Podcasts about temporary assistance

From Best of 180PODCAST: In this episode of Follow the Leader, we welcome special guest Dr. Cira Burke, Director of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program at the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services. Dr. Burke discusses her work helping families in need gain access to services, job training, education, and more to achieve self-sufficiency. She shares insights on poverty and related issues in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the importance of community partnerships, and her passion for her purpose-driven work. Dr. Burke also highlights her involvement with Parenting Inside Out, a program supporting incarcerated parents and their families. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about making a real difference in the community with the dedicated Dr. Cira Burke.

County receives about $65 million annually About 10 percent of Dutchess County's funding - $65 million - comes from federal funding through eight agencies, according to a newly released report by Dan Aymar-Blair, a Beacon resident who is the county comptroller. The report also calculated that Dutchess residents receive $1.9 billion annually in direct federal assistance through programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and military medical insurance. Aymar-Blair released the report, which is posted at dub.sh/dutchess-federal, following a freeze on Jan. 27 by President Donald Trump of all federal funding, causing confusion for municipal governments and nonprofits. Although a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order a few days later and ordered the money restored, the funding has been inconsistent and unpredictable. At the same time, cuts driven by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an ad hoc agency created by the administration and led by carmaker Elon Musk, have caused further uncertainty. "We were getting a lot of questions," said Aymar-Blair. "People had concerns about how much federal funding the county had, what it was used for, and whether it had been touched by the feds." In Putnam, the finance department and clerk did not respond to inquiries about how much of the county's funding comes from the federal government. Putnam does not have a comptroller's office. Aymar-Blair said he had expected that the investigation would reveal sources of federal funding that the county could do without, but "every single program struck me as vital to the county's functioning and to supporting the vulnerable people in our county." The county's largest source of federal funding in 2024 was $43.6 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which funds programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (aka "welfare"); the Home Energy Assistance Program; adoption and foster care; and the enforcement of child support. The county also received $2.95 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka "food stamps") and $12.9 million from the Department of Transportation, among other federal expenditures. The report said that, as of Feb. 20, the county had not seen delays in federal disbursements, but Aymar-Blair said this week that's no longer accurate. "Everything's changing all the time," he said. At a March 6 meeting of the county Legislature's Public Works and Capital Projects Committee, Bob Balakind of the Department of Public Works reported that a federal grant the county had received to study the feasibility of electrifying the county bus fleet had been frozen. A consultant hired to produce the study was already a month into the work; if the funds aren't forthcoming, the county will have to pick up the tab. A grant to install new cameras at Dutchess County Airport also was paused, although "that may have since wiggled loose again," Balakind said. He noted that 90 percent of the airport's capital funding comes from the federal government, with the remainder split between the state and county. "We're usually only stuck with paying that last 5 percent, which is great," he said. "But that federal funding is now much more volatile." There is confusion about the status of some of the $3.2 million that the Department of Housing and Urban Development pays the county after the nonprofit Hudson River Housing reported that it had been told its contract with HUD would not be renewed as of March 31. That could leave dozens of Poughkeepsie families homeless, it said. Hudson River Housing did not respond to a request for comment. Meanwhile, the future of the Social Security Administration office in Poughkeepsie, the only one in the county, has been in doubt. The office, which had been closed for renovations, appeared on a list of government sites that DOGE expected to close. Earlier this week, Aymar-Blair said that the office's staff weren'...

In this episode of Follow the Leader, we welcome special guest Dr. Cira Burke, Director of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program at the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services. Dr. Burke discusses her work helping families in need gain access to services, job training, education, and more to achieve self-sufficiency. She shares insights on poverty and related issues in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the importance of community partnerships, and her passion for her purpose-driven work. Dr. Burke also highlights her involvement with Parenting Inside Out, a program supporting incarcerated parents and their families. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about making a real difference in the community with the dedicated Dr. Cira Burke.

In this episode of Follow the Leader, we welcome special guest Dr. Cira Burke, Director of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program at the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services. Dr. Burke discusses her work helping families in need gain access to services, job training, education, and more to achieve self-sufficiency. She shares insights on poverty and related issues in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the importance of community partnerships, and her passion for her purpose-driven work. Dr. Burke also highlights her involvement with Parenting Inside Out, a program supporting incarcerated parents and their families. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about making a real difference in the community with the dedicated Dr. Cira Burke.

From the Working Together Podcast: In this episode of Follow the Leader, we welcome special guest Dr. Cira Burke, Director of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program at the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services. Dr. Burke discusses her work helping families in need gain access to services, job training, education, and more to achieve self-sufficiency. She shares insights on poverty and related issues in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the importance of community partnerships, and her passion for her purpose-driven work. Dr. Burke also highlights her involvement with Parenting Inside Out, a program supporting incarcerated parents and their families. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about making a real difference in the community with the dedicated Dr. Cira Burke.

In America today, reports show that food insecurity is a pressing issue for over 35 million people. With rising grocery prices, inflation, and the lasting impacts of the pandemic—understanding the complexities of hunger has never been more imperative. Mariana Chilton explores this issue in the book, The Painful Truth about Hunger in America: Why We Must Unlearn Everything We Think We Know—and Start Again with some new insights and perspectives. Mariana Chilton is an author, professor, and founder of the Drexel University — Center for Hunger-Free Communities. In The Painful Truth About Hunger in America, Chilton takes a radical and urgent new approach to addressing hunger and poverty in the US. Where traditionally researchers, policymakers, and advocates have approached providing food through donations or non-profit organizations, Chilton focuses on the fundamental structures which she asserts have a keen interest in maintaining food stratification. Chilton suggests that the solution to food insecurity lies beyond providing food itself and will have to take both a political and spiritual approach in fixing this crisis. Drawing on 25 years of research, programming, and advocacy efforts, Chilton argues that food insecurity is created and maintained by those in power. To demonstrate her point, Chilton calls back to the original wounds suffered in this country — through a history of colonization, genocide, and enslavement. Drawing on intimate interviews she has conducted with many Black and Brown women, Chilton sheds light on the experience of hunger as linked with trauma and gender-based violence, violence with the natural world, and with ourselves. The Painful Truth about Hunger in America not only reinvigorates our commitment to uprooting the causes of poverty and discrimination but also points to a more generative and humane world where everyone can be nourished. Mariana Chilton, PhD, MPH, is a Professor at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health and Director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities, a research and advocacy center focused on addressing hunger and economic insecurity. She founded Witnesses to Hunger, a movement amplifying women's voices in the fight against poverty, and leads the Building Wealth and Health Network, which promotes entrepreneurship in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Her work on food insecurity, trauma, and human rights has influenced national policies, and she has advised Congress, Sesame Street, and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Chilton's research has been featured in major media outlets, including The Washington Post and CBS News. Agueda Pacheco Flores is a Seattle-based freelancer with a focus on culture, arts, Southend communities, and the Latinx diaspora. Her work has been featured in The Seattle Times, The South Seattle Emerald, Remezcla, and more. You can find her on X @AguedaPachecOH. Buy the Book The Painful Truth about Hunger in America: Why We Must Unlearn Everything We Think We Know--and Start Again Elliott Bay Book Company

Rep. Gwen Moore, who represents the 4th District of Wisconsin, was in the state legislature when her state commenced a welfare-to-work program that would become the template for the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Moore now sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees TANF. She joined the podcast to discuss her problems with TANF, how it could be improved, and we discussed her most recent bill on the intersection of poverty and child welfare systems.Reading RoomFull Committee Hearing on Reforming Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)https://bit.ly/3Ybqv8Rep. Gwen Moore's comments from the hearinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JVCneYbvLQTemporary Assistance for Needy Families, with Ashley Burnsidehttps://imprintnews.org/podcast/temporary-assistance-needy-families-ashley-burnsideStrengthening Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as a Safety Net and Work Programhttps://bit.ly/3zRBdJaPublic Comment in response to “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Intermediate Improvement to the Disability Adjudication Process: Including How We Consider Past Work”https://bit.ly/4f61weRTANF Cash Assistance to Families Plummets, But Program Remains Consistent Funder of Child Welfarehttps://bit.ly/3W9Zce9Bipartisan Effort in Congress Aims to Steer Impoverished Families Away From Foster Care Systems https://bit.ly/3YgrZ1LAmid Pandemic, Congress Considers Giving Parents More Time to Reunify with Kids in Foster Carehttps://tinyurl.com/3tazannm

Growing up, the two topics that were taboo at the dinner table were religion and politics. Which may be a big part of how we ended up in the mess we find ourselves in. Please join Dani Joy and me as we ramble a bit about how deconstruction changed our political perspectives, and how those changing perspectives tie into our thoughts on adoption and family preservation. Mentioned in the show: TANF Welfare benefits or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) | USAGov Saving our Sisters: Home - Saving Our Sisters (savingoursistersadoption.org) The Family Preservation Project: Facebook The opinions of the host and their guests are just that, opinions. The host is not a lawyer, therapist or a politician. The host encourages listeners to research the topics discussed and engage your curiosity and critical thinking skills. Let's problem solve together.

On today's episode we spoke with Aditi Shrivastava, deputy director of income security at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, about the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, known widely as TANF. We talked about the proposed new rule for regulating how states use this program, a new test of how to measure success, and we also discuss the many guaranteed income projects that have popped up around the country.  Reading RoomRule-a-Palooza! Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, with Ashley Burnsidehttps://imprintnews.org/podcast/temporary-assistance-needy-families-ashley-burnsideSupport Grows For No-Strings-Attached Cash For Families To Prevent Foster Care Removalshttps://imprintnews.org/top-stories/support-grows-for-no-strings-attached-cash-for-families-to-prevent-foster-care-removals/243395Feds Begin Test of Welfare Work Requirementshttps://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/feds-begin-test-welfare-work-requirements/250920Here's What Happens When You Give People Free Moneyhttps://www.wired.com/story/sam-altmans-big-basic-income-study-is-finally-out/

Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) administers the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in Kansas. Kansas receives about $102 million in federal TANF block grants annually. This amount has generally remained stable since 1996, but that means this amount has lost an estimated 49% of its purchasing power since 1996 because of inflation. One of the programs DCF funds with the TANF block grant is cash assistance. TANF cash assistance serves Kansas families with very low incomes. In Kansas, a family is eligible for TANF cash assistance if they have insufficient income or resources to support themselves. Funds must be granted to families that live in Kansas. The family must include a child or expectant mother who is a U.S. citizen, legal immigrant, or qualified immigrant. The state's 2015 Hope, Opportunity, and Prosperity for Everyone (HOPE) Act changed eligibility requirements for TANF cash assistance in Kansas. This included things like capping lifetime assistance to a total of 24 months and reducing the amount of time single caregivers could be exempt from work activity to 3 months. TANF cash assistance benefit amounts in Kansas haven't been updated since 1997. Spending on TANF cash assistance in Kansas has decreased from about 15% of block grant spending (about $15.2 million) to about 9% ($9.4 million) of block grant spending from FY 2009 through FY 2023, while spending on other TANF programs has increased. The purchasing power of TANF cash assistance also decreased by about 30% from FY 2009 to FY 2023 because of inflation. One reason for the decrease in cash assistance spending in Kansas is the decreasing caseloads. All cash assistance caseloads in Kansas decreased from about 12,600 average monthly cases in FY 2009 to about 2,900 average monthly cases in FY 2023; about a 77% decrease. Other reasons may include eligibility changes, wage increases, and inflation. The research we reviewed suggested TANF rules like those in Kansas lead to mostly negative program outcomes for TANF families, while stakeholders held mixed opinions about the impacts of Kansas's TANF rule changes.

