July 26, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a new initiative, Foster Youth to Independence (FYI), to offer housing vouchers to young people aging out of foster care and those facing homelessness. HHS reports that more than 20,000 young people age out of foster care each year and many of
Since the National Conference in Washington, D.C. CWLA has reached out to members of Congress advocating for increase funding in key child welfare priority areas and services and supports on child welfare bills including: the reauthorization and increase funding for the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) and support for the Family First Transition
On Monday, July 22, 2019, all parties agreed to a two-year budget deal for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. On Thursday of last week, the House of Representatives went first and gave the first approval. If all goes as planned, the Senate will follow this week and send the agreement to the President and
The two-year budget deal being approved by Congress provides important increases over the budget caps, but it will provide approximately $10 billion less than the House had designated for their FY 2020 non-defense appropriations. The House-passed Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations bill provides dramatic increases in several CWLA priorities such as child care and some
On Tuesday, July 23, the Trump Administration issued another proposed rule that would take the nation’s largest food assistance program away from 3 million people by making them ineligible to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register and there is a 60-day public comment period.