Cocktails & Popcorn: #ColoredRevolution Detroit Update: Stabenow, Tlaib, Pelosi & NAACP In Detroit No One Will #sayhisname

They eat each other alive.

On this exciting episode of Cocktails & Popcorn, we are in the 48 hour countdown to meltdown in Judiciary with the testimony of Mueller.

The NAACP, Stabenow, Tlaib & Nancy did not #sayhisname.

Will Nancy throw Rashida under the bus first?

Has Rashida joined forces with Stabenow to proceed with the next episode of the #coloredrevolution in Detroit and blame Pelosi for 2010 - 2018 election interferences?

Stay tuned, because the NAACP has a half time show that will blow your minds.

Stabenow, Tlaib just blasted Trump at NAACP convention in Detroit

Michigan’s congressional leaders sounded a call to action Monday, urging people attending the national NAACP convention in Detroit to stand up and fight the current administration of President Donald Trump.

Debbie Stabenow

U.S. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, used the president’s own words – “I really wish she wasn't from Michigan, I think we should send her back” – when talking about Trump Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who hails from Grand Rapids.

She also said that today is no time to be complacent.

"Let’s be clear today, President Trump is a bully and we stand up to bullies," she said. "This is a critical moment in our history, the leadership of NAACP is needed as we see the poison of racism. Donald Trump has given permission to people who used to stand in sheets in the middle of night to stand in the light in front of the microphones. This is wrong."

More: Diverse Michigan leaders criticize Trump's racist tweets and attacks

More: CNN sets night-by-night lineup for July 30-31 Democratic debates in Detroit

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, who has been the target of racist tweets from Trump, got a standing ovation from the crowd and said, “I’m not going nowhere, not until I impeach this president.”

Tashida Tliab

She also said that "The Squad" is not just the four progressive congresswomen — Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota — who have created a stir at the U.S. Capitol.

"It’s beyond just the four of us. You are all the squad, trust me," she said.

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib D-Detroit, speaks during the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) 110th Annual Convention at Cobo Center in Detroit Monday, July 22, 2019.Buy Photo
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib D-Detroit, speaks during the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) 110th Annual Convention at Cobo Center in Detroit Monday, July 22, 2019. (Photo: Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press)

Trump ignited a firestorm last week after he tweeted about the four women of color, saying they "originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world … Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”

Opinion: Hey, Michigan Republicans: Come back to where you came from

Opinion: Donald Trump's racist tweets are an offense against America

Three of the four congresswomen – Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley — were born in the United States and Omar is a refugee from Somalia and an American citizen.

Nancy Pelosi

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-California, didn’t speak of the tweets or the president directly, but quoting both Thomas Payne and Martin Luther King Jr., she told those attending the 110th annual NAACP convention that the turbulent times have found us.

“The times have found all of us to make the difference that our country is crying out for now,” she said. “This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off … Today, the times have found us to achieve a future full of justice, worthy of our founders.”

Pelosi has been plagued this month with a pair of problems. First, there has been a simmering tension between much of the Democratic caucus in the House and the Squad.

The four, and their supporters, have been highly critical of Pelosi for a vote on immigration aid that they opposed and Pelosi has been dismissive of the strength of their coalition.

But Trump, and his racist tweets about the four women and attempts to paint them as the face of the Democratic Party, have actually worked to unite the warring factions of the party against Trump.

Pelosi spoke of the need for justice in many aspects of public policy, from the environment, to criminal justice, to civil rights.

Quoting Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on a bus in Alabama, saying, 'I'm tired of giving in," Pelosi said, "We, too, must be tired of giving in. We, too, must continue to stand for fairness and genuine equality."

But she left the more fiery rhetoric to Michigan's Democratic congressional delegation and they delivered.

U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield, spoke of the importance of the 2020 election.

"If you can't believe what's happening and you’re tired of all the attacks and you feel like there's a cloud over America, black people, we can change all of that," she said. "Our mission: we cannot have a black person sit at home on election day because we know that we fight with our vote."

The convention continues through Wednesday when a presidential forum will be held, featuring Democratic candidates, including former vice president Joe Biden, U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker; former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke and Republican candidate Bill Weld.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Obama in Detroit: Vote because 'character of our country is on ballot'

Detroit — Former President Barack Obama rallied thousands of Michigan Democrats here Friday night, channeling his past calls for hope and change as he urged voters to get to the polls Nov. 6 for what "might be the most important election of our lifetime."

