December 24, 2001

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.

Table of Contents

CCAI HOLIDAY SCHEDULE.. 1

CHILD WELFARE.. 1

CHILD WELFARE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CWAC) REPORT. 1

SURVEY REQUESTS�IMPACT OF BUDGET CUTS AND CASH FLOW... 3

JANUARY MEETING WITH JUVENILE COURT PRESIDING JUDGE.. 4

SAVE THE DATE FOR SPRING FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE PARENT CONFERENCE.. 4

TRAIN-THE-TRAINER CLASS FOR THE SUBSTANCE AFFECTED FAMILIES CURRICULUM.. 4

AGENCY STATISTICAL SUMMARY IMPLEMENTED FOR DOWNSTATE.. 5

QUESTIONS FROM I/GH OUTCOMES MODULE TRAINING.. 5

SPECIAL EDUCATION.. 9

ISBE AGREES TO FEDERAL MONITORING REPORT EXTENSION: 9

DCFS IMPLEMENTING RULE 384 IN THERAPEUTIC DAY SCHOOLS?. 9

MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.. 9

DD CONTRACTS COMMITTEE.. 9

DHS PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS.. 10

GENERAL.. 10

INFANT PARENT INSTITUTE WEB SITE.. 10

SACWIS SEAT COUNT REALLOCATION PROCESS.. 10

SACWIS PHASE II DESIGN PROCESS ON HOLD.. 10

READ PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE TANF REAUTHORIZATION.. 11

FAITH-BASED PROPOSAL WOULD INCREASE SSBG.. 11

UPCOMING EVENTS.. 11

Calendar 11

CCAI HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Seasons Greetings!! The staff of the Child Care Association of Illinois extends our best wishes for all members to enjoy the holiday season. We hope whatever holiday you celebrate or religious period you observe brings much satisfaction and comfort.  We wish you peace in 2002.

The Monday Report will be published on Monday, December 24. There will be no Monday Report on Monday, December 31.

The CCAI offices will be closed from Monday, December 24, 2001 through Tuesday, January 1, 2002. Any urgent matters can be directed to the Chicago voice mail number at 312-819-1950. (MB)

CHILD WELFARE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CWAC) REPORT

CWAC met in Chicago on December 20, 2001. Key issues discussed were:

Given the circumstances of the state budget and anticipated cuts to human services, Director McDonald commented on the DCFS budget. He noted this is the worst budget in a decade. It will get worse in FY �03. There will be further cuts in spending unless there is significant revenue recovery.  He has already met with key budgeters in the general assembly. There may even be agreement on the budget between the governor and the general assembly by the time of the Governor�s budget message in February.  DCFS will be losing more than 300 from their head count and will continue to downsize. COLA issues will still impact providers. However, he does not anticipate immediate direct impact on voluntary providers. He did warn of other cost saving measures which will impact some contracts: plans to move to standardized specialized care rates, increased pressure for permanency performance, and strong control of use of residential care. Additionally, DCFS anticipates a continuing drop in overall caseload of 8.5%.

DCFS presented a proposal to create a Watch List of workers and supervisors who work on cases that appear on no-show, court report of HELP concern lists. Protocol would also involve ordering a staffing with AP within 5 days, and placing agency intake on hold until cases issues were resolved.

There are still significant problems with these areas at court. Recent appellate court rulings have upheld the right of judges to order workers/agencies off a case. DCFS is concerned that this may begin to happen on many of the cases on the troubled list. There are many agencies with 1-5 cases. Although these represent a small percent of those agencies� total caseloads, there are still cases to be tracked. There are a number of agencies with case problems in 5-15 cases and a few agencies with problem cases of 20 or more. Director McDonald also pointed out that DCFS will begin losing federal reimbursement for No Reasonable Efforts findings and intends to assign that loss of funds to the agencies with such cases.  Court performance is the last issue of concern for the BH monitors.

The voluntary members of CWAC raised a number of issues regarding the proposal. There is agreement that there are problems at court. These must be directed to the executive levels of the agency immediately. DCFS should be willing to take corrective action with agencies that continually show high rates of court problems. Given the current status of work force issues and the already stressful job for caseworkers, creating another mechanism for watching will pose additional stresses for the workers. There are also problems with the accuracy of many of the court reports received. There does not seem to be a mechanism for sharing agency feedback on court reports back to the judges.

