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The United States has a rich tradition of diverse public and private organizations
working together and independently to meet the health and human service
needs of its citizens. Regardless of their auspices - public, nonprofit,
for-profit, or faith-based -organizations involved in this work and the
services they provide are affected by government policies at all levels.
The National Assembly is an association of national nonprofit health and human service organizations. As a community of leadership organizations with great depth and expertise in human services, it is our responsibility to inform the national discussion of human needs and human services. We lend to these discussions knowledge and experience that member organizations and their local affiliates have gained from working with people in diverse circumstances in communities large and small across America.
The issues that comprise this health and human services policy agenda are
among those the National Assembly views as particularly pressing and vital
to establishing a more just and effective system of preventing problems
where possible and addressing human needs where necessary. There are two
clusters of issues addressed in this agenda: those which meet essential
human needs and foster human development: and those which support an effective
service-delivery system or infrastructure. The two clusters, the issues
they include, and a summary description of the Assembly position for each
follows. The specific Assembly principle and policy position for each
issue is summarized in the succeeding section.
The fact that we address a number of seemingly distinct issues in this public policy agenda reflects the reality that public programs, policies, and funding streams are fragmented around bureaucracies, populations, and social problems. An overarching concern of the Assembly is that policymakers recognize the interrelatedness of the issues and begin to bridge these artificial boundaries in ways that weave together multiple strategies and resources to build human capital and strong and caring communities.
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The principles and position statements that follow are the result of the
collective expertise of diverse members of the National Assembly. They
are the positions of the National Assembly not of every individual member
of the Assembly. Each member organizations determines what positions and
what actions, if any, it will take relative to public policy.
The National Assembly of Health & Human Service Organizations supports the following public policy agenda:
Poverty
Principle
The purpose of public welfare policies and programs must be to help individuals and families achieve and maintain economic self-sufficiency and family well being and, in so doing, to reduce poverty.
Public Policy Position
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and related programs should help families achieve economic independence and child and family well being.
Employment and Training
Principle
Every individual who has the ability to work, at whatever level, should have access to training and job-related services that will enable him/her to obtain and retain employment equal to his/her to obtain and retain employment equal to his/her abilities and sufficient to support a decent standard of living.
Public Policy Position
The federal government should link policy. Planning, and the delivery of workforce development, workforce investment, rehabilitation, welfare and related services to maximize their collective ability to help participants achieve and maintain self-sufficiency and family economic success.
Affordable Housing
Principle
All Americans have a right to adequate and affordable housing.
Public Policy Position
The federal government should ensure that low-income people, elderly persons on limited incomes and people with disabilities have access to adequate and affordable housing by investing in the production, rehabilitation, and financing of affordable, accessible housing stock.
Child
Care
Principle
Affordable, accessible child care is a necessity for children of
working parents, especially those who cannot afford care at market rates
or for whom quality care is not available. Quality is an essential criterion
as children progress developmentally.
Public Policy Position
The public and private sectors at all levels must work individually and collectively to ensure the availability of affordable, quality child care to all children who need it. The federal government, in particular, must advance and sustain policies and programs that create an environment in which the various sectors do their part and work collaboratively. Additionally, the federal government should develop and sustain funding adequate to meet the need.
Health Care
Principle
Quality health care should be accessible to all people, regardless of economic, language, or cultural barriers .
Public Policy Position
The federal government should establish and sustain policies and programs that enable all people, including people of low or limited income and people of different cultures or who speak languages other than English, to readily access appropriate, affordable, quality health care.
Mental Health
Principle
People with, or at risk of mental disorders or addictive disorders must be afforded access to needed treatment and other services on the same basis, and subject to the same terms and conditions, as care and services for medical and surgical conditions.
Public Policy Position
The federal government must ensure that public and private health plans afford people equitable access to and reimbursement for needed mental health care and addiction services without regard to the severity or cause of their mental health problems.
Youth Development (after school/out-of-school)
Principle
Recognizing children and youth for the assets they are and possess and involving them in activities which build and strengthen those assets benefit young people, families, and communities more effectively than problem-focused strategies and provide resources for community-driven positive youth development strategies and programs.
Public Policy Position
Congress should enact legislation that provides for a national positive youth development policy. This legislation should help shape all programs affecting youth around common positive resources for community-driven positive youth development strategies and programs.
Education for Children & Youth with Disabilities
Principle
All Children, including children and youth with disabilities, should be able to receive a public education that meets their needs.
Public Policy Position
The federal government should provide funding sufficient to cover all children and youth qualified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Care & Services for the Elderly
Principle
Every older American should be able to live as independently as he or she is capable and receive high-quality care, regardless of means, when and where s/he needs it.
Public Policy Position
The federal government should support programs and policies that ensure that care for the elderly is accessible, coordinated, and of the highest quality and that responds to the desires of elderly Americans to remain in their homes or communities of choice, living with dignity and at the highest level of their abilities as ling as they possibly can.
Choice & Effectiveness of Services
Principle
Americans have the right to choose health and human service providers, regardless of their affiliation, and to expect and receive the best, most effective services available.
Public Policy Position
The rights of American to receive effective accountable services and of taxpayers to expect and receive full accountability for publicly funded programs must be of primary consideration in the use of government funds for health and human services.
Incentives for Charitable Giving
Principle
Nonprofit organizations, which compromise a significant portion of the American system of heath and human services, are and should continue to be supported by a combination of public resources and voluntary donations and efforts .
Public Policy Position
The federal government should provide incentives for charitable giving and voluntary efforts that complement but do not replace government expenditures. Incentives for chartable giving should be available for people at all economic levels.
National & Community Service
Principle
National and community service programs should enhance and supplement the effective delivery of health and human services and build the capacities of communities and organizations as they foster civic involvement.
Public Policy Position
The corporation for National and Community Service and other federal sponsors of community service should incorporate partnership, innovation, and flexibility in their relationship with organizational grantees at all levels; and should bridge programs and grant-makers mechanisms to achieve the best possible outcomes for people and communities served.
Protecting Consumers of Human Services
Principle
Consumers of health and human services must be treated with dignity, respect, and fairness and be safe from mistreatment or abuse in receiving heath and human services.
Public Policy Position
Congress should enact legislation that makes it possible for health and human services providers to hire qualified staff and to undertake background checks on prospective employees and volunteers for the protection of vulnerable service recipients. Such legislation should enable service providers to conduct background check in a timely and cost-effective manner with access to criminal records in all jurisdictions in the U.S.
Long Term Care Providers
Principle
Continuity and quality in care-giving personnel are essential elements of long-term care for children and adults.
Public Policy Position
The federal government should promote
efforts to increase training and compensation for workforce (long-term)
caregivers as well as other incentives to improve recruitment, retention,
and career advancement for caregivers.
Initiatives & Coalitions
| Family Strengthening Policy Center |
| IMPACT: A Fund for Change Through Volunteerism |