MONDAY REPORT
January 27, 2003
SPECIAL NOTE: Copyright 2003. The Monday Report is produced each week as a benefit to the member agencies of the Child Care Association. Please protect this membership benefit - DO NOT copy and distribute this report to agencies/staff that are not members of CCA. Thank you for your cooperation.
CWAC
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
FEDERAL
REVIEW FOR DCFS IMMINENT
PRIVATE
AGENCIES WILL BE IMPACTED
CCAI
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING REPORT
CONFERENCE
CALL SCHEDULED FOR CCAI PARTICIPANTS IN CHILD WELFARE LEAGUE ANNUAL CONFERENCE
LOBBY DAY
FEDERAL
TAX BENEFIT GUIDE FOR FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS AVAILABLE
MENTAL
HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
FUNDING
TO HELP TRANSITION AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES FROM INSTITUTIONS
INNOVATION
TO IMPROVE SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
WHY
ARE STATES� MEDICAID EXPENDITURES RISING?
MEDICAID:
GOOD MEDICINE FOR STATE ECONOMIES
STATES
DISAGREE WITH BUSH ON COLLEGE SUPPORT FOR TANF RECIPIENTS
CCAI�s
SPRING MEMBERSHIP MEETING�March 20, 2003
CWAC FAS met in Peoria on January 21, 2003. The following topics were discussed:
| DCFS staff reported that the excess revenue rule was about to go to second notice, which should result in a hearing in March. There have been no significant comments on the proposed rule. |
| The cash assistance language has been finalized and will be amended into Family First contracts retroactive to July 1, 2002. |
| The Department continues to investigate a change in Medicaid recovery. Legislation has been written, but not yet proposed, which would allow for recovery similar to DHS. There will need to be discussions with the Bureau of the Budget in order to facilitate a claiming change. |
| DCFS staff was asked about Medicaid receivables in specialized foster care. He indicated that as far as he knew the Department was current, but he would check on a particular provider problem. There was discussion regarding DCFS and DHS attempting to sync their interpretations of Rule 132 in order to provide some relief to DCFS providers. |
| The Department has indicated that they have hybrid status under HIPAA. They are planning to enhance the MBS system in order to obtain additional information, and then use the CMS translator to render the records HIPAA-compliant prior to sending to the Department of Public Aid. DCFS cannot accept the data in other formats from private agencies. |
| DCFS intends to centralize processing of all existing contracts. New contracts will still be processed at the regional level. Aftercare will be consolidated into specialized foster care contracts. Day care contracts will be changed. |
| Next meeting will be March 18, 2003 in Chicago. (We thank Arlene Happach for this report. MB) |
The Federal Review Committee met in Chicago on January 21, 2003. The committee continues strategizing on ways to prepare the system, DCFS and private agencies for the Federal Review due this September.
The review represents a checkpoint on the Illinois system. The review will determine if Illinois is in compliance with federal outcomes standards. If it is not, an immediate corrective action plan will be crafted. If Illinois fails to make substantial change after being found in non-compliance, serious financial consequences could ensue. The loss of substantial federal revenue would have a detrimental impact on the system and on our agencies that provide service for more than 75% of Illinois wards. We do not wish to be in a position of having to cope with further sanctions or penalties to address systemic improvement issues. We must assume full responsibility for the outcome of the review, invest in helping prepare for the review, and assist in any corrective action planning now.
Illinois has already collected statistics on its compliance with certain outcomes and has submitted this to the federal reviewers. DCFS is in the process of finalizing a system self-assessment that will be submitted in advance. In September, a full review team will visit Illinois and conduct individual case reviews that measure the evidence of what�s happening in that case against the Illinois statistics. Focus groups with key stakeholders will also validate that the system is operating according to the assessment submitted by DCFS. It will be important for agencies to participate in these stakeholder focus groups, and to identify foster parents, service recipients and staff who can be articulate participants in the focus groups.
