Tracking the Stimulus Money

An article in today's Washington Post called Tracking How Stimulus Dollars Are Tracked provides information and links about the White House efforts to track how the stimulus dollars are being used. The article also links to a site established to seek input from the public about improving transparency:

The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, in partnership with the National Academy of Public Administration, on Monday launched "A National Dialogue," an online forum that continues through May 3. Users of the site can post an idea, comment on others and vote on their preferred suggestions. The forum received more than 300,000 visits in its first seven hours and more than 1.5 million by Tuesday night.

For guidance using the stimulus funding.

New on PolicyForResults.org: State Policies to Reduce Home Foreclosures

Check out the new content on PolicyforResults.org about how state policymakers can reduce home foreclosures.

Although federal policy governs many of the transactions involved in home foreclosures, state policy plays an important role as well. A number of states are pursuing strategies that are considered promising by experts in the field. These include requiring mediation in foreclosures, creating a moratorium on foreclosures, enacting protections against predatory mortgage lending, and providing counseling and financial assistance.

See more information on these strategies.

Poverty and Immigrant Families

A new report by Child Trends called "Children in Immigrant Families- The U.S. and 50 States: Economic Need Beyond the Official Poverty Measure" looks at

results from Census 2000 data to examine differences in the poverty rates between children in immigrant families and children in native-born families. The brief reports results for the official poverty measure, but also for two alternatives to the official measure.

For more information on the poverty measure and its alternatives.

Webcast on Federal Activities to Reduce Poverty

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity ’s latest webcast features, U.S. Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) on Congressional efforts to help struggling families. He

discusses prospects for a new poverty measure as well as other legislative concerns confronting low-income populations and those living in poverty.

For more information on policies to expand economic opportunity and reduce poverty.

NGA's ARRA Implementation Guide

A report by the National Governors Association on “State Implementation of the American Recovery Investment Act” covers key points of the ARRA, spending categories, federal tax changes, challenges and opportunities, federal oversight and accountability, timing issues and constraints, assessing the management challenge for states, and creating a management structure. For guidelines on using the ARRA funding.

Questions about the Stimulus Process Answered

The Council of State Government's State eNews presents in "From the Experts" a discussion by Ericka Harney on the Grant Expectations for Competitive Stimulus Funds, where she asks, and answers; How competitive will competitive funds really be?, Will the review process be the same?, and What will be specific to the Recovery Act in terms of objectives and reporting? For more resources to implement the ARRA funds.

North Carolina uses Stimulus Funding for Innovative Job Training

North Carolina has launched “12 in 6”,

a workforce development initiative designed to benefit North Carolinians who have lost their jobs due to recent layoffs and plant closures or other job seekers. The initiative will create community college programs in 12 careers, each requiring less than six months to complete. The N.C. Community College System and the N.C. Department of Commerce are collaborating on the program as part of Gov. Perdue’s larger JobsNOW initiative, which focuses on job creation and economic development.

For more strategies to use stimulus funding to support workforce development.

Webcast for State Policymakers on Implementing the Stimulus

The National Governors Association and the Council of State Governments presented a webcast, "Managing in Times of Change: Challenges of Implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" to provide

an overview of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, review critical state activities and discuss various state approaches to maximizing the economic impact of funds available to the states and describe approaches to managing the funds to meet federal requirements.

For strategies on using the stimulus funding.

Recapping the Week of the Young Child

During the Week of the Young Child we featured a range of new publications, reports and webinars:

Week of the Young Child: April 19-25 is the 39th annual Week of the Young Child (WOYC), a time to focus on what young children and their families need to succeed. Post contributed by Judy Langford, Senior Fellow and manager of the Strengthening Families Initiative.

State Policies to Improve Access to High Quality Child Care: CLASP issued a report called "Providing Information on Infant/Toddler Care: Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care, Research-Based Rationale".

How Policymakers Can Use the Stimulus to Support Young Immigrant Children: In another new report by CLASP called "Ten Policies to Improve Access to Quality Child Care for Children in Immigrant Families".

The Stimulus and Young Children: Zero to Three has a series of extremely useful tools to assist policymakers in using Stimulus funding to support young children: 1) Early Care and Education Provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; 2) Infants and Toddlers in the American Recovery Act: Planning Tools and Resources for States; and 3) An Interactive Tool.

