Policy & Practice articles from December 2002

Policy & Practice archives from December 2002

Letter from the executive director.
December 1, 2002... Throughout the year, we've given continuous coverage to human services integration. As we have said many times, welfare reform and devolution have created a need for new approaches. It is no longer acceptable for a human service agency to not...

Inside story.(child support from prisoners)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... In 1999, the federal government introduced a minimum child support payment of $260 per year under the Child Support Act. Child support payers earning between $260 and $12,000 are required to pay at least $260 per year (or $5 per week) in child...

The WorkFirst communications coordinator with the Washington State Office of Financial Management. (Guest House).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Kathy Davis is the WorkFirst communications coordinator with the Washington State Office of Financial Management. She coordinates internal and external communications and media relations among the four state partner agencies responsible for...

The general counsel of the Texas Department of Human Services and a past president of the American Association of Public Welfare Attorneys. (Guest House).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Paul Leche is the general counsel of the Texas Department of Human Services and a past president of the American Association of Public Welfare Attorneys. He is board certified in administrative law and has taught ethics at the University of...

Plan for electronic transfer for child support lags. (News Watch: Iowa).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Des Moines Register State officials have hit a snag in their plan to deliver all Iowa child-support payments by electronic fund transfer. Department of Human Services officials had hoped that by January all Iowa recipients of court-ordered...

New Mexico studies point to benefits of greater food stamp use. (News Watch: New Mexico).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Albuquerque Tribune A pair of studies released by New Mexico Voices for Children suggests that impoverished families are not making full use of their food stamp privileges and that it would be good for the state's overall economy if they...

State to assess needs of mentally ill in adult homes. (News Watch: New York).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Albany Times-Union New York will assess the medical conditions and needs of its 32,000 residents of adult homes as part of an effort to protect patients from abuse and neglect. Nurses will also be deployed to private adult homes statewide...

Washington State's Department of Social and Health Services. (News Makers: Washington).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Dennis Braddock, secretary of Washington State's Department of Social and Health Services, received the National Association of State Chief Information Officers' 2002 Recognition Award for implementing the Washington State Combined Application...

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (News Makers: Washington).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced the selection of 18 individuals and organizations as recipients of the department's Adoption Excellence Awards. Given annually since 1997, the awards honor...

Incarcerated parents and child support: a conversation with Jessica Pearson and Esther Griswold.
December 1, 2002... A cross the country, states are finding new and better ways to collect child support payments. Despite the steady improvements, though, there is still work to be done, particularly with incarcerated noncustodial parents (NCPs). More than...

Breaking the cycle: welfare dependency and family planning.
December 1, 2002... Nursing runs in Evie Vaughn's family. Her mother is a nurse and her sister is training to be one. Vaughn knows she could earn more at a hospital job. Instead, this animated 26-yearold with a tongue stud and tattoos stands in front of a...

Government regulations and the plain English movement.
December 1, 2002... Gobbledygook is a word coined in 1944 by Texas congressman Maury Maverick to describe what he called "that terrible, involved, polysyllabic language from those people down in Washington." To say that most people neither understand nor trust the...

The Divided Welfare State.(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... At a time of fierce conflict over U.S. social policy, Americans are considering whether the public sector should do less and the private sector more. In The Divided Welfare State, author Jacob Hacker shows that this baffle is as old as the...

Counties as Service Delivery Agents.(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... Examines the role county governments play in the provision of traditional, local, and regional services. In addition, this book extends its analysis to investigate the influence of politics, state constitutions, statures, financial aid,...

Human Services and the Afrocentric Paradigm.(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... Describes how the Afrocentric paradigm can be used to explain human behavior, solve social problems, and explore issues that are of interest to human service practitioners, administrators, policy advocates, analysts, and educators. The book...

The Effective Public Manager: Achieving Success in a Changing Government.(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... Provides core concepts to help real-world managers and managers-to-be meet the demands of their jobs head on rather than work around the constraints of government and gives them the tools to shape events rather than be shaped by them. ...

Our Do'ers Profile.
December 1, 2002... Walter B. Credle In Our Do'ers Profile, we highlight some of the hard-working and talented individuals in the public human services field. This issue features Walter B. Credle of the Department of Social Services in Hampton, Virginia. ...