Local school districts are accepting applications for students who meet eligibility requirements to receive free or reduced-price meals for the 2024-25 school year. Children in households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are eligible. Additionally, foster children, children who are enrolled in Head Start or Even Start, and those who meet the income guidelines of the program based on the Federal Income Chart are eligible. Families may apply anytime during the school year including if their household income goes below the income limit. Households who received a notification letter that...Article Link

Over the summer, The Imprint Weekly Podcast will feature episodes with subject matter experts to talk about several new rules and regulations issued by the Biden administration in the past year. On this week's episode, Ashley Burnside of the Center for Law and Social Policy joins us to discuss a plan to update the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a federal cash assistance program designed to help low-income families fill the gap. Burnside discussed the changing nature of TANF programs since its inception in 1996, and explains what Biden's proposed rules for it would change about how states could use the money to support families. Ashley Burnside is a senior policy analyst with the public benefits justice team at the Center for Law and Social Policy. She specializes in refundable tax credits, and also focuses on disability policy issues and increasing access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for college students with low incomes who face barriers to accessing higher education.Reading RoomStrengthening Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as a Safety Net and Work Programhttps://bit.ly/3zRBdJaPublic Comment in response to “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Intermediate Improvement to the Disability Adjudication Process: Including How We Consider Past Work” https://bit.ly/4f61weRTANF Cash Assistance to Families Plummets, But Program Remains Consistent Funder of Child Welfarehttps://bit.ly/3W9Zce9Reports: States Hoard Billions in Welfare Funds Despite Growing Nee https://shorturl.at/K8URJ

In this episode of Follow the Leader, we welcome special guest Dr. Cira Burke, Director of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program at the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services. Dr. Burke discusses her work helping families in need gain access to services, job training, education, and more to achieve self-sufficiency. She shares insights on poverty and related issues in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the importance of community partnerships, and her passion for her purpose-driven work. Dr. Burke also highlights her involvement with Parenting Inside Out, a program supporting incarcerated parents and their families. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about making a real difference in the community with the dedicated Dr. Cira Burke.

In this episode, we welcome special guest Dr. Cira Burke, Director of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program at the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services. Dr. Burke discusses her work helping families in need gain access to services, job training, education, and more to achieve self-sufficiency. She shares insights on poverty and related issues in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the importance of community partnerships, and her passion for her purpose-driven work. Dr. Burke also highlights her involvement with Parenting Inside Out, a program supporting incarcerated parents and their families. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about making a real difference in the community with the dedicated Dr. Cira Burke.

In this episode, Josh Moon and David Person discuss Alabama's unspent $100 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds, emphasizing the dire need for better financial support in impoverished areas, particularly in the Black Belt. House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels joins the show to share personal updates, including recovering from a house fire. He reflects on his recent congressional campaign and the significant influence of money in politics. Daniels discusses his future plans, focusing on spending time with family and supporting local communities through sustainable programs like Boys and Girls Clubs, and provides insights into the recent legislative session's impact on Alabama. The hosts then turn to U.S. District Court Judge Lyle C. Burke's controversial order threatening to jail lawyers, expressing concerns about increasing judicial partisanship and suggesting reforms, such as term limits for Supreme Court justices. About Our Sponsor: Alabama Politics This Week is sponsored by Wind Creek Hospitality. Gaming is the heart of Wind Creek Hospitality, but they offer so much more. Wind Creek's 10 distinct properties in the U.S. and Caribbean — including four in Alabama — provide world-class entertainment, dining, hotel stays, amenities and activities. As the principal gaming and hospitality entity for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Wind Creek continues to grow and offer guests luxurious destinations and opportunities for escape. Send us a question: We take a bit of time each week to answer questions from our audience about Alabama politics — or Alabama in general. If you have a question about a politician, a policy, or a trend — really anything — you can shoot us an email at apwproducer@gmail.com or with this form. You can also send it to us on Facebook and Twitter. Or by emailing us a voice recording to our email with your question, and we may play it on air. Either way, make sure you include your name (first name is fine) and the city or county where you live. About APW: APW is a weekly Alabama political podcast hosted by Josh Moon and David Person, two longtime Alabama political journalists. More information is available on our website. Listen anywhere you get your podcasts. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Music credits: Music courtesy of Mr. Smith via the Free Music Archive. Visit Mr. Smith's page here.  

Peggy Bailey is the Vice President of Housing and Income Security, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.  Her work protects and expands access to affordable housing, improves state's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), focuses on child support programs and expands employment opportunities to housing and cash assistance recipients. Before joining the Center, Peggy served in the Biden/Harris Administration as the Senior Advisor on Rental Assistance to HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge.She recently testified before the Senate Banking Committee on housing.1:45 People simply don't have the money to afford housingToo many families are paying more than 40 - 60 percent of their income on housingLandlords have to charge a certain amount of money to pay the mortgage and maintain the buildingMinimum rent is out of reach for too many peopleMultifaceted problem, where do you start?Multi family housing is being developed but most of it is being priced in the upper end of affordability3:58 Government subsidy to afford high rental cost4:10 there are pockets of innovation, European countries are taking a more social approach to housing4:55 People need flexibility regarding where they can live5:19 Child care is a major factor with housing costs6:00 Families don't have enough money to afford their basic needs6:36 Housing justice, everyone has a right to housing7:04 Housing is a basic need like food and clothing7:48 Rent mitigation and rent cost containment8:12 Leveling the playing field and racial injustice with housing8:25 Racism and discrimination underlines most if not all of the things we've used in the past as solutions8:40 Reprogram and redesign new plans to correct past racism and discrimination9:00 Cash programs improves housing, nutrition and more9:16 Denver Colorado has a pilot project that is doing it right10:06 A recent housing initiative will increase affordable housing supply, make it easier to build affordable housing and increase the number of units available10:38 Grant programs for builders to offset the cost of creating housing11:01 A Capital stack12:40 rental assistance programs for people who need help now50th Anniversary of the housing choice voucher program 2024 13:20 Landlord has the control now but that may change and offer the tenant the voucher and option to choose the housing14:00 Many separate voucher programs available but these can leave some people out14:20 Not reinforcing the deserving status but delivering housing assistance to those who need it14:45 What could happen with the housing voucher? 15:30 Reducing discrimination and empowering the individual        Listen Up, Home Buyers! The podcast offering advice and tips from true buyer agents. Host and Producer, Victoria Ray Henderson is the owner and broker of HomeBuyer Brokerage in the Washington D.C. area. Victoria is and a member of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents.

Please join me as I speak with Katie Nelson Burns, founder of The Family Preservation Project. Katie is a mother of loss to adoption who is passionately committed to preventing others from applying permanent solutions to temporary problems. As the creator of the project and as a board member of Saving our Sisters, Katie devotes a great deal to helping pregnant mothers in crisis. Mentioned on the show: The Family Preservation Project: The Family Preservation Project – Where Moms and Resources Meet Saving our Sisters: Home - Saving Our Sisters (savingoursistersadoption.org) All You Have is Love: Home - (allyouhaveislove.com) Georgis Alliance for Adoptee Rights: Home | Georgia Alliance for Adoptee Rights (gaallianceforadopteerights.org) Georgia Revocation Law: Georgia Code § 19-8-26 (2019) - Forms :: 2019 Georgia Code :: US Codes and Statutes :: US Law :: Justia Adoptee Access to records, Georgia: Georgia | Adoptee Rights Law Center TANF: Welfare benefits or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) | USAGov PTSD: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic Stress Response: Protect your brain from stress - Harvard Health Support for parents of loss to adoption: Concerned United Birthparents [Birth Mother] First Mother Forum If you are experiencing suicidal ideation, please reach out for support. NAMI-National-HelpLine-WarmLine-Directory-3-11-20.pdf Thank ou for listening to the show! The opinions of the host and their guests are just that, their opinions. The host is not a lawyer or a therapist.

Machaela Cavanaugh represents Nebraska's 6th District in the Unicameral. She was re-elected to a second term in 2022 and in 2023, Cavanaugh made national news when she filibustered LB574, also known as the Let Them Grow Act, which bans gender-affirming care for Nebraska children. Cavanaugh spoke on the bill up to 12 hours a day for 11 weeks. LB574 was passed by the Legislature in May and went into effect last October. In the current legislative session, which began on January 3rd, Cavanaugh says she's focused on supporting Nebraska's working poor. She's prioritizing paid family leave, universal school meals, and securing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. On today's show, Cavanaugh is in conversation with Maria Corpuz about her historic filibuster, building relationships in a divided legislature, and her hopes for the 108th Legislative Session. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/riversidechats/support

In Washington, millions of dollars in child support payments are intercepted by the state from custodial parents who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a federal assistance program that includes cash benefits. Lawmakers are considering a bill with bipartisan support that would redirect a portion of future child support payments back to families. Brandon Block is an investigative reporter at Cascade PBS. He has reported on the bill and joins us with details.

Chelsey provides a comprehensive overview of the legislation, highlighting its significance in blocking the Biden administration's attempt to exclude pregnancy centers from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. We explore how this legislation impacts pregnancy centers nationwide, ensuring that the 40,000 families served by organizations like Human Coalition, and the broader 975,000 families served by pregnancy centers, receive vital medical, financial, and material services.Chelsey shares her perspective on the choices made by the U.S. House, emphasizing care and compassion, and contrasts this with what she perceives as abandonment and neglect by the Biden administration. Her recent statement underscores the importance of societal decisions in shaping a supportive environment for pregnant women in need.The discussion delves into specific examples of the services and support that families can now access due to the legislation. We also explore the potential consequences had the Biden administration's attempt succeeded in excluding pregnancy centers from TANF.Looking ahead, Chelsey discusses Human Coalition's plans to leverage the legislation to further their mission of assisting women and families through healthy pregnancies. The conversation concludes with an exploration of the role of government policies in either supporting or neglecting pregnant women and potential improvements.Chelsey Youman, Esq., serves the pro-life coalition, as well as women and their preborn children, by advocating for pro-life policies and jurisprudence; mobilizing and unifying local grassroots to strengthen the pro-life movement and its footprint; and engaging with the public to ultimately strengthen our community's desire to enable women and protect preborn children.Chelsey's professional experience includes working as senior counsel and chief of staff for First Liberty Institute, concentrating on religious liberty matters and First Amendment rights. At First Liberty Institute, she litigated on behalf of and advised hundreds of clients regarding conscience rights nationwide. Chelsey has also worked in private practice, where she successfully litigated corporate fraud matters, complex commercial litigation, and consumer rights issues in both federal and state jurisdictions.Chelsey holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Texas A&M, and a J.D. from Southern Methodist University.Chelsey is happily married with three children. Her family is active in their church, serving in the premarital and pro-life ministries there. They enjoy traveling, adventuring, and eating good food. https://hucoaction.org/leadership/chelsey-youman/ https://www.humancoalition.org/

