People

Administration Weighs-In With Brief on LGBTQ Discrimination

The Trump Justice Department filed a brief with the Supreme Court on the upcoming FULTON, ET AL. v. CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, ET AL.in support of plaintiffs and in opposition to the City of Philadelphia and that City’s ban on discrimination in children’s placement through their child welfare system. The brief offers little in terms of

Advancing Teen Flourishing: Moving Policy Upstream

The Academy Health, in partnership with ACT for Health and with support from Well Being Trust, developed the report Advancing Teen Flourishing: Moving Policy Upstream outlining policy priorities from experts in the field for enhancing the psychological, social, and emotional wellbeing of America’s teens. The well-being of children is an overarching societal goal. Teens ages

DACA Decision Waiting

Last November 13, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) should be upheld. Time is running down for the Court to issue their final decisions for this session, which normally ends this month. Based on analysis written last fall, some Supreme Court observers were guessing that

State of Babies Yearbook 2020

On Thursday, June 11, Zero to Three released the State of Babies Yearbook: 2020, a comprehensive report and advocacy tool that tells the story of how the United States’ babies are faring and provides a clear view of the significant disparities in opportunity for the youngest children throughout the country. Speakers included Myra Jones-Taylor from

Unemployment Insurance During COVID-19

On Tuesday, June 9, the Senate Finance Committee hearing “Unemployment Insurance During COVID-19: The CARES Act and the Role of Unemployment Insurance During the Pandemic” addressed the future and current administration of Unemployment Insurance (UI). As state governments and businesses have slowly started to gain footing during this pandemic, Congress is now faced with a

House Plans Full Appropriations This Summer

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) released the House summer schedule at the end of May. He expects a month full of appropriations and other committee action through all of June with floor votes beginning on June 30th until the July 4th break. It appears likely the House will begin committee action on appropriations starting

Children’s Bureau Guidance Regarding Extended Foster Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

On May 26, 2020, the Children’s Bureau released guidance to Child Welfare Directors describing how title IV-E agencies can utilize enhanced foster care programs during the COVID-19 pandemic to support youth who have left or may leave foster care. In the letter, Jerry Milner stated that “the available flexibilities include allowing states to opt into

Child Care Bill Introduced in the Senate

On Thursday, June 4, 2020, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced a companion to Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) the Child Care is Essential Act that would provide $50 billion in child care funding as part of the fifth or next COVID-19 bill. CWLA has endorsed Senator Murray’s bill which is co-sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR0,

House Democrats Talking With Treasury Secretary On Next COVID-19

On Wednesday, June 3, 2020, Congressman Richard Neal (D-MA) announced that he was meeting with Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin on Friday on another round of COVID-19 legislation. The discussion between the two will be around the role of infrastructure spending, and it would be the Democrats' goal for this piece to be combined with

State Relief by Increasing FMAP for Medicaid and Title IV-E

Last week, CWLA’s members urged Congress to pass another emergency supplemental bill that expands the current level of federal support for state and territorial Medicaid and child welfare programs. In the Families First COVID-19 emergency supplemental bill, Congress acted swiftly to provide a much-needed 6.2 percentage increase in the FMAP. As the pandemic increases the

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