On Wednesday night, Congress unveiled the text of the compromise bill (H.J. Res. 31) to fund the remaining seven fiscal year 2019 appropriations bills until September 30th and avoid another partial government shutdown. Congress passed the bill yesterday evening (Senate, 83-16, House, 300-128), and the President is expected to sign it today.
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Legislative Update - Implications for H/HS Sector
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Violence Against Women Act (VAWA):
The compromise bill does not include an extension of the VAWA which would lead to a lapse in the law after Friday. However, VAWA-related grant programs are funded through and included in the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill. House Democrats expect to introduce broader VAWA reauthorization language in the next few months.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF):
The compromise bill does not include a further extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding, which was already extended until June 30th.
Sequester Automatic Cuts:
Language that would have postponed the scheduled sequester or automatic cuts of mandatory programs under the PAYGO Law was not included in the compromise bill. These cuts will be triggered if they are not postponed in another bill. Here is the Congressional Budget Office’s
estimate of the bill
.
HUD Appropriations:
Compared to FY18, the compromise measure passed by Congress increases funding for tenant-based rental assistance, public housing, project-based rental assistance, and homeless assistance grants. The bill also provides enough funding to renew all contracts for Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities and Section 202 Housing for the Elderly. The HOME Investment Partnerships program received a slight reduction.
The spending package also includes $25 million for a mobility housing voucher demonstration for families with young children to help them move to areas of opportunity, and it provides $100 million in competitive grants to Native American communities to spur construction and preservation of affordable rental housing. The bill does not include an amendment introduced by former Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) that would have prohibited people charged with certain crimes from receiving housing assistance. NLIHC and other advocates voiced concerns about how this provision would have been implemented.
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APHSA-NACo Capitol Hill Briefing
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Transforming Policy and Practice at the Local Level: The County Role in Building Well-Being from the Ground Up
When it comes to helping residents stay healthy and live well, counties are the cornerstone to creating thriving communities built on human potential. As the local administrators of federal health and human services programs and general service providers, counties are best positioned to uncover opportunities to update and improve federal programs to better meet our shared residents’ needs. Join the American Public Human Services Association, the National Association of Counties and county leaders to discuss how changes at the federal level can help local governments enact new approaches to delivering services that allow our residents to achieve self-sufficiency, and how a strong federal-state-local partnership is critical to the success of these efforts.
Tuesday, March 5 | 12:30 - 2:00 pm | U.S. Capitol, HVC-200
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Child and Family Well-Being
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At the one-year anniversary of the enactment of the Family First Prevention Service Act, the American Bar Association Center for Children and the Law is seeking input on how the legal community can best strengthen families using the Family First Act.
ABA is requesting your input about the different provisions within this new legislation and how the legal community can play a critical role in ensuring these provisions are applied successfully. Please complete
this survey
by
Thursday, February 21, 5 pm EST.
The survey was developed as a collaboration by the ABA Center on Children and the Law, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Family Programs, National American Indian Court Judges Association, National Association of Counsel for Children, National Center for State Courts, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association.
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Employment and Economic Well-Being
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FNS Issues Additional Information Regarding Mitigating the Gap Between February and March SNAP Benefit Issuances
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On February 1, the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) issued a
letter
to states explaining that “given the unique circumstances of this situation, the staggered issuance provisions of Section 7(g)(2) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2018, as amended, requiring that no household experience more than 40 days between issuances, do not apply in this instance,” but that states will be expected to develop and submit to their SNAP Regional Directors plans to mitigate the impact and shorten the interval between February and March issuances.
On February 8, FNS released a Questions & Answers document that provides answers and clarifications to numerous states’ questions regarding its February 1 letter. The
February 8 Q&A
clarifies that the blanket waiver issued by FNS on January 10 was intended to cover the early issuance of February SNAP benefits only. Therefore, on February 9, FNS released an
amendment to that blanket waiver
, allowing for it to also cover the early issuance of March SNAP benefits, so that states may mitigate the interval between February and March benefit issuances to the extent possible.
The amendment allows States to mitigate the interval between issuances either by issuing a partial benefit as close to 40 days from the last issuance as possible, followed by issuance of the remaining benefit on the normal March issuance schedule, or by continuing to adjust the date that households receive their ongoing SNAP benefit to on or after March 1, 2019, until the State’s normal issuance schedule can again be implemented. The amendment does not allow for the full issuance of a March benefit in February. The amendment specifies that a plan to mitigate the interval between issuances in that manner would require an individual State waiver request.
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HHS Announces Proposed Rules About Health IT
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This week, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced policy proposals to improve patient access and advance electronic data exchange and care coordination throughout the healthcare system. These proposals have not yet been published in the Federal Register, so their 60-day comment period has not yet been triggered. Among many other topics, the
ONC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NPRM) focuses on information blocking and greater access to health information for patients. The
CMS NPRM
will focus on advancing interoperability in Innovation Models, advance electronic data exchange, and care coordination throughout the healthcare system.
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State Republicans, with new Gov. Brian Kemp's support, introduced legislation earlier this week to partially expand Medicaid and seek a federal waiver to revamp the state's individual insurance market. The full scope of the bill is not known yet but it authorizes the state to seek an expansion of Medicaid coverage to the federal poverty line, short of the eligibility threshold for the Affordable Care Act's expansion.
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APHSA is elevating critical policy discussions and providing an opportunity for collective conversations with the Administration and Congress for a shared path forward for a modern, responsive and effective human service system.
This year’s National Summit is designed to showcase transformation efforts underway across the nation focusing on:
- Operational Optimization
- Healthier Communities Through Prevention
- Policy and Practice Solutions for Family and Community Well-Being
- Equity
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The deadline to submit proposals for the APHSA National Summit is Tuesday, February 19.
We are seeking proposals that will create conversations, engage public and private partners from the health and human services sector and include thought leaders in the field.
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The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) is pleased to announce the launch of
MyAPHSA Communities
, an open forum for health and human services professionals to share best practices, discuss hot topics, network with peers from across the country and much more.
To access communities, please
login to your APHSA profile
, click on the "Participation" tab, click "Follow" on the Hot HHS Topics Community. Here is a
visual
of these instructions.
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National Leaders Collaborate to Offer Scenario Planning on the Future of Human Services Webinar Series
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To offer insights into what progress humans have made, what needs we will have and what human services will be in the United States in 2035 , leading national human services organizations are offering a three-part webinar series to help public and private human services providers and community partners respond to and prepare for major uncertainties in the state of the economy and employment, technology, policy, equity and inclusion.
Wednesday, February 20 | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM, EST (Webinar #1)
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NSDTA Showcase Webinar Series
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Designing in PowerPoint: Simple Tips on Graphic and Presentation Design
Wednesday, March 6 | 3:00 - 4:00 PM EST
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