June 12, 2020
Greetings!
Our latest blog post about utilizing a race equity lens, written by APHSA’s Phil Basso is the latest in a series on stories of resilience during COVID-19. As with the pandemic, our aim is to collaborate with our partners and highlight innovative solutions within human services to work toward a future state where one’s racial identity has no influence on how they fare in society. Phil shares what we are hearing from our partner agencies and communities about working toward overcoming racial inequities and what we can do to continue this necessary work, so that Black individuals and people of color can have equitable access to a supportive system, learning environment, and workplace. We invite you to share your own stories of how you are working toward a racially equitable workplace with us too.
Child and Family Well-Being
ACF Updates List of Waiver Approvals
The Office of Child Care within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has released an updated list of approved child care waivers related to COVID-19. The table summarizes 39 waiver approvals by state and provisions; the list is up to date as of June 8, 2020. The Office of Child Care has not released any waivers that have been denied but will continue to update the table with approvals.

Children's Bureau Releases Guidance on CFSR/CQI Processes During COVID-19
The Children’s Bureau (CB) within the Administration for Children and Families has released guidance on case reviews that includes tips and resources to prepare state reviewers for case reviews for the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR) and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) efforts, how to train quality assurance staff and reviewers for working remotely, and conducting remote interviews due to COVID-19. 

Employment and Economic Well-Being
SNAP 2020 E&T National Forum
USDA is is hosting the first-ever Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) National Forum. The conference will bring together SNAP E&T stakeholders from across the country to share and learn best practices for promoting and increasing employment among SNAP households through state SNAP E&T programs. To expand participation, the Forum will be a hybrid event; meaning that there will be an option to attend in person, or virtually.

October 13-14, 2020 | St. Louis, MO
SNAP-Ed Program Q&A
The USDA Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) recently released a new set of Questions and Answers for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) implementation during the COVID-19 outbreak. The document addresses FNS’s expectations for the program and addresses various intervention methods such as online activities and telecommunication. It also includes a list of a variety of approved and safe examples of SNAP-Ed activities.

FNS Details State Flexibilities for SNAP MEs
Each year, state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ( SNAP) agencies are required to conduct Management Evaluations (ME), but the USDA Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) has released this memo to detail some state flexibility options to make MEs manageable during the COVID-19 pandemic. The memo includes allowable adaptations such as switching certain procedures from in-person to remote, alternative review schedules that states may request, and allowable changes to target areas for FY2020.

ACF Issues Final Rule: “Child Support Technical Corrections”
On Tuesday, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) issued a final rule, “Child Support Technical Corrections.” The rule addresses President Trump’s directives in Executive Order 13771,  Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs and Executive Order 13777 on Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda . The rule makes conforming amendments to the regulations as a result of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-123) and eliminates outdated and unnecessary provisions. Additionally, this regulation provides policy clarifications and revises regulations to provide more timely wage information used for location and enforcement purposes.

FNS Opens Request for Proposals for E&T DATA Grants
On Wednesday, the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) posted a request for applications for FY 2020 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) Data and Technical Assistance (DATA) Grants. The purpose of the grant competition is to support the development of state SNAP E&T data collection and reporting systems. FNS plans to award $3 million in FY 2020 for the SNAP E&T DATA Grants. Applications are due by July 13.

From Our APHSA Partners
U.S. Census Bureau Count All Kids Campaign
The U.S. Census Bureau has started the Count All Kids Campaign to ensure every child is counted in 2020. Unfortunately, the 2010 census missed more than 10 percent of young children – one of every ten children aged 0-4, or about 2.2 million children. When young children are missed in the census it has serious consequences for them, their families, their communities and our nation – with many of those consequences lasting for at least 10 years (for most of their childhood). Some young children aren't counted because they live in households that are more likely to be missed or adults may not realize that babies, toddlers and young children are supposed to be included in the Census. The Count All Kids Campaign has a variety of resources on their site, including messaging and outreach for kids, that can help states and counties make sure that all children in their community are counted.

