hsn / human service newsbytes

NEWS & DEVELOPMENTS

Children and Youth

Cost Saving or Children's Health? Some Insurers Choose the Former
The Affordable Care Act passed last year prohibits insurance companies from denying health coverage for children with pre-existing conditions, but only children in 33 states are actually getting that coverage as many insurance companies discontinued child-only health insurance to avoid incurring additional costs. Learn more from First Focus.

Summer Learning Should be Required, Not Remedial
Low-income students lose an average of one month of math and reading gains every summer, which by the end of fifth grade amounts to a reading-level gap of two to three years between the and higher-income peers. Read a recent New York Times op-ed by Jeff Smink, VP for Policy from the National Summer Learning Alliance.

Older Americans

Initiative Underway to Find Out How Prepared American Adults Are to Age
CommonHealth ACTION (CHA) has launched its 2011 national online survey to assess how prepared people in America are to age. Intended for adults over the age of 18, the survey will collect data on concerns people have about aging, who will provide for their needs in their later years, and the role they anticipate technology will play in their lives as they age. Learn more about the survey and share your thoughts.

Poverty and Community

All Created Equal? Racial Disparities and Wealth Gap Widest in 25 Years
The housing and financial crisis has led to a widening of the wealth gap to the largest it’s been since wealth ratios were first published by the Census Bureau in 1984 – in 2009, the median wealth of white households ($113,149) was 20 times that of black households ($5677) and 18 times that of Hispanic households ($6,325).  Access more findings from the Pew Research Center.

Is Uneven State Funding Contributing to America’s Learning Gap?
Money spent on education can vary widely by school district – meaning unequal access to resources by pupils – and data shows that 26 states provide more funding per student to their lowest-poverty districts rather than their highest-poverty districts, putting low-income students at an educational disadvantage. Read the recent report from the Center for American Progress.

Nonprofit Sector

Who Made the Cut? The 2011 NPT Power and Influence Top 50 is Out  
The 14th annual list 14th annual NPT Power & Influence Top 50 has been released and celebrates some of the sector’s top executives and thinkers – including, Irv Katz, President and CEO of the National Assembly – who were selected for the impact they have now and for the innovative plans they are putting in place to evolve the nonprofit sector.  View the NPT Top 50.

Congrats to The Y and Other Winners of the Healthy Living Innovations Award
The Department of Health and Human Services has announced the eight winners of the 2011 Healthy Living Innovation Awards, including National Assembly member The Y.  The award recognizes innovative health promotion projects that have demonstrated a significant impact on the health of the community within the past three years. Learn more about the winning organizations.

Warren Buffet Comes to the Sector’s Defense
In a recent New York Times op-ed, Warren Buffett offered an alternative to fix the deficit: rather than cutting programs, cut tax loopholes for the super-rich:  "While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks."   Read the op-ed.

POLICY

Urgent Reminder! – The Deficit Deal Doesn’t Mean We Can Breathe a Sigh of Relief
Congress might have decided on a deficit deal that spared entitlement programs, but $1.2 trillion is slated to be slashed over the next decade and another round of cuts is coming at the end of 2011. That means that now is the time to advocate for our work as a sector and to let the public and congress know that what we do is essential for our nation’s wellbeing and success. Read more in the Chronicle of Philanthropy.  Also, access the Assembly’s brief on messaging and framing that can help you to make the case.

State Budget Cuts Are Unnecessarily Harmful
Of the 47 states with newly enacted budgets that started July 1, 2011, 38 or more states are making deep, identifiable cuts in K-12 education, higher education, health care, or other key areas in their budgets for fiscal year 2012. 37 plan to spend less on services in 2012 than they spent in 2008 – in some cases, much less.  Read more at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.  Also, read a new report from the National Conference of State Legislatures looking at how consolidation of state entities is impacting vital services.

