Policy & Practice articles from April 2009

Policy & Practice archives from April 2009

APHSA conferences and major meetings in 2009.(American Public Human Services Association)(Calendar)
April 1, 2009... Information about upcoming conferences and meetings is posted, once available, on the APHSA web site at www.aphsa.org. Click on "Conferences and Events" on the home page. Please join us. April 3-5 National Association of...

The sounds of silence.(director's memo)(cases of juvenile offenders violates children's rights)
April 1, 2009... In preparing for the theme of privatization for this issue of Policy and Practice, a recent court case in Luzerne County, Pa., struck a chord within me. On Feb. 12, former Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan pled guilty in federal court...

Kansas' experience in dealing with relief and recovery.(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... Dear Editor: I found the December 2008 issue of Policy & Practice particularly interesting due to the focus on disaster relief and recovery efforts. During my two years as secretary, we have responded to three events that thankfully did...

Time to restore flexibility to TANF.(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... Dear Editor: The brief article in the December 2008 issue of Policy & Practice, "Number of Americans on Food Stamps Expected to Top 30 Million," led me to reflect on the value of traditional entitlement programs. Though block grants have...

The boy who rode East.(editor's note)(Los Angeles County Department of Human Services' director, Bill Taylor)
April 1, 2009... Bill Taylor is a young man who loves to see Washington, D.C. He had the opportunity to spend five weeks in the nation's capital to realize his dream. And he was fortunate that one of those five weeks included the week when Barack Obama was...

Strategies that help staff and clients.(my turn)(human services management)
April 1, 2009... For those of us working in the health and human service field, these are very challenging--and often frustrating--times. The challenge lies in trying to meet the significant needs of a growing number of individuals and families seeking our...

Sen. Bob Casey seeks federal aid for homeless kids.(first things first)
April 1, 2009... The youngest victims of the recession are highlighted in a new report released that estimates that one in 50 children in America--about 1.5 million--are homeless each year. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The National Center on Family...

President signs FY 2009 omnibus spending bill.(first things first)(Barack Obama signed the fiscal year 2009 omnibus appropriations bill)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... On March, 11 President Obama signed the fiscal year 2009 omnibus appropriations bill, H.R. 1105. The law encompasses nine appropriations bills that were not enacted last year and provides funds for government agencies, including Agriculture and...

Post-foster care homeless youth face grim future.(homeless youth lacks jobs)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Many homeless youth in New York City are victims of abuse who grew up in foster care or other institutions and now lack jobs, a high school education, birth certificates and adequate health care, according to a recently released study. The...

Child trends releases report on Federal, State and local child welfare spending.(first things first)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... On Feb. 18, Child Trends released a report titled Federal, State, and Local Spending to Address Child Abuse and Neglect in SFY 2006. Funded by Casey Family Programs and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the study gives a general scope of child...

Arizona homeless Shelter worker killed.(first things first)(Kevin Collins)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... A 47-year-old manager of an Arizona homeless shelter died in February after being shot that morning outside the downtown Phoenix shelter where he worked. Kevin Collins was shot outside Central Arizona Shelter Services on Feb. 23, Maricopa...

SNAP participation reaches record 31.8 million.(first things first)(Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The latest SNAP participation figures from Food and Nutrition Services show that the program reached an all-time high of 31,784,453 people in December 2008. Unlike the earlier record reached in September 2008, the number of participants did not...

Reality tour program receives international award.(first things first)(Reality Tour Drug Prevention Program was awarded the Community Crime Prevention Program Award )(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The International Society for Crime Prevention Practitioners CANDLE Inc.'s Reality Tour Drug Prevention Program recently was awarded the Community Crime Prevention Program Award for 2008 at its International Symposium in Denver. Sgt. Ron...

Administration's eight guiding principles for health reform.(first things first)
April 1, 2009... On March 10, the Senate Finance Committee heard from Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget, on the health care proposals in the president's FY 2010 budget. Orszag explained that he would not be providing information...

HHS establishes office of recovery act coordination.(first things first)(Department of Health and Human Services establishes Office of Recovery Act Coordination)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... On March 11, HHS announced the establishment of an Office of Recovery Act Coordination to ensure that the department follows the guidelines of the ARRA. Dennis Williams, former deputy administrator of the Health Resources and Services...

More than half of Americans say family skipped on medical care due to costs.(first things first)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... As economic conditions continue to worsen, the public is increasingly worried about the affordability and availability of care, with many postponing or skipping treatments due to cost in the past year and a notable minority forced into serious...

