County Policy Priorities for Transforming the Child Welfare System
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Regardless of population size, geography and available resources, counties are deeply invested in our residents’ health and well-being. Every day, we provide services that help vulnerable individuals and families thrive, functioning as an integral part of the federal, state and local partnership in human service delivery. Whether keeping families sheltered when they face homelessness, providing nutrition support to infants and toddlers, operating job training programs, or protecting children from abuse and neglect, counties provide services that break cycles of poverty and help our residents succeed.
Counties employ 257,000 human services workers nationwide and invest over $62 billion annually in federal, state and local funds in safety-net services that safeguard residents’ health and well-being and keep families stable. This includes implementing federal and state policies surrounding prevention and response to child abuse and neglect.
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The County Human Services and Education Landscape
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U.S. Congress begins work on budget reconciliation process: What this means for counties
The House and Senate Budget Committees have marked up Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget resolutions to initiate the budget reconciliation process to enact policy priorities without garnering bipartisan support, although the two chambers differ in their approach to drafting the legislation.
Panel: People in crisis need support, not handcuffs
Counties can better serve people experiencing a behavioral health crisis by engaging behavioral health specialists instead of law enforcement, experts told county officials at a recent meeting held at NACo headquarters.
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Lawmakers reintroduce the Build Housing with Care Act
On January 30, Senator Ron Wyden and Congresswoman Bonamici reintroduced the Build Housing with Care Act. This legislation would establish a new competitive grant program under HUD intended to boost the supply of co-located child care facilities and affordable housing developments.