RESOURCES

Toolkit Can Help Coordinate City and CBO Efforts to Keep Kids in Class City leaders can play an important role in improving school attendance by using the bully pulpit to promote public awareness and by galvanizing public and nonprofit resources to address the root causes of student absenteeism, starting early as kindergarten.  Attendance Works has released A Toolkit for City Leaders that can guide officials through what works.  The kit includes: The imperative for city leaders to address chronic absence early in a child’s school career Five strategies to lead the community and school systems in improving attendance. Profiles of cities and selected programs that show how chronic absence can be reduced effectively. Templates and tools for assessing data and identifying barriers to attendance Resources for assisting city leaders in this important work. Download the toolkit.   Check out other Attendance Works toolkits, including one for child care providers.

Moving Sale!  Get Your Copy of The Black Book for $7.50 The Assembly is moving this fall and we’d like to reduce our inventory of books before the move.  We have just under six dozen copies of Standards of Accounting and Financial Reporting for Voluntary Health and Welfare Organizations, or the Black Book.  This edition was published in 1998 by the National Assembly and the National Health Council.  You can get used copies on line for $9.99.  We are selling this still useful tool for $7.50.  No shipping.  First come—first serve.  Let us know if you’re interested.

Understanding Medicare Just Became Easier
10,000 baby boomers become eligible for Medicare every day, but research suggests that an overwhelming majority have difficulties understanding Medicare and the effects of health care reform.  A new education initiative seeks to remedy this. Visit www.medicaremadeclear.com.   Also download easy-to-use widgets from the Administration on Aging.

The Art of Effective Data Sharing
A recorded webinar from the Forum for Youth Investment sheds a spotlight on data sharing systems that help states make better decisions for young people. Discover how policy decision makers benefit from shared information systems and learn strategies for addressing common barriers to state data sharing as well as ways to make data accessible for service providers.  Watch the webinar and download related materials.

EVENTS

2011 Northeastern Region Conference
Registration is open for Center for Juvenile Justice’s northeastern conference, Changing the Face of Juvenile Justice, which will feature workshops focusing on the mental health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system, alternatives to secure juvenile detention and eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in juvenile justice.

October 1, 2011 – Manchester, NH.
Register now.

Independent Sector Annual Conference
The IS conference is where leaders go to build strong networks that help them achieve their mission. Join 1,000 of the brightest minds from nonprofits, foundations, and corporate giving programs for high impact networking and programming.  Also, be sure to sign up for one of the pre-conference programs – the public policy action institute, the NGen program for emerging leaders or the CEO track.

October 30-November 1, 2011 – Chicago, IL.
Register now.

FUNDING & OPPORTUNITIES

Grants Promote Progressive Social Change
The Funding Exchange (FEX), a network of community-based foundations, is currently accepting letters of inquiry for two grant opportunities – Social Justice Collaboration Grants support cross-issue and cross-geography coalitions  and the Bold Frontiers Grants, which is meant to expand the FEX's reach.

Deadline: September 1, 2011.
Learn more.

Funding for Employer Capacity Building
The Add Us In initiative sponsored by the Department of Labor provides support to identify and develop strategies to increase the capacity of small businesses and communities to employ youth and adults with disabilities, with a specific focus on the inclusion of underrepresented and historically excluded communities.

Fall deadline: September 2, 2011.
Learn more.

WHO Foundation Opportunities
The Women Helping Others Foundation’s $1,000 to $4,000 grants offer support for critical health programs and social services projects that give women and children the knowledge and tools they need to improve their lives.

Deadline: September 6, 2011.
Learn more.

Planning Grants to Help Community Sustainability
The Community Challenge Planning Grant Program provides support for efforts that foster reform and reduce barriers to achieving affordable, economically vital, and sustainable communities. Support is also provided for the development of affordable housing.

Deadline: September 9, 2011.
Learn more.

Grants Address Economic Literacy
The Calvin K. Kazanjian Economics Foundation provides grants to programs with national impact that promote participation in economic education and help disenfranchised youth or young adults with children learn to participate in the economic system.  Requests are reviewed two times per year.

Fall deadline: September 15, 2011.
Learn more.