Greetings NACHSA Members:

This week, the Obama Administration released its FFY 2013 budget proposals. NACHSA has prepared a brief summary of proposals affecting county human services departments which may be found by clicking here.  

And, as this e-Alert went to press, an agreement has been reached on the tax extenders bill, including an extension of TANF through Sept. 30, 2012.    

Budget Highlights include:

TANF: The Administration provides little information on their TANF reauthorization proposal. The budget states that HHS will work with Congress to strengthen the program and ensure states have additional flexibility in administering it.  

Foster Care: The Administration has again proposed a special competitive grant fund to demonstrate innovations in foster care that reduce length of stays and other initiatives to achieve permanency outcomes.

Child Support: The Administration did not propose to renew the ability of state and county governments to leverage their performance incentive funds to draw down additional federal investments. Unlike last year, it did not propose a $300 million increase in the incentive pot.

CSBG: Rejected by Congress last year, the Administration again proposes to cut CSBG funding by half.   

SSBG: Current level funding is requested.

SNAP: The Administration proposes to extend the temporary boost in SNAP benefits enacted under the Recovery Act from Oct. 31, 2013 to March 31, 2014.

WIA: The Administration proposes essentially the same level of funding as appropriated last year.

Medicaid: The Administration has renewed its proposal from last spring which would blend the various matching rates for Medicaid, CHIP and the enhanced rate for newly-eligible individuals entering Medicaid in 2014 under health reform. The blended rate would take effect in 2017 and would save the federal government $14.9 billion.  

NACHSA Dues Are Due: Please click here to access the invoice. Thank you for your support!

Data Confirms Reduced Teen Pregnancy Rates: A new report by the Guttmacher Institute reinforces earlier information that the United States is experiencing historic declines in the teenage pregnancy and birth rates. The teen pregnancy rate in 2008 was 68 per 1,000 girls age 15-19; down from 117 per 1,000 in 1990. That translates into approximately 7 percent of teens becoming pregnant in 2008. Teen pregnancy has declined among all racial and ethnic groups since 1990-down 50% for whites, 48% for black teens, and 37% among Hispanic teens. Click here to read more.  

According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, teen childbearing in the United States cost taxpayers at least $10.9 billion in 2008. More information, including a state-by-state breakdown may be accessed here.

Disconnected Families and TANF: Between 20 to 25 percent of low-income single mothers are disconnected from both work and TANF, and up to 75 percent of this population face barriers to work. HHS has released this research brief on disconnected families and TANF. Since the inception of the TANF program in 1996, the "disconnected" population has become an increasing concern as families are leaving the TANF caseload without employment. (9 pp.)

Achievement Gap Between Rich & Poor Kids Widening: This recent NY Times article notes that, "Education was historically considered a great equalizer in American society, capable of lifting less advantaged children and improving their chances for success as adults". But  recently published studies suggest that the achievement gap between rich and poor children is widening. In analyses of long-term data published in recent months, researchers are finding that while the achievement gap between white and black students has narrowed significantly over the past few decades, the gap between rich and poor students has grown substantially.

U.S. Long-Term Unemployment: The Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative's study of unemployment data from the fourth quarter of 2011 shows 4 million jobless workers were without work for a year or longer. Read more.

Who Will be Newly-Covered by Health Reform and Where?:  This new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation reveals wide variation across local communities in the share of the population that could benefit from coverage expansion in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In parts of CA, FL, NM and TX, as much as 40% of the non-elderly population could benefit.  In contrast, many parts of states such as MA, HI, and NY - which already have high levels of employer-sponsored insurance or coverage reforms - will see as little as 2% of the population benefiting.

The analysis includes an interactive tool that allows users to enter in zip codes and see the percentage of people in their communities who could be helped by the ACA.

NACHSA Meeting at NACo: All NACHSA members are welcome to attend the NACHSA meeting during NACo's Legislative Conference. NACHSA will meet in the Washington Hilton on Saturday, March 3, beginning at 1:30 pm. ACF Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Greenberg will be the featured speaker. He will highlight the Administration's human services policy proposals, as well as hear from counties on issues of concern.

NACHSA Jobs: The Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services is searching for a Deputy Director. NACHSA posts senior positions free of charge to NACHSA members. Contact Tom Joseph at tj@wafed.com to post them.