NACC Joins Sign-On Letters
- Bipartisan Opportunity Youth Caucus Support A Stronger Workforce for America Act (ASWA): The ASWA includes policies to help Opportunity Youth achieve career and education outcomes. The letter encourages Congress to take up the legislation quickly.
- Fund Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health in FY 2026: NACC joined 273 organizations in raising concerns about the proposed termination of federal programs dedicated to promoting perinatal and early childhood mental health in the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2026.
- Support the Homeless Children and Youth Act (HCYA): If passed, the bipartisan HCYA would allow communities to serve the most vulnerable homeless children, youth, young adults, and families by aligning the HUD definition of homelessness with the definition used by other federal programs.
- Letter Seeking Increases in Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations for FY 2026: This letter encourages appropriators in Congress to provide an adequate share of funding for Labor-Health and Human Services-Education appropriations in FY 2026. This letter gives examples of issues these subcommittees covers and calls for adequate funding to meet today’s needs.
- FY26 Healthy Start Appropriations: This letter urges Congress to maintain funding for the Healthy Start program at its current level of $145 million for fiscal year 2026.
- National Sign-On Letter to Support the Educational Success of Youth in Foster Care in the Appropriations Process: Sent to the Committee on Appropriations, the letter urges Congress to ensure the academic success of children and youth in foster care by rejecting cuts and consolidations proposed in the President’s FY 2026 Budget Request.
- Opposition to Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act: Sent to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this letter opposes HHS’ decision to rescind the 1998 interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act.
- Protect Chafee ETV Access for All Foster Youth: This letter calls on Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr to protect access to the Chafee Education and Training Voucher (ETV) for all foster youth, regardless of their immigration status.
Counsel for Kids
The Counsel for Kids Campaign continues in its fourth year securing victories that expand access to client-directed counsel and help ensure the provision of high-quality legal services.
If stakeholders in your state are interested in coalition-driven policy advocacy that improves access to legal representation for youth in foster care court proceedings, the campaign’s technical assistance program can help. TA offers free support in areas like strategic planning, framing and messaging, direct advocacy, and implementation consultation. Visit the Counsel for Kids website to learn more.
Missouri secures the right to client-directed counsel for youth age 14 and older after a multi-year advocacy campaign. House Bill 737 will require the appointment of client-directed legal counsel for children 14 and older who are subject to child protection court proceedings. The bill also establishes a commission within the state supreme court to make recommendations on training requirements, practice standards, pilot projects, and alternative funding opportunities for counsel. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe signed the legislation into law on July 9.
Arizona SB 1739 will establish the Child and Family Representation Program in the Administrative Office of the Courts to help ensure uniform high-quality legal representation for children and parents. The program will improve the quality of legal representation by recommending minimum training requirements, practice standards, case load maximums, fair compensation, strategies to oversee attorney performance and outcomes, and funding sources. Governor Katie Hobbs signed the bill into law on June 27.
While other states have reached their sine die, the legislative session continues in California.
In California Assembly Bill 373 passed the Assembly chamber on April 7 and was transferred to the Senate and assigned to Senate Committees on Human Services and Judiciary. Each committee voted to pass the measure on June 17 and July 8, respectively. The bill would remove statutory language that prevents counsel from representing nonminor dependent youth’s expressed wishes when those wishes conflict with the safety or protection of the youth, thereby changing model of representation to a client-directed model of representation.