In the studio today are Joan Phillips, Assistant Commissioner at the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, and Michelle Banks, DIF Strategic Director for MRC.   Find out how MRC is turning VR on its head. What would they do differently in the first year, and what results would they see after year 2? Learn about the success of the job certification program, and how they are meeting the "NextGen-ers" where they are at.   Hear how  Joan and Michelle encourage others to take on a DIF Grant to help bring more innovation and creative ideas to VR.   Learn more about the NextGen Initiative.   Listen Here   Full Transcript:   {Music}   Joan: If you are committed to this field, please apply for a DIF grant. Bring your ideas forward so we can infuse the future of VR with new energy and achieve more outcomes for individuals with disabilities who come to us, really depending on us, to help them make life changing decisions.   Michelle: We're moving more and more young adults into trainings. We've developed training partnerships in technology, in health care. We're trying to forge our way into biotech.   Joan: I'm always challenging staff. What else? How else?   Intro Voice: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, welcome to the Manager Minute. Joining me in the studio today are Joan Phillips, assistant commissioner at the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, and Michelle Banks, DIF strategic director for MRC. So, Joan, how are things going at MRC?   Joan: Things are going really well. We are extremely busy working hard to ensure that the individuals who come to us seeking employment have every opportunity to get the training and to be upskilled and to gain employment. We are very, very busy but very happy.   Carol: Well, and of course, under Tony, she keeps you very busy because Tony's got a lot of great ideas. I love that.   Joan: She's got a lot of energy, more than all of us, that's for sure.   Carol: How about you, Michelle? How are things going for you?   Michelle: Good, busy is the word. Our project is well underway. Got a lot of participants. We've got a lot of interested folks and a lot of optimism for what we're about to achieve here. So it's going well.   Carol: I'm super excited to dig into this because I know our listeners have been really excited. And so this is the third podcast in a series focused on the Disability Innovation Fund career advancement projects. And I want to just do a little quick recap for our listeners about this particular round of the Disability Innovation Fund grants. So grant activities are geared to support innovative activities aimed at improving the outcomes of individuals with disabilities. And the Career Advancement Initiative model demonstrations funded back in 2021 were intended to identify and demonstrate practices that are supported by evidence to assist VR eligible individuals with disabilities, including previously served VR participants in employment who reenter the program to do the following. And it was to advance in high demand, high quality careers like science, technology, engineering, and math or those STEM careers, to enter career pathways in industry driven sectors through pre apprenticeships, registered apprenticeships and industry recognized apprenticeship programs to improve and maximize the competitive integrated outcomes, economic self-sufficiency, independence and inclusion in society and reduce reliance on public benefits like SSI, SSDI and or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and any state or local benefits. Also, when we think back, Congress made career pathways a necessary, if not foundational, part of WIOA's workforce reforms and states, for example, are required to include career pathways and workforce development systems. They're required to have them in their local plans that they have. So it's been really fun because each of the other agencies that we featured to date has taken a really uniquely Different approach, and I'm excited to unpack what's happening with you all. So, Joan, I'm going to start with you. Tell our listeners a little bit about yourself and how you got into VR.   Joan: I actually have a master's degree in rehabilitation, but spent a significant amount of my career working in the private sector. I feel that those experiences really informed my positions that I've held at MRC. I came in as a director of one of our local offices, and four years later I was promoted to Assistant Commissioner. So that's a little glimpse into my journey. I have significant experience in Workforce Development, disability determination to determine eligibility for disability benefits, working with young adults with disabilities, individuals with severe physical disabilities. And I'm very fortunate to be in this career.   Carol: Well, it's always fun to see how people make their way to VR. We all get here some way. It can be a long and winding road sometimes, or a very direct path in. So Michelle, how about you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself?   Michelle: Sure, mine might reflect a long, winding part when it comes to Vocational Rehabilitation, but I've spent my career working with young adults. I started in the health care sector and then moved to juvenile justice. And then spent about 20 years in public child welfare, and I was the director of Adolescent and Young Adult Services for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, where I was helping the agency pursue transition related outcomes, one of them being employment with a group of young adults who were going to leave the public child welfare system without returning home or being adopted. So they had their lives, were calling for an enormous amount of independence, saw a lot of inequity when it came to economic stability, and could see a lot of pathways in things that could be done differently. I had worked with MRC a bit in that role and saw what they were doing, and when I realized that they got this funding to help young adults in particular, really try to have gratifying career pathways that were going to help them achieve economic stability in ways that many of their peers have the opportunity to do. I jumped right on it. So that's how I landed with MRC and have been excited to be working in this role ever since.   Carol: Very cool. So you're well positioned for the role you're in now. That is great. So, Joan, can you paint us a picture of MRC? Like how many staff do you have? How many people do you serve? A little bit more about what it's like in Massachusetts.   Joan: Yeah. So the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission provides services that break down barriers and empower people with disabilities to live life on their own terms. Our programs focus on career services, home and community life, and disability determination for federal benefit programs. We like to say that we're change agents and community builders, and we put the people we serve at the heart of everything we do. I'm the Assistant Commissioner of the Vocational Rehabilitation Division. That division serves over 15,000 individuals annually. We have over 300 staff, which includes directors of our local offices, regional managers, statewide managers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, placement and employment specialists, counselors for the deaf and hard of hearing, various clerical positions, supervisors. And hopefully I haven't missed anyone. The NextGen initiative, which you'll hear about, has some broad and some interesting staffing positions that we hope will inform VR moving forward in the future, and you'll hear more about that later.   Carol: So just a side note, I wondered, how are you guys faring kind of coming out of the pandemic? Are you seeing an upswing in the number of people that you're serving?   Joan: Absolutely. The numbers are increasing in terms of the numbers being served and also the numbers of individuals who are getting employment. We had a downswing during the pandemic, but now it's moving in the right direction and we're really excited to see that.   Carol: Good, that's good to hear. Been kind of hearing that trend across the country and I'm super happy about that. Well, I know your commissioner, Tony Wolf. I think she's amazing. She's done a lot of very cool things. She comes with a whole interesting background as well. And I know she's been super supportive and I feel like is always on the cutting edge of improving services. Talk about the support you've received from Tony and kind of throughout your agency for this project.   Joan: Her vision is really to modernize our organization, to modernize the Voc rehab divisions, to be relevant to this generation and future generations of individuals with disabilities. So we're all aligning ourselves. I said earlier, she's got much more energy than all of us combined. So we're trying to keep up with her and her ideas and moving forward.   Carol: Very cool. So, Michelle, big picture. Let's break down the grant. What do you propose to do with this grant? And what are you hoping to accomplish?   Michelle: So in this grant cycle we are looking to get 1000 NextGen-ers. So young adults 18 to 30 years old with disabilities into career pathways that are STEM related. We're going to do that in a few different ways, but our goal is to really open their minds to see how they can be successful in STEM careers, help them develop the tools that they're going to need to make the right career decision for them, understand how they can be successful and happy, and really achieve that economic stability that you were talking about and I was talking about earlier. It's an Innovation grant. So we're doing things differently than they've been done in the past. One of the things that we're doing is we have a learning experience that we provide to all of our NextGen-ers, and it's called Self CARES. Self CARES is an acronym, stands for Self-capacity self-advocacy, self-realization and Self Sufficiency. So it's really understanding. Ending who you are as a worker, what you want out of that, what your strengths and limitations are, what you're going to need to advocate for yourself once you become someone's employee and how you can work independently. And in NextGen, we don't see independence as being alone. We see it as accessing, first of all, having access to services, being able to access them, and harnessing the things that are available in your life to help you be successful at work. So that's our learning experience, Self CARES. And we also have these really creatively built teams looking at success in other sectors and within vocational rehabilitation itself that we've developed these roles within these teams. They include a peer mentor for every NextGener. The moment that they walk into our doors, we actually walk through their doors because we're community based, which is another innovative component. We have family partners, so the families of all of our NextGen-ers have a partner available to them on our team to ensure that their voice is NextGen-ers life and how they can contribute to a successful career. We also have employment success specialists, we have career counselors. We have specialty counselors for our NextGen-ers with sensory disabilities. We have a specialty counselor for blind low vision, NextGen-ers, and deaf hard of hearing NextGen-ers. And we have regional supervisors because we are based in these communities. We have three communities in the Commonwealth that we're serving right now as part of the grant. What's really different is these teams hold the NextGen-ers together, so it's not a 1 to 1 relationship. For example, with a counselor we're testing out, what is it like when you have these multi disciplines in they're all available to you. And we know that young adults like choice. So they choose who in this team is their team lead who they want to talk to, who they're going to return the text from. You know, who can get them where they want to be. But the rest of the team doesn't go away. They stay right there at the table to bring what they're disciplined forward and help move the young adult into work. Those are the main components of our program. I always look to Joan for a moment because she can fill in what I may have forgotten.   Joan: So NextGen is about quick wins. You know, we really want to help the young adults focus on those certificate programs and apprenticeships that are short term. They're not. We're not talking about putting people into a degree program, but a certificate program where there is a demand in the market sector for those skills and that they have a high probability of obtaining employment, making higher wages.   Carol: I love that you're doing that, that focus on, you know, everybody always was thinking, you have to have this four year degree or you got to get your master's, you got to get your doctorate. You know, all that. That is not for everyone. And there are so many good careers out there where you just need this little bit, like this certificate or you do the apprenticeship. Lots of people learn better, hands on. I remember my son, one of his friends in high school is an apprentice to be a plumber. I'm like, Chase, he's going to make more money than everybody because everybody needs plumbers. And that was his thing. He doesn't want to go to school and do the book learning. He learns so much better via hands on. So I like that approach because everybody doesn't want to go to college.   Joan: Yeah, you know what's really interesting is that right now, because of employers being unable to fill so many positions, everybody is looking at their entrance requirements to say, do we really need somebody with a degree? Is this something that somebody could learn on the job? Is this something if they got a certificate in this particular area, would that be sufficient? So I think we're on the cutting edge. We're on the cutting edge of preparing young adults to meet the demands of the labor market. And we're really excited about this. The good news is that if somebody completes a certificate program, gets a job and decides they want a degree, many employers are paying for those degrees. So the young person doesn't have these huge debts that they need to pay back. So that's one of the exciting things about NextGen. And that's one of the things that we inform the participants about that you can get a degree later if you decide that that's a path that you want to take.   Carol: Well, your timing couldn't be more perfect. I mean, I really feel like the pandemic sort of set all this up where people kind of flipped employment on its ear, and people are starting to see that not everybody needs to go to college, and there's lots of different ways to achieve that kind of ultimate career goal that you want to get to. There's a lot of ways to get there. So I think your timing is spot on. So let's talk about the first year. What kind of struggles did you guys encounter? Because I've heard it from the other DIF grantees. They're like, you know, that first year we had some problems, but what kind of struggles did you encounter in year one and what would you have done differently?   Michelle: I think that we used the analogy building the plane as you're flying it a lot. We are very optimistic about reaching our goals. Five years is a very short time to pursue some of these things. So Joan was the crafter of the implementation strategy really, and implementing, you know, building the program, opening the program, staffing the program, delivering the service at the same time is a very rapid pace. So I think that the biggest challenge would be the pace. At the same time, we're asking our NextGen-ers to work really hard in a short period of time to get a big outcome. So we've got to be doing the same thing.   Joan: You know, it's really funny when you write something on paper. It looks so beautiful and. And somewhat easy you know. But then reality hits that you have to, you know, this is a program that's serving people and you need to be strategic around implementation. And how are you going to deliver what it is that you've promised your funders that you're going to deliver? You know, if there was one thing that I could, we spent a lot of time drafting job descriptions, hiring staff, training staff, setting up infrastructure. If there was one thing that I could change as we rolled into year two and began to do outreach and recruitment, I looked back and said, I wish we had done outreach and recruitment in the first year, with a timeline set as to when the program would start. You know, took us a while to get the momentum going for recruitment. We're actually exceeding recruitment goals right now, but it was very stressful in the beginning thinking we weren't going to meet that number.   Carol: So that's a really good tip because I know folks have said the first year is sort of a drag because of the government processes. You have to write your position description and get it approved, and then you've got to post and then you're going to hire. And so you're waiting, waiting, waiting to kind of get going with the program. And then year two, It's like, holy cow, pedal to the metal really quickly, where I love that idea of ramping up and making people aware of what's going on as you're getting these things done. So it isn't quite that just huge forcefulness that needs to happen right away in year two. That makes really good sense. So since you're saying your outreach is going really well, I was going to ask you, I know you guys have a really I call it a groovy way of talking, so I may date myself, but I love how you guys talk about this program because it's exciting. You know, I love your NextGen-ers. I like when you were talking about employee success specialists. Like, I want to be one of those, you know, that kind of cool stuff that you're doing. So how are you connecting with your potential customers? And I'm going to shoot that to you, Michelle.   