Volume 7, Number 3
In this Issue:
Congress Moving Forward on FY 2009 Budget
House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Child Welfare Reform; PCAA Submits Written Testimony
Congressional Briefings Will Highlight Value of Home Visitation
March 31st is Early Bird Registration Deadline for PCAA National Conference
Congress Moving Forward on FY 2009 Budget
Just prior to adjourning for the two-week Easter recess, both the House and Senate passed their respective budget resolutions for FY 2009. The House passed its resolution March 14th by a vote of 212-207, including 16 Democrats who voted against it. Later that same day, the Senate resolution was passed by a vote of 51-44, with Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine joining Democrats in support of the proposal. Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana was the lone Democrat to vote against the Senate resolution.
Both the House and Senate resolutions set discretionary spending levels above the $991.6 billion proposed by the President in his FY 2009 budget proposal. The House resolution (H Con Res 312) provides $25.4 billion more in discretionary spending than the Administration’s request, while the Senate resolution (S Con Res 70) would allot $21.8 billion more than the President requested. Conferees from both chambers will now need to reconcile the differences between the two budget resolutions to develop the Congressional Budget Resolution for FY 2009. We will keep you posted on how the FY 2009 budget process progresses, particularly as it relates to prevention.
| What is the Congressional Budget Resolution?
As part of the annual budget and appropriations process, Congress develops a Congressional Budget Resolution that establishes the framework for all tax and spending legislation in that year. The resolution sets the overall discretionary funding cap that the House and Senate Appropriations Committees then divide among their Subcommittees (which is then divvied up among specific programs). The resolution is not sent to the President and does not become law; however, appropriators may not exceed the spending caps set in the resolution, making this perhaps the most important part of the federal budget process. |
House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Child Welfare Reform; PCAA Submits Written Testimony
On February 27th, The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, which has primary jurisdiction over child welfare issues in the House, held a hearing focused on improving the child welfare system. Witnesses at the hearing from organizations including the Pew Charitable Trusts, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, Child Welfare League of America, and the Children’s Defense Fund appealed to the subcommittee to allow more flexibility in child welfare funding in order to give states the ability to invest more in child maltreatment prevention services. Transcripts of the testimony given during the hearing are now available to download from the subcommittee’s website:
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=detail&hearing=612&comm=2.
The subcommittee’s chair, Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA-7), has introduced a bill entitled the Invest in KIDS Act (H.R. 5466) which seeks to reform certain areas of the child welfare system. This legislation provides much needed additional support to children who have been abused and neglected. In particular, Prevent Child Abuse America supports the many provisions in H.R. 5466 that ensure that all children in foster or adoptive care are eligible for federal support, including:
- Removing the outdated income eligibility criteria;
- Extending Title IV-E to kinship and guardianship placements; and
- Allowing tribes to apply for direct access to federal funds.
We are also encouraged by the bill's creation of the Child and Family Services Program, which would offer states the option to use Title IV-E funding to support a range of services, without jeopardizing the entitlement to children in care. Presumably, this would include reducing the number of children in foster care through front-end prevention services. However, the legislation includes no assurances that states will take advantage of this option to fund prevention. Prevent Child Abuse America believes that the Invest in KIDS Act could have an even more beneficial impact on the lives of children and families if it were to include specific language encouraging states to invest in preventing child abuse and neglect from occurring in the first place.
Following the hearing, PCA America submitted written testimony to the Subcommittee, in which we offered some suggestions for further strengthening the commitment to prevention. The full text of the testimony submitted can be viewed here.
Congressional Briefings Will Highlight Value of Home Visitation
On April 4th, Prevent Child Abuse America is cosponsoring briefings on Capitol Hill to draw attention to the value of early childhood home visitation. The goal is to increase congressional support for the Education Begins at Home Act (EBAH, H.R. 2343, S. 667), which would provide the first dedicated federal funding stream for home visitation. Enacting EBAH is one of Prevent Child Abuse America’s top legislative priorities.
A briefing for House staff will be held the morning of the 4th, with a briefing for Senate staff later that same day. Among other panelists, the House briefing will feature Lisa Sutter, Associate Director of Prevent Child Abuse California. Lisa is a member of the Healthy Families America State Leaders Advisory Committee. She is also an HFA trainer and represents trainers on HFA's accreditation panel. Lisa's presentation will help aides understand what takes place on a home visit, as well as the impact that home visiting services like HFA can have on families. Other panelists at the briefings will include home visitation program participants, program site administrators, researchers, and law enforcement representatives.
Both events are being organized by the Home Visiting Coalition, a group of national organizations who promote home visitation on Capitol Hill as a proven strategy for improving parenting and family health and ensuring school success.
March 31st is Early Bird Registration Deadline for PCAA National Conference
We hope you will join us in May for our bi-annual National Conference, which will bring together professionals from across the country who share the common goal of preventing child abuse and neglect. The conference will offer over 100 workshops on a wide range of topics including prevention of child sexual abuse, Shaken Baby Syndrome, home visitation, family support, parent education, management, public policy, communications strategies, wellness, and more. It will also include an exciting lineup of Keynote Sessions and Standout Sessions, along with several special events and networking opportunities. Please visit the National Conference section of our website for all of the details and registration information (including an online registration option). Please note that MONDAY, MARCH 31st is the last day to register at the discounted early bird rate of $310. Starting on April 1st, registrations will be processed at the regular rate of $375.
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