We already know that Illinois is below the national standard in 6 of the key indicators (recurrence of maltreatment, abuse/neglect in foster care, foster care re-entries, length of time to reunification (our worst area of performance,) length of time to adoption and stability of foster care placements. It will therefore be critical for the review process in September to reveal significant continuous quality improvement efforts in the system geared to confronting these deficits. Again, since in Illinois the private sector carries 75% of the cases, we must have a significant commitment in our agencies to engaging in these quality assurance activities in our agencies, as well.
CCAI will be working in many directions over the next few months to assist the private sector in preparing for the federal review. A number of agencies with larger caseloads have already engaged in a 3-day training with DCFS on the federal outcome process and have submitted improvement plans. It is imperative that executive directors know what the agency assessment revealed, know what is in the agency improvement plan and review the progress of the agency with key staff regularly. Agencies with smaller caseloads are now invited to attend a training session being sponsored by CCAI (see information elsewhere in this report.) Agency executives are encouraged to attend, and to implement the same review steps within their agencies. It is in our interest to assure Illinois has the most successful federal audit possible, and that we continue to work on how to improve the child welfare system. Please let us know any ideas you have on how we can be of assistance to your agency. (MB)
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SAMHSA PROPOSES CHANGES TO FUNDING FOR MENTAL HEALTH/SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROGRAMS�SEEKS COMMENTS ON PROPOSED PERFORMANCE PARTNERSHIP GRANTThe Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead federal agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment and mental health services in the United States. SAMHSA plans to create two new Performance Partnership Grant programs with states. They programs will REPLACE the current Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant and the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant to states. The change, mandated by recent law, is expected to free the program from the various requirements added to it since its 1981 inception, and convert it to a performance partnership that measures outcomes of consumer well-being. According to the press release, �The Performance Partnership approach builds on the principles of partnership, flexibility and accountability based on performance. We expect these new proposals to bring continuous quality improvement to the provision of substance abuse treatment and prevention services, and community-based mental health services for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance.� �The Performance Partnership Program will change the thrust of the block grants from state expenditure reports and accountability based on documentation of compliance to reliance on evidence of performance. States would gain more flexibility to use block grant funds to address their specific needs. States and the federal government would work together to identify the strengths of a state�s service system and areas where it could be improved to benefit those in need of substance abuse and mental health services. The goal of the new program is to promote an atmosphere where best practices are integrated into stat programs as part of a continuing cycle of quality improvement.� SAMHSA is not proposing any changes that would alter eligibility for funding under the 2 programs or change the formula for distribution of funds. These plans were published in the Federal Register. SAMHSA is soliciting comments from any interested party on this proposal. We encourage CCAI agencies, particularly those with community mental health or substance abuse programs to review these proposed changes and offer comments. Please forward a copy of your comments to Marge Berglind at CCAI as well ([email protected]) Comments are due February 24. The full text of the proposed programs can be found on SAMHSA�s website, www.samhsa.gov. The federal register notice with comment instructions can be found at: http://frwebgate3.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID+73266516619+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve. (MB) |
The CCAI Board of Directors met in Naperville on January 15, 2003. We encourage all member agencies to contact their board link for further details of the board deliberations, to provide opinions or to seek further clarification. Highlights included:
� Audit: The board reviewed the report of the Audit Committee. CCAI has a clean audit.
� Investments: The board approved a new Investment Funds Executive Limitations policy that will now permit formation of an advisory work group to work with the CCAI President to review CCAI investment strategies.
� For-Profit Members: The board discussed a proposal to change membership criteria to include For-Profit entities. This discussion will move into a larger discussion of future directions for CCAI and how the membership should reflect the future organization and its strategic directions.
� Board Member Criteria: The board formed a work group to develop proposed criteria and leadership principles for CCAI board members to provide further guidance as future board members are identified.