The group agreed on the following:

            DCFS must notify agency executive staff immediately when there is a court problem that comes to their attention

            Agencies should be responsible for their own quality control regarding court performance so they are not totally relying on DCFS information

            AP should discuss patterns of court performance concern during every agency visit and request meeting with executive director when they feel there is a significant problem

            DCFS will keep a list of what they consider problem cases and workers and share this information with agencies as a tool. They will not publish the list.

            Agencies must be held accountable. DCFS may choose not to extend a contract to an agency with poor court performance.

Agencies are reminded of the necessity of establishing good executive relationships with juvenile court�judges, hearing officers, attorneys, and public guardian staff. The next meeting of agencies with Judge Bishop is scheduled for January 24.

Members raised concerns over the validity of the agency statistical summaries, timeliness of receipt of the report and use of the rankings. A work group will be convened to look at these issues. Agencies can e-mail their concerns about the summary to the CWAC chair, Tom Vanden Berk (e-mail: [email protected].)

Director McDonald announced that there would be some hold of SACWIS design activities for 6 months, as a budget saving measure. Concerns from the SACWIS group regarding integration of case management and Medicaid entries and integration with billing systems were raised. Since there is a hold, there appears to be time for further discussion of these issues prior to final implementation decisions.

The CERAP legislation called for an advisory committee to review on an ongoing basis the reliability/validity of the CERAP instrument and to review the ongoing training relating to CERAP. The committee will be reconstituted and will convene in February.  The Expert Panel will review recommendations from Best Practices related to service models and decisions for intact families.  John Goad was introduced as the new Deputy Director for Child Protection. Ed Cotton is now working in the state system in Nevada.

Mike Shaver reported on developing work to further delineate outcomes required by the federal government. DCFS is looking at how to track the required outcomes not only by contract but regionally and by LANS.

The caseload is remaining relatively stable. There are about 50 more new cases this year than at this time last year. DCFS� review of TANF caseloads shows there has been little influx into child welfare as a result of TANF deadlines. DCFS feels they have procedures in place to address any new cases that may come to their attention as a result of the changing economic conditions.

From July through November, 318 employees have completed foundation training: 283 from private agencies and 35 from DCFS. There have been 12 classes in Chicago. Four classes in each of the three non-Cook regions were scheduled. Three of the four in Southern Region and 1 of 4 in Central Region were cancelled for no/low enrollment.

See full committee report in Monday Report of December 17. 

See full committee report in Monday Report of November 26. (MB)

SURVEY REQUESTS�IMPACT OF BUDGET CUTS AND CASH FLOW

We can still accept last minute surveys this week on the status of cash flow. If you have not yet submitted your survey, FAX immediately to Marge Berglind.

Agencies are encouraged to participate in providing information on the impact of budget cuts�both the lack of CODB we have had to absorb the first 3 quarters of this fiscal year and the possible loss of the CODB due on April l. Surveys are brief. CCA staff will also be contacting certain agencies by phone to participate.

We will use collated information as part of future publicity about the challenges facing agencies as well as part of group reports on human services in general.

Cash flow will likely soon develop into a struggle for many agencies. We are in the process of setting up a meeting with the Illinois Controller�s staff and Senator Jones to discuss the current situation and identify procedures for Cook County area agencies. We will then determine if there is a similar need for a meeting with downstate agencies or whether the information can be forwarded. As part of planning for this meeting, we are trying to collect essential information on the extent of the problem. Cook area agency executives will receive a survey next week. We urge you to fill this out or forward immediately to your CFO for processing. Questions or concerns about participation in either survey should be directed to Marge Berglind at 312-819-1950. (MB)

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 elsewhere in this issue), it is imperative that executives from our agencies attend this meeting. The January meeting is scheduled for:

Thursday, January 24, 2002, 10:00 a.m.-Noon, Juvenile Court auditorium. (MB)

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)

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)

