Policy & Practice articles from March 2007

Policy & Practice archives from March 2007

APHSA conferences and major meetings in 2007.(Calendar)
March 1, 2007... 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 2007 19-24 Association of...

The old planner.(director's memo)(Dean Burkholder of the Human Services Planning Systems)
March 1, 2007... I think one of the things that we admire most about people, especially those with celebrity status, is when someone's personal and professional lives are congruent with their stated values and ethics. The tabloids are full of instances where...

Leadership training, PIOs and e-Commerce.(editor's note)(parallel input - output)(Editorial)
March 1, 2007... Staff improvement and leadership training have become a major issue for the nation's public human service agencies. Like most government agencies, they face massive retirements at all levels. The need to have institutional knowledge and...

Tomorrow's workforce--in a pulpit near you?(my turn)(Project Life)
March 1, 2007... Bill Cosby recently thrilled an audience of about 300 children and youth from high-risk neighborhoods and juvenile detention facilities when he visited Wilmington, Del., on the Exhoodus Tour sponsored by the Los Angeles nonprofit Project Life....

New report outlines challenges of sustaining long-term care in America.(first things first)(Avalere Health)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... With policymakers grappling with how to best prepare for the surge of aging Americans, Avalere Health released a new report outlining the complexities of providing and paying for long-term care. The report provides health care decision-makers...

Child support distribution calculator.(first things first)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... This calculator was jointly prepared by the Policy Studies Inc. and the Center for Law and Social Policy, under a grant by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, to provide states and advocates with a tool to estimate the net cost or benefit to a state...

What disabled residents in South Carolina want in 2007.(first things first)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Topping the list of needed services for persons with disabilities in South Carolina are residential services, such as more group homes. Advocates say 1,941 disabled people are on residential facility waiting lists, up 80 from last year, and 150...

Study provides guide on Medicaid coverage for youth aging out of foster care.(first things first)
March 1, 2007... A new report finds that the cost of providing health care coverage to former foster youth is affordable. Under federal law, Title IV-E foster children are categorically eligible for Medicaid up to age 18; thereafter, states may offer...

GAO: new federal policy could hurt Medicaid recipients.(first things first)(Government Accountability Office)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A new government report says that a federal law that would reduce government reimbursements to pharmacies could spell trouble for Medicaid recipients this year. The reimbursements had been tied to manufacturers' published drug prices, but...

Nutrition Program changes in the president's budget.(first things first)(President George W. Bush)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The Food Research and Action Center says President Bush's fiscal year 2008 budget proposals fall far short of the investments required to meet the health, education and nutrition needs of America's vulnerable families, children and elderly. ...

Current, former foster youth recall forgotten birthdays in foster care.(first things first)(The Pew Charitable Trusts' project, 'Kids Are Waiting: Fix Foster Care Now')(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Thirty young people, including current and former foster youth from across the nation, joined child welfare advocates, policymakers and others at a Capitol Hill event on March 28 to celebrate and recognize the birthdays of the more than 500,000...

Sonali Patel.(staff spotlight)(American Public Human Services Association)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Name... Sonali Patel [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Time at APHSA... 3.5 years Title... Senior policy associate and director of the National Children's Policy Forum Place of Birth... Ahmedabad, India A...

Workforce capacity-building.
March 1, 2007... There still aren't any magic bullets. This is the second in a series that Policy & Practice will run about building workforce capacity. In the first article (September 2005 Policy & Practice, page 30, "Making Things Happen"), we offered...

Workforce development must respond to change.(Texas Workforce Commission)
March 1, 2007... Texas is experiencing a tremendous run. In the last several years, Texas has been designated the No. 1 state in the nation in which to do business. Our population is growing, increasing the number of well-trained workers. As the momentum...

Alabama's comprehensive child welfare system reform.(Leadership and Employee Training)
March 1, 2007... On January 16, 2007, U.S. District Judge Ira DeMent issued an order of national significance. After 19 years of federal court oversight, Alabama's child welfare system not only met the high expectations of the court, but also demonstrated an...

An update on ICPC.(legal notes)(Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children)
March 1, 2007... A state of legal limbo exists for children every day on both sides of the sending and receiving state borders due to a current weak and unenforceable Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children that has not prevented dilatory interstate...