� Policy and Communications Directions: The board discussed the President/CEO�s concerns about the upcoming legislative session, impact of the state budget deficit on CCAI agencies and impact of negative press coverage of child welfare on CCAI agencies. The board met contract lobbyist and contract communications consultant and exchanged ideas on current challenges facing CCAI agencies as we head into a new administration, new general assembly, and new legislative session with a significant state budget deficit. The group discussed the urgency and importance of all agencies making contact with state representatives and senators in the local district. (MB)
The CCAI Policy Committee met in Naperville on January 14. The committee continued to work on a broad agenda. Key topics of the meeting include the following:
| Legislative Schedules and Deadlines: Leadership in the House and Senate have set a deadline of January 31 for key legislative proposals to be approved by the Legislative Review Board. This provides increased pressure for CCAI as we promote our ideas. |
| New Legislation: Bills have already been introduced regarding child welfare, mental health, special education and Medicaid from various legislators. A small work group will review the full context of these bills within the next week to develop CCAI position statements. |
| Children�s Advocacy Issues: The group brainstormed on key principles that could form the basis of legislation for this year from CCAI. A small work group will research these principles further to determine feasibility. |
| Homeless Youth: CCAI representatives have worked with the Chicago Coalition on the Homeless and ICOY to discuss concerns about pending legislation pertaining to Transitional Youth Shelters. A small work group from the policy committee will be meeting with representatives of the other 2 organizations next week to discuss the legislation and possible solutions for the concerns raised. |
| Lobby Day: The group discussed the merits and drawbacks of a Lobby Day. Some agencies identified value in being able to see all the exhibits for other agencies and exchange information about programs but agreed the opportunities for actual meetings and in-depth discussion with legislators is very limited on session dates. There was also discussion of coordinating legislative visits with school breaks in order to maximize the opportunity for young people and foster parents to share in the process. More discussion will be held on this topic at the next meeting. |
| Congressional Contacts: Many CCAI policy members participate in CWLA Lobby Day during the national conference. Illinois leaders Mary Debose and Jodi Doane worked with the group to pre-schedule contacts and appoint delegation leaders to maximize the impact of Illinois visits during this critical activity. CCAI members who plan to participate in these visits during the March CWLA conference should contact Mary or Jodi as soon as possible. |
| Juvenile Justice: CCAI will co-sponsor an upcoming symposium on the Connection between Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice with the Child Welfare League of America. A potential agenda was discussed. The group agreed that the focus and target audience should be public and private policy makers. The full agenda will be developed with that focus in mind. The potential dates for the symposium will be in early summer, following the close of the legislative session, in order to assure good attendance of the target audience. A small work group of the policy committee will work with the staff of CWLA to plan the seminar |
CCAI members are welcome to join the Policy Committee or volunteer for one of the topic work groups (homeless youth, juvenile justice.) This is a working group with high expectations for productivity, but the group is making headway. Please contact Marge Berglind via e-mail ([email protected]) if you are interested in participating. Next full meeting of the Policy Committee is scheduled for January 27 in Naperville. (MB)
CWLA State leaders Jodi Doane and Mary Debose request that CCAI members who plan to attend the CWLA annual conference and Lobby Day in D.C. participate in a conference call designed to organize and plan congressional contacts. It is hoped this will help enhance the experience of participants and better impact our federal officials. The conference call is scheduled for February 19 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. If you plan to participate in the conference call, please e-mail Jill Townsend at CWLA at [email protected]. Once the call-in details are established, Jill will then e-mail you the information. (MB)
(1) Educational and Training Vouchers for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care
Currently, there is no federal funding for educational and training vouchers for youth aging out of foster care and youth adopted from foster care at age 16 or older. The President�s FY 2003 budget proposed $60 million for vouchers. Congress has not completed action on the appropriations for federal fiscal year 2003 but must give final approval to this first time funding before they start to debate funding for fiscal year 2004. Each year more than 25,000 youth leave foster care each year at age 18. Studies show just 50% will have graduated high school, only 13% will go on to college or vocational training, 52% will be unemployed, and 25% will be homeless for one or more nights.