AGENCY STATISTICAL SUMMARY IMPLEMENTED FOR DOWNSTATE

As previously reported in the Downstate Performance Based Work Group report, DCFS will be collating and reporting agency data on performance for downstate providers. A training meeting to acquaint agencies with the summary and its uses is scheduled for:

            Date:            January 16, 2002

            Location:                                      Illinois State Museum

                        Auditorium, Lower Level

                                                                Corner of Spring Street and Edwards Street

                        Springfield, Illinois

            Time:            10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The purpose of the Statistical Summary is to provide information in selected areas to assist POS agencies to monitor and enhance performance. Downstate agencies will be receiving an invitation directly from DCFS within the next 2 weeks.  (MB)

QUESTIONS FROM I/GH OUTCOMES MODULE TRAINING

As we reported in last week�s Monday Report under CWAC-SED, here are the frequently asked questions and responses generated from the Outcomes training for residential care.

1. Why don�t we use the Daniel Memorial instead of the Ansell-Casey?

It was determined by the Standards and Outcomes Subcommittee that the Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment is the best measure of life skills for the purposes of outcomes.  The Daniel Memorial has suffered criticism due its youth report format and its susceptibility to unreliable administration (i.e. if the provider simply asks the specific questions on the test instead of employing the standardized interview format).  This can artificially inflate scores on the Daniel Memorial.  Further, the caregiver report format of the Ansell-Casey is consistent with the recommended administration for the outcomes module, the team approach.  The Ansell-Casey also has a youth self-report form that can be filled out in advance of the Outcomes team meeting to be used in the discussion. 

2. Why is there no inventory for SACY children over 12?

The Standards and Outcomes subcommittee determined that there was no appropriately oriented, effective measure of SACY outcomes for our wards in residential treatment over the age of 12.  The current available measures for this population focus on the sexual offender population and fail to measure the full range of sexual behavioral problems our wards exhibit.  Therefore, the S/O subcommittee decided to use UIR�s (recidivism) to measure changes in rates of the full range of sexually problematic behaviors.  

3. Who should be attending the Outcome Module Trainer trainings?

An official �point-person� at each agency is responsible for training the staff on the module and leading teams in the administration of the module.  Therefore, this individual, known as the �Outcomes Manager�, should be a master�s level person with a clinical orientation and teaching and leadership skills at the agency.

4. Who will train the people in our agencies?

The aforementioned �Outcomes Manager� that attended the trainer�s training is responsible for training the remainder of staff at their agency.  Once trained, any master�s level clinical staff can complete the competency test and become outcomes managers themselves.   All other trained agency personnel are available to participate in the completion of the module with the team. 

5. When should we begin assessment of outcomes with children who are already in your I/GH?

For children currently in the system, providers should complete the first module based on where the child would be in their outcomes cycle if you had been administering the module from the beginning of the child�s episode of care.  Therefore, if the child has been in care for six months in January 1, 2002, the agency should complete the module January 31, 2002 (seven months into treatment and six months after the initial (Day 30) administration would have been completed).  Agencies have a two-week window, seven days before and seven days after the exact date to administer the module.  There is another 7 days in which the person has to submit the data on the website before that child�s outcomes are considered late.  In the future late outcomes will be considered a violation of your contract and could result in future penalties. 

6. Regarding the team approach, how are we to go about getting teachers involved? Should groups be uniform across agencies in terms of the types of the people comprising the team?

Ideally, all adults involved in the child�s life should be present when completing the module.  Therefore, teams might vary from child to child based on who is involved.  One would expect the I/GH to be in contact with teachers on a regular basis.  If teachers are not typically present at team meetings, providers should call the teacher and inquire about the child�s behaviors at school.  In fact, any person on the CFT who cannot be present for the completion of the module should be contacted for their input.

7. Is there a capacity to print the module from the Internet?

All public domain instruments and training documents will be available online at the internet site.  These documents are the CFARS/FARS and the Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment, the slides from the training, and all extra training materials pertinent to these measures and the copyrighted measures, the Vineland and CSBI.

8. How do we get the CAFAS, and where should we send/what should we do with it after filling it out?

The CAFAS can be purchased from Kay Hodges at (734) 769-9725.  Unfortunately, CAFAS forms cannot be entered online due to copyright concerns but rather must be sent directly to Northwestern University.  Arrangements should be made with Northwestern University at (312) 908-0303/ [email protected] to determine the best way to submit this information for your agency. 

