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MINUTES

JOINT MEETING OF THE BUSINESS AND NONBUSINESS TAXATION STUDY COMMITTEE

October 19-20,1995 -- First and second meetings of three

MEMBERS PRESENT

MEETING IN BRIEF

Minutes prepared by Kathy Hanlon, Research Analyst
Organizational staffing by Patty Funaro, Legal Counsel

  1. Committee Business/Procedural Business.
  2. Description of the Blueprint for Iowa's Young Children.
  3. Council on Human Investment.
  4. Department of Human Services.
  5. Iowa Department of Public Health.
  6. Healthy Families Program (Iowa Chapter/National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse).
  7. Department of Education.
  8. Good Samaritan Urban Ministries.
  9. Committee Discussion - Next Meeting Date.
  10. Written Materials Filed With the Legislative Service Bureau.

COMMITTEE BUSINESS

1. Procedural Business.
Call to Order. Temporary Co-Chairperson Senator Szymoniak called the Thursday, October 19, 1995, meeting to order at 10:15 a.m., in Room 22 of the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. On Friday, October 20, 1995, Co-chairperson Representative Carroll opened the meeting at 9:15 a.m. in Room 22 of the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. All members were present on both days of the meetings with the exception of Senator Johnie Hammond, who was unable to attend the meeting on October 19, 1995.
Election of Co-Chairpersons. Senator Michael Connolly moved that the two temporary co-chairs be made the permanent co-chairs, Senator Maggie Tinsman seconded the motion, and the motion was unanimously approved.
Adoption of Rules. Senator Connolly's motion that members adopt the proposed rules received unanimous approval.
Adjournment. On Thursday, October 19, 1995, the meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m. The Friday, October 20, 1995, meeting adjourned at 3:35 p.m.
2. Description of the Blueprint for Iowa's Young Children.
Dr. Charles Bruner, Director; Ms. Karon Perlowski, Deputy Director; and Ms. Carol Behrer, Senior Policy Associate, Child and Family Policy Center, presented information regarding the Blueprint for Iowa's Young Children.
Blueprint History. Dr. Bruner noted that in 1991 an Iowa Kids Count grant was awarded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to track trends in child well-being and to develop policies to improve them. From 1991 to 1992, a 120-member leadership collaborative was established to develop a vision for Iowa's children to improve outcomes in the early years. From 1992 to 1993, regional meetings were held throughout the state to draft a framework paper; from 1993 to 1994, five work groups were established to develop the Blueprint; and from 1994 to the present the Blueprint was completed and support among community groups and public officials was generated.
Trends in Support of the Blueprint. Dr. Bruner continued by noting that trends reflecting child and family well-being have declined and that the majority of spending for services is corrective rather than preventive. Some of the trends Dr. Bruner noted, based on data reflecting the period FY 1983-1992, are: family structure is changing in that the percentage of married couple families with children is decreasing while the percentage of single parent homes is increasing; the percentage of working mothers is increasing, creating challenges in the nurturing of children; the median income for families with children has not kept pace with inflation; births to mothers without a high school education have increased which is a concern because there is a negative correlation between a child's success and a mother's educational attainment level; births to unmarried teens as a percentage of all births have increased by 65.5 percent; and rates of child abuse and neglect and foster placements have increased while rates of high school graduation have decreased.
Dr. Bruner noted that public expenditure trends indicate a majority of expenditures on maintenance and remediation and a comparatively small amount on prevention. He stated that even though prevention services exist in the state, they mainly exist on a small scale and, therefore, have had little impact in improving trends in child and family well-being.