New Data Shows Essential Workers are More Likely to Rely on SNAP
A new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) found that over 13% of workers deemed essential during the COVID-19 pandemic rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program, as compared to less than 8% of non-essential workers. Additionally, Black, Hispanic, and Native American essential workers are about twice as likely to rely on SNAP as their White counterparts.

Upcoming Webinars & Events
Social Services Preparedness in Times of Crisis
Join the European Social Services (ESN) and Accenture to share and exchange activities at European and international levels in crisis preparedness plans for public social services. The aim will be to add value to the efforts of single countries to strengthen their capacities and ensure coordinated support when faced with crises. Future preparedness planning and continuity plans are essential to respond effectively to public health emergencies. This involves addressing the regulatory framework that aims to support those services as well as the training of the professionals involved.

Tuesday, June 16, 9:00 AM EST
Using Data to Identify Changes in Child Welfare Referrals and Screening in the Era of COVID-19
Join Mathematica along with the Centre for Social Data Analytics (CSDA) and the Children’s Data Network, who are convening a group of experts and staff of county child welfare agencies using data from predictive risk models to understand recent changes in the reporting and screening of child abuse and neglect. Learn more about how three counties are using data and predictive risk models to understand the changing child welfare landscape and inform the way they serve children and families in an unprecedented public health crisis.

Tuesday, June 16, 3:00-4:00 PM EST
COVID-19 Future Planning for the Homelessness Response System
Join the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness along with leaders from Houston, Los Angeles, and Seattle/King County as they share lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it's impacting long-term planning for the homelessness response system.

Wednesday, June 17, 2:00 PM EST
State HIT Connect Virtual 'Mini-Series'
Healthcare IT Connect will host the 2020 State HIT Connect 'Virtual Webinar Mini-Series' over the next six months, providing a collaborative opportunity for public and private stakeholders to address core themes and topics during this public health crisis period. The next webinar in the series is: "Bringing it All Together, Real-Time Clinical Data Consolidation for the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond." The New York Dept. of Health and Amazon Web Services will share experiences in solving the challenges of expedient data aggregation to bring meaningful data to public health jurisdictions for data-driven policy management and improved citizen outcomes.
 
Thursday, June 18, 2020
Building Skills for Cross-Cultural Communication and Resilience During COVID-19
Join the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network for a workshop that explores stereotypes, biases, and disparities related to COVID-19. Participants will gain skills to recognize and interrupt bias in a compassionate manner using tools for cross-cultural communication. COVID-19 has added to the way many of us see the world through different lenses. Differences in our worldview perspectives can cause disconnection and lead to a lack of resilience. At the same time, our ability to help each other is the main tool that we have in these difficult times.

Monday, June 22, 6:00 PM EST
2Gen COVID-19 Webinar Series: Building a Response for the Future
Join the Aspen Institute for their last webinar in a series to learn more about what we can do today to build a stronger, equitable future for children and the adults in their lives.

Tuesday, June 30, 3:00-4:00 PM EST
Boosting Upward Mobility: Metrics to Inform Local Action
Join the Urban Institute for a discussion about how evidence-informed metrics can help communities and local decisionmakers catalyze and prioritize efforts to boost upward mobility. They will share a preliminary set of metrics that build on the work of the U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty and reflect its expansive definition of mobility, which incorporates economic success, power and autonomy, and being valued in one’s community. Speakers will share lessons from research and practice about the potential of metrics to shape strategies that improve outcomes for people and communities.

Tuesday, June 16, 2:00-3:00 PM EST
APHSA Career Center - Post Your Open Positions Today

APHSA serves as a clearinghouse for job opportunities throughout the health and human services (H/HS) field. Employers reach a wide audience of candidates looking for careers in H/HS and job seekers will find a bevy of opportunities throughout the country.