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News from Every Child Counts
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The Capitol was buzzing earlier this week as preparations were underway for the visit of Vice President XI Jinping of China. The Capitol looked very nice and the menu looked even better!On Tuesday, the House released their budget for Education and the Senate released their version of the Education budget on Thursday. The House and Senate did not increase or decrease any of the funding areas for ECI - same amounts as last year. The two Chambers are far apart - about 133 million apart on this budget! The Education appropriations bill will officially start in the Senate - we should see an official bill with a number sometime next week. Senate Target: $908,142,838 (Sen. is $52 million above Gov)
House Target: $775,197,196 (House is $80.9 million under Gov)The biggest areas of difference are in the Regents and Community Colleges line items - they are about $90 million apart on these two areas. Also, the House cuts Iowa Public Television by 40% and the Senate adds $315,000 to avoid lay-offs.We should see a budget from the HHS budget subcommittee next week.
Also, on Tuesday, the Senate passed SF 2161 by a 48-0 vote. This bill increases the Earned Income Tax Credit from the current 7% to 20% over the next two years. Now it goes to the House and then to the Governor to sign. If you remember, the Governor vetoed an increase in EITC twice last year even though the increase ( to 10%) passed both Chambers unanimously. The education reform bill (HSB 517) will be considered in the House Education Committee Monday afternoon. There are many amendments (not released yet) to be considered so it will be a long meeting! Also, House Republicans hosted a meeting earlier this week with Matthew Ladner, senior adviser for policy and research for the Foundation of Excellence in Education for a presentation on Florida's retention program. (Part of the Governor Branstad's plan is to retain children in third grade if they don't meet certain requirements and modeled his proposal after Florida's). He was joined by Waterloo School District Superintendent Gary Norris, who was previously a superintendent in Sarasota, Fla. Stay tuned..........this topic of third grade retention will be an interesting debate.
The first funnel week is next week - this means - end of next week is the final date for Senate bills to be reported out of Senate committees (and House bills out of House committees) or the bill dies. Having said that, bill language could still be resurrected sometime during the session in other bills.
Have a nice weekend! Sincerely,
Sheila Hansen & Danielle Oswald-Thole
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President Obama Releases
2013 Budget
Early Care and Education Programs received some attention in the President's budget for 2013.
- The Child Care and Development Block Grant would receive an $825 million increase. The increased funding level would allow a total of 1.5 million children to receive child care assistance. Out of the discretionary funding increase, $300 million would be targeted for a new initiative to support child care quality infrastructure, rating systems to help parents identify high-quality child care, and teacher quality improvement. A portion of these new quality funds would be distributed on a formula basis and a portion would be distributed on a competitive basis to states.
- Head Start would be increased by $85 million, to $8.054 billion. This funding level would allow a total of 962,000 young children, including approximately 114,000 infants and toddlers in Early Head Start, to continue to receive comprehensive early education service.
- Race to the Top, competitive grants for education reform, would receive $850 million in funding. A portion of this Race to the Top funding would be used for Early Learning Challenge Grants for systemic improvements in early care and education programs.
- A State Paid Leave Fund would be established within the Department of Labor with $5 million in funding. The fund would be used to provide start-up grants and technical assistance to states interested in establishing paid leave programs.
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Bills of Interest
 Quality Early Care and Education A study bill for an act relating to programs and activities under the purview of the department of education, the state board of education, the board of educational examiners, school districts, and accredited nonpublic schools; and providing for the retention of certain fees and for the use of certain funds. 01/11/12 Subcommittee - Quirmbach, Schoenjahn, Hamerlinck (In Education) UPDATE - The bill will be debated in full Committee on Monday.SF 2219 (formerly SSB 3102) - A study bill for an act relating to the continuation of the Iowa early intervention block grant program and including effective date provisions. UPDATE - passed Education Committee on 2/15. This bill deals with class size and literacy programs (not Early ACCESS).
HF 2216 - An Act modifying Iowa's human services and education systems to ensure that children start school ready to learn and to increase Iowa's student achievement rates, making appropriations to the department of education and for deposit in funds under the control of the department. By Murphy
NEW:
HSB 629- A study bill relating to eligibility of older children for the statewide preschool program for four-year-old children. Subcommittee - Forristall, Jorgensen, and Steckman
Child Health and Well-Being
HF 2226 (formerly HSB 510) - A study bill relating to child abuse reports and disposition data. Subcommittee- Fry, Garrett, Hunter, Lofgren, and Mascher (In Human Resources) UPDATE - voted out of Human Resources on 2/1. SF 2019 - A bill for an act relating to mandatory infant safe sleep training for personnel of child care facilities and child care homes and including applicability provisions. (Referred to Human Resources) Subcommittee, Hatch, Dotzler, and Johnson. HF 2010 - A bill for an act prohibiting a licensed foster parent from providing child care when a foster child is present who has been found to have committed abuse of another child. Subcommittee - Massie, Heaton, and Oldson. (In Judiciary) HF 2130- An Act prohibiting family foster home providers from providing child care in the home.HF 2283 (formerly SSB 3056)-An Act relating to the Iowa health information network, providing for fees, and including effective date provisions Companion Bill -HSB 361 UPDATE- passed Senate Human Resources on 2/8. HF 2093 - An Act creating the Iowa hot lunch challenge campaign, Subcommittee - Cownie, Abdul-Samad, and Pearson.SF 2035- A bill for an act relating to child abuse by prohibiting retaliation for reporting, providing for implementation of reporting policies at postsecondary institutions, requiring planning for training requirements, and providing for the distribution of information on child sexual abuse, and providing a remedy. (result of Penn State controversy). Update - amended and passed by Senate Education Committee on 2/15.
