Volume 7, Number 1
In this Issue:
--110th Congress Begins Second Session
-----Economic Stimulus Package
-----SCHIP
-----CAPTA Reauthorization
-----The Education Begins at Home Act
--PCA America Announces Federal Legislative Priorities for 2008
--PCA America and Kids Are Waiting Campaign to Release Reports on Prevention
--Zero to Three Introduces New Advocacy Resource
110th Congress Begins Second Session
With both the House and Senate now back in Washington after the year-end recess, a legislative agenda for the 2008 Congressional session is beginning to take shape. Of particular interest to advocates working to ensure the well-being of our nation’s children and families, this year Congress is expected to take up measures including:
Economic Stimulus Package
As concerns have grown in recent weeks over the state of the U.S. economy, the development of legislation intended to provide an economic stimulus has become an immediate priority for Congress. Discussions have been ongoing between the Administration and House and Senate leadership over the content of an economic stimulus bill, which Congressional leaders say they hope to send to President Bush by February 15th.
On January 24th it was announced that House leaders, after completing negotiations with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, had a bill ready to be sent to the House floor for a vote the week of February 4th. The package will reportedly cost approximately $150 billion, and will include tax rebates for individuals and families as well as business incentives. The bill is expected to pass in the House, however it is not yet clear whether certain House Democrats who are unhappy with the concessions made in the negotiations process will push for changes to the bill before the floor vote. Democrats were in favor of broadly-targeted tax rebates that would include lower-income wage earners who are exempt from the federal income tax, and this provision is included in the new agreement. This was a significant concession made by Republicans, who had wanted to limit rebates to only those workers who pay income taxes while focusing more on business incentives. However, the final package as it stands does not include any increased spending on food stamps or expanded unemployment insurance, a provision which Democrats had to give up in order to maintain Republican support of the measure.
Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee has scheduled a mark-up of their own version of the package for the week of January 28th. Senate Democrats reportedly share many of the same concerns with the content of the package as their House colleagues, but they too have not yet indicated whether they will attempt to make changes to the bill. President Bush has expressed his support for the package in its current form, and Congress is under considerable pressure to pass a bill as quickly as possible.
SCHIP
Although an extension of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) that will maintain the program’s current enrollment levels through March of 2009 was signed into law in December, the debates surrounding the program are expected to resurface throughout the 2008 legislative session. A vote in the House on January 23rd to override the President’s December 12th veto of the most recent bill (authorizing a $35 billion expansion of the program over 5 years) again fell 15 votes short of the two-thirds majority required for an override, and the veto was sustained. Democrats in both the House and Senate however, along with Republican supporters of an expansion who have worked with them over the last year on developing compromise legislation, have stated that they will continue to pursue expanding SCHIP to cover an additional 4 million children. Whether or not to expand the program has proven to be a powerful political issue, and Democrats are likely to keep it in the forefront in this election year.
CAPTA Reauthorization
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) is up for reauthorization this year, which will provide an opportunity to expand and improve upon critical legislation that provides funding for child abuse and neglect prevention. PCA America has been working in collaboration with the other members of the National Child Abuse Coalition to identify key policy concerns and develop a set of recommendations for the reauthorization bill. Look for further information in the coming months about how you can take action to advocate for recommended policy changes as this process moves forward.
The Education Begins at Home Act
Congressional support for The Education Begins at Home Act (EBAH) continued to build in the first session of the 110th Congress. In 2008, PCA America and the National Home Visiting Coalition will work aggressively with our Congressional champions to move the legislation towards enactment.
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Upcoming Dates on the Congressional Calendar:
January 28th: President's State of the Union Address
February 4th: President's proposed budget for FY 2009 submitted to Congress
February 16th-24th: Presidents’ Day Recess (potential for in-district meetings with your Members of Congress)
March 15th-30th: Easter Recess (potential for in-district meetings with your Members of Congress | |
PCA America Announces Federal Legislative Priorities for 2008
This year, Prevent Child Abuse America will continue to advocate for policies that seek to prevent child abuse and neglect from occurring in the first place. Below is a summary of our 2008 legislative priorities. You can access a more detailed version on our website.
