Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have introduced a Senate Resolution recognizing September as National Kinship Care Month. The resolution builds on the effort by several states to also set-aside the month in recognition of families that provide vital kinship care services some within child welfare but many outside of the system.
On Wednesday, August 5, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee introduced the Family Stability and Kinship Care Act, S 1964 with 7 additional cosponsors for the Senate Finance Committee. The legislation had been circulated as a draft in the late spring and Wyden received feedback from more than 60
The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is expected to introduce his child welfare reform proposal later this week. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, the Family Stability and Kinship Care Act, is the result of an earlier draft bill
On Monday, May 5, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee released a “discussion draft” of legislation that would invest new money into child welfare services through Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. The discussion draft would build on the Administration’s FY 2016 budget request that seeks to expand
Some in Washington are advocating the elimination of SSBG as a way to fund child welfare services. The theory is that eliminating the $1.7 billion in SSBG dollars might free up some funds for child welfare and perhaps also cut federal spending at the same time. Such calculations however ignore the fact that SSBG funds
On Tuesday Capitol Hill was also the setting for a briefing on the reintroduction of the Family-based Foster Care Services Act of 2015. The legislation, S 429 and HR 835, would clarify in Medicaid policy the definition of therapeutic foster care that is consistent and could be applied through all the states. TFC is an
The Administration’s budget includes several proposed appropriations increases or changes in law to expand child welfare services, particularly for children and families involved with foster care. It is in fact a change for a budget area that rarely experiences any requested increases beyond what happens under the entitlement programs. Whether any action takes place will
On Tuesday, February 3, the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) and Voice for Adoption sponsored a briefing on a current pilot project that is speeding up child welfare placements across state lines. The National Electronic Interstate Compact Enterprise (NEICE) pilot project, is being funded by the Children’s Bureau to test out a new data
On Wednesday, July 23, the House of Representatives passed HR 4980, the “Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act.’ The legislation will reauthorize the Adoption Incentive Fund for three years and extend it to guardianship placements. It will also extend the Family Connections Grants by one year through this current fiscal year of 2014. After
On Monday, July 7 the Child Welfare League of America formally endorsed the “Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act.” The legislation extends the Adoption Incentives Fund for three years, provides a current-year extension to the Family Connections Grants, strengthens provisions that direct states to re-invest state savings from the expansion of federal funding for