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Question of the Week
Q: I am a relative caregiver. I understand that foster care rates changed effective January 1, 2017. Who did they change for, and when will I see this change in the monthly check I receive? If I don’t see an increase, who should I contact about it? For the answer, follow this LINK.
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Governor Releases Proposed 2017-18 State Budget; Slowed Growth Leads to $1.6 B Deficit
Yesterday, Governor Brown released the proposed 2017-18 California State Budget of $122.5 billion, citing a budget deficit of $1.6 billion due to lower-than expected revenues. To close the budget deficit and rebuild the state's operating reserve, the budget proposes $3.2 billion in budget solutions that reduce spending growth.
The budget includes $23.6 billion for the Department of Social Services in 2017-18, $8.1 billion of which is from the General Fund (GF). Expenditure detail related to child welfare services has not been included in the State Budget since the 2011 Realignment of Health and Human Services, however, two key adjustments were included in the proposed budget.
The budget included $217.3 million ($163.2 million GF) to continue the implementation of Continuum of Care Reform, and $175.9 million ($88 million GF) for Child Welfare Digital Services for the ongoing design, development and implementation of the new case management database.
Also of note is the repeal of the Maximum Family Grant Rule, which necessitated a $225.5 million ($198.2 million GF) increase for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Program to reflect a full year of increased grant costs. Total
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families expenditures are $7.5 billion (state, local and federal funds) in 2017-18, which includes $5.4 billion for CalWORKs and $2.1 billion in other programs including Child Welfare Services and Foster Care.
In the areas of housing and homelessness, the budget cites recent policy changes to increase housing supply to address the state's housing crisis, such as the No Place Like Home Program, which authorizes a $2 billion bond secured by a portion of future Proposition 63 revenues to address homelessness for individuals with mental health needs with permanent supportive housing.
Also of note is the 2016 Budget Act, which includes $149.4 million GF ($100 million one-time) in new funding for housing and homelessness programs, including $35 million for the new California Emergency Solutions Grant program and $10 million for the Homeless Youth and Exploitation Emergency Services Pilot Projects to rapidly rehouse individuals, youth, and families experiencing homelessness.
In May, the Governor will release the May Revise which will make changes to the Governor's proposed budget based upon the latest economic forecasts. The budget will be passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor by June 30th. To read the proposed 2017-18 State Budget, follow this LINK.
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Sign On Letter: Include TAY in the $2B Housing Bond for Permanent Supportive Housing
John Burton Advocates for Youth is circulating a sign-on letter to submit to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) requesting that the definition of “At-Risk of Chronic Homelessness” be expanded to include Transition-Age Youth (TAY) in the No Place Like Home (NPLH) Program.
On July 1, 2016, Governor Brown signed legislation enacting the NPLH Program to dedicate $2 billion in bond proceeds to invest in the development of permanent supportive housing for people who are in need of mental health services and are experiencing homelessness, chronic homelessness, or at-risk of chronic homelessness. The bonds are repaid by funding from the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Fund.
As shared in last week’s newsletter, HCD has released the Public Comment Draft of the Proposed Program Framework. One of the key questions posed under the definitions section is whether the definition of At-Risk of Chronic Homelessness should be expanded to include TAY.
To sign on to the letter requesting the inclusion of TAY in the definition of At-Risk of Chronic Homelessness, follow this LINK. The deadline to sign on to this letter is Wednesday, January 25. You can submit your own comments on the Draft Framework to HCD by emailing NPLH@hcd.ca.gov by January 31.
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2/9 Webinar - How to Help Foster Youth Avoid the Remediation Trap and Achieve College Success
A November 2016 report by the Public Policy Institute of California found that the majority of students entering a community college are placed in remedial courses, and most of them never move on to earn a degree, certificate or transfer. Remedial classes cost money – eating up precious financial aid, but do not count as credit toward a degree. New research is finding that many students are placed into remedial coursework unnecessarily and that remediation sequences can be significantly shortened without negatively impacting future college success.
How can students avoid being unnecessarily placed in remediation? How can a student best address their remediation needs so that they can make progress toward their educational goals? John Burton Advocates for Youth is hosting a web seminar on Thursday, February 9 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. to address these and other questions related to the matriculation process.
This webinar is the third in a series of seven web-based trainings focused on supporting current and former foster youth to and through post-secondary education. To register for this and the other webinars included in the Post-Secondary Education Training Series, follow this LINK. These webinars are held the second Thursday of each month from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m..
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New Tool Available To Reduce Overuse of Psychotropic Medication
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has released information about current efforts to improve the oversight and monitoring of children and youth in foster care who are treated with psychotropic medication.
All County Information Notice (ACIN) I-87-16 provides counties with information regarding the availability of client-level psychotropic medication data specific to children and youth under their supervision. A county or tribe can receive this information by entering into the existing Global Data Sharing Agreement (GDSA), or by entering into the new Psychotropic Medication Data Sharing Agreement.
Counties or tribes only need to enter into one of the agreements in order to access the data. The GDSA offers a broader range of data. Starting December 2016, counties and tribes were able to enter into the new Psychotropic Medication Data Sharing Agreement which allows sharing of confidential data limited to psychotropic medication information derived from the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System and Medi-Cal paid claims data match.
CDSS also released All County Letter 16-96, sharing information about the budget augmentation that added $1.65 million in State General Fund (SGF) to expand local foster care public health nursing programs for the purpose of improving psychotropic medication oversight.
CDSS and the Department of Health Care Services have amended the existing interagency agreement to include this budget augmentation in order to maximize funding through the matching of SGF with Federal Financial Participation funding through Medicaid Title XIX.
Through the 2015 passage of SB 319, Public Health Nurses (PHNs) were given the authority to receive medical records directly from physicians in order to coordinate health care services and serve as a liaison with health care professionals, including coordination of psychotropic medication appointments.
This legislation also added “monitoring and oversight of psychotropic medication” to the list of activities included in the planning and coordination of health care that may be performed by a PHN. The ACIN provides additional detail about these duties, and lists each county’s PHN allocation for 2016-17.
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