Policy & Practice articles from October 2008

Policy & Practice archives from October 2008

APHSA conferences and major meetings in 2008.
October 1, 2008... 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. November 6-7 National Association of...

The third leg of APHSA's stool.(director's memo)(American Public Human Services Association)(Column)
October 1, 2008... Many years ago, I was involved with a fledging state association dedicated to developing and implementing coordinated human service planning and service delivery strategies at the local level. The Pennsylvania Services Integration Consortium,...

Technology solutions for business needs.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... Dear Editor: The need to update our business processes to take advantage of state-of-the-art technology is clear. It was refreshing to read about the transformation of the lobby in San Joaquin County (Using Automation to Transform the...

The magic of public assistance.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... Dear Editor: As an adoption worker for the county I see on a daily basis the benefits of public assistance and the effect it has on children and families. I recently completed an adoption of a sibling group of four children aged from...

Pay and retirement issues.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... Dear Editor: I enjoyed the article by Stephen Fox and Donna Harmon in the June 2008 issue regarding workplace violence. It brings a needed focus on the daily lives of employees of human service agencies. I would like to see this concern...

What we do for you.(editor's note)
October 1, 2008... When Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast states, the American Public Human Services Association was called to service, like in 2004 during the Hurricane Katrina disaster, to coordinate the deployment of volunteer emergency food stamp staff to...

Do the right thing on health care.(my turn)
October 1, 2008... As Delaware's secretary of health and social services, I've spent more time over the past eight years attempting to control the costs of our state's largest health care program, Medicaid, than on anything else. Trying to get my arms around the...

APHSA releases statement of commissioners' concerns and priorities.(first things first)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... On Sept. 15, the American Public Human Services Association released "For Those We Serve," its white paper outlining the concerns of the nation's health and human service commissioners. The paper is the commissioners' call to action for...

States send 218 volunteers to help Louisiana relief effort.(first things first)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Seven states sent a total of 218 social workers--mostly food stamp eligibility specialists and one public information officer--to help Louisiana cope with emergency food stamp relief and other disaster relief work as a result of last month's...

Poll reveals public attitudes on substance abuse and treatment.(first things first)(Survey)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Nearly half of American adults report knowing someone in recovery from the use or abuse of alcohol or drugs, according to survey results announced by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. [ILLUSTRATION...

Legal groups support child welfare attorney specialty certification program.(first things first)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... The Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrations adopted a resolution in support of the Child Welfare Attorney Specialty Certification Program, run by the National Association of Counsel for Children. ...

Children more likely to gain weight during summer.(first things first)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... The time is especially bad for children in low-income families who have less access to healthy foods during the summer months, are bombarded by junk food ads on television, and miss out on the school meals they receive during the other months....

Staff spotlight.(Parthenia J. Purnell)(Interview)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Name... Parthenia (Par like car, the long e, nia like nya) J. Purnell (I know you were wondering. How do you pronounce that?) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Time at APHSA... Five months Title... Database Administrator...

The reality of serving.
October 1, 2008... Having the opportunity to work with the current "class" of health and human service commissioners has been a great pleasure. Over the 20 years of my employment with the American Public Human Services Association, I developed a deep respect and...

What must we do?
October 1, 2008... The daily headlines heralding rising food and gas prices paint a compelling picture of the current economic situation that dictates our decisions. According to The Washington Post, the consumer price index "rose 5.1 percent from May 2007 to May...

15 minutes with the president of the United States.
October 1, 2008... If you had 15 minutes with the next president of the United States, what would you say about the state of the nation's most vulnerable families and children and the public systems that serve them? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] That is the...

Election reflections years of presidencies.
October 1, 2008... Kennedy, Johnson, Ford, Carter, Reagan and George H.W. Bush Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan span an extensive era, from 1961 to 1989. Each president had a particular style, which shaped his leadership, policy...

Introduction.(Report)
October 1, 2008... This paper represents the view of the nation's public health and human service leaders. We are Republicans and Democrats, liberals, and conservatives. We are from big states and small states, serving urban and rural populations. We administer...

A letter from a constituent.(focus)
October 1, 2008... Dear Mr. President-Elect: Once the campaign excitement is over and Election Day ends, you will have been selected by the people of this great country to lead us. It is an awesome responsibility. As the chair of the National Association of...

ACS to manage New York child support payment program.(business news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Affiliated Computer Services Inc. has been awarded a contract with the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to manage the state's child support payment processing center. The Dallas-based company said the five-year...

Arcadia's DailyMed makes a positive impact on Indiana Medicaid program.(business news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Arcadia Resources Inc., which provides innovative consumer health care services under the trade name Arcadia HealthCare, reports that its DailyMed prescription program with Indiana Medicaid is delivering results for the state of Indiana...

