August 26, 2002

SPECIAL NOTE:  Copyright 2002. 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.

EDUCATION. 1

MEETING ON IPCRB RULES SEPTEMBER 5 IN SPRINGFIELD. 1

IS YOUR NEW SCHOOL RATE COMPUTED USING �CAPACITY� OR �ENROLLMENT� 1

GENERAL. 2

WHY SENATE BILL ON TANF REAUTHORIZATION IS BETTER APPROACH. 2

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN TANF SENATE BILL. 3

SACWIS MEETING.. 3

SACWIS Phase I 3

Change Management. 3

SACWIS Identification Numbers. 4

SACWIS Payments. 4

SACWIS Budget. 4

Medicaid.. 4

HIPAA. 4

Training.. 4

SACWIS Phase II 5

CCA OUTCOME MEASURES REMINDER. 5

UPCOMING EVENTS. 5

CCAI SCHEDULES HIPAA SEMINAR � SAVE THE DATE- SEPTEMBER 17. 5

FALL MEMBERSHIP MEETING - SAVE THE DATE and MAKE YOUR RESERVATION. 6

SACY TRAINING FOR SEPTEMBER. 6

Group Treatment: Residential and Outpatient        Sept. 9. 6

Reunification Issues with Sexually Problematic Children      Sept. 26. 6

Calendar. 6

MEETING ON IPCRB RULES SEPTEMBER 5 IN SPRINGFIELD

An informal meeting on the proposed rate-setting rule from the Illinois Purchased Care Review Board is scheduled for 1:00 � 4:00 p.m., September 5, Illinois State Library, 300 S. 2^nd Street.  Comments regarding the rule will be heard during this meeting.  For a copy of the current proposal and/or CCAI�s response, please contact the CCAI office (BRH).

IS YOUR NEW SCHOOL RATE COMPUTED USING �CAPACITY� OR �ENROLLMENT�

CCAI has been notified that a member school�s recent rate was calculated using �capacity� rather than �enrollment.�  This change does not appear in current law or rule and, at present, is only a proposed change.  If you have not done so already, please request your school�s rate calculation sheet to identify how the rate was calculated.  If �capacity� was used, please contact Bridget Helmholz at CCAI (BRH).

WHY SENATE BILL ON TANF REAUTHORIZATION IS BETTER APPROACH

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant first established by the 1996 welfare law will expire at the end of federal fiscal year 2002 (September 30, 2002).   As has been reported previously the House has passed a bill that increases the requirements and reduces the flexibility for welfare reform contrasted with the version out of the Senate Finance Committee.  The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has published a report which identifies thirteen ways the Senate Finance bill offers a better approach to welfare reform than the House bill.  The Center has categorized the different areas of the bills into: Work-related Requirements, Supporting Working Families, Marriage and Child Support Provisions and others.

The thirteen areas that are discussed in the paper are:

1)    While both bills increase the participation rates states must meet, the Senate Finance bill sets more reasonable hourly requirements, allows states to provide a range of welfare-to-work activities and ensures that states are rewarded when families find jobs.

2)    The Senate Finance bill allows states to operate welfare-to-work programs that combine a strong work focus with education and training opportunities, while the House bill would force many states to scale back existing education and training efforts.

3)    The Senate Finance bill would fund two innovative approaches to increasing the employment and earnings of recipients. 

4)    The Senate Finance bill allows states to make reasonable allowances for families caring for children who are ill or have disabilities.

5)    The Senate Finance bill would help ensure families with barriers to employment impeding their ability to meet program requirements are not inappropriately sanctioned.  The House bill would increase the frequency and severity of inappropriate sanctioning.

6)    The Senate bill provides substantially more child care funding than the House bill.

7)    The Senate bill extends the Transitional Medical Assistance program for five years versus one year in the House bill; plus includes options to simplify the program and provide coverage to more low income families.

8)    The Senate bill would allow states to provide supplemental housing benefits to low-income working families without triggering time limits and data reporting rules.

9)    The Senate bill precludes states from discriminating against two-parent families and provides $1 billion for marriage related initiatives.

10)  The Senate bill provides states with flexibility to change child support rules so that it reaches the children.

11)  The Senate bill includes a contingency fund that would direct additional TANF resources to states facing a rising number of families that need assistance due to recession.  The House version maintains current provisions of the contingency fund which has limited receipt of funds to states.

12)  The Senate bill provides states with options to provide Medicaid and SCHIP to low income children and pregnant women who have been in the country less than five years.  Also allows benefits to immigrants.

13)  The Senate Finance bill does on include the ill-advised superwaiver included in the House bill that would allow the Executive Branch to override at a governor�s request and without input from Congress nearly all provisions of federal law that govern more than a dozen programs. 