Speaking to an enthusiastic overflow crowd at Cass Tech High School, Obama warned supporters that the failure to vote in the mid-term election could have "dangerous and profound" impacts for a country now led by President Donald Trump and a Republican-led Congress.

"The character of our country is on the ballot," he said.

While he rarely addressed Trump by name, Obama repeatedly criticized his bombastic successor while lamenting what he called a "cynical" politics of division.

"You can reject that kind of politics," the former president said. "The good news is, Michigan, you can choose a more hopeful, more generous vision of America. But to get there, you have to vote."

Fans packed the roughly 5,000-seat gymnasium, where the high school marching band punctuated Obama's punch lines with drum fills and cymbal crashes. Supporters cycled between "Yes we can" and "Obama" chants.

His visit came 11 days before a mid-term election in which turnout could be a critical factor for Democratic candidates like gubernatorial nominee Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Vice President Mike Pence is expected to rally with Republicans on Monday.

Michigan Democrats traditionally struggle to turn out voters in non-presidential election years, particularly in urban areas like Detroit. Beyond Whitmer's running mate Garlin Gilchrist II, Democrats are offering a predominately white statewide ticket to voters in the majority African-American city.

Obama, the nation's first black president, pumped his fist to the crowd as he took the stage before hugging Stabenow and Whitmer, whom he praised during his speech.

He also gave shout-outs to congressional candidates, including 11th Congressional District hopeful Haley Stevens, who worked on his auto task force and was "a critical part of my team that helped the auto industry come roaring back" after near collapse. Pence's wife Karen rallied early Friday evening with Stevens' Republican opponent Lena Epstein in Commerce Township.

Two years after an election that Trump and other Republicans won on a promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Obama touted his signature health care law and its popular protections for pre-existing conditions.

Voters can trust Stabenow to defend those protections "because she was there" fighting for them in the first place, Obama said, questioning Republican challenger John James' claim he supports Trump "2000 percent."

Whitmer helped expand Medicaid access when she served in the state Legislature, he said, "and few people fought against it harder than her opponent," Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette, who now says the Healthy Michigan program is "the law of the land" and not going away.

While the national and state economy have improved since cratering during the Great Recession that peaked Obama's first year in office, critics say sluggish growth under his watch has improved under Trump and federal tax cuts. Michigan's unemployment rate in January 2017 when Obama left office was 5 percent, while the jobless rate in September was 4 percent.

Republicans called it "insulting" for Obama to rally with Democrats who "will work to systematically dismantle the policies generating all of this progress," said Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Joyce. "Michiganders have high hopes for a bright and prosperous future, and voters know that no matter what Obama says, Michigan Democrats do not share that vision.” 

Obama criticized tax cuts he said will balloon the deficit and primarily benefit the wealthy and corporations.

He accused Republicans of trying to distract voters from critical issues. Instead of talking about Flint water, infrastructure or health care, Trump is trying to fire up his base by talking about "impoverished refugees 1,000 miles away," he said, referencing the Honduran migrant caravan the Republican president has bemoaned.

And Obama repeatedly criticized "lies" coming out of Washington, D.C., arguing that telling the truth should be something that Democrats and Republicans should agree on.

“When words stop meaning anything, when truth doesn’t matter, when people can just make up facts, then democracy, it doesn’t work," Obama said. "There’s no accountability”.

Whitmer and other Democrats contrasted Obama's presidency with Trump.

“Anyone miss the days when we had a president we could be proud of?" Whitmer said. "A president who told the truth? A president who protects the Great Lakes and the auto industry? A president who made it possible for us to expand Medicaid here in Michigan and get 680,000 people covered?”

Stabenow praised Obama for continuing and expanding the auto bailout that helped save jobs at General Motors and Chrysler.

"No thanks to the current Vice President Mike Pence, who voted against us when he was a congressman," she said. 'And by the way, he'll be here Monday stumping for my opponent."

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who served under Obama, spent significant time touting Michigan Proposal 2, which would create a citizen redistricting commission to draw new political boundaries each decade instead of politicians.

“This is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country,” said Holder, who chairs the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. “I’ve been all around, and you’ve got it bad in Michigan. You’ve got to do something about it.”

