Source: U.S. Congressman Robert Pittenger (NC-09) Yesterday President Barack Obama signed into law the Kilah Davenport Child Protection Act of 2013. The law is named for Kilah Davenport, a four-year-old girl whose stepfather physically assaulted her in 2012 and caused damage to 90 percent of her brain. She died just last month as a result [...]
Last month we observed National Child Abuse Prevention Month. We focused on making meaningful connections as a way to reduce instances of child maltreatment, for such connections strengthen bonds between not only individuals, but also among families and communities. Meaningful connections build support networks for children and families while reinforcing a sense of communal responsibility [...]
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker answers questions from reporters on April 16, 2014, in Madison, Wis. Source: Scott Bauer/AP Wisconsin's Response to Re-Homing In the wake of the 2013 Reuters investigative report on "re-homing"—which brought to light the virtually hidden practice of unregulated and unsafe use of online forums to ask strangers to take one's adopted [...]
Last year Governor Dayton signed into law Northstar Care for Children, which is set to go into effect January 1, 2015. Throughout this legislative session there have been several bills introduced that would make changes to Northstar Care for Children before its implementation, namely S.F. 2754/H.F. 3216, S.F. 2240/H.F. 3027, and S.F. 2753/H.F. 3215. In [...]
On Wednesday, April 9, 2014, Governor Mark Dayton signed into law the Safe and Supportive Schools Act (H.F. 826). The new law establishes the School Student Bullying Policy, which requires public schools—including charter schools—to acknowledge and address both in-person and online (cyber) bullying that occurs on school premises, including school transportation, and at school functions [...]
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month Since 1983, April has been designated as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The theme for this year is "Making Meaningful Connections," not only with children and youth but also with families and communities. When we make meaningful connections with children and youth, we provide them with a sense [...]
The delete-all amendment was recently posted for the Health & Human Services Policy omnibus bill. Within this amendment, under Article 1: Children and Family Services, there are provisions requiring smoke-free environments in foster homes. First, home studies of prospective foster parents would have to include the capacity of a foster parent to provide a smoke-free [...]
On March 4, President Obama released his budget for fiscal year 2015. In sum, the budget allocates $77.1 billion to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is $0.8 billion less than the 2014 enacted level. Child welfare-related highlights of the presidential budget are listed below. Medicaid Demonstration Project for Youth in [...]
