The Administration has announced one of their decisions regarding an update of the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) with an August 21, 2018 Federal Register announcement. They will delay an implementation that was scheduled to take place now. Instead the Children’s Bureau will delay the compliance and effective dates in the
According to numbers released last Thursday evening, of the approximate 2551 children and youth eligible for reunification, HHS had identified 386 children with parents who have been removed and in another country. HHS indicated that through the Office of Refugee Resettlement parents of 299 children had been contacted by that point. The Administration informed Judge
On Thursday, July 25, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) released a Senate “Dear Colleague” letter opposing the House Appropriations Aderholt Amendment. The letter was signed by 40 senators. There are some members who did not sign the letter due to their leadership roles on the Appropriations Committee and in the Senate, who are all but certain
On Tuesday July 24, the House Committee on Financial Services passed H.R. 2069 the Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act of 2017 by a vote of 34-23. The legislation has been involved in some controversy over the past several months as it has been targeted as part of a larger agenda by House Republicans to increase
CWLA submitted its recommendations and comments in response to the HHS request for comments on how to approach the issue of defining and listing services and programs that will qualify under the Family First Prevention Services Act. There was a very quick turn-around time with comments due by July 22. CWLA emphasized the need to
Groups were coming together last week to oppose the Aderholt Amendment. The amendment was offered by Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) as part of the House Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill when it was debated in House Appropriations Committee. It is similar to language and legislation sponsored by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Congressman Mike Kelly (R-PA). The
On Tuesday, July 17, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute hosted their annual Foster Youth Intern (FYI) legislative forum. The annual invent invites in a number of young people who have been in foster care and have served as interns on Capitol Hill to share their ideas and proposals on child welfare policy. This year’s
According to numbers released last Friday, of the 2551 children and youth ages five through 17 originally counted as eligible for reunification, 450 have been reunited. Another 954 had been interviewed and are ready for reunification. According to the same information provided by HHS to Judge Dana Sabraw, 136 parents have waived their right to
Last Thursday, when the House Appropriations Committee acted on their Labor-HHS-Education bill, Committee Republicans included an amendment that could promote discrimination in the placement and recruitment of children and parents based on gender and sexual preference. The amendment was offered by Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and it is similar to language and legislation sponsored by
As of this past weekend, it was unclear how many of the approximate 100 children under the age of five that had been reunited with parents. By last Tuesday’s deadline HHS was saying they had reunified over 50 of the approximate 100 children. Some of the reasons for failure to reunite children included parental failure