Holder also urged Democrats to vote Nov. 6 even if they are “disappointed or feeling despair” after election loses in 2016.

“Think about Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis and how they must’ve felt tired at some points of the civil rights struggle,” he said. “People died so that people would have the right to vote. People suffered so that people would have the right to vote.”

U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield, rallied female voters before introducing 11th Congressional District candidate Haley Stevens and 8th Congressional District candidate Elissa Slotkin, women Lawrence said she wanted with her on the “front lines” in Congress.

Thousands of supporters lined up outside Cass Tech earlier Friday to hear Obama speak, some who waited from 10 a.m. until the doors opened at 5 p.m. At the front of the line, a diverse group of women were sharing food and stories.

“It’s amazing the decency that we’ve all demonstrated toward each other,” said Fazila Siddiqui, a 45-year-old Pakistani immigrant and nurse practitioner student from West Bloomfield.

The former president “helped keep the country together, and I feel like that’s something we’ve gotten away from,” said Siddiqui, who plans to vote for Whitmer in the governor’s race.

Renee Hill of Detroit, a 56-year-old legal department worker, said she started her day by texting as many people as possible to tell them to vote on Nov. 6. She’s borrowing her daughter’s phone and didn’t even know most of the people she was messaging.

“I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or Republican, if you don’t vote, you take away from your voice,” she said. “You can’t complain about nothing because you didn’t get off or your behind and go do your civic duty.”

Just 31 percent of Detroit voters cast ballots in 2014, compared with 43 percent statewide, when Republican Gov. Rick Snyder won re-election over Democratic challenger Mark Schauer by roughly four percentage points.

About 48.6 percent of Detroit voters cast ballots in 2016, when statewide turnout topped 64 percent and Republican President Donald Trump  beat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by less than one point.

Detroit elections officials are projecting that 41 percent to 46 percent of the city's 470,000 registered voters will cast ballots on Election Day based on the primary turnout in the city and statewide. In 2016, City Clerk Janice Winfrey expected a voter turnout of 45 percent to 50 percent.

James, who is challenging Stabenow, on Friday launched a new a commercial that argued black voters shouldn't be captives of the Democratic Party.

"So Joe Biden has said that he believes that Republicans don't want black people to vote. Well, I'm a Republican. I want black people to vote. In fact, I want everyone to vote who is eligible to vote," James says in the one-minute ad.

"...The Democratic Party leadership cares more about the black vote than the black people, and it's time to wake up. It doesn't have to be this way. We can have a seat at both tables, and we can elevate our people together."

Pence is expected to campaign 8th Congressional District candidate Mike Pence and 11th District candidate Lena Epstein on Monday before attending a Kent County GOP dinner with Schuette, James and other Republicans.

The Michigan Republican Party on Friday bashed Democrats ahead of the visit by Obama, arguing his eight years as president "were an unmitigated disaster."

"Obama’s policies of high taxes, more regulation and fewer jobs were the perfect book end to Jennifer Granholm’s Lost Decade," said Michigan GOP spokeswoman Sarah Anderson. "Republicans have the momentum, and just like in 2016, last minute fly-ins will not slow that momentum down.”

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2018/10/26/obama-whitmer-democrats-detroit-rally/1764712002/

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Any Michigan Congressional Candidates Want To Help End Child Trafficking?

Are there any Michigan U.S. Senate or U.S. Representative Candidates out there willing to work with her on ending child trafficking?

"No, you say?"

No wonder Michigan is #1 for child trafficking and its parent industry of trafficking tiny humans.

Gotta fund those political and legal defense campaigns!

"Have a great day!"

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DHHS DARPA Brett Giroir Sucks - Senate Slams For Medicaid Fraud In Pharmaceuticals, Child Welfare, Opioids & Trafficking Tiny Humans

Why do we have a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) military official running the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services?

This should be terrifying.

I only say because he is not responding to the Senate grilling on lack of oversight in Medicare and Medicaid funding the pharmaceutical industry and its role in opioids.

HHS refused to respond to Debbie Stabenow about reducing the pricing of Suboxone. He refused to agree to reducing the price that was $1 in 2005 which is now a 4000% increase in price, with new presidential mandates that law enforcement carries it.

The Senators are going after the Medicaid grant funding to NGO programs where nothing really reaches the people.

