PRINT FOR IOWA'S YOUNG CHILDREN STUDY COMMITTEE

FINAL REPORT

December 1995

MEMBERS

Senator Elaine Szymoniak, Co-chairperson
Representative Danny Carroll, Co-chairperson
Senator Nancy Boettger
Senator Michael Connolly
Senator Johnie Hammond
Senator Maggie Tinsman
Representative Cecelia Burnett
Representative Neil Harrison
Representative Keith Kreiman
Representative Rosemary Thomson

AUTHORIZATION AND APPOINTMENT

The Blueprint for Iowa's Young Children Study Committee was established by the Legislative Council for the 1995 Interim to "review the Blueprint for Iowa's Young Children, existing state prevention program and spending, and other major state reform initiatives that promote innovative approaches to build the capacity of communities to meet the needs of children and families. Consult with persons knowledgeable in the area of the needs of children and families."

1. BACKGROUND

The Blueprint for Iowa's Young Children was developed as a project of the Iowa Kids Count Initiative, which is funded by a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and coordinated by the Child and Family Policy Center. The Foundation funds national and state efforts to track trends in child well-being. For Iowa, 1995 marks the fifth year of a seven-year grant of the Annie E. Casey Foundation totaling $555,000 to fund the Iowa Kids Count Initiative.

Based upon information compiled through the Iowa Kids Count Initiative, including the annually published Iowa Kids Count Data Book which measures the well-being of Iowa's children through the use of certain indicators, and following the initial Iowa Kids Count Summit convened on October 27, 1993, five Iowa Kids Count Summit work groups were created to develop a Blueprint for Iowa's Young Children as a basis for preventing poor outcomes, providing supports to high-opportunity families, and achieving school readiness for children. The Blueprint focuses attention on children prenatal to five years of age. Each of the five work groups focused on one of the following issues in the development of the Blueprint: (1) community planning and capacity-building, (2) cross-system collaboration and service integration, (3) state-community partnerships in design and implementation, (4) outcomes and accountability, and (5) staff development, training, and technical assistance.

Following the development of the Blueprint, representatives of the Child and Family Policy Center submitted an adaptation of the Blueprint as draft legislation for consideration during the 1995 legislative session and, following the legislative session, submitted a request to the Legislative Council to establish an interim committee to review the Blueprint For Iowa's Young Children, existing state prevention programs and spending, and other major state reform initiatives.

The Blueprint is described by the Child and Family Policy Center as a "conceptual framework paper describing a new way of servicing Iowa's youngest children and their families." The Blueprint provides a process for the development of community-level services in coordination with the state in order to meet the goal of the Blueprint to assure that all children start school "ready to learn." The additional annual state investment recommended by the Child and Family Policy Center is $33.8 million, which is estimated to provide services to 18,000 high-opportunity families.

2. COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS

The Legislative Council authorized three meeting days for the Study Committee which were held on October 19 and 20 and November 8, 1995.

October 19 and 20 Meetings. The presentations and discussions of the meetings of October 19 and 20, 1995, are summarized as follows:

Blueprint Overview. Dr. Charles Bruner, Director, Child and Family Center, Des Moines, provided an overview of the history of the Blueprint for Iowa's Young Children, described socio-economic trends which reflect child and family well-being, and noted that the majority of public expenditures for services to children and families are made in the areas of maintenance and remediation rather than preventive efforts. He suggested that the focus of expenditures should be preventive and should be community-based.

Council on Human Investment. Mr. Marv Weidner, Director, Policy and Strategic Planning Division, Department of Management, provided a history and overview of the Council on Human Investment which includes efforts in reforming the state appropriations process through outcome-based performance budgeting, the establishment of benchmarks for the state, and the provision of assistance to communities in establishing benchmarking processes to set goals for their own communities and in developing partnerships between state government, local communities, and other stakeholders.

Department of Human Services. Mr. Chuck Palmer, Director, Department of Human Services (DHS) provided an overview of the Danforth Policymakers Group, which is an effort to develop an agenda for strengthening the lives of children and families through collaboration of education, human services, and health programs, and of federal changes impacting DHS. Mr. Federico Brid, Division Director, Adult, Children and Family Services; Ms. Linda Winston, Executive Director, Jane Boyd Community House; and Mr. Marc Baty, Human Service Area Administrator, DHS, Cedar Rapids Area Cluster, provided information regarding DHS programs for children and families and decategorization.

Department of Public Health. Dr. Edward Schor, Medical Director, Family and Community Health Division, Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) delivered an overview of prevention services provided through the IDPH; Ms. Mary Weaver, Director, Family and Community Health Division, IDPH, provided information regarding IDPH programs for children and families including the Healthy Families Iowa Program and the federal Healthy Foundations Grant; and Ms. Bridget Gatlin, Healthy Families Iowa Program recipient described her perspective on the benefits of the program.

Healthy Families Program. Mr. John Holtkamp, Executive Director, Iowa Chapter of the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse (NCPCA), provided information regarding the NCPCA administration of the Healthy Families Iowa program, which currently provides services in six counties with plans to increase availability to 22 counties. The Healthy Families Iowa program was established through legislation enacted in 1992 to provide services to families and children during the prenatal through preschool years. The program was established through IDPH to promote optimal child development, improve family coping skills and functioning, and promote positive parenting skills and intrafamilial interaction, with the goal of prevention of child abuse and neglect. The program includes both an infant mortality and morbidity prevention program component, and a prenatal to preschool family and child protection services program component. Authorization was initially provided for implementation of the infant mortality and morbidity program in three counties of the state that have the state's highest infant mortality rates, which are Polk, Scott, and Woodbury counties, and for implementation of the Prenatal to Preschool Family and Child Protection Services Program through a grant process. The grant was awarded to the NCPCA, which implemented the program in coordination with the three infant mortality and morbidity pilot project areas (Polk, Scott, and Woodbury counties) and also in Buchanan, Hamilton, and Wapello counties. The prenatal to preschool services program administered by the NCPCA called "HOPES" (Healthy Opportunities for Parents to Experience Success) is currently affiliated with the Healthy Families America initiative, which is sponsored by the NCPCA in partnership with Ronald McDonald Children's Charities, and which is supported by funds from the state, the NCPCA Iowa Chapter, and the County Child Abuse Prevention Councils.