Successful PreK Initiatives: The National Association of State Boards of Education documents successful PreK efforts nationwide in "Promoting Quality in PreK-Grade 3 Classrooms".

Education and Young Hispanic Children: The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) has issued a new report called "Young Hispanic Children: Boosting Opportunities for Learning".

Preschool Cost Estimator for States: The Preschool Cost Estimator is a user-friendly tool to assess the cost of phasing in access to preschool.

Infants and Toddlers: Budget Choices and Stimulus Options : An audiocast by the Urban Institute is now available: "Infants and Toddlers in State and Federal Budgets: Yesterday's Choices, Today's Decisions, and Tomorrow's Options".

Webinar on How States Can Support an Early Childhood System: On May 6th, Chapin Hall and the Urban Institute are co-hosting "Building Blocks For Kids: Creating Intervention Systems That Support Young Children's Healthy Development".

The Price Tag for PreK-3rd Initiatives: A new policy brief from the Foundation for Child Development, "PreK-3rd: What is the Price Tag?", offers a framework for estimating the costs of PreK-3rd that describes the core elements and the steps to cost out each element based on district needs.

New Report: Investing in Pre-K Pays Large Dividends: And from Anna Lovejoy, consultant and former Program Director for Early Childhood, National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, a post about the new Brookings report that looks at the Perry Preschool program and the Abecedarian Project, and predicts significant long-term benefits from public investments in high quality early care and education.

For policies to support early academic success and family economic success, as well as strategies to use the ARRA to support young children and their families.

The Price Tag for PreK-3rd Initiatives

A new policy brief from the Foundation for Child Development, "PreK-3rd: What is the Price Tag?", offers a framework for estimating the costs of PreK-3rd that describes the core elements and the steps to cost out each element based on district needs:

In a time of great fiscal constraints, policymakers and educators are focusing not only on raising student achievement, but also on making more strategic use of the available funds. One result is that school districts are implementing PreK-3rd approaches that link high-quality PreK programs with high-quality K-3 grades with promising student outcomes.

For policies to promote quality PreK-3rd Grade.

New Report: Investing in Pre-K Pays Large Dividends

A new report that looks at the Perry Preschool program and the Abecedarian Project predicts significant long-term benefits from public investments in high quality early education and quantifies the positive returns to federal, state and local government budgets. Researchers at the Brookings Institution considered both increases in tax revenue from participants’ higher earnings, as well as reductions in public outlays for cash assistance, remedial and special education, and other social services. Assuming a three percent discount rate, researchers find that these programs “would pay back in reduced costs and increased revenues".

Post contributed by Anna Lovejoy, private consultant and former Program Director for Early Childhood, National Governors Association Center for Best Practices.


For more on the research, economic benefits and policies related to quality pre-kindergarten programs.

Webinar on How States Can Support an Early Childhood System

On May 6th, Chapin Hall and the Urban Institute are co-hosting "Building Blocks For Kids: Creating Intervention Systems That Support Young Children's Healthy Development":

Policymakers and funders increasingly recognize what educators and psychologists have long known about the importance of early childhood experiences: interventions that enrich young children's environments can prepare them cognitively and emotionally to achieve in school and become more successful youths and adults.

Speakers will provide concrete examples of developing collaborative and effective partnerships at both the county and state level, discuss the role of research in system building, and describe new funding opportunities for improving early childhood systems available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. To register.

For policies to expand Early Care and Education.

Infants and Toddlers: Budget Choices and Stimulus Options

An audiocast by the Urban Institute is now available:

"Infants and Toddlers in State and Federal Budgets: Yesterday's Choices, Today's Decisions, and Tomorrow's Options" brought together about 40 leading state and federal budget experts, practitioners, and policy-makers including experts in early childhood, health care, and nutrition policies and programs. The aim was to assess the evidence about the effects of state and federal budget choices on young children, to identify immediate opportunities and risks for young children related to the recession and the economic recovery package, and to suggest both short- and longer-term next steps for researchers and policy-makers. The conversation centered on two substantive areas: health and nutrition (particularly Medicaid and WIC) and early care and education.

