As youth age out of foster care, they are usually without medical coverage because of their exiting foster care. Oregon has new legislation that will cover youth no longer in the system up to their 21st birthday. [More]  

The California Department of Social Services has been ordered by the Ninth Court of Appeals to give foster care group homes a 30 percent increase in payments. The federal court sided with the Alliance of Child and Family Services on the interpretation of federal law. [More]  

As state agencies continue to grapple with balancing the 2010 state budgets, the idea of planning for 2011 is a distant haunting challenge. Almost every state in the country is experiencing significant shortfall and large revenue declines. Each state is examining the best response to growing gaps between the revenue being generated and the committed budget allocations for mandatory grant programs. [More]  

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced nearly $16 million in awards to twelve states on February 26 for proposed state Medicaid planning activities that are needed to implement provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) on Medicaid payment incentives to providers for the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records. [More]  

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on February 18 that states will get a much needed $4.3 billion in fiscal relief due to a new interpretation of Medicare/Medicaid provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). [More]  

At its core, RtI is about using data to make appropriate instructional decisions for the benefit of students. As a coordinated initiative, however, designing and implementing a quality district-wide RtI approach brings a host of challenges. Many of these challenges relate to setting up effective systems and processes for collecting and using data. How can districts collect and use data to improve the odds that RtI will result in greater student success? [More]  

The Child Welfare Policy Manual was updated on February 1, 2010 with questions related to Independent Living [More]  

The President's FY 2011 Budget for Health and Human Services demonstrates an ongoing commitment to the health, safety and well-being of the nation's citizens. While the Recovery funds will expire in 2011, the total federal outlays for HHS are $911 billion, creating a net increase of $50.1 million in spending. [More]  

President Obama released his proposed budget for FFY 2011 on February 1. The Health and Human Services part of the 2011 budget shows $915.5 billion in federal expenditures, a 3.9 percent increase over 2010. [More]  

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced two large-scale demonstration projects on January 27 designed to test the potential of exemplary practices in care coordination, pay-for-performance, and health information technology to drive improvements in quality and efficiency of care. Over 130,000 Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries in North Carolina and Indiana will be served under the two projects. [More]