Knowledge is power: the ability to accurately track children in care can help keep them safe.(technology speaks)(Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System)
March 1, 2007... Child welfare agencies are responsible for some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Children in care are often shuffled between natural parents, foster parents, relatives and group homes. Often, this makes it difficult to determine...

How Oklahoma City reaches out.(focus)(Reaching Out City Incorporated)
March 1, 2007... A decade ago, in the heart of Oklahoma City lay one of the state's most economically deprived areas. Crime was rampant. Many of the children were from single- or blended-parent families. Many had a parent in prison. From time to time community...

California county to bridge language gap.(state and local news)(Alameda County, California to engage with Telelanguage Incorporated in contract)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... ALAMEDA, Calif. -- With its ethnically diverse population and a plethora of different spoken languages, one might think those in need of health or human services who do not speak English in the East Bay might be at a grave disadvantage. ...

Colorado settles competency wait-list lawsuit.(state and local news)
March 1, 2007... DENVER -- On Feb. 22, Colorado settled contempt-of-court proceedings arising from the case of People v. Eugene Zuniga, which involved county-jail inmates who were being forced to wait months for mental-health evaluations and care. A Denver...

N.J. child welfare reform on track, says Federal Monitor.(state and local news)(New Jersey)
March 1, 2007... TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey's child welfare system is showing signs of improvement, according to a federal monitor assigned to track the system's progress. A report released on Feb. 26 by the Washington-based Center for the Study of Social...

Pennsylvania child support program ranked tops in U.S. for collection efforts.(state and local news)(Bureau of Child Support Enforcement)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania's Bureau of Child Support Enforcement has again exceeded federal standards and has put Pennsylvania first in the nation for the collection of monthly child support payments, said Department of Public Welfare...

U.S. heating bills up, but federal aid down.(state and local news)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Even before the latest spate of arctic conditions gripped the northern half of the nation, many states were running out of money to help the disadvantaged with their heating bills. In West Virginia, the doors to the state's...

Columbia Child and Family Services Agency.(newsmakers)(Montgomery County (Maryland) Department of Health and Human Services)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Uma Ahluwalia, interim director of the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency, has been named director of the Montgomery County (Md.) Department of Health and Human Services.

Bureau of Medical Services.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... After six years of overseeing West Virginia's $2.2 billion Medicaid program, Nancy Atkins left her job as commissioner of the Bureau of Medical Services at the end of February to take a new job as a vice president of WellPoint, a national...

Colorado Department of Human Services.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Karen Beye has been named executive director of the Colorado Department of Human Services. She is replacing Marva Livingston Hammons, who has joined the Casey Family Programs as managing director of strategic consulting. Beye was the director...

United Way International.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Christine James-Brown, United Way International president and chief executive officer, was named the new president and chief executive officer of the Child Welfare League of America, replacing Shay Bilchik. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Behavioral Health Services.(newsmakers)(Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Jay Bradford has been named director of the Division of Behavioral Health Services at the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, replacing Pat Dahlgren, who retired in December.

Los Angeles County Child Support Services.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Philip Browning, Los Angeles County Child Support Services director since August 2001, has been named to replace Bryce Yokomizo, retiring director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services.

Utah Department of Workforce Services.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Kritsten Cox, former secretary of disabilities for Maryland, has been named executive director of the Utah Department of Workforce Services. She replaces Tani Pack Downing, who has been named general counsel in the Office of the Governor. ...

Franklin County Children Services.(newsmakers)
March 1, 2007... Eric Fenner is the new director of Franklin County Children Services in Ohio. He replaced John Saros.

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Barbara Riley has been named director of the Ohio Department of Aging. She was the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. She replaced Merle Grace Kearns, who retired. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

South Carolina's Department of Social Services.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Kathleen Hayes has been named director of South Carolina's Department of Social Services, replacing Kim Aydlette, who has accepted the position of director of the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association. Hayes is currently the chief of staff...

Health and Family Services.(newsmakers)(Division of Health Care Financing at the state Department of Health and Family Services)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... In Wisconsin, Jason Helgerson has been named administrator of the Division of Health Care Financing at the state Department of Health and Family Services. He is executive assistant at the health agency and will be in charge of the state's...

