CWLA continues to support the Child Welfare Emergency Assistance Act (Brown), S4172, which now has 15 cosponsors, including 7 Senators from the Senate Finance Committee. On Thursday, July 2, 2020, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the Child Welfare Emergency Assistance Act. The bill’s original cosponsors include Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).
The Saturday, August 8, 2020, presidential executive orders may have delayed further negotiations since there have been no discussions on Capitol Hill with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows reportedly out of town. Despite the President’s directives, they may not have been as far-reaching as some had hoped. The executive order on rental protection orders the
By Thursday evening, August 6, 2020, some senators were leaving town as an agreement between the White House and Congressional Democrats bogged down with no clear path forward. A chart of some of the differences between the House of Representatives HEROES Act passed on May 15, and the Senate HEAL Act (Republican description) introduced July 27, can
On Friday, August 7, 2020, Congressman Danny Davis (D-IL) and Congresswoman Jackie Walorski introduced the, “Supporting Foster Youth and Families through the Pandemic Act.” The legislation would provide funding for youth transitioning from foster care ($350 million for Chafee Independent Living and $50 million for education and training vouchers). It would allow states that are
Last week 163 Florida mayors, through the Florida League of Mayors, asked Congress for emergency help addressing the pandemic and the recession. In the letter dated July 30, 2020, the mayors said, “Absent direct federal assistance, we will be forced to cut our workforce, exacerbating the economic and public health crisis we face…many local business owners
A recent survey by the Annie E. Casey Foundation revealed that in response to the coronavirus pandemic, black youth detained in juvenile facilities were released at a far slower rate than their white peers. Black children are disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system, and this report highlights another disparity for children of color. Black youth are
The House-passed HEROES Act adopted by the House on May 15, 2020, includes significant funding under the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) that would help state and local governments address current budgetary shortfalls. SSBG has always been a significant funder of a range of child welfare services, including foster care, youth services, child protection, prevention services,
On Tuesday, August 4, 2020, the state of Missouri voted to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). By a vote of 53 percent, Missouri citizens became the sixth state since 2017, forcing their state legislatures and governors to expand health insurance coverage under the ACA. Missouri became the sixth Republican-led state where
At one point last week, Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, dropped a suggestion that maybe an FY 2021 appropriations bill could be attached to a final COVID-19 bill number 5. A final bill would take a lot of consensus on spending levels using the old budget caps. It would seem more
On Monday, July 27, 2020, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released his party’s counter to the House of Representatives HEROES Act. The rest of last week left the impression that Senate Republicans are not sure about the next steps. The HEALS Act, as it has been labeled, is actually eight different bills from different members