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Editor's Note
Think you find it stressful to wrap
up work up before a trip? Congress starts its district work period (or
August recess) on August 6, but you'd never guess it, considering all
the bills on the table: State Children's Health Insurance, the Kinship
Caregiver Bill, the Child Care Development Block Grant, and the Farm
Bill, which funds food stamps and school lunch programs. Will any be
resolved in the next few days?
Also this week: SCHIP counters crime (yes, SCHIP), and kids in the
Chicago Parent-Child Centers early learning program show big gains in
adulthood. Head Start is worth the money, according to the Society for
Research in Child Development. And the first federal mentoring program
specifically for foster care and juvenile justice kicks off, just as
groups spotlight on service gaps for kids in-system.
Keep working for kids, everyone!
Caitlin Johnson
weekly@connectforkids.org
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download the free Adobe Reader. |
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Health News
 Congress to
Consider Reauthorizing, Expanding SCHIP This Week
We continue to follow the Congressional reauthorization of the State
Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), thanks to the
many organizations working on the issue. This week, the Kaiser Network
says Congress is beginning to debate its SCHIP bills (S 1893 and HR
3162). The Senate bill would increase the cigarette tax by 61 cents a
pack to add $35 billion to SCHIP over five years; the House bill raises
the cigarette tax by 45 cents a pack and adds $50 billion in SCHIP
funds over five years.
A new FamiliesUSA chart
compares the two bills.
 Impact of the Bills: CBPP
The House bill would cover more children than the Senate version. For
in-depth yet readable analyses of the two bills, check out these Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) briefs:
Fight Crime:
Invest in ... SCHIP
SCHIP has a surprising ally in New Mexico: the state's law enforcement
is calling on Congress to pass legislation to improve SCHIP. That's
because a new Fight Crime: Invest in Kids research brief shows that
SCHIP can help ensure that kids' behavioral, emotional and mental
health problems are identified and treated -- thereby helping to cut
crime. A Senate mental health parity provision would reduce some
states' financial restrictions on mental health care.
 SCHIP Policy
Forum Video Now Online
The Promising Practices Network has released the online video of its
recent Policy Forum on Effective State Children's Health Insurance
Program (SCHIP) Policy. As SCHIP turns 10, it is up for federal
reauthorization as well as legislative changes in numerous states. This
Policy Forum brings together leading experts from around the nation to
share lessons from SCHIP's first 10 years in the areas of research,
policy and implementation. |
Tools for Reconnecting Youth
 Extending Mentoring Services
to Reach Juvenile Justice and Foster Care Youth
Very few mentoring organizations are equipped to help connect youth in
foster care or the juvenile justice system with adults who can provide
ongoing support and who understand the challenges these youth
face. The organization Health and Human Development Programs
recently undertook the first-ever federally funded training program to
help mentoring organizations reach these youth; here's a look at what
they're doing.
Making an Impact
Through Youth Media
Helping young people express themselves through media -- including new
technologies -- can be a powerful strategy for youth development. The
latest Youth Worker News
from the National Youth Development Information Center offers case
studies of programs using youth media, curricula and guides, and
funding tools for programs. |
Foster Care Resources
 African American
Children in Foster Care: Additional HHS Assistance Needed to Help
States Reduce the Proportion in Care
African American children are twice as likely to enter foster care than
white children, and remain in foster care longer than their peers, even
though children of all races are equally likely to suffer from abuse
and neglect. This Government Accountability Office report says poverty,
racial bias in abuse and neglect reporting, and limited permanent
placement options play a role.
Foster Children
Do Not Receive Adequate Health Care, Witnesses Tell House Panel
Three out of four children in foster care who have serious mental
health needs do not get services within a year of their cases opening,
according to recent research. A House Ways and Means Subcommittee on
Income Security and Family Support panel looked at in-system medical
and mental health care; the Kaiser Network has a recap.
 The Kinship Caregiver Bill: In
Congress
Six million children live with relatives. The bipartisan Kinship
Caregiver Support Act (S 661) would extend Title IV-E foster care funds
to kinship care families; right now, they receive foster care payments
only if they are licensed foster parents. Some resources:
- The Child Welfare League of
America's Children's
Monitor Online reports that the bill is picking up sponsors
in the House and Senate.
- The Alliance for
Children & Families says that in addition to offering
assistance to guardians, the bill would help transfer custody from the
state to relatives willing to assume legal guardianship -- affecting
some 20,000 children.
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Food and the Farm Bill
 Update on the
Farm Bill in Congress
The Farm Bill sets funds for programs like food stamps, school lunch
and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). The House-passed
bill includes $4 billion over five years to improve food stamps and
TEFAP. It boosts child care deductions and disregards combat
pay in calculating food stamp benefits, and raises the minimum monthly
benefit, as the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) reports.
Some more resources:
 Food Stamp and School Lunch
Programs Alleviate Food Insecurity in Rural America
The Senate is currently debating the 2007 Farm Bill, which includes the
Food Stamp and School Lunch programs and other domestic food and
nutrition programs. A new Carsey Institute report says that food stamps
and school lunch are particularly vital in rural America, where 21
percent of food stamp recipients lived in 2006. Rural residents rely on
the programs more than their urban neighbors.
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Head Start and Early Learning
 Head Start's
Benefits Likely Outweigh Program Costs
Head Start is a $6.78 billion program that provides early childhood
education and other services to almost 1 million American children from
low-income families. A new Society for Research in Child Development
brief reviews the program and its benefits and finds that the short-
and long-term benefits to children offer an economic case for increased
investment in early childhood education.
 New: Early Learning Pays Off and
Tools to Measure Quality
The Foundation for Child Development has two great recent briefs:
Child
Care Funds in Congress
The U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives have both introduced
Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bills --
but only the House bill includes an increase ($75 million) for child
care through the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG). The
Senate's bill does not. Congress will reconcile the bills in the fall.
The National Women's Law Center has action alerts to help adults:
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Things to Do, Places to Be
 Heads Up:
National Summit on Your City's Families (Sept. 30 - Oct. 2)
Every two years, the National League of Cities brings together hundreds
of city officials and other community leaders for two days of sessions
and workshops on a range of topics. This year's event is in San
Antonio, from September 30 to October 2. NLC says: "CFK Weekly
readers are definitely encouraged to reach out to their municipal
officials to form a local team if they're interested in attending."
 Getting Beyond
the System Philosophy and Approaches Training Workshop (Oct. 1-2)
The Youth Advocacy Center in New York advocates for teenagers who are
or may become involved with the foster care system. Its fall workshop
is designed to give professionals tools to help teens in foster care
transition to independence. Partipants can experiment with these
approaches during the training workshop. Registration: $300
before September 10, $315 after. |
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Caitlin Johnson and Thaddeus Ferber
Connect for Kids and the Forum for Youth Investment
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