The Senate Appropriations Committee met this week to discuss the budget.  In addition to trimming the House recommendations, it is expected that the Senate will cut an additional $100 million dollars from the budget.   The committee chair, Senator Gary Nodler, had indicated to the committee that all new House recommendations or recommendations above the Governor’s requests would be “zeroed out” and taken to conference committee, however, several key children’s items were left open and will be discussed next week. 

As you may remember, the Governor’s original budget recommendation included an additional $2.4 million dollars general revenue for a transitional child care assistance program that was not included in the House’s recommendation.  Senator Joan Bray (D-St Louis), joined by Sen. Scott Rupp (R-St. Louis County), requested this line item remain open.  It is expected that the committee will ask for the $2.4 million to be put back into the budget.  Partnership for Children is talking with key members of the committee to see that this is included in the Senates recommendation. The $2.4 million would allow approximately 3,000 Missouri children to continue accessing quality early childhood programs and would help their parents advance in the workforce by allowing them to earn up to a $2 raise while transitioning off of state assistance.

In addition, Senator Tim Green requested than an amendment be left open for $3.3 million to reach out to uninsured children who are eligible for state health coverage.  Rep. Ryan Silvey (R-Kansas City) sponsored this amendment in the House. The Senate Appropriations committee meets on Monday, April 7^th at 12 pm.  The budget must be completed by May 9^th at 6 pm.

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In the House this week, a bill that would establish the “Covering ALL KIDS Health Insurance Program” was introduced.  This bill would provide health insurance coverage to all uninsured children in the state. HB 2513 is sponsored by Representative Judy Baker (D-Columbia).  All children would be given health care benefits almost identical to those currently provided under the state children’s health insurance program and the Department of Social Services would have the authority to administer the program, including establishing eligibility rules and setting cost sharing requirements. Partnership for Children is still analyzing this bill and will have more information at a later date.

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As reported last week, SB1106 was supposed to be heard in the Seniors Families and Public Health Committee; however this bill was not heard on Tuesday.  Advocates have several concerns regarding SB1106 and, as of this date, the bill has not been assigned a second hearing.   There are several provisions that have child advocates concerned. SB 1106 would allow perpetrators to circumvent the Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board and go straight to circuit court. In addition, it would prevent perpetrators names from being placed on the Central Registry while awaiting action by the court, which in some circuits could be as long as three years.  Alleged perpetrators could delay having their names go on the Central Registry for years, pending their de novo hearing. 

In addition, this bill requires that trials de novo be conducted under the Missouri criminal rules of evidence and the Missouri rules of civil procedure. When the standard is one of "Criminal procedure" as opposed to "civil procedure" the emphasis seems to shift from focusing on the welfare of the child witness to the alleged perpetrators right to confront the witnesses against him/her.  This can result in a court giving less weight to the emotional challenges that a child victim/witness may experience if placed in a position of either choosing to testify in person and face the alleged perpetrator or choosing not to testify and allow the alleged perpetrator to go free.  Legal maneuvering can occur to attempt to protect children and preserve the testimony but the chill factor remains with a child who thinks that he/she must face the alleged perpetrator.  Partnership for Children strongly opposes SB1106.

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SB1194, sponsored by Senator Jack Good man will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, April 7^th at 6:00 pm in the Senate Lounge. Currently, a person who pleads guilty to or is found guilty of forcible rape or sodomy of a child under the age of twelve receives a sentence of life imprisonment without eligibility for probation or parole for thirty years. This bill would make such crimes punishable by either death or life imprisonment without probation, parole, or release, unless the offender has not yet reached the age of eighteen, in which case, the punishment shall only be life imprisonment without probation, parole, or release. 

Partnership for Children has several concerns regarding this legislation including the negative consequence of suppressing children from reporting sexual abuse. The majority of children who are sexually abused are done so by someone in their circle of care. By making this act a capital offense, it could prevent children from reporting their abuse out of fear that a family member or family friend could be put to death.  In addition, those who have been given the death penalty often go through years of appeals.  Putting children who have been victimized through a capital punishment case could make them relive their victimization for many years to come.

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Last week, Rep. Beth Low (D-Kansas City) introduced House Concurrent Resolution 45 that would establish a Missouri Child Poverty Council to examine the causes of child poverty and to develop a ten-year plan to reduce the number of children living in poverty in the state by 50%. As of 2006, nearly 1 in 5 Missouri children lives in poverty.

The council would analyze the long-term effects of child poverty on children and their families as well as the costs of child poverty to local municipalities and the state. As part of the ten-year plan, the council would identify strategies for reducing child poverty that include improving: workforce training for parents, affordable housing and health care, early care and educational programs, after-school and mentoring programs, childhood nutrition programs, and substance abuse treatment programs.

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KANSAS LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Thanks to our partners Kansas Action for Children for providing this legislative update.

The Legislature adjourned for break on April 4 and will return April 30. House Appropriations Committee members and Senate Ways and Means Committee members will return the week of April 21.

EDUCATION POLICY UPDATE

SUCCESS! Child Care Assistance. Although many important funding decisions are being delayed until Omnibus, one of the first items of agreement during the budget conference negotiations will ensure that more working Kansas families have access to child care. The budget includes a $2.5 million (SGF) increase in the child care assistance program. This funding will provide services to more than 800 children.

Pre-K Pilots. The negotiated budget includes level funding of $5 million from the Children's Initiatives Fund (CIF) in the budget of the Kansas Department of Education. A $1.2 million enhancement proposed by the Governor will be considered in Omnibus.