Enact Home Visiting Legislation
The Education Begins at Home Act (EBAH, S. 667, H.R. 2343) would establish the first federal funding stream dedicated to early childhood home visitation. EBAH would provide $400 million over three years to states to help them expand and deliver quality home visiting services to families with newborns and young children. PCA America urges Congress to pass EBAH this year.
Increase Federal Funding for Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Services
PCA America urges Congress to fund three important sources of prevention funding at their fully authorized levels: the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF), and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). Specifically, we will be asking for:
- Full Funding for the CAPTA state grants, which provide funds for states to improve child protective services.
- Full Funding for the CAPTA community-based grants, which help states develop and implement effective approaches to preventing child abuse and neglect.
- Full Funding for CAPTA discretionary research and demonstration grants, which pay for data collection, technical assistance, and grant-funded research and demonstration projects.
- Full Funding for Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF): PSSF grants help states pay for family support, family preservation, family reunification, and adoption support. Unfortunately, Congress provided just $63.3 million for the PSSF discretionary grant in FY 2008, $25 million less than was provided the year before, and $136.7 million short of the authorized level. PCA America urges Congress to fully fund the PSSF discretionary grant at the authorized level of $200 million.
- Full Funding for the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG): SSBG has been chipped away over the past decade from a high of $2.8 billion a year to its current authorized level of $1.7 billion a year. PCA America urges Congress to fully fund SSBG at $1.7 billion in FY 2009.
Reauthorize the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
PCA America urges Congress to reauthorize CAPTA this year with the goal of strengthening and supporting state and community child maltreatment prevention efforts. CAPTA provides grants to states to support innovation in state child protective services (CPS) and community-based preventive services, as well as research, training, data collection, and program evaluation.
Reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program
PCA America urges Congress to reauthorize SCHIP with the goal of seeing legislation enacted that increases children’s access to health care. Access to health care contributes to child and family well-being and serves as a protective factor against child maltreatment.
Increase Federal Investments in the Full Continuum of Child Welfare Services
In recent years, congressional deliberations have focused on ways to alter the federal child welfare financing structure. PCA America will continue to evaluate legislative proposals with the dual policy objectives of securing adequate, guaranteed funding for front-end, prevention services and ensuring an effective approach to child welfare that is comprehensive and provides for a full continuum of care.
Enact Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Legislation
The Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Act (S. 1204, H.R. 2052), would provide $10 million to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and implement a public information and education campaign aimed at preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). PCA America urges Congress to pass the SBS Prevention Act this year.
PCA America and Kids Are Waiting Campaign to Release Reports on Prevention
On January 29th, over 100 individuals are expected to attend a Time for Reform: Investing in Child Abuse Prevention, a symposium focusing on how abuse and neglect can be prevented. The event will take place in Washington, DC and is sponsored by The Pew Charitable Trusts and Prevent Child Abuse America. Specific remarks will focus on the actions state and federal agencies as well as national organizations are taking to focus on prevention of child abuse and neglect by promoting healthy child development and community engagement strategies. The symposium will follow a press conference at the National Press Club at which time the research on “The Cost Estimates of Abuse and Neglect in the United States” will be presented. This is an update of the 2001 study of the same name, authored by Prevent Child Abuse America. This public announcement and symposium will be followed by visits to key congressional offices and federal officials. It is seen as another method to highlight the importance of statewide prevention planning that promotes prevention as a new way of thinking. Please look for full coverage of the press conference and symposium in the February issue of Prevention Advocate. The study will be available in PCA America's online Press Room at 10:00 a.m. ET on January 29th.
Zero to Three Introduces New Advocacy Resource
Zero to Three has developed a document to assist advocates in finding state-specific information about public policy processes that affect children and families. As individual states can vary significantly in terms of how programs are funded, along with how and when public policy decisions are made and implemented, this tool is a helpful guide to becoming involved in your state’s policymaking process. The document can be downloaded at Zero to Three's website. 
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