There was a question about the Families First Act providing assistance to families, like it was designed to do, that has never happened, so the children are not Legally Kidnapped and put into Foster Care and Adoption programs, that are funded through NGO programs where nothing really reaches the people.

Senators just dropped "fraud & abuse" and asked how come HHS is not reporting it to CMS for investigation.

HHS just sat there.

Damn, Claire McCaskill just slammed Giroir for not doing anything about going after these pharmaceutical companies for fraud & abuse, and she even called the corporations out as being greedy from people dying.

She asked for an immediate rule to go after pharmaceuticals for Medicaid fraud; HHS grunted.

Dean Heller just put him on the hot seat asking about school, education youth programs for prevention.

Giroir kicked the responsibility to the states on how they procure services, which are privatized, and had could not respond to the child welfare component.

I keep watching to see if his sidekick Brandt is mannequin puppet because she is on point when it comes to dancing around an answer with him.

She is clueless and only follows orders.

Her tag line "this is something we have been looking at and believe a potential good tool..." I should have taken a tally on how many times she used this line.

Yes, she needs to go.

Griroir's response to what HHS is doing about child welfare services..."this is something we have been looking at and believe a potential good tool..."

I do not have a law degree so I have no Code of Ethics but my own of which to adhere, so...

Admiral Brett Giroir sucks.

Check his finances and past projects, he has deep privatization and child welfare background.

Here is a link to the hearing because C-SPAN blocked me.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?444267-1/health-officials-testify-medicare-medicaid-role-opioid-crisis&live

ADM Brett P. Giroir, M.D.

Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH)

HHS Office of the Secretary

ADM Brett P. Giroir, M.D., was sworn in as Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on February 15, 2018. The Assistant Secretary for Health leads development of HHS-wide public health policy recommendations, oversees 11 core public health offices — including the Office of the Surgeon General and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, which has approximately 6,500 uniformed health officers who serve in nearly 600 locations around the world to promote, protect and advance the health and safety of our nation and our world. He also oversees three Presidential and 11 Secretarial advisory committees.

Dr. Giroir is a physician, scientist and innovator. He is a former medical school executive and biotech startup CEO, and has served in a number of leadership positions in the federal government as well as academia.

From 2014-2015, Dr. Giroir chaired the Veteran’s Choice Act Blue Ribbon Panel to reform the U.S. Veterans Health System. During the Ebola emergency, he directed the Texas Task Force on Infectious and Disease Preparedness Response.

He was executive vice president and CEO of Texas A&M’s Health Science Center from 2013-2015, having earlier served as vice chancellor of strategic initiatives (2011-2013) and vice chancellor for research (2008-2011) for the entire Texas A&M University system. A pediatric critical care physician and a former member of the American Board of Pediatrics, Dr. Giroir cared for critically ill children for 14 years, and was the first chief medical officer of Children's Medical Center of Dallas (now Children's Health). He was also a professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center from 1993-2003, and held a number of positions in academic and hospital leadership.

Dr. Giroir has had a significant federal portfolio. He directed the Defense Sciences Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) from 2006-2008. In this capacity, he worked regularly with the White House, Congress, and NIH, CDC, DHS and CIA leadership on national priorities, strategies and programs. He joined the office in 2004 as deputy director, and between 1998 and 2004, was a member of the Defense Sciences Research Council.

Dr. Giroir has authored or co-authored almost 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications and holds patents on a number of biomedical inventions. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the U.S. Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, the American Heart Association’s President Lyndon Baines Johnson Research Award and the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s Annual Scientific Award. He was the nation’s high school debate champion in 1978. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Harvard University in 1982 and a medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas) in 1986.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Michigan Democratic Party State Convention - February 11, 2017

Do not fret if you were not able, or willing, to attend the Michigan Democratic Party State Convention to elect party leadership because I have brought to you, via, your favorite hand held device, a synoptic overview of why Democratic leadership, not just across the state, but across the nation, just does not get it.

The 13th Congressional District completely ignoring the Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives for the sole purposes of showboating to get some free campaign time in front of the entire district.

Here we have the traditional chaos of groups fighting to keep power and money within their own constituencies after the gerrymandering of the congressional district.

It must be noted that we left about 5 minutes into the meeting due to cacophony of audible hallucinations of religious locutions of the "The Elected Ones" leadership entitlement syndrome.

There was no mention of plans for health care, education, child poverty, or public corruption.

