TAKE ACTION!
President Trump's 2018 Proposed Budget Cuts
President Trump released his FY 2018 budget, here is what is at stake for campus support programs, like TIP and our community partners:
It is really important that the community contact Congress members to express concerns with these proposed cuts. We need to ask them to use their powers in the legislative branch to restore funding to these critical programs that we depend on to ensure that programs like ours remain strong and sustainable for our students.
You can also use the following links to find your Representatives:
https://www.senate.michigan.gov/fysbyaddress.html
https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
- Complete elimination of the 21st Century after school program grants via the Department of Education
- A reduction to the WIA funds that support summer youth employment of 31% (which would impact our ability to serve foster youth in our summer program (potentially wiping out of the foster care specific funds set aside that exists right now). The cut to job training and employment service programs funded through any Michigan Works agencies would be by 35 percent.
- Elimination of the SEOG grant- the 2nd largest federal financial aid program our foster youth receive in their financial aid package next to the Pell grant. SEOG is maximized for foster youth because of their independent status and is estimated to be about $4000 per student per year.
- Elimination of $ to support legal aid (which hurts our student's ability to receive free pro bono legal services) that is critical to keeping them enrolled in college.
- And 18.4% cut across the board for NIH funding for every NIH institute that exists. In addition to the cross the board cuts, universities would be forced to reduce and renegotiate a lower ICR rate with the federal government on grants that are awarded.
- Complete elimination of federally funded family planning services. Impacts all Title X funded health care providers, which include campus based health care clinic and any clinic in your area.
- Elimination of the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which are a flexible source of funds used by cities, counties and states to meet the needs of moderate and low income residents through funding housing rehabilitation projects.
- Elimination of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which is the largest Federal block grant to state and local governments designed exclusively to produce affordable housing for low-income families. It is one of the few Federal programs that adds to the physical inventory of affordable housing and preserves the physical inventory through rehabilitation.
- Public Housing Capital Fund would be cut by 68%, the fund allocated to fix/repair low income housing units.
- Elimination of the home heating and cooling assistance program- which would impact any students who are parenting and relative caregivers, as that is the population eligible for this service and also rely on this service during the cold winters and warm summers.
It is really important that the community contact Congress members to express concerns with these proposed cuts. We need to ask them to use their powers in the legislative branch to restore funding to these critical programs that we depend on to ensure that programs like ours remain strong and sustainable for our students.
You can also use the following links to find your Representatives:
https://www.senate.michigan.gov/fysbyaddress.html
https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
Medicaid to 26
Call-In Day, February 15, 2017
Children get to stay on their parents’ insurance policy until age 26. Yet foster youth do not have this benefit. Due to no fault of their own, foster youth are removed from their own homes and parented by the state. Medicaid to 26 provides them coverage on par with their peers who were raised by their families. About 20,000 young people age out of the foster care system each year, and they are more likely than their peers to suffer from health issues due to exposure to trauma, homelessness, and neglect.
Members of Congress need to know that the health and well-being of tens of thousands of youth is at risk if the ACA is completely repealed. Please join us in advocating to ensure coverage for these young people. Here's how you can get involved!
Tomorrow: Call Congressional and District Offices
· Let your representatives know that this is important to their constituents. Call the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121. The operator can direct you to your Representative and Senator's offices.
· You can also use the following links to find your Representatives and click on their names to find information about their home offices:
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
Spread the word to your networks
Forward this information to others via listservs, twitter, facebook and other social media.
Join the conversation on Twitter by using #ProtectOurCare #Coveredtill26 #Medicaidto26 and #SupportFosterYouth What to Say When you Call your Representatives
When you call your Representative and Senators, tell them that you want Medicaid for former foster youth to be saved and that it is needed by former foster youth.
You can tell them why having health insurance until age 26 is helpful or will help you.
Here are some things you may want to say:
• I am a foster youth and will age out of care soon. I am not sure that I will have health insurance unless Medicaid for former foster youth is in place. Here are some of the reasons that having health insurance is important to me and will help me: _____________________________________________. (If you have special health or treatment needs, you could share specifically how having health insurance will help keep you healthy.)
• I am a former foster youth and currently have health insurance because of the Medicaid for former foster youth program under the ACA. Because of this health care coverage I am able to get the following care _______________________________________. Here are some of the reasons that having this health insurance is important to me and will help me: ___________________________________________. (If you have special health or treatment needs, you could share specifically how having health insurance will help keep you healthy.)
Here are some more ideas for what you can say:
• If having health insurance is helping you get or keep a job or stay in school, let your Representative and Senators know.
• If you are not sure you would have health insurance without the Medicaid for Former Foster Youth program, let your Representative and Senators know.
• If you want your Representative and Senators to stand up for foster youth, let them know they should support the Medicaid for Former Foster Youth Program.