Michelle: Yeah, we have had a really dynamic and exciting outreach and marketing campaign. I have to talk first about our digital and print collateral, because when we were at CSAVR last year, it just flew off the shelf. They were so impressed with it. They wanted it to take it back to their state and see how they could replicate it. Marketing to young adults. Young adults get marketed to a lot, right? They are exposed to things that new ideas and people that want their presence, their money, their time. So you have a lot of competition out there, and you have to think about what's going to get their attention. So we had a digital and print media campaign in multiple languages. We want to ensure that we are serving young adults that have been under engaged in the past, and that includes specific racial and ethnic demographics. So we needed to make sure that the imagery on this collateral looked like them, look like the people we wanted to come into our program with. So diverse representation, they're young adults. Some had visual disabilities in the print collateral. They were living their lives, you know, so that folks could see that and really see themselves represented. And then also in their languages as well. We have multiple languages, and then everything from like the colors that we use to the background we used. We lifted that from other media campaigns that were for young adults specifically that we knew were successful. So real intentionality in a lot of time was put into that and a great partnership with our coms team. They were there before I got to the table and were so excited to do this work, and it really came through and what they were able to produce. We also went to social media. We launched social media campaigns. On Tik Tok reached close to 1500 views on that. We went to Facebook and Instagram, but we knew our demographic was really on Instagram and TikTok, so that was our area of focus. We did dynamic reels for them, and then we also just did what you would call like a flat still photograph, you know, using our digital media. So we're able to reach a lot of people that way. Then we went out every time we hired somebody and they were trained on the program, we put them out into the community to go find young adults, families and the systems that serve them. So we established partnerships with health and human service sister agencies serving our demographic as well as high schools were a great partner for us. We used some contracted services so that we could harness other relationships that were in the community. Cultural brokers, any type of neighborhood event, community event we were out at trying to we knew that the power wasn't speaking directly to young adults and directly to families, so that was always our focus. And multilingual capacity is really important there as well.   Carol: Yeah, I remember your materials flying off the table. People were like, holy cow, it is, it's like you've brought this whole fresh perspective into VR.   Michelle: Just one more thing. If anybody's listening that was of a huge assistance to us was a QR code on our print material. I just wanted to share that our potential NextGen-ers or their families could scan the QR code came directly to our landing page in a one page inquiry sheet.   Carol: You would now be proud of me because I saw that I was like, so we now have QR codes we're using on everything. So we do if we're doing evaluations, we go anywhere. We use a QR code instead of like, we're sending you this paper evaluation. We're just like we do the QR code. In fact, at our table coming up at the conference, I have QR codes that folks can just scan to get to our resources instead of like, dragging a bunch of paper along. So you're starting a revolution, you guys. It's awesome, I love it. So what kind of results are you seeing now that year two is completed? I think Michelle go to you first.   Michelle: We're moving more and more young adults into trainings. We've developed training partnerships in technology, in health care. We're trying to forge our way into biotech. So our NextGen-ers are coming in at the younger side around 22. So a lot of them do not have significant work history and have never heard of these fields before. They didn't get a lot of exposure to that in their high school experience. So we're doing a lot of career exploration and helping them into these trainings. We're doing some cohort trainings with some partners. So these are just NextGen-ers that we're able to hold together, serve as a group, give them peer support, give them support outside of the training or academics that are happening for them. And we're getting a lot of feedback on how to do that effectively with them. They don't like to meet in the morning. They don't want to meet after dinner. You've lost them permanently. But and they like individualized support. So as they're in these trainings, it's great and very helpful to them to meet as groups and peers. But they also want to be able to privately ask a question if they're struggling with any material, or maybe not quite sure this is a good fit for them. So needing to be really available to really understand what these trainings are, what is being asked of them, and then being able to provide that support. And if we can't provide it, connecting with the training provider to help them understand what the student experience is as well. And we've got some young adults moving into work as well. We again needed to open their minds to STEM careers. And sometimes when you've had no career or no job, you need to start somewhere. So we are looking a lot at some folks that are heading to work in. Our work is nowhere near done, right? They're getting their first job and they're learning what they like and what they don't like there. But the idea is to move more towards a career focused pathway.   Carol: Yeah. Very cool. That's the thing about demonstration projects you learn along the way, which I love, like you're learning little nuances, especially when you're working with that age group. Like, yeah, like after dinner you can and not too early in the morning. You're like all those different pieces, the ways you think you have it set up, and then you go, well, that didn't work so well. We're going to pivot. Joan, did you have some thoughts on that too?   Joan: Yeah, I was just going to say one exciting thing for me is employers engaging with us differently. For example, we have Red River who really stepped up and said we would love to offer an IT training for some of your participants who are interested in that field and their staff delivering the training for these young adults. And the hope is that, you know, many of them will get employment with Red River and other organizations. They brought Cisco and others to the table. And, you know, the opportunities. You know, if these individuals succeed in this area, it's wide. It's wide, wide open. Employer engagement. Also involves coming to talk to the young adults about different jobs in STEM, what it's like to work for their organizations, and etcetera. So it's beautiful to see the employers engaging at that level and who else to give relevant information but the employers.   Carol: Yeah, that's brilliant.   Joan: I walked into one of our conference rooms the other day, and there were 20 young people just focused on taking computers apart, and they didn't even notice me walking in the room. They were so engaged in the process. It was just, just beautiful. Just beautiful.   Carol: I think that's super smart, you know, because we can do it. You sit there and you go, well, you've got your counselors and they're talking about different jobs, but nothing better than people in that field. That particular company. And those companies are smart for hooking up with you guys too, because they have such a need for staff. And so that partnership, like the partnerships you're developing all the way through this, that's amazing. It's very cool. Joan, now I know you talk to me too, about your philosophy when it comes to VR. Can you share that with our listeners? You have some very cool perspective, and I know I can't, I can't say it like you say it.   Joan: Yeah, I've been in the field for a really, really long time, and my greatest desire is to see individuals with disabilities in high level, higher paying jobs. It's time for us to move out of retail flowers and filth. And I can't remember the other half, but, you know,   Carole: Food.   Joan:  and food services. Yes. It's time for us to move there. And I'm extremely excited to see where these NextGen-ers end up as we focus them on potentially jobs and careers that they've never heard of. You know, it's about exposing them to that. I'm always challenging staff. What else? How else? When I came to Mass Rehab, I was very surprised that our organization had been around for about 50 years and that the business community didn't know about us. I'm saying to myself, how are we getting people to work? And the types of jobs that people were getting really demonstrated that we were not connected to the business community. So it was my vision to drive that connection, to hire staff specifically focused on building relationships with the business community, nurturing those relationships, bringing information back to the counselors who are giving the advice around careers, and really developing a feeder system by having individuals who are managing business accounts, who speak their language, you know, who understand their culture and can help us to become much more innovative in preparing the individuals we serve and building the talent pipeline for the employers.   Carol: Good on you. I love that you speak to my heart. I know back when I was at State Services for the Blind in Minnesota and we were trying to expose our Pre-ETS students, that's why we started podcasts. Back then. We wanted to expose students to other kinds of work out there, because a lot of times our young folks who were blind or visually impaired, they just thought, I'm going to be a Walmart greeter. I can't do anything else. And it's like they had no idea I would cry, literally when we would do these student interviews and when people would kind of sell themselves short. It really hit my heart. And so the world is wide open. There's so many awesome opportunities that our folks can fill, you know, and you champion that I think is just brilliant.   Joan: Yeah, I mean, young adults with disabilities need to know that individuals with disabilities are CEOs. They are CFOs. They are IT professionals. You know, they're in the medical field. They're doctors, nurses, firemen. I mean, they're in every business sector. And I really believe that it is our job as VR professionals to expose those individuals to those careers and to really help them to think about their abilities. And, you know, what they have to bring to the table and how can we help them? Our job is to help them make informed decisions. Right? So we need to be informed about the labor market so that the information that we're transferring to these young adults is relevant to the current labor market. I think the NextGeneration of individuals with disabilities are not going to put up with working in a supermarket, bagging groceries. They want to be doing things that give them a great salary and offer them career ladder opportunities. And we're starting with NextGen.   Carol: They're going to be running that grocery store. They're not just bagging the groceries.   Joan: There you go.   Carol: They're going to own it. They're going to own that store. I love that. So, Joan, I know you also talked about the support you've had from RSA. Can you describe that for the listeners with this grant that there's been just really great support?   Joan: Doug Ziou has been an incredible supporter and a great cheerleader of MRC. I mean, everything we bring to the table, he's just. Yes. Do it. Yes. Do it. Very, very supportive, asking great questions, challenging us in ways that we need to be challenged but extremely, extremely supportive. And we're truly grateful that we have Doug on our side.   Carol: Yeah, I've heard that with all the project officers, I mean, like, they are super excited and really invested in these grants. It's almost like it's their babies or something. And they just love this so much. I'm really glad to hear that. Michelle, did you have anything you wanted to add to that?   Michelle: No, I was nodding. I realized this is a podcast, but I was just nodding furiously as Joan was talking. Working with Doug has just been such a pleasure, and you never get off a call with him without just feeling completely pumped about what you're about to go do and see all the possibility in it, because, you know, he does.   Carol: Yeah, I like that. They really cheerlead for that. So for those listeners that would like to apply for a DIF grant but have been afraid to do so, what advice would you give to others? Michelle. I'm going to hit you up with that first.   Michelle: I think that engaging potential employer partners, stakeholders, families are critical in not just the design and implementation phase, but hanging on to those partners, remembering what they told you in the beginning, revisiting that to give them a feedback loop on how you're incorporating their ideas to keep their partnership going, even when it's like, hey, remember you said that maybe you thought you could take on a few NextGen-ers in your organization? We're there now, keeping in contact, revisiting conversations. You know, I think that in a lot of grants, we bring our stakeholders to the table when we're applying for the funding and maybe even right when we first get it. And then we let them go away a little bit. So keep them there, keep them in the conversation. Update them on how things are progressing. Continue to ask questions. The world is different than it was two years ago, so our questions should be different as well. So that we're staying current in that partnership is staying current. And I can't stress family engagement enough and how powerful it is with young adults. Most family engagement models were born to serve children, and our young adults continue to have the bulk of their support come from their family members. I think everybody through the life course has the bulk of their support come through their family members. So why would you not have their voice at the table? Why would you not have their ideas? Why would you not consult with them on the course that you're setting with the NextGener, or because they have a lot of insight to share, they have a lot of resources to offer. So continuing that conversation in as well with that very unique set of stakeholders I would recommend.   Carol: Yeah, well said. Joan, any advice you have for our listeners?   Joan: Yeah. I mean, if you are nervous about applying for a grant, this is what I say. Are you an innovative thinker? Are you tired of VR the way it is and you would like to see change? Then I say go for it. VR needs some inspiration, some new strategies to move to the next level. If you are committed to this field, please apply for a DIF grant. Bring your ideas forward so we can infuse the future of VR with new energy and achieve more outcomes for individuals with disabilities who come to us, really depending on us, to help them make life changing decisions. I just want to share a story of a young adult who worked with MRC. He came to us, he was working in a pizza establishment, and he heard about our job driven training in cybersecurity. He applied even though he wasn't sure that that's an area that he could succeed in, graduated the top of the class, and is now earning over $80,000 a year. We want to replicate that 1000 times over with NextGen, and I would love for VR nationally to replicate that story. We want people to make wages that they can live on, that they can support a family on, that they can purchase a home or a car or, you know, live in a nice apartment. We want people to get off of Social Security disability benefits. That is buying into a lifetime of poverty. So we're depending on people with innovative and creative ideas to make that change. Don't be afraid of a DIF, grant. Jump in with both feet and let's make change happen for voc rehab.   Carol: Hear hear, you guys are going to turn VR on its head for sure, I love it. So Michelle, what would be the best way for our listeners to contact you if they wanted to follow up with any questions or like to see any information?   Michelle: Absolutely, we have a landing page. It's very impressive. I think it has this component where you can see videos of all of our NextGen staff. We did that for young adults to be able to check us out in the way that they like to check people out before they engage with them. It's https://www.mass.gov/nextgen-careers and anybody could email me any time MichelleBanks2, the number two, @mass.gov.   Carol: Excellent. You guys have been awesome. I'm so excited and I'm really hoping to check back in with you in a couple of years. As you get further along in the journey, maybe we can do a little repeat podcast and go like, hey, everybody is making they're not making 80,000 Joan. People are making 100 grand and these guys are living their best life. It is happening, I love it. Thank you both so much for participating in this podcast today. Appreciate it.   Joan: Thank you so much.   Michelle: Thank you.   {Music} Outro Voice: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