Sander Levin:  There was no mention of plans for health care, education, child poverty, or public corruption.

Debbie Dingell tossed a great "word salad" using DNC failed talking points, again.  Please note her comments at the Labor Caucus on Japan, right in front of representatives from Toyota.

There was no mention of plans for health care, education, child poverty, or public corruption.

Gretchen Whitmer:  There was no mention of plans for health care, education, child poverty, or public corruption.

Dan Kildee:  There was no mention of plans for health care, education, child poverty, or public corruption.

I would love to request his working papers on the creation of Land Banks and why they are not regulated.

Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow:  There was no mention of plans for health care, education, child poverty, or public corruption.

Stabenow did invite the public to follow Michigan Senate Democrats but the communication system is set up to be one-directional, a closed system devoid of public discussion.

And, of course, not to boast, but you know darn well I will not be invited to consult on setting up their newly desired, grassroots, social media, communication network.

Pshaw!  The thought of me and my hot boyfriend soiling their financial and political hegemonic establishment!  (improper grammar, intended).

The videos and pictures, below, are of the Michigan Progressive Democratic Caucus meeting earlier in the day.

I would say that this was the largest, collectively, congregation of participants.

What many people may not know is that the Progressive movement came out of Detroit in the trenches of labor.

Bob Alexander has dedicated much of his life to its work.  He was the one who personified "I love my ObamaCare".

It seems there was a growing chasm between the new Bernie movement and the old guards of Labor due to the lack of knowledge in the history of the Progressive movement.

Many, perhaps the majority of new Progressive members, are unable to name the founders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.  (homework assignment)



 Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

"The Poors" and Public Corruption: A Punny Story

I have decided to create a new interactive segment to report public corruption.

I have not put it together yet, but it is going to work like this:

Leave a comment, send a personal message, email, text, Facebook, Tweet, your stories of fraud in government.

I will not use your name, but I will if you so desire.

I will do my very own analytical insight into the situation, identify the lawmakers and policymakers, then put them on blast for not fighting to end child poverty in the U.S.

Simple.  I shall go first, but I have so many stories.

A few years ago, before U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow took national credit from stopping the Republicans, for shutting down the federal government because there was not enough cuts to child poverty programs, offered her solution by cutting SNAP benefits.

In the Senator's defense, she did offer the fresh foods program, where there were few, if any place, during the time, to purchase fresh vegetables and fruit, and even fewer vendors who would have qualified to have participated, as Michigan had yet to set up a vendor reimbursement program for the small farmers and businesses.

Poor execution, pun intended.

But, then, only because it is Michigan and no one cares about child poverty, the Michigan Department of Human Services merged with the Department of Community Health and we all know what a mess that still is, because people, disabled, elderly, anyone who is a card carrying member of "The Poors" had, at one time, their cases closed so everyone could reapply to conform with the new IT system.

Back to my story.  Michigan initiated a campaign blitz to all its SNAP benefit recipients informing them that their date of "food stamp" allotments were to slightly change by a few days each month in order to save the state money.

What this meant was, if a person normally pays $50 for utilities, the itemized deduction would be approved at the new cap of $30, resulting in a drastic deduction of SNAP benefits, for reasons of exceeding the income requirement.

Poor guy, pun intended.

There was such an influx of increased membership into "The Poors" that the BRIDGES system crashed as it was never designed to handle so many of "The Poors".

Michigan found a solution by "automating", closing offices and getting rid of front line workers.

Everything went high tech, leaving many to experience, with the new 3 month and 6 month reviews, to ensure no SNAP recipient is defrauding the program, "The Poors" were being kicked off the rolls having to re-apply, due to system failures.

Poor thing, pun intended.

The process takes at least a month, and entire month where an individual, or more than likely, a poor family which means they have kids, will receive no SNAP benefits.

Poor babies, pun intended.

Who keeps the money?  Well, you will just have to ask Governor Rick Snyder and I do not believe he is speaking much in public these days.

Might want to check some of his legal defense funds.

Just being punny.

New Mexico Defrauds The Poor Out Of Food Stamps, Whistleblowers Say

Despite working as a home health aide in New Mexico for nearly two decades, Kimberly Jones was struggling to get the hours she needed to make ends meet. She was living in a hotel room, and every day she had to make a choice.