9. Will we see the results?

The results will be presented in graphical format to the providers through the internet site.  Providers will be able to see information on the individual child, for the entire agency, and across other agencies.  Several reports will be available to providers immediately after completing information on the child.  These reports can be printed directly from the internet site.

10. Are we able to print reports off the Internet module after entering data?

Yes, providers will be able to print reports off the internet immediately after entering data.  In addition, Northwestern University will provide regular reports at spaced intervals (i.e., monthly or quarterly).

11. What kind of information will be in the reports?

The internet site will provide immediate reports on the child�s individual and scale scores.  Some reports will also provide information comparing different agencies and comparing individual children against the population of wards.

12. Is there a system in place to correct errors in entered data?

Providers should always double-check their work before sending in their modules via the internet.  The internet site will allow providers to double check their work and go back through the child�s data before submitting the module.  Once the module is sent, errors can be corrected by calling or e-mailing Northwestern University at (312) 908-0303/ [email protected]

13. Will this process take over our treatment program?

The outcomes module will not replace the treatment plan, however, it is likely that the data collected can be used to formulate treatment goals and the treatment plan.

14. Regarding the �days attended� in the School/Vocational information in sections II and III in the module: Do you want cumulative hours over the course of days? For example, if a school day = 8 hours, and the child goes home from school for 6 hours each day on Tues, Wed, and Thurs, do you count it as a cumulative hours as attending 1.5 days or as missing 3 days?

When computing days of school attended, count only those days the child completed the full day of school.  School policy should determine the number of hours needed to be considered a day attended.  For work days, a child still gets credit for a day worked if they went to work but were sent home as a reward, because the job was overstaffed or some other work or some other reason outside of their control (i.e. company closed the building because of a natural disaster).  If the child misses work for any other reason, this would not count as a day worked.

15. Is there a measure of life skills for DD kids over 18? Why not? There is a great need for this type of tool.

Keep in mind that the Vineland can be used for all youth ages 0 through 18 (18 years, 11 months, 30 days).  For children past the age of 18, the Ansell-Casey 11-18 year old version can be used.  We have contacted the Ansell-Casey foundation and they agree that this is an appropriate use of the measure.  Therefore, if you serve a ward over the age of 18, please complete the Ansell-Casey short form for children 11-18 (20 items). 

*Note:  The Ansell-Casey foundation has recently developed an Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment (ACLSA) for individuals ages 19-25, the ACLSA IV.  However, this form is a youth-report instrument, which varies from the caregiver-report format of the ACLSA I-III.  Therefore, for now it appears that the Ansell-Casey short form for children ages 11-18 is the most appropriate instrument for our wards over the age of 18. 

16. When and how do we get an ID?

IDs will be administered by Northwestern University.  Once we receive your competency test for the CFARS, we will grade the test and determine if the score is within the acceptable range of reliability.  People who are not within the acceptable range will be given another vignette to score using the CFARS.  Once you pass, an ID will be sent to you via e-mail.  Additional training is available by going to the training and certification portion of CFARS website, http://cfars.fmhi.usf.edu.  If you pass the online certification, an ID will be assigned at the end of the website.  Print out the certification page and fax it to Northwestern at 312-908-5070 or e-mail the online certification number to [email protected] so that you can be assigned your Illinois ID appropriate for our Outcomes Module website.   If your agency is using the CAFAS instead of the CFARS, Ids can be obtained by sending your CAFAS certifications test score to Northwestern at the Division of Psychology, Abbott Hall, Suite 1205, 710 N. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL  60611.  Only those masters level people who have completed 10 vignettes required for CAFAS certification can receive Ids.

17. Who should enter the data?

A worker will need to provide an ID in order to enter data at the internet site.  Some providers have already decided to give their ID�s to administrative staff to enter the data.  Agencies can decide what is most appropriate based on the resources available at each facility.  However, if there are problems with the reliability of an agency�s data, the Department will hold the Outcomes Manager responsible.  If this is a data input problem, outcomes managers will be expected to address the problem or risk being re-trained on the instrument.

