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News from Every Child Counts
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4/13/12
Both chambers began the work of sending bills to conference committees by insisting on their own amendments and sending at least seven appropriation bills to conference committee. If they can get the budget bills resolved, they might be able to get some of the issues like education reform, mental health reform, property tax reform and the Earned Income Tax Credit resolved.
Here are the Conference Committees we are following so far:
SF 2313 - Admin and Reg Approps Conf. Committee:
Senate - Jochum, Bowman, Danielson, Bartz and Ernst
House - Watts, J Smith, Rogers, Kelley, Hunter
SF 2321 - Education Approps Conf. Committee:
Senate - Schoenjahn, Quirbach, Horn Hamerlinck, McKinley
House - Dolecheck, Cownie, Jorgensen, Winckler and Steckman
Both of these committees met on Thursday, basically to organize. They will probably meet again on Tuesday (the official - unofficial last day of session)!
SF 2284 (education reform) passed the Senate on 4/9 on a party line vote. Some of the items in the bill include:
- Focusing on early reading and small class sizes in the early grades so teachers can help struggling students catch up.
- Helping students to learn at their own pace. Those who master the basics quickly should be helped to move ahead as far as they can in the subjects they love most.
- Local pilot projects to extend the school year and school day to measure the impact on student achievement.
- Intensifying connections between schools and the families of struggling students.
- Kindergarten assessments
The bill was sent to the House and assigned to a subcommittee and a meeting scheduled but then it was cancelled at the last minute. We are unsure at this time when/if the House will take up the bill.
Mental health reform has been on the debate calendar for a several days now but the House is yet to bring it to the floor for debate. We are still hearing lots of rumors about why it isn't being debated! We hope it will be brought up for debate some time soon.
HF 2435 (HHS budget bill) is still waiting to be brought up for debate in the House. In the meantime, the Senate decided to go ahead and debate their HHS budget bill on Thursday. SF 2336 passed the Senate on a party line vote late Thursday afternoon. Some highlights of increases in funding in the bill are:
- 4% child care provider rate increase
- $1,250,000 for child protection centers
- $97,000 to support children aging out of foster care
- $25,000 allocation for autism pilot project
- $600,000 to support family self sufficiency
- 500,000 for food bank food purchases
- $100,000 for University of Iowa Dental Program
- $885,000 various safety net providers such as community health centers, free clinics, rural clinics, specialty care, and low-cost prescription drugs
- $2.5 million for Tobacco Prevention and Cessation to return to the fiscal year 2011 level of $5.3 million. (House eliminates ALL anti-tobacco funding)
- Restores hawk-i outreach dollars (House eliminated)
Here is a good article from the DM Register on how the debate went.
We need you to contact your legislator in the House and ask him/her to vote for SF 2336.
The House bill (HF 2435) provides significantly less or even no money in their bill for some of the programs listed above. It is important that they hear from their constituents (you). Whether your issue is child care provider rates, hawk-i outreach dollars or whatever it may be, you need to let your legislator know that you support the Senate bill and ask them to vote for it! Please email or call your legislator in the House at 515.281.3221.
Also, these legislators are having forums this week - you can attend and ask them to support SF 2336.
Representative Baudler
April 14: 10 a.m. Cass County Museum Representative Drake
April 14: 10:00 a.m. P.R.I.D.E. Forum Cass County Museum
The Standings bill (HF 2465) passed the House on 4/11 on a party line vote. This bill cut Shared Visions funding , Prevention of Child Abuse Grants and many other programs by 10%. The House did pass an amendment during debate to reinstate the amount cut for the child abuse preventions programs but voted down an amendment to reinstate the cut to Shared Visions. We are working with the Senate to get the amount restored to Shared Visions that was cut.
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is still being held hostage. Hopefully, we will have good news sometime soon on this one!!!!
There is a lot of work to do in the next few days. Now is not the time to sit back and watch it play out. Please make contact with your legislators and let them know you are still paying attention and want them to invest in children and their families!!Thank you for all you do. Have a good weekend but no relaxing until you call or email your legislator or at least put it on your calendar to do on Monday!!!!! :-)
Sincerely,
Sheila Hansen & Danielle Oswald-Thole
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 Early Care and Education in the President's Budget! |
Program
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Proposed Investment for FY13
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Child Care and Dev.