The public/private partnership.( private and public sector collaboration in child welfare services)
April 1, 2009... AS CHILD WELFARE agencies and systems are faced with challenges in delivering a service array that can meet the needs of the children and families they serve, they often turn to private providers to deliver many of the direct services. Private...

Texas' call centers make it easier to apply for services.(Texas Health and Human Services Commission's call centers make social service applications easier)
April 1, 2009... Over the past few years, Texas has worked to modernize the system we use to enroll low-income Texans in Medicaid, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) food benefits and other social service programs. It's a lot like trying to...

The access Florida experience.(Automated Community Connections to Economic Self Sufficiency program)
April 1, 2009... There is a new attitude in Florida's public assistance programs; the attitude of an energized work force that says "I Can, We Can." This attitude is at the core of Florida's successful and nationally recognized ACCESS program. ACCESS (Automated...

Keys to successful privatization efforts.
April 1, 2009... The notion that public and private human service providers are two separate and distinct sectors is a misnomer. Historically, a substantial percentage of public budgets is used to purchase service from private providers and a significant...

A case of stigma.(legal notes)(stigma in people who need social service but does not get it)(Essay)
April 1, 2009... I sometimes call myself "a lawyer for welfare bureaucrats"--just to get all the negatives out there at once. And I know that the bureaucrats themselves don't like that old word "welfare." Hence, all the Departments of "Human Services" and the...

Modernizing human services: now more than ever.(focus)
April 1, 2009... In the last few years, we have witnessed an emerging transformation in the way workforce and human service agencies deliver services. After decades mired in operational silos, leading workforce and human service agencies began to tear down the...

Cyber threats may be hazardous to your privacy.(technology speaks)(security of information against cyber threats)
April 1, 2009... Nearly every day our nation is discovering new threats and attacks against our country's networks. Inadequate cybersecurity and loss of information has inflicted unacceptable damage to U.S. economic and national security." That is the sobering...

Washington update.
April 1, 2009... Stimulus Legislation Heads For Implementation On Feb. 17, President Obama signed into law a much-debated and historically unprecedented piece of legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009. The bill's final version...

Accenture urges new approaches to address multi-dimensional disadvantage.(business news)(Accenture questions practices of traditional human service and social security systems)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... LONDON--A new report from Accenture questions practices of traditional human service and social security systems, which have centered largely on poverty alleviation, and emphasizes the need to tackle multiple disadvantages that are isolating...

Adobe forms new media alliance with Time Warner companies.(business news)
April 1, 2009... SAN FRANCISCO and NEW YORK -- Adobe Systems Inc. and three Time Warner Inc. companies--Turner Broadcasting System Inc., Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., and Home Box Office Inc. have announced a strategic alliance to foster collaboration in...

ACS earns praise for IT infrastructure.(business news)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... ACS strengthened its IT Outsourcing presence globally by providing infrastructure services like network services, storage, desk operations, midrange, security, mainframe and desktop support, according to a company report. Employing around...

IBM named a leader for data center outsourcing services in Western Europe.(business news)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... ARMONK, N.Y.--IBM has been named by analyst firm Gartner a leader in its February 2009 report, "Magic Quadrant for Data Center Outsourcing Services, Western Europe." According to Gartner, IBM has made strategic investments to develop a...

Deloitte report validates convenience of E-mortgage technology.(business news)
April 1, 2009... A new report from Deloitte Consulting validates the convenience customers are experiencing with electronic mortgage technology. The report, "Online Lending Shaping Up as Key Battleground," was based on a survey of 604 consumers who had applied...

Maximus nets SCHIP contract with Iowa DHS.(business news)(Iowa Department of Human Services)(State Children's Health Insurance Program)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... RESTON, Va.--MAXIMUS announced in February that its Health Services division has been awarded a re-bid contract by the Iowa Department of Human Services to provide administrative services for the State Children's Health Insurance Program--now...

SpeakWrite assists overwhelmed caseworkers.(business news)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Child protective services caseworkers spend much of their time in the field, making it difficult for them to meet time frame requirements for documentation. It is not uncommon for heavily burdened caseworkers to delay typing their notes for...

Curam announces new child care solution.(business news)(Curam for Child Care)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... HERNDON, Va--Curam Software, a provider of Social Enterprise Management software solutions, announced the release of Curam for Child Care, a new generation child care solution designed to deliver dramatically improved access to affordable care....

