Policy Matters

State, Federal and Alliance Priorities Align

In June, Governor Jerry Brown signed the 2014-2015 California budget, which makes a significant re-investment in early education for infants and toddlers. In particular, the budget allocated $7.9 million to restore the Early Start Program to pre-2009 eligibility. This will broaden early intervention service eligibility for children with, or at risk of,  developmental delays. Now, …

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California Focuses on Reducing Child Poverty

Budget cuts in the past few years have poked serious holes in our state’s safety net programs supporting foster children. But, after years of cuts, California is now recovering from the recession and looks forward to a surplus in the coming year. Recognizing the need to balance both ensure stability and expand opportunities, the Assembly Democratic Caucus …

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Lack of Funding for Post-Reunification Services Could Reduce Permanency

In October 2013, The State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center (SPARC) released Reunification of Foster Children with their Families: The First Permanency Outcome, a brief examining the outcomes of children who exit foster care to reunification along with recommendations on improving these outcomes. According to national data from the annual Child Welfare Outcomes Report, many …

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Recent Study Links Child Maltreatment to Self-Sufficiency Gap

A study conducted in California over seven years that examined the relationship between unemployment and child maltreatment was recently published, and showed rather surprising results. The study encompassed all 58 counties of California, with a special emphasis on San Mateo, covering the period from 2005 to 2012, which notably includes the years of the deep …

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Invisible Education Achievement Gap Between Foster Youth & Peers

“The Invisible Achievement Gap,” a landmark study funded by The Stuart Foundation, was released this October. The report, which connects statewide education data to child welfare data, is titled thus because its findings show that children in the foster care system often have specialized education needs that go unrecognized and unmet, leading them to fall …

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New Look at Official Federal Measures of Poverty

A recently released study conducted by researchers from the Public Policy Institute of California and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality utilized a new model, called the California Poverty Measure, to offer a more accurate and complete picture of poverty in California by taking into account factors ignored by the official U.S. Census Bureau …

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New Federal Legislation has Good Intentions, but Doesn’t Fix Group Home Problem

On September 18, 2013, Senator Orrin Hatch introduced S. 1518, otherwise known as the Improving Outcomes for Youth at Risk for Sex Trafficking Act of 2013. The legislation is intended to reduce time foster youth spend in congregate care such as group homes. S. 1518 includes some positive measures, such as a requirement that states …

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Plan Aims to Better Protect the Children of Detained or Deported Immigrants

On August 23, 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a directive on “Facilitating Parental Interests in the Course of Immigration Enforcement Activities,” otherwise known as the Parental Interest Directive. The directive was issued as a result of the growing number of children holding U.S. citizenship whose parents have been detained or deported. This situation …

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