Deloitte to build campus in Westlake, Texas.(business news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Developer Hillwood said accounting giant Deloitte LLP will spend $300 million to build a conference and learning center in Westlake, Texas. Construction will start next year on the 750,000-square-foot campus, which will open in 2011....

Dynamic research to buy Kadix Systems.(business news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Dynamics Research Corp. has signed an agreement to buy Kadix Systems LLC for $42 million. Kadix is a management consulting firm that specializes in organizational change, human capital, information technology, public and environmental health,...

GGI, EPA to create drinking treatment database.(business news)(Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development )(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... CGI Federal Inc., a wholly owned U.S. operating subsidiary of CGI Group Inc., has partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development to develop a comprehensive Drinking Water Treatability Database. ...

Educational development to operate center for prevention technologies.(business news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Educational Development Center Inc. in Newton, Mass., has been awarded a base contract with four option years by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to operate a new...

HMS Holdings Group gets CMS Medicaid Integrity Program contract.(business news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... HMS Holdings Group has been awarded a Medicaid Integrity Program Task Order by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Under the task order, HMS will examine payments to providers made under Title XIX of the Social Security Act,...

Maximus to focuses on health and human services.(business news )(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... MAXIMUS announced that it has signed an asset purchase agreement for the sale of its Justice Solutions, Education Systems and Asset Solutions businesses to Toronto-based Constellation Software Inc. to focus on its core health and human service...

Curam software aims to improve outcomes for children and families.(business news)(Curam Social Enterprise Collaboration)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Curam Software, a provider of Social Enterprise Management software solutions, has released Curam Social Enterprise Collaboration, designed to facilitate and promote better communication between multi-disciplinary human and social service...

Protech solutions implements child support initiative in collaboration with ACS.(business news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Protech Solutions Inc., in collaboration with Affiliated Computer Services Inc., will offer CSEnext, a new state child support enforcement solution designed to increase case collections, staff productivity and system savings. CSEnext is a...

Innovation in human service information technology recognized in ISM 2008.(technology speaks)
October 1, 2008... Historically, innovation in information technology has mostly been the providence of private industry. Rarely had state and local government human services agencies taken the initiative to be creative with their IT solutions, and for good...

The reality of working Americans.(legal notes)
October 1, 2008... In the richest country in the world, one out of every four jobs pays less than poverty wages and lacks health care coverage, paid sick days, training and pensions. What makes this situation worse is that there is little opportunity for the...

Washington update.
October 1, 2008... Congress Breaks for the Election; Continuing Resolution Passes, Stimulus Stalls Congress has adjourned and members have returned to their home states in preparation for the November elections. Before adjournment, lawmakers sent President...

Alabama updates Qtool electronic clinical support tool.(state and local news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... MONTGOMERY, Ala--QTool, Alabama Medicaid's electronic clinical support tool for physicians, administrators and other health professionals, has been updated to include new functionality, including provider update and editing capability and a...

Feds credit Indiana on welfare assistance.(state and local news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... IIMDIANAPOLIS--The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration has improved the time it takes to process food stamp applications, according to a new letter from the federal government released Aug. 20. The U.S. Food and Nutrition...

Louisiana noted for innovative use of Information Builders WebFOCUS.(state and local news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... BATON ROUGE--Louisiana Department of Social Services' Office of Community Services was awarded the 2008 Recognition Award for Excellence in Human Services by IT Solutions Management for Human Services, an affiliate of the American Public Human...

Online system speeds up Oklahoma Medicaid sign-up.(state and local news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... OKLAHOMA CITY -- A pilot online system has drastically cut the time it takes to get Oklahoma newborns enrolled in the state's Medicaid program, resulting in faster access to medical care for infants and faster reimbursement for hospitals and...

Pennsylvania earns award for technology.(state and local news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... HARRISBURG, Pa.--The Department of Public Welfare has received the 2008 Excellence in Human Services Technology award for its Workload Dashboard system from IT Solutions Management for Human Services, an affiliate of the American Public Human...

Virginia ranks among top 5 states in reducing poverty.(state and local news)
October 1, 2008... RICHMOND, Va.--The Heartland Institute's comprehensive study, Welfare Reform after Ten Years, recently gave Virginia high marks for the success of anti-poverty and welfare reform policies in the commonwealth. The study examines how states...

AAPWA meets in Minneapolis.(affiliates' corner)(American Association of Public Welfare Attorneys)(Brief article)(Conference notes)
October 1, 2008... The American Association of Public Welfare Attorneys held its 41st Annual Conference in Minneapolis on Sept. 21-24 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel with some 160 attendees. The conference included business meetings, the president's welcome, and an...

ISM 2008 a smashing success.(affiliates' corner)(IT Solutions Management conference)(Conference notes)
October 1, 2008... The 2008 ISM conference held on Aug. 24-27 in San Francisco continued the ISM tradition of excellence. A strong agenda with excellent speakers kept the over 800 conference registrants busy for more than three days (ISM 2008 was expanded by a...

