The Home Visiting Coalition, which CWLA belongs to, is circulating a sign-on letter to congressional leaders urging Congress to act quickly to reauthorize the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program for a period of five (5) years with a doubling of funding from $400 million annually to $800 million annually. The Coalition
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), will release their updated study of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) the week of May 22. CBO normally would score a bill before the House had voted on it but leadership in the House was in a rush to get a final vote once they had enough to pass
The future of the Family First Prevention Services Act remains unclear. The House bill was re-introduced at the start of this Congress as a placeholder for future House action with House members waiting to see what the Senate can agree to. The Congress does have to re-authorize the two Title IV-B programs, Child Welfare Services
On Thursday, May 11, the Senate Judiciary passed the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act, S 534. The legislation, endorsed by CWLA, would require mandated reporting of child abuse by amateur athletic governing bodies. The legislation is an outgrowth of reports of sexual abuse of some past members of the USA Olympic Gymnastics teams.
The House of Representatives voted 217 to 213 to pass the American Health Care Act (AHCA) moving Congress just one house away from replacing the ACA with a Medicaid block grant, reducing the essential health benefits (including mental health and substance use treatment), and weakened guarantees for people with pre-existing health care conditions. All but
The Senate gave final approval to an omnibus appropriations bill on Thursday, May 4. The legislation was unveiled Monday and moved quickly through the process. As a result, we are now finished with FY 2017 which ends on September 30, 2017. After the unveiling the fight turned to who won and who lost. The President
By Shellie Parrish Quality child care for disadvantaged children can result in significant economic and social gains later in life according to new research. The conclusion is the result of new findings by Professor James Heckman, University of Chicago. The study displayed the correlation between access to quality child care and earned income of children
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) have reintroducing a bill that is intended to help states identify children who come into contact with both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems (dual status children and youth). The Childhood Outcomes Need New Efficient Community Teams or CONNECT Act would authorize competitive grants to
On Tuesday May 2, there was a Capitol Hill briefing, Public Health Crisis: Solutions to Violence and Abuse focused on the impact of domestic violence over a lifetime. The briefing was cohosted by the National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse and Futures Without Violence. Speakers included representatives from the Centers on Disease Control and
The House of Representatives is once again attempting another effort to repeal the ACA. The effort is a result of the White House push to try and get a vote before the President had reached the informal judgement date of 100 days in office. The vote could still take place this week if Speaker Paul