Feature: Letters to Congress

National Group Sign-On Letter Urges Congress to Quickly Enact No Less Than American Rescue Plan
February 5, 2021

On February 4th, over 100 national organizations including the Coalition on Human Needs called on the United States Congress to enact swiftly no less than what is called for in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. Without speedy and comprehensive action, "...families that could have managed will be pushed into poverty and deaths that could have been avoided due to the pandemic will occur."

CHN letter to all U.S. Senators demands COVID-19 relief
September 25, 2020

CHN on Friday, Sept. 25 sent a letter to all 100 U.S. Senators demanding COVID-19 relief. It reads in part, "The pandemic has imperiled your constituents’ economic well-being and their health. COVID-19 cases are again rising, and as we enter the colder months, the threat will increase. The moratorium on evictions expires at the end of the year. If you leave now without acting, millions of people, unable to come up with one or more months of unpaid rent, will face eviction."

CHN’s letter to all members of the U.S. Senate urging Senators to extend U.S. Census reporting deadlines
August 10, 2020

CHN's letter to all members of the U.S. Senate urging Senators to extend statutory reporting deadlines for apportionment and redistricting data for the 2020 Census to April 30, 2021, extend the deadline to transmit state population totals to that date, prohibit the Bureau and the President from sending the relevant data to the Congress in advance of those deadlines, and to allocate $400 million to address Census Bureau operational challenges.

MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS

CHN: Human Needs Programs Appropriations Table
March 1, 2019

Progress for many Human Needs programs in FY 2018 - but more than two-thirds are still below FY 2010 levels. Here is a table of federal appropriations selected Human Needs programs in FY 2017, 2018 compared to FY 2010.

NWLC: Helping Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care Providers Meet New Requirements Under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization Law
February 25, 2019

Across the country, parents of every gender, race, and socio-economic status rely on their family members, friends, and neighbors for child care. Given the important role of family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) providers, it is essential that they remain an option for those low-income families receiving child care assistance through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the major federal child care program. Maintaining FFN providers’ continued participation in the CCDBG program will require states—which set policies for CCDBG within federal parameters—to address the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities posed by the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014. The Act reauthorized (renewed and updated) the program and established new requirements for all providers, including FFN providers. FFN providers can encounter a number of barriers in complying with these new requirements. Yet, by providing support, employing innovative strategies, and taking advantage of the recent increase in CCDBG funding, states can help FFN providers not only meet the minimum requirements but also improve the quality of care they offer, access resources for themselves and the families they serve, and develop new connections with their communities.

CWLA: The Family First Prevention Services Act
February 25, 2019

Staring October 1, 2019 (federal fiscal year 2020) states will have the option to draw down entitlement funding for qualified services and/or programs for children (and/or their families) considered to be candidates for foster care or who are pregnant or parenting foster youth. Starting on October 1, 2018, HHS will publish a list and the requirements to be included on the list of the qualifying services or programs for a child described as a “candidate for foster care.” These qualifying services or programs may be provided to parents or kin caregivers when the need of the child, a parent, or a caregiver for the services or programs are directly related to the safety, permanence, or wellbeing of the child or to preventing the child from entering foster care.