In the studio today is David Leon, Director of Workforce Programs at the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), and Kate Kaegi, Project Manager for the DIF. In recognition of Disability Awareness Month, the second podcast of our DIF series includes David and Kate explaining how Virginia's DIF grant was initiated, implemented, and adjusted to best reach their initiatives of placing 750 individuals with disabilities in STEM and healthcare careers, registered apprenticeships, and State, County, and City jobs. Learn about the challenges they navigated and what they recommend when applying for a DIF grant.   Listen Here   Full Transcript:   {Music} David: Don't be afraid to apply for a diff grant. It is an amazing opportunity to infuse energy and enthusiasm into your workforce. It is a chance to stretch, learn new skills, try new programs. You get to see staff flourish and more importantly, get some really cool outcomes for the clients we serve.   Kate: I was a little intimidated with the idea of RSA, but what I have found is this RSA is there to help us. They want us to succeed.   David: You can accomplish some great things.   Speaker1: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, welcome to the Manager Minute. Joining me in the studio today is David Leon, director for workforce programs at the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, or DARS, and Kate Kaegi, project manager for the DEP. So David, how are things going at DARS?   David: They are great. We are plugging along, working on our grant. A colleague has a SWITZI grant, so it's been neat to really try a bunch of new things here in Virginia.   Carol: Very cool. So how are you Kate?   Kate: I am doing spectacular. Thank you for having me here today.   Carol: You bet. So, David, you and I had a chance to visit in a podcast on work incentives counseling in April of 22. And just so you know, you were one of my top five downloads. And when I think of Virginia, I always think of you and all the amazing things that have been cooking all the time. You guys always have something in the hopper and this is no different. So I started a series of podcasts focused on the diff grants and career advancement, and you are the second in my series and happened to fall in October with a nod to Disability Employment Awareness Month. So I want to just give our listeners a little snippet again about the diff grant. And so this particular round, the grant activities are geared to support innovative activities aimed at improving the outcomes of individuals with disabilities. And the Career Advancement Initiative model. Demonstrations were funded in federal fiscal year 2021. They were intended to identify and demonstrate practices supported by evidence to assist eligible individuals with disabilities, including previous served participants in employment who reenter the program to do the following. They were looking at advancing in high demand, high quality careers like science, technology, engineering and math, or those Stem careers to enter career pathways in industry driven sectors through pre apprenticeships, registered apprenticeships and industry recognized apprenticeship programs to improve and maximize competitive integrated employment outcomes, economic self-sufficiency, independence and inclusion in society, and to reduce reliance on public benefits like SSI, SSDI, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and State or local benefits. Now, I remember reading in the announcement some of that sort of I thought it was disturbing data that provided the base for why RSA picked this particular area and chose to fund it. And they based it on the program year 2019, RSA 911 data. And some of the things that they said were participants that were exiting the program in competitive integrated employment reported a median wage of 12 bucks an hour and working like 30 hours a week. And the top ten most common occupations were reported. They were like stock clerks and they were order fillers, customer service reps, janitors, cleaners. I call it the whole Food, Filth and Flowers. So I know through this initiative they were trying to do more. So let's dig into what you guys have cooking in Virginia. David, tell our listeners a little bit about yourself. How did you get to VR?   David: Thanks, Carol. Started as a job coach years ago. We won't say when. It'll make me feel old, and I worked for a private nonprofit. I then assisted in Virginia, working with individuals, exiting a training center and moving towards community living. From there, I came back to the Richmond area to work for a community service board and again was a job coach and then worked within a sheltered work and day services program before coming to DARS, where I started with the Ticket to Work program and now have that the work incentives and a few grants and the workforce programs.   Carol: You and I have very similar backgrounds. I too was a job coach. I did work in a sheltered workshop for a while as well and all of that. It's always interesting how people find their way to VR. Kate, how about you? Why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself and how you got to VR?   Kate: I kind of fell into this. A lot of times, similar to other people. Unexpectedly, I found out about East Carolina's rehab program and that they had a scholarship for people who wanted to get their master's. And I'm like, Oh, free money. So I jumped into that. Absolutely loved it. I did my internship at the Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitative Center. It was called something or a different title when I started back in the day. As I tell my kids, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, I was there, started off there as an evaluator and then kind of moved across the state, became a rehab counselor in the field, have done transition counseling, substance abuse counseling, went back to Boca Vale for a little bit, even dipped my toes into the world of job coaching and worked with David for a period of time at the CSV, came back to DARS, worked with the Department for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and also, as an aside, also had joined the military during that timeframe on the reserve side. So I'm out of that at this point. So I have quite an eclectic background. As a supervisor once said that I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted to do, but it was all overall 24 years of work working with individuals with disabilities in a variety of areas. So it really kind of dovetailed well for me to work in the first dif grant that we received prior to this grant where I was a VMA or Virginia Manufacturing Association liaison for our grant. And when we were working on this Phase two grant, it was just pulling from what we've learned previously and growing from there. And so here I am.   Carol: I love it, it positions you really well for the work under this new grant. Very cool. Thanks for sharing that. So, David, why don't you paint us a picture of Virginia DARS How many staff do you have? About how many people are you all serving?   David: Okay, DARS comprises the Division of Rehabilitative Services, the Disability Determination Services, Aging Services. We have roughly 28 to 30 offices around the state and are currently serving just around 18,000 clients. If you include Pre-ETS in those totals.   Carol: that's a bunch., holy cow. I didn't realize you guys were that big.   David: Yeah, and that doesn't include however many cases DDS is handling or our aging or the other units. But that's a little bit about DARS, and I like to say we stretch from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to almost as far west as Detroit. If you go down to Bristol, Virginia, which is technically a little further than Detroit. So lots of types of environments and communities and very unique challenges in different areas.   Carol: Yeah, so you're definitely facing different geographical issues and I'm sure probably even economic differences. You know, if you're talking the coast versus maybe more of a rural area. So I'm sure there's probably some challenges there with even getting providers or how you're providing services.   David: It's interesting. One of the things we've been able to see in, for instance, Southwest Virginia, there is an economic center that's only 16 miles away from an office. But to get there, you go over three mountains and it could take two hours. So are those jobs really accessible to someone without a vehicle? On paper from Richmond, it might look like, why aren't we placing folks in this community out of that office? Well, it's a two hour drive each way, and that's the only way to do it. You mentioned at the beginning those top ten job areas. And one of the things we're really trying to challenge ourselves with now is giving people the information to make an informed decision about a career choice. But if they choose a career that might not look as great, what is the best potential version of that job? What is the job within that sector that actually could become a career? So at the beginning when we were starting to work on this, our agency had been in order of selection for years with categories closed and with the pandemic. That all changed. But the clients we were seeing didn't change and their goals didn't change. I think that's going to be a longer term conversation. But if we can do things to promote the best version of a position. And so I'll just give you one example. And our commissioner, other folks would probably say, why do we have so many folks who want jobs in food service or in this? Because typically they're low paying. Typically there's a lot of turnover. It's hard to become stable. One of the first projects we worked on in this grant was a partnership with a school nutrition program, and we've been able to help a few individuals enter into work in a kitchen at a school where they have the same hours. Monday through Friday. They have the opportunity for benefits. In one case, we couldn't find transportation. That school system was allowing the individual to take the school bus for that person. That's a really stable job and it's somewhere they can grow and thrive for years. So I do want to just say we have to think a little bit differently about what Kate or I or others might think of as a career. How do we find that best option for someone where there is room for growth, but equally important room for that time for stability to get to mastery, to then look at other skills and hopefully down the road they'd come back, not because they lost that job and need it again, but because they've learned so much that they want to go on to the next thing of their own accord.   Carol: Yeah, I like that you said that because I remember that when we visited before talking about that best version of that job. So not to mean that no one can work in kind of food, filth and flowers. I know I say that and it sounds sort of condescending and it's not meant to be. But we typically relied on kind of those occupations, really entry level. But I like that you're taking a spin on that and really looking deeper because we need folks to work in those occupations too. And there's people that love doing that work. But how like you say, can you do the best version of that? So you have benefits and you're looking at those long term like working in a school district, you can get retirement and all these different really awesome things that go with that. So, Kate, I'm going to switch to you. So big picture, break it down for us on your grant proposal and what you're hoping to accomplish with I know you had said you have three core components. Talk a little bit about that.   Kate: Sure. I do want to make a caveat that I love about this grant is it is a demonstration grant, meaning we have the opportunity to try out innovative products and projects across the state. I just want to put a caveat on that to keep that in your mind as I'm going forward here. So our main goal is to place 750 individuals with disabilities in federal, state, county, city jobs and or registered apprenticeships or also Stem and health careers. So we have those three main components on that. And when we looked at this grant and David worked on the development and the proposal for this, we really wanted to touch individuals that had been kind of missed in the first grant. And this I think, is something as we're doing a grant, you're learning all the time. And we wanted to make sure that we were hitting those unserved and underserved across the state. So individuals that aren't as plentiful in different areas. So say like Winchester has a large Hispanic population, does that reflect the number served in the actual DARS office? How do we get Spanish speaking individuals more involved in DARS? How do we get women who may only recognize those areas that you talked about that flower filth? And because that's what they're aware of, that's the work they've done in the past. So I just need another job in that area. How can we open up some possibilities? Have you thought about the IT field? Have you thought about advanced manufacturing and can you see yourself doing that? So providing those opportunities, it's a way for us to look at those unserved and underserved across the state. And we're defining that as we're going and we're looking at the census data, we're looking at who we're serving within each state. And then we're also looking at our plans, the plans that the rehab counselors are creating. What are those plans? What is the main goal? Overall we see a lot of customer service because it's kind of a catch all. What does that mean? Is that customer service as a helpdesk technician as opposed to just somebody as a receptionist? So we're really helping both the VRC, the counselor, and the candidate explore possibilities like that.   Carol: I like that. I just love what you guys are doing and really fundamentally getting down, digging in and really focusing on those folks that have been underserved or unserved and just taking that twist on the occupation because there's a wide range like within customer service, you have the job from here to here.   Kate: Exactly.   Carol: Yeah, that is very cool. Now, I know you all had some really weird hiccups in the beginning when you were starting out with this particular grant. So what were some of those kind of hiccups and how did you overcome that? And Kate, I'll probably shoot to you first on this.   Kate: So part of the thing that I didn't mention was is that the roles that our team players have. So we have a liaison with Department of Labor and Industry, specifically the registered apprenticeship side. So they have their foot in the DOLI world and the foot in the DARS world. We also have a team member who has their foot in the Department of Human Resource Management Liaison, and then also her toes are also dipping in the DARS. So we've had some different team members on that. We also have a quick response, counselor, somebody who can go in and respond to immediate needs of employers, of an individual that might be working with them, that has a disability, that might need some help, whether that's in a registered apprenticeship or on that particular job. During the first year we hired and we had everybody up and running and we had two team members, one had a medical emergency and had to move away from the position because there was some driving involved. And then unfortunately, we had Lisa Hanky, who passed away unexpectedly on us. So, you know, you get all getting that hiring going and then all of a sudden we lost two individuals, so we had to restart that process.   David: But Kate, if I can add to that, and I believe this is true for everyone in our round of this DIF funding, I believe we were told two days before the beginning of the project, it was about a day after that that, you know, many agencies coming out of the pandemic have had challenges with staffing and we had those challenges in our procurement division. So getting contracts signed, getting those staff replaced. But the other thing that has been a challenge and we're finally coming out of. We created three positions that this agency has never had, and it had meant that we had to learn how to provide quality support to two other state agencies in the context of working with DARS and similarly with our quick response counselors. So we created these positions that we had an idea of how they could work. But once someone got into those roles and was learning the other agency, we've had to be flexible in understanding how they can actually benefit our clients and our agency. And that has been a learning process.   Carol: You guys bring up a really good point because I think sometimes when folks are applying for the DIF grant, you're not recognizing off the get-go That first year can be a struggle because like you said, you found out two days before and then you get the money. And then as we know with any state government, it takes time to hire and like to get through all those processes. And so RSA may be on one hand going like spend the money and you're like, we're trying, but we've got to get through all our HR processes and all this crazy stuff. So it takes a little bit to get rolling in that first year. And I know we often on the TA world are talking with people as they're applying for grants going just know as you're going into it that first year, you're probably not going to spend the amount of funds you projected originally because there's just is a time factor and getting through all of that.   Kate: Absolutely. That was the one thought that David and I, if you know, we apply for another one down the road, maybe making that first year a little bit less intensive and spreading it out from year 2 to 5 because that's where the major work will be done.   Carol: Yeah, that's smart. Very smart. So I know you guys were talking about some challenges. What are some other particular challenges that you're experiencing right now?   Kate: Well, I'll get started on that piece. One of the things we have found similar to the staffing, the challenge that we had when we first started of hiring individuals, we're finding a turnover in staff in DARS. And so we are having a lot of younger counselors that have, in some cases don't have a rehab background. They might have a social work background. So we have a lot of training that we're doing and then redoing on that. We're having a training coming up in October for the VOC rehab counselors and we're getting kind of back to basics. What makes a good referral for our Pathways Grant, looking at those possibilities of not just that receptionist job, let's look at helpdesk. What are the opportunities that are out there? And so that has been kind of a challenge, is just retraining. And I think this is kind of normal across the board. But these rehab counselors are busy. They have a lot more documentation they have to put in Aware. There's a lot more individuals coming through their door because we have the rapid engagements, so they are overwhelmed. And how can we dovetail our services to best support them, how to make the referral process as easy as possible for them, what supports make the most sense for them? So that's been one of the interesting challenges.   Carol: So, Kate, have you guys done anything around just the way in which your staff or the support of those counselors, do you have like other staff that are kind of wrapped around them, whether you call them maybe a rehab tech or some sort of a case aide or whatever it might be that can help the counselors with sort of all the documentation requirements and that kind of thing. Have you done some work in that?   Kate: Actually, here in Virginia, we do have support. We have vocational evaluators, placement counselors and what they call employment service specialists that run the job club and things like that. And they can help support with some of the paperwork. But similar to other states that actually have like a rehab tech that would do some of the counseling or the that kind of thing, not as much. And each office is run a little bit different. That's part of the appeal. And what I mean by that is, is some of the offices might not have a vocational evaluator, some might have a placement counselor that might be covering more than one office so that there is enough differences on that piece. But yeah, that has been a struggle for keeping all of that work and getting it done for them.   