January 7, 2002

SPECIAL NOTE:  Copyright 2001. 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.

MONDAY REPORT PASSWORD TO CHANGE ON JANUARY 28^TH

Table of Contents

CHILD WELFARE.. 1

CASH FLOW MEETING.. 1

FOUNDATION TRAINING SESSIONS UPDATE.. 2

FOUNDATION TRAINING OPPORTUNITY FOR CRITIQUE.. 2

TRAIN-THE-TRAINER CLASS FOR THE SUBSTANCE AFFECTED FAMILIES CURRICULUM.. 2

FEDERAL LEGISLATION UPDATE.. 3

Promoting Safe and Stable Families, H.R. 2873. 3

Mental Health Parity. 3

JANUARY MEETING WITH JUVENILE COURT PRESIDING JUDGE.. 3

SAVE THE DATE FOR SPRING FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE PARENT CONFERENCE.. 3

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS FOR FOSTER FAMILY TREATMENT ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE   4

GENERAL.. 4

CONGRESSIONAL ACTIONS ON LABOR-HHS APPROPIATIONS.. 4

Social Services Block Grant 4

Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program.. 4

ILLINOIS FAMILIES STUDY. 4

JUVENILE JUSTICE INITIATIVE.. 5

MEMBERS IN THE NEWS.. 5

Lawrence Hall Day Student Wins 1^st Place in the Chicago City Vehicle Sticker Contest 5

EDGAR COUNTY CHILDREN�S HOME EMPLOYEES SPEND CHRISTMAS AT GROUND ZERO   6

MINI-GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR KINSHIP CARE SUPPORT GROUPS.. 7

HELPFUL WESITES FOR PUBLIC POLICY AND ADVOCACY. 7

UPCOMING EVENTS.. 8

Calendar 8

CASH FLOW MEETING

Executive Directors and Finance Officers of CCAI agencies in Cook County should save the date of:

            January 23, 2002

            2:00 p.m.

            State of Illinois Building�Room to be Announced.

This meeting will be held with Senator Emil Jones, representatives of the State Controller�s office and in conjunction with the African American Family Commission. The purpose is to address current problems related to cash flow for certain state contracts, talk with controller�s staff about anticipated future delays and address options for problem resolution. A more formal invitation letter will be coming to agencies from Senator Jones� office within the next week.

To date, only 15 of our agencies have provided information on the status of cash flow problems with state contracts. Agencies providing their FEIN on the survey will receive an agency-specific report on current payments from the Controller�s staff at the January 23 meeting.  If your agency has not yet responded, there is still time to submit the one page survey. Fax these to Marge Berglind at 312-819-1951. If you need another copy of the survey, please call our Springfield office at 217-528-4409 for a FAX or e-mail copy. (MB)

FOUNDATION TRAINING SESSIONS UPDATE

DCFS training staff have alerted us to the following information relating to scheduled foundation training classes:

1-14-02-Aurora,         Only 5 staff are registered... Three additional registrants are needed to assure this class is held.

1-14-02-Collinsville,   Only 4 staff are registered... Four additional registrants are needed to assure this class is held.

1-22-02- Chicago,      Only 3 staff are registered.... Many open slots are available for this class. (MB)

FOUNDATION TRAINING OPPORTUNITY FOR CRITIQUE

Supervisors of employees who attended the Foundation training between July and December 2001will be receiving an invitation letter from DCFS next week to participate in a focus group discussion to critique the Foundation Training. Meetings are scheduled for January 29 in Chicago and January 31 in Springfield. This represents an effort to provide continuous improvement to the foundation program and to obtain feedback on how the training is going, its effectiveness, insights around what was beneficial to staff and what areas supervisors would like to see the Foundation Program address in the future.  If you are a supervisor whose staff attended foundation training since July, 2001 and do not receive an invitation, call Angie Wallace at (217) 785-5689 by January 21^st. Seating is limited to the first 30 who respond. If you cannot attend but would like to offer your feedback please call Mary Ochman-Ahmed at (217) 785-5689 or email her at [email protected] (MB)

TRAIN-THE-TRAINER CLASS FOR THE SUBSTANCE AFFECTED FAMILIES CURRICULUM

On January 15 and 16, 2002 the DCFS Training division is offering a Train-the-Trainer class on the SAF Curriculum.  If you have had a turnover in staff and have lost your SAF Trainer, you are invited to send one or two people to this training. 

