Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) highlighted $127,000 for child welfare services in the State of Delaware from the Administration of Children and Families (ACF). The funding comes as part of $45 million secured in The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. It is a crucial step toward protecting one of our most vulnerable populations. With this additional funding, the ACF will support child welfare services across the country.

The funding announcement comes after Blunt Rochester sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Alex Azar on the need for child abuse prevention in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic on April 24^th. The letter called for increased funding to support the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Discretionary Funds Program and funding to support the Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention Grants (CBCAP), in addition to support for research to determine how we can better protect our children in digital learning environments. 

“I am grateful to see $127,000 allocated to Delaware to protect our children. We are seeing a troubling decrease in calls to child abuse hotlines, not because of a decrease in abuse, but because schools—one of the top reporters of child abuse—are closed due to the COVID-19 crisis,” said Blunt Rochester. “I am hopeful that this is the first step in increasing support services and training capacities, in addition to increased investment in comprehensive and collaborative strategies not only to reduce incidents of child abuse but also to ensure children have adequate support to heal from abuse they’ve experienced. It is our responsibility to protect children, and I am confident that this funding will help combat child abuse in Delaware.”

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