Legislative Updates from The Covenant with North Carolina's Children

Provided by Stacey Massengill, NCSPA Legislative and Public Policy Committee Member

Originally Submitted by Rob Thompson, Executive Director of the Covenant with North Carolina's Children

Covenant Update - November 2, 2009

I. Impact of budget cuts
II. Finance Committee Meeting
III. Covenant Meeting, Roadshow and Revenue Workshop

I. IMPACT OF BUDGET CUTS


Over the past couple of weeks, I've been in touch with many of you to find out how budget cuts are impacting the children and families that you serve. I hope to develop a comprehensive report over the next couple of months that outlines the full impact of these cuts on NC's children. In the meantime, here's a sampling of what I've found so far:

-Level III/IV Residential Homes

Due to budget cuts to level III and IV residential homes, 40% of these extremely troubled children and youth have been discharged. Unfortunately, these kids were in residential treatment for a reason, and in most cases, families and communities don't have the ability or resources to facilitate a healthy and safe transition. If not properly treated, many of these children have the potential to hurt other kids or themselves.


Furthermore, due to cuts to Therapeutic Foster Care rates (which is where most of these kids have been referred), we've decreased our ability to absorb these children back into the community.

-Rape Crisis Centers

Rape Crisis Centers actually didn't get cut in the state budget, but have been nearly overwhelmed by the increased demand for services caused by cuts to the mental health system. Specifically, many victims of sexual abuse received mental health services through Community Support, but now that many of those services are unavailable, they are turning to one of 64 crisis centers across the state. For these crisis centers to function effectively, they must have adequate resources and training to work with the population they serve.

-Perinatal Programs

In the early 1980s, North Carolina had the worst infant mortality rate in the country. To fix this problem, we implemented a number of programs and improved our mortality rate. Unfortunely, the severe cuts in the HHS budget threaten to undermine the progress we have made. Several services that support the health of infants have already been cut, or are slated to be cut later this year. The Perinatal Outreach Program, which leads regional initiatives to improve infant care among providers, is completely eliminated (and with only five days notice). Also, the 1-800-FOR-BABY number, which provided information and referral services for parents and providers, was eliminated, despite taking 40,000 calls / year.

Fortunately, cuts to Maternity Care Coordination have been reduced from 38% to 19%, which allows us to at least keep that program up and running.

-Childhood Vaccines

Currently, the state buys vaccines and distributes them to physicians to ensure that all children are protected from common, but very harmful viruses. Unfortunately, the Legislature has cut $4.5 million out of this $19 million program, and the most recent round of administrative cuts could add to that total. While the specific ramifications on combination vaccines and vaccine schedules are very complicated, the end result of this cut is not: more kids will get sick.

II. FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Tomorrow, Nov. 3, the Senate and House Finance Committees will meet to begin discussing tax modernization. These meetings are a result of a session compromise between the Senate and the House in which the Senate agreed to postpone their demand for modernization so long as the House agreed to work on the issue during the interim. We expect Tuesday's meeting to be the first of several between now and May when the Legislature reconvenes.

We hope that this meeting is the beginning of a process that will lead to a fairer, more stable and more adequate revenue system. To ensure sufficient funds for investments in NC's kids and families, we must fix this broken system. We also know that this will be 'an uphill swim,' as a friend of mine recently put it.

As we saw last session, there are major policy differences between the two chambers. Generally speaking, the House is not sold on broadening the sales tax base to include services. The Senate, however, would like to broaden sales tax base, but would also like to reduce our reliance on the progressive income tax. (Again, this is very general - many Senators and House members don't fit this mold.) Together NC will work with (or against) both chambers to implement a good plan. In the upcoming weeks, we'll be putting out more information about components of a good plan. In the meantime, please feel free to contact us with questions.

If you'd like to attend tomorrow, the meeting begins at 10 am in room 643 of the Legislative Office Building.

III. ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEXT COVENANT MEETING -
Monday, 11/16 - 12 pm - 3 pm. We'll be going a bit longer than usual because we'll get to enjoy a Legislative Briefing from the United Way and the Justice Center for the last two hours (see below).
NCAE, 700 S. Salisbury St., Raleigh

LEGISLATIVE BRIEFINGS
Get ready for 2010 at a legislative briefing by local legislators and staff from the NC Budget & Tax Center, NC Justice Center and United Way of North Carolina. They will discuss top issues in state public policy such as:
Impacts of current economic conditions on working families and the state budget
Updates on key public efforts that support low-income workers and their families, such as the EITC, child-care subsidies, children's health insurance and affordable housing
Discussion of implementation and use of federal economic recovery funds



City/Date/Time: Fayetteville November 10 8 am-10:30 am
Host: United Way of Cumberland County
Location: Fayetteville State Rudolph Jones Student Center Room 235 - Olivia Chavis Conference Room
RSVP: Ashley Smith 910-438-1179 mailto:acsmith@unitedway-cc.org



City/Date/Time: Durham November 12 8:30 - 10:30 am
Host: United Way of the Greater Triangle


Location: Durham County Cooperative Extension 721 Foster Street


RSVP: Nate Goetz mailto:ngoetz@unitedwaytriangle.org919-463-5002

City/Date/Time: Raleigh November 16 1 pm - 3 pm
Host: NC Justice Center Covenant for NC Children United Way of NC
Location: NCAE Headquarters 700 South Salisbury Street
RSVP: http://www.unitywaync.org/calendar



City/Date/Time: Wilmington November 17 9 am - 11:30 am
Host: Cape Fear Area United Way
Location: Warwick Center at UNC Wilmington
RSVP: mailto:liveunited@cfauw.org



City/Date/Time: Rocky Mount November 18 9 am - 11:30 am
Host: United Way Tar River Region
Location: RBC Bank Campus 1515 Centura Hwy. Bldg #2
RSVP: Annette Mills (252) 937-2213, x-102 mailto:annettemills@



City/Date/Time: Hickory November 30 2 pm - 4 pm
Host: United Way of Catawba County
Location: Catawba Valley Community College Dunbar Bldg, Rm 345
RSVP: http://www.unitywaync.org/calendar



City/Date/Time: Asheville December 1 8:30 - 10:30 am
Host: United Way of Asheville and Buncombe Co.
Location: AB Tech Enka Campus Haynes Building
RSVP: mailto:Ron.Katz@unitedwayabc.org(828) 255-0696



City/Date/Time: Triad Area December 8 8:30 - 11:00 am
Host: United Way of Greater Greensboro
Location: Girl Scouts Tarheel Triad Council 8818 W. Market St., Colfax
RSVP: http://www.unitedwaync.org/calendar


"HATS OFF TO THE KIDS!" CELEBRATION
Our Children's Place invites you to help celebrate its support for the children of incarcerated women in North Carolinas.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The Carolina Inn • Old Well Room • 211 Pittsboro Street, Chapel Hill
Tickets $25; RSVP to (919) 843-2670 by Friday, November 20, 2009
Guest speaker: Ashley Lucas Doin' Time: Through the Visiting Glass