Expectations. Dr. Bruner suggested that the focus of services should be preventive and community-based. He suggested a new state approach of partnering families and communities. Dr. Bruner noted that the Blueprint has twin goals of school readiness and family self-sufficiency, emphasizes family responsibility and community connectedness, and builds upon existing community-based services and programs. The Blueprint, as developed, would serve an estimated 18,000 high-opportunity families for an average length of participation of two years, and would require a new public investment level of $33.8 million, annually. Dr. Bruner noted the need to develop and coordinate services at the community level and to involve key local shareholders in the development and implementation of the community initiative.
Corporate Involvement. A majority of the members expressed the need to increase involvement of Iowa's businesses in local prevention efforts. Senator Connolly suggested that an equal share of the responsibility for implementing prevention programs should lie with corporate America, and he urged Blueprint planners to involve corporate America by pointing out the economic benefits of assisting high-opportunity families. Dr. Bruner stressed the importance of community-level contributions, where businesses are most likely to become involved. Mr. Marc Baty, Human Service Area Administrator, DHS, Cedar Rapids Area Cluster, noted that business leaders in Cedar Rapids began to become involved and contribute resources to provide local services when, as participants on numerous nonprofit boards, they gained awareness of the never-ending and increasing cycle of poverty. Ms. Linda Winston, Executive Director, Jane Boyd Community House, observed that local businesses lacking a capable workforce recognized the opportunity offered by community programs in building a more viable workforce.
Discussion. The Committee discussed the need for a formula to distribute state money equitably to communities. Senator Tinsman cautioned against conflicts of interest in that the Blueprint program local governing boards not allow membership to those who benefit monetarily from programs which the board governs.
3. Council on Human Investment.
Background. Mr. Marv Weidner, Director, Policy and Strategic Planning Division, Department of Management, provided a history and overview of the Council on Human Investment. Currently, the Council is conducting research eliciting citizen opinion about the state's long-term goals, and has identified two new policy development areas -- healthy Iowans and strong communities.
Outcome-Based Performance Budgeting. Mr. Weidner distributed a handout describing the Council's effort in reforming the state appropriations process. The reform effort, known as outcome-based performance budgeting, combines review of program outcomes and state expenditures. The Council and the executive branch, he said, hope that outcome-based performance budgeting will be used throughout the executive branch within four years. The implementation is taking place incrementally in order to refine the process as needed.
Assistance in Developing Community Goals. The Council is encouraging communities to establish benchmarking processes to set goals for their own communities, and to develop partnerships between state government, local communities, and other stakeholders. The process will allow policymakers to visualize the connection between program expectations and established goals and invites discussion between legislative and executive branches of government. He cautioned that many factors impacting poverty and the individuals living in poverty are beyond government control.
4. Department of Human Services.
Mr. Chuck Palmer, Director, Department of Human Services (DHS), provided an overview of the Danforth Policymakers Group and federal changes impacting DHS. He introduced 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, to provide information regarding DHS programs for children and families and decategorization. In August, 1994, a team of legislators, executive branch officials, judicial branch officials, and citizens associated with community programs attended a Policymaker's Institute sponsored by the Danforth Foundation. The Institute was held to develop an action agenda for strengthening the lives of children and families through collaboration of education, human services, and health programs. Legislators were selected on the basis of their role as a committee chair, vice-chair, or ranking member of a committee which addresses those programs. A team of staff persons from the Departments of Human Services, Public Health, and Education has continued to review collaboration activities.
