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Policy News and Information for South Carolina's Children
Policy Post
Feb. 13, 2018
Congress Reauthorizes MIECHV for Five Years
Reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program was included in the Feb. 9 Congressional budget deal that ended the brief government shutdown.

Children's Trust has served as this state's federal grantee since 2010 for the home visiting program , which works with 16 implementing agencies across 41 counties using three models: Healthy Families America, Nurse-Family Partnership, and Parents as Teachers.

"This did not happen without the tremendous outreach to legislators and the incredible work and outcomes that our home visiting partners provide daily," Children's Trust director of program implementation Eric Bellamy (pictured) said. "Let’s continue to build a stronger home visiting and early childhood field as we move forward."

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has served as a particularly vocal advocate for this program in his role on the health committee.
On the South Carolina Legislative Radar
Department of Children's Advocacy Under Consideration by Senate's General Committee

Legislation creating an umbrella state watchdog to protect children from failures within the state system will be considered in the Senate's General Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 14, Gressette Building, Room 207.

Based on the best portions of proven children's advocacy departments in other states – most notably Georgia's – the office would provide an additional safety net for children that public agencies have failed, as well as resources to identify and correct systemic failures.

The bill, S.805, was originally scored by the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office as costing only $167,000 annually. The agenda for the hearing is available.

Bills to Watch

H. 4705 : was considered today by the full House Judiciary Committee. The list of potential mandated reporters was expanded.

Be There
 
Wednesday, Feb. 14: Senate Finance K-12 Education Committee, 9 a.m., Gressette Building, Room 407, Agenda
 
Wednesday, Feb. 14: Study Committee on Electronic Recording of Custodial Interrogations Meeting, 9:15 a.m., John C. Calhoun Building, 2nd Floor Conference Room
 
Thursday, Feb. 15: Children's Affairs subcommittee, 10 a.m., Gressette Building, Room 408
Federal Roundup
Family First Prevention Services Act Part of Budget Bill
The Family First Prevention Services Act was also included in the recent federal budget deal. Specifically, it aims to keep children out of foster care and reduce group home placements.

It allows Title IV-E entitlement funding to be used by states to help pay for substance abuse, mental heath and parenting skills programs in order to intervene in more maltreatment cases without the use of foster care. It also works to address barriers of licensing relatives as foster parents.

It does limit federal spending on the use of congregate care settings for foster youth, which could negatively impact group homes.

Addition to CHIP Extension

CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) was extended for four additional years – on top of the six years in January – for a total of 10 years as a part of the budget deal signed into law by President Trump after passage by the U.S. Senate and House Feb. 9. CHIP serves 82,000 low-income children in South Carolina.
Strengthening Families Program Videos Unveiled
The Strengthening Families Program (SFP) teaches caretakers to develop positive discipline practices, stay resilient, improve communication, and assist children with social and school skills. Families with children ages 6 to 11 are taught through 14 weekly sessions.

SFP is administered by Children’s Trust with local partners in 24 of South Carolina’s counties. We recently produced two videos that detail the program's success from both the perspective of organizational providers called "Building Bonds, Reducing Risks," and participating families called "Families Finding Strength."
Child Welfare News Across the Nation
Vermont Bills Address Impacts of Childhood Trauma
An innovative package of bills in Vermont seeks to tackle long-lingering impacts of childhood trauma as the “root cause” of social problems, including imprisonment, poverty, homelessness, addiction and chronic illness.

Focus by states on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is driven by a widening body of research that shows how these experiences harm over the lifespan and across generations. Children's Trust is addressing the issue in South Carolina with its statewide initiative to prevent ACEs.
Policy Post is published by Children's Trust of South Carolina.
Children's Trust of South Carolina is the only statewide organization focused on the prevention of child abuse, neglect and injury. The organization trains and educates professionals who work directly with families and also funds, supports and monitors proven prevention programs. Children's Trust is the voice for South Carolina's children and advocates for strong, well-founded policies that positively impact child well-being. Children's Trust is home to Prevent Child Abuse South Carolina, KIDS COUNT South Carolina and Safe Kids South Carolina.