FY 2019 is now complete with 25 percent of the budget agreed to by a combination of a Republican-run Senate and a Republican-run and Democratic-run House of Representatives spread over two congresses (See details below). The fractured process closes a book on the agreed to spending targets set for FY 2018 and FY 2019 and
by Tessa Buttram On Wednesday, February 13, 2019, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing entitled, “Homeless in America: Examining the Crisis and Solutions to End Homelessness.” This was the first hearing of the Committee in the 116th Congress. Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) began the hearing by providing an overview on homelessness in the
On February 9, the head of New York City’s JJCA child welfare agency, penned an opinion piece in the Capitol Hill publication, The Hill, calling out an HHS decision to waive anti-discrimination regulations in child welfare placements. CEO Ronald E Richter denounced the recent decision by the Administration to issue the waiver arguing that there
On Thursday, February 7, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, co-chair of the Baby Caucus and Chair of the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee sponsored and moderated a Capitol Hill briefing on the State of Child Care in America. DeLauro offered opening remarks focusing in on how support for expanded child care has grown since the early days of
Appropriately timed, CLASP has released a new analysis of state efforts to implement the new regulations and funding under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). New CCDBG regulations are a result of a new authorization enacted in 2014. The 2014 reauthorization was the first one since 1996. The regulations and law instituted new
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has re-introduced the Families Not Facilities Act, legislation that CWLA endorsed in the last Congress and now in this 116th Congress. • The bill prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from using U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) information provided by an unaccompanied child, or initially obtained to evaluate
Shaquita Ogletree CWLA has joined a number of organizations signing onto a letter urging Congress to reauthorize H.R. 494, The Tiffany Joslyn Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) Program. The letter circulated by the National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Coalition (NJJDPC) and can be read here. The JABG program reduces juvenile offending through a range
Jay Williams On Wednesday, January 30, Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) reintroduced the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act (S.274), similar to legislation he sponsored along with Congressman Mike Kelly (R-PA) last year. The legislation, which CWLA does not support, would require HHS to penalize state child welfare agencies who are found in violation of “provider inclusion”
Building on efforts such as the Enzi legislation, a report in the Washington Post last week says that the President’s coming FY 2020 budget will request language to expand its authority to allow discrimination on the basis of religious beliefs. The Post article states “In a 2020 draft budget request that has not been made
Last week, H.R. 507, the Put Trafficking Victims First Act, sponsored by Congressperson Karen Bass (D-CA) passed the House of Representatives by a near unanimous margin. The legislation addresses a need for expanded victim services, improved data-gathering on the prevalence and trends in human trafficking, and effective mechanisms to identify and work with victims in