Hill briefing on Positioning Public Child Welfare Initiative.(affiliates' corner)(Brief article)(Conference notes)
October 1, 2008... On Sept. 15, APHSA and Casey Family Programs joined to host a Hill briefing about the Positioning Public Child Welfare Initiative, titled "Children's Policy Forum: Transforming Child Welfare." The briefing was held as part of the fall...

Medicaid's important role in pregnancy prevention and planning.(the field works)
October 1, 2008... Unplanned pregnancy has major costs and consequences for families, public agencies and taxpayers alike. In 2006, 17.5 million women needed publicly funded contraceptive services, according to the Guttmacher Institute. However, only four in 10...

Welfare (Opposing Viewpoints Series).(Book review)
October 1, 2008... By David M. Haugen and Andrea B. Demott, co-editors Greenhaven Press/Hard cover/218 pages/2008 First Edition/ISBN 978-0-7377-4016-5/$25.95 In our media-intensive culture, it is easy to find differing opinions. Newspapers, magazines, radios...

Say what.(legal writing)
October 1, 2008... Using big words has its place, but a rural courthouse is probably not one of them. A friend of mine and I were trying a charity case in New Mexico over continuing services to an elderly couple when the power company's lawyer said that a certain...

Disproportionality in child welfare.(making things happen)
October 1, 2008... Why are children of color over-represented in child welfare? Evidence shows that children of color are not abused at higher rates than white children. Despite this, data trends show that certain racial groups, such as African American and...

Guidance on nurturing the social-emotional development of young children.(noted studies)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... This is a training curriculum and outcome results dictionary for parents and early childhood educators. Written by Bouder, a parent-and-child care quality improvement consultant; Yelk, a social worker and case-management training consultant;...

The new retrenchment: social welfare spending 1977-2006.(noted studies)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... By the Rockefeller Institute of Government In 2006, for the first time since 1983, social welfare spending by state and local government fell after adjusting for inflation and the number of people living in poverty--a rough estimate of the...

Welfare reform after 10 years: a state-by-state analysis.(noted studies)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... This report ranks and grades states by the success of their anti-poverty efforts and by the reform policies they adopted. The survey measured five variables that reflect states' success in fighting poverty and seven welfare reform policies...

Back to school.(noted studies)(Action for Healthy Kids Coalition)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Action for Healthy Kids Coalition The passage of federal legislation two years ago mandating schools to adopt wellness policies--a response by Congress to the alarming surge in childhood obesity--will be looked back upon as the launching...

The MITA Touch: state ClOs and Medicaid IT Transformation.(noted studies)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... National Association of State Chief Information Officers A new issue brief from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers urges the chief information officers to get involved with the Medicaid systems upgrades happening...

More budget cuts likely.(noted studies)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... State Revenue Report, Rockefeller Institute of Government "The damage is just beginning" in state budgets, with declines in tax revenues likely leading to more widespread budget cuts in the months ahead, according to the latest quarterly...

Iowa Medicaid Director Gene Gessow has been tapped as the new director of the state Department of Human Services.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Iowa Medicaid Director Gene Gessow has been tapped as the new director of the state Department of Human Services. He replaced Kevin Concannon, who retired earlier this year. In his most recent job, Gessow served as medical director for Maine's...

Nannette Bowler.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Nannette Bowler has been named director of the Fairfax (Va.) Department of Family Services. She was formerly the chief judge of the Family Division for the 8th Judicial Circuit, Ionia, Mich. She also served as department head on the Ionia...

Paul McWhinney.(newsmakers)
October 1, 2008... Paul McWhinney is now the child welfare director in Virginia, replacing Lynette Isbell.

Diane Comeaux.(newsmakers)
October 1, 2008... Diane Comeaux has replaced Fernando Serrano as the Nevada child welfare director.

Susan Cooper.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Susan Cooper is now the Tennessee commissioner of health, replacing Kenneth Robinson. Cooper became the first nurse to serve as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Wanda Rogers.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... In Hampton, Va., Deputy Human Service Director Wanda Rogers was selected to be the new director of human services, replacing Walt Credle, who received the 2007 APHSA Outstanding Member award. She has 26 years of experience working with...

Lillian Koller.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Lillian Koller, Hawaii Department of Human Services director, has been named one of Governing Magazine's "Public Officials of the Year." Koller is one of just eight public officials being recognized by the national monthly magazine for...

George Sheldon.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... George Sheldon, the Florida Department of Children and Families' assistant secretary for operations, has been named as secretary to replace Bob Butterworth. Sheldon, a former state representative, has worked closely with Butterworth for years,...