Health and Human Services Commission.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Albert Hawkins was reappointed as executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission in Texas. He has been commissioner since January 2003, overseeing the consolidation of the health and human service agencies. He served in the...

Connecticut Department of Children and Families.(newsmakers)
March 1, 2007... Brian Mattiello has been named acting commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. He replaces Darlene Dunbar.

Former Maryland Sen. Gloria Lawlah has been nominated as the secretary of the state Department of Aging.(newsmakers)(Department of Juvenile Services, Maryland)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Former Maryland Sen. Gloria Lawlah has been nominated as the secretary of the state Department of Aging, and Donald DeVore, director of Juvenile Services for the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, has been nominated as the...

Jennifer Velez is the new acting human service commissioner in New Jersey.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Jennifer Velez is the new acting human service commissioner in New Jersey. She spent the last nine years crafting health and social policy in three high-level state government jobs. She replaced Clarke Bruno, acting commissioner of human...

Health and Human Services Department.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Ramon Rojano, currently director of the Health and Human Services Department in Hartford, Conn., has been named director of human services in Wake County, N.C. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Mark Washington has been named commissioner of social services in Kentucky.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Mark Washington has been named commissioner of social services in Kentucky. He was deputy commissioner and appointed acting commissioner last December. He succeeded Tom Emberton Jr., who was appointed undersecretary for children and family...

Welcome, new local agency members.(newsmakers)(Northland Center, Southfield Human Services Department)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Susan Cuevas Director Southfield Human Services Department Southfield, Mich. Northland Center, one of the country's largest shopping centers, opened in Southfield in 1954. It was the first center to feature central...

Allen M. Kaplan.(In Passing)(Obituary)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Allen M. Kaplan, human service director in the town of Cromwell, Conn., for the past 13 1/2 years, died Feb. 14 following a long battle with cancer. He was 64. Prior to coming to Cromwell, Kaplan served as the director of caseworkers for the...

Busy times for ISM.(affiliates' corner)(IT Solutions Management for Human Services' "Forty Years of Innovative Solutions for Human Services--the Road Ahead.")(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The ISM board and support staff are extremely busy preparing for the upcoming 2007 conference to be held Aug. 5-8 at the Hyatt Cambridge since this year's conference takes place six weeks earlier. The expectations are high, however, that the...

NASMD chair Atkins leaves state government.(affiliates' corner)(Nancy Atkins of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... With great sadness, the National Association of State Medicaid Directors announced that Nancy Atkins left state government. Atkins has done a terrific job representing the states as the chair of NASMD for the past three years and as a member of...

NSDTA to hold Training Institute in Dallas.(affiliates' corner)(National Staff Development and Training Association)
March 1, 2007... The National Staff Development and Training Association will hold its annual Institute and Conference in Addison (Dallas), Texas, from Sept. 30 through Oct. 3, 2007. The theme of this year's institute is "Training Shines in the Lone Star...

New technology gives communities new level of support.(the field works)
March 1, 2007... Human service providers across the country are harnessing the power of the Internet to help their clients achieve self-sufficiency. Just days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region, the Mississippi State University Early...

Making Medicaid Work: A Practical Guide for Transforming Medicaid.(Book review)
March 1, 2007... Making Medicaid Work: A Practical Guide for Transforming Medicaid By Newt Gingrich and Rishabh Mehrotra and 11 others / Center for Health Transformation and SHPS / In hard copy or PDF format, more than 50 pages / Free This new book,...

Most common writing errors, Part 2.(words on words)
March 1, 2007... Words have a way of telling the world how educated we really are, and wrong usage has a way of making even the best of us sound illiterate. Based on Associated Press, United Press International, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and the New...

Q & As on New Grants for child and Family Programs.(noted studies)(questions and answers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The Promise of New Funding for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment to Promote Safety, Permanence, and Well-Being for Children: Questions & Answers About New Grants under the Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006, P.L. 109-288,...

Implementing TANF changes in the Deficit Reduction Act.(noted studies)(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... In the coming months, states will face key choices as they decide the next direction for their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. According to a new joint study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Center for...

