Update on Flores settlement
On Aug. 21, 2019, the administration announced a new rule that would, in effect, overturn the 1997 Flores settlement. The Flores settlementopens in new window, a legal agreement settled in 1997, outlines certain protection for immigrant children while in U.S. custody. Its most well-known provision, recently, prohibits the detention of children for more than 20 days. When the administration last October 2018 issued a proposed regulation, they argued that there were no regulations promulgated in 1997 after the settlement.
When the administration issued their final regulations on Flores last month, several groups filed suit in U.S District Court to block the new rule. On August 23, 2019, the administration issued a rule allowing families to be held in humane conditions while their U.S. immigration court cases were decided. On Sept. 27, Judge Gee blocked the rule, stating: “This regulation is inconsistent with one of the primary goals of the Flores Agreement, which is to instate a general policy favoring release and expeditiously place minors ‘in the least restrictive setting appropriate to the minor’s age and special needs’”.
Stop Cruelty to Migrant Children Act
On Aug. 8, the Stop Cruelty to Migrant Child Act (S.2113/H.R. 3918) bill was introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and representative Grace Meng (D-NY-6). This bill aims to protect the health and safety of all children in immigration detention. In addition, this bill would affirm:
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The federal government is responsible for the health, safety and well-being of children and families in the custody of the federal government.
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Children and families should only be in the custody of the federal government for as little time as possible.
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During any period in which children or families are in the custody of the federal government:
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They should be treated with dignity, respect and care.
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Every effort should be made to minimize trauma, isolation and conditions resembling prison.
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This bill would also limit the separation of families, as it would limit the situations in which an agent or officer of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection could remove a child from their parent or legal guardian at or near a port of entry.
View a full version of this billopens in new window.
Should you decide to reach out to any elected official to follow up on this in this article, please do so as an individual and not as a representative of APA. To find out more information about your elected officials and how to contact them, please visit this websiteopens in new window.
Family First Transition and Support Act
In May 2019, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA-37) Congressman and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) had introduced the Family First Transition and Support Actopens in new window in the House and Senate, respectively.
The Family First Transition and Support Act would:
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Eliminate the outdated Federal Title IV-E foster eligibility requirements for foster family homes tied to the 1996 Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) law, commonly referred to as the “look back,” which limits Federal foster care support to only those children removed from very low-income families.
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Expand funding for kinship support services, including childcare, transportation and legal services to ensure families have access to services that meet their needs and keep children safe in their homes.
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Provide states with more time to develop the research base for prevention programs they want to use by delaying the 50 percent well-supported requirement.
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Enhance funding for caseworker training and development.
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Provide additional funds for state-directed research to develop interventions to meet Family First evidenced-based requirements, strengthen families, improve service delivery for youth victims of trafficking and reduce inter-generational poverty.
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Boost funding for Regional Partnership Grants to allow more local and regional groups to address parental substance use and child well-being.
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Enhance funding for the child welfare Court Improvement Program.
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Provide new time-limited resources to support quality foster parent recruitment and retention.
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Provide short-term federal support to help states meet Family First licensing and accreditation standards for quality residential treatment programs and therapeutic foster care settings.
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Provide additional resources and improvements for tribal child welfare programs.
Should you decide to reach out to any elected official to follow up on this, please do so as an individual and not as a representative of APA. To find out more information about your elected officials and how to contact them, please visit this websiteopens in new window.
Timely Mental Health for Foster Youth Act
On Sep. 19, 2019, Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI-14) introduced the Timely Mental Health for Foster Youth Actopens in new window in the House, and has since been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. This bill would require initial mental health screenings of any child in foster care to be completed within 30 days after the child enters foster care, and any child with identified mental health issues would receive a more comprehensive mental health assessment within 60 days after the child enters foster care.
Should you decide to reach out to any elected official to follow up on any of the material presented in this article, please do so as an individual and not as a representative of APA. To find out more information about your elected officials and how to contact them, please visit this websiteopens in new window.
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirms the constitutionality of ICWA
On Aug.9, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to affirm the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in Brackeen v. Bernhardt. This decision recognizes the unique political status of tribal nations, and upholds the federal law. ICWA was passed in 1978 to guard against separation of American Indian/Alaska Native children from their families and tribes by public and private child welfare service agencies. ICWA includes several provisions intended to promote placement with family and tribes, maintain AI/AN children’s cultural connections, and ensure tribal sovereignty over AI/AN child welfare proceedings, and has been called a gold-standard in child welfare practice.
Read the press release onlineopens in new window.
Native American Child Protection Act
On Oct. 31, 2019, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-7) introduced the Native American Child Protection Act [H.R. 4957]opens in new window in the House. It has since been referred to the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States. If this bill was passed, this would require intergovernmental agreements between tribes and states, and other materials that provide examples of how federal, state and tribal governments can develop effective relationships and provide for maximum cooperation in the furtherance of prevention, investigation, treatment and prosecution of incidents of family violence and child abuse and child neglect involving Indian children and families be developed. In addition, the secretary would establish an advisory board to advise and assist the National Indian Child Resource and Family Services Center.
Should you decide to reach out to any elected official to follow up on any of the material presented in this article, please do so as an individual and not as a representative of APA. To find out more information about your elected officials and how to contact them, please visit this websiteopens in new window.
Title IV‐E Prevention Program Data Elements: Technical Bulletin 1
On Aug. 19, the Children’s Bureau released a technical bulletin to clarify Title IV‐E Prevention Program Data Elements. All Title IV-E agencies must report information for children who are candidates for foster care, pregnant, or parenting youth in foster care. Access this bulletinopens in new window.
Health care coverage declines
According to the Census Report on health insurance coverage, as released in September 2019opens in new window, the percentage of people with health insurance has decreased by 0.4 percent in comparison to last year. This is the first decrease in health insurance coverage since the Affordable Care Act, and the first increase since 2008-2009. In 2018, census report data shows that about 27.5 million people, or 8.5 percent of people, did not have health insurance at any point during the year. The uninsured rate and number of uninsured increased from 2017 (7.9 percent or 25.6 million). This is the first year-to-year increase in the percent of uninsured since 2008-2009 and stops a pattern of increased coverage since the ACA.
The number of children without health insurance in 2018 was significantly higher than in 2017. 4.3 million children under age 19 were uninsured, making it a 5 percent increase, or 3.9 million, from previous year where 5.5 percent of children under the age of 19 were uninsured. The census also reported that 425,000 children lost health insurance coverage in 2018, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. Some characteristics in the increase of uninsured rates were geographical, as children in the south had the highest uninsured rates and the greatest increase than all other regions in the U.S., rising from 6.5 to 7.7 percent. The census reports indicated that an increase in uninsured rates among children including children of color and those living in poverty. Latino children were more likely to be uninsured than black or white children, and states without Medicaid expansion have twice as high of an uninsured rate among children than expansion states.