Block Grant
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$825 million increase for FY12
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Head Start/Early Head Start
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$85 million increase over FY12
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Race to the Top (RTT)
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$850 million increase over FY12
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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
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$20 million increase over FY12 for infants and toddlers (Part C)
No change in funding from FY12 for the preschool program (Part B)
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21st Century Comm. Learning Centers
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No change in funding level from FY12
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Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (CACFP)
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No change in funding level from FY12
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Child and Dependent Tax Credit (DCTC)
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Expanded and0/year can benefit Extended so families earning up to $103,00 |
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Bills of Interest
 Quality Early Care and Education
SF 2219 - A bill for an act relating to the continuation of the Iowa early intervention block grant program and including effective date provisions. Passed Education Committee on 2/15. This bill deals with class size and literacy programs (not Early ACCESS). Passed Senate 26-24 on 2/27. Currently on House Calendar for debate. Fiscal Note
SF 2321- A study bill for an act relating to the funding of, the operation of, and appropriation of moneys to the college student aid commission, the department for the blind, the department of education, and the state board of regents, and providing effective date provisions. Conference Committee. Senate- Schoenjahn, Chair; Quirmbach, Horn, Hamerlinck, and McKinley. House- Dolecheck, Jorgensen, Cownie, Winckler, and Steckman
SF 2284 (ed reform)- A 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, the state board of regents, school districts, and accredited nonpublic schools; and providing for the retention of certain fees and for the use of certain funds. Fiscal Note can be read here. Update - passed Senate. Waiting to see if House takes action on it.
Child Health and Well-Being
SF 2315 - An Act relating to redesign of publicly funded mental health and disability services.. Update - Passed Senate on 3/12. Passed House Approps Committee with amendment on 3/22. Headed to House floor for debate.
Child and Family Economic Success
SF 2161 (Formerly SSB 3116) - An Act relating to the amount of the earned income tax credit. Increasing credit from 7% to 13%. Passed full Senate on 48-0 on 2/15. SF 2024 - An Act relating to workforce training programs in community colleges and making appropriations. Passed Senate 26 - 22 on 2/22. HF 2287- A bill for an act creating a tracking and reporting system for certain tax credits awarded by the economic development authority. Referred to Ways and MeansSSB 3192- A study bill for an act making the research activities tax credits nonrefundable and including effective date and applicability provisions. Subcommittee held- bill will probably not proceedSF 2325 (companion bill is HSB 673) - A bill for an act relating to the income tax checkoffs for the child abuse prevention program fund and the veterans trust fund and volunteer fire fighter preparedness fund, and including retroactive applicability provisions. Update - passed both Chambers - on the way to Governor for signature.
Signed by Governor: HF 2226 - A study bill relating to child abuse reports and disposition data. Signed 4/12/12. SF 2318- A bill for an act relating to the Iowa health information network, providing for fees, and including effective date provisions. Signed 4/12/12.HF 2390- A bill for an act relating to obscene material, commercial sexual activity, and human trafficking, and providing penalties and making penalties applicable. Signed 4/4/12. HF 2368- An Act providing for the issuance of a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth, providing for a fee, and including effective date provisions. Signed 3/26/12.
SF 2247- A study bill relating to terminology changes in Iowa Code references to mental retardation. Signed 3/22/12. SF 2225- 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. Mandatory reporting task force created. Signed 3/30/12
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"Even today we don't pay serious attention to the issue of poverty, because the powerful remain relatively untouched by it. Most people distance themselves from the issue by saying that if the poor worked harder, they wouldn't be poor."
Muhammad Yunus, Banker to the Poor: Micro Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
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The State of Preschool 2011
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by National Institute of Early Education Research |
 The 2011 State Preschool Yearbook is the newest edition of the annual report profiling state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. This latest Yearbook presents data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2010-2011 school year as well as documenting a decade of progress since the first Yearbook collected data on the 2001-2002 school year. You can download the Iowa report here.  | | Click on image to download full report |
 | | click on image to download state data |
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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
From Our Friends at the National Women's Law Center
Over 20 million women with private insurance have received at least one preventive health care service without a co-pay or deductible. Please help spread the word about what the new health care law is doing for women and watch this video: "I Will NOT Be Denied," and help people understand what will be lost if the Court strikes the law down.
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I Will NOT Be Denied
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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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Child-care assistance:
Iowa providers feel the pain of low reimbursement rates
Every Child Counts recently surveyed Iowa child-care owners and directors on the financial ramifications of the state's child-care assistance program. The responses were stark: Because the rates they are paid through the program are so low relative to current market rates, providers reported significant losses by accepting child-care subsidies (see reverse for examples). As a result, providers who can fill those slots with private-pay families reported they are increasingly choosing to do so. Providers in areas with few private-pay families reported sacrificing quality-in teacher pay, materials, repairs-to balance the books. Download the document here.
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Week of the Young Child
The Week of the Young Child™ is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The purpose of the Week of the Young Child™ is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. The 2012 Week of the Young Child™ is April 22-28 and the theme is Early Years Are Learning Years. Go to the Iowa AEYC website for information on events taking place in Iowa.
Governor Branstad will be signing a proclamation naming April 22-28 as Iowa's Week of the Young Child on Friday, April 20 at 2:00. |
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