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Child Welfare: State Performance on Child and Family Services Reviews

Description: This report begins with a short history of the legislation and other factors that led to the creation of the current CFSR and then briefly describes how a CFSR is conducted and what “substantial conformity” with federal child welfare policy means in the context of this review. Much has been made of the fact that no state was found to be in substantial conformity with all aspects of federal policy reviewed during the initial (FY2001-FY2004) round of the CFSRs. This report seeks to better underst… more
Date: June 29, 2005
Creator: Stoltzfus, Emilie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Welfare Reauthorization: Overview of the Issues

Description: In 2003, 12.3 million children lived in families with incomes below the poverty line (a 17.2% child poverty rate). Research has shown that poverty can have negative consequences on a child’s development. Children depend upon their parents for support, and most of the recent policy attention has focused on initiatives to move poor parents (mostly single mothers) from welfare to work and on reducing welfare dependency.
Date: July 1, 2005
Creator: Falk, Gene; Gish, Melinda & Solomon-Fears, Carmen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Child Care Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: Federal support for child care comes in many forms, ranging from grant programs to tax provisions. Some programs serve as specifically dedicated funding sources for child care services (e.g., the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)), while for others (e.g., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)), child care is just one of many purposes for which funds may be used. This report discusses budget proposals in areas related to child care and early childhood development in the 10… more
Date: August 2, 2005
Creator: Gish, Melinda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Medicaid Eligibility for Adults and Children

Description: Medicaid is a means-tested entitlement program that is largely designed and administered by states under broad federal rules. The programs are jointly financed by federal and state funds. Federal contributions to each state are based on a state’s willingness to finance covered medical services and a matching formula. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is responsible for federal oversight of the program. In FY2003,… more
Date: August 3, 2005
Creator: Hearne, Jean P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions

Description: The 109th Congress is considering legislation to extend funding and possibly amend the block grant of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which was created in the 1996 welfare reform law. The original funding authority provided in the 1996 law expired at the end of FY2002. Since then, Congress has inconclusively debated legislation to reauthorize TANF (and some related programs) but has kept the program alive through temporary extensions. The latest such extension is scheduled to ex… more
Date: August 23, 2005
Creator: Falk, Gene
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trends in Poverty in the United States

Description: This report discusses trends in poverty in the United States. In 2004, 37 million people were found poor under the official poverty definition — a 1.1 million increase from 2003. The poverty rate, or percent of the population considered poor, increased for the fourth straight year, to 12.7% in 2004 — up from 12.5% in 2003, and 11.3% in 2000, its most recent low.
Date: September 6, 2005
Creator: Gabe, Thomas
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Hurricane Katrina: Medicaid Issues

Description: This report discusses the following: Medicaid’s rules on eligibility, benefits, and financing in the context of current questions and issues raised by Hurricane Katrina. Recent state actions in response to Medicaid issues raised by the hurricane. Federal Medicaid waiver authority, including information on current activity in this area and the New York Disaster Relief Medicaid waiver granted in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Current federal legislation related to Medicaid and H… more
Date: September 15, 2005
Creator: Baumrucker, Evelyne P.; Grady, April; Hearne, Jean P.; Herz, Elicia J.; Rimkunas, Richard; Stone-Axelrad, Julie et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Its Role In Response to the Effects of Hurricane Katrina

Description: The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant provides grants to states to help them fund a wide variety of benefits and services to low-income families with children. TANF is best known as helping fund ongoing cash welfare benefits for families with children, but the block grant may also fund other benefits and services such as emergency payments, child care.
Date: September 16, 2005
Creator: Falk, Gene
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) and the Welfare-to-Work (WtW) Tax Credit

Description: The Work Opportunity Tax Credit and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit are temporary provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Since their initiation in the mid-1990s, the Congress has allowed the credits to lapse four of the five times they were up for reauthorization. In each instance, they were reinstated retroactive to their expiration dates as part of large tax-related measures. The employment tax credits never have been addressed independently of broader legislation. This report describes the WOTC… more
Date: September 16, 2005
Creator: Levine, Linda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Welfare Reauthorization: Overview of the Issues

Description: The 109th Congress is reviewing a number of programs that aid poor and low-income families with children. These programs include the TANF and child care block grants, child support enforcement, abstinence education, transitional Medicaid (known as Transitional Medical Assistance), Head Start, and the Workforce Investment Act. Other potential policy initiatives, such as social security and tax reform, also would likely affect low-income families with children. This report focuses on programs and… more
Date: September 29, 2005
Creator: Falk, Gene; Gish, Melinda & Solomon-Fears, Carmen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Welfare Reauthorization: Overview of the Issues

Description: In 2003, 12.3 million children lived in families with incomes below the poverty line (a 17.2% child poverty rate). Research has shown that poverty can have negative consequences on a child’s development. Children depend upon their parents for support, and most of the recent policy attention has focused on initiatives to move poor parents (mostly single mothers) from welfare to work and on reducing welfare dependency.
Date: October 11, 2005
Creator: Falk, Gene; Gish, Melinda & Solomon-Fears, Carmen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act

Description: This report is intended to provide an overview of the Adequate Yearly Process (AYP) concept and several related issues, a description of the AYP provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, and an analysis of the implementation of these provisions by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the states. It will be updated when major administrative actions are taken by ED, or substantial new data on state implementation become available.
Date: October 26, 2005
Creator: Riddle, Wayne C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act

Description: This report is intended to provide an overview of the Adequate Yearly Process (AYP) concept and several related issues, a description of the AYP provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, and an analysis of the implementation of these provisions by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the states. It will be updated when major administrative actions are taken by ED, or substantial new data on state implementation become available.
Date: October 26, 2005
Creator: Riddle, Wayne C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): Percentage of Total Tax Returns and Credit Amount by State

Description: The earned income tax credit (EITC), established in the tax code in 1975, offers cash aid to working parents with relatively low incomes who care for dependent children. The EITC is the only federal cash aid available to all working poor families with children. For eligible filers with income tax liability, the EITC reduces their taxes.
Date: November 4, 2005
Creator: Scott, Christine
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Topics in Aging: Income and Poverty Among Older Americans in 2004

Description: Older Americans are an economically diverse group. In 2004, the median income of individuals age 65 and over was $15,199, but incomes varied widely around this average. Twenty-eight percent of Americans 65 or older had incomes of less than $10,000 in 2004, while 10% had incomes of $50,000 or more. As Congress considers reforms to Social Security and the laws governing pensions and retirement savings plans, it may be helpful to consider how changes to one income source would affect each of the o… more
Date: November 7, 2005
Creator: Whitman, Debra B. & Purcell, Patrick J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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AIDS Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC): Problems, Responses, and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the issue of children that have been left as orphans due to AIDS taking their parents lives. Moreover, the report details that between 2001 and 2003 the number of children orphaned from AIDS increased by 3.5 million. The rate of orphaned children is only expected to increase in the future if massive spending is not issued to curb the problem.
Date: November 18, 2005
Creator: Salaam, Tiaji
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Budget Reconciliation FY2006: Provisions Affecting the Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP)

Description: The federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) is the rate at which states are reimbursed for most Medicaid service expenditures. The FY2006 budget reconciliation bills passed by the House (H.R. 4241) and Senate (S. 1932) include provisions that would affect state FMAPs for Medicaid in a number of ways. This report describes these provisions and estimates their impact on FY2006 FMAPs.
Date: November 28, 2005
Creator: Grady, April
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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