Children get to stay on their parents’ insurance policy until age 26. Yet foster youth do not have this benefit. Due to no fault of their own, foster youth are removed from their own homes and parented by the state. Medicaid to 26 provides them coverage on par with their peers who were raised by their families. About 20,000 young people age out of the foster care system each year, and they are more likely than their peers to suffer from health issues due to exposure to trauma, homelessness, and neglect.
Members of Congress need to know that the health and well-being of tens of thousands of youth is at risk if the ACA is completely repealed. Please join us in advocating to ensure coverage for these young people. Here's how you can get involved!
Tomorrow: Call Congressional and District Offices
· Let your representatives know that this is important to their constituents. Call the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121. The operator can direct you to your Representative and Senator's offices.
· You can also use the following links to find your Representatives and click on their names to find information about their home offices:
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
Spread the word to your networks
Forward this information to others via listservs, twitter, facebook and other social media.
Join the conversation on Twitter by using #ProtectOurCare #Coveredtill26 #Medicaidto26 and #SupportFosterYouth What to Say When you Call your Representatives
When you call your Representative and Senators, tell them that you want Medicaid for former foster youth to be saved and that it is needed by former foster youth.
You can tell them why having health insurance until age 26 is helpful or will help you.
Here are some things you may want to say:
• I am a foster youth and will age out of care soon. I am not sure that I will have health insurance unless Medicaid for former foster youth is in place. Here are some of the reasons that having health insurance is important to me and will help me: _____________________________________________. (If you have special health or treatment needs, you could share specifically how having health insurance will help keep you healthy.)
• I am a former foster youth and currently have health insurance because of the Medicaid for former foster youth program under the ACA. Because of this health care coverage I am able to get the following care _______________________________________. Here are some of the reasons that having this health insurance is important to me and will help me: ___________________________________________. (If you have special health or treatment needs, you could share specifically how having health insurance will help keep you healthy.)
Here are some more ideas for what you can say:
• If having health insurance is helping you get or keep a job or stay in school, let your Representative and Senators know.
• If you are not sure you would have health insurance without the Medicaid for Former Foster Youth program, let your Representative and Senators know.
• If you want your Representative and Senators to stand up for foster youth, let them know they should support the Medicaid for Former Foster Youth Program.
Child Welfare & Education Policy Updates
Keeping Siblings Together
A series of bills were heard recently in the House Judiciary committee that would help keep siblings together in foster care. Additionally, one of the bills would require frequent visits between parents and children removed from the home. Essentially the bills codify current DHHS practice. NASW-Michigan supports the bills.
House Bill 5521 and Senate Bill 482, 483 would amend different acts to require reasonable efforts be made to place siblings removed from their homes in the same foster placement. If not jointly placed, monthly visits or other ongoing contact between the siblings would be required unless contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings. SB 485 would amend the juvenile code to require a court to permit the parent of a child removed from the parent's custody to have parenting time at least once every seven days, unless the court determined that circumstances required less frequent parenting time or that parenting time could be harmful to the child. Of all of the bills, HB 5521 was presented to the Governor and was signed into law on June 20.
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)
The Higher Education Act
Senator Alexander (R-TN), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP), and Senator Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member on this committee, are both strong education advocates who are very invested in reauthorizing the major US education bills. In the first year of the current Congress, they shepherded through a bipartisan re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA; most recent previous version, which is still in force, is known as No Child Left Behind), which covers K-12 education. Although the same conferencing problem may ultimately arise for the higher education bill, Senators Alexander and Murray have been pressing forward with a re-authorization of the Higher Education Act, which is the main federal law covering higher education in the US.
The Higher Education Act (HEA) was last reauthorized in 2008 and that re-authorization expired in 2014. The primary purpose of HEA is to authorize the many federal financial aid programs that provide support to both students pursuing a post-secondary education and institutions of higher education (IHEs). Title IV of the HEA authorizes the federal government’s major student aid programs, which are the primary source of direct federal support to students pursuing post-secondary education. Titles II, III, and V of the HEA provide institutional aid and support, with a particular focus on supporting IHEs that serve traditionally underprivileged populations (racial minorities and tribal/Native populations). Additionally, the HEA authorizes services and support for less-advantaged students (select Title IV programs), students pursuing international education (Title VI), and students pursuing and institutions offering certain graduate and professional degrees (Title VII). Finally, the most recently added title (Title VIII) authorizes several other programs that support higher education.
The Senate HELP Committee has held a series of bipartisan hearings on HEA re-authorization over the past year, and it was initially expected that a bill would be introduced by early 2016. While timing remains unclear, it is likely that a draft will not be produced until early 2017, at which time Democrats are expected to regain control of the committee under the leadership of Senator Murray or Sanders.
