By admin on February 23, 2010
[from Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) Children's Monitor Online 2/22/10]
On Friday, February 11, the U.S. Senate approved the nomination of Bryan Samuels to head up the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families. The agency plays a critical role in the oversight of many human service programs including child care and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families but, most importantly to CWLA, also child welfare programs. As a result, the agency is vital to the effective implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success Act (P.L. 110-351). In praising the action Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, “Bryan Samuels has devoted his career to working on behalf of children, youth and families. His distinguished career in public service has been guided by his personal experience growing up in a residential school for disadvantaged children. He is committed to making a difference in the lives of at-risk children, and will be an outstanding leader at the Administration for Children and Families.” The Senate took the action along with 26 other nominations. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) was reported to have placed a hold on all presidential nominees as way to get funding for some projects in Alabama.
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Posted in Federal Foster Care Policy Updates | Tagged acyf, bryan samuels, senate
By admin on February 23, 2010
[from Benzinga.com, 01/27/10]
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Kicking off the year, the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), the nation’s oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization, announced its top challenges and opportunities for 2010, during its “Children 2010: Leading a New Era” National Conference. CWLA’s Top 5 list captures events and trends are shaping the future for foster children this year…and beyond.
“The Top 5 are key issues affecting foster children. Even though the economy continues to take its toll, we do see promising changes in the way our nation treats children and tackles child welfare issues,” said CWLA’s CEO Chris James-Brown. “As President Obama reports on the State of the Union, we encourage him to continue embracing changes that help children succeed. Smart and sustained investments in children are critical to our nation’s future.”
Click on the article title to see the top 5 trends
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Posted in Federal Foster Care Policy Updates, Foster Care Library | Tagged challenges, cwla, foster youth
By admin on February 9, 2010
Fourth National Incidence Study Shows Overall Decrease in Maltreatment
[from the Child Welfare League of America, Children's Monitor Online 2/08/10]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released the Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4). The last NIS was published in 1996, and, like that one, this congressionally mandated study surveys professionals from dozens of U.S. counties. The analysis includes children who were investigated by CPS agencies, but it also obtains data on children seen by community professionals who were not reported to CPS or who were screened out by CPS without investigation. This means NIS estimates provide a more comprehensive measure of the scope of child abuse and neglect known to community professionals, including abused and neglected children who are in the official statistics and those who are not.
The study indicated that the incidence of maltreatment between this and the 1996 study went down by 19%, compared to an increase of 56% between the second and third studies. Overall 1.256 million children experienced maltreatment during the study year, 2005-2006. Of that total 44% (553,000 children) were abused, 61% (771,000 children) were neglected. Of the abused children 58% (323,000 children) experienced physical abuse and 24% (135,300 children) were sexually abused. Of the children that were neglected, 47% (360,000 children) experienced educational neglect, 38% (295,000 children) experienced physical neglect and 25% (193,400 children) were subjected to emotional neglect. All the figures represent higher numbers then the annual National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data released every spring. The last NCANDS report, based on 2007 information, indicated that just fewer than 800,000 children were substantiated as abused or neglected.
The full NIS-4 is more than 400 pages. To download a PDF of the full report, read an executive summary, or choose access other related materials, visit the study’s website.
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Posted in Federal Foster Care Policy Updates, Foster Care Library | Tagged cwla, Federal Foster Care Policy Updates, maltreatment
By Dana Mandolesi on January 25, 2010
This post is an experiment using the Federal Bill Tracker at www.govtrack.us. It calls for postings to be made in the head and body or the page, but since we only have control over the body (heysf.org uses Wordpress posts) I just put in a head and body artificially. It doesn’t seem to be working all that well, but as activity occurs, perhaps we’ll see something new happen. So this is the tracker for all federal reports, speeches and events having to do with ‘child safety and welfare’. Let’s see if it works.
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Posted in Federal Foster Care Policy Updates | Tagged bill tracking, Education, experiment, legislation
By admin on January 21, 2010
[from the Children's Monitor Online from Child Welfare League of America 1/11/09]
One of the differences between the House and Senate bills on health care is that the House legislation includes language that protects the use of therapeutic foster care under Medicaid. The Senate version of health care that came out of Finance Committee contained some of the same protections, but when the two Senate bills were combined the Finance Committee language was not included. As a result, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is circulating a letter to fellow senators asking that a final health care bill include the House language found in section 1727 of the House bill. At press time, more than 10 of Stabenow’s Democratic colleagues had signed on. Stabenow’s office is still seeking additional signatures through the close of business today, Monday, January 11. To call your senator to ask them to sign on to the letter, call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.
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Posted in Federal Foster Care Policy Updates, Uncategorized | Tagged child welfare league of america, cwla, debbie stabenow, medicaid, therapeutic foster care
By admin on January 20, 2010
[from the Children's Monitor Online, of the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) 1/11/09]
The Children’s Bureau has now approved amended state plans from Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee that will allow the states to utilize Title IV-E funds for the new kinship-guardianship option as provided for through last year’s Fostering Connections Act (P.L. 110-351). Ten other states along with the District of Columbia have also submitted state plan amendments. These states are Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington.
