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| Greetings NACHSA Members! |
Federal Update: The Congress has returned from its July 4 recess. Today, the House is expected to adopt by a wide margin the Workforce Investment Act reauthorization. The Senate passed the bill (HR 803) last month by a vote of 95-3. NACo has prepared a helpful summary of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act which may be found here.
And, as reported in the June 27 e-Alert, Congress has agreed to a bipartisan, bicameral child protection bill making a number of changes to child welfare, sex trafficking and child support. A five-page summary has been prepared by the Committees of jurisdiction and may be accessed here. No amendments will be allowed when it reaches the House and Senate floors. The House may adopt the measure as early as next week, with the Senate following suit shortly thereafter.
On Friday, the NACHSA Board and membership will hold a meeting during the NACo Annual Conference in New Orleans. A summary of that meeting will be made available in an upcoming e-Alert.
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| Human Services Resources |
Elder Justice Report Released Today: HHS and the Department of Justice released a framework for tackling elder abuse prevention and prosecution. The Elder Justice Roadmap was developed with input from hundreds of public and private stakeholders nationwide. The report will be considered by the Elder Justice Coordinating Council and others in developing their own strategic plans to prevent and combat elder abuse. A Fact sheet on elder abuse is available. Read the press release here.
SNAP Error Rates at All-Time Lows: USDA has released the FY 2013 error rates for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The percentage of SNAP benefit dollars issued to ineligible households or to eligible households in excessive amounts fell for the seventh consecutive year in 2013 to 2.61 percent -- the lowest national overpayment rate since USDA began the current system of measuring error rates in 1981. To see how your state performed, click here. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities also prepared an issue brief which may be read here.
States Awarded Bonuses for SNAP Application Processing: Follow this link to a chart listing states winning cash bonus awards for high performance in SNAP application processing in FY 2013.
SNAP Heat & Eat: A posting on the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) website explains the 2014 Farm Bill change in coordination between SNAP and LIHEAP payments, reviews developments on state actions to protect SNAP benefit levels, cites comments from several governors, and provides links to relevant resources on "heat and eat," including USDA's March 5th and April 7th memoranda regarding Section 4006. Access the sources here.
Report Focuses on Family Homelessness: The effects of the Great Recession continue to linger for millions of homeless children and families, with over 1.1 million children identified as homeless in the 2011-2012 school year. A recent longitudinal study, Service and Housing Interventions for Families in Transition, sheds light on the situation of homeless children and families by examining the needs and characteristics of a group of homeless children and families over a year and a half. This study also analyzes the corresponding supports and services necessary to ensure residential stability among various subgroups of families. Read it here.
CFSRs Are Heading Your Way...: The third round of Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR) begins in 2015. Click here to read a summary of the changes and a list of states and years in which they may be reviewed.
New Report: Adverse Family Experiences Among Children in Nonparental Care: The National Center on Health Statistics released a report regarding adverse experiences of children in nonparental care, including data for children in foster care. Data show that nearly two-thirds of children in foster care were reported to have a parent or caregiver who abused alcohol or other drugs, over half had ever witnessed violence between caregivers, over half had ever lived with a parent or caregiver who was incarcerated and over 40 percent had lived with a caregiver who was mentally ill. The report also describes children in the care of grandparents and other relatives and compares cumulative adverse experiences of children living with two, one or neither of their biological parents. Not surprisingly, children living apart from their parents, and particularly children in foster care, experienced significantly more adversity than did children living with one or both parents. A copy of the report may be found here.
State ACA Enrollment Data Available: HHS has added data on Health Insurance Marketplace and Medicaid enrollment to its online "State by State" tool that shows the impact of the Affordable Care Act in each state. For each state, the site now details Marketplace enrollment by gender, age, and plan, and provides overall Medicaid enrollment numbers.
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Tom Joseph
National Association of County Human Services Administrators
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