Federal Reform. Mr. Palmer stated that DHS, by using decategorization as a model, is well positioned to face a decrease in federal funding. He stressed that decategorization is the best model to provide funds to communities while conferring on them authority over spending and outcomes. Decategorization permits a county or group of counties to pool funding for specific child welfare and juvenile justice programs into a general child welfare fund. The pooling of funds allows the local governance board the flexibility to focus spending on actual needs rather than specific funding categories. He updated members on the current federal actions regarding funding, and suggested that federal policy decisions are still forthcoming. He noted that there will most likely be a decrease in federal funding but more system flexibility.
Adult, Children and Family Services. Mr. Brid observed that DHS is moving toward a more family-based system and is aggressively investing in preventive services. He distributed a packet of charts describing current program and funding trends. Iowa is one of the few states that has targeted in-home and preventive children's services. Prevention efforts have resulted in stabilization of family foster care and fewer placements of children in state juvenile institutions. Since 1979, the number of cases of founded child abuse has increased by three times. Last year, a task force was created to distribute $4.27 million from the federal government to provide grants for collaborative community efforts. Planning grants were issued this year.
Cedar Rapids DHS Cluster. Mr. Marc Baty described collaborative efforts in Cedar Rapids which have resulted from the use of decategorization of funding. Collaboration with significant players such as civic groups, businesses, unions, attorneys, courts, the police, and others results in better planning and greater involvement. The community has taken responsibility for and ownership of the services and is funding resource development centers and an array of other neighborhood-based preventive services. Decategorization of funding has allowed the local community to develop specific programs for the community's specific needs and this is the same principle as the Blueprint. The community did not develop a formal evaluation process to determine effectiveness, but self-evaluation is taking place.
Jane Boyd Community House. Ms. Winston stated that, following the initial reaction of trepidation regarding decategorization, the Jane Boyd Community House became excited about the opportunity to collaborate and be a part of community growth. Decategorization funds allow her organization to intervene early and empower families. She applauded the Blueprint for providing a means to assist communities in local planning, providing structure, and providing the impetus to implement services and planning. The organization is currently addressing the problems of preschool violence and grandparents raising their grandchildren.
Discussion. According to Mr. Palmer, the Blueprint is consistent with state-community capacity building and collaboration efforts. However, he said, since the Blueprint is broad in nature, encompassing agencies outside of DHS, funding for the Blueprint is not part of the DHS budget proposal. He noted that DHS will be consulting with the Danforth Group and requesting technical assistance from the Child and Family Policy Center to help communities develop partnerships to address children and family issues which are identified. DHS is also attempting to be more creative with limited dollars and is reducing expenditures for high-cost services in order to provide more prevention services.
Representative Kreiman expressed his dismay at the statistics reflecting an increase in the number of cases of founded child abuse. He attributed the numbers to the artificial caps placed on foster care which he believes force children to remain in abusive settings. Mr. Brid suggested that the state concentrates on providing services to improve the home situation to allow children to remain in their own homes. Mr. Brid reported that decategorization programs are increasing in number. Decategorization moneys are distributed based on a population and demographic formula and communities have flexibility to carry over remaining funds to other programs in the subsequent year.
Mr. Palmer noted that some communities will respond more quickly to local planning and decategorization and he cautioned members against the inflexibility of centralized planning. He advised providing communities with resources and assistance in planning, and then allowing individual communities to take the responsibility for the coordination and implementation of services.

