About Child Welfare Wonk
Welcome to Child Welfare Wonk, where we dive deep into the weeds of federal policy so you don't have to (though let’s be honest, some of you fellow nerds want to).
Whether you're a Hill staffer trying to figure out how to help your boss stop confusing Title IV-B and Title IV-E (or start talking about them, come to think of it…), an advocate frantically googling AFCARS data for your next board presentation, or a researcher/service provider wondering why your incredible evidence-based program is stuck in the M.C. Escher-inspired labyrinth that is the IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse review process– this newsletter is for you.
Every week you’ll get timely inside-baseball updates on federal policy, thorough analysis (with some fun to minimize its soporific effect), and everything else you need to do your important work improving the lives of children and families.
About Zach Laris
I'm Zach, a social entrepreneur who has been working for the past 15 years to make federal policy work better for children and families. I spent 12 of those years as an advocate at the American Academy of Pediatrics (or “Big Child” when I was trying to look cool at parties, though alas I am not…), leading their federal child welfare policy and advocacy work.
My passion is the intersection of health, human services, and economic policy as it impacts children and families in or likely to enter the child welfare system. As a child welfare policy nerd I am here to help your critical work; I will gladly turn snoozy 200-page white papers and Delphic sub-regulatory policy guidance into what you actually need to know for Monday’s staff meeting, or to be able to talk to a foster parent at a constituent coffee when they start speaking in acronyms and jargon.
I have an MPH in health policy from GW, where I spent much of my time looking at the intersection of health and child welfare policy. I am the kind of dork who got excited to write his master’s capstone about federal policy opportunities to expand access to non-pharmaceutical mental health treatment options for youth in foster care.
I founded and run Bolder Horizon, a non-profit startup creating educational materials for policymakers and their staff and supporting their productive partnership with leading policy experts. I also have a complementary policy and advocacy consulting practice. The through line across my work is bringing together policymakers and their staff, issue experts, lived experts, and advocates to find bipartisan pathways to better outcomes for children and families.