For policies and stimulus strategies to support young children and their families.

Preschool Cost Estimator for States

An oldie but a goodie by the American Institutes for Research, the Preschool Cost Estimator is a user-friendly tool to assess the cost of phasing in access to preschool:

• While the tool is designed to focus on the cost of preschool at the local level, you can also use it to estimate the cost statewide.

• You can estimate the cost of a program available to all, or you can select a more targeted initiative, such as a program focused on children in low API school attendance areas, Title I school neighborhoods, or children from low-income families.

• You can use the tool to estimate the cost of implementing preschool at various projected participation rates.

• You can choose a timeframe for implementation that ranges from one to 10 years.

• You can also incorporate inflation, population growth, and infrastructure, such as facilities and workforce development.

For policies to support early academic success.

Education and Young Hispanic Children

The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) has issued a new report called "Young Hispanic Children: Boosting Opportunities for Learning" that discusses current circumstances and recommendations:

Young Hispanic children are not only the largest racial/ethnic group in the U.S., but also the youngest and fastest-growing. Among racial/ethnic groups, Hispanics have a unique linguistic profile. Approximately three in four young Hispanic children lives in homes in which at least some Spanish is spoken regularly. Empirical evidence suggests that certain interventions during the early years are a wise investment to improving learning opportunities and outcomes for Hispanic children.

For more information on supporting educational opportunities for young children.

Successful PreK Initiatives

The National Association of State Boards of Education documents successful PreK efforts nationwide in "Promoting Quality in PreK-Grade 3 Classrooms" which:

tells the story of what it takes to leverage change across disparate systems and develops a vision for excellence in preschool and early grade instruction—along with the state umbrella of policies, standards, supports, and collaborative initiatives needed to promote high quality educational experiences for all young children.

For research-informed PreK policies.

The Stimulus and Young Children

Zero to Three has a series of extremely useful tools to assist policymakers in using Stimulus funding to support young children:

1) Early Care and Education Provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides an overview of the six main federal funding streams that can be used to expand or enhance Early Care and Education.

2) Infants and Toddlers in the American Recovery Act: Planning Tools and Resources for States lists toolkits, websites and guides from a variety of sources including links to the federal agency websites.

3) An Interactive Tool guides policymakers through the new provisions, funding streams and guidelines for all federal programs that support young children and their families from Food Stamps to Head Start.

For strategies to use stimulus funding to support young children.

How Policymakers Can Use the Stimulus to Support Young Immigrant Children

In another new report by CLASP called "Ten Policies to Improve Access to Quality Child Care for Children in Immigrant Families" opportunities through the Stimulus and other resources are outlined.

With the $2 billion in funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant.(CCDBG) included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), states can immediately implement policies that will simultaneously improve their economies and improve access to quality child care and child care assistance for children in immigrant families. State policymakers should also consider linkages to other expansions in Head Start, Early Head Start, IDEA, and Title I to connect immigrant families to necessary programs and services.

For more stimulus strategies to support a "two generation" approach to child development and economic opportunity.

State Policies to Improve Access to High Quality Child Care

CLASP issued a report called "Providing Information on Infant/Toddler Care: Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care, Research-Based Rationale". The report asks, and answers, the following questions:

What does the research say about providing families of babies and toddlers with information on quality child care?

How can state child care licensing, quality, and subsidy policies support the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate information to parents?

What policies can states use to move toward this recommendation?

For policies to improve access to child care.

Week of the Young Child

April 19-25 is the 39th annual Week of the Young Child (WOYC), a time to focus on what young children and their families need to succeed. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) leads this seven-day celebration by coordinating activities in its state chapters around the country to raise awareness about quality early care and education. The theme of this year's WOYC is "Bringing Communities Together for Children - Children Bring Communities Together".

NAEYC is a membership organization that works at multiple levels to improve educational and developmental outcomes for young children through age 8. As a National Partner Organization in Strengthening Families, NAEYC has incorporated the five Protective Factors into their accreditation standards for early care and education centers; NAEYC accreditation is among the highest indicators of quality early education. For more on activities around the country celebrating the Week of the Young Child, visit NAEYC's WOYC page.

