How did MO lawmakers spend the stimulus?

MO lawmakers appropriated $3.8 billion in federal stimulus funding this year. The MO Budget Project recently released a new report detailing how this recovery funding was used in the upcoming state budget.

Partnership for Children also has a fact sheet on how stimulus funding is being spent on MO kids.

Missouri to Host P-20 Summit on June 29^th

The Missouri P-20 Council is convening an Early Childhood and Youth Development Education Summit on June 29^th in Columbia, MO.  The Summit will include a broad array of stakeholders including early childhood and youth development advocates, higher education faculty, state and community leaders, and other key stakeholders. Read more or RSVP online.

NEWS FROM KANSAS

KS Legislature Adjourns with $100 M+ shortfall

On June 4^th, the 2009 KS Legislative Session officially ended and state lawmakers left Topeka without taking action on an additional $103 million budget shortfall. This task will be left up to Governor Parkinson as the new budget year begins July 1.

Children’s Health Coverage Summit

On Thursday, June 4^th, Kansas Action for Children held a Children’s Health Coverage Summit in Overland Park, KS with participants from both Missouri and Kansas.  The one day event focused primarily on successful methods of outreach to families who are eligible, but not yet enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP.  Individuals from across the country came to share their experiences and successful strategies employed to reach out to low-income families.  You can learn more and download the presentations by visiting KAC’s Summit website.

NEWS FROM WASHINGTON

How does the President’s FY10 Budget Impact Kids?

A new report from Voices for America’s Children analyzes President Obama’s federal budget for the upcoming year and its impact on children’s services. Voices observes that “this budget reflects the president’s priorities to strengthen families and his commitment to improving children’s health, education and school readiness,” but also that it “is only a first step” toward making children a higher national budget priority.

Read the full report: “Imperfect Progress: An Analysis of the President’s FY2010 Budget and its Impact on Children’s Services”

Healthcare Reform Heating Up

One of the biggest issues facing lawmakers on Capitol Hill this year is comprehensive health care reform.  Bills are being worked on in both the House and the Senate, with expectations that they will get passed out of their respective chambers by the fall.  Information on what the proposals may contain is pouring out of Washington every week, and President Obama is working hard to get support from all stakeholders.  It is still too early to say with certainty what the packages will look like, and the national debate appears to be shaping the proposals on a continuing basis.  PFC will work to update you on any new developments as they arise.

Here are a few links to articles that have more information:

• Baucus White Paper: Max Baucus (D-Montana) is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee where a proposal is currently being drafted.  This white paper is lengthy, but the summary gives a pretty good look at what may come out of the Finance Committee’s health care reform package.
• Medicare tapped for savings to cover reform costs: This report comes from the Kaiser Family Foundation and looks at President Obama’s proposal to cover some of the costs of reform.
• Administration Could Find Compromise in Co-op Plan: A look at the recently discussed not-for-profit health insurance cooperatives suggested by Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota) and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
• Children and Health Reform: Provided by Voices for America’s Children, this analysis looks at what should be included in reform packages to benefit children.

Home-Visiting Legislation Receives Hearing

On Tuesday, June 9, a House Ways and Means Subcommittee held an historic hearing on proposals to provide federal funding for early childhood home visitation programs. The bi-partisan “Early Support for Families Act” includes President Obama’s budget proposal for a new mandatory funding stream of up to $700 million for state home-visiting initiatives.

Safe Child Care Campaign

The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) has launched a national Safe Child Care Campaign to ask First Lady Michelle Obama and Members of Congress to support working mothers and the need for safe, quality child care. Training requirements and background checks for child care providers vary greatly between states, leaving many children at risk. The upcoming reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant provides an opportunity to ensure that the largest federal funding stream for child care is used to keep children safe and promote healthy development. Take Action today.

New Video Promotes Comprehensive PreK-3rd Reform

The New America Foundation’s Early Education Initiative released a short video, “Fighting Fade-Out Through PreK-3rd Reform,” which makes the case for comprehensive PreK-3rd reforms that begin with high quality early learning education programs and build on the benefits of those programs through elementary school years and beyond.  The video features a discussion with Dr. Jerry Weast, Superintendent of Montgomery County Schools in Maryland, a district that has successfully used PreK-3rd reform as a way to close achievement gaps and improve academic success for all students in the district.

That's it for this week!

Carrie Shapton & Jeremy LaFaver

Policy & Outreach Coordinators

Partnership for Children

infopfc@pfc.org ~ 816-531-9200

www.pfc.org

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