The Center for Tax and

Budget Accountability

www.ctbaonline.org
312.332.2151 (phone)
312.578.9258 (fax)
70 E. Lake St., Suite 1700
Chicago, IL 60601

February 13, 2007                                                                                WEEKLY REVIEW
 Provided through the Generous Support of the McCormick Tribune Foundation                                                          

In this issue:

COMPREHENSIVE FISCAL REFORM

Come learn about current initiatives and opportunities in Illinois

REPORT: MEDICAID FINANCING IN COOK COUNTY

State retains over $243 million intended for Cook County

REPORT: STATE OF CHILDREN'S HEALTH 2007

Children's health 'fair'; nutrition, special services and access to healthcare cited as areas of concern.

REPORT: SUPPORTIVE HOUSING RESIDENTS ACROSS ILLINOIS

Picture of supportive housing residents captured in recent report.

TALKING POINTS: FEDERAL BUDGET '08

Bush Administration's new budget proposal will increase inequality.

POVERTY GUIDELINES RELEASED

Federal government releases poverty guidelines for 2007.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Early Childhood Block Grant 0-3 Request For Proposals due March 15, 2007

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

• February 14, 2007: Immigrants and Public Benefits Training (Naperville)

• February 14, 2007: Can a Piece of Paper Keep a Battered Person Safe? Lessons From Recent Research on Orders of Protection (Chicago)

• February 16, 2007: Coalition for a Fair Budget Meeting (Chicago)

• February 22, 2007: Women and Children Last: The Impact of Food Deserts (Chicago)

• February 22, 2007: Keeping it Real Seminar (Chicago)

• February 22, 2007: Your City, Your Voice: Understanding Chicago Elections (Chicago)

• February 25-27, 2007: Anti-Hunger Policy Conference (Washington DC)

• February 28, 2007: National Association of Social Workers - IL Chapter Lobby Day (Springfield)

• March 1-May 17, 2007: Skills & Strategies for Working with Employers: Spring 2007 Course for Job Developers (Chicago)

• March 9, 2007: Chicago Jobs Council Spring Member Meeting: Workforce Development Progress & Potential for Job Seekers with Criminal Records (Chicago)

• March 14, 2007: Making the Connection: Basic Training (Naperville)

• March 27-28, 2007:Illinois Action for Children's Annual Conference and Lobby Day: Spring Into Action 2007 (Springfield)

• April 12, 2007: Understanding the Public Benefits Appeal Process Training (Naperville)

• April 12, 2007: Understanding Spenddown Training (Naperville)

• April 19, 2007: Early Childhood Lobby Day (Springfield)

• May 17, 2007: Making the Connection: Basic Training (Naperville)

COMPREHENSIVE FISCAL REFORM  

COME LEARN ABOUT CURRENT INITIATIVES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN ILLINOIS

COALITION FOR A FAIR BUDGET (CFB)

More than five years ago a large statewide coalition of human service, health and education providers, advocates and community leaders came together to stop a budget-slashing train wreck. Forming the Coalition for a Fair Budget, CFB laid out a case AGAINST cutting health and human service funding, shortchanging education and pitting vital services against one another. That case was FOR looking at revenue alternatives and comprehensive fiscal reform of the way Illinois generates revenue and meets its funding obligations.

Since then, that case has been made again and again by an array of partners in education, human services, labor and health care.

AND THE TIDE IS TURNING!!!

• Legislative leaders from both Chambers and both parties are talking about the need for new revenue. So is business.

• The structural deficit is being discussed across the state.

• Crises in school funding, pensions, Medicaid, human services and infrastructure can no longer be ignored.

• New programs including Preschool for All and universal health insurance require funding.

SO WHERE ARE THINGS TODAY?

What is the status of the 750 plan for a comprehensive solution to the state’s fiscal crisis?

What about the expenditure side, especially human services, education and health care?

What is the plan for the 2007 legislative session?

What does it mean for you and your organization?

Friday, February 16 - 10:00 a.m. to noon

Metropolitan Family Services, 1 N. Dearborn, 10^th Fl., Chicago

If you have questions or to RSVP, contact Phyllis Russell  (prussell@ctbaonline.org).

After February 2, call 312-332-8508.  Click here to view a flyer.

REPORT: MEDICAID FINANCING IN COOK COUNTY

STATE RETAINS OVER $243 MILLION INTENDED FOR COOK COUNTY

The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (CTBA) is pleased to announce the release of a report on Medicaid financing at Cook County.