Department of Education. Ms. Sue Donielson, Administrator, Office of Educational Services for Children, Families and Communities, Department of Education, provided the education perspective relating to children and families. She listed seven basic family supports, advocated partnerships in the provision of services, and recommended the development of a state long-term plan in implementation of a comprehensive support system for children and families. She also suggested funding of services through a tax on marriage and divorce, the use of gambling revenues, or a tax checkoff. Ms. Susan Frauenholtz, Co-Administrator, and Ms. Linda Nelson, Guidance Counselor, Hills Family Resource Center, described the Center's collaborative efforts and the coordination of funding and resources that have resulted in the provision of an array of services specific to the needs of their community. The Center receives funding and support from DHS and the Department of Education, juvenile justice funds, and a Carver Foundation grant for technology. Ms. Pearl Scherrman, Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner, Western Dubuque County Community School District, provided information from her perspective as a school nurse, and as a participant in the School-based Youth Services Program.

Good Samaritan Ministries. Mr. Andy Bales, Executive Director, Good Samaritan Urban Ministries (GSUM), Des Moines, described the GSUM program, which is supported by a coalition of more than 40 churches. Program services include parenting classes, addiction counseling sessions, a youth ministry working with gang members, provision of clothing, assistance in finding employment, child care, and transitional housing for homeless mothers and families.

November 8 Meeting. The presentations and discussion of the meeting of November 8, 1995 are summarized as follows:

Public Funding of Children's Programs. Mr. Jon Neiderbach and Ms. Margaret Buckton, Legislative Fiscal Bureau, presented information regarding federal and state expenditures for programs for children provided through the Department of Economic Development, the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Human Rights. Materials presented include a mapping of the services by department and by county, and a chart of programs which includes the program, the target population serviced, the state and federal expenditures for the programs, and program descriptions.
Mr. Vic Elias, Child and Family Policy Center (CFPC), presented information regarding a grant from the Danforth Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation to the Department of Human Services, which is being administered by the CFPC, to work with communities in developing community-based plans relating to provision of services to children and families in preparation for funding through block grants to local communities.

3. RECOMMENDATIONS

The Committee discussed approaches to the provision of services to children and families and made the following recommendations:

a. That the General Assembly appropriate up to $3.2 million beginning in FY 97 and annually thereafter to expand the Healthy Families Iowa/HOPES program statewide.

b. That the General Assembly direct state agencies to collaborate, reduce regulation, eliminate duplication, and develop a system for evaluation of programs, with an initial progress report to be made to the General Assembly prior to the end of the 1996 Session of the General Assembly and annually, thereafter, on or before December 1.

c. That the General Assembly provide funding for prevention programs for families with children between the ages of zero and five, through block grants to communities who agree to collaborate, provide matching funds in a designated amount, and agree to have the program evaluated through state performance objectives.

d. That the recommendations be drafted in bill draft form to be submitted to the General Assembly for consideration.

WRITTEN MATERIALS ON FILE WITH THE LEGISLATIVE SERVICE BUREAU.

a. Background memorandum prepared by Legislative Service Bureau staff.

b. Phi Delta Kappa, Early Childhood Reform, September 1995, submitted by Co-chairperson Szymoniak.

c. Blueprint for Iowa's Young Children, A New Way of Doing Business, Children in Need -- Society at Risk, State Budget Trends -- Implications for Prevention, Blueprint Endorsements, The Register's Readers Say, Casting a Child-Centered Vision for Iowa, Summary of Framework Paper, and Preliminary Assessment of Way to Grow, submitted by Dr. Charles Bruner, Child and Family Policy Center.

d. Council on Human Investment, People's Priorities: Iowa Benchmark Report - 1995 - Executive Summary, submitted by Mr. Marv Weidner, Department of Management.

e. Budgeting for Results: Iowa's Outcome-Based Performance Budget, submitted by Mr. Marv Weidner, Department of Management.

f. Children and Family Services program packet with accompanying overhead copies, submitted by Mr. Federico Brid, Department of Human Services.

g. Iowa Department of Public Health presentation overhead copies, submitted by Ms. Mary Weaver.

h. Materials regarding the "High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 27," submitted by Ms. Sue Donielson, Department of Education.

i. Guidelines for Creating a Family Resource Center, and the Hills Family Tree, submitted by Ms. Linda Nelson and Ms. Susan Frauenholtz, Hills Family Resource Center.

j. Overview, case studies, and service summary submitted by Ms. Pearl Scherrman, Dubuque County Community School District.

k. Fiscal summary of Children and Family Services, submitted by Mr. Jon Neiderbach, Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

l. Good Samaritan newsletters and brochure, submitted by Mr. Andy Bales, Good Samaritan Urban Ministries.

m. 1990 Population Distribution of Persons 5 Years of Age and Under, copies of overheads developed and distributed by Mr. Jon Neiderbach and Ms. Margaret Buckton, Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

n. Programs for Children, chart developed and distributed by Mr. Jon Neiderbach and Ms. Margaret Buckton, Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

o. Blueprint Proposal, submitted by Senator Johnie Hammond.

OTHER INFORMATION FOR THIS COMMITTEE:

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