Carol: Yeah, You're definitely joined by your colleagues across the country on that. I keep hearing that over and over. David did you have anything else you wanted to add to that about any of the particular challenges?   David: Yeah, I think we wrote this knowing we needed to do some things better and serve certain populations differently to get to where people had the same outcome regardless of gender, race, ethnicity. And that is still a challenge. We are learning that we have a long way to go to effectively serve those folks who have English as a second language. And when we started the project, we started with like a counselor advisory board to help not only create buy in, but inform us what the counselors needed. We have now shifted to an advisory board geared towards helping us do better with the Hispanic Latino population, and that English is a second language. So we're hoping over this next year, working with members of our state who are representative of those groups will actually help us figure out what services are going to be most likely to bring people in for help. What supports we will need to think about providing for those individuals to be successful. And again, it goes back to how do we help people see for themselves greater opportunities and careers than they might have.   Carol: So are you linked in then with your like your WIOA partners on your adult basic ed side? Like under that, you know, the English as a second language, Like they're more expert than us in working with that group?   Kate: Absolutely. One of our key partners is the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center, who teach the adult ed, they help support them across the state when we get further along I'll talk about some of the projects that we're working with with them.   Carol: Yeah, that's excellent. I love that. So I know you guys are seeing some exciting results. What kind of exciting results are percolating up?   Kate: So one of the things that we found as we're moving forward is we actually had working with adult Ed, we had a program that we were doing Intro to IT, where we're starting a basic starting platform for accounting fundamentals, and we were ready to go. We had seven individuals in this first cohort, and one of the things we found was the individuals that we met, even though we just came through Covid with all of the tech training, we had individuals they knew enough to get on to Zoom and to do some items, but we really needed to step back and do some basic tech training. So, they had enough gaps in their knowledge that they couldn't move forward without some major help. So what happened on this is, is we stepped back and started to do some digital literacy training and they moved forward with that. And each of those individuals are now moving forward with the accounting fundamentals this summer. So stepping back, we're actually looking at what we're calling digital work skills training, which is really exciting opportunity for individuals to get started with North Star digital literacy. We're working on goal setting some soft skill development just to get them started on that end. So we have individuals that would typically not be able to go to a virtual training actually get started there. And what we're finding with that end is, is that we have some individuals, you know, those customer service people who just want to do clerical, they're getting introduced to IT. And so we've had a few individuals that have moved on to our next training, which we call the Max Career Lab. And Max Potential is an employer here in Virginia. And I think they go into other states as well, several other states. And what they are, they're a temp agency for IT employment. So they hire individuals to work with Dominion, to work with, you know, with all these employers doing various IT. But they have a unique hiring model. They actually have an opportunity where individuals come in and they go through a career lab five day, three hours a day, 15 hours of a career lab. Then they do an interview. During those five days, they do an overview of data analytics, networking, all these different career areas. So they'll do an hour and a half of overview of the career, and then they do an actual interactive activity that they break out in groups for. So it's a great way to explore the IT field. So we've hired them to actually run career labs for us. They do the 15 hours, then they get homework and then they have an interview assessment. So the interview is just like a typical interview that they run, but they follow up with what activities that they're interested in. So this has been a wonderful way for us to explore different IT areas and to help individuals determine what area of IT they want to do. Here in Virginia, we're blessed. We've got Nova, we've got a lot of IT careers, but counselors and vocal evaluators don't always know how to direct somebody into the right avenue because technology is always changing. You know, cybersecurity, cybersecurity, that's always a great one, right? Because we're right here in Nova. However, not everybody wants to do cyber. Have you thought of data analytics? Have you thought of the different networking positions? Have you thought of machine learning? You know what, all is out there? And so it's an opportunity for us to do a hands on career exploration and next steps with an actual employer running the sessions for us.   Carol: That's cool. Yeah, I hadn't heard about a career lab before like that. That is very intriguing because so many people learn much better, you know, by actually experiencing seeing what that's about because it can sound cool. You read about something like the cybersecurity was the big deal, but then you get into it and you're like, Oh, I don't really want to do that, you know? So giving them that opportunity, I think that's fabulous.   Kate: Yes, and we have had our first cohort. We had 25 people sign up. We had 22 complete the whole piece. That includes the interview.  Of that group we had six individuals. So they compare the group together, but they also compare them to the other public groups that they have across the board. So of those individuals, six are encouraged to look at direct work experience. The rest have been encouraged to do a few other activities, like maybe develop more professional skills or develop more tech training, possibly, you know, accounting fundamentals. We had one that decided they did not want to do IT training. And I'm thinking, what a great opportunity you now know what you don't want to do. And for us, that can be great, right? So we're looking at some other options for that young man. It has been a wonderful opportunity. We're now in our second cohort and our hope is, is to keep continuing this as we're going through this grant and to see how we can set this up once the grant is over.   Carol: Very cool. Have you had any surprises kind of as you've started this. I know you're in year two. Are there any surprises?   David: I think there are always surprises. This is right. Staff and surprises some of the opportunities that have come up. I don't think we anticipated. So we've shifted to take advantage. One of the big pieces of this grant is our focus on state hiring and the individual we hired for that aspect worked diligently during the first six months with them on an alternative hiring process through the legislation, had a go live date, whether we were ready or not. And what we didn't understand is during the first year, this process, it wasn't available to current state employees who may be disabled. That created a lot of issues for folks who were upset that they couldn't access this to move up within state government. We weren't able to change that ourselves, but it was changed in legislation. And starting in July of this year, we were allowed to offer a certificate of disability to someone who was currently employed and that has seen an increase. We've had roughly 1500 people request certificates of disabilities. I think part of what was surprising is what a great opportunity that has become as a referral source for DAR's. Roughly 300 individuals have chosen to get more information and receive VR services, and we are seeing that as a really nice piece of the process. Additionally, I think we finally had our first individual who went from what we call part time wage employment to full time classified, which was one of the intents of the process we developed. So it's nice to begin to see that work. But for Kate and I, we have to remind ourselves some of this might take two, three, four years before we really actually see these things that could be possible in action. And I think the other big surprise there is just how great of a partner our Department of Human Resource Management has been. They recently allowed us to present to 120 hiring managers and we will be a regular part of their monthly recruitment network action meetings. They've bought into our use of windmills training. They advertise it every month and we are co-sponsoring a job accommodation network training in October for them that they will heavily market to state hiring managers. So I think that's been really great. And then the other surprise, it turns out that our division of registered apprenticeship within the Department of Labor and Industry is moving to a new state agency. So we will see what that does. You know, you think things are pretty stable and static in certain ways, but they can change. That's been a surprise. But it's not a good or bad. It just, you know, might be a chance to actually work with more of our partners more directly.   Kate: And David, another surprise that we had was the use of data. We have been doing some trainings with the field and they you know, when you bring numbers involved, people get a little, oh, I don't know if I want to touch this, but what we found was the counselors, the evaluators, the placement, they enjoyed looking at this data. They ate it up. So the use of data as a tool to look at who we're serving, how are we serving them, has been an eye opener. At least it was a surprise for me. Now I'm a vocational evaluator, so I love data and I thought I was, you know, unique. But I'm not you know, everybody is, you know, surprisingly likes that data.   Carol: Yeah.. Well, and definitely how you present it to the field, you know, if you're just like blah, blah, blah, whatever, they really are interested because it's the culmination of their work, you know, so they see what's happening. It really helps to paint that picture and then they can react and respond and do things in a different way in response to that data. So I think that's smart that you guys are doing that. Now. I know you both had talked about shifting the conversation around employment and shifting that whole narrative on barriers to advancement and employment. Talk a little bit about that.   Kate: So one of the things that the counselors are really good at is, is when somebody comes in the door and they say, hey, you know, I need help finding work. But when we look at the definition of what we do, it's getting and but it's also keeping or advancing in your career. So what is that advancement look like? So if you have somebody coming in who I need a job right away, maybe this is where somebody is going to go for a stock clerk. But what about the idea of doing a quick training so that they can get a credential in the Certified logistics associate and then moving from there, maybe when they do that interview, now that they have that credential, maybe they can ask for a little bit of a raise. And what is the next step on that piece? So we've definitely looked at that. How do we make, as David said, the most of the career that you're looking at or the other areas that we've already talked about? Let's look at other areas.   David: One of the things that actually came from one of our offices that they wanted was we've heard more and more about attrition and attrition from application to plan, but also attrition from plan before employment or before successful closure. And we have created a group called Work Wise, which is designed for individuals who have just become employed to meet once a week in the evening, talk about their jobs, have an opportunity with a staff person to talk through issues, challenges. It's been really a powerful group, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how the individuals who choose to participate in a couple of cases did not want to stop going when their case was closed because of how valuable it was to in close to real time talk through things that were happening at work with someone with a VR counseling background. And that has been a really powerful group because it's also given folks to learn from each other and get to that stability and confidence to maybe also look for future opportunities. I know we're getting ready to also hold a salary negotiation training for folks. So again, let's help people think through and have those skills now that they may use now or they may use later when an opportunity to move up comes around. And similarly, we've started a group that we're calling money wise where we've partnered with a local credit union with that hope of how can we help make sure folks maximize their the benefits they choose to take advantage of from an employer. How do we help someone make sure that if there's a 401 match and it's X amount, that they do that much at the very least, Right. Those things that everyone is told, Well, if there's free money from an employer, you take it or if there's tuition assistance or some other thing, maybe there are things to plant some seeds. So someone would continue to move forward.   Carol: I can see how so much of this work that you are doing is so foundational and will be of benefit to, you know, your other colleagues across the country with the things you've uncovered and the things that you are working on, these different classes and groups and all of that. I'm sure other people are going, Gosh, I want to do that too. I think this will be amazing to help plant the seeds across the country. Now, David, I know you were concerned about implementing something that could withstand the test of time. And I know DIF grants are meant it's a demonstration grant. You're trying something out, but you want to also be able to carry forward these ideas into the future. So how are you guys structuring this to make that happen?   David: We really are thinking about sustainability and to Commissioner Hayfield's credit, that's been one of the things that she and Dale Batten have really stressed to us. It's great to do great work in a period of time, but how can we make sure that the things that have the potential to be value add or transformative continue and don't just end the day the funding stops? And we've really thought through many of the activities that we are creating, we are working on from at the beginning. What would this look like when there's no funding? How will we continue these? It's part of our partnership with Valray. We're working to get some of these pieces put into Canvas and set up through that learning management system. But within some of the positions, you know, one of our hopes is that the DHRM VR liaison could become its own full time non restricted position at the end. Similarly, we would hope that for the others, or at least those activities become a part of multiple staff strategically throughout the state. And that's one way we're looking at it.   Kate: And yeah, we're looking at the train, the trainers, also the tools that we're using. One of the pieces for vocational evaluators would be English language acquisition and knowledge. So there are assessments that are out there that can test somebody's English language, which is important for us to know if we're working with individuals and we're trying to place them on the job. So how do we get the tools necessary into the hands of the individuals and trained up for that so that that can be moving forward? So we're being proactive for these individuals that we hope to come into our doors a little bit more often.   Carol: That's excellent. So what do you guys see as your next steps? Where are you going from here? The point you're at right now, what are the next steps?   Kate: So a lot of our programming that we're doing right now is in partnership with adult ed. We see a great marriage between DARS and Adult Ed because Adult Ed works with a lot of individuals with disabilities already. They're adult educators. They can provide a little bit more support for our learners for credential training. They've got different things that are across the state. I'm working with our rehab center, Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation to really figure out how can we marry these? Right now I'm coordinating all these trainings. Is there a way that the center can provide this? And this gives the center an opportunity to look at a virtual environment? What does this look like? We're not sure what it looks like, but we're giving a try to see for that next piece so that max potential with the employer, can that be run through Wilson so that it is open and able to run after the grant is over.   Carol: So for our listeners that would want to apply for a grant, but they've been afraid to do so. What advice would you give to other people?   David: Don't be afraid to apply for a grant. It is an amazing opportunity to infuse energy and enthusiasm into your workforce. It is a chance to stretch, learn new skills, try new programs and get some great outcomes. If there are things you've wanted to try and you don't necessarily have the budget to do or don't seem to fit a demonstration grant is a phenomenal opportunity, and when I came into this agency under grants and special programs, usually we had to worry about things like a match component. And if you have the chance to apply for a grant where there isn't a match and you are willing to be patient with that work, you can accomplish some great things. You get to know your partners better. You get to see staff flourish and stretch and more importantly, get some really cool outcomes for the clients we serve.   Carol: Love that infuse that energy and enthusiasm. I wrote that down. That was a great. You're like giving a commercial for the RSA DIF Grants, that's awesome.   Kate: One thing I would add on this too is when I first came in eight years ago on the other grant, I was pretty much kind of a newbie in the grant world, and I was a little intimidated with the idea of RSA. But what I have found is, is RSA is there to help us. They want us to succeed. And if you have a solid grant application and know what you want to do, they will help you give you some ideas. They invited other states to meet with you to kind of talk about different things. So they have been very good about sharing knowledge and they want to see us succeed.   Carol: That sounds so great. Well, I am going to definitely tell our listeners like they should reach out to you too, if they've got some questions to reach out to David and Kate, because you all have a lot of very cool stuff cooking, and I'm sure you're willing to talk to others about what you've been doing as they're thinking about maybe applying some of this, even though they may not have a DIF grant, but applying some of the things that you're learning into their own work in their states?   Kate: Absolutely. We're here.   Carol: Excellent. Well, I appreciate you both. Thanks for spending time with us. And I look forward to circling back with you a little bit in a couple more years as time flies on this grant and see where you're coming in at and those good results. So have a great day.   David: Thank you very much.   Kate: Thank you.   {Music} Speaker1: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!  