If you have any questions, please call Phyllis Rominger at 217-785-5689. (MB)

FEDERAL LEGISLATION UPDATE

Congress took final action before adjourning in December on the following legislation:

Promoting Safe and Stable Families, H.R. 2873

H.R. 2873 was reauthorized for the next five years at a mandatory spending level of $305 million, with an additional $200 million in discretionary funding. This means that the additional funding needed for this program will be subject to annual budget review and battles for amounts.  The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program seeks to prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families, improve the quality of services available to children and families, and stabilize families in order to reunite children with their parents. The program helps state child welfare agencies and eligible Indian tribes to set up and operate integrated, preventive, family preservation, support, and crisis intervention services for children and families at risk or in crisis.

Also included is a $60 million increase to the current $140 million for the Chafee Foster Care Independence program that provides education vouchers for youth aging out of foster care. The legislation also calls for $67 for mentoring children of prisoners. Recent evaluation of the Chafee program can be downloaded by going to the Administration for Children Youth and Families website at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/programs/chafeereport.htm.

Mental Health Parity

The Labor-HHS-Education appropriations did not include the mental health parity provision that would have expanded insurance coverage for mental illness to be at the same level as coverage for physical illness.

JANUARY MEETING WITH JUVENILE COURT PRESIDING JUDGE

Agency executive directors, CEO�s and executive level staff are encouraged to attend the upcoming agency meeting with Presiding Judge Patricia Martin Bishop. Given the current concerns from DCFS about agency performance in court (See CWAC report in 12/24/01 Monday Report), it is imperative that executives from our agencies attend this meeting. The January meeting is scheduled for:

SAVE THE DATE FOR SPRING FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE PARENT CONFERENCE

The 2002 Spring Foster and Adoptive Parent conference will be held March 8 and 9 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield. The theme for the upcoming conference is �Every Child Is A Success Story.� Foster parents received information and registration forms in the current Holiday Issue of Fostering Illinois. Agencies who wish to send representatives can obtain a copy of the form via fax by contacting the Springfield CCAI office. Registration deadline is January 25. (MB)

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS FOR FOSTER FAMILY TREATMENT ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE

Plans for the 16th Annual Conference sponsored by the Foster Family-based Treatment Association are already in progress! Each year the conference brings together over 700 administrators, professional staff, senior managers, policy makers, researchers, educators and treatment foster parents to improve competency and stimulate an exchange of information, best practices and techniques that are being used in the field of Treatment Foster Care. The FFTA conference this year will be held in Chicago, on July 21-24, 2002.

FFTA invites presenters to submit Workshops that will provide advanced clinical, administrative, leadership and research techniques, philosophies, training methods and ideas.  Submissions for workshops specific to Treatment Foster Parents are requested as well.  FFTA is also interested in submissions for Full-day Institutes (to be conducted on July 21, 2002).

In cases where there is more than one presenter, a �primary presenter� should be designated. The primary presenter will receive a complimentary conference registration (travel expenses are not included). The primary presenter will receive mailings and documentation about his or her presentation and is responsible for disseminating the information to the co-presenters. Please note presenters are expected to produce and provide handouts to attendees.

Further details for the call for proposal can be obtained by contacting FFTA 2002 Conference at: Phone:  800-414-3382, ext. 113 or 114 ~ Fax: 201-862-0331 ~ E-Mail: [email protected]. (MB)

CONGRESSIONAL ACTIONS ON LABOR-HHS APPROPIATIONS

Social Services Block Grant

In the final Labor-HHS bill, the FY 2002 Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) will be reduced from $1.725 billion to $1.7 billion; while the amount states can transfer from TANF to SSBG will be maintained at 10%.  The House appropriations bill had included the 10% while the Senate had reduced it to 5.9%. 

Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program

The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program (Title IV-B, subpart 2) was reauthorized for five years.  The program received the mandatory amount of $305 million and an additional $70 million in discretionary funds.  However, the increase is slightly less than the $200 million increase the President proposed and was included in earlier House and Senate bills.  Title IV-E Independent Living will receive its authorized amount of $140 million but not the additional $60 million in discretionary funds.   (JMS)

ILLINOIS FAMILIES STUDY

The Illinois Families Study has recently issued two policy briefs entitled �The Importance of Transitional Benefits� and �Identity, Work & Parenting�.  The goal of the Illinois Families Study is to inform policymakers about how Illinois families have been faring since the implementation of welfare reform.  The study is being conducted by a consortium of researchers from five Illinois universities: Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Chicago, Roosevelt University, Northern Illinois University and the University of Chicago.  A total of 1362 current and former welfare recipients were interviewed with an overall response rate of 72%.  The study will continue for six years.  For more information about the study you can contact Dan Lewis, Principle Investigator at 847-491-3395.

The policy brief regarding the importance of Transitional Benefits states that those individuals that lost both Medicaid and food stamps at the time they left TANF were three times more likely to return to TANF than those that kept those benefits.  This study would recommend the need to maintain supports such as Medicaid and food stamps to more people that leave TANF.  In the policy brief that discusses work and parenting, four characteristic groups were identified.  It would appear that two of the four groups are directly impacted by support services and welfare policies.  Recommendations for policy changes centered around welfare reforms impact on the four characteristic groups.  (JMS)

JUVENILE JUSTICE INITIATIVE

In October/November of 2001 the Juvenile Justice Initiative held workgroup Summits related to detention, prevention/intervention, and fairness.  The list of recommendations that were developed from those summits was distributed in late December to all participants and were reviewed by the Board of Directors for JJI which met in December.  Some of the recommendations from the Prevention/Intervention group included:  1.) The JJI should recommend that Illinois disseminate information about programming that works, particularly about effective approached to special needs and assessment tools; 2.) The JJI should recommend that Illinois set up a task force to examine issues of gender specific needs of adolescents in the juvenile justice system. 3.) The JJI should develop/locate a format for mapping youth programs in Illinois, along with a database that will accommodate local, state, private and federally funded programs.  4.) The JJI should recommend that programs be evaluated from a concept of adolescent development � are the programs meeting the developmental needs of adolescents.  Copies of the complete list of recommendations for Detention, Fairness and Prevention/Intervention can be obtained by contacting Jan Schoening at the CCA office.  (JMS)

MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

(To submit your agency�s news for The Monday Report, send to Linda Lenzini, Director, Marketing and Public Relations, at the Child Care Association. MSWord e-mail attachments for information and JPG�s for pictures are preferred.)

Lawrence Hall Day Student Wins 1^st Place in the Chicago City Vehicle Sticker Contest

Melvin Kelly Displays His Prize-Winning Vehicle Sticker Design

A 16-year old day student from Lawrence Hall has won first prize in Chicago�s City Vehicle Sticker Contest for 2002-2003. This is the sixth year that Lawrence Hall�s students have been in the finals for the competition.

The winning sticker, by student Melvin Kelly shows black and white hands shaking �to show that no matter what race, we can all be united to help people less fortunate,� according to the artist. Kelly also incorporated symbols representing people with physical disabilities against a city skyline�s backdrop and the American flag. Two other day students, Jay McCall, and Darius Urbikas, were finalists.

Kelly will receive a $1,000 savings bond from the City of Chicago for his design, which will grace the windshields of more than 1.5 million Chicago vehicles. (LLL)

EDGAR COUNTY CHILDREN�S HOME EMPLOYEES SPEND CHRISTMAS AT GROUND ZERO

When Ann Pearcy, Vice President of Edgar County Children�s Home and Becky Newcomer, one of her key staff people, learned through the Illinois Mental Health Association that there was a shortage of crisis counselors at Ground Zero over the Christmas holidays, they packed up their families and headed to New York for seven days.  As trained members of School Crisis Assistance Teams, both have special expertise in crisis intervention, and are NOVA (National Organization of Victim�s Assistance)-trained in emergency counseling.

