More than 250 Organizations Urge the House to Prioritize Children’s Safety in FY26 DHS Appropriations Vote
March 5, 2026
In the age of COVID-19, don’t forget our incarcerated youth
Rebecca Isaksen,
May 1, 2020
The last few weeks have seen COVID-19 outbreaks in multiple juvenile detention facilities throughout the country. The largest of these outbreaks has been in Virginia’s Bon Air juvenile detention facility where a quarter of all the cases reported at youth facilities nationwide have occurred. This outbreak was predicted by advocates concerned with the welfare of those in juvenile detention and could have been prevented.
Front-line workers demand COVID-19 aid for beleaguered local, state governments
David Elliot,
April 30, 2020
This week, AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, a CHN member organization, is calling on Congress to pass a robust aid package for state and local governments in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation. A new analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities underscores the urgency of this request: over three years, the shortfall in state government revenue alone will be $650 billion, not counting losses to local governments.
Coronavirus and the elderly: Stories of hopelessness, solitude, isolation, and despair
David Elliot,
April 24, 2020
When we at CHN asked our online supporters to share their stories about the coronavirus pandemic, we heard from a number of elderly people with a wide range of concerns. Some expressed a sense of hopelessness, solitude, isolation, and despair. Others feared that if they get sick, they will not be treated and will instead be sacrificed for younger patients who are deemed more likely to survive. Others still worry about an ongoing lack of testing and whether the resources will exist for them to be able to access treatment.
‘We need an army to do this.’ Experts say contact tracing may disrupt COVID-19’s spread
Olivia Maurer,
April 23, 2020
What is contact tracing and how can it be used to interrupt COVID-19’s deadly path around the world? Imagine going about your daily life with bright red paint on your hands. Everything and everyone you come into contact with is affected. If you brush against someone in the supermarket, they might get a little bit of paint on themselves. They might bring it home to their own family, who could then spread it even further. Contact tracing has the potential to interrupt COVID-19’s chain of transmission by identifying those who are infected, and then locating and notifying their recent contacts.
CHN’s Deborah Weinstein: Congress takes some needed steps — but a fearful nation needs more.
Deborah Weinstein,
April 22, 2020
The latest COVID-19 legislative package should keep some workers in jobs and keep some businesses from folding. The funds for health care providers and for testing are needed. But this is far from all that is required to get millions of unemployed workers, retirees, and families out of the disastrous economic situation we’re in. Congress must continue its work via three essential routes: ensuring everyone can get medical treatment and protection against the coronavirus; supporting the incomes of millions of struggling people; and shoring up the state and local institutions of government that are needed to continue the services we depend upon.
