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
On June 24, the Future of the Middle Class Initiative at the Brookings Institution held an event Improving Opportunity Through Access to Family Planning. The event was based on the recent Brookings report Preventing Unplanned Pregnancy: Lessons from the States by Isabel V. Sawhill and Katherine Guyot. The focus of the event was to highlight
Child Care Aware of America released their 2019 report CCDBG: 2019 State Snapshots. This report analyzes each state’s use of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), one of the most important subsidies for low-income families that allows access to subsidized child care. In 2018, Congress reached a budget deal that almost doubled the
On Thursday, June 20, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released the first ten Prevention Services Clearinghouse rated programs and services that received well-supported, supported, promising, or does not currently meet the criteria for the Title IV-E Prevention Services in accordance with the Family First Prevention Services Act. These practices include mental health services,
On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee passed a series of tax bills designed to expand current tax benefits for a number of low and middle income families and individuals. The Economic Mobility Act of 2019, among several provisions, expands the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for childless workers; expands refundability of the child
On Wednesday, June 19, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration hosted a webinar on "Implementation of Models to Support Best Practice Prescribing Antipsychotics: SAMHSA Initiatives". Justine Larson, MD, MPH, MHS for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Gloria Reeves, MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine both presented on the current
In honor of National Children’s Week, on Tuesday, June 12, First Focus on Children, Comic Relief USA, and Child Poverty Action group hosted Spotlight on Child Poverty in America. The event featured Members of Congress, thought leaders, advocates and service providers who are all actively working to address child poverty on the national, state, and
On Thursday, June 13, the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention met to discuss prevention of and response to child abuse and trauma. The Council is responsible for coordinating federal juvenile delinquency prevention programs, federal programs and activities that detain or care for unaccompanied juveniles, and federal programs relating to missing and exploited
A June 6, 2019 letter from Children’s Bureau Commissioner Jerry Milner to child welfare leaders indicates some broader flexibility in funding Family First Prevention Services in the initial implementation. The key part of the letter is the last paragraph where Commissioner Milner states: “Therefore, the CB plans to issue guidance allowing a state to
On Thursday, June 6, the Senate Focus Youth Caucus and Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative (JCYOI) of the Annie E. Casey Foundation sponsored the congressional briefing “Chafee Plus 20” to examine the role the Chafee program has had in supporting better outcomes for youth and facilitate discussion about what how policy can continue to recommend