Bill to Protect Athletes from Sexual Abuse Passes Senate Waits for House

On Tuesday, November 14, the Senate passed S 534, the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017.  The legislation, which has had the active support of CWLA, was originally introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to address reports of sexual abuse of Olympic athletes. After passage Senator Feinstein said,

VFA Portrait Project Major Success As Families Tell Their Stories to Congress

On Wednesday, November 15, CWLA partner organization Voice for Adoption, hosted their 13th annual Adoptive Family Portrait Project. November is national adoption month and the project is a way to highlight adoptions from foster care.  Members of Congress are recruited to display and feature families from their state or district.  An adoptive family’s photo is

New Data Highlights Youth Homelessness Problem

Last week a new report, Missed Opportunities: Youth Homelessness in America, the study covers youth homelessness in a range of settings.  Young people may survive by sleeping on the streets, in shelters, running away, being kicked out, and couch surfing. The report was conducted by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and is the

Addressing Intersections of Juvenile Justice and Youth Homelessness

  Last week a coalition of groups released, Addressing the Intersection of Juvenile Justice Involvement and Youth Homelessness: Principles for Change.  The report notes that a young person’s involvement with the justice system can increase their likelihood of later experiencing homelessness.  Pointing out that youth experiencing homelessness may be swept into the juvenile justice system

No Progress Update # 3: DACA Fix Information and Briefing

No breakthroughs on a DACA compromise this past week and as a result other outside action is proceeding. A group of advocates will sponsor a briefing on Wednesday, November 29 to highlight the benefits of the DACA provisions.  The briefing (see below) will feature business leaders; educators on these young people can assist the economy

No Progress Update # 4: CHIP Reauthorization

There has been no progress on moving a CHIP reauthorization and movement in the Senate was almost impossible this week as the Senate Finance Committee was tied up with the tax package this week. CMS has reallocated a total $600 million to patch up current state shortfalls but that doesn’t relieve state policymakers’ uncertainty without

Progress on Bill to Protect Olympic Athletes from Sexual Abuse

Congress is getting closer to enacting S 534, the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017.  The legislation, which has had the active support of CWLA, was originally introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to address reports of sexual abuse of Olympic athletes.  The legislation has been the subject

DACA Fix Gets Some Republican Support

On Wednesday,  the former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, authored an Op-ed Opinion in the New York Times  that ending DACA will undermine national security efforts. Gates pointed out that more than 800 Dreamers are currently serving in the armed forces.  He highlighted that between 2006 through 2011 more than 45,000 immigrants served in the

Survey of States Show Dramatic Increase in Foster Care, Loss of Placements

Last week the Chronicle of Social Change released a new report and survey, The Foster Care Housing Crisis that focused new and much needed attention on the dramatic increase in foster care placements and the challenge some states are having finding enough placements for children and youth in foster care.  The report focused on capacity

Final Commission on Opioids Report Frames a Week of Discussion

The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioids Crisis released its final report on Wednesday, November 1.  That wasn’t the only action or debate of the week on the topic, but it was the most significant. The Commission Final Recommendations: The report includes 56 recommendations but falls short on what they might cost

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