Many of these youth lose the supports offered by the foster care system when they reach their 18th birthday or graduate from high school. Without the support of a family, youth who leave foster care are left on their own to obtain further education and employment preparation, as well as health and mental health care and housing.
$60 million for education and training opportunities will help America�s teens leaving foster care at age 18 and those adopted from foster care at age 16 or older realize their dreams by attending vocational and technical schools, state and community colleges, and four-year universities. Given the opportunity, these youth are America's next doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, plumbers, truck drivers, and electricians.
(2) Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program (PSSF)
The Promoting Safe and Stable Families program is one of the very few sources of federal funding that supports prevention services. PSSF helps states fund child welfare prevention services and supports vulnerable families. These funds are used by states to fund four categories of services: adoption support, family preservation, family reunification, and family support services. Currently, federal funding is $375 million. Both the President and the Senate Appropriations Committee have agreed to increase this to $505 million in FY 2003. The U.S. House of Representatives took no action on appropriations last year. Increasing PSSF funding levels is especially important this year because state budgets are under great stress and many social services are being cut or eliminated.
(1) CONTACT YOUR U.S. SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVE IN THEIR STATE AND DC OFFICES. You can reach DC offices through the Capitol switchboard at 202/224-3121.
Send this Message:
| Congress
must provide $60 million for education and training vouchers and $505
million for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program when it
makes funding decisions for FY 2003. Congress must increase funding for
these critical initiatives for fiscal year 2003. |
(2) ENCOURAGE BOARD MEMBERS, FOSTER PARENTS, YOUNG PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS IN YOUR COMMUNITY TO CONTACT CONGRESS AS WELL. (MB)
The Casey Family
Programs National Center for Resource Family Support has published a guide to
2002 federal tax benefits for foster and adoptive parents and kinship
caregivers, available at: http://www.casey.org/cnc/support_retention/federal_tax_benefits.htm.
We encourage you to share
this resource with foster/adoptive parents in your agency and with foster care
staff. (MB)
In his budget
next month, President Bush will propose a new $1.75 billion, five-year program
to help Americans with disabilities transition from nursing homes or other
institutions to living in the community. This
is part of the President�s New Freedom Initiative to integrate people with
disabilities more fully into society. Altogether,
the President�s New Freedom budget proposals will represent $2.1 billion in
planned new spending over five years, with $417 million in new spending proposed
for FY 2004.
The FY 2004
budget will include: $350 million for �Money Follows the Individual�
Rebalancing Demonstration. This
would assist states in developing more cost effective choices between
institutional and community options, including financing Medicaid services for
individuals who transition from institutions to the community.
The New Freedom Initiative Demonstrations would be funded at $11 million
for FY 2004. This initiative would
fund four demonstrations that promote home and community-based alternatives. Two of the demonstrations provide respite care services for
caregivers of adults with disabilities or long-term illness and children with
substantial disabilities. Another
demonstration provides community-based care alternatives for children who are
currently residing in psychiatric residential treatment facilities.
The Spousal Exemption would be funded for FY 2004 at $16 million.
This proposal would continue Medicaid eligibility for spouses of disabled
individuals who return to work. This
proposal would extend to the spouse the same Medicaid coverage protection now
offered to the disabled worker. The
FY 2004 budget will also include $40 million for �Systems Change Grants� to
support states in their planning to create new systems to support people with
disabilities in the community instead of institutions.
The budget will also propose to establish a new state option enabling
Medicaid presumptive eligibility for institutionally qualified individuals who
are discharged from hospitals into the community.
This would make it more feasible to discharge a person who has been
hospitalized to the community, rather than to an alternative institutional
setting, or to ensure that the institutional placement is of short duration.
These funding initiatives follow the creation of a new Office of
Disability within HHS in 2002 to serve as a focus contact point for disability
issues. (JMS)
The Department of
Education invites applications for research and innovation to improve services
and results for children with disabilities.