Parents as Teachers. Level funding was included in the budget - utilizing dollars from the Children's Intiatives Fund (CIF) - per the Governor's budget recommendation. The original Senate position moved the funding back to the State General Fund. Additional funding for the program and the proposed Early Childhood Block Grant will be considered in Omnibus.

In other action related to Parents as Teachers, the Senate amended SB 527 into HB 2758 on the floor last week. The PAT legislation passed the Senate 40-0. The House concurred, sending it on the Governor. This bill will give school districts the ability to use state funds to provide Parents as Teachers to older children by extending the age of eligibility to the age of school attendance. The bill, however, does not actually increase access to Parents As Teachers because it contains no funding. The PAT program currently has a waiting list of more than 4,500 families, and more than 70 school districts do not offer the program. It is estimated that $2.6 million is needed to address the current waiting list for PAT services.

SUCCESS! Afterschool. As House and Senate negotiators traded offers and counteroffers throughout the week of budget negotiations, one of the last things that remained on the table was existing funding for the Kansas Middle School Afterschool Activity Advancement Grant (KMSA³). With the strong support of Senate conferees, $400,000 was finally included in the last budget deal of the negotiations. The funding will provide afterschool and summer school services to more than 1,600 youths this year. Click here to read more about KMSA³.

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SUCCESS! Uninsured Children/HealthWave. A compromise was reached late Friday night (April 4) among House and Senate conference committee members to expand the eligibility level of the HealthWave program to 250% of poverty, which will provide health care access to the fastest-growing group of uninsured children in Kansas. The Legislature will consider the compromise when they return to Topeka April 30.

Kansas Coordinated School Health (KCSH). Now is the time to ask your legislators to support Kansas Coordinated School Health! When the budget committees return to Topeka the week of April 21, they will start compiling the last budget bill of the Session. Following a reduction in federal funding, the Kansas Coordinated School Health program - which provides local school districts with the resources they need to create healthier school environments and combat childhood obesity - requires state funding to continue operation.

Graduated Drivers Licensing (GDL). Although the House Transportation Committee took action on a GDL bill, it was not scheduled for debate nor for a vote on the House floor before the Legislative recess. Therefore, it is unlikely that a compromise will be reached this year with the Senate GDL bill.

 Kansas & Missouri Chosen to Participate in National Early Childhood Symposium

Kansas & Missouri are two of just 14 states recently selected to attend a National Symposium on Early Childhood Science and Policy to be held at Harvard this June. The symposium is jointly sponsored by the National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices, Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, and the National Conference of State Legislators.

Each state will send a team comprised of state lawmakers and business and civic leaders to learn about recent advances in neuroscience, molecular biology, medicine and developmental psychology that form our scientific understanding of early childhood development. Teams will learn about the implications of this science for state birth-to-five policies and practices as well as lessons from states that are working to incorporate science into their policies. In addition, state teams will receive guidance in developing an early childhood action plan for their state.

Partnership for Children congratulates Kansas and Missouri for being selected to participate in this amazing opportunity and looks forward to working with our state teams to advance science-based early childhood policies. For more information about the Symposium, visit http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu/content/national_symposium.html

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A national study released last week on graduation rates in the 50 largest cities in the U.S. found that the Kansas City Missouri School District graduates only 45.7% of its students, compared with a national average of nearly 70%. Across the state line, the Kansas City Kansas School District faired slightly better with a 48.5% graduation rate.

The report compiled by the America’s Promise Alliance has raised controversy all over the country because many school district graduation rates in the report were significantly lower than the rates reported by the districts in compliance with No Child Left Behind. Missouri state data shows that KCMSD has a 75.8% graduation rate – 30% higher than the America’s Promise report.

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced last week that the Federal government will soon be requiring all states to use one standard formula to calculate graduation and drop-out rates. Currently, No Child Left Behind requires states to report graduation rates, but allows states to set their own formulas for the calculation which has severely obscured the crisis states are facing in preparing students to excel in our advancing workforce. The report estimated that 1.2 million American teenagers drop out of high school every year.

Read more about this in the NY Times and the Kansas City Star

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Representatives John Dingell (D-MI) and Tim Murphy (R-PA) have introduced a bill (H.R. 5613) that would place a one-year moratorium on seven Medicaid regulations proposed by the Bush administration that would limit or eliminate federal reimbursements to states for certain Medicaid services. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has estimated that these rules would cut federal funding for Medicaid by at least $50 billion over the next five years. The regulations would: prohibit states from

using federal Medicaid funds to help pay for physician training, limit coverage of rehabilitation services for people with disabilities and mental illnesses, and place limits on Medicaid payments to hospitals and nursing homes operated by state and local governments.  These regulations would negatively impact children’s health care by cutting services such as:

•  School involvement in Medicaid, including critical enrollment and health care services such as providing medications during school hours
• Rehabilitative services, curtailing the kind of aid children with disabilities can receive from Medicaid
• Case management services, which are especially crucial for children in foster care or with special needs

Ultimately, these regulations will reduce or eliminate federal funding for crucial services that Medicaid has been providing to some of our most vulnerable citizens. The new rules will also likely contribute to more fiscal woes for the states, as they will shift millions of dollars in health care costs to states at a time when the slowing economy is already taking a downturn. HR 5613 would provide a valuable and necessary moratorium on these restrictive regulations.