18. How much time will this take?

The pilot study indicated that it takes providers between 20 and 40 minutes to discuss the case and complete the module.  We expect that this could even decrease as providers become more efficient in completing the module.

19. Regarding security, how fast can an ID be deactivated?

An ID can be deactivated immediately by going directly to the website.  The website will allow Outcomes Managers to eliminate their own IDs and administrators to eliminate any of the existing Outcomes Manager�s IDs.  Administrators should be vigilant about eliminating IDs for Outcomes Managers who no longer work at the Agency.  A person can move to another agency and be an Outcomes Manager there without new training.  Northwestern will need to reassign a new ID number because the IDs are Agency specific.  Outcomes managers will only be able to access information about the agency the ID is tied to.

20. How fast can someone get an ID?

Providers can get Ids by sending their CFARS/CAFAS scores to Northwestern University.  Northwestern will grade the test within 5 working days and will e-mail you an ID if competence is demonstrated.  You can call Northwestern to inquire about the status of your ID (312-908-0303).

21. Regarding medication: Only psychotropic meds? 

The only medications an agency is required to list are psychotropic medications the child is taking the day the module is administered. 

22. Regarding medication: Write in or drop-down menu?

Medications will be completed using a text-box where you are encouraged to indicate the full name/names of the medication the child is taking.  At some point in the future, we may change this section in the database to a drop-down list. 

23. In looking at school attendance, will you take into consideration those residential programs that have schools within them (harder to skip/miss?)? Will you take into consideration the way RTCs are set up in general when looking at the data and comparing across agencies?

The Department will consider differences between programs when making all comparisons, not just whether or not a program has a school on-site.  The first phase of the outcomes system will involve finding similar agencies to make meaningful comparisons.

24. When examining the data and comparing agencies, are you taking into account the different modes of treatment at different centers?

We will take into consideration the different modes of treatment at facilities once we begin collecting outcomes.  Our hope is that this project will eventually inform our understanding of standards of care.   This will involve discovering those methodologies that lead to the best outcomes with specific subpopulations of children.

25. When would you like the training tests to be sent in?

Please send the training tests in as soon as possible.  We will need them by no later than December 14^th, 2001. 

26. How large of a time window do we have to fill out the module? Do we have to stick strictly to the stated increment dates?

Providers must complete the module within two weeks of the expected completion date.  For instance, if the child enters treatment on January 1^st, 2002, the provider will need to complete the six-month module within two weeks before or after July 1, 2002.  However, when completing the initial module, providers must wait at least 3 weeks to meet and discuss the child�s case.  Therefore, if the child enters treatment on January 1, 2002, the provider must complete the module no earlier than January 22, 2002. 

ISBE AGREES TO FEDERAL MONITORING REPORT EXTENSION:

CCA worked to obtain an extension of ISBE�s compliance report to the U.S. Department of Education.  CCA insisted upon the extension so the federal oversight committee, on which CCA staff served, could review the report that ISBE staff revised dramatically from the document that was originally prepared by the oversight committee.  CCA testified to the governing board of the Illinois State Board of Education at its recent meeting and requested the extension and the review.  The review was held on December 20.  The oversight committee members raised several concerns about the contents of the report that ISBE plans to submit, in particular the goal that �Illinois will increase by 5% the number of students with disabilities ages 3-21 who are educated in the general education classroom in the school they would attend if not disabled.� It appeared at the end of the review meeting that ISBE was not willing to amend its goals as stated in the report.  CCA will now draft a separate set of recommendations based upon data originally reviewed by the oversight committee (BRH).

DCFS IMPLEMENTING RULE 384 IN THERAPEUTIC DAY SCHOOLS?

CCA has learned that a staff member of DCFS has informed a member agency that they plan to require the use of Rule 384 in therapeutic day schools.  We are currently reviewing this issue.  If you have additional information, please contact Bridget Helmholz at CCA (BRH).

