Children's Trust Policy Post
March 31, 2015
U.S. House of Representatives Votes in Favor of Home Visiting Reauthorization
Bill Must Now Be Approved by Senate 
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 392-37 in favor of legislation that will permanently fix the manner in which physicians are paid under the Medicare program.  Also known as the "Doc Fix," the supplemental growth rate (SGR) legislation had bipartisan support and included the two year reauthorization of the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program with level funding. 

The legislation now moves to the Senate. The Senate is expected to take up the bill and pass it as soon as they return on April 13.

Supporters are urged to contact Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott.  Please ask for their support to continue this program that has supported high-risk families in communities across the country and in South Carolina through intensive, voluntary home visiting services since 2010.  

More information on home visiting, including fact sheets, models, local program and outcomes is available. 

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April is Child Abuse Prevention Month
Wear Blue Day is Friday, April 10
As the statewide leader focused on preventing child abuse, neglect and unintentional injury, Children's Trust announces April as Child Abuse Prevention Month in South Carolina.

Children's Trust is home to the state affiliate of Prevent Child Abuse America and is proud to be a leader in the national campaign, "Pinwheels for Prevention."
 
The pinwheel represents the happy, healthy, carefree childhood that every child deserves and the vision and commitment to give them the opportunity to thrive in a nurturing environment. In a show of support, organizations throughout South Carolina will use the pinwheel in garden displays and other activities during April.

More information, including details on Wear Blue Day and child abuse prevention month resources, is available.

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Report Available on Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities
Last fall, the 2015 Early Childhood Common Agenda (ECCA) brought together a coalition of statewide early childhood experts to offer specific recommendations for building a smart, comprehensive early childhood system for children 0-5 years old.

Partners, organized into committees addressing critical policy contexts, have been charged with the release of reports this legislative session further supporting their recommendations in the ECCA.

The Racial and Ethnic Disparities Committee has recently completed their work, Asset-Based Community Development: Equitably Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities. The report endorses the application of racial equity impact assessments to proposed legislation and supports more widespread use of the Asset-Based Community Development framework for recognizing and building on the strengths of communities of color across the state.

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S.C. Senate Oversight Committee Released Department of Social Services Report
Recommendations Made for Changes to State's Child Welfare System
The Senate Oversight Committee released their recommendations for improvements to South Carolina's child welfare systems based on the findings of the most recent Legislative Audit Council and testimony received during the committee's hearings over the last year.

Recommendations include examining the Department of Social Security's (DSS) case load capacity and case worker qualifications, centralizing reporting and licensing of child care facilities. The report also called for improved collaboration with partnering organizations including law enforcement and child advocacy centers.

Many of the recommendations contained within the report would require additional funding, such as the creation of local child fatality review teams (county coroner, pediatricians and others) to review child abuse and neglect fatalities and report findings to the State Child Fatality Advisory Committee. In their presentation to the Senate Finance subcommittee last week, DSS has requested funding to create seven of these local review teams, estimated to cost $50,000 each.

The Senate Oversight Committee is scheduled to meet again on Wednesday, April 1, at 10 a.m.
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House and Senate Schedules
The House of Representatives will not meet the week of March 30 or April 6, and the Senate will not meet the week of April 6. 

Both the House and Senate will resume meeting in statewide session on Tuesday, April 14. 
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First Step Study Committee Examines New Report
The First Steps Study Committee heard testimony last week regarding 4-K program and governance of early childhood systems. The Education Oversight Committee highlighted their 2014-2015 report, S.C. Child Early Reading Development & Education Program.

The report shows there are 59,000 four year olds in South Carolina, and 71 percent of them live in poverty.  Of those, 46 percent of at-risk four year olds (eligible for free or reduced lunch program and/or Medicaid) are being served through public 4-K, an increase of 35 percent from the year prior.

The committee discussed the significant challenge of closing the achievement gap between all South Carolina students and students in the Child Development Education Pilot Program (CDEPP). Ideas considered include: additional private child care participation, improving the ABC quality program, high quality training and technical assistance for early child care providers, and ongoing assessments of students and classroom environment.

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"Week of the Young Child" Scheduled for April 11-18
National child care advocates celebrate April 11-18 as "Week of the Young Child." State partners, including Childcare Resource and Referral, the South Carolina Association for Educators of Young Children and SC First Steps, have planned a variety of events aimed at raising awareness about our youngest learners.

In Greenville County, Week of the Young Child includes many family friendly events including Kids' on the Green, Family Nights at local parks and restaurants, literacy nights, and advocacy efforts.

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Child Welfare News from Around the Country
Connecticut:  Birthmothers Hope Access to Key Documents will Help Advance Adoption Reform 
CTNewsJunkie.com reports on positive testimony for a bill that would give birthmothers access to the paper that they signed terminating their parental rights. Advocates believe that opening documents will further the adoption reform movement because documents will show what confidentiality, if any, was promised to birth parents when parental rights were terminated. Click here to track the legislation. 

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Maryland Make Progress Embedding Family Engagement Framework into Early Childhood Systems
Maryland received an Early Learning Challenge grant in December 2011. A key goal was to strengthen family engagement across the early childhood system. Over the past three years, the state has made significant progress.

The Maryland Family Engagement Coalition was formed in 2012 and included early childhood educators, policy makers, service providers and community advocates. They developed and received approval on a family engagement framework, outlining seven goals for family engagement and offering strategies that programs and providers can use to meet them.

The coalition is currently compiling an Effective Practices Guide to strengthen technical assistance for embedding the framework into policies and practices. The framework addresses work in multiple settings to learn how organizations (including child care, public prekindergarten, Head Start, home visiting programs and libraries) are meeting family engagement goals. Maryland has also taken steps to embed the framework into state systems by including family engagement indicators at all levels of its Quality Rating and Improvement System and initiating a series of Parent Caf�s

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Tribes Face Hurdles with Federal Foster Care
ParkerPioneer.net reports that tribes continue to face "significant hurdles" to getting foster care programs approved and running, said David Simmons, director of government affairs and advocacy at the National Indian Child Welfare Association. The organization is trying to help tribes through the process.

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Policy Post is published by Children's Trust of South Carolina.

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