Last week the National Runaway Safeline (NRS) released its annual report. The key headline is: “After many years of rapid growth in connections from youth in crisis before a runaway episode, NRS has noticed a shift toward more crisis connections initiated by youth during a runaway episode over the past two years (2016-17). The number
Late Friday, The Administration on Children and Families released its first guidance and preliminary list of services for funding under the Family First Prevention Services Act (PL 115-123)—(FFA). The guidance at ACYF-CB-PI-18-09 gives an overview of some of the initial decisions made by HHS in the interpretation and implementation of the Family First Act. Included
With only 4 days until funding runs out on 25 percent of the federal budget, it is still unclear how the story of the FY 2019 ends. It appears likely there will be a short-term extension this week but that is because of the funeral and ceremonies in honor of former President George H.W. Bush.
Last Sunday, November 25, the CBS news program, 60 Minutes, reported on children separated at the border. What the 60 Minutes segment revealed was what some critics had suspected; they had been separating children from their families much earlier than 2018. The story also documented through interviews with officials from within the government some of
Shaquita Ogletree On Tuesday, November 27, the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth held a congressional briefing to discuss the issue of disrupted and dissolved adoptions. The event was a part of a series of Washington National Adoption Month events this year. The discussion focused on estimated ten to twenty-five percent of adoptions disrupted before being
Voice for Adoption (VFA), the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) and the Center on American Progress have released a new study, Welcoming All Families that analyses discrimination against LGBTQ youth in foster care and discrimination against the recruitment of foster and adoptive parents. The report finds that although same-sex parents are not banned
On Tuesday, November 13, the Department of Health and Human Services used their National Adoption Month celebration to highlight a new focus for the next year on the promotion of adoption of teenagers from foster care. The annual event, which began in 1994, was held in the great hall of the Hubert H. Humphrey HHS
On Tuesday, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released, Fostering Youth Transitions analyzing that status and outcomes for young people exiting foster care. Fostering Youth Transitions uses data collected across 50 states to assess how young people fare as they transition from foster care to adulthood. Key points raised by the authors include: • Among older
On Thursday, November 8, the Ninth Circuit Court in California left in place a nationwide injunction keeping the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program alive. The Court, responding to an action led by the California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, found that former President Barack Obama’s creation of the program was a legitimate exercise of
Shaquita Ogletree On Monday, October 1, the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth held a congressional briefing to discuss the Every Student Success Act (ESSA) and School Stability for Foster Youth. According to the most recent report from AFCARS, there were over 260,000 school-aged children in foster care, some of the nation’s most educationally disadvantaged students.