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| Greetings NACHSA Members: |
| Washington is relatively quiet as Congress continues its recess through September 8. This e-Alert contains a second request to support a bill containing federal foster care improvements, a reminder that the NACHSA/APHSA Conference is around the corner, and a selection of human services resources that have crossed my screen in recent weeks. |
| Act NOW to Urge Congress to Enact Foster Care Reforms! |
Over a number of years, counties have joined advocacy organizations, foster youth, guardians and many others to urge the federal government to enact federal foster care reforms. Congress is very close to enacting major foster care reforms before members leave to campaign.
To demonstrate the widespread support for reform, national, state and local organizations are encouraged to sign on to a letter to House and Senate leadership urging adoption of a bill to improve outcomes for children and youth in foster care, including promoting permanent families through adoption, federal support for relative guardianship for children who cannot return home, and extending supports for youth who are emancipating. Click here for a one page summary.
The Senate Finance Committee is all but certain to approve its version on September 10. The letter anticipates that action and urges the House and Senate to move quickly toward final passage. The letter would be sent very soon after the Senate Finance Committee acts.
To sign on to the letter, please e-mail Varina Winder of the Alliance for Children and Families at vwinder@alliance1.org. Please provide the name of your county/state organization, your state, address, phone number, email address and a contact person should we need to reach you. The deadline for sign ons is September 9, 2008.
Thank you for your efforts. | |
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| NACHSA/APHSA Conference Coming Soon! |
| APHSA's fall conference will begin September 14. APHSA has offered NACHSA members who are not dues-paying members of APHSA the APHSA member conference registration rate. Go to http://www.aphsa.org/Home/home_news.asp for conference information. |
| September 3 Call on Voter Registration at Public Assistance Agencies |
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The Food Research and Action Center(FRAC) is hosting a conference call on September 3rd at 2:00 pm Eastern time to discuss the National Voter Registration Act requirements for voter registration at public assistance agencies. Project Vote will conduct the call. Food stamp as well as WIC, TANF, Medicaid and other agencies taking applications for public assistance must offer voter registration applications to clients and verbally inquire if they wish to register to vote.
According to Project Vote, many agencies are not complying fully with the Act. In 1995-1996 2.6 million voter registration applications came from public assistance agencies; in 2005-2006 the number was only slightly above ½ million. A memo with state-by-state numbers can be found at the Project Vote web site.
The call-in number is 866-339-1399, meeting number *3162717* Press the star button before and after the meeting number.
You do not need to register, but it would help FRAC to have an idea of how many people plan to call. If you plan to join, please e-mail Denise Odell at dodell@frac.org.
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| Elder Justice Community Grants Available |
| Through September 22, 2008, the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA) is accepting requests for funding to assist organizations in developing new, local multi-disciplinary elder justice networks. Ten mini-grants of $10,000 each will be awarded. Click here to download the RFP. |
| 2008 State Fact Sheets on Vulnerable Children |
| Prepared by the Child Welfare League of America, these Fact Sheets describe the condition of vulnerable children for each of the 50 states, using indicators of child protection, health, child care, education, and income support. |
| Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities |
| This ten page Child Welfare Information Gateway brief reviews the prevalence and characteristics of child abuse-related fatalities, including information about how many children die each year from maltreatment, which groups of children are most vulnerable, how the deaths occur, and what is known about the perpetrators. It also discusses the role of the community in preventing and responding to child deaths and provides a list of organizations to contact for more information. |
| Congressional Report on Youth Transitioning From Foster Care |
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This Congressional Research Service report for members of Congress describes the characteristics of older foster youth in care and the types of outcomes for those who have recently emancipated. It provides an overview of the federal foster care system, including the Chafee Foster Care Independence program, and provisions in federal law that are intended to help prepare youth for adulthood. Appendix A provides a summary of outcome statistics for youth who were in foster care, compared to youth in the general population; Appendix B summarizes state policies regarding youth remaining in care beyond age 18; Appendix C includes a description of foster care programs in selected states for youth ages 18 and older in foster care; Appendix D provides funding tables for the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, including information about funds returned to the Federal Treasury; and Appendix E summarizes pending legislation that would amend the CFCIP. Those appendices begin on page CRS 59. |
| 5 Million Americans Still Haven't Claimed Their Economic Stimulus Check |
| A large number of low-income seniors, disabled veterans and others with disabilities have not yet filed to receive their stimulus payments. Eligible people have until October 15 to file. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has prepared State Fact Sheets which also provide county-level detail on the numbers of individuals who have not filed and the total value of the unclaimed payments. |
| Child Care Use by Low-Income Families |
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This new Child Trends research brief (8 pp.) includes state-by-state data on the use of non-parental child care for children ages 0-4 among low-income families. The brief also describes differences in the types of child care used, and parents' experiences with child care problems that interfere with their work schedules across states. | |
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Tom Joseph
National Association of County Human Services Administrators
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