Child advocate columns, Feb. 20, 2009

Office of the Child Advocate
3312 Northside Drive, Suite D-250 Macon, Georgia 31210
478-757-2661 or 1-800-254-2064 www.gachildadvocate.org
______________________________________________________________________________
Stimulus What's In It for Us?
By: Tom C. Rawlings, Director
What's in it for us? That question is ringing through the halls of the Capitols nationwide as stressed-out state policymakers try to determine how their states will benefit from "The American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009," otherwise known as "The Stimulus Act ."
Here in Georgia, child and family advocates are eagerly awaiting detailed analyses of how this $800 billion federal appropriation will affect funding that targets services to families and children in the areas of education, healthcare, and family support. Few experts, much less members of Congress, have yet digested the bill's 1,500 pages of details. Even when states can estimate the amounts available to them under the bill, there will be issues of states' and localities' capacity to carry out the programs proposed in the Stimulus, the possible need for state or local matching funds, and the ability to meet deadlines to apply for competitive grants contained in the appropriation. With those gray areas in mind, there have been efforts by think tanks and policy groups to sort out just how much each state might receive in funding for family and children issues over the next two fiscal years.
To begin, public education receives a major funding boost under the Stimulus. Congress appropriated $12.2 billion in funding for special education programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); $13 billion in aid to our neediest "Title I" schools; and $100 million in school lunch funding. Early childhood education gets a boost, with $2.1 billion going to Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Advocates for children will undoubtedly also cheer the $70 million in funding under the McKinney-Vento Act to boost programs for homeless students. Education is also the chief beneficiary of the funds intended by Congress to stabilize overwhelmed state budgets. Of the $50 billion allocated to the states to "rescue" their budgets, approximately 80% must be used to shore up education funding and ensure it is not cut in state budgets.
Another boost comes to federal foster care and adoption assistance funding. According to the Child Welfare League of America, the federal match for that funding will increase by 6.2% for the period from October 2008 through 2010. This same increase will also be applied to general Medicaid federal funding. Additionally, the states will be temporarily freed from regulations that were intended to severely restrict how states could use Medicaid dollars to provide targeted case management services to at-risk families and youth.
Youth employment activities likewise benefit from the Stimulus Act, as the bill provides a new tax credit for employers who hire disconnected youth and $1.2 billion for youth summer employment activities. Also helping troubled families who aren't working will be $500 million for the Women, Infants and Children program and $50 billion to assist with expected surges in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families caseloads. Twenty billion dollars was appropriated for food stamps. And noncustodial parents who receive child support services also may benefit from a temporary change in the law that will retain federal matching funds for state child support services.
For childcare advocates who have decried reductions in available subsidized childcare in recent years, Congress has responded with $2 billion in funding for the Child Care and Development Block grant. A significant portion of the grant must be used for programs addressing the needs of infants and toddlers. Congress has also addressed the needs of crime victims, including victims of domestic violence. Crime-fighting funds and funds for assistance to victims will also increase, with an additional $325 million available in Violence Against Women Act and Victims of Crime Act funds and an additional $2 billion in Byrne Justice Assistance grants.
While the actual amounts of these funds that will filter down to Georgia is yet unknown, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities and the Center for Law and Social Policy have made estimates of the impacts to Georgia. Among the estimates from these organizations on the funds flowing to our state over the next few years:
Medicaid funding: $1.7 billion State fiscal stabilization funding: $1.5 billion Education and special education funding: $750 million Child Care and Development Block Grant funding: $83 million Child Support services funding: $43.2 million Youth employment funding: $31.7 million Increased food stamp funding: $650 million
Additional information on these estimates is available from these think tanks' websites at www.cbpp.org and www.clasp.org. To read the massive Stimulus Act for yourself or to learn more about its "official" interpretation, the Obama Administration has created a website at www.recovery.gov.
In this time of hardship, families and children especially those already on the economic margins of our society -- will undoubtedly suffer financial hardship. In this Act, the Congress and President have attempted to alleviate some of that hardship, and in the short term these funds should help. It will be up to future generations, however, to determine whether the immediate benefits of the Stimulus Act were worth the long-term debt our nation is incurring in the midst of this well-intended effort. The Office of the Child Advocate will continue to monitor the Stimulus Act as it is rolled out and as it affects our state budget. As this information is still "in process," we recognize there may be errors in it. If you have further details or corrections for us, please let us know by emailing us: tom@gachildadvocate.org.
Tom Rawlings, Georgia's Child Advocate for the Protection of Children, was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to assure quality and efficiency in Georgia's child protective systems. The Office of the Child Advocate is a resource for those interested in the welfare of our state's neglected and abused children. Tom can be reached through the OCA website at www.gachildadvocate.org .