By Shadi Houshyar Today, the Senate Finance Committee is marking up legislation to allow companies to hire veterans without requiring that they be counted as full-time workers under the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer mandate. Senator Bob Casey will be offering an amendment that would clarify Congress’s intent with regards to states’ obligation to extend...

By Dianna Walters Yesterday, our partner in the State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center (SPARC) the, Nevada Children’s Advocacy Alliance (CAA) released its biennial 2014 Nevada Children’s Report Card. They also jointly released with the Nevada Institute for Children’s Research & Policy (NICRP) its companion report, the 2015 Legislative Briefing Book. Since 2000, the CAA...

The State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center (SPARC) was busy all year working with its partners for stronger advocates, better policies, and improved outcomes for kids. SPARC commissioned and released a number of briefs on ways we can improve outcomes for children and families involved in the child welfare system. Below are the most accessed...

By Rricha Mathur On December 3rd at the White House Tribal Nations Conference Attorney General Eric Holder boldly announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will be launching a new initiative to ensure compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Under this new initiative, the DOJ pledges to actively identify state-court cases where the...

By Shadi Houshyar Last Thursday evening, the House approved a $1.1 trillion bill funding most of the government through September despite opposition from Democrats and significant disagreement from members of both parties. The House also voted by unanimous consent on a two-day continuing resolution (CR), which expired on Saturday. The CR was intended to keep the government...