Invest in homelessness Prevention and affordable housing.(noted studies)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is on the right track, but homelessness will increase significantly if Congress doesn't boost investment in affordable housing programs, according to this study by the Urban Institute. ...

Children and the economic recovery package.(noted studies)
April 1, 2009... The economic recovery packages passed by Congress include provisions specifically targeted to children--increases in education, Head Start, child care subsidies, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Children's Tax Credit. These are buttressed...

Racial and ethnic disparity and disproportionality in child welfare and juvenile justice: a Compendium.(noted studies)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... For the past two decades, stakeholders in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems have taken important steps toward understanding the relationship between race, ethnicity and the extent of children's involvement in the two systems....

Paid leave in the states: a critical support for low-wage workers and their families.(noted studies)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Millions of working families experience a day-to-day struggle to make ends meet--nearly 40 percent of America's children live in low-income families. This paper describes how, when these families experience a major life event, such as having a...

Organizational effectiveness handbook.(noted studies)(American Public Human Services Association)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... American Public Human Services Association APHSA's Organizational Effectiveness team has developed a comprehensive OE Handbook of strategic planning, continuous improvement and facilitation tools and templates for its agency clients. The...

Many maltreated children not getting early intervention services.(noted studies)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... FPG Child Development Institute This brief reviews provisions under the federal Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment Act that require states to ensure that all substantiated cases of maltreated infants and toddlers are referred to Part C...

Who loses if we limit tax exclusion for health insurance?(noted studies)
April 1, 2009... Employer-sponsored plans are the predominant form of health insurance in the United States. Nearly 63 percent of Americans under the age of 65 have employment-based coverage through the workplace, either as an employee, dependent or retiree....

State-Based home visiting: strengthening programs through state leadership.(noted studies)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Home visiting for families with young children is a long-standing strategy offering information, guidance, risk assessment and parenting support interventions at home. The typical "home visiting program" is designed to improve some combination...

The cost of quality out-of-school-time programs.(noted studies)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The Wallace Foundation Out-of-school time programs are increasingly expected to be of high enough quality to produce real benefits for children, but until now there has been little information about the cost of such quality programming....

California lawmakers weigh extending foster care through age 21.(state and local news)
April 1, 2009... SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A group of bipartisan California legislators vowed to be better parents to the state's foster youths, pledging to extend their life-sustaining benefits through age 21 rather than casting them off as teenagers. ...

Louisiana adoption goes on the internet.(state and local news)(Louisiana Department of Social Services launched www.dss.louisiana.gov make adoption records available for potential adoptive parents )(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... HOUMA, La.--New adoption information and profiles of foster children are now available on a state government web site. The Louisiana Department of Social Services launched the new adoption initiative a week ago, allowing potential adoptive...

NH human service chief: no more business as usual.(state and local news)(New Hampshire health and human service layoffs)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... CONCORD, N.H.--New Hampshire health and human service clients and providers should expect big changes in the department in the next two years, including layoffs and streamlined operations, said the new department chief. Commissioner...

March is developmental disabilities awareness month.(state and local news)(Nothing About Us Without Us celebration)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... OKLAHOMA CITY--The national and state celebration to raise awareness of developmental disabilities, "Nothing About Us Without Us," took place during the month of March. To mark the occasion hundreds of people with intellectual and developmental...

Texas child protection service strives to keep families together.(state and local news)(Texans Care for Children)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... DALLAS--According to data included in the Children's Campaign Report published by Austin-based children's advocate lobby Texans Care for Children, child abuse and neglect costs the United States an estimated $104 billion annually. A 2007...

Texas workforce commission highlights tax credits for employers.(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... DALLAS--The Texas Workforce Commission sent out a notice alerting Texas employers that nearly $154 million in tax credits are available to companies that hire workers from certain demographics: "It's an especially good time for employers to...

Now is the time to tell our stories.
April 1, 2009... A former Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services was fond of telling folks that the Chinese symbol for "crisis" is a double symbol representing both "challenge" and "opportunity." The economic crisis is an...

Innovative human service lessons for-and learned from--South Africa.(the field works)
April 1, 2009... Margaret J. Wheatley once stated, "Innovation is fostered by information gathered from new connections; from insights gained by journeys into other disciplines or places; from active, collegial networks and fluid, open boundaries." When I...

