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Senators Urge OJJDP to Provide Coronavirus Guidance for Juvenile Facilities

On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) urged the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to issue best practices and guidelines to prevent infections in juvenile detention facilities. The Senators reported that as of May 5, there were “at least 204 juvenile offenders and

Teen Sexual Activity Trend Stays the Same

New CDC data brief conducted by the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) reveals that between 2015-2017, around 40 percent of teenage girls and boys reported ever having had sexual intercourse. Among female teenagers, the numbers remained similar to rates observed in previous years going back to 2002, whereas the percentage of male teenagers who

Medicaid Budget Problems Starting to Emerge

When CWLA sent its recommendations for the next COVID-19 relief legislation last month (CWLA’s letter and this descriptive letter of child welfare needs) to Congressional leaders, one of its first and prominent asks was for an increase to the federal matching rates for state Medicaid health care programs, usually called the FMAP. Now trends are emerging across states

The CDC Guidance On Reopening

According to an Associated Press (AP) report, the CDC guidance that had a scheduled release on Friday, May 1, 2020, has been blocked by the Administration. According to a Thursday AP report: “The Trump administration shelved a document created by the nation’s top disease investigators with step-by-step advice to local authorities on how and when

Children’s Bureau Guidance on Title IV-E Flexibility for Extended Foster Care

On Monday, April 27, 2020, Associate Commissioner for the Children’s Bureau Jerry Milner, after receiving several inquiries related to the Title IV-E program on addressing the needs of children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced a series of actions states can take to help this population. Title IV-E agencies have the flexibility to allow

New York State Kinship Navigator Response to Covid-19 Pandemic

On Wednesday, April 29, 2020, CWLA hosted the “Kinship Navigator Response to Covid-19 Pandemic: Virtual Assistance Kinship Navigator” webinar. It is the first of a two-part series, highlighting the importance of virtual assistance for kinship caregivers and what kinship navigators are doing to help these caregivers virtually during Covid-19. The webinar was facilitated by CWLA’s

Losing Child Care Infrastructure

An analysis by the Center on American Progress suggests that the nation’s child care system could lose millions of child care slots permanently as a result of the pandemic and accompanying recession. In the analysis, Coronavirus Pandemic Could Lead to Permanent Loss of Nearly 4.5 Million Child Care Slots, the authors point to a survey

Congressperson Karen Bass Discusses COVID-19 Impact on Minorities

Politico newspaper hosted Coronavirus Special Report: The Pandemic’s Impact on Minorities April 28, 2020, with the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressperson Karen Bass (D-CA) on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. She was joined by Politico reporter Laura Barron Lopez and by Dr. Uché Blackstock, MD, Founder & CEO, Advancing Health Equity. As noted in

Senate Officially Returns While House Holds Off

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced Tuesday, April 28, 2020, that the House would delay returning on Monday, May 4, after discussing the situation with the Capitol Hill physician. The Congressman pointed to the continuing increases in coronavirus cases in Washington, DC, going from 3,098 to 3,994 between April 20 and April 27. Washington

Supreme Court Upholds Provision in the Affordable Care Act

On Monday, April 27, 2020, the US Supreme Court upheld a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that Congress had blocked. The issue involved the “Risk Corridors” provisions of the ACA and whether or not Congress could renege on a provision that sought to level health insurance financing in the first years of the

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