DD CONTRACTS COMMITTEE

The DD Contracts Committee met in December for further discussion of the performance based outcome measures to be used for DD programs.  At the last meeting the committee had identified four general areas that should be used in establishing outcome indicators for DD services.  Those were: 1.) Consumer Outcomes which would cover satisfaction; 2.) System Performance, which would cover service coordination, utilization and expenditures and access to services; 3.) Health, Welfare and Rights which would cover safety, abuse, health, respect and rights; and 4.) Service Delivery System which covers staff stability.  As part of the December meeting, information was provided from the Office of Developmental Disabilities regarding performance areas in the Management Plan.  There was extensive discussion on how does one determine the level of percentage increase that should be expected for an indicator.  For example, what percentage of community agencies should be fully reporting service data across all service areas?  The Committee agreed that it had completed a basic review of performance measures with broad recommendations to the Advisory Committee across service areas.   The Committee would reconvene if further directed by the Statewide Advisory Council to consider specific indicators for a service category.  (JMS)   

DHS PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS

With the proposed cuts to balance the FY02 budget, several items identified in the DHS budget to be cut include funding to children�s programs.  Some of the services that would be impacted are Healthy Families ($690,000), Teen REACH ($1,193,300), Project Success ($2,841,700), and CCBYS ($610,300).  The initial information on the impact of these cuts is that these dollar figures represent unobligated funds.  Healthy Families only received an increase this year of $850,000, which would have been used to expand current programs.  With the proposed cut, current Healthy Families programs would remain intact without proposed expansions.  Additional detail is still being sought related to the dollar figures referenced for Teen REACH, Project Success and CCBYS.  (JMS)

INFANT PARENT INSTITUTE WEB SITE

The Infant�Parent Institute recently launched a Web page which Medicaid providers might find helpful.  The IPI Web page includes IPI staff names and addresses, e-mail links to IPI staff, a description of Medicaid elements, sample Medicaid forms, and links.  The IPI Web page is located at: www.infant-parent.com and the Medicaid Community Mental Health Services Program information is at the bottom of the Home page, under Research Division.  CCA will set this site up on its list of links.  (JMS)

SACWIS SEAT COUNT REALLOCATION PROCESS

New information was mailed to agencies last week regarding a reallocation of the funds to private agencies for implementation of a SACWIS readiness plan.  This process was implemented again during year two of the planning process for private agencies due to the decrease in case loads and the reduction in the number of agencies providing SACWIS services.  We realize that there is not a lot to time allotted for turn around, especially with the holidays.  The intent is to get the information back as soon as possible so that contracts can be amended as early in the new year as possible to allow access to additional dollars to agencies as quickly as possible.  If anyone has any questions, direct them to Steve Bradshaw at 217-747-7604 or [email protected].  (JMS)

SACWIS PHASE II DESIGN PROCESS ON HOLD

We have been advised as of Dec. 14^th, the Phase II design activities for SACWIS were suspended for budgetary reasons.  The suspension is expected to be until July 2002.  Some Phase II things like the integration of Medicaid and residential issues will continue to be discussed, with hopefully come to resolution during this delay in the implementation schedule.  All POS subject matter experts participating in the JADs (Joint Application Development) should have been contacted regarding the cancellation of their upcoming meeting dates.  Phase I continues with a target date of April 22, 2002.  There is no impact on POS readiness contract at this time.  Agencies should continue their plans to spend the current year�s money.   (JMS)

READ PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE TANF REAUTHORIZATION

The official public comment period for commenting on TANF reauthorization closed on November 30, 2001.  Comments from advocates, researchers and policy groups can be read online at: www.acf.dhhs.gov/HyperNews/get/tanfreaut/tanfreaut.html.  (JMS)

FAITH-BASED PROPOSAL WOULD INCREASE SSBG

It was reported in This Week in Washington, that after discussions with the White House, Sens. Joseph Lieberman and Rick Santorum are poised to introduce legislation that included additional funding for the Social Services Block Grant.  It is in draft form and entitled the Armies of Compassion Initiative, a scaled down version of earlier legislation that supported faith based organizations in human services.  Although the legislation focuses on tax deductions for nonprofit and charitable organizations, it also includes $250 million in additional FY 2002 funding for SSBG to bring funding level up to $1.925 billion.  The draft bill calls for restoring SSBG to $2.8 billion in future years.  (JMS)

Calendar

January 8 � CWAC SACWIS Advisory Committee, Springfield

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