October 20, 1995, Meeting

5. Iowa Department of Public Health.
Family and Community Health Division. Dr. Edward Schor, Medical Director, Family and Community Health Division, Iowa Department of Public Health (DPH), delivered an overview of prevention services. Historically, public health organizations were initially concerned with physical deprivation, then with infectious disease, then with chronic disease, and are currently concerned with the "new morbidity" -- social diseases, including teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, and violence. Public health organizations have not been very successful in reducing infant mortality rates nor had much effect on the complex problem of teenage pregnancy. He noted that a function of society is to assist families in carrying out their responsibilities. Whether affluent or poor, he said, families all need services and organizations to help raise children. Families are changing, and society is responding. For example, pediatricians are now offering evening and weekend hours to accommodate working parents.
DPH Programs. Ms. Mary Weaver, Director, Family and Community Health Division, DPH, provided information regarding DPH programs for children and families including the Healthy Families Program and the federal Healthy Foundations Grant. The Healthy Foundations Grant is a three-year pilot project which employs a local person in the community and requires a 20 percent local match. The goal of the Healthy Families Program is the reduction of child abuse and neglect. The program includes infant mortality and morbidity prevention and prenatal to preschool child and family protection. The project currently serves Scott, Woodbury, Polk, Buchanan, Hamilton, and Wapello counties. Infant mortality and morbidity prevention services provided in Scott, Polk, and Woodbury counties have been the project's most successful service. DPH has also set a goal to immunize 90 percent of Iowa's children by age two.
Project Recipient Testimony. Healthy Families Program project recipient Bridget Gatlin provided members with a first person perspective on the benefits of the project. She expressed her appreciation noting that the project has provided her and her family with physical, educational, monetary, and emotional support.
Discussion. Co-Chairperson Carroll expressed his frustration over the array of seemingly uncoordinated programs offered across the state. Senator Hammond said the assortment of programs may be viewed positively, since this allows communities to tailor services to their particular needs.
6. Healthy Families Program (Iowa Chapter/National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse).
Mr. John Holtkamp, Executive Director, Iowa Chapter of the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse (NCPCA), acquainted members with his agency's design. The NCPCA administers Healthy Families Iowa (HFI) through a contract with the Iowa DPH and a match by statewide and local contributions. An additional program, Parent Support Program for Children at Risk, through the Department of Education, provides $800,000 for services for at-risk children in eight counties. Currently HFI services are available in six counties, but plans are in place to increase availability to 22 counties. Basic program design includes universal screening of all births to new parents in the project, the offer of services to all high-risk families, and at least weekly visits by a resource parent until the child is three years of age. The services are collaborative and stress nonduplication and community coordination. Slightly more than a quarter of the families identified as needing services were denied participation in Healthy Families Iowa and referred elsewhere because of full caseloads. The program's success is demonstrated in the infant mortality numbers, which dropped from 9.8 percent in 1992 to 7.5 percent in 1993 in the project areas, and in founded child abuse numbers, which were half that of those not in the program. He cautioned that child abusers are moving into churches and sports organizations and Preferred Risk, for example, has created a video to assist churches and others in detection and prevention of child abuse. Mr. Holtkamp estimated that expanding the program to 19 counties from the current six counties would cost $400,000, and would still not cover Polk County. Statewide expansion, he estimated, would cost $3 - 4 million, but he suggested that collaboration with other programs currently available within counties could reduce his estimates. He recommended a community match of state dollars at an affordable level to increase community involvement. He defended the use of decategorization funds to provide prevention services by noting the extensive data demonstrating the positive impact of the program in reaching at-risk populations and improving lives.
7. Department of Education.
Ms. Sue Donielson, Administrator, Office of Educational Services for Children, Family and Communities, Department of Education, provided the education perspective. She described children as the foundation of the future. With a solid foundation, children will develop into stable contributing members of society. If their care is lacking, the effects will be felt in all parts of society in families, schools, the economy, and the public health, welfare and criminal justice systems. She listed seven basic family supports: living wage, housing, child care, medical care, transportation, nutrition, and education. Equity in services across the state is a problem.
Ms. Donielson said she is reticent about using the term "at-risk" to describe people, because it isolates people and at one time or another, everyone finds themselves in risky situations. She advocates partnerships because government cannot do the entire job of assuring a healthy start for families. She observed that the state needs a comprehensive long-term plan and leadership from the legislature, state agencies, business, labor, and communities in the development of a state system of support for children and families in Iowa. To pay for these support services, she suggested the possibilities of a tax on marriage and divorce, the use of gambling revenues, or a tax checkoff.
Family Resource Centers. Ms. Donielson noted that Iowa has three state-funded family resource centers. The centers are designed for and by individual communities. She listed their core components: child development programs, before and after school child care, support services to parents of newborns, adult literacy, links to family day care home providers, positive youth development, and health. The centers offer families a choice of services, connect with the hub of the community -- the school, are available to all families at various developmental stages of parenting, utilize available community services, and do not duplicate services.
