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January 25, 2012

NACHSA e-Alert

 

Greetings NACHSA Members:

The House and Senate returned this week to hear the President's State of the Union address. Both houses, however, are not conducting any substantive business. House and Senate conferees met yesterday to begin negotiations on extending past February 29 the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, but little progress was made. A short-term TANF reauthorization is expected to remain as part of that package.

 

This week, the Administration also announced that it is delaying its FFY 2013 budget submission to Congress by one week. It will now be released on February 13.

In This Issue
Human Services Resources
Webinars
NACHSA News
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Human Services Resources

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day: The IRS declared this Friday as EITC Awareness Day. Millions of workers could qualify for the first time this year because their earnings dropped or their marital or parental statuses changed in 2011. Many more may already qualify but do not know it, such as childless workers, people with English as a second language, and grandparents raising their grandchildren. To promote the use of the EITC, the IRS has created the EITC Central containing tips for running an EITC campaign, and information for state and local governments. And, with Marketing Express, you can create customized EITC posters and print ads with your county's name, address and message.

 

New Data on Child Welfare Outcomes: The Child Welfare Outcomes Report Data site is updated with data from 2007 through 2010. Click here to go to a webpage that contains 2007-2010 data for each state.

 

Nearly Half of US Receives Government Benefits: According to this recent Wall Street Journal blog, the pool of Americans relying on government benefits rose to record highs last year. Some 48.6% of the population lived in a household receiving some type of government benefit in the second quarter of 2010, according to Census data. The largest chunk of benefits flowing to families came from means-tested programs. In the second quarter, 34.4% lived in a household benefiting from food stamps, subsidized housing or Medicaid, among others.

 

Indicators of Children's Economic Well-Being: The Brookings Institution has updated an issue brief tracking the economic well-being of children during the recession with three indicators: children with an unemployed parent, individuals receiving nutrition assistance benefits, and child poverty. Click here to view the brief which includes state-by-state charts. (17 pp.)

 

Administration Launches Summer Youth Initiative: Earlier this month, the White House announced a jobs initiative for youth, targeting the creation of summer jobs. Various federal agencies, departments and several businesses and non-profit organizations have agreed to create or hire at least 180,000 youth by July 2012 with an overall goal of at least 250,000. The Administration noted that last July, only 48 percent of youth aged 16 through 24 were working. Ten years earlier, more than 63 percent of this population was working. Only 33 percent of African American youth and 42 percent of Hispanic youth had jobs last July. Click here to learn more. 

 

A Review of State TANF Emergency Fund Programs: HHS has published this extensive report (150 pp.) on how TANF Emergency Funds supported subsidized employment in 2009 and 2010 as part of the Recovery Act.  States' and counties' subsidized employment programs varied differently across the country, and this report documents those differences.

 

Teen Parents in Foster Care: Risk Factors and Outcomes for Teens and Their Children:  Child Trends released a new brief reviewing existing research on teens in foster care and analyses of regional data to assess the extent to which teens in foster care are at risk of teen pregnancy and parenting. It identifies several challenges to reducing rates of pregnancy and childbearing among teens in foster care and to preventing negative outcomes. The brief aims to increase understanding of this high-risk population; to inform strategies to reduce teen pregnancies in foster care and support teen parents in foster care and their children; and to identify issues that need further research. (9 pp.)

 

HHS Annual Report on Child Maltreatment: This report includes detailed information about child maltreatment from all 50 states. During FY 2010, an estimated 3.3 million referrals were received by Child Protective Service (CPS) agencies, of which 436,321 were substantiated. The most common form of abuse was neglect (78.3%), followed by physical abuse (17.6%) and sexual abuse (9.2%).  A total of 1,537 fatalities were reported due to abuse and neglect, with the vast majority (79.4%) of fatalities occurring among children age four and younger. In addition to national data, the report compares child maltreatment levels among states.

Webinars

Child Welfare, Race, and Disparity: On February 9, at 10 am EST, Chapin Hall will hold a webinar on racial disparity in the child welfare system.   

 

Efforts to understand and describe the Black/White placement gap have given rise to a new set of questions. Does the magnitude of the gap differ in different localities? Do places that have high disparity rates share other characteristics? Are factors such as family structure, unemployment, and parental education levels related in any way to disparity rates? If so, how should what we learn about where disparity is greatest influence public investments promoting greater equity for children and families?

 

Panelists will explore the sometimes complex relationships between social context--family structure, unemployment rates, and adult education levels--and the degree of racial disparity. Panelists will provide their thoughts on where to go with investments intended to promote equity. Register for the live webcast here. 

NACHSA News

NACHSA Dues Are Due: Please click here to access the 2012 dues form.

 

NACHSA Awards Process Underway: NACHSA welcomes applications from dues-paying members for awards highlighting innovative county programs; exemplary human services directors, and elected officials demonstrating steadfast support of health and human services programs.  

 

Applications are due February 6 to Ashley Carlini ([email protected]). Winners will be notified before NACo's Legislative Conference and awards will be presented at the Human Services and Education Committee meeting on Sunday, March 4. There is no fee for applying and winners need not be present. Click here to view the applications.    

 

NACHSA's national awards program recognizes and celebrates the all-too-often unnoticed efforts of counties to serve vulnerable persons. NACHSA knows that the past few years have been extremely stressful balancing decreasing budgets with increasing service demands. It's time to take a breather and pat yourself and others on the back.  

Especially in these challenging times, NACHSA wants to celebrate the human services community and all that you do. The winning entries will be portrayed in the NACHSA Networker and other exemplary programs will be archived on the NACHSA website so that other counties may benefit from your work.  

Click here for the letter announcing the awards process.

 

The award applications follow:

Innovations in Human Services Award

Elected Official Leadership Award

Directors' Leadership Award

 

NACHSA Offers Scholarships to NACo Conference: On behalf of NACHSA President Glenn Osborne, NACHSA is pleased to offer a limited number of scholarships to help defray the costs of attending the NACo/NACHSA Legislative Conference. Scholarships of $1,000 will be granted to successful applicants to reimburse expenses associated with the Conference (e.g., airfare, hotel, conference registration, meals).  Click here to view the NACo Legislative Conference website. 

 

If you are interested in being considered for a scholarship, please contact Tom Joseph at [email protected] to receive a brief (2 pp.) application. Dues-paying directors of county human services agencies and dues-paying state association executives are eligible. Applications are due February 6, 2012. 

Tom Joseph
National Association of County Human Services Administrators