Reporting for duty on the 22^nd, they worked with construction workers, firemen, and policemen, many of whom had been at Ground Zero since the day of the attack. According to Ann Pearcy, �All were very willing to talk and very open about what they had experienced. The emergency part is coming to an end, and the reality of what has happened is just starting to sink in.� Working in a Salvation Army Tent, Ann and Becky spent their days talking with and listening to people who continued to be deeply affected by what they had experienced.

They also spent time on Christmas Day assisting a military crisis counselor at Visitation Stand, an area behind police lines where family members of victims can visit the memorial.

Ann relates, �It was incredible to celebrate Christmas mass on the rubble of ground zero with a priest and a handful of construction workers, firemen, and policemen. I�ll never forget it.� She also emphasized that the incidence of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in New York is beginning to spike, is anticipated by experts to be statistically far higher than that of the general public, and could continue for up to two years, or even longer.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 3.6% of American adults suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in any given year. In war zones, or at a site such as Ground Zero, the incidence is far higher, about 30%, with the average onset within 3 months of the triggering traumatic event. Those interested in more information on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder may visit National Institute of Mental Health�s website at  http://www.nimh.nih.gov

(LLL)

MINI-GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR KINSHIP CARE SUPPORT GROUPS

Ten programs from throughout the United States will be selected by KinNET, a national network of support groups for foster care, to develop additional support groups. The mini-grants, which are for $10,000 over two years time contingent on first-year successes, are available for FY2002-2003. Guidelines and an Application form are available at http://www.gu.org (click on KinNET). Agencies must be local agencies with 501[c]3 or equivalent tax-exempt status, and each grantee is expected to match at least 10% of the grant. Proposals must be submitted by February 15, 2002.

The grants for KinNET are funded through Generations United (GU), which was awarded a cooperative agreement from the Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish KinNET.  KinNET focuses on the unique needs of kinship caregivers and provides sessions on topics such as the legal, psychological, and socioeconomic implications of becoming a guardian or adoptive parent.  To maximize the resources and services available, GU's partner in KinNET is the Brookdale Foundation Group (http://www.ewol.com/brookdale), which funds support groups for relatives raising children outside the foster care system. (LLL)

HELPFUL WESITES FOR PUBLIC POLICY AND ADVOCACY

Tired of all that paper cluttering up your desk as you work on important public policy and advocacy issues? Check out these helpful online sites!

To find Illinois state legislators, their phone numbers, their districts, and their voting history:

http://www.state.il.us/state.legis

Provides legislation status and text, contact information for district or elected officials, and links to each legislator�s bio, voting record, contact numbers and e-mail address.

To find Congress members, phone numbers for districts, and voting history:

http://congress.org

Includes quick Capitol Hill tips, contacts for elected officials by zip code, issues and legislation, and a guide to the media. Provides bios and voting history for members of Congress and a quick means to contact them via e-mail.

To track CWLA public policy and advocacy information:

http://www.cwla.org/advocacy

Includes legislative agenda�s, report forms, Kids� Advocate Online, an interactive area of the website to obtain information and contact Congress, budget information alerts and updates, and more.

To track Alliance for Children public policy and advocacy information:

http://www.alliance1.org. Outlines public policy position statements, action alerts, and legislative tracking chart for current Congressional session.

To track DCFS Executive Summaries Monthly:

http:/www.state.il.us/dcfs

Includes updated Executive Statistical Summary Report covering trends in child abuse, foster care and licensing outcomes.

To learn how your congressional representatives and senators are doing at their jobs, identify and contact state or county elected officials and more: http://www.vote-smart.org is the Project Vote Smart website. Contains policy information by keyword category, as well as bio�s on elected officials, and much more. (LLL)

Calendar

January 8 � CWAC SACWIS Advisory Committee, Springfield - CANCELLED

January 11 � Healthy Families Illinois Policy/Advocacy Committee � Chicago/Conference call

February 5 � CWAC SACWIS Advisory Committee, LSSI, DesPlaines

February 6-7 � Quality Improvement Training with Fotena Zirps, Hilton Lisle / Naperville

February 7 � CWAC Medicaid Workgroup, The Baby Fold, Normal

March 8-9 � 2002 Spring Foster and Adoptive Parent Conference��Every Child is a Success

                     Story.�  Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield.

March 20-21 � CCAI�s Spring Membership Meeting, The Hyatt Lodge, Oak Brook