Posts Tagged by legislation
Appropriations Watch 2012
| September 21, 2011 | Posted by M. P. under Budget, Federal Government, News |
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With the summer nearly over, the political wires are abuzz with all things appropriations. As the deadline draws near for the fiscal year 2012 budget allocations to be finalized, the debate on spending continues.
The latest installment of The Cohen Report, Dwindling Money for Nonprofits in FY2012 Budget Appropriations by Rick Cohen at The Nonprofit Quarterly website provides an update on the appropriations process, and how nonprofits may be impacted.
Other recent developments include -
- The Health and Human Services funding bill is currently being held up in House subcommittee due to concern over the cost, but the Senate subcommittee may move to take up the bill.
- Yesterday, the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee approved the 2012 bill that provides $158 billion in funding for programs to train workers, serve at-risk youth, reduce fraud and waste, prevent chronic disease and fund health research.
- Today, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers introduced a continuing appropriations resolution that would keep the federal government operating until November 18, 2011.
You can follow daily appropriations activity via the House and Senate committee websites as well as politically focused news sources such as The Hill.
Increased Need and Decreased Budgets – Not the Recipe for Efficiency
| June 13, 2011 | Posted by M. P. under Budget, Management, News, Policy, Research |
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A brief from the Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute highlights fallout from the trend of states slashing human service budgets at a time when programs are experiencing an increase in participation. Data from the University of Baltimore indicate the workload grew by 45 percent at some state social service programs between 2002 and 2010 – the same years a hiring freeze and subsequent cuts were implemented. The irony for families who have been waiting weeks or months for emergency aid to be approved is that the same economic woes that led to their need for temporary assistance also led to the elimination of program case managers and staff.
In Maryland, the results of an all cuts budget on such programs are a reduction in staff training, reliance on antiquated information technology systems, an increased workload and uneven distribution of staff. While trimming the budgetary fat and eliminating waste should be encouraged across ALL departments, the report links cuts to delays and errors in determining program eligibility, as well as other inefficiencies.
As Pennsylvania’s budget is also an all cuts piece of legislation at a time of increasing need, this report may foretell what we will experience as the unintended (I hope) consequences of such measures. How is your nonprofit meeting the challenge of serving more people with fewer resources? Has efficiency suffered due to lack of staff, training or technological resources?
The complete brief, Report Shows Several Local Departments do Social Services Dramatically Understaffed: Nearly 1100 Family Investment Staff Needed to Manage Workload, is available at the Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute’s web page.
Free Resource for Community Health Initiatives
| May 18, 2011 | Posted by M. P. under Federal Government, Health |
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A technical report from the RAND Corporation presents a compilation of resources and strategies for community and faith-based organizations to expand and improve their health services. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides opportunities for organizations to build capacity and diversify their healthcare programming and activities based on community needs. Is your organization ready to take a leading role in improving the health and well-being of your neighbors, clients and stakeholders?
The report, Source Materials for the Healthy Communities Toolkit: Resource Guide for Community and Faith-Based Organizations by Joie D. Acosta, Anita Chandra, Malcolm V. Williams and Lois M. Davis is available as an e-book (and as a PDF) at the RAND website. The information in the brief will eventually be integrated into a toolkit to help community organizations in future health initiatives and preventive efforts.
Has a Nonprofit Helped You? Tell Your Story!
| May 12, 2011 | Posted by M. P. under Budget, News |
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Pennsylvania is looking to balance the budget by cutting and curtailing human services programs even as the need for such services has increased.
United Way of Allegheny County and The Pittsburgh Foundation have partnered to promote the campaign Why Cut What Works? in response to these cuts aimed at human and social services funding in Pennsylvania. The campaign encourages those who have received services like those on the chopping block to share their stories (via written word or video) of how Pennsylvania nonprofits have impacted their lives with the policymakers in Harrisburg.
Details on how to participate and about an upcoming rally in downtown Pittsburgh are available on the Why Cut What Works?web site.
Twenty-First Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act Becomes Law
| October 9, 2010 | Posted by M. P. under News, Technology |
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On October 8, President Obama signed into law the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010. This law contains provisions (and in some areas, specific funding) that will help ensure that deaf and hard-of-hearing and blind or low-vision persons have access to appropriate interfaces for internet technology, television, traditional telephones and smart phones, emergency alerts/bulletins and other methods of communication.
As technology advances it is imperative to make it adaptable (and accessible) to serve all consumers, not just the majority.
What Exactly Changed Due to the New Health Care Law?
| September 27, 2010 | Posted by M. P. under Federal Government, Health, News |
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Did you miss it? On September 23, 2010, several of the protections in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health care reform legislation passed earlier this year, took effect. In the article, Health Law’s 8 New Changes to Insurance — with 7 Caveats, Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News (of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation) outlines these new provisions in broad strokes as their impact on each individual may vary based on current coverage.
Some of the changes now applicable include:
- The end to rescission or the cancellation of coverage due to an illness (except in cases of fraud).
- Adult children, up to 26 years old, may be carried on a parent’s health plan.
- Lifetime dollar limits are no longer allowed.
For up-to-the-minute information on healthcare and healthcare reform, including excerpts from the recent GOP plan to replace this legislation, visit the Kaiser Health News website.
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