For more details on the discussion of each of this items go to: www.cbpp.org/8-9-02tanf.htm.  (JMS)

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN TANF SENATE BILL

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities also looked at areas of the Senate Finance bill that need to be reviewed for changes.  Although the Senate Finance bill is a significant improvement over the version that was passed by the House, there are still several areas in the bill that would create limitations to the program and need to be addressed when the full Senate acts on the bill.

�       Funding � TANF funding is frozen at current levels without any adjustment for inflation, and although there is a substantial increase for child care in the Senate bill versus the House bill it still falls short of addressing the unmet need.

�       Helping Families with Barriers to Employment � The bill allows states to count participation in activities to address barriers to employment such as � physical or mental health problems, substance abuse, limited English proficiency or very low basic skills; however, it limits the amount of time that these activities can count to six months.

�       Sanction-Related Policies � the bill includes only modest efforts to ensure that states review a family�s circumstances and Individual Responsibility Plan before sanctioning a family for failing to meet program expectations.  (JMS)

SACWIS MEETING

The CWAC SACWIS Advisory Committee met with DCFS on August 22, 2002 in Springfield at the American Management System Offices.   The following agenda items were discussed.  

SACWIS Phase I

An update on Phase I was provided by Marilyn Arnold and Sam Traylor.  The following technical areas were identified as creating issues for the implementation of SACWIS Phase I when it went live:

SACWIS Phase I has reduced the process times for calls from 2 days to 45 minutes.

Change Management

DCFS reviewed the change management activities used with SACWIS Phase I.  They were satisfied with what they achieved through:

All the caseworkers had been trained on what to expect for the first day.  The only area where it was felt there could be improvement was related to more involvement and training for the supervisors.

SACWIS Identification Numbers

Two agencies reported that DCFS SCR operators are now asking for SACWIS Identification numbers.  Steve Bradshaw, POS Liaison, explained that the SACWIS Identification numbers would now replace the DCFS Identification numbers.  Unfortunately, DCFS has never updated the DCFS I.D. list and caseworkers that have left their agency, retired, or changed careers are also on the list to receive a SACWIS I.D.  The POS agencies suggested sending the list of caseworkers to supervisors to distribute or edit more accurately.  Regrettably, the person who owns the DCFS I.D. can be the only person told their new SACWIS I.D. number and not even the supervisor can look at and forward such information.

SACWIS Payments

$226,000 worth of bills from FY02 are almost ready to be released but cannot be mailed until decisions are made by DCFS about the budget and type of payment distributions for FY03 and FY04.  Advice was given to the POS agencies to try to avoid turning in their SACWIS bills so close to the Fiscal Year change. 

SACWIS Budget

The SACWIS committee was advised that all budget and finance issues should be forwarded to the Finance and Administration Committee for discussion.  POS representatives did not agree and pointed out that the F&A committee works with a bigger budget scope and has always relied on the SACWIS committee for input about the SACWIS budget.  It was also suggested that the link between the SACWIS committee and the F&A committee be clarified.  One budget suggestion that was presented involved agencies that have not spent any of their SACWIS money up to this point.  DCFS is considering a policy that would push back any payment obligations to these agencies until FY04.  No contract amendments or payments will be released until decisions are reached on the reimbursement options under internal discussions.

Medicaid

An update on the status of the Medicaid/SACWIS issues was requested by POS committee members.  It was reported by the committee that the Medicaid focus group had submitted a letter to Roy Miller outlining the benefits of POS residential to be included in SACWIS but that it would require some form of funding from DCFS.  No response had been received to date on the recommendations. 

HIPAA

It was stated that HIPAA might impact the Medicaid portion of SACWIS.  Since Medicaid in SACWIS Phase II was still under discussion, it was noted that any changes that would need to be made to the SACWIS system would occur once the relationship of HIPAA to DCFS services is determined. 

Training

DCSF asked how long the Computer Literacy Training should be for caseworkers.  The committee recommended having a two-step training schedule.  A mandatory half-day training schedule that discusses the important DCFS policies on e-mails, privacy, computer abuse, and other computer related items.  If the caseworker is knowledgeable with Microsoft Office, then they can be excused form the second Office Automated training, which teaches basic mouse, MS Word, and MS Outlook usage.  Supervisors might benefit from more training than regular staff so that they can be �coaches� on the field.  The actual SACWIS application�s training would still be anywhere from 4 to 5 days. (RJS)

SACWIS Phase II

Different Phase II implementation options were being presented to the Director, so further detail could not be discussed with the committee at this time.  It was noted that there could possibly be two subphases for Phase II implementation with next summer targeted for Phase II implementation of the overall project. Besides the Budget and Medicaid, no known schedules could be provided to us at this time.  Without the completion of the SACWIS Phase II design, no issues involving the data bridge connection to the private agencies could be resolved.  This is where DCFS data can be dumped straight into a POS computer system so that the POS can have usable data for day-to-day operations.  Finalized plans to the federal agency for implementation of Plan II is due by mid September.