Joining Carol in the studio today is Sabrina Cunliffe, Disability Innovation Fund (DIF) Grant Manager, with Oregon General. Find out how Oregon General has tackled some challenging cultural issues and is starting to see great results with their strategy for implementing the DIF grant through their Inclusive Career Advancement Program.   Listen Here   Full Transcript:   {Music} Speaker1: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Welcome to the Manager Minute. Joining me in the studio today is Sabrina Cunliffe Disability Innovation Fund, Inclusive Career Advancement Program Manager, or DIF grant manager for short with Oregon General. So Sabrina, how are things going in Oregon?   Sabrina: Oh gosh. Oregon has five seasons, fall, winter, spring, summer and fire season. So it is currently fire season. It looks like a little post-apocalyptic nightmare outside right now, but other than that, we're doing really well.   Carol: I'm sorry to hear that, though. There's been a lot of the wildfires this year that have been so devastating.   Sabrina: Absolutely.   Carol: Well, I'm really glad you're here today. And I just want to take a couple of minutes to give our listeners a little bit of background on the Disability Innovation Fund grants. And so in this particular round, grant activities are geared to support innovative activities aimed at improving outcomes of individuals with disabilities and the Career the Advancement Initiative model demonstration. And these were funded in FY 2021 were intended to identify and demonstrate practices that are supported by evidence to assist eligible individuals with disabilities, including previously served VR participants in employment who reenter the program to do kind of four of the following things to advance in high demand, high quality careers like science, technology, engineering and math, or those Stem careers, to enter career pathways in industry driven sectors through pre apprenticeships, registered apprenticeships and industry recognized apprenticeship programs, to improve and maximize their competitive integrated employment outcomes, economic self-sufficiency, independence and inclusion in society, and to reduce the reliance on public benefits like SSI and SSDI and or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Now I remember reading the application and kind of the notice and all of that, and there was really actually some disturbing data that provided the base for RSA and why this particular area was chosen to fund. And they were looking at the program year 2019, RSA 911 data, and it said things like this, like approximately 80% of the participants were earning less than 17 bucks an hour. And in fact, participants who exited the program in competitive integrated employment reported a median wage of 12 bucks an hour and median hours at 30 hours a week. And the ten most common occupations that were reported by one third of the participants who exited in CIE were stock clerks and order fillers, customer service reps, janitors, laborers, stack material movers, retail salespersons, cashiers, food prep survey, including fast food production workers and dishwashers. It's that whole food, filth, kind of the flowers thing I used to call it. And I know they probably were focusing on career pathways because RSA had also done a competition back in 2015 and they awarded for career pathways for individuals with Disabilities projects under a demonstration training program. And furthermore, Congress made career pathways a necessary, if not foundational, part of WIOAs workforce reform. And so you put all of this together just to put a little under our belt, I just wanted people to have a little bit of a base. Like, what on earth are they picking and why are they doing this? So let's dig in and learn more about you in the project. So can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself and what your journey was getting to VR?   Sabrina: Sure, Carol. I started out going to college, majoring in business, working in the corporate world, doing that sort of thing, did that for several years, and then life sort of caught up with me. And I had children and my second child was born with cerebral palsy. And when that happens, it kind of changes your whole view on the world and you start to find out about disability in a way that you never really knew, and you really dig into the systems that exist and see what's available for your people in the world. And what I saw was, you know, the long trajectory of my son's life. And I decided, hey, you know what? I'm going to leave the corporate gig behind. I'm going to go back to graduate school, study disability awareness, study disability services ended up leading to rehab counseling, became a rehab counselor in the state of Oregon in 2009 and then was a branch manager starting in 2013. And then just about a year and a half ago, signed up to take on this innovation grant so that I can maybe change the system from the inside out a little bit was really what happened for me and why VR is so important and critical?   Carol: I love your story because we all come with these different stories and how we got involved in this field and some people fall into it a variety of different ways. But I really like your journey and I think it'll give our listeners a great perspective as they hear you because it's super fun, your passion and and all of that. So can you give us some facts too, about Oregon General? Like how many staff and customers do you have?   Sabrina: Yeah, so we have approximately 275 employees in Oregon that work for Oregon General, and we serve roughly 10,000 customers annually. I would say it used to be a lot more pre-pandemic than it is now or working through that. And we serve customers across 13 individual VR branch offices. So there's 13 branches, 20 offices throughout the state. Oregon has four very distinct economies that are geologically diverse and geographically diverse. We have that Oregon, Portland metro area, and then we have very much rural eastern Oregon and we have the coast and then the southern Willamette Valley and southern Oregon regions. So it's sort of like working in four different states all at the same time in a lot of ways.   Carol: I didn't realize that about Oregon. I was thinking about it. I knew you had some sort of rural nature, but really thinking about those four different distinct areas, that does always pose a big challenge, I'm sure, with both staffing and just as far as getting service provision.   Sabrina: Right, running a statewide program and trying to make it locally based and locally run and locally honored can have its own special challenges for sure.   Carol: Absolutely. So what prompted Oregon General to apply for this grant?   Sabrina: So you may or may not know that Oregon had probably the worst, if not the second worst. We might have been the second worst as far as data in that RSA911 that they based these grants on for measurable skill gains and credential attainment just in the tank, really. And it's something that that we knew that we needed to change for WIOA 2014. And we just never really got with the program in changing the culture of VR to really talk about optimal level of employment and to fully bring post-secondary education into the fold to get those credentials and those Measurable Skill Gains that we needed. And in Oregon, we have this beautiful, robust, existing career pathway system within Oregon's community colleges with hundreds of different career pathways nationally recognized that VR was completely under utilizing. And so what a great opportunity for us to partner with Oregon community colleges and change the culture of Oregon VR, really to see post-secondary education as a gateway to optimal level of employment that we needed to be focusing on.   Carol: Well, the only place to go is up then, from where you were. No. You know, when you start kind of in the basement, you're like, all right...  Well, we're climbing out of it. Good on you. So can you give us a big overview of the project? I know you have these different arms of things you wanted to do.   Sabrina: So ICAP - Inclusive Career Advancement Program is what we named our grant, and it supports a minimum of 500 people with disabilities, including those from marginalized communities. So 45% from black, indigenous, people of color communities in Oregon to help them choose a career pathway of interest, access post-secondary education, participate in that training or the internships in those high demand career fields. Obtain the credentials in their career field that's chosen, and then to also help them gain the employment upon completion of their program and we're doing that through installing a career coach in 16 of the community colleges across Oregon. So in one FTE position at the college, that's the boots on the ground person to be that conduit between the counselor and the community college. And the difference between this mean you might see navigators with Department of Labor or with all sorts of other different programs. But what's different about ICAP is that that career coach is specifically trained around people with disabilities, the specific needs of people with disabilities, really looking at the intersectionality of race and disability, of poverty and disability and all of those things that often people with disabilities don't have success or as much success with those other navigators because very specific disability barriers are lost on them. And so huge emphasis on that. We have four core partners. It's Oregon VR, it's the main grantee, and then we have Portland Community College, which is a Subawardee that manages all of the individual sub grants with each individual community college. And then we have Oregon Commission for the Blind because we wanted the Oregon Commission for the Blind to have their participants be able to participate in our program as well. We have two of them already, which is fantastic. And then Cornell University or the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, there are evaluation partner and also our training and provider for this grant.   Carol: I'm so glad that you partnered too, with your blind agency. Sometimes we've got states where you know you're both there, but it's not always good communication between you, so that is great.   Sabrina: And then we just have the GEPRAs. I just wanted to touch on those real quick so people know what we're measuring. We're 500 people is the target of those 45% need to be from black, indigenous and people of color communities. So that'd be 225. We need to have 375 of those that start finish and of those 375 that get a credential, we need another 75% of those to actually get competitive, integrated employment within the span of the grants timeframe. And then 75 Percent of those people to get hourly wage gains, 50% of those to get employer provided medical benefits. 65% of those also need to increase the hours that they worked from whenever they came in to whenever they left. And then we need to also track if anybody got a promotion or any additional responsibilities or anything like that between when they get the job and when the grant ends. And then also reporting about whether or not they are receiving less or no public benefits with 35% hopefully having their competitive integrated employment be their primary source of support.   Carol: So you're going big or going...   Sabrina: Big or go home. Exactly.   Carol: That's right. So what are you seeing as the biggest challenges?   Sabrina: Oh, gosh. When we decided to do this innovation grant, we could have gone two ways. We could have had ICAP be separate and apart and ran it completely independently of the larger program. And we decided not to do that. We decided to fully integrate it into the existing program. All ICAP participants must be VR participants. All VR counselors can work with ICAP participants, no specialization of any kind. So we needed to completely train the entire staff about this cultural shift, about what it means to have optimal level of employment, to teach them how to write post-secondary ed plans that work, how to do the comprehensive assessment in a way that we're really, truly looking at interest, ability, skills, resources, priorities, concerns all through an informed choice lens and making optimal level of employment happen. And not just for lack of a better term, McJobbing people left and right and hiring job developers and punting and seeing how it goes for folks. And so that is our innovation for our grant. It doesn't sound like much, but it's huge for us to be able to do that work. And so, of course, the first challenge we have is the amount of time it takes for someone to become a participant. It's not like we could just sign them up for ICAP. They had to go get in line at VR, and in Oregon, Sometimes that can take up to three months. By the time they get asked, call the office, ask for an intake, meet with the counselor, found eligible for our services. And when you're working with particularly youth and students that are going from high school and potentially entering a career pathway, they might decide that they want to start a career pathway two weeks beforehand. And so our system and the career pathway system had to really say, we need to look at this, right? We're starting to really pay attention as an agency to figure out what several other states are doing. Some states are finding people eligible within three days or 17 days. And we're looking at all of those different ways in which we can change that. That's a larger process that's going to have to happen. But what the ICAP Grant did was really shine a light on it and gave us some really cool data of something that everybody knew but that nobody had really codified in writing and reported to the RSA. And so here we are. That challenge has been identified and it's definitely something that we're going to have to address. We've, of course made lots of little shortcut solutions in there to address the ICAP grant. But as far as the larger program, it's kind of front and center. Now that particular issue. The second biggest challenge that we have is that while we thought we had a great post-secondary ed policy, what we found out that it was really how to rule people out, not how to rule people in policy, and it created an exorbitant amount of red tape for counselors. No counselor wanted to do it because it was an extra three hours worth of work with a participant. Right. Who would want to go through all these checklists and make sure all of these things are in place and fight these fights with the financial aid offices and do all of this stuff that was required in our policy that just seemed like we're going to figure out every way to not support post-secondary ed. So one of