Post contributed by Judy Langford, Senior Fellow and manager of the Strengthening Families Initiative.

Building on our previous post about the Strengthening Families Initiative's Protective Factors approach, all posts this week will feature new reports and strategies to encourage healthy child development and family economic opportunities. For more information on policies to support young children.

Minnesota Uses Stimulus Funding to Help the Jobless

The Hutchinson Leader reports that Governor Pawlenty has authorized stimulus funding to support the unemployed with a range of programs and services, including:

• Dislocated Worker Program: Career planning and counseling, job search and placement services, training and other support services will be available. Additional staff will be hired for Rapid Response Teams, which work with employers and workers on-site when a company announces major layoffs.

• Summer youth employment program: Pays for summer jobs in both the public and private sectors for at-risk youth.

• Adult employment and training: Services include skills assessments, job training and job-search guidance. Money has been allocated to the 16 Workforce Service Areas; most services will be provided through the state’s 47 WorkForce Centers.

For policies and stimulus strategies to support job training and work supports.

Webcast on Green Jobs and Low-Wage Workers

From the Low-Income Working Families Project, a new webcast on:

A New Safety Net for Working Families: Green Jobs and Low-Wage Workers

The economic stimulus package passed in February provides significant resources for developing environment-friendly "green jobs." It is unclear, though, how green investments will benefit the country’s most vulnerable individuals: low-wage workers with limited skills. Our panel of experts will seek answers to such questions as

• What are the characteristics of green jobs? Which jobs in this growing sector are relevant to low-skilled workers?
• What should the federal government’s role be in promoting green development, particularly for low-income families?
• What should states and localities do to ensure that low-skilled workers benefit from the growth in green jobs?

Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 9:00-10:30 a.m. ET RSVP to attend in Washington, D.C., or register to listen to the audio webcast.

For more policies on job training.

Kansas Takes on Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare

An op-ed in the Wichita Eagle by Melody McCray-Miller, Democratic state representative, urges action:

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said it best: "Kansas must determine what is necessary to reduce the overrepresentation of African-American and Latino children and youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems." Sebelius named Don Jordan, chairman of her subcabinet and secretary of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, to lead an initiative on this disproportion and work closely with...legislative and community leaders. ... Although youths and families of color are disproportionately of low wealth, by sheer numbers there are more whites who are poor in the Kansas population. Yet children of color, specifically African-American children, enter the child-welfare system at three times their rate in the general population. Overrepresentation also exists in the juvenile justice system. ... As we move forward on this initiative, we must keep in mind the goal of "fair treatment for Kansas children." We can't afford to fall short. We've got to go the distance on this one.

For more information on policies to achieve racial equity in child welfare.

Policies to Reduce Poverty Need to be Specifically Tailored

Spotlight on Poverty features a guest commentary by Margaret C. Simms, Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute, on the need to tailor policies to the specific needs of communities and families:

If we are going to make a serious dent in poverty, the United States will have to develop an integrated set of policies that address the diverse and interrelated needs of the poor and, more broadly, the low-income population. Promoting employment without addressing issues of skills training, discrimination, and physical isolation will not lift low-income working families out of poverty and into the middle class. Putting mothers in the labor force without addressing their children’s needs will only roll the problems forward to the next generation.

For more information on policies to reduce childhood poverty.

New Report on Suicide in Juvenile Justice Facilities

The federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention released a new report "Characteristics of Juvenile Suicide in Confinement" that:

Provides the results of a survey on juvenile suicides occurring in confinement between 1995 and 1999. The study examined the demographic characteristics and social history of each victim, the characteristics of the incident, and the features of the juvenile facility in which the suicide took place. This OJJDP Bulletin provides suggestions for addressing the problem and recommendations for prevention planning

. For policies on reducing juvenile detention that improve outcomes for youth and improve public safety.

New Jersey Uses Stimulus Funding to Support Pre-School

The New York Times reports that New Jersey is using federal stimulus funds, together with state dollars, to:

provide new preschool programs for as many as 7,000 children. ...The governor signaled last week that it might be wiser, given the state of the economy and the state’s budget, to focus the additional money on districts with the greatest concentrations of poverty.