CCA OUTCOME MEASURES REMINDER

The deadline for all CCAI members to submit Outcomes Measures is Friday, September 13, 2002.  The report covers the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002.  Instructions and forms can be found on our website for easy downloading.  A help line has been established to take your calls, please call D.D. Fischer at (217) 656-3000 for assistance.

CCAI SCHEDULES HIPAA SEMINAR � SAVE THE DATE- SEPTEMBER 17

CCAI has scheduled a seminar for September 17, 2002 to conduct a brief overview on �what is HIPAA�.  HIPAA represents the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.  It was designed to implement standards related to electronic transfers of health information, the security of that information and how privacy of the information is protected.  It is not as easy to say that all services funded through Medicaid are impacted or all non-Medicaid services will not be impacted.  The Child Welfare League of America is still working on the clarification of these regulations and who will be considered a covered entity or business associate for purposes of addressing the requirements of this Act.  At this time it is difficult to state the exact impact it will have on child welfare agencies, but due to its ambiguity with the child welfare system and that the first deadline that is approaching is October 15, 2002, we felt is was essential to inform everyone about the purposes of this act.  CCAI is also recommending that all agencies file this extension for compliance with the code sets that is due October 15, 2002 in order to receive an additional year to implement the requirements if it is determined that your agency is covered by the act.  Filing the extension does not mean that you become a covered entity, but provides coverage in the event that HIPAA applies to you.   It may not be possible to address all your questions at this time, but this seminar will at least provide some basic information about the act and explain what it is designed to do.  The speaker for the session will be Deanna Mool, Partner with Sorling, Northrup, Hanna, Cullen and Cochran, Ltd. In Springfield, Illinois.  Deanna Mool is also serving as the consultant with the Governor�s Office on the implementation for HIPAA in Illinois.

Copies of the registration form should be received by your agency shortly and will also be posted on the CCAI web site (www.cca-il.org).  The session will be on Sept. 17, 2002 from 10 to 2 at the Holiday Inn Select in Naperville.  The cost for members will be $65 and for non-members $75.  A small block of rooms is being held at the rate of $80.  Call the hotel directly to make a reservation.  If you have any initial questions about HIPAA, please direct them to Jan Schoening.  We can also include those as part of the agenda for the seminar.  Any questions about registration for the seminar should be directed to Sandy Armstrong.  (JMS)

FALL MEMBERSHIP MEETING - SAVE THE DATE and MAKE YOUR RESERVATION

The Child Care Association of Illinois� Fall Membership Meeting will be held on October 23 & 24, 2002 at Starved Rock Lodge and Conference Center, Highway 178 & 71, Utica, Illinois.  Rooms are being held at Starved Rock for the nights of October 22 and 23.  If you would like to make your reservation you can call 800.868.7625 or 815.667.4211.  Rooms range in price from $85.00 to $105.00.  Please be sure and tell them you are attending the Child Care Association meeting.

Many of you have attended association meetings at Starved Rock in the past.  We have not been to Starved Rock in two years so we are happy to be going back there this year.  We have heard from many of you how much you enjoy Starved Rock and visiting this picturesque area of our state, especially in the fall.  If you would like to visit Starved Rock�s website go to www.starvedrocklodge.com.  Make your reservation and plan to attend October 22-23. (SKA)

SACY TRAINING FOR SEPTEMBER

Group Treatment: Residential and Outpatient                              Sept. 9

Process oriented groups ∙ psychoeducational groups ∙ victim empathy training ∙ behavior management ∙ deviant sexual fantasies ∙ the relapse chain and relapse prevention planning.  Specialized Group Interventions, including social/interpersonal skills training, anger management and conflict resolution, chemical dependency issues, and school-related issues.

Reunification Issues with Sexually Problematic Children         Sept. 26

The necessary skills and prerequisites for family reunification ∙ assessing parental skills and appropriateness of the home environment ∙ apology, reconciliation and reunification ∙ risk assessments for reunification.  Creating a system of external support: Making sure the WRAP stays wrapped.

Location: Catholic Charities of Chicago, St. Vincent Hall, 721 N. LaSalle, Chicago

Time: 9:00 am till 4:00 pm--Lunch on your own

COST:  $85.00 per person per session

For registration simply go to the CCAI Training site www.cca-il.org/training/htm or call Barb Oldani at 217-528-4409, ext. 21.

Calendar

Sept.  9        SACY Training - Group Treatment: Residential and Outpatient

Sept. 17        HIPAA SEMINAR, 10:00 a.m. � 2:00 p.m., Holiday Inn Select, Naperville, IL

Sept. 23        Retooling with WRAParound Services, Springfield

Sept. 24        Retooling with WRAParound Services, Chicago

Sept. 26        SACY Training � Reunification Issues with Sexually Problematic Children

Oct. 23-24    CCAI�s Fall Membership Meeting, Starved Rock Lodge and Conference Center