the first things that we did was identify that and we completely rewrote our post-secondary ed policy, took out all of the language that you shall and you must and made it seem very inclusive. And you know what? Tell us what you want to do. Let's figure out what supports you need so that you can be successful. We're going to do that and we're going to remove all that paperwork piece for the VRC to be able to feel confident in doing that. And we also had these things with every branch manager, had to approve every plan that a counselor wrote for any post-secondary ed that was removed completely. And it's given autonomy and trust to the counselor to make these judgments that they need to make in their jobs. And so that just came out a week and a half ago, though. So we haven't seen the impact of it yet completely. But one of the most exciting challenges and solutions that we've had to date, what's great, we have Cornell University on doing our and training. We've probably done over 50 trainings in the last year and a half, really looking at the discernment for appropriate use of training through an what does that mean for someone and how do we write those plans? Just creating fake plans, really. I have plans, samples that are like for IB CAPPY so counselors know how to reflect the services and the plan. They know how to write them effectively. They know how to really understand. And their decision making and how to have those critical thinking moments and how to have the conversations with the client that are more appropriate when you have a lot of counselors that have been discouraged for years from doing this work. It can be kind of scary as they learn these new steps and when people kind of make decisions out of fear, they do it either with, Oh, you can do whatever you want and there's no accountability. That's probably half the VRCs, and the other half is, No, you can't do this because I need to have control over this and make sure that I can control the outcome, right? So finding that middle ground, empowering clients, empowering VRCs to do the work has been absolutely huge. We'll be ongoing for the duration of the program and then lack of equitable workflow for coaches. So we were silly kind of when we designed this in the beginning and we didn't realize that there are 17 community colleges in Oregon, but they are vastly different in their capacity. And so we started out with everybody is going to serve, you know, the same amount of participants in the grant and what we found out, that's not going to work because Portland Community College, you know, has seven campuses within the Portland metro area and has 30 different VRCs that are referring to the program. We're out in eastern Oregon. There's two VRCs and one community college with only 14 career pathways, right? So we couldn't expect the same result from rural schools as we have from metro schools. And so really not looking at it through an equality lens, but an equitable lens for our performance measures through each of the individual community colleges is something that we're doing when we start serving students at the beginning of this year. And hopefully that will give our numbers more meaning and have people feel more respected in where they're at and what they can actually do.   Carol: Well, I love that you're digging into these very tough challenges, and I know things like our policies and procedures, words do matter. I mean, it sets a tone for your counselors. And we've seen this with lots of states. When we do TA work, you know, people will be like, thou shalt not, you know, and everything that the customer has to do and we will not pay for this or do this. And you have to prove yourself and all of that. When you flip all those words around, it does send a message, even if it's subliminally to those people that are reading it can just see that in other states you see this cultural shift happening because you're looking at this more positively. You're focusing more on like a person's strengths instead of all the reasons they can't do something. I think digging in and all your kind of warts, so to speak.   Sabrina: Yeah. And to watch someone go from having a process driven agency to a people driven agency just warms my heart. It just feels really good.   Carol: See, that's all you West Coast folks, because Joe Xavier started the charge with that because he's like, We're not going to let the paperwork get in the way of the people. Like we got to remember the people are here first. And so you're picking up on that, too. And you also have created new acronyms with the IBCAPPY or whatever. That is very cool. So obviously you've got all these things, you're digging in and you're doing this stuff, but how like I know you said you wanted everybody in the organization to be able to do this, so you didn't keep this all separate. But structurally, organizationally, I'm sure people are sitting out there thinking, okay, Sabrina, there's you, do you have a team of people? Like, how are you structurally carrying this off?   Sabrina: When you look at our key personnel for the grant, I left my cushy branch manager job and took a limited duration job to do this. Not much of a pay raise at all, but I believed in it so much. That's how I got here. And then I have a communication specialist. That's Jen Munson. She sort of runs all of the communication and all of the outreach activities. Really in lots of communications we have organizationally is a community of practices, so local community of practices and statewide community of practices. And so she makes sure that those are happening. And then I have a data analyst and their job is to extract all of that 911 data for ICAP participants to work really well with Cornell and their evaluation team, making sure that they get the data that they need. And then just giving us kind of a daily update on all of the data that's happening and where we need to be focusing so that we can stay really data informed as we move forward and continue to innovate the grant. So there's three FTEs with the grant and then there's a project manager for 0.2 or 0.3 FTE. I have a project manager that is worth their weight in gold. They write our huge project plan, develop all of our buckets, tell us all of the different work that needs to be happening in those buckets. By when mean don't wake up a single day without knowing exactly what I need to do that day and why and how it needs to happen and when it needs to be done by. So it creates a very proactive approach to managing the grant through this project management lens that we have. And then of course, we have our deputy director who's overseeing the entire grant at 0.2 FTE of her salary is dedicated to this grant for the duration of the grant. So that is how we're structured internally. And then of course, we meet with branch managers, get an ICAP FaceTime with me for an hour once a month, and there are multiple opportunities to our communication system on the side that we're able to distribute information and keep people up to date on what's happening.   Carol: So you do not have an army, I mean like you're really literally talking about 3.5 FTEs?   Sabrina: Yes   Carol: And you're making miracles happen, like you're changing the world with three and a half people. You know, I know sometimes states think like, oh, we don't have enough people, We can't do the thing, We need this and that. But like, you are making it happen with a really minimal staff investment. But it is shifting all this thinking and shifting the ways that the agency is operating. That is very interesting.   Sabrina: Yeah, it has the love, though, of the entire exec team of Oregon VR. We couldn't do it, just the three of us. If Keith and Heather and all of the other people that do all of the instrumental things that are happening in VR, if there was infighting about the direction that we needed to go culturally, it'd be a much different situation. But we are united in our thinking and our belief system about where our agency needs to go. And so I think we get a lot of free labor actually from whether it's our youth manager or policy manager, our business and operations manager, probably not a single person in VR that hasn't helped us in some level or another. Also, so don't want to make it sound like just the three of us pulled this off.   Carol: Yeah, you do have a really good exec team because Keith is great, like Keith and Heather. I know those guys and they're very invested. And especially as you talk about like wanting to change the culture and making significant impact, like go big or go home. I love that. I love that. So I know you said some of the activities, you know, you were out you did like 50 trainings and all of that. What are some of those other activities like specifically you're carrying out? Because I'm sure people are thinking like, oh, my gosh, you have this huge project. And when you were listing like all of the kind of the metrics that you want to accomplish, it sounded like this massive word problem. So if we were in Chicago leaving on the train and then we hit New York, you know, like how many people are on the train now, all of that. But gosh, like, how do you start this?   Sabrina: So the interesting thing about a DIF grant is that you find out you're getting the grant and then two days later you get this money, right? And don't know about you. But in state government around here, it takes about six months to write a position description, get it approved, post the position, get the positions, go through the hiring process, and then start dates and then onboarding. And so while the grant started in October of what, 21 is that it? 22?   Carol: Yeah.   Sabrina: Yeah. I wasn't hired until the next end of April. And so there was a large chunk of time where there was a whole bunch of work happening on the background when people could, when they weren't trying to run Oregon General at the same time, but also trying to get the people hired to do the work. And then we also needed to hire all of the career coaches at all of the community colleges and the infrastructure within Portland Community College to manage those career coaches. And so all of that took the first 9 to 10 months of the grant where we weren't really drawing down hardly any funds, and it made the people who monitored the drawdowns very nervous. And so that clock starting immediately, just be aware of that, right? It might be a five year innovation fund grant, but you're really not going to start to serve the participants. And we were lucky we were able to start serving them at the end of year one probably had about 19 or 20 participants then, but lots of DIF grants even struggled even more than we did with getting those people hired and into those positions. And then we created a framework, is really was the first thing that I did whenever I came was say, okay, this is the framework document, this is what we're doing, this is how we're going to structure our community of practices. This is how we're going to communicate with each other. This is how we're going to get everyone on the same page. This is how we're going to delineate workflow between what's a VRCs responsibility, what's a career coach's responsibility, what's everyone else's responsibility? And really talk about that. Educate all of the VRCs on what career pathways are, how to access them, how to contact them, develop the referral processes that needed to be developed for those, we needed to update some policies we're doing that. We'll continue to do that and then develop statewide community of practices in addition to the local community of practices and calendaring. All of those sorts of things is really how you get started is just map it out, sit down and go, okay, this is where we want to be. Work backwards from there. Get your project manager in, create your work buckets and get to work.   Carol: You made such a good point. I think people don't realize that. So for our listeners, you know, as you're thinking about the DIF and people that have been part of one, they'll realize we've heard it over and over, man, that first year. It does not go like you think because it takes forever for every state government, you know, to get rolling with getting those positions hired and all of that. So you've got that pile of money sitting there and then you're going, Oh my gosh. I mean, we're just trying to get the people on board and get rolling. So that is good advice. Just to remind people, it takes, takes a bit to get going. So I know you are starting to already see some initial results. What are you seeing?   Sabrina: Let's see. We have about 140 students enrolled now. Ten folks have already received their career pathway certificate, which is fantastic, which means they're in the looking for a job stage. We're about two months behind on the reports that we get from the community college. So actually, there might be people out there that have a job. I just can't tell you that for sure because I don't have it in writing yet. About 58% of our ICAP students are youth, which is fantastic, and 37% of those youth population are from the BIPOC community. And so what we're noticing is that we have a lot more success if we focus on youth and career pathways than if we are looking to people who are needing to change careers for whatever reason. We need to find out more about that. But as far as our referral process is concerned, really working with our youth partners to pull this off I think is going to be instrumental that we didn't realize we needed such an emphasis on when we started. We have ICAP students are enrolled in 75 different unique educational pathways. Right now, 75 we have 58% of the VRCs in the state have at least one ICAP participant. We have that much penetration with VR staff, which warms my heart because we were worried about that. But we'd love it to be 70 by the end of this. So if you were to combine all the college credits that our ICAP students are currently taking, they're currently taking over 4000 college credits, according to my little data analyst told me this morning. So they're doing it.   Carol: Good stuff. That's good stuff that's happening. I love to hear it. So now that's the happy news. What are some of these speed bumps that you've hit along the way?   Sabrina: The biggest one is that in our $18 million grant, 2.3 million of that is supposed to be spent on client service dollars, right? Tuition fees, books and supplies. And what we're finding is there are so many comparable benefits out there. And how we're structured with comparable benefits in VR doesn't do anybody any favors. And so when we're getting their Pell Grants or their Oregon Opportunity grants or their SNAP grants, there's so many. When Oregon is the last payer that US spending that $