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 CWLA applauds Congress for the efforts made to contain the spread and impact of the pandemic, more aid is needed to protect children and families most at risk during this time and address the emerging needs of states and localities. Over the last month, CWLA has emphasized the real experiences that child welfare agencies
The New York Times piece discusses how poverty is likely to rise disproportionately for children due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting economic downturn. This pandemic threatens families with children who will be hit the greatest as their expenses increase, but their income does not. With child poverty in the US already at 13
In the last week to ten days, a number of groups and leaders have submitted public letters outlining their greatest concerns. One of the most prominent was a letter by the National Governors Association (NGA), which is currently co-chaired by Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD) and Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) calling on Congress to provide an
A new report and paper through the Bookings Institute, The opioid crisis and community-level spillovers onto children’s education, outlines how the impact of opioids has altered education outcomes for children in communities hit by the drug crisis. The authors set out to determine, “What is the effect on children’s learning while being embedded in a
According to a Washington Post more in-depth analysis based on earlier CDC information, the coronavirus "appears to be infecting and killing black Americans at a disproportionately high rate." As of April 9, 2020, 14,696 people have died from COVID-19 related infections. The Post reported that African Americans "have three times the rate of infections and
Last week the HHS Office of Inspector General (I.G.) issued Hospital Experiences Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a National Pulse Survey March 23–27, 2020. The report stated, "Hospitals reported that their most significant challenges centered on testing and caring for patients with known or suspected COVID-19 and keeping staff safe. Hospitals also reported
Last week the CDC announced that suicide rates increased by 35 percent since the start of this century. From 1999 to 2018, the suicide rate went from 10.5 per 100,000 to 14.2. The CDC report shows that the increases have accelerated over time, increasing by one percent a year through 2006 but have been going
On Monday, March 30, 2020, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said that the House of Representatives (currently on a scheduled spring break along with the Senate) would not return before April 20. But the return date remains fluid. It is unlikely they would return earlier since the focus now is on the implementation of
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said on a press call Monday, March 30, 2020, that there would be a fourth relief package. The Speaker indicated that she has directed committee chairs to start work on another large bill to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. She didn’t think anything would be ready before the Easter and Passover