Tackling government's toughest policy and management challenges.(noted studies)(Book review)
March 1, 2007... State policymakers hold some of the best political jobs in the nation, and taxpayers have given them immense responsibilities. "States of Transition," a new book from Deloitte Research by William Eggers and Robert Campbell III, delivers...

Working together: aligning state systems and policies for individual and regional prosperity.(noted studies)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Christopher Mazzeo, Brandon Roberts, Christopher Spence, and Julie Strawn at the Center for Law and Social Policy co-authored this new report from the Workforce Strategy Center. The study asserts that current systems are not working effectively...

The Administration Again Proposes To Shift Federal Medicaid Costs to States.(noted studies)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The Administration Again Proposes To Shift Federal Medicaid Costs to States, was written by Leighton Ku, Andy Schneider and July Solomon and published by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The report examines proposed cuts to federal...

Targeting in social programs: avoiding bad bets, removing bad apples.(noted studies)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2007... Who should be first in line for kidney transplants--the relatively healthy or the severely ill? Should chronic troublemakers be allowed to remain in public housing? Should perpetually disruptive students stay in classes where they may prevent...

Anatomy of a press conference.(communications corner)
March 1, 2007... News conferences, often interchangeably called press conferences, are among the most misunderstood and abused media events. Newsmakers love holding a news conference because it makes them feel important. Schedule a news conference, they reason,...

Who is naming and claiming our kids?(making things happen)
March 1, 2007... As president of the National Crime Prevention Council, I sat on Attorney General Janet Reno's U.S. Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Thirsty to learn, Reno would hold meetings in places where she could witness...

National Low-Income Housing Coalition.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The national housing coalition calculated that the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn in order to afford a two-bedroom home at his or her community's fair market rent climbed to $16.31 for 2006, up from $15.78 in 2005--Out of Reach report...

Crittenton Women's Union.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A single parent living in Greater Springfield, Mass., with a preschooler and a school-age child would have to make three times the state minimum wage of $7.50 per hour just to get by without grants, subsidies or other assistance. The...

Racial Differences in Baby Boomers' Retirement Expectations.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Twenty-two percent of African-American boomers are projected to have incomes twice below the poverty level at age 67, compared with 12 percent of white boomers--"Racial Differences in Baby Boomers' Retirement Expectations," by Dan Murphy,...

America's Second Housing Boom.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The share of Americans who own homes rose from 64 percent in 1994 to 69 percent in 2005. About 12 million new homeowners have emerged, roughly half of them African-Americans, Hispanics and those of mixed race. The 69 percent figure moves the...

Tax Credits, the Minimum Wage, and Inflation.(numbers in the news)
March 1, 2007... In 2006, a family does not benefit from the child credit until its earnings exceed $11,300--or $5.43 an hour for one full-time worker. To receive the maximum $1,000 per child benefit in 2006, a couple with one child must earn at least $17,970;...

State Children's Health Insurance Program.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The decade-old State Children's Health Insurance Program has signed up close to 70 percent of its target population, but 1.8 million eligible children nationwide are yet to be enrolled. Federal funding, about $5 billion this year, will have...

The number of children waiting to be adopted dropped from 132,000 in 2000 to 114,000 in 2005.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The number of children waiting to be adopted dropped from 132,000 in 2000 to 114,000 in 2005. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The number of school-age children with disabilities receiving federally funded services rose from 4,500,000 in the...

The Food Research and Action Center.(numbers in the news)(Food Stamp Program)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The president's fiscal year 2008 budget proposals would add 98,000 people to the Food Stamp Program; 329,000 people in low-income working families with children who are not receiving cash assistance would lose eligibility. The proposal...

U.S. health care spending.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... U.S. health care spending is expected to double from today's level of $2.1 trillion to $4.1 trillion over the next decade--Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Medicaid spending.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Medicaid spending in 2006 is expected to be similar to that in 2005, reaching $313.5 billion in 2006. Even though Medicaid growth is slowing to record low levels not seen since the late 1990s, state and federal Medicaid spending is...

Our do'ers profile.
March 1, 2007... In Our Do'ers Profile, we highlight some of the hardworking and talented individuals in public human services. This issue features Mary Ault of the California Department of Social Services. Name: Mary L. Ault [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...