December 9, 2022

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Hello Donna,

We are excited to welcome Sheila Poole, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), to our team as Vice President of External Relations in 2023! Learn more about Commissioner Poole and this new, key leadership position for APHSA in our recent press release.

Catch up on the first episodes of our latest podcast, Disrupt The Dialogue, which features BIPOC leaders in health and human services sharing their personal experiences and insights. The newest episode arrives next week! Find us on your favorite streaming platform or listen on our podcast page.

While the holidays can bring joy, they can also bring added stress for youth and adults alike. Each week during December, the University of Maryland's School of Social Work is offering resources designed to support youth, families, and providers during the holiday season with tips and resources for managing emotions as well as supporting families.

Legislative Updates

MIECHV Reauthorization Passed in the House, Awaits Senate Action


The House passed the Jackie Walorski Maternal, Infant, and Child Home Visiting (MIECHV) Reauthorization Act of 2022 (H.R. 8876) by a vote of 390-26. The legislation reauthorizes and strengthens the federal MIECHV program, which supports evidence-based home visitation to support healthy maternal and child health and development, and which is set to expire on December 16th. MIECHV will go to the Senate and is expected to be voted on next week. However, it has not yet been put on the official public schedule.


Read Bill Summary

Child and Family Well-Being

Federal Medical Assistance Percentages


The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP), Enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (eFMAP), and disaster-recovery FMAP adjustments for Fiscal Year 2024. HHS will use these rates in determining the amount of Federal matching for State medical assistance (Medicaid); Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Contingency Funds; child support collections; child care mandatory and matching funds of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF); Title IV-E foster care maintenance payments; adoption assistance payments and kinship guardianship assistance payments; and in determining the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) expenditures.


Read Notice

Rubio, Casey Introduce Helping HANDS for Families Act


Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Helping Households And Neighbors Distribute Services (HANDS) for Families Act. The bill would allow states to use funding under the MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program to create electronic portals that would connect child welfare cases with civil institutions and nonprofits ready and willing to help.


Read Bill

HHS Releases New National Guidelines for Improving Youth Mental Health Crisis Care


The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a report: National Guidelines for Child and Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Care. The report describes an urgent need to improve crisis response services for children, youth, and families and provides guidance for doing so.


Read Press Release

Updated COVID-19 Medicaid, CHIP Service Utilization Data Snapshot


The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have updated the COVID-19 Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) service utilization data. The report includes data through April 2022. The data is intended for use for programmatic purposes and not for public health surveillance.


Read Report

Employment and Economic Well-Being

USDA Releases Key Findings From SNAP E&T Pilots


The USDA recently released Considerations for Improving Participant Experiences in the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) Programs: Lessons from the SNAP E&T Pilots. Ten states participated in the pilot and implemented the projects between January 2016 and April 2019: California, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Mississippi, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. The project pilots were funded through the Agricultural Act of 2014 to develop, implement, and evaluate pilot projects to test innovative strategies to reduce dependency on and increase employment among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. Evaluation findings are presented in the final summary report and the 10 pilot-specific final reports.


Read Key Findings

FNS Shares Memo on Timely SNAP Benefit Issuance


The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) issued a memo regarding delivery of state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits within the required 30 days of application. The memo cited concerns with delays in mailing leading to decreases in timeliness.


Read Memo

Comment Periods Open on SNAP Administration


Multiple comment periods are currently open to assess the administrative need and adequacy of estimated level of burden for the administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).





Partner Updates

Advancing Social and Economic Mobility: A Report from the Next Generation of Human Services Organizations Second Cohort


A full suite of human services field-building tools and innovator resources are now available on a new website, delivering a framework with concrete action steps, insights, and ideas to help leaders as they work to amplify the agency, autonomy and dignity of people, families, and communities. Co-created by The Kresge Foundation’s second National Next Generation initiative cohort and advisors led by Leadership for a Networked World at Harvard University.


Learn more

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