During this time, a number of other higher education bills have already been introduced by a variety of members (on and off the HELP Committee), and more are likely to be introduced as the process moves forward. Many of these bills are being introduced to either drive the conversation around specific major issues (see below) and/or with a view to ultimately turning the bills into amendments to an HEA bill when it is considered by the Committee or, eventually, on the floor.
Major HEA issues that are going to be at the core of the re-authorization discussions:
● College affordability and the cost of higher education;
● Student debt and loan repayment issues (loan interest rates, default rates);
● Simplification of the student loan application (the FAFSA);
● How to improve graduation/completion rates;
● Accreditation and proposed rating systems for IHEs;
● For-profit colleges/universities (including the fallout from the collapse of Corinthian Colleges and ITT Tech; in particular, how to prevent such collapses, forgive debts incurred by students at such institutions, and hold the failed company and/or its leadership financially or otherwise responsible for the collapse);
● Innovation in higher education (related to numerous topics including bringing down college costs, reaching new student populations, improving student success);
● Campus sexual assault
● Enforcement of Title IX (which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex); federal protections for LGBT students under Title IX has been a source of heightened controversy and attack over the past year
Carl V. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. The President signed the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 2006 into law on August 12, 2006, and was originally scheduled to be reauthorized in 2012. Perkins is the largest federal investment in America’s high schools and a significant source of support for post-secondary institutions offering CTE programs. Recently, The House Education and the Workforce Committee passed a Perkins re-authorization bill with broad bipartisan support. The Senate HELP committee is expected to introduce its own bill as early as September, and it is possible that a Perkins conference and bill passage may occur before the end of this Congress.
Mental Health Reform. The house passed mental health reform legislation (HR2646) in January. Mental health reform legislation led by Senators Murphy and Cassidy passed the HELP committee in March, but is awaiting a full senate vote. The Senate bill codifies a Chief Medical Officer and an Office of Policy, Planning, and Innovation (OPPI) at SAMHSA to advise, coordinate, and disseminate evidence-based policies and best practices. The bill also reforms mental health and substance use disorder block grant programs and applications to promote efficiency and reduce redundancy. A variety of smaller grant programs are implemented focusing on at-risk populations, including individuals in crisis, child, adolescents, homeless individuals, and pregnant women. Mental health parity rules and guidelines are strengthened to promote transparency and reduce ambiguity in practice. Finally, the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act, a bill that previously passed the Senate, is included in full here as the full mental health reform package has a higher chance of proceeding through both chambers successfully.
A series of bills were heard recently in the House Judiciary committee that would help keep siblings together in foster care. Additionally, one of the bills would require frequent visits between parents and children removed from the home. Essentially the bills codify current DHHS practice. NASW-Michigan supports the bills.
House Bill 5521 and Senate Bill 482, 483 would amend different acts to require reasonable efforts be made to place siblings removed from their homes in the same foster placement. If not jointly placed, monthly visits or other ongoing contact between the siblings would be required unless contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings. SB 485 would amend the juvenile code to require a court to permit the parent of a child removed from the parent's custody to have parenting time at least once every seven days, unless the court determined that circumstances required less frequent parenting time or that parenting time could be harmful to the child. Of all of the bills, HB 5521 was presented to the Governor and was signed into law on June 20.
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)
The Higher Education Act
Senator Alexander (R-TN), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP), and Senator Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member on this committee, are both strong education advocates who are very invested in reauthorizing the major US education bills. In the first year of the current Congress, they shepherded through a bipartisan re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA; most recent previous version, which is still in force, is known as No Child Left Behind), which covers K-12 education. Although the same conferencing problem may ultimately arise for the higher education bill, Senators Alexander and Murray have been pressing forward with a re-authorization of the Higher Education Act, which is the main federal law covering higher education in the US.
The Higher Education Act (HEA) was last reauthorized in 2008 and that re-authorization expired in 2014. The primary purpose of HEA is to authorize the many federal financial aid programs that provide support to both students pursuing a post-secondary education and institutions of higher education (IHEs). Title IV of the HEA authorizes the federal government’s major student aid programs, which are the primary source of direct federal support to students pursuing post-secondary education. Titles II, III, and V of the HEA provide institutional aid and support, with a particular focus on supporting IHEs that serve traditionally underprivileged populations (racial minorities and tribal/Native populations). Additionally, the HEA authorizes services and support for less-advantaged students (select Title IV programs), students pursuing international education (Title VI), and students pursuing and institutions offering certain graduate and professional degrees (Title VII). Finally, the most recently added title (Title VIII) authorizes several other programs that support higher education.
The Senate HELP Committee has held a series of bipartisan hearings on HEA re-authorization over the past year, and it was initially expected that a bill would be introduced by early 2016. While timing remains unclear, it is likely that a draft will not be produced until early 2017, at which time Democrats are expected to regain control of the committee under the leadership of Senator Murray or Sanders.
