The budget proposes an optional block grant of Title IV-E foster care funding that could be spent for any services now funded under foster care, adoption assistance or Child Welfare Services and Promoting Safe and Stable Families. As pointed out in earlier CWLA analysis, Child Welfare & Block Grants, the 1995 child welfare block grant
Once again SSBG is targeted for elimination and without any doubt, such an elimination would hit child welfare in ways big and small as well as many other human service programs including those that effect domestic violence and elder abuse victims. SSBG provided 11 percent of federal child welfare spending in 2014 (Child Trends Survey
Macey Shabery Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Rep. Chuck Fleishmann (R-TN) convened a Congressional Baby Caucus briefing on Thursday February 15. The briefing centered on how babies learn language, the importance of exposing babies to “conversational duets” (talking to your child about everyday tasks and regularly communicating with them) and sign language. Dr. Roberta Golinkoff
The Family First Act made it into the CR/budget agreement after the House inserted it in their slimmed down CR proposal. The Senate picked up the package. It is close to the version that had been considered in late 2016 with some additional behind the scenes modifications added into the final version. It includes the
As part of the CR/budget deal, the child care community had one of their most significant victories since the creation of the CCDBG in 1990. Congress still has to finalize the appropriations, so there could still be challenges, but the deal explicitly included a $5.8 billion increase in child care funding with an expected split
When the CR/budget deal was agreed to it included a commitment to provide $6 billion more in 2018 and 2019 to address the opioid epidemic. It is unclear how that will break out between treatment, enforcement and prevention but that will be taking place in these next several weeks as appropriations are dealt with. Senator
In response to demands for more support on dealing with the increasing numbers of infants born dependent, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) has released a new comprehensive guide, Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women With Opioid Use Disorder and Their Infants. The guide provides comprehensive, national guidance for
As part of the CR/budget deal, Congress has finally extended the home visiting or Maternal, Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) for a full five years. It has been a long haul for the home visiting coalition which originally sought a doubling of funding over five years. With the raging budget and health care
The latest data from HHS through the annual Child Maltreatment report indicates that the number of children substantiated as abused or neglected was 676,000 in 2016 compared to 683,000 in 2015. Consistent with the past several years the vast majority of children were victims of neglect (74.8 percent) compared to physical abuse (18.2 percent)
Two groups have released a new report evaluating the impact of the work of the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (CECANF). The report by Within Our Reach and the Children’s Advocacy Institute and funded by Casey Family Programs found dozens of changes in policy and law directly reflecting the recommendations included in