The report, The State of Illinois Shortchanges Cook County on Federal Medicaid Payments, finds that the State, in effect, retains more than $243 million annually in federal Medicaid funds which Congress specifically intended for local safety-net providers like Cook County. These federal funds are intended to help cover a portion of the County’s indigent health care costs. Following the “Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000” – or simply “BIPA” – the State is required to distribute all the federal funds appropriated under section 701(d) ($375 million each year) to the Cook County hospitals. However, the State, in effect, retains 65% of these federal BIPA funds, distributing only 35%, or $131 million, to Cook County, contrary to federal law.

Click here for the full report.

Click here to view a one-page summary of the report's findings.

For more detailed information, contact Heather O'Donnell at (312) 332-1348 or hodonnell@ctbaonline.org. 

 

report: sTATE OF cHILDREN'S HEALTH 2007

CHILDREN'S HEALTH IN 'FAIR' CONDITION, VOICES FOR ILLINOIS CHILDREN REPORTS

Monday, February 5th, Voices for Illinois Children (VIC) released "Kids Count 2007: The State of Children's Health," their annual report offering analyses of children's health conditions across Illinois.

See the executive summary. VIC also opened a searchable Internet database of the most recently available statewide and country-level data on children’s health.

According to the report, there are eight important categories used to assess regional health. Here is a brief summary of the results:

General child health: Fair. 83% of children have an overall health assessment of “excellent.”

Early childhood health: Good. Nearly 86% of women receive prenatal care during their first trimester.
Developmental and mental health: Serious. Rates of psychoses and suicide are rising amongst children.

Weight and physical activity: Critical. About one-third of toddlers in the Women, Infants and Children program, third graders, and 10-to-17 year olds are overweight or at-risk of being overweight.
Sexual health: Fair. The teen birth rate has improved 11% over the past five years.

Deaths and Injuries: Good. Infant mortality has decreased 19% over the past ten years; child abuse and neglect has improved nearly 28% in the past eight years.

Environmental and community health: Fair. 49 of Illinois' 102 counties have moderate to high releases of toxic chemicals, but fewer children – 78% less — are being found with lead poisoning.

Health coverage and access: Serious. Only 25% of dentists and 16% of psychologists and psychiatrists are participating in Medicaid.

The most critical areas of concern are child weight and nutrition; the complexity of health challenges faced by children with developmental disabilities, and social and emotional difficulties; and lack of access to medical care, specifically in areas of dental and psychological care.

The "Kids Count 2007" report provides a foundation for improvement as it furthers understanding of children's quality of life and encourages discussion of solutions.

View the full report or search the database: Voices for Illinois Children

REPORT: SUPPORTIVE HOUSING RESIDENTS ACROSS ILLINOIS

NEWLY RELEASED STUDY PRESENTS INITIAL FINDINGS ON SUPPORTIVE HOUSING RESIDENTS

On February 6th, 2007, the Supportive Housing Providers Association (SHPA) and the Mid-American Institute on Poverty of Heartland Alliance (MAIP) released a cost study entitled "Snapshot of Supportive Housing Residents Across Illinois". The study captures information on 476 supportive housing residents from 11 different counties, and focuses on the change in service use and the cost of public services used by residents two years before entering supportive housing and two years after.

This first report from the Study of Supportive Housing in Illinois, aims to raise awareness of barriers to stable housing, and highlight the effectiveness of "affordable housing coupled with supportive services" in breaking the cycle of homelessness.

Programs designed to help residents remain housed and achieve long-term housing stability deal
with issue areas such as mental illness, drug and alcohol use, incarceration, and physical disability. Research has shown that supportive housing can "reduce [the] use of expensive public crisis services such as emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitals, jails, and substance use treatment programs."

For more information on this study or on supportive housing in Illinois, please contact:

Helen Edwards, Mid-America Poverty Institute; or Janet Hasz, Supportive Housing Providers Association.
 

TALKING POINTS: FEDERAL BUDGET '08

BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S FY 2008 BUDGET PROPOSAL TO WIDEN THE GAP

The Bush Administration's FY08 Budget, introduced Monday, February 5th, proposes changes that could have serious implications for working families across the nation.

Here is a short list of the proposal's recommendations:

► $102 billion in cuts over five years to Medicare and Medicaid, including regulatory and administrative program changes. The suggested reduction in coverage of children in working families by both Medicaid and SCHIP is complete turn-around from the bipartisan, federal-state commitment to reduce the number of uninsured children in the United States.