"Do I eat or do I pay for the room? Or how can I squeeze them both? Because, you know, the hotel wants their money," Jones says. "They don't care if you eat or not."

Jones applied for food stamps. She says the state worker she met with told her she was eligible for expedited assistance, and she'd get her benefits within a week.

But the money didn't show up. Not for two months.

In a recent federal court hearing, nine employees of New Mexico's Income Support Division — which oversees food stamps — took the stand to testify about fake assets being added to food stamps applications.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

New Child Welfare Bill Focuses on Keeping Families Together

I believe this Bill is going to survive.

Call your Senator and tell them to support this.  

Poverty will no longer be a crime and jobs will be created.  

Lots of jobs.

Wyden, Stabenow, Casey, Bennet, Brown, Cantwell, Schumer, Menendez introduce bill to promote family stabilization and prevent foster care

WASHINGTON – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., was joined by seven other members of the committee today in introducing a bill to keep families together by allowing the nation’s largest child welfare funding stream to support front-end family services to reduce unnecessary foster care stays.

Currently, the majority of federal child welfare dollars is spent on foster care. The Family Stability and Kinship Care Act would give states the flexibility to use federal funds to pay for preventive services that can stabilize families and keep kids out of foster care and safe at home or with kin. Senate Finance Committee cosponsors include: Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Bob Casey, D-Penn., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J.

“Somewhere in America, a mother has to choose between leaving her kids at home alone to work a nightshift, and losing the wages that allow her to barely scrape by,” Wyden said. “The current child welfare funding system provides two choices: put kids in foster care or do nothing. There must be a better option for families who need just a little bit of extra help and this bill will give the system flexibility to respond to real-life situations of families in need.”

The bill is based on Wyden’s discussion draft from May aimed at opening up those dollars – Title IV-E of the Social Security Act – for evidence-based services to help children return to – or remain safely with – their families or be placed with kin.  

Twenty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe in Washington State currently have Title IV-E waivers that have allowed them to test innovative approaches such as investing in front-end child welfare service delivery to help families remain safely together. Wyden’s legislation would allow every state to permanently make these types of investments with federal support.

The Family Stability and Kinship Care Act would also allow states to provide these support services to extended family members who are called upon to take care of relatives’ children at a moment’s notice.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas and Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means subcommittee with jurisdiction over the nation’s foster care system, will soon introduce a companion bill in the House of Representatives.

“I am pleased to join Senator Wyden’s important initiative. Our current system is failing too many children and dividing too many families. More resources must be directed toward preventing abuse and neglect of children and to providing the support to keep families together,” Doggett said. "With early engagement, the need for foster care can be reduced substantially."

More than 60 organizations have expressed support for the bill, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators and the Children’s Defense Fund.

“The Children’s Defense Fund believes the Family Stability and Kinship Care Act represents a long overdue, giant step forward in protecting children by strengthening families,” the organization’s Policy Director MaryLee Allen said. “It will improve outcomes for children by offering services necessary to keep them safely with their families and out of foster care, and assist children in foster care to move quickly to permanent families and protect them from needing to re-enter care.”  

The bill’s cosponsors said:

“Our children deserve a permanent, safe and loving home, and that starts with community support for families,” Stabenow said. “This bill targets children who are at risk of entering the foster care system by providing access to critical family services. Not only will this approach keep more families together, it will prevent children from unnecessarily having to enter the foster care system in the first place.”

“This is commonsense legislation that will help more families in difficult circumstances stay together,” Casey said. “Under this proposal states can innovate to come up with the best solution to help these vulnerable children. If we can help families with challenges on the front end then we increase the likelihood that these children will have a better shot at pursing their dreams.”

“We have a responsibility to every single kid in Colorado and throughout the country to do everything we can to ensure they grow up in a supportive and loving environment,” Bennet said.“Providing states with flexibility to use their federal dollars on proven prevention efforts will help keep our kids safe from abuse and neglect.”

“When hardship forces an unexpected stay in foster care, it disrupts children’s routines, ripping them away from their families and often forcing them to switch schools or leave their communities,” Brown said. “We should make every effort to provide parents and kin with the support and resources they need to provide a healthy and safe living environment from the start. By investing in preventive family services, we can help ensure stable home lives for all children and keep them in the care of their families.”

Family Stability and Kinship Care Act of 2015

Family Stability BillSummary_08!05!15

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