The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in HHS has released new findings on Therapeutic Foster Care that analyzes the benefits and challenges of TFC. Therapeutic Foster Care is intended to help children in care who have behavioral or emotional disorders. It is provided in a family-based setting by an
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued an opinion on July 15, 2019 telling Congress that recent changes the Administration made to the ACA waiver authority were significant enough to allow for congressional review because it is a new federal “rule.” As a result, it is subject to congressional oversight and requires certain reporting to
On July 16, the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing on “Women and Girls in the Criminal Justice System” to examine the exponential growth of women being incarcerated for nonviolent offenses since the 1980s. In Chairwoman Bass’ (D-CA) opening statement, she noted many consequences of mass incarceration, such as
A new study published in PEDIATRICS offers evidence that states with stricter gun laws including laws requiring universal background checks for firearm purchase had lower firearm-related pediatric mortality rates. Pointing out that firearms are the second lead cause of pediatric deaths, the authors said: “In this 5-year analysis, states with stricter gun laws and laws
Congress continued to focus and debate immigration policy through a series of actions last week. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform held two hearing on Wednesday, “Kids in Cages: Inhumane Treatment at the Border” and a hearing, “The Trump Administration’s Child Separation Policy: Substantiated Allegations of Mistreatment” on Friday. In addition there were several
On June 28, 2019 the Supreme Court announced that it will take up a legal challenge to the Obama Executive Order that created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) protections. The Court announcement came as the Justices wrapped up this year’s 2018-19 session. The Court term begins the first Monday in October and the
Congress gave final approval to a border funding bill totaling approximately $4.6 billion negotiated between Senate Republicans and Democrats. The final bill approved in the House by a vote of 305 to 102 included a mix of Democrats and Republicans. Many House Democrats were unhappy about the fact that, earlier in the week, a Democrats-only
On June 20, HHS released the latest Foster Care GAO report for Congress, States with Approval to Extend Care Provide Independent Living Options for Youth up to Age 21. Since 2008 when the Fostering Connections Act was enacted, HHS has approved 26 states and six federally recognized tribes to claim title IV-E funding to extend
Last week the Child Welfare League of America endorsed and signed onto a national letter of support for two bills by Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) that would extend protections and rights to children and families that have been separated by U.S. immigration policies. The two bills are the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections (HELP) for
The Constitution requires an accurate count of the nation's population-–a census--every ten years. Unfortunately, the 2010 census missed more than 10 percent of young children, about 2.2 million children, age four or younger. Unless we act, we might miss even more young children in 2020. When we miss young children in the census it has