► $392 billion in appropriations for education, housing, the environment and other programs requiring annual appropriations -- this is $13 billion less than what it would take to keep up with the cost of inflation.

►  $1.78 billion cut to the Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program -- a 44% cut from the FY2006 level -- even as the cost of heating oil has risen 44%, natural gas 32% and electricity more than 17%.

► Elimination of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which provides nutritional help to approximately 459,000 low-income elders and more than 50,000 mothers and children.

► $500 million cut to the Social Services Block Grant, despite the reality that the FY06 increase to assist hurricane survivors has not effectively met their needs. Elimination of the Community Services Block Grant, which supports 1,100 community action agencies. Over $1 billion cut from the Community Development Block Grant.

► Complete elimination of Perkins loans, which serve 460,000 students seeking higher education; elimination of the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Programs, which cost $771 million on FY 2006.

► Massive budget cuts for housing for low-income seniors and people with disabilities -- ranging from nearly one-quarter to nearly one-half of previous funding levels.

► A total of 141 government programs are to be eliminated or sharply reduced.

► During FY08, persons with incomes of a million or more will receive $55 billion from tax cuts enacted since 2001.

► 11% increase in funding for the Department of Defense -- for a total of $716.5 billion.

Despite the reduction in appropriations and program cuts, the Bush Administration's proposal is projected to raise the national deficit by $1.9 trillion over the next ten years.

Find out what other policy advocates are saying. Read Robert Greenstein's report, "Despite the Rhetoric, Budget Would Make Nation's Fiscal Problems Worse and Further Widen Inequality".
Or the Coalition for Human Needs report, "The Bush Budget, Less Help for People in Need; Needless Help for Those with High Incomes".

 

POVERTY GUIDELINES 2007

2007 FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES RELEASED

The Federal Department of Health and Human Services recently released its poverty guidelines for 2007. Poverty guidelines are issued each year for use by administrators, for example, to determine financial eligibility for means-based federal programs.

2007 HHS Poverty Guidelines

SOURCE:  Federal Register, Vol. 72, No. 15, January 24, 2007, pp. 3147–3148

ANNOUNCEMENT

EARLY CHILDHOOD BLOCK GRANT 0-3 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS DUE MARCH 15, 2007

The Request for Proposals (RFP) for new applicants to apply for Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) Birth to Three funding is now available from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), along with instructions on how to apply.

Click here to view the RFP.  Click here to download attachments.

To view a complete list of current RFPs, as well as past RFPs and additional resources useful for submitting proposals, click here. 

RFPs are available in English and Spanish.

Take care to read the instructions for applying for new funds carefully.  There is information on how to complete the RFP as well as technical assistance available from ISBE.  The deadline for new applicants to apply is March 15, 2007 by 4:00 pm.  Contact the ISBE Division of Early Childhood if you have questions about the RFP process:

• 100 N. First, E-225
  Springfield, IL 62777
  (217) 524-4835
  www.isbe.net/earlychi

If you are within the City of Chicago, contact Dr. Christine Ryan at 773-535-3245 or cryan@cps.k12.il.us. 

For more information, please contact the ISBE Division of Early Childhood at (217) 524-4835 or Christine Wilson with Action for Children at (773) 697-6134.
 

UPCOMING EVENTS

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE TODAY

WHAT? Immigrants and Public Benefits Training

WHEN? Wednesday, February 14, 2007, 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM

WHERE? 1120 E. Diehl Road, Naperville

This training is part of the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform workshop series, Making the Connection: Accessing Public Benefits for Low Income Persons.  For more information, to learn about other workshops, and to register, click here.

WHAT? Can a Piece of Paper Keep a Battered Person Safe? Lessons From Recent Research on Orders of Protection

WHEN? Wednesday, February 14, 2007, 2:15 PM - 4:30 PM

WHERE? DePaul Center, Room 8005, One East Jackson Blvd., Chicago

Click here for more information.

WHAT? Domestic Violence and Public Benefits Training

WHEN? Wednesday, February 14, 2007, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

WHERE? 1120 E. Diehl Road, Naperville

This training is part of the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform workshop series, Making the Connection: Accessing Public Benefits for Low Income Persons.  For more information, to learn about other workshops, and to register, click here.

WHAT? Coalition for a Fair Budget Meeting

WHEN? Friday, February 16, 2007, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

WHERE? Metropolitan Family Services, 1 N. Dearborn, 10th Fl., Chicago

For more information, click here to view the flyer.

