Infants and Toddlers

Massachusetts Tracks Increased Substance Abuse in Child Abuse Reports

Massachusetts has reported some new and detailed information on the impact of substance abuse on child abuse reports.  The data, reported recently by the Boston Herald indicates that within a six month period substance abuse was a factor in 14,000 cases, or 30 percent, of the 47,700 total reports of abuse and neglect the state

CWLA Asks OMB to Include Funding for Key Child Maltreatment Issues

Last week CWLA called on the Office of Management and Budget to include new funds in the 2018 budget to better address key child maltreatment strategies. The preparation of the 2018 budget is a placeholder for the new administration.  The new President will be sworn in on January 20 and as a result the 2018

HHS Publishes New Child Care Regulations

The Administration on Children and Families has now issued final regulations on the Child Care and Development Block Grant, CCDBG.  The regulations are a result of the 2014 reauthorization of the CCDBG. Based on the numerous changes in that 2014 law, the regulations strengthen health and safety requirements, increase and stabilize access, takes steps to improve

Preventing Child Abuse the Focus on Capitol Hill

KPJR films along with Prevent Child Abuse America held a Capitol Hill briefing, Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope.  The briefing focused on a new documentary on child abuse and neglect but included a panel discussion on prevention of child maltreatment. Resilience is a documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film

HHS Issues Guidance on CAPTA Safe Care

At the end of August, HHS issued an information memorandum (ACYF-CB-IM-16-0) to inform and assist states in implementing a “Plan of Safe Care” under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) as amended by the recent Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 the “CARA” legislation. The drug treatment reform bill amended CAPTA in

Families First Act Provides Intervention to Prevent Foster Care Placements

Some critics of the Families First Prevention Services Act have recently argued that the proposed bill does not truly provide prevention services.  In part this depends on how the individual defines prevention. CWLA views the Families First Act as providing an important part of the child welfare continuum, intervention services that can prevent placement into

Head Start Impact Documented by Brookings

You may have missed it in August but the Brooking Institute released important findings and conclusions about the Head Start program with, The Long-Term Impact of the Head Start Program. In the past some critics of Head Start have argued that the benefits of Head Start “fade-out” as the child moves further into grade school

CWLA Holds Annual Conference To Address Substance Use

WE WILL BE BACK NEXT ON AUGUST 22-- On Monday, August 1 the Child Welfare League of America opened its annual 2016 conference, What Works for Families Affected by Substance Use, in Orange county, California. Orange county, as the sixth largest county in the country with over 800,000 children, was an appropriate setting for the

Plenary Sessions Outline the challenges and Needed Responses

More than 550 attendees at the CWLA Conference were welcomed by opening remarks of Commissioner Rafael Lopez, Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), HHS.  Lopez offered praise to the many participants made up of state and local agencies and service providers.  In his first day comments he said that what was most important and

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