Policy & Practice articles from March 2004

Policy & Practice archives from March 2004

The story of Carolyn: a case to remember.(Directors Memo)(Editorial)
March 1, 2004... Several times each month, APHSA receives a press release or proclamation announcing the designation of a day, week, or month to celebrate a specific human service program. I believe these events are very important to heighten public awareness,...

Inside story.
March 1, 2004... "That (minority) group of people is impossible to work with. They say they want to meet with you and then they don't show up for the meeting." "It's ridiculous to think that we can provide services to someone who can't speak English. We don't...

New guide helps African-American Families cope with crises.(First Things First)(Book Review)
March 1, 2004... African-American parents now have an important new resource to help them support their children during times of stress or crisis. The Activity Book for African American Families: Helping Children Cope with Crisis was developed by the African...

Looking for federal grants?(First Things First)
March 1, 2004... Then point your web browser to Grants.Gov (www.grants.gov). This new web site has information about more than 800 available grant programs involving all 26 federal grant-making agencies. The site provides information in a standardized format...

HHS helps children who witness domestic violence.(First Things First)
March 1, 2004... "Safe and Bright Futures for Children" is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) new initiative to help children who witness domestic violence develop into healthy, well-adjusted adults. The program also hopes to break the...

Solutions do, indeed, work.(First Things First)
March 1, 2004... What does a homelessness prevention program in Los Angeles share with a rural infant mortality program and a job training program for women in construction? What Makes a Solution? Lessons and Findings from Solutions for America, published by...

Too many children of color in foster care?(First Things First)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... There have been countless debates surrounding the overrerpresentation of children of color in the foster care system. In response to the widespread concern to the problem, Mitigating the Effects of Racial Disproportionality, a paper published...

Partnership offers resourceful newsletter.(First Things First)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The Healthy Families Partnership in Hampton, Virginia, has designed a series of newsletters for parents' use. Healthy Stages newsletter is designed to answer parents' questions about parenthood when they arise. It covers infancy through...

TANF's effects on teens.(First Things First)
March 1, 2004... A new policy brief from Kaiser Family Foundation, Teens and TANF: How Adolescents Fare Under the Nation's Welfare Program, examines the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant's effect on different populations of teenagers:...

Health care spending projected to double.(First Things First)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Despite a projected slowdown in its rate of growth, U.S. health care spending will reach nearly $3.4 trillion in 2013, nearly doubling in the next decade and consuming close to onefifth of the nation's economic output, according to the Centers...

Staff spotlight.(First Things First)
March 1, 2004... Name... Larry Goolsby [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Time at APHSA... Almost 17 years Title... Senior Policy Associate Place of Birth... Manchester, Georgia A Typical Day Starts With... Eating a...

Iowa: pilot project helps seniors prevent health problems.(In the Media)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Sioux City Journal A health care model being tested at a nursing home in central Iowa may hold the key to alleviating overcrowded hospitals and reducing costs while improving long-term care for frail seniors, doctors say. A geriatrician...

Washington, D.C.: drug bills create hardship for many.(In the Media)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The Associated Press Almost one-third of Americans say paying for prescription drugs is a problem in their families, and many are cutting dosages to deal with the crunch, according to a poll by the Associated Press (AP). Nearly two-thirds...

Rhode Island: state house rally helps the poor.(In the Media)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The Providence Journal Community activists and legislators recently unveiled a bill designed to help low-income families pay their heating costs. The bill, called the Affordable Energy Bargain Act, would limit an eligible family's total...

A place to call "home".
March 1, 2004... Each year, Minnesota is the destination for more than 3,000 new refugees and immigrants, as well as substantial numbers of nonimmigrant ethnic groups who relocate there from other states. Minnesota is now home to more than 125,000...

Reducing the bottom line.
March 1, 2004... Over the past 18 months in Minnesota, counties are one by one gaining control over their out-of-home placement budget lines. Several key factors have been discovered as this trend has unfolded. But one of the most important factors in...

Funding child care.
March 1, 2004... While the methods of improving child care and its delivery are scattered across a broad field of discourse, there is little debate on the fact that the early years of learning are crucial in a child's development. One research study after...

Homosexual rights and the placement of children.(Legal Notes)
March 1, 2004... Should gay and lesbian couples be allowed to adopt children? Agencies that place children in foster and adoptive homes can become embroiled in contentious legal and political battles concerning the rights of homosexuals in response to the...

S. Kimberly Belshe.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed S. Kimberly Belshe secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency. She is a member of the governor's cabinet and serves as his chief advisor on health, social services, and rehabilitative...

Howard H. Hendrick.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Howard H. Hendrick, director of Oklahoma's Department of Human Services, is one of this year's recipients of the National Public Service Award. The award, given annually to five recipients, is sponsored by the American Society for Public...

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was a keynote speaker at APHSA's CEO Retreat in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Gov. Huckabee commended the chief executive officers (CEOs) for their work in public human services. Huckabee, looking leaner since losing 75...

Ron Ross.(NewsMakers)
March 1, 2004... Gov. Mike Johanns appointed Ron Ross, former director of Nebraska's Department of Health and Human Services, state treasurer. Ross assumed the position in January following the resignation of Lorelee Byrd. Ross served as director of the...

Susan Schechter.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
March 1, 2004... Renown author and advocate Susan Schechter died February 3, 2004. She was a visionary national leader who helped shape society's response to violence against women and children. Schechter founded the nation's first program to address child...

Larry Temple.(NewsMakers)
March 1, 2004... The Texas Workforce Commission named its deputy executive director Larry Temple as its executive director. He joined the commission in 1997 as director of the Office of Welfare Reform. Temple joined the public sector in 1992 as deputy director...

Our do'ers profile.
March 1, 2004... In Our Do'ers Profile, we highlight some of the hard-working and talented individuals in public human services. This issue features Cari DeSantis, secretary of Delaware's Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families in...

Say what?(Critical Essay)
March 1, 2004... Having just read George Orwell's wonderful Homage to Catalonia, I realized that he would be 100 if he were alive today. Would the author of 1984 be all that surprised at the way corporations, the military, or the government use language today?...