WHAT? Women and Children Last: The Impact of Food Deserts

WHEN? Thursday, February 22, 2007, 8:30 AM - 10:00 PM

WHERE? Chicago Urban League, 4510 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Click here for more information.

WHAT? Keeping it Real Seminar

WHEN? Thursday, February 22, 2007, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

WHERE? Grace Place, 637 S. Dearborn

This seminar will highlight innovative programs designed to help integrate individuals with criminal records into the fabric of communities, through employment, training, and entrepreneurship programs.  RSVP at 312-427-8070 by February 15th. 

WHAT? Your City, Your Voice: Understanding Chicago Elections

WHEN? Thursday, February 22, 2007, 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM

WHERE? Erie Neighborhood House, 1347 West Erie Street, Chicago, Illinois 60622

For more information, click here to view a flyer.
 

WHAT? Anti-Hunger Policy Conference

WHEN? February 25-27, 2007

WHERE? Washington Court Hotel, Capitol Hill, 525 New Jersey Ave, NW, Washington, D.C.

Click here for more information.

WHAT? National Association of Social Workers - IL Chapter Lobby Day

WHEN? Wednesday, February 28, 2007

WHERE? Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield, IL

Click here for more information.

WHAT? Skills & Strategies for Working with Employers: Spring 2007 Course for Job Developers

WHEN? March 1 - May 17, 2007

WHERE? Chicago Jobs Council, 29 East Madison, Suite 1700, Chicago

Click here for more information.

WHAT? Moving From Poverty to Opportunity: Madison County Action Forum

WHEN? Saturday, March 3, 2007, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

WHERE? St. Mary & St. Mark Catholic Church, Engelbert Hall, 1621 10th St., Madison

For more information, contact Doug Schenkelberg, Associate Director of Policy Mid-America Institute on Poverty of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, at 773.728.5960 x6284. Click here to see the flyer.

WHAT? Chicago Jobs Council Spring Member Meeting: Workforce Development Progress & Potential for Job Seekers with Criminal Records

WHEN? Friday, March 9, 2007, 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM

WHERE? University Center, Loop/River Room, 525 S. State Street, Chicago

For more information, click here to view the flyer.

WHAT? Making the Connection: Basic Training

WHEN? Wednesday, March 14, 2007, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

WHERE? 1120 E. Diehl Road, Naperville

This training is part of the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform workshop series, Making the Connection: Accessing Public Benefits for Low Income Persons.  For more information, to learn about other workshops, and to register, click here.

WHAT? Illinois Action for Children's Annual Conference and Lobby Day: Spring Into Action 2007

WHEN? Tuesday, March 27 and Wednesday, March 28, 2007

WHERE? President A. Lincoln Hotel in Springfield

For more information, contact Nicole Bonilla at 773-697-6132 or bonillan@actforchildren.org

WHAT? Understanding the Public Benefits Appeal Process Training

WHEN? Wednesday, April 12, 2007, 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM

WHERE? 1120 E. Diehl Road, Naperville

This training is part of the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform workshop series, Making the Connection: Accessing Public Benefits for Low Income Persons.  For more information, to learn about other workshops, and to register, click here.

WHAT? Understanding Spenddown Training

WHEN? Wednesday, April 12, 2007, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

WHERE? 1120 E. Diehl Road, Naperville

This training is part of the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform workshop series, Making the Connection: Accessing Public Benefits for Low Income Persons.  For more information, to learn about other workshops, and to register, click here.

WHAT? Early Childhood Lobby Day

WHEN? Thursday, April 19, 2007, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

WHERE? Springfield

Join the Ounce of Prevention Fund and Healthy Families Illinois for an Early Childhood Lobby Day. Background materials, training, a box lunch, and transportation from Chicago to Springfield will be provided. For more information, contact Rashanda Perryman at 312-922-3863 ext. 3353.
 

WHAT? Making the Connection: Basic Training

WHEN? Wednesday, May 17, 2007, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

WHERE? 1120 E. Diehl Road, Naperville

This training is part of the DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform workshop series, Making the Connection: Accessing Public Benefits for Low Income Persons.  For more information, to learn about other workshops, and to register, click here.

For any questions on information contained in this Weekly Review,
or to JOIN OUR MAILING LIST, please contact Valerie Chepp at:
312.332.2151, vchepp@ctbaonline.org