The goal is to produce and advance the use of knowledge to improve the
results of education and early intervention for infants, toddlers and children
with disabilities. For
student-initiated research projects, approximately $240,000 is expected to be
available to fund an estimated 12 new awards ranging from $14,122 to $20,000.
Applications for these projects are due March 7, 2003.
For field-initiated research projects, approximately $2.52 million is
expected to be available to fund an estimated 14 new awards ranging from
$177,318 to $180,000. Applications for these projects are due February 21, 2003.
For additional information go to: http://click.topica.com/maaaMI3aaVrsuaaaaaab/.
(JMS)
A report from the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that the main factors driving
Medicaid costs upward are increases in health care costs, similar to those
affecting private health care costs and increases in the costs of caring for
aged and disabled beneficiaries. Although
Medicaid growth raises states� expenditures, it attracts even more federal
matching funds, which helps stimulate employment and economic activity in the
states. For additional information
go to: http://click.topica.com/maaaMI3aaVrsAaaaaaab/.
(JMS)
A report from
Families USA discusses the aggregate impact of Medicaid spending on each
state�s economy. Using an
economic model from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the report calculates the
new economic activity that will be generated by Medicaid spending in the
following three areas: 1) business activity (the increased output of goods and
services; 2) employment (number of new jobs created); 3) employee earnings
(wages and salaries). For
additional information go to: http://click.topica.com/maaaMI3aaVrsBaaaaaab/.
(JMS)
According to a
new report from the Center for Women Policy Studies, �From Poverty to
Self-Sufficiency: The Role of Postsecondary Education in Welfare Reform,� 49
states and District of Columbia include some form of postsecondary education as
an allowable work activity for recipients of TANF.
In contract, the Bush Administration�s newly released TANF
reauthorization proposal would not allow states the flexibility to open the
doors to college training for eligible TANF recipients, despite substantial
evidence that even one year of postsecondary education makes a difference for
women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds � cutting their poverty rates in
half. For additional information go to: http://click.topica.com/maaaMI3aaVrsIaaaaaab/.
(JMS)
In the Illinois Register, Volume 27 Issue 4 under Proposed Rules there are amendments to:
DCFS rules 1) Licensing Standards for Group Day Care Homes and
2) Confidentiality of Personal Information of Persons Served by the Department of Children and Family Services
DHS rules 1) Administrative Hearings
DOC rules 1) County Juvenile Detention Standards
If you would like to view this publication online go to www.cyberdriveillinois.com and click on Departments, then click on Index, you can then click on the most current issue or archived issues. If you would like to receive a copy in the mail, call the Springfield office at 217-528-4409 ext. 21 and ask Barb to send you one. (BMO)
We
would like to find interested members who will be using SACWIS and would like
more information about NAT and the associated problems that may come up. Could
you please forward this message to your technical department or to the person
you think would be interested in this sharing of information. You do not need to
be a computer person to join this group; it is for the common goal of setting up
and running SACWIS and developing a network of members to share solutions and
problems they may encounter.
The
initial issue for the group would be regarding SACWIS and (NAT) Network Address
Translator. Some questions that came up are how best to implement it and what
ways there are to implement it. In addition to that we want to be able to share
information amongst agencies.
CCAI
had organized a few technical meetings in the past and has a small list of names
of interested parties from that group that we will also be contacting. However
what we would like to find as many agencies technical personnel who will be
working with SACWIS/NAT and have a face-to-face meeting with them. We hope to
ask Steve Bradshaw, the POS liaison for SACWIS, to participate and other
technical staff from DCFS to help with this.
We
would also like to develop an organized method for communicating and sharing
information. Additional problems that cannot be solved amongst the group can be
sent to outside resources and solutions distributed to everyone. These Ideas can
be discussed during this meeting so please let us know if someone from your
agency would be interested in participating.
