NAEYC CHILDREN’S CHAMPIONS UPDATE
December 6, 2010
CONGRESS AND WHITE HOUSE STILL NEGOTIATING FUNDING AND TAX BILLS
Thank you for calling Congress on November 15 and the White House on November 30!
The Continuing Resolution has been extended to December 17. The negotiations continue over the appropriations bill at the same time as there are negotiations on the 2001 and 2003 tax changes that otherwise will expire on December 31.
Stay tuned for possible alerts this week.
CHILD NUTRITION REAUTHORIZATION PASSES
Last Thursday, the House passed S. 3307, the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, to reauthorize the child nutrition programs, including the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), WIC, and afterschool meals. The bill has gone to President Obama for his signature.
The bill would establish new nutrition requirements for CACFP; allow CACFP providers nationwide to be reimbursed for meals provided to low-income children after school through the Afterschool Meal Program; and streamline CACFP administration by giving providers more flexibility with their administrative funds, reducing paperwork and simplifying program requirements.
The overall bill is partially paid for through reductions in SNAP benefits (formerly food stamps). SNAP benefits were increased through ARRA, with the increase scheduled to remain in place until inflation eroded its value. The Senate Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill language explicitly deepens the cuts to SNAP by ending the ARRA increase even earlier, in 2013, causing a drop in benefits for low-income families. Now that the bill has been passed, advocates will turn to working to restore the cuts to SNAP to prevent children from having their meals in care paid for through reductions to their meals at home.
A separate measure, H.R. 6469, was introduced alongside the reauthorization bill. The bill would make institutions ineligible to receive funding through CACFP if they employ a child care staff member who refuses to undergo a criminal background check, has been convicted of a felony, or is a registered sex offender. This measure has not been introduced in the Senate. The text of the bill can be found at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h6469eh.txt.pdf
NAEYC RESOURCES ON EARLY CHILDHOOD DATA SYSTEMS
NAEYC has created a separate web page with resources that highlight federal initiatives that support the development of statewide, comprehensive early childhood data systems, as well as information on the need for, uses of, and development of state comprehensive early childhood data systems. We will update resources as they become available. The resources are available on the NAEYC website at www.naeyc.org/policy/statetrends/data.
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