Child Welfare

  • Child Welfare

    New Report on Child Maltreatment Showcases Rates of Abuse and Neglect Across the Country

    This year’s report indicates that the number of children who were deemed to be victims of child maltreatment fell in 2019; however, so did the number of children receiving federally-funded services to prevent child abuse and neglect by supporting and strengthening families. And variations in rates of child maltreatment varied greatly by state, age, and race.

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  • Child Welfare

    Trump Administration Uses Final Days to Provide License to Discriminate in Child Welfare

    Last week, in one of its final actions, the Trump Administration finalized a rule that would allow taxpayer-funded discrimination in the child welfare system. The rule reverses Obama-era regulations that provided blanket protections on the basis of sex, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation from programs receiving federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This rule is a license to discriminate and is in direct opposition to the cardinal rule of child welfare, that the best interest of the child is paramount.

    | National

  • Child Welfare

    Child Welfare Provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021

    On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which combines a $1.4 trillion year-end funding package with a $900 million dollar COVID-19 relief package. The law contains several important provisions related to the child welfare system.

  • Child Health

    2020: CDF’s Year in Review

    The Children’s Defense Fund spent much of 2020 pushing Congress to take action to protect children and families from the harmful impacts of our country’s health, economic, and racial disparities while continuing to defend against harmful regulatory and administrative policies set forth by the Trump administration.  Our commitment to children and policies that protect them has never wavered, and we know we have many fights ahead to keep children and families safe in the new year. But as we reach the end of an unprecedented year, we are taking a moment to celebrate some important wins for children and families in 2020. 

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  • Child Health

    After Nine Months of Neglecting the Needs of Children and Families, Congress Will Finally Vote on a COVID Relief Bill

    After nine months of failing to pass a COVID relief bill and neglecting the needs of millions of children and families suffering the unprecedented public health, racial justice, and economic and unemployment crisis brought on by this pandemic, Congress will finally vote on a long overdue bipartisan relief bill. While this package was a step in the right direction under a strict timeline ahead of the holidays, it does not include many additional provisions that are needed to fully meet the needs of all our nation’s children and families, especially the most vulnerable.

    | National

  • Child Health

    The SUNSET Proposed Rule Would Undermine Important HHS Services for Children and Families

    On November 4th, the Trump Administration released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that, if implemented, would dramatically alter the regulatory landscape and would bury the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under a mountain of red tape for the next two years. The thousands of regulations in place at HHS are crucial for keeping children healthy, safe, and prepared to succeed. Our children deserve a regulatory environment that is carefully crafted to protect their safety and well-being, not one that has been hastily constructed under arbitrary rules.

    | National