For more information on using stimulus funding for early care and education.

Stimulus and Education

The Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, provided an overview on using ARRA for IDEA, State Stabilization, Title I and other education funding to advance four principles:

• Spend funds quickly to save and create jobs.
• Ensure transparency, reporting and accountability.
• Invest one-time ARRA funds thoughtfully to minimize the “funding cliff.”
• Improve student achievement through school improvement and reform.

For more policies on improving early academic success.

Using Results to Guide State Budget Decisions

Erik Eckholm of the New York Times reports that, in spite of stimulus funding, states are severely cutting programs for the most vulnerable:

Battered by the recession and the deepest and most widespread budget deficits in several decades, a large majority of states are slicing into their social safety nets — often crippling preventive efforts that officials say would save money over time….“There’s no question that we’re getting short-term savings that will result in greater long-term human and financial costs,” said Linda J. Blessing, interim chief of the Arizona Department of Economic Security, expressing the concerns of officials and community agencies around the country. “There are no good options, just less bad options.”

PolicyforResults.org is designed to help policymakers make effective budget decisions that will both protect the most vulnerable and achieve long-term results for their state. Based on research-informed policies, states can maximize federal funding, create returns on investment and generate savings, using a set of principles:

• Protect the most vulnerable.
• Focus on results.
• Maximize return on investment – over the short and long term.
• Stimulate the economy by investing in children and families.
• Strengthen community resources.
• Seize the opportunity for reform.

For more information on guidelines and strategies during tight budget times to set priorities, focus on results, and avoid short-term cuts that may devastate vulnerable children and families for the long-term.

Prevent Child Abuse through Strengthening Families

For the 26th year, child and family advocates around the country are raising awareness about what families need to promote children's optimal development and prevent abuse and neglect. April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and as part of this year's activities, the Office of Child Abuse and Neglect, housed within the Children's Bureau in the Department of Health and Human Services, along with the Child Welfare Information Gateway and the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention have released a new resource guide for communities and professionals dedicated to prevention.

"Strengthening Families and Communities: 2009 Resource Guide" offers information, tools, and resources for building Protective Factors in families and communities that can help prevent child abuse and neglect. In the 2009 guide, the Protective Factors, which are drawn from the Strengthening Families approach provide a framework for work with families, while five Levers for Change, also from the Strengthening Families approach, highlight strategies for community- and systems-level work to prevent abuse and neglect. The Guide provides background information about these concepts, and translates them in a variety of tools, like questions for exploring Protective Factors with parents, tip sheets for caregivers, and sample public service announcements.

Post contributed by Judy Langford, Senior Fellow and manager of the Strengthening Families Initiative

For more information on policies to support young children and families.

State Stimulus Activities

The Council of State Governments presents information about state stimulus activities by state, by topic, by executive order and by legislation:

Across the country governors, legislators, and other state officials are laying out plans and procedures to receive and account for a Tsunami of federal funding. ... Governors have moved quickly to appoint stimulus czars and issue executive orders. ... In addition, some state constitutions require all expenditure, regardless of the source, to be made through legislative appropriation.

For guidance on using the stimulus funding to support children and families.

2008 Preschool Report Released

The National Institute for Early Education Research has released the 2008 State of Preschool Report that

offers a summary of the data, and describes national trends for enrollment in, quality of, and spending on preschool. The second section presents detailed profiles outlining each state's policies with respect to preschool access, quality standards, and resources for the 2007-2008 program year.

For more information on state policies to increase quality early care and education.

States are using Stimulus Funding for Summer Jobs Programs

In this week's Front and Center, the National Govenor's Association reports on how states are creating summer employment programs:

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $1.2 billion to states for Workforce Investment Act youth summer employment. Some states already have announced initial plans for ramping up their youth summer employment programs:

• Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has announced plans to hire 2,000 young adults to spend this summer improving Indiana’s parks, trails and natural habitats. The Young Hoosiers Conservation Corps is designated for people 16 to 24 years old whose family incomes are at or below the poverty level.

