The “CARA” legislation under title five includes amendments to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) regarding a plan of safe care for infants exposed to substances. It does not reauthorize CAPTA but amends current provisions around a plan of safe care. The plan of safe care for infants requires a state that receives
--WE WILL BE BACK NEXT ON AUGUST 8-- During the summer break child care advocates will be seeking more child care funding in an effort to make progress on implementing the new mandates enacted through a reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). The 2014 reauthorization sought to improve the quality
The final conference report on the “CARA” legislation includes changes under nine titles. Its emphasis, unlike past anti-drug initiatives, is more on prevention and treatment. It is a distance from some of the efforts of the 1980s when crack-cocaine was attracting all the attention in regard to substance use. Actions then and into the 1990s
On the last day of summer session, Thursday, July 14, the Senate approved the conference report on the “CARA” legislation and sent the legislation onto the President who will sign it. The vote was 92 to 2 with only Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) voting no. CARA or the Comprehensive Addiction
On Tuesday June 7 and Thursday June 9, the Senate Appropriations moved a Labor-HHS-Education bill through Subcommittee and full Committee respectively. Leadership from both sides proclaimed a bipartisan victory of what was passed with little controversy. The big winner, if there can be in tight budgets, is the National Institutes of Health (NIH) which received
On Wednesday, May 11, the House of Representatives passed the Infant Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act, H.R. 4843, by a vote of 421 to zero. Late last year a Reuters investigation examined the care for infants born to parents struggling with opioid and heroin addiction. It caught the attention of Congress especially the parts
On Thursday, April 28, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved HR 4843, a bill to amend requirements around the “safe care” plans as described in the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). The Infant Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act was introduced by Reps. Lou Barletta (R-PA) and Katherine Clark (D-MA) and
On Monday, April 18, CWLA members focused on the National Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities. Dr. David Sanders Ph.D., Chairman of the Commission, Executive Vice President, Casey Family Programs, presented some of the key findings and recommendations of the recently-released commission report. After Dr Sanders’ power-point presentation, discussion began with panel comments
After the Tuesday evening dinner with Commissioner Lopez and reporter Christopher Walker, on Wednesday, April 20, CWLA members wrapped-up with a morning session focused on the substance use issue. With Congress continuing its focus on the prescription drug and opioids addiction issue (see following story) and a number of bills introduced in various committees including
Without any official announcement both the House of Representatives and Senate have begun the appropriation process despite not passing a budget resolution. A budget resolution would have streamlined some of the appropriations process and aligned what the Senate and House do as far as spending allocations between the twelve appropriations bills. Because of last year’s