Special Edition on State Fiscal Challenges
Throughout this year, state governments have been faced with challenging fiscal realities and tough decisions to make. The choices policymakers make during difficult budget years can have a profound impact on at-risk infants, toddlers, and their families. But as an advocate, you can play an important role in the budget decisions made by your state. To do so, it is vitally important that you have a basic knowledge of how your state's budget is crafted and how the tax system is structured. This special edition of The Baby Monitor offers a look at resources you can use to become more familiar with tax and budget policies in your state.
Below you will find a variety of tools and resources designed to help you in your quest to understand the ways your state budget and tax system impact policies for infants, toddlers, and their families.
- The State Fiscal Analysis Initiative (SFAI) is a project of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in an effort to help build the capacity of organizations and advocates as they analyze state budgets and taxes. SFAI currently brings together nonpartisan, independent, nonprofit organizations in 31 states. These organizations broaden the debate on budget and tax policy through public education and the encouragement of civic engagement on these issues. The knowledge and resources of the 31 SFAI state organizations can be a valuable resource to advocates working to improve policies for at-risk infants and toddlers.
- The Colorado Children's Campaign recently released, Leaving Children Behind: How Colorado's Fiscal Policies Hurt Our Most Vulnerable Citizens, a report showing the connection between Colorado's dramatic childhood poverty rate and the challenges of the state's fiscal policy structure. The report concludes that the state's fiscal constraints challenge policymakers' ability to mitigate the effects of poverty and reverse this concerning trend.
- Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families produced an easy-to-digest report entitled, Rules of the Game: An Advocate's Guide to the Arkansas Tax and Budget System, which explains how the state's tax and budget system works, how it affects all children and families, and what specific steps advocates can take to improve it.
- The National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) is the professional membership organization of state finance officers. State finance officers are essentially the state's version of a chief financial officer (CFO). On the NASBO web site is a directory of all the state budget offices in the United States, including their web sites. If you click on the link for the state budget office for your state, you will find information about the process and timeline for developing the state's budget, contact information for state budget office employees (who will answer questions for you) and specific information about the state's budget.
ZERO TO THREE Participates in Congressional Baby Caucus Briefing
On November 18th, the Congressional Baby Caucus, co-chaired by Representatives DeLauro (CT) and Rehberg (MT), will hold a briefing to highlight how states are supporting the healthy development of very young children by providing comprehensive, coordinated systems of high-quality, prenatal-to-5 services. The briefing will feature a keynote address by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, remarks by expert panelists from several states and the House Committee on Education and Labor, and moderation by Barbara Gebhard, Project Director of State Policy Initiatives at ZERO TO THREE.
Federal Policy Update
After months of debate, the House of Representatives passed its version of health care reform on November 7th by a vote of 220-215. The House legislation (H.R. 3962) includes an individual and employer mandate to purchase or provide insurance and the creation of a public health insurance option by 2013. In addition, individuals and families with incomes up to 400% of the federal poverty level would receive subsidies to make coverage more affordable. The plan would also expand Medicaid eligibility to 150% of the federal poverty level by 2013 and require Medicaid to cover newborns for the first 60 days of life. Finally, the House bill also authorizes funding for a new voluntary home visitation program. While the Senate is expected to continue consideration of its health care bill over the coming weeks, passage of a final conference bill by the end of the year is looking less likely.
On November 5th, the House Education and Labor's Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee held a hearing, "Preventing Child Abuse and Improving Responses to Families in Crisis," where expert witnesses offered testimony in support of funding child maltreatment prevention services, as well as community approaches to prevention and other services. The prevention of child abuse and neglect is particularly important for very young children, as children under the age of three have the highest rates of abuse and neglect in the United States. Click here to read testimony submitted by ZERO TO THREE for the hearing.
State Policy Update
West Virginia Focuses Stimulus Funds on Professional Development
Using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), West Virginia is developing several professional development opportunities for the state's infant-toddler care providers and center directors. Specifically, the new professional development projects will be funded through the infant-toddler earmark of the Child Care and Development Block Grant. The plans were developed in collaboration with the West Virginia Infant-Toddler Specialists Network, which includes the state's six Infant-Toddler Specialists, located in the state's Child Care Resource and Referral agencies, and the State Infant-Toddler Coordinator, located in the State Division of Early Care and Education.
Click here to read the full state policy update and learn more about West Virginia's professional development plans!
Publications & Resources
CLASP Releases New Child Care Tool
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) recently released a new tool which presents a policy framework for child care subsidy policies that can be implemented to better support babies, toddlers, and their families. Users have the ability to save the tool and then input information about their state's current policies, as well as future opportunities for change. This is the first in a series of tools aimed to help states chart their own progress toward improving child care for babies and toddlers.
Free Parenting Videos by Dr. Susan Turben
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