Dubuque County School-based Youth Services. 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. Ms. Scherrman also spoke about the need to find reliable, alternate means of funding to provide better educated nursing staff within the schools. She asserted that school nurses should have a bachelor of science degree as a minimum level of education, but noted that schools often are unable to employ a nurse with the necessary qualifications because of budget concerns. School-based Youth Services grants enabled her district to hire a nurse with a bachelor of science degree for case management and the nurse has more time to collaborate with community agencies. The district has been providing services on-site, for example, mental health services and an outreach coordinator (probation), but there is a need for more services and for expansion of the services already provided on-site. Providing services on-site is important because many parents will not take their children to another site for mental health services because of the stigma, and others are constrained by transportation limitations.
Discussion. Representatives Kreiman and Thomsen indicated their desire to be provided with longitudinal studies verifying the Center's results.
8. Good Samaritan Urban 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. GSUM services include parenting classes, addiction counseling sessions, a youth ministry working with gang members, clothing, and transitional housing for homeless mothers. The goal of the ministry is to break the cycle of homelessness by providing safe, affordable housing, a food pantry, assistance finding jobs, and child care. The steps in the process involve moving into affordable apartments, then, as the family's situation stabilizes, moving into homes, with the end goal home ownership. The ministry purchases and renovates abandoned or unsafe apartment buildings to provide safe housing for its clients.
Mr. Bales suggested that business and government are partners with the ministry. The ministry depends on volunteers, and receives the majority of its funding from individuals and churches. The ministry hopes to partner in welfare reform that requires recipients to work and continue their educations. Eighty percent of the families the ministry serves are headed by women. The ministry provides the transitional help a mother needs when the mother finds a job and health and child care benefits are terminated. He observed that mothers want to work and would if they could continue the medical and child care assistance, and he repeatedly expressed his hope that government funding continue for medical and child care.
The ministry receives a $100,000 grant from Des Moines and a special waiver from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He suggested that hot breakfasts in schools and safe educational environments for children should be supported, and student financial aid grants should not be reduced. He indicated his hope that government not place responsibility for ending poverty and its problems with the churches, but rather include churches as partners in solving society's problems. He also stated his wish that the state provide a last resort transitional housing program for people who refuse to live by the rules established in properties such as those owned by the ministry. He asked that the state direct teen parents to programs to help them care for their children or to encourage them to place their children for adoption.
Discussion. There was some disagreement in whether current funding for child and family services is adequate, but members agreed that flexibility at the community level is imperative. Co-chairperson Szymoniak suggested the Committee may need to hear from the people who are working without resources. There is a danger, she said, in only hearing from the successful programs receiving funding, because of the tendency to forget that there are areas not receiving needed help. She identified Mr. Bales as a singular person who does not have a counterpart in all areas of the state to lead and administer services.
9. Committee Discussion -- Next Meeting Date -- November 8, 1995.
The Committee discussed the agenda of the third meeting. Suggested presenters included Ms. Myrt Levine of the Iowa Business Council and Mr. Fred Weitz, Des Moines business leader. Co-chairperson Carroll suggested that the members meet and discuss the issues among themselves at the next meeting rather than receive additional testimony. Senator Connolly suggested that the Committee assess the existing services being provided by the various agencies and decategorization. He asked that Mr. Jon Neiderbach, Legislative Fiscal Bureau, prepare a visual description of these services and present this information at the next Committee meeting. The Committee agreed that the focus of the third and final meeting of the Committee be on the information to be provided by Mr. Neiderbach, discussion, and recommendations to the General Assembly. Co-Chairperson Szymoniak noted that the next and final meeting of the Committee will take place Wednesday, November 8, 1995.
10. Written Materials Filed With the Legislative Service Bureau.
a. Phi Delta Kappan, Early Childhood Reform, September 1995, submitted by Co-Chairperson Szymoniak.
b. 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.
c. Council on Human Investment, People's Priorities: Iowa Benchmark Report - 1995 - Executive Summary, submitted by Mr. Marv Weidner, Department of Management.
d. Budgeting for Results: Iowa's Outcome-Based Performance Budget, submitted by Mr. Marv Weidner, Department of Management.
e. Children and Family Services program packet with accompanying overhead copies, submitted by Mr. Federico Brid, Department of Human Services.
f. Iowa Department of Public Health presentation overhead copies, submitted by Ms. Mary Weaver.
g. Materials regarding the "High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 27," submitted by Ms. Sue Donielson, Department of Education.
h. 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.
i. Overview, case studies, and service summary submitted by Ms. Pearl Scherrman, Dubuque County Community School District.
j. Fiscal summary of Children and Family Services, submitted by Mr. Jon Neiderbach, Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
k. Good Samaritan newsletters and brochure, submitted by Mr. Andy Bales, Good Samaritan Urban Ministries.

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