Two areas addressed in the House bill and supported by CWLA include the FMAP increase for state Medicaid and Title IV-E programs and an increase in funding of $9.6 billion for the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). The second COVID-19 bill increased each state’s Medicaid matching rate (FMAP—the federal medical assistance percentage) by 6.2 percent,
On Friday, May 8, 2020, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced legislation that would provide $10 billion in emergency TANF funding. CWLA has endorsed the legislation. The TANF funding increase of $10 billion would be paid out until the end of the fiscal year 2021 (September 30, 2021) and it could be used for current services
On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, child welfare leaders from Washington D.C. and Virginia discussed how the region’s foster care and child welfare services are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic during the nationally syndicated public radio Kojo Nnamdi Show. The guests included Brenda Donald, District of Columbia, Director, DC Child, and Family Services Agency, Sharra
On Monday, May 11, 2020, the Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance (AAICAMA) and CWLA sent a joint letter to Elizabeth Darling, Associate Commissioner Administration on Children, Youth and Families and Jerry Milner, Commissioner, Children’s Bureau asking for guidance to states encouraging them to review assistance agreements that, unlike
On Wednesday, May 13, 2020, Members of Congress and Congressional staff were invited to attend a short virtual briefing hosted by Youth Villages, Juvenile Law Center, and FosterClub on how COVID-19 is affecting older youth from foster care. FosterClub revealed results from their new survey where over 600 transition-age youth from foster care between 18
On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) unveiled the $3 trillion Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, the next major coronavirus relief bill. The legislation provisions related to former foster youth and other vulnerable youth populations includes the following emergency assistance: • $50 million for the John H. Chafee Foster
Last Wednesday, May 13, 2020, was the deadline to file amici briefs at the U.S. Supreme Court on the case of The State of California, ET AL. v. The State of Texas, ET AL., a Supreme Court case that could strike down the entire ACA before this year’s election. Several dozen briefs were filed led
On Tuesday, May 5, the Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and the Secretary of Interior David L. Bernhardt announced how billions of dollars in Coronavirus Relief Fund money will be distributed to Native American tribal governments throughout the country. The CARES Act, which passed on March 25, included a set aside of $8 billion for tribal governments
On Wednesday, May 6, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Representative Kim Schrier (D-WA), and colleagues introduced the Emergency Funding for Child Protection Act that would bolster efforts by child protective services and non-profits to prevent abuse. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) provides funding to states to improve child protective services and funds community-based
When CWLA sent its recommendations for the next COVID-19 relief legislation last month (CWLA’s letter and this descriptive letter of child welfare needs) to Congressional leaders, one of its first and prominent asks was for an increase to the federal matching rates for state Medicaid health care programs, usually called the FMAP. Now trends are emerging across states