Interested
members please email Kelly Pantaleone at [email protected]
or sign up at http://www.cca-il.org/library/CCATech/singupSACWIS.htm
The MILL is presenting a workshop: �SACY No More� on February 27th. Breakouts include: Profiling Sexual Aggression; Legal Definitions and Related Statutes; Cognitive Behavior Therapy & Positive Peer Culture Combination for Treatment; Working with Victims; and Testing for Sexual Deviance. Speakers will include: Paul Logli, Winnebago County States Attorney; Ambi Toley, DCFS Coordinator; Dr. Marty Blackman, Edward Keane, Ericka Potter, and Bob Thorud.
Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. on February 27 and training will be from 9:00 a.m. � 3:00 p.m. at The MILL, 3445 Elmwood Road, Rockford, Illinois. CEU�s will be offered. The registration fee is $50.00 (includes lunch). For additional information or a registration form please contact: Ericka Potter, The MILL, at 815.877.3440. The training brochure will be mailed to member agencies when it becomes available. (Our thanks to Bob Thorud for this information) (SKA)
The association�s Spring Membership Meeting will be held on March 20, 2003 at the Marriott Hickory Ridge Conference Center, 1195 Summerhill Drive, Lisle, Illinois. Agenda items will include:
| Current Trends in Privatization of Child Welfare and Implications for Illinois |
| Status of the Illinois Budget and Legislative Agenda |
| CCAI Communications Efforts: Crafting a Unified PR Message during the Spring Session |
The meeting will be specifically targeted for Executive Directors / CEO�s, senior management staff, policy Staff, and communications staff. A more detailed agenda will be mailed to you in a couple of weeks.
If you need a room at Hickory Ridge call 630.971.5000 or toll free 800.228.9290. The overnight rate is $80.00. Please indicate you are attending the Child Care Association meeting. (SKA)
Your agency could
be selected for the Federal Review of Foster Care cases next September 2003. (See article under Federal Review for DCFS Imminent in
this report.) Now is the time to
prepare with participation in a training session specially designed to meet your
needs. CCAI has teamed up with the
Child and Family Research Center to develop a short powerful program
individualized for you. The
training will be held in February and is free and located with host
agencies in six convenient locations across the state.
For more information or to register for the training visit: http://www.cca-il.org/training/index.htm
Look for �Federal
Outcome Training� located in the training page on the CCA web pages.
(SKA)
Jan. 27 � CCAI Policy Committee Meeting, Naperville
Feb.
5 � Best Practice Training Steering Committee � SACWIS Workgroup -
Bloomington
Feb. 6 -- RSN Workgroup
Feb. 17-21 -- "Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Training of Trainers", a Residential Child Care
Project of Cornell University, hosted by Allendale Association. 9:00 a.m.-5:00
p.m. Seating is limited. For more information regarding the training, fee, and hotel
accommodations, please contact Dave McKenna at Allendale (847) 245-6393 or
Feb. 20 -- Cook Agencies Meeting with Presiding Judge, Juvenile Court, Chicago
Feb. 20 -- CWAC
Feb. 27 � The MILL presents �SACY No More�. 8:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Contact: Ericka Potter,
at 815.877.3440
Feb. 26-March 1 -- Learning Disabilities Association 2003 National Conference, Palmer
House Hilton, Chicago. For information, call Learning Disabilities
Association of Illinois (708) 430-7532
March 20 � CCAI Spring Membership Meeting, Hickory Ridge Conference Center, Lisle
|
For
further information on any of the above, contact the staff member noted in
parentheses at the end of the text: MB = Marge
Berglind 312/819-1950
([email protected])
JMS
= Jan Schoening 217/528-4409,
ext. 25 BRH=
Bridget Helmholz 217/528-4409,
ext. 24 |
Sandy Armstrong
217/528-4409 ext. 22
([email protected]) Kelly
Pantaleone 217/528-4409,
ext. 26 ([email protected]) BMO=Barb
Oldani 217/528-4409,
ext. 21 ([email protected]) |
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