CFSR

The Trump administration has nominated Lynn Johnson, head of the child welfare system in one of Colorado’s largest counties, to lead the Administration on Children and Families (ACF), the branch of the Department of Health and Human Services that oversees most spending on family services, foster care and adoption.

There are a handful of programs that drive much of the federal investment on youth in crisis, namely those involved in the juvenile justice or child welfare systems (or both). Sadly, recent developments call into question whether taxpayers are getting what they paid for when it comes to these vital programs.

A pair of California-based child advocacy groups is calling for drastic changes to the way that state compliance with federal child welfare laws is monitored, and the way that states are penalized for compliance failure.

Every once in awhile, a statement of real significance is nestled within the many pages of a policy tome. This is perhaps the case with a paragraph included in the recent Department of Health and Human Services’ notice about proposed new measurements on the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR).

Both houses of Congress return this week, a traditional return made later by the two political conventions.  As a result, congressional action for the fall session is likely to be one of the shortest with September days limited by the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah (September 16) and Yom Kippur (September 25) and the desire to leave Washington for the campaign before October begins.

Both houses of Congress return this week, a traditional return made later by the two political conventions.  As a result, congressional action for the fall session is likely to be one of the shortest with September days limited by the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah (September 16) and Yom Kippur (September 25) and the desire to leave Washington for the campaign before October begins.