Turn bad news into good stories.(communications corner)
April 1, 2009... A cartoon on my office bulletin board summarizes our struggle, not only as communications specialists, but also as cash-strapped human service organizations: "Our company lost $900 million last quarter. Your job is to make this look like the...

Most common writing mistakes--3.(words on words)
April 1, 2009... Most writing errors are a mixture of misspellings and grammatical errors, although these days there is an increasingly thin line between what is right and what is acceptable as proper usage, what is literate and what's colorful. Over my past 31...

A one-of-its kind conference for human service agency attorneys.(AAPWA)(American Association of Public Welfare Attorneys conference )(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Human Service agencies may not recognize the value of keeping their attorneys up to speed on all of the legal issues involved in the constantly changing field of human services. Yet those who do will tell you of the immense advantage of having...

2009 ISM conference Agenda takes shape.(ISM)(Information Technology Solutions Management conference)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The ISM 2009 Conference will be held in Chicago at the Downtown Marriott on the Magnificent Mile from Aug. 30 through Sept. 2. The dynamic and diverse agenda--appealing to program and policy staff who depend on IT to administer their programs...

Children's health insurance program reauthorization act of 2009.(NASMD)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... On Feb. 4, President Obama signed H.R. 2, which reauthorized the Children's Health Insurance Program for four and a half years and increased funding for the program by $32.8 billion to cover an estimated 4.1 million additional children....

Certification for human service training and development professionals.(NSDTA)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The National Staff Development and Training Association announces planned piloting of certification for training and development professionals in human service fields. The Human Service Training and Development credential will be available in...

What has NAPIPM got to do with my state?(NAPDM)(National Association for Program Information and Performance Measurement)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The National Association for Program Information and Performance Measurement serves as a forum for sharing states' mutual concerns regarding program integrity, quality control, quality assurance and process improvement. In this capacity, NAPIPM...

Putting it all together.(making things happen)(adult learning and occupational training)
April 1, 2009... In these challenging and fast-moving (downward for now) economic times, our focus naturally turns to job creation as our most pressing need. For low-income individuals and workers who have been even more negatively affected by the recession...

Noble paths: stories of people who serve.(The Noble Paths of People Who Serve Others)(Book review)
April 1, 2009... By James M. Davy * iUniverse Inc. 2009 * ISBN 978-0-595-49769-0 * List Price $19.95 Countless stories and books have been written about world-renowned humanitarian figures. Similarly, Noble Paths is a book about extraordinary...

Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Black or African American youths accounted for 16 percent of all youths in the U.S. population (ages 10-17), but they represented 28 percent of juvenile arrests, 30 percent of youths adjudicated for delinquency charges, 37 percent of youths...

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported in 2003 that although Black children accounted for 15 percent of the total child population, they made up 25 percent of victims in substantiated cases of child maltreatment and 45...

National Center for Children in Poverty.(numbers in the news)(home visiting programs across the states)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... State-based home visiting programs were reported by 40 states, representing 70 distinct programs. Most states described one or two state-based home visiting programs. Five states reported on three or more home visiting programs, including...

National Center for Children in Poverty.(numbers in the news)(federal funding state-based home visiting programs)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Across 10 states, 16 programs use federal funding alone to state-based home visiting programs. Thirty-one states reported using general revenues not used for matching (such as appropriations for education, health, child welfare, etc.)--National...

National Center for Children in Poverty.(numbers in the news)(cost of living in Chicago, New York and San Francisco)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... To make ends meet in the large, high-cost cities of Chicago, New York and San Francisco, for example, a two-parent family with two children (one of preschool age and one of school age) needs an income of $52,000 to $67,000 a year. [GRAPHIC...

National Center for Children in Poverty.(numbers in the news)(cost of living in some cities)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... In more moderate-cost cities, the same family needs about $45,000 to $47,000 a year to cover the cost of day-to-day necessities. Des Moines, Detroit, San Antonio and Tampa fall into this range. The cost of living is typically less in rural...

National Center for Children in Poverty.(numbers in the news)(cost of child care)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... In 49 states, the cost of child care for two children of any age exceeds median rent costs. Depending on where a family lives, the cost of care for one preschool-age child and one school-age child can range from under $600 a month to more...

Elise Gould. 2008.(numbers in the news)(cost of living and family income)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Private, non-group health insurance can cost as much as--or even more than--rent. The high cost of coverage not only consumes a large portion of a family's budget, but also has a substantial impact on budget totals. In Chicago, the cost of...