• Rhode Island has launched the Summer Youth Employment Opportunities program that will serve approximately 2,000 additional youth ages 14 to 24. With an initial investment of $4 million, Rhode Island will accept Request for Proposals from nonprofit, private and public agencies to provide summer work experience, work readiness and academic enrichment programming for participating youth.

• Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has announced a $30 million two year commitment to create 10,000 summer jobs for young people ages 14 to 24. Governor Patrick plans to combine funds from the YouthWorks summer jobs program, public safety funds and funds provided through ARRA.

For more information on strategies to support job training and creation with ARRA funding.

New Report on Child Poverty

Child Trends has issued a new research brief on child poverty that

draws on Census data for 2007 to present a statistical portrait of children in poverty in the United States, updating similar briefs Child Trends produced in 1999 and 2002. The brief highlights research on the consequences of poverty for children and suggests program and policy approaches that hold promise for decreasing poverty among low-income children and their families.

For more information on policies to reduce child poverty.

Webcast on Court Involved Children

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau, of the federal department of Health and Human Services, is sponsoring a series of webcasts to

support communication and collaboration between state and federal maternal and child health professionals who serve the nation's mothers, families and children. On April 15th the webcast will focus on Court-Involved Children with featured speakers Audrey Yowell, Moderator : Director, AIM Program; Phyllis Glink, Executive Director of the Irving Harris Foundation; Honorable Constance Cohen, Juvenile Court Judge, Fifth Judicial District of Iowa; and Emani Davis,Director, Project Family Connect, Court Appointed Special Advocate. To register.

For more information on policies for children in foster care or juvenile detention.

How States Can Take Advantage of the New Medicaid Performance Bonus

The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured is issuing a series of briefs on how states can be eligible for the

new "performance bonus" available to states that do an especially good job of signing up eligible children for Medicaid. The bonus, created by a provision in the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (SCHIP), is designed to help states cover the added costs that result when states are very successful in enrolling eligible children in Medicaid above target levels specified in the law. It reflects an understanding that aggressive state outreach efforts for CHIP tend also to drive up enrollment in state Medicaid programs.

For more information on state policies to maximize medicaid and SCHIP.

Stimulus and Improving Racial Equity

An audio conference is being held on "Identifying Opportunities in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Improve Outcomes for Black Men and Boys".

This audio conference will identify opportunities in the ARRA to provide education, training, and supportive services in a targeted manner to black men and boys. The audio conference, co-sponsored by CLASP and the 2025 Campaign for Black Men and Boys, will be Tuesday, April 14, from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. ET. To register.

For more information on policies to reduce racial disparities in juvenile justice and child welfare.

Webcast on the Task Force on Middle Class Working Families

Spotlight On Poverty And Opportunity presents

a webcast on the White House Middle Class Task Force Working Families. The featured guest is Jared Bernstein who heads the task force and is the Chief Economist and Economic Advisor to the Vice President. He is interviewed by "Spotlight's" Mary Jo Walsh, former anchor at the ABC affiliate in Washington, DC.

For more information on policies to expand economic opportunities.

Preparing the Workforce for 21st Century Jobs

The Center for Law and Social Policy is launching a new website designed to

help states increase the number of low-income working adults who have the skills and credentials they need to compete for 21st Century jobs. Shifting Gears is a Joyce Foundation-sponsored initiative that aims to promote regional economic growth by aligning adult education, workforce development and postsecondary education.

For more information on policies to improve job training.

Supporting Low-Income Parents of Young Children

Chapin Hall's recent report "Supporting Low-Income Parents of Young Children: The Palm Beach County Family Study" presents findings from a decade of work in Florida’s Palm Beach County,

which has been building an infrastructure of prevention and early intervention services to promote and support the healthy development and school readiness of children from birth to age 8. ... The report details opportunities and challenges for Palm Beach County’s broad-based effort, and [makes recommendations] to provide greater stability to families’ lives.

For more information on a "two generation" approach and policies to support working families.

Poverty and Early Brain Development

The Global Grind reports that:

A long-term study of cognitive development in lower- and middle-class students found strong links between childhood poverty, physiological stress and adult memory. The findings support a neurobiological hypothesis for why impoverished children consistently fare worse than their middle-class counterparts in school, and eventually in life.

For more information on protective factors and policies to support healthy childhood development and reduce childhood poverty.

