Federal Landscape and Opportunities for Missouri's Children

1
Federal Landscape and Opportunities for
Missouri's Children

• December 9, 2008
• Citizens for Missouris Children Policy Briefing
• David Laird, Voices for Americas Children

2
Voices Vision Policy Goals

• EQUITY DIVERSITY All children achieve their
  full potential in a society that closes
  opportunity gaps and recognizes and values
  diversity
• HEALTH All children receive affordable,
  comprehensive, high-quality health care
• SCHOOL READINESS All children and their parents
  receive the services and supports to enable them
  to start school prepared for success
• SCHOOL SUCCESS All children  have an equal
  opportunity to attend an adequately and equitably
  financed public school meeting rigorous academic
  standards aligned with the needs of the 21st
  century workforce
• SAFETY All children are safe in their homes and
  communities from all forms of abuse, neglect,
  exploitation and violence, avoid risky behaviors,
  and contribute to community well-being
• ECONOMIC STABILITY All children live in families
  that can provide for their needs and make
  investments in their future

3
The United States Congress

• 111th Congress
• New Profiles of the House and Senate
• The House of Representatives257 (D) 178 (R)
• The Senate 56 (D) 41 (R) with 2 Independent
  voting with the Democrats.
• What do the elections mean?
• Do they know what they are getting themselves
  into?

4
What Does the Current Landscape Look Like?

• Challenges of the 111th
• Massive tax cuts expire in 2010
• War funding
• Years of deep cuts or flat funding for low income
  programs
• Economy
• Politics

5
What Does the Current Landscape Look Like? (cont.)

• Threats to children and families continue
• Cuts to Child Support Enforcement
• Veto of SCHIP, twice
• Harmful Medicaid regulations by CMS on use of
  targeted case management, rehabilitative
  services, health outreach in school
• Congressional reauthorizations of CAPTA, JJDPA,
  No Child Left Behind stalled

6
What Has This Congress Accomplished?

• What has Congress accomplished?
• Increase in the minimum wage to 7.25/hr.
• Approval of SCHIP Reauthorization
• Head Start Reauthorization
• Higher Education Act
• Food Stamps Reauthorization
• Second Chance Act
• Fostering Connections to Success Improved
  Adoptions Act

7
The Needs of Children

• More than 13 million children live in poverty
• More than 12 million children go to bed hungry
• Nearly nine million children are without health
  insurance
• Over 900,000 children are victims of child
  maltreatment each year
• Over 510,000 children in foster care on any given
  day
• Millions of children today are without access to
  proven early learning programs, quality child
  care, or afterschool programs

8
What are The Challenges Ahead?

• Broad challenges
• Funding, Funding, Funding
• PAYGO
• Gaining bipartisan support
• How will the new Administration work with
  Congress?

9
Economic Security
10
The Economy Children

• What does the Economic Bail-Out Mean to Children
  Families?
• If we can find 700 billion to rescue the titans
  Wall Street, surely we can find the will and
  urgency to provide essential supports for the
  families on Main Street.
• --Bill Bentley
• September, 2008

11
The Economy and Children

• Rates of unemployment could rise to nine
  percentthe highest mark in nearly 30 years.  
• The number of children living in poverty could
  increase by three million
• Currently 10.1 million Americans are unemployed,
  an increase of nearly three million over the past
  twelve months.
• Food Stamps assistance has increased by 10 over
  the past year from a mark of 27 million in August
  of 2007 to 29.5 million in 2008.
• One in four children are now receiving food stamp
  benefits.

12
The Housing Crisis...

• Over one million families have lost their homes
  since 2007.
• Another million mortgage holders are past due at
  least 30 days. A majority of the distressed
  mortgages are held by families with children.
• What does all this mean?

13
111th Congressional Agenda

• Economic Stimulus Plan
• State Childrens Health Insurance Plan
• Early Education Initiative
• No Child Left Behind
• Broad Child Welfare Financing Reform
• Juvenile Justice Reauthorization
• Concentrated Federal Effort Focused on Poverty
• Racial Disparities

14
An Economic Stimulus Package for Children
Families

•  
• Budget shortfalls for states are expected to
  exceed 100 billion
• Increase in FMAP by at least 8,
• Strengthen TANF Contingency Fund
• Social Services Block Grant, Title IV-E, Child
  Care Development Block Grant, CAPTA Title II
• Increase Food Stamps (Supplemental Nutrition
  Assistance Program), WIC,
• Increased supports for Section 8 vouchers and
  rental assistance
• Extension of unemployment benefits by 18 weeks
  for states hardest hit, and 10 weeks for others
  needing support
• Expansion of LIHEAP sufficient to ensure that no
  family is without heat for cooking or warmth
  this winter.
• An immediate lowering of the Child Tax Credit to
  8500 and an additional stimulus through the tax
  code for low-income workers through a "Making
  Work Pay" tax credit of up to 500 per person, or
  1,000 per working family.

15
State Childrens Health Insurance Program

• Provide the equivalent of at least 50 billion
  over the next five years for SCHIP
• Enable states to cover immigrant children with
  federal support
• Covers pregnant women currently not eligible
  under SCHIP
• Enables states to simplify their enrollment and
  reenrollment practices under both SCHIP and
  Medicaid
•  
• Establishes a greater emphasis upon primary,
  preventive, and developmental child health
  coverage and care

16
Investments in Early Education

• 10 billion annually for
• Early childhood programs allowing fro proven,
  quality programs
• Early Head Start
• Head Start
• Child Care
• Pre-K
• Home Visiting

17
Investments in Child Safety

• 10 billion annually to improve outcomes for
  vulnerable children through prevention services
  to identify and address early child and family
  needs to protect children and promote healthy
  development, including
• Expansion of quality home visiting programs to
  keep children safe and prepare them to start
  school ready to succeed and to increase
  investments in other family support services
  through the Promoting Safe and Stable Families
  program (Title IV-B, Subpart 2)
• Expansions of early identification and treatment
  of developmental disabilities/emotional/behavioral
  disorders in children, including expansion of
  Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities
  Education Act (IDEA) and the Childrens Mental
  Health Services Grant Program
• Continue the reform efforts of Title IV-E
  program, which now primarily funds out-of-home
  care and not safe alternatives to placement

18
They Will Need Your Help
19
More Information?

• Feel free to contact David Laird for any
  questions or comments.
• Director of Government Affairs Policy
  
• Voices for Americas Children
  
• 1000 Vermont Ave, NW, Suite 700
• Washington, DC 20005
• 202/380-1792
• laird_at_voices.org