HF 2135 - An Act expanding the newborn safe haven Act to infants one year of age or younger. HF 2195- An Act providing for the issuance of a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth, providing for a fee, and including effective date provisions. Subcommittee, Kaufmann, Anderson, and Wessel-Kroeschell. (Companion bill SF 2176) SF 2119 -An Act relating to the sealing and expungement of child abuse registry information . Passed HR Committee 2/2. SSB 3097- An Act relating to human papillomavirus including a public awareness program and making appropriations for the public awareness program, provision of vaccinations, and cervical cancer screening. Sub - Bolkcom, Ragan, Boettger NEW: SSB 3152 - An Act relating to redesign of publicly funded mental health and disability services by requiring certain core services and addressing other services and providing for establishment of regions and including effective date and applicability provisions. Subcommittee - Hatch, Ragan, Bolkcom, Boettger, Seymour (Companion bill - HSB 630) HSB 624 - A study bill relating to terminology changes in Iowa Code references to mental retardation. 2-10-12 Subcommittee - Schulte, Heddens, and Massie. Update - passed Human Resources on 2/15.HF 2283 - (formerly HSB 561) - A bill for an act relating to the Iowa health information network, providing for fees, and including effective date provisions - referred to Ways and Means. (Companion SF 2166 - passed out of committee) Child and Family Economic Success
HF 2161 (formerly HSB 519) -A study bill relating to property taxation and local government budget. Update - passed House on 2/14. HF 559 - A bill for an act authorizing the establishment of health insurance exchanges in the state and including effective date provisions. Subcommittee - Pettengill, Fry, and Oldson. SF 2161 (Formerly SSB 3116) - An Act relating to the amount of the earned income tax credit. Increasing credit from 7% to 13%. Update - passed full Senate on 48-0 on 2/15. HF 2038 - HF 2045, and HF 204- all bills related to drug testing recipients of FIP and/or unemployment benefits. A subcommittee was held on three bills at the same time. No further action to report except lots of opposition to the bills. SF 2040 - An Act to increase the state minimum hourly wage. Update- subcommittee held and many businesses spoke out against the bill. The House said they will not take it up if it passes the Senate. .
SF 2024 - An Act relating to workforce training programs in community colleges and making appropriations. Update - amended and passed Education Committee on 2/15. SSB 3128 - An Act relating to the Iowa comprehensive health insurance association and to HIPIOWA-FED, and including effective date provisions.NEW:
HF 2287- A bill for an act creating a tracking and reporting system for certain tax credits awarded by the economic development authority.
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"I spend half my time comforting the afflicated, and the other half afflicting the comfortable."
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2012 Day on the Hill A Huge Success Kick off of 2000 Days Campaign
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Linn Co. Advocates meet with their elected officials at the Capitol
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Rep. Mary Mascher of Iowa City suggested that, in addition to visiting legislators at the Capitol, it's important to show legislators the valuable early-childhood efforts taking place in their local communities-setting up a visit to an innovative child-care center or child development home, for example-before they even show up in Des Moines in January.
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A visitor to the Capitol takes time to read the story behind the funding of early childhod programs.
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It's important that as many people as possible show up to make the case, especially early in the session, said Rep. Dave Heaton, of Mt. Pleasant, who chairs the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee. "With my budget, by the time it reaches the floor it's too late." He credited citizens who visit the Capitol for events such as ECI's Day on the Hill. "Everyone who comes up has a lot of passion," said Heaton, noting the commitment required to a day off work, come to Des Moines, find a place to park, and haul around the Capitol all day.
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Nancy Amidei called the session for ECI members before they came up the Capitol "absolutely brilliant," full of "smart discussion ... not just about need for money, but how do you get the revenue you need? ... I'm going away with a gazillion ideas to take back home," she said
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Advocates from Y.O.U.R., Inc from Fort Dodge meet with their State Sen. Daryl Beall
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Thank you to everyone who participated. Keep up the good work!!!
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Get timely updates from the Child and Family Policy Center:
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How is state policy affecting the families around you?
Tell us about it! Sheila Hansen
Every Child Counts
Director
Danielle Oswald-Thole
Every Child Counts Outreach Coordinator and Policy Advocate
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A donation to
Every Child Counts helps us do what's good for Iowa kids
and families.
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Health Care Update
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on Wednesday that the Affordable Care Act provided approximately 54 million Americans with at least one new free preventive service in 2011 through their private health insurance plans. Secretary Sebelius also announced that an estimated 32.5 million people with Medicare received at least one free preventive benefit in 2011, including the new Annual Wellness Visit, since the health reform law was enacted.
The Affordable Care Act requires many insurance plans to provide coverage without cost sharing to enrollees for a variety of preventive health services, such as colonoscopy screening for colon cancer, Pap smears and mammograms for women, well-child visits, and flu shots for all children and adults. The law also makes proven preventive services free for most people on Medicare.The full report on expanded preventive benefits in private health insurance is available here.
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Legislative Forums
Many of you can't make it to the State Capitol in Des Moines - that doesn't mean you can't have some face to face time with your state legislator.
Legislators host forums in their districts throughout the session. They get a chance to update constituents on the issues and listen to concerns from constituents .
House Republican Forums (it appears the House Republican forum schedule has not been updated in sometime - you have to click on member name and then click on forums)
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