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.(numbers in the news)(costs for employee compensation )(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers averaged $29.18 per hour worked in December 2008. Wages and salaries, which averaged $20.37, accounted for 69.8 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $8.81,...

Pamela Hyde.(newsmakers)(secretary Pamela Hyde of the New Mexico Human Services Department is the recipient of the Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Pamela Hyde, secretary of the New Mexico Human Services Department, was the recipient of the Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service, presented recently in Washington, D.C. She received the award in the category of Outstanding...

Rick Fenton.(newsmakers)(Rick Fenton has been appointed as deputy director of the Health Services Department of the American Public Human Services Association )(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Rick Fenton has joined APHSA as deputy director of the Health Services Department. Fenton recently retired from CMS, where he held key policy positions throughout his distinguished career.

Rita Landgraf has replaced Vincent Meconi as Cabinet secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... In Delaware, Rita Landgraf has replaced Vincent Meconi as Cabinet secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services. Vivian Rapposelli has replaced Henry Smith as Cabinet secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and...

Don Winstead.(newsmakers)(Don Winstead as deputy secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... In Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist has tapped Don Winstead, deputy secretary of the Department of Children and Families, as his new stimulus czar. Florida could receive about $13.5 billion. Winstead said he will work with state agencies and...

Jan Sturla.(newsmakers)(California Department of Child Support Services/ Health and Human Services Agency appointed Jan Sturla as new director )(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... In California, Jan Sturla was appointed director of the California Department of Child Support Services/ Health and Human Services Agency, replacing David Maxwell-Jolly. Maxwell-Jolly was appointed director of the California Department of...

Linda Blessing.(newsmakers)(the new interim director of the Arizona Department of Economic Security is Linda Blessing)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... In Arizona, Linda Blessing was appointed interim director of the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Blessing replaces Tracy Wareing, who is expected to join the Department of Homeland Security with her former governor, Janet Napolitano....

Stan Marshburn.(newsmakers)(Washington Department of Social and Health Services appointed Stan Marshburn as acting secretary )(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Stan Marshburn has been appointed the acting secretary of the Washington Department of Social and Health Services. He replaces Robin Arnold-Williams, who has moved on and is now the director of the Executive Policy Office in the governor's...

Mayra Lopez.(newsmakers)(Puerto Rico Administration for Children and Families named Mayra Lopez as new administrator )(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Mayra Lopez has been named the administrator for Children and Families at the Puerto Rico Administration for Children and Families. She replaces Carmen Nazario, who is now teaching social work at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico.

Eric Bost.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Former Board Member Eric Bost, who previously served as Texas human service commissioner, U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary and U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, has been appointed the vice president for international studies at...

Larry Bolton.(newsmakers)
April 1, 2009... Larry Bolton, longtime California general counsel, leader of the American Association of Public Welfare Attorneys and former APHSA Board member, has announced his retirement.

In passing ...(Sharlynn E. Bobo died from pancreatic cancer)(Obituary)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... APHSA and the entire public human service community mourn the loss of Sharlynn E. Bobo, former director of the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency, who passed 2009, from pancreatic cancer. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Welcome new APHSA local agency members.(American Public Human Services Association)(Kevin Schiller)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Kevin Schiller Director Washoe County Department of Social Services RO. Box 11130 Reno, NV 89520-0027 Reno, the county seat of Washoe County, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World," is famous for its casinos, and...

Staff spotlight.(Emily Jacobs of American Public Human Services Association)(Interview)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Name... Emily Jacobs [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Time at APHSA... Three months Title... Conference coordinator Place of Birth... Big Rapids, Mich. A Typical Day Starts With... An early run or bike...

Take action: sign the unity of purpose congressional pledge.
April 1, 2009... As a supporter of the public health and human service community, show your commitment to improving our systems and producing successful outcomes for those we serve. Join us as we reach out to the White House and Congress to help vulnerable...

There is opportunity in every crisis.(locally speaking)
April 1, 2009... We've run out of adjectives to describe the times, but the county-administered safety net programs in California are under siege. Over a year ago, the housing meltdown in our county began to drag all other aspects of the local economy down with...

In our doers profile, we highlight some of the hardworking and talented individuals in public human services. This issue features Don Jordan of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.(Our do'ers profile)(Interview)
April 1, 2009... Name: Don Jordan Title: Secretary Years of Service: 33 total, two as secretary Rewards of the Job: I began my career in social services as a front-line worker and to this day, meeting with clients and the staff who work directly...