On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the Congress completed work on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, HR 6201: • An increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for Medicaid and Title IV-E by 6.2 percent (state by state Medicaid increase, Center on Budget Policy and Priority) • Women, Infants and Children (WIC)—$500 million •
Based on CWLA’s ongoing efforts to address the AIDS epidemic and its impact on infants, Donna Pressma, The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey along with CWLA President David Liederman participated in a CWLA Hill Briefing that drew nearly 100 staff to address pediatric AIDS. By February the CDC has reported 839 cases (children under
The President had requested $2.5 billion for coronavirus on February 24, and Congress instead sent him a package of $8.3 billion on March 5, which was followed by last week’s bill that tops $100 billion. This third package looks likely to exceed $1 trillion. On Thursday, the Administration released an emergency package that includes a
With the unveiling of the Republican coronavirus # 3, CWLA submitted a letter to Congress outlining some key child welfare concerns. It is challenging to make such recommendations because it isn’t clear how current practice and needs will change, and it isn’t clear how much Congress will spend in this third round of emergency funding.
Making recommendations on what actions Congress should take is a challenge because we don’t know how the system will be challenged. Much of child welfare is dependent on relatives for care, whether in formal foster care, kinship care, informal kinship care, and beyond child welfare, child care. Many, but not all, will be older grandparents,
On Wednesday, March 18, 2020 the Children’s Bureau issued new guidance on certain key practices. Dear Child Welfare Leaders: “In light of the extraordinary circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide public health emergency, we are writing to advise you of some adjustments that we hope will allow you to continue to serve the
The Child and Family Service Agencies (CFSA) in Washington, D.C. has made changes to services in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. While the government agency is still providing services, the front-line staff and supervisors of Program Operations are under partial telework status. While the building is closed to the public, supervisors are still required to
The U.S. Supreme Court, on Monday, March 16, 2020, put off oral arguments scheduled for at least two weeks. Arguments were scheduled for March 23, March 25, and March 30 to April 1. Included in the cases were arguments on the President’s financial and tax records, deportation relief for unauthorized immigrants, the extent to which
Dear CWLA Colleagues, CWLA was founded 100 years ago by a group of child- and family-serving organizations who were committed to improving the health and well-being of children and families across the country. As we approach our 100th anniversary conference, we are confronted with a global crisis that challenges this important commitment. It is with
On Thursday, March 12, 2020, Associate Commissioner for the Children’s Bureau, Jerry Milner, called on child welfare agencies to look out for youth in foster care or formerly in foster care who are now on college campuses that may be closing. In many instances, these students may not have a home to return to if