October 29, 2021
Greetings!
We teamed with the Urban Institute for our latest research report, Documenting Pandemic EBT for the 2020–21 School Year, detailing state SNAP administrators’ experience with planning for and implementing Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) in the 2020-2021 school year. It analyzes the challenges state administrators faced in launching this new program, as well as reflects on considerations for the future.
Our latest blog post: Improving Emergency Nutrition Response for Families: State Perspectives on P-EBT Implementation from the 2020-21 School Year, is by Elaine Waxman and Poonam Gupta of the Income and Benefits Policy Center at the Urban Institute. This is the latest in our new Catalyst blog series taking a detailed look at the American Rescue Plan and the ways in which we can leverage it to strengthen the resiliency of our public health and human services infrastructure.
Check out the second episode of our new podcast series, Our Dream Deferred: Fulfilling the Nation’s Promise. We are joined by Derrik Anderson, Executive Director, Race Matters for Juvenile Justice for a wide-ranging conversation, covering the historical lens we need to take to explore policies, their impacts on systems and institutions, and the biases they can lead to. You can find us on your preferred streaming platform by searching for “Our Dream Deferred” or our podcast page. Catch us every Tuesday, share with your network, write us a review - and send us your feedback and questions!
Legislative Updates
Updated Build Back Better Legislation Revealed

On Thursday, the House Rules committee released revised text for the “Build Back Better” social spending agenda. The amended legislation reflects negotiations between Democrats, trimming the original $3.5 trillion spending proposal to $1.75 trillion. The updated bill includes several key human services-related provisions, including a birth-to-five child care program, universal pre-k, summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), and extension of the child tax credit and earned income tax credit. Democrats will now seek to expedite the bill for passage through the House and Senate through the budget reconciliation process. APHSA is preparing a detailed breakdown of everything you need to know about the key provisions impacting human services agencies, and we will post it on our website and share it in a future edition of this newsletter.

Child and Family Well-Being
IV-E Prevention Service Clearinghouse Releases New Ratings

The Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse has announced ratings on 13 new programs. One program was found to be “well-supported,” two were found to be “supported,” and three were found to be “promising,” including a re-review of Ohio’s Kinship Supports Intervention/ProtectOHIO, the first kinship navigator program to be favorable rated by the Clearinghouse in 3 years. A total of 7 programs were found to “not meet criteria."

Employment and Economic Well-Being
Request for Caseload Data for Children in Foster Homes Receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) issued TANF-ACF-PI-2021-07 regarding Form ACF-4125, Children in foster homes and children in families receiving payments in excess of the poverty income limit from a state funded under Part A Of Title IV of Social Security Act. ACF is requesting caseload data for October 2021 be submitted using Form ACF-4125 by December 31 in excel format.

USDA Opens Funding Opportunity for Broadband in Rural Communities

The USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announced that it will be accepting applications for the FY22 Rural eConnectivity Program (the ReConnect Program) beginning on November 24, and due on February 22, 2022. This opportunity is focusing on assisting rural communities in recovery and resilience.

FNS Requests Comment on SNAP Benefit Expungement Procedure

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) opened a comment period to collect information on expungement procedures for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The collection involved a new collection which provides SNAP households advance or concurrent notice prior to the state agency expunging benefits after 9 months of non-use, and an existing collection for providing notice of storing benefits offline after 3 months of non-activity. Comments are due by December 28.

Upcoming Events
Information Session: SNAP to Skills State Technical Assistance Opportunity

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service Office of Employment and Training and the SNAP to Skills (S2S) Team will host an information session to share more about the current S2S Project, the type of technical assistance that will be offered to States, and the process for requesting support. S2S is designed to provide states the technical assistance, tools, and resources they need to build more effective and job-driven Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Education & Training programs.

Wednesday, November 10, 12:00-1:00 PM EST
APHSA Leadership Corner

Join us for our next edition of our Leadership Corner series. In Advancing a Strong Social and Economic Future for Black and Brown Families in the South, we will learn with Renata Soto, a nationally recognized leader and champion for partnering with immigrant families and communities, to realize a better social and economic future across generations.

Tuesday, November 16, 2:00 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.