Blogs Archive — Page 2 of 7 — Children's Defense Fund

Child Welfare

New Policy Report from Young People with Experience in the Foster Care System

The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s Foster Youth Internship (FYI) Program® brings a cohort of young adults who have experienced the foster care system to intern in congressional offices on Capitol Hill and publish policy recommendations to best support young people impacted by the foster care system. After serving on a specialized COVID-19 Foster Youth Intern Pandemic Working Group, the 2021 Foster Youth Interns went on to intern for congressional offices this summer and have authored "Building the Path Forward for Change in the Child Welfare System" based on their experiences and expertise.

Child Welfare

The Biden Administration Must Advance Policies to Support LGBTQ+ Children and Adults in the Child Welfare System

As many as one in three children in foster care identify as LGBTQ+, and same-sex couples are seven times more likely to foster or adopt than their opposite-sex counterparts. Still, LGBTQ+ children and families, particularly LGBTQ+ children and families of color, disproportionately experience negative treatment in the child welfare system. CDF was proud submit comments detailing actions the administration could take to improve services for LGBTQ+ children and families in the child welfare system.

Child Welfare

Supreme Court Rules on Foster Care Non-Discrimination Case

While this decision did not undermine the right of state and local governments to protect children and families from taxpayer-funded discrimination, it does underscore how tenuous these protections can be. The decision is a potent reminder of how crucial it is that we pass the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act (S.1848/ H.R. 3488) to ensure that all children and youth in the child welfare system are safe from discrimination, no matter where they live or who they love.

Child Welfare

CDF Endorses the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2021

Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) have introduced the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2021 (S. 1927), which would reauthorize and amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. The Children’s Defense Fund was proud to endorse this legislation because of its significant increase in funding for prevention, its emphasis on race equity in child welfare, its overdue focus on child abuse and neglect fatalities, and the fact that the law would guarantee right to counsel for children and parents in all cases involving child abuse and neglect allegations.

Child Welfare Early Childhood Education Ending Child Poverty Gun Violence Prevention Health Immigration Youth Justice

What President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Means for Our Nation’s Children and Families

President Biden recently released his Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Budget request to Congress to strengthen the economy, address longstanding racial disparities, and ensure a more equitable future for our children. After a year marked by such dramatic change and drastic negative impact on children’s lives, we need meaningful investments in supports for children and families. President Biden’s FY22 budget request starts to do just that.

Child Welfare

Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth Introduces Bipartisan Mentorship Bill for Foster Youth

Mentorship provides youth with the healthy, consistent relationships that are crucial for their well-being. The Foster Youth Mentoring Act (H.R. 3083) would create a comprehensive federal grant program to provide foster youth with healthy volunteer and peer mentor relationships.

Child Welfare Early Childhood Education Ending Child Poverty Health Immigration Youth Justice

What the American Families Plan Means for our Nation’s Children

On the eve of his 100th day in office, President Biden released the American Families Plan, outlining a bold proposal with $1.8 trillion in historic investments in our nation’s children and families including expanded tax credits, investments in child care, universal preschool, two years of tuition-free community college, a national paid leave program, and more.

Child Welfare Early Childhood Education Ending Child Poverty Health Immigration Youth Justice

The American Jobs Plan Will Help Ensure a Strong Economy and Future for Our Children

The American Jobs Plan is the first of a two-part effort to invest in our children’s future and build towards a stronger and more equitable economy—with provisions to address long-standing racial disparities and funding designated specifically for underserved Black communities and other communities of color. Congress must now build on President Biden’s proposal and invest in our nation’s most precious resource—our children— ensuring we do not return to a fragile and inequitable status quo.

Child Welfare Early Childhood Education Ending Child Poverty Health Immigration Youth Justice

What the American Rescue Plan Act Means for Children and Families

Today, Congress took the final step to pass the American Rescue Plan Act, which President Biden is expected to subsequently sign into law. The $1.9 trillion relief package, for which President Biden’s proposal served as the foundation, marks a bold step forward in the fight for our children’s future. The American Rescue Plan Act will provide immediate relief for children and families, work to address the racial and economic injustices that COVID-19 has exacerbated, and take a long overdue step to address our nation’s shameful child poverty crisis, cutting child poverty in half in 2021.

Child Welfare

Biden Administration Halts Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination Rule for Foster Care

On February 10, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agreed to a court order halting the Trump-era License to Discriminate rule, one day before it would have gone into effect. This rule, first introduced in November of 2019, would have rescinded regulations that provided blanket non-discrimination protections from HHS-funded programs. Without those protections, child welfare providers using taxpayer funds could have turned away eligible foster and adoptive parents simply because of their religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity and discriminated against the children they are meant to serve on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

In Defense of Children

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