Wednesday, December 5, 2001

Thursday, December 6, 2001

Friday, December 7, 2001

Wednesday, December 5, 2001

8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Registration

 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

An estimated 10,000 children lost a parent in the terrorist attacks on September 11th. In addition, one in ten children in the United States suffer from some form of disruptive mental illness, but many go unidentified or untreated. These two sessions will address key state considerations related to children's mental health needs and how children cope with violence.

Calming the Chaos: Responding to the Mental Health Needs of Children
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Experts have agreed that local and state resources lack the capacity to handle the long-term mental health needs of victims of catastrophic, mass-casualty disasters. This session will explore funding options (such as Medicaid and SCHIP) and the state role in planning for and responding to children's mental health needs, especially in light of the recent terrorist attacks.

Speaker: James Mayer, M.P.P., Executive Director, Little Hoover Commission
Moderator: Elaine Zimmerman, Executive Director, Connecticut Commission on Children

Identifying and Intervening with Troubled Kids
3:15 pm - 4:30 pm

Amid growing concerns around youth violence and aggression, state legislatures are increasing efforts to intervene with troubled kids at home, school, and in the community -- before it is too late. This session will address effective approaches and new state initiatives to provide needed services.

Moderator: Elaine Zimmerman, Executive Director, Connecticut Commission on Children

4:45 pm - 6:00 pm

ASI Steering Committee

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Opening Reception, Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill

Thursday, December 6, 2001

7:00 am - 6:00 pm

Registration

7:30 am - 8:30 am

Continental Breakfast

8:00 am - 10:00 am

Congressional Overview
Cosponsored with AFI Human Services Committee
This session will address congressional actions on welfare (TANF) reauthorization, economic stimulus and budget bills.

Congressional Overview
Cosponsored with the AFI Health Committee
This session will address congressional actions affecting health care policy.

10:15 am - 12:00 pm

Medicaid: Hot Topics
Cosponsored with AFI Health Committee
With Medicaid again on the front burner, states will focus their attention on a variety of topics. This session will examine critical Medicaid issues, including elderly and financing.

Child Care Issues
Cosponsored with AFI Human Services Committee
This session will look at federal reauthorization of the primary child care funding stream, the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and the key policy implications for states.

12:15 pm - 1:45 pm

The security steps the country has taken since the September 11^th terrorist attacks and the role of state governments in this national effort is the focus of this session.

Speaker: The Honorable Tom Ridge, Director, Office of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C.

2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

Health workforce shortages are hitting states across the country. Rural and urban areas are facing shortages in many types of workers, including registered nurses, pharmacists, dentists and others. This session will provide an overview of health workforce challenges and speakers will describe federal and state resources and strategies designed to address these critical shortages.

3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

This session will explore the current status of marriage and families in the nation, including child support as it relates to families and fathers. Approximately half of all children will spend time in a single parent home, divided between those parents who are separated or divorced and those parents who never married.

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Reception at Union Station

Friday, December 7, 2001

7:30 am - 1:00 pm

Registration

7:30 am - 8:30 am

Continental Breakfast

8:30 am - 10:30 am

The State Legislatures' Response to Terrorism
Sponsor: National Legislative Services and Security Association

Legislatures will tackle many tough aspects of the recent terrorist events in the next legislative session including: protecting water, electricity and natural gas supplies and infrastructure; maintaining fire and police forces as National Guard and reservists are called up for duty; and defining the crimes related to terrorism and the appropriate penalties. This session will examine these issues, explain how terrorists think about public buildings as targets, and clarify what federal actions may affect the states.

In an era of deregulation and competition, the existing telecommunications tax system is fast becoming unworkable and costly to administer for both state tax departments and telecommunications carriers. One area in which this is especially true is in determining which jurisdiction has authority to tax very mobile telecommunication services. This special briefing will discuss the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act and state proposals to establish uniform rules.

In 1996, the federal government adopted historic welfare reform legislation, including the creation of the TANF block grant with tremendous policymaking flexibility for the states. As Congress approaches reauthorization this year, what are the key issues? With new budget pressures, will TANF funds be cut? Could flexibility be lost?

12:15 pm - 2:00 pm

The federal budget has moved from record surpluses to great uncertainty in a few months. How will states be affected by the federal budget outlook? Will there be a reemergence of unfunded mandates and other cost shifts? This session officially closes the joint AFI and ASI meeting and opens the fiscal chairs seminar.

Speaker: Stanley Collender, Senior Vice President, Fleishman-Hillard, Washington, D.C.