HOPWA Modernization Proposal:
Need
for Community Input and Consensus"
The President's FY
2015 budget proposal, released in March, included an outline of the update to
the HOPWA program. The proposal included significant changes, such as the
addition of new short-and medium-term housing interventions, assistance for
homeless persons, and increased administrative fees. Additionally, the update
included a momentous change to the HOPWA funding formula. The National AIDS Housing Coalition (NAHC), the
Southern AIDS Coalition, Southern HIV/AIDS Strategy Initiative, and
HIV Prevention Justice Alliance for a
community discussion on the modernization proposal for the Housing for Persons
with AIDS Program (HOPWA) will be hosting a teleconference
Each May, National Foster Care Month serves as a reminder that there are children, youth, and families in our communities who require our collective support to achieve safety, permanence, and the tools needed to thrive in adulthood. This month is a time for us to acknowledge and express our gratitude to those who provide a helping hand to children in foster care, including professionals, foster parents, mentors, and others.
National Foster Care Month is also a time to reflect on how we can work together to better serve all children and ensure that every child has a safe, permanent family and that their well-being needs are met.
Nearly 400,000 children in the United States are in foster care. Most will be reunited with their families or find a permanent home through kinship care, guardianship, or adoption. However, it also is important to remember that each year approximately 24,000 youth “age out” of foster care without a permanent legal family.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, former foster youth who were in foster care when they aged out and who were enrolled in Medicaid or a waiver program while in foster care are now eligible for Medicaid until they reach age 26 in most cases.
As the federal agency charged with ensuring the welfare of children throughout this country, the Children's Bureau, within the Administration for Children and Families of HHS, works with child welfare professionals and institutions year-round to discover, test, and promote best practices. In 2014, the Children's Bureau funded a number of new initiatives, including:
Visit the National Foster Care Month website to learn more: https://www.childwelfare.gov/fostercaremonth/
The President's FY
2015 budget proposal, released in March, included an outline of the update to
the HOPWA program. The proposal included significant changes, such as the
addition of new short-and medium-term housing interventions, assistance for
homeless persons, and increased administrative fees. Additionally, the update
included a momentous change to the HOPWA funding formula. The National AIDS Housing Coalition (NAHC), the
Southern AIDS Coalition, Southern HIV/AIDS Strategy Initiative, and
HIV Prevention Justice Alliance for a
community discussion on the modernization proposal for the Housing for Persons
with AIDS Program (HOPWA) will be hosting a teleconference
Thursday, May 22,
2014
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT,
1:00 PM - 2:30PM CDT,
Noon - 1:30PM MDT,
11:00AM - 12:30PM PDT
While the HIV/AIDS
housing community has long supported a change to the HOPWA funding formula that
would be based on living HIV/AIDS cases, it is vitally important to gain
community consensus on how to implement changes fairly and without destabilizing
existing HIV/AIDS housing programs. In Arkansas the need for assistance continues to out pace available placement funds and certain changes in the formulary could have a significant impact on the area. During the recent AIDS Watch 2014 in Washington D.C., it was discussed that the formulary needed updating due to the fact that many being counted in the actuary were actually deceased causing the statistics to be skewed.
Partners from NAHC,
AIDS Alabama, AIDS Project Los Angeles, and AIDS United will share an overview
of the HOPWA legislation, present community perspectives from differing
jurisdictions, and provide context of the current political landscape. The
webinar will end with a Q&A session and opportunity for comment, with the
goal of building community input and consensus on a fair and equitable way to
implement changes to the HOPWA funding formula. Watch this forum for more details and updates on this important issue.
Observing National Foster Care Month 2014
A Statement by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
Each May, National Foster Care Month serves as a reminder that there are children, youth, and families in our communities who require our collective support to achieve safety, permanence, and the tools needed to thrive in adulthood. This month is a time for us to acknowledge and express our gratitude to those who provide a helping hand to children in foster care, including professionals, foster parents, mentors, and others.National Foster Care Month is also a time to reflect on how we can work together to better serve all children and ensure that every child has a safe, permanent family and that their well-being needs are met.
Nearly 400,000 children in the United States are in foster care. Most will be reunited with their families or find a permanent home through kinship care, guardianship, or adoption. However, it also is important to remember that each year approximately 24,000 youth “age out” of foster care without a permanent legal family.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, former foster youth who were in foster care when they aged out and who were enrolled in Medicaid or a waiver program while in foster care are now eligible for Medicaid until they reach age 26 in most cases.
As the federal agency charged with ensuring the welfare of children throughout this country, the Children's Bureau, within the Administration for Children and Families of HHS, works with child welfare professionals and institutions year-round to discover, test, and promote best practices. In 2014, the Children's Bureau funded a number of new initiatives, including:
- Awards for agencies to test new strategies for recruiting resource families for children in foster care.
- Grants to states, localities, and tribes to build the capacity of child welfare systems to prevent long-term homelessness among youth and young adults who have been involved with child welfare.
- Funding for states, localities, and universities to develop initiatives that will improve the social and emotional well-being of children who are involved with child welfare and have mental and behavioral health needs.
- The National Foster Care Month initiative, with this year’s theme of “Building Blocks Toward Permanent Families,” promotes awareness of children in foster care through a website and resources at https://www.childwelfare.gov/fostercaremonth.
Visit the National Foster Care Month website to learn more: https://www.childwelfare.gov/fostercaremonth/
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