During this time, a number of other higher education bills have already been introduced by a variety of members (on and off the HELP Committee), and more are likely to be introduced as the process moves forward. Many of these bills are being introduced to either drive the conversation around specific major issues (see below) and/or with a view to ultimately turning the bills into amendments to an HEA bill when it is considered by the Committee or, eventually, on the floor.
Major HEA issues that are going to be at the core of the re-authorization discussions:
● College affordability and the cost of higher education;
● Student debt and loan repayment issues (loan interest rates, default rates);
● Simplification of the student loan application (the FAFSA);
● How to improve graduation/completion rates;
● Accreditation and proposed rating systems for IHEs;
● For-profit colleges/universities (including the fallout from the collapse of Corinthian Colleges and ITT Tech; in particular, how to prevent such collapses, forgive debts incurred by students at such institutions, and hold the failed company and/or its leadership financially or otherwise responsible for the collapse);
● Innovation in higher education (related to numerous topics including bringing down college costs, reaching new student populations, improving student success);
● Campus sexual assault
● Enforcement of Title IX (which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex); federal protections for LGBT students under Title IX has been a source of heightened controversy and attack over the past year
Carl V. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. The President signed the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 2006 into law on August 12, 2006, and was originally scheduled to be reauthorized in 2012. Perkins is the largest federal investment in America’s high schools and a significant source of support for post-secondary institutions offering CTE programs. Recently, The House Education and the Workforce Committee passed a Perkins re-authorization bill with broad bipartisan support. The Senate HELP committee is expected to introduce its own bill as early as September, and it is possible that a Perkins conference and bill passage may occur before the end of this Congress.
Mental Health Reform. The house passed mental health reform legislation (HR2646) in January. Mental health reform legislation led by Senators Murphy and Cassidy passed the HELP committee in March, but is awaiting a full senate vote. The Senate bill codifies a Chief Medical Officer and an Office of Policy, Planning, and Innovation (OPPI) at SAMHSA to advise, coordinate, and disseminate evidence-based policies and best practices. The bill also reforms mental health and substance use disorder block grant programs and applications to promote efficiency and reduce redundancy. A variety of smaller grant programs are implemented focusing on at-risk populations, including individuals in crisis, child, adolescents, homeless individuals, and pregnant women. Mental health parity rules and guidelines are strengthened to promote transparency and reduce ambiguity in practice. Finally, the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act, a bill that previously passed the Senate, is included in full here as the full mental health reform package has a higher chance of proceeding through both chambers successfully.
HB 4022
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UPDATE!! HB 4022 has been passed into the Senate and signed by Governor Snyder. Thank you to all that supported our efforts in getting this bill signed into Michigan State Law! Click here to read the bill.
Legislation Update:House Bill 4022, Foster Child Identification Protection Act This bill was created to provide for certain powers and duties for foster care caseworkers; to require monitoring of credit-related activity in foster children's names; and to provide for the powers and duties for certain courts, state departments, and agencies. Passing this bill will be an important victory in protecting Michigan’s foster care children from being the targets of identity fraud. The bill is currently in the Senate Committee of Families, Seniors and Human Services. We need your help to ensure that this bill passes through the senate. To find the members of the committee and their contact information, click here. |
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Legislation Update: Senate Bill 966: Improving Sibling Visitation Rights
Senate Bill 996 aimed to amend the juvenile code to require that a reasonable effort be made to place siblings removed from their home to be put in the same placement or have frequent sibling visitations, require courts to evaluate and decide if visitation between siblings is beneficial and require a case service plan to include efforts to be made for visitation rights.Passing this bill will help to keep foster children being separated from their siblings and prevent the experience of being in foster care from being any harder than it needs to be. Not only do we want to see this bill pass, but we would also like marriage as a criteria for parents to be reintegrated into the bill. To find the members of the committee and their contact information, click here.
Senate Bill 996 aimed to amend the juvenile code to require that a reasonable effort be made to place siblings removed from their home to be put in the same placement or have frequent sibling visitations, require courts to evaluate and decide if visitation between siblings is beneficial and require a case service plan to include efforts to be made for visitation rights.Passing this bill will help to keep foster children being separated from their siblings and prevent the experience of being in foster care from being any harder than it needs to be. Not only do we want to see this bill pass, but we would also like marriage as a criteria for parents to be reintegrated into the bill. To find the members of the committee and their contact information, click here.
Support S. 1177 : “The Every Child Achieves Act of 2015”
Children in foster care are some of the country’s most educationally disadvantaged students. Important provisions have been included in The Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 to support educational stability and success for these students. The Act requires education agencies and child welfare agencies to collaborate to ensure educational stability for children in foster care. Click here to read the full bill
Click the image to download the factsheet!
Click the image to download the factsheet!