The Stimulus and Race Equity

PolicyLink kick offs a "Recovery Briefing Series” on April 10th:

The economic downturn has hit first and worst in low-income communities and communities of color. ... This bi-weekly call-in series, held every other Friday at 1 pm Eastern (10 am Pacific), will focus on ways to infuse equity into the nation’s economic recovery.

For more information on policies to achieve racial equity in child welfare and juvenile justice.

How Does Your State Rank in Child Well-being?

KIDS COUNT, a project by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has issued a new report "Ranking States on Improvement in Child Well-Being Since 2000" that:

uses KIDS COUNT indicators to assess increases and decreases in absolute child well-being for each state since 2000. The authors’ primarily focus on the five-year changes from 2000 to 2005 and compares those changes to trends in the previous two five-year periods.

For more information on trends in your state.

Using Stimulus Funding for Foster Care

Child welfare professionals have several opportunities to access stimulus funding, in addition to increases in Title IVE. In a recent Youth Today article:

Although the funds are not described as "family preservation" money, child welfare workers and agencies can tap into more than $1.5 billion in emergency housing funds through the federal stimulus bill to help families whose children are at risk of being placed in foster care due to housing problems.

More information is available through the National Center for Housing & Child Welfare.

The Finance Project recently issued a report on stimulus funding to assist young people who are transitioning out of foster care:

This brief highlights key funding opportunities within ARRA for older youth in foster care, examines what services those funds can support, and includes tips on accessing each source.

For more information on foster care policies.

Federal Budget News and Opportunities to Support Young Children and Families

The House and Senate approved similar budget plans yesterday, moving the FY2010 budget closer to completion. Both houses support the President's blueprint, which contains new opportunities to expand early care and education programs and home visiting programs. The National Center for Children in Poverty issued a new report on home visiting that is designed to help inform the field about two central questions related to home visiting:

1.Are states investing in home visiting in ways that promote improved outcomes for young children?

2.How, in this context, do they meet the needs of those facing the greatest social and developmental risks?

For more information on home visiting, Early Care and Education and "Two Generation" policy options.

South Carolina Becomes Last State to Certify

Update: South Carolina will accept federal stimulus funding, the Kansas City Star reports:

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford will comply with a midnight Friday stimulus deadline and become the last governor in the nation to seek millions of dollars in federal economic-recovery funds for his state, aides said late Thursday

Stimulus Funding for P-12 Education

Education Week reports on how states and localities are using stimulus funding to support K-12 and expand Early Childhood programs. In Early Childhood the stimulus package increased funding for Head Start, Early Headstart and the federal child-care and child-development block grants, but

Stimulus money for early-childhood programs is also contained in other funding streams. For instance, Part C and Section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—programs that serve children with disabilities from infancy to kindergarten age—are receiving $900 million. In addition, the $13 billion in Title I stimulus money, which can be used for schools that have large populations of children from low-income families, can be used to pay for early-childhood programs.

The Education Commission of the States issued briefs this week on promising state programs that may be eligible for competitive federal stimulus funding

the U.S. Department of Education will conduct a national competition among states for a $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” incentive program designed to push states to improve education quality and results. The Race to the Top fund will help drive substantial gains in student achievement by supporting states that make dramatic progress on four reform goals outlined in the ARRA. Race to the Top grants will be awarded in two rounds — fall 2009 and spring 2010.

For strategies on using stimulus funding to support early care and education.

States Accepting and Rejecting Stimulus Funding

Friday, April 3rd, is the deadline for states to certify their acceptance of the federal stimulus funding. Forty-eight states submitted certifications, which can be located on Recovery.gov. As of Thursday South Carolina and Montana had not yet submitted certifications. Read Stateline.org's analysis and watch Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, discuss how rejecting these federal funds might impact states.

For guidance on using stimulus funding to support vulnerable children and families.

New Approach to State Budgets

Stateline.org reports that:

Govs. Tim Pawlenty (R) of Minnesota and Jim Doyle (D) of Wisconsin this week unveiled a 130-page report that lays out ways the two states could save by getting their state bureaucracies to join hands instead of going it alone.

For more strategies in tough state budget times.