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HUMAN SERVICES FEDERAL ISSUES

HUMAN SERVICES AND WELFARE COMMITTEE

 

THE PRESIDENT’S FY 2008 PROPOSAL FOR HUMAN SERVICES AND FOOD AND NUTRITION PROGRAMS

On Monday, February 5, 2007, President Bush released his budget proposals for Federal Fiscal Year 2008.  This begins the federal process for determining the funding level for programs beginning October 1, 2007.  The next major step in the process is the passage of a congressional budget resolution.  The budget resolution is considered by the House and the Senate and does not require the President’s signature.  It lays out the position of Congress on program funding levels for fiscal year 2008.  Under regular order, the Appropriations Subcommittees then make their decisions based on their budget allocations from the budget resolution.  Following that, the appropriations bills for Labor/HHS and Agriculture move to full committee and then the floor.  In other words, this is the beginning of a long and often contentious process.  The following document examines the funding levels that the President has proposed for key human services programs for 2008.

PROGRAMS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Social Services Block Grant (SSBG)/Title XX

The SSBG would be cut by $500 million, to $1.2 billion per year.  This would be a cut in entitlement (or mandatory) funding.  According to the administration’s budget document, the issue with the SSBG is the flexibility in this funding stream.  The budget proposal argues that it is too difficult to determine SSBG’s effectiveness, and this was the rationale used for reducing funding.  This reduction  was proposed previously. 

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

This program would be continued at the current level of $17 billion a year.  There are two TANF legislative proposals--places where the Administration is noting that it may seek Congressional action.  One is to extend the authorization for TANF Supplemental grants through 2010 at $310 million a year, and the other is “simplifying the two-parent work requirement in the TANF program” by requiring the same state work participation rate, a change states have long sought. 

Child Care and Early Education

• The President proposes to fund the discretionary portion of the Child Care and Development Fund at $2.06 billion.  Discretionary funding must be appropriated each year; it is not automatically in the budget.  This amount represents level funding.  The budget funds the mandatory portion of the Child Care and Development Fund at $2.9 billion, which includes the $200,000,000 a year increase accomplished through the reauthorization of TANF in the DRA. This increase took effect in 2006.   
• The Head Start program is level funded at almost $6.8 billion, an amount the President’s budget anticipates will serve 919,000 children in Head Start, including 62,000 children in Early Head Start. 

Child Support Enforcement

In his 2008 budget recommendations, the President included the following child support legislative proposals, most of which are not new.  Those proposals include enforcement tools and medical child support-related measures.  The two new proposals, both of which relate to tribes, are:

• Granting tribal child support programs access to Section 1115 demonstrations; and
• Proving tribal child support enforcement programs with access to passport denial or revocation and multi-state financial institution data matching. 

The President’s budget proposes $4 billion for child support enforcement and family support programs. 

Child Welfare Proposals

Nurse Home Visitation

The HHS budget document notes that 35 states have home visiting programs using various funding sources, including TANF, the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant, Medicaid, and state and local funds.    It add that research demonstrates that home visitation using trained nurses and strong performance monitoring can reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect and improve other outcomes for mothers and children.   HHS further states that these efforts are not always well-coordinated, nor do they consistently follow proven, effective program models.   The budget proposal includes $10 million in new funding to encourage states to “use existing funding streams to successfully implement and sustain evidence-based home visitation programs.” 

Adoption

The budget proposal includes $10 million for the Interstate Home Study Program authorized by the Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006.   States will receive an incentive payment of $1,500 for each home study completed within 30 days of the request.    The budget also includes $14 million for the Adoption Incentives Program, an amount HHS deems sufficient to cover the estimated incentive states will earn in FY 2007. 

Child Welfare/Foster Care

In terms of discretionary funding, the budget includes $333 million for Child Welfare Services; $89 million for discretionary funding in Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF); $46 million for the Independent Living Education and Training Vouchers program; and $103 million for Runaway and Homeless Youth programs.  All of these funding levels represent level funding.  The budget proposal includes $4.6 billion in mandatory funding for the funding for the foster care program.  This is a decrease of $164 million, due primarily to decreased caseloads.  In terms of other mandatory funding, the Adoption Assistance program would be funded at $2.2 billion for FY 2008, the Independent Living Program would receive $140 million, and the mandatory portion of PSSF would get $365 million.

Child Welfare Program Option

Once again, the President’s budget contains a legislative proposal for a Child Welfare Program Option that would allow states the option of receiving their foster care funding as a flexible grant over five years.  Congress would have to work out the details in the legislative language, but the Administration outline envisions that states choosing the option could use the funds for foster care payments,  prevention activities, permanency efforts, case management, administrative activities, training for child welfare staff, and other child welfare activities.   In return for receiving their funding under this option, states would have to uphold the child safety protections in the Adoption and Safe Families Act, maintain existing levels of state investment in child welfare programs, and continue to participate in the Child and Family Services Reviews.  If a severe foster care crisis were to arise, states would receive additional funding through the TANF Contingency Fund.

Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)

The proposal continues the policy of not requesting funds for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and three smaller programs, for a total decrease of $670 million.  According to HHS, “CSBG lacks national performance measures, does not award funds on a competitive basis, and does not hold grantees accountable for program results.”  In previous budget discussions, Congress has elected not to accept this recommendation and has continued to fund CSBG.

Low Income Energy Assistance (LIHEAP)

The President’s proposal for this program for 2008 is $1.5 billion in formula grants and $282 million for the Emergency Contingency Fund.  This a cut from the existing level for the formula grants and an increase in the contingency fund for a net decrease of $379 million. 

Faith-Based and Community-Based Organizations

The FY 2008 budget proposal includes $75 million for the Compassion Capitol Fund, an increase of $11 million of FY 2007,  to provide training for capacity building and technical assistance for grassroots faith-based and community-based organizations.  $35 million of this is for the anti-gang initiative.  The budget also includes $50 million for mentoring the children of prisoners. 

Refugee and Entrant Assistance

The President requests $521 million to provide cash, medical assistance, and services for refugees, asylees, Cubans/Haitians, and victims of torture and trafficking, an increase of $46 million more than in FY 2007.  The increase will provide eight months of cash and medical assistance and will continue to support state agencies and nonprofits offering employment related activities.  The budget includes an additional $5 million for the Victims of Trafficking program to support a recently authorized grant program for domestic victims of trafficking.  The proposal also includes $135 million for the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program, $58 million more than the FY 2007 level.  This program provides for the care and placement of unaccompanied alien minors.  Current estimates, according to HHS, are that the UAC program will serve 10,350 children in FY 2008, and that the amount of time children spend in the program will increase.   

Administration on Aging

The total budget for the Administration for Aging is $1.38 billion, representing a decrease of $28 million from the expected Continuing Resolution number for FY 2007.  Most of the decrease is because the budget recommends zeroing out the Preventive Health Services and Alzheimer’s Demonstration grants, a cut previously proposed but not accepted.  The President is requesting $28 million for Choices for Independence, part of an initiative to help improve access to health and long-term care through consumer empowerment, healthy lifestyle programs, and community living incentives.

Abstinence Education

The budget requests $191 million for abstinence education activities, and increase $28 million over the FY 2006 enacted level.  The budget also includes $50 million in mandatory funds for the State Abstinence Education fund.  Note: the budget also requests $13 million for abstinence education activities as part of the Adolescent Family Life program in the Office of Public Health and Science.

NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AMINISTERED BY USDA

Food Stamps
The FY 2008 proposed USDA budget includes legislative proposals to exclude all retirement and education savings accounts when determining household eligibility and to support the military family by not counting combat-related military pay.  These rules changes could make 98,000 people eligible for the program.  It also repeats the legislative proposal to limit Food Stamp Program categorical (automatic) eligibility to households which receive Supplemental Security Income or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance, a proposal considered and rejected by Congress in the Deficit Reduction Act.  Currently, receiving services funded by TANF or SSI can make an individual categorically eligible for food stamps.  Advocates estimate that 300,000 people would loose eligibility.   About 40 states use the categorical eligibility state option.  States that have made extensive use of the option are: Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.  This change would decrease the number of children eligible for free school meals, because if their family no longer receives Food Stamps, they would  not get direct certification to receive free meals.    The budget proposal includes a contingency reserve fund of $3 billion. 

Women Infants and Children (WIC)

WIC is funded at $5.4 billion for WIC, a level intended to serve 8.3 million beneficiaries.  Nutrition education and WIC services funds are capped at 2006 levels, a savings to federal government of $145 million.  WIC food packages are updated to reduced maximum allowances of certain foods and increase the intake of fresh fruits and vegetables.    The budget proposal for WIC does include  a increase in the contingency fund (from $125 million to $200 million) to cover unexpected increases in program participation or food prices.  There is a legislative proposal to limit automatic WIC eligibility for Medicaid recipients by limiting it to those with incomes below 250% of poverty. 

Commodity Supplemental Food Program

The budget eliminates funding for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, (CSFP), calling it “duplicative” of the Food Stamp and WIC programs.  The budget provides funds within Food Stamps and WIC to help CSFP participants transition  to other assistance programs. The program provides supplemental food packages to 5.8 million food packages a year for mothers, infants, children and seniors.  Over 91 percent of CSFP recipients are seniors.

For additional information, please contact Lee Posey (lee.posey@ncsl.org), or call NCSL’s D.C. office at (202) 624-5400.