Public Policy Update: April 2010 

• Congress Speaks Up for CASA Program
• Health Care Reform: Benefits to Children 
• VOCA Funding for CASA Programs
• Senate Establishes Caucus on Foster Youth
• Fostering Connections Resource Center
• Chapin Hall Prevention Report

Congress Speaks Up for CASA Program

The Obama Administration has proposed spending freezes on most discretionary programs for FY 2011.   The recommendation has received only a lukewarm reception in Congress. The President’s budget proposes just $10 million for the CASA program, a reduction of 33% from the 2010 enacted level. The funding supports the grants program for state and local CASA/GAL programs as well as training and program support. The proposed cut would result in a loss of 3,500 citizen volunteers nationwide and a disruption of services for more than 12,000 abused children.

National CASA led a delegation of CASA/GAL representatives to conduct Congressional appointments in March. Meeting with 58 Congressional offices, we learned that there is strong support in Congress to sustain level funding of $15 million for the CASA program in this next fiscal year. The Association also issued a legislative alert in mid-March to our national network of supporters. We are very grateful for the overwhelming response to the alert. As a result of CASA supporters contacting their member of Congress, a letter in support of level funding of $15 million for the CASA program was sent to the House Appropriations committee, with 28 Congressional signatures. House and Senate appropriations subcommittees will hold hearings April – May, and we expect that they will make their recommendations for FY 2011 funding early this summer.

Health Care Law: Benefits For Children

 Tom Birch, National Child Abuse Coalition

The new health care reform law includes numerous provisions aimed at improving the health and well-being of children and youth and vulnerable adults. Among the provisions which would provide new coverage and advantages to children and youth are the following:

•  Prohibits health insurers from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, effective six months from enactment. (In 2014, the prohibition applies to all persons.) Insurance providers have denied coverage to children for pre-existing chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, ADHD, or autism spectrum disorder.
• Requires all health plans to extend coverage to young people up to the age of 26 under their parents’ insurance policies, who live with their parent or are a student, and up to 30 years old, who are also unmarried and have no dependent child of their own.
• Streamlines continuing coverage through the new state exchanges for children already covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and extends CHIP funding through 2015.
• Provides Medicaid coverage to children who have been in foster care to continue up to the age of 26.
• Mandates information be available for children aging out of foster care and independent living programs about the importance of having a health care power of attorney to make health care decisions on behalf of the child who does not have a relative authorized to decide.
• Expands the adoption credit and adoption assistance program, increasing each by $1000, makes the credit refundable, and extends the credit through 2011, effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2009.

Excerpted from the WASHINGTON MEMORANDUM, March 24, 2010, Vol. 30, No. 5, The National Child Abuse Coalition

VOCA Funding for CASA Programs

Members of the National CASA VOCA workgroup met with Joye Frost, Acting Director of Office of Victims of Crime, in Washington, DC on March 2, to discuss VOCA funding for CASA programs. Carmela Welte (National CASA), Andrea Sparks and Glenn Brooks (Texas CASA), Jackie Wilson (Ohio CASA), and Francha Davis (CASA of Montgomery County in Maryland) attended the meeting.   OVC staffers Meg Morrow and Bethany Case also attended.

The group discussed the impact VOCA funding has made for children served by their CASA programs. OVC representatives reiterated that CASA/volunteer GAL programs are eligible for state VOCA funding, with the understanding that the state VOCA agency has ultimate discretion. See OVC Fact Sheet: Funding Court Appointed Special Advocate Programs. 20% of VOCA state grants must be designated for child victims. 

OVC plans to the VOCA  guidelines within the next year though, so our visit was timely. The federal representatives said they will consider emphasizing in the revised guidelines that programs which provide volunteer advocacy for child victims, such as CASA or Child Advocacy Centers, are eligible for VOCA state grants.  

Texas CASA discussed its advocacy efforts to pass the Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act of 2009 (S 1340 and HR 3402, see more here at www.navaa.org), which would substantially increase VOCA funding available for states. Ms. Frost shared that the VOCA fund balance stands at $4.3 billion and encouraged us to keep advocating for increases in VOCA funding for child crime victims. She also indicated that Attorney General Eric Holder is placing special emphasis on children exposed to violence this year.

In this past year, Congress allowed a $705 million cap on the Crime Victims Fund which supports programs funded through the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA).   This is an increase of $70 million over the previous year, and the amount that advocates had sought to restore for VOCA funding.

Special thanks to Joe Gagen, Texas CASA, for leadership of the VOCA Work Group, and to his staff Andrea Sparks and Glenn Brooks for contributing their time and expertise. The final activity of the work group will be to develop recommendations and strategies to help CASA programs succeed in their applications for state VOCA grants. This document will be available for all programs to access within the next few months.

Senate Establishes Caucus on Foster Youth

Senator Charles Grassley, a strong champion for children in care and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee that sponsored the Fostering Connections to Success Act, has announced the formation of a Senate Caucus on Foster Youth. Senator Mary Landrieu (D­-LA), another staunch advocate for children, will co-chair the caucus. In announcing the caucus, Grassley explained he wants to focus attention on the needs of kids who remain in foster care and young adults who age out without the support and stability of a permanent family. He envisions the caucus as a forum for current and former foster youth “to have their voices heard and to make Senators more aware of these issues, generate ideas for preventing negative outcomes and opportunities for success.” The caucus will coordinate Senate briefings by think tank experts, foster care coalitions and other groups close to foster youth.  National CASA is one of 10 supporting organizations named in the Senator’s press release. Deputy CEO M. Carmela Welte is vice chair of the National Foster Care Coalition, which works closely with the Senator’s staff on his agenda to address foster care issues.

Fostering Connections Resource Center

National CASA is a collaborating organization to the Fostering Connections Resource Center, an initiative designed to advance implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success Act across the country. The website—http://www.fosteringconnections.org/—provides state by state information in implementation efforts.   A coalition of foundations have joined to underwrite the costs of establishing the Resource Center: Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Family Programs, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Duke Endowment, Eckerd Family Foundation, Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, Sierra Health Foundation, Stuart Foundation and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation. Child Trends and The Finance Project are responsible for managing the Center.

The Resource Center welcomes contributions from state CASA/GAL organizations, which may include:

1) Publications and other state-specific resources for website. Seeking relevant state-specific issue briefs, analyses, and any other documents related to the Fostering Connections law that could be added to the Resource Center’s database, with appropriate credit given to the authoring organization. If your organization is interested in sharing resources, please forward to info@fosteringconnections.org, with a copy to M. Carmela Welte. 

2) Events. The Fostering Connections Resource Center website features an events calendar. The Center welcomes information about any state or national events dealing with the Fostering Connections law for inclusion on the events calendar. Again, please direct information to info@fosteringconnections.org.

3) Examples of state approaches to implementation. The Center also welcomes all suggestions or information about approaches to implementation taken by a state. Please share by sending to info@fosteringconnections.org, and copy Carmela@nationalcasa.org so that we can also track implementation efforts within the CASA network.

Chapin Hall Prevention Report

 Child Abuse Prevention: A Job Half Done by Deborah Daro discusses the NIS-reported drop in abuse rates and the minimal gains in the child welfare system’s ability to protect children from fatal and severe physical abuse and most forms of neglect.