The kinship-guardianship option became effective shortly after Fostering Connections was signed into law in October 2008, but there is no timeframe or deadline for states to take the option. While some were expecting states to act more quickly, enactment coincided with the recession, which has had a delaying impact. Factors that may inhibit states include some states requiring legislative changes, other states contemplating dramatic cuts in human service funding, and other states awaiting greater instruction and clarification from HHS, including on an important issue as to whether or not children already in kinship placements and otherwise eligible being covered once a state has taken the option or whether coverage extends only to new kinship arrangements established after a state plan has been amended. HHS has stuck by the December 2008 guidance, requiring the narrower eligibility, but some states such as California are seeking a broader interpretation.
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Posted in Federal Foster Care Policy Updates | Tagged child welfare league of america, cwla, fostering connections to success act, guardianship, kingap, kinship
By admin on January 15, 2010
[from the National League of Cities; Institute for Youth, Education and Families; Youth Participation Advisors Network 12/09]
State of the Youth Address: Positive P.R. for Youth Leaders
Much like the President’s State of the Union address, preparing a State of the Youth address enables a youth council to strengthen its relationship with the greater community and local government, while developing the institutional knowledge and shared vision necessary to sustain an ever-changing membership. Youth councils in Oak Ridge, Tenn., San Francisco, Calif., and Caldwell, Idaho are just a few of the many councils across the country that have discovered the value of these yearly updates. State of the Youth addresses and other annually published reports may introduce the public to the council and its members, highlight the council’s successes and challenges over the last year, explain its goals for the coming year, outline policy and budget recommendations, and recognize important community partners. These addresses serve as a powerful public relations tool for youth councils, first by offering a positive counterpoint to the predominantly negative portrayal of teens in the media, and second by demonstrating a clear return on the community and local government’s investment in youth civic engagement. As Shannon Mullane, Chairperson of the Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board explained in her 2009 State of the Youth address to city council, “This organization gives voice to the youth, and for the people who serve on the board, it provides incredible experiences that build leadership, teamwork, and decision-making skills.” At the same time, many youth councils face the challenge of a high membership turnover rate due to yearly high school graduations; annual reports help to preserve lessons-learned and maintain long-term goals through frequent membership transitions.
Click here to view the Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board’s 2009 State of the Youth Address.
Click here to access the San Francisco Youth Commission’s archive of annual reports.
Click here to view a video recording of a recent Caldwell Mayor’s Youth Council State of the Youth Address.
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Posted in Federal Foster Care Policy Updates | Tagged national league of cities, san francisco, state of the youth, youth commission, youth councils
By Dana Mandolesi on January 14, 2010
[from TVNZ.co.nz 12/28/09]
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie donated $100,000 to two US foster care homes.
The Hollywood couple, who raise six children together, gave the American SOS Villages in Florida and Illinois the Christmas present after being impressed by the work they do.
“We have seen firsthand the remarkable job SOS does to raise orphaned and abandoned children and keep families together. No one ‘ages out’ of an SOS Village: vocational training, advanced education, living assistance and moral support are there forever,” Jolie said of the generous gift.
The SOS Villages house over 200 disadvantaged children and Pitt said it was important to show gratitude for the work they do.
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Posted in Federal Foster Care Policy Updates | Tagged angelina jolie, brad pitt
By admin on December 22, 2009
It’s not always enough for Congress to do the right thing. Sometimes the best of intentions get bungled in the bureaucratic execution. Such is the fate of Fostering Connections, a bill passed last year to provide states with matching federal funds to extend foster care to age 21. The bill also would help subsidize relatives caring for children who otherwise would be in foster care.
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Posted in Federal Foster Care Policy Updates
By admin on December 22, 2009
[from the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) Children's Monitor 12/21/09]
On Thursday the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, S. 678. The vote was 12 to 7. This legislation updates and improves the national juvenile justice activities and helps state and local governments reduce crime and curb recidivism rates among juveniles by authorizing federal funding of prevention, intervention, and treatment programs for youths.
Included in the new version is language that strengthens the coordination and integration of the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. The new JJDPA provides for the compilation of data on juveniles entering the juvenile justice system with a prior history as victims of child abuse or neglect, an analysis of necessary services for the prevention and treatment for these youth, and a plan for providing such services. When these factors are in place, improved outcomes for the children, youth, and families served by the child welfare and juvenile justice systems are achieved.
S. 678 makes many other significant improvements that expand several of the core protections and other areas contained in the law including reducing disproportionate minority contact and extending the jail removal requirements to keep youth awaiting trial in criminal court out of adult lock-up. In addition the legislation authorizes federal grants for mental health and drug treatment programs focusing on youth offenders
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Posted in Federal Foster Care Policy Updates