Lori Woodruff.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Lori Woodruff, director for Child Welfare Programs with the School of Social Work at The University of Southern Mississippi, has been named deputy administrator for operations over the Division of Family and Children's Services for the...

Kristy Nichols.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Kristy Nichols, an adviser to the governor since January, has been named interim director of the Louisiana Department of Social Services, after Ann Williamson resigned in September.

John Chappuis.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... John Chappuis, deputy director of Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, retired after 28 years. The department will replace his job with two jobs, chief operations officer for budget and deputy director of health services, who...

Nancy Buckner.(newsmakers)
October 1, 2008... Nancy Buckner has been named acting commissioner, replacing Page Walley at the Alabama Department of Human Resources. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Moira Weir.(newsmakers)
October 1, 2008... Moira Weir is the new director of the Hamilton County Job and Family Services in Ohio. She replaced Rick Roberts, who retired.

Kevin McGuire.(newsmakers)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... APHSA Board Vice President Kevin McGuire, executive director of the Family Investment Administration at the Maryland Department of Human Resources, co-authored an op-ed piece on food stamps in The Washington Post. He was also mentioned in a...

The estimate for the foreign-born population reached an all-time high of 38.1 million in 2007, representing 12.6 percent of the U.S. population.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... The estimate for the foreign-born population reached an all-time high of 38.1 million in 2007, representing 12.6 percent of the U.S. population. At least one-in-five residents of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas spoke Spanish at...

About 12 million people, or 31 percent of all foreign-born, were born in Mexico.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... About 12 million people, or 31 percent of all foreign-born, were born in Mexico. California (27.4 percent), New York (21.8), New Jersey (19.9), Nevada (19.4) and Florida (18.9) had the highest percentage of foreign-born. --U.S. Census...

Median home values increased between 2006 and 2007 but at a significantly slower rate than in recent years.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Median home values increased between 2006 and 2007 but at a significantly slower rate than in recent years. The percent change for property value from 2006 to 2007 (2 percent) was the lowest change from year to year since 2003 to 2004. The...

Real median household income in the United States climbed 1.3 percent between 2006 and 2007, reaching $50,233.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Real median household income in the United States climbed 1.3 percent between 2006 and 2007, reaching $50,233. This is the third annual increase in real median household income. Meanwhile, the nation's official poverty rate in 2007 was 12.5...

From 2007 to 2008, about two-thirds of states raised their income eligibility limits enough to keep pace with or exceed inflation, as measured against the federal poverty level.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... From 2007 to 2008, about two-thirds of states raised their income eligibility limits enough to keep pace with or exceed inflation, as measured against the federal poverty level. Yet, from 2001 to 2008, only about half of states sufficiently...

In 2007, 19 states set the income eligibility limit for child care subsidies at 200 percent of the federal poverty level.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... In 2007, 19 states set the income eligibility limit for child care subsidies at 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Nine states also raised the reimbursement rate for child care subsidies in the past two years at or above the 75th...

In 2008, 25 states had early learning guidelines or some other form of developmental guidelines for infants and toddlers.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... In 2008, 25 states had early learning guidelines or some other form of developmental guidelines for infants and toddlers. Sixteen states have an infant/toddler credential. Nineteen states allocated state or federal funding specifically for...

In 2004, one in eight babies in the United States was born preterm, or before the 37th week of pregnancy.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... In 2004, one in eight babies in the United States was born preterm, or before the 37th week of pregnancy. This represents more than half a million infants--the highest number ever recorded. The share of babies born preterm, also referred to...

For non-Hispanic whites, and to a lesser extent for Hispanics, the share of preterm births have increased steadily for more than a decade.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... For non-Hispanic whites, and to a lesser extent for Hispanics, the share of preterm births have increased steadily for more than a decade. The rate of preterm births increased by 35 percent for non-Hispanic whites and 9 percent for Hispanics...

Recovery from illicit drugs.(numbers in the news)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Americans aged 25 to 34 are more likely than those age 65 and older to believe that people in recovery from illicit drugs can go on to live productive lives (70 percent vs. 51 percent). Females are more likely than males to believe that...

Photos from APHSA's fall conference, Sept. 14-16, in Washington, D. C.(Conference notes)
October 1, 2008... [TEXT INCOMPLETE IN ORIGINAL SOURCE.] ROOSEVELT JR., senior vice president and general counsel of [TEXT INCOMPLETE IN ORIGINAL SOURCE.] Health Plan, discusses Democratic presidential election issues. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] RON HASKINS,...

Our do'ers profile: in our do'ers profile, we highlight some of the hardworking and talented individuals in public human services. This issue features Ismael Ahmed, director of the Michigan Department of Human Services.(Interview)
October 1, 2008... Name: Ismael Ahmed Title: Director, Michigan Department of Human Services Years of Service: Since September 2007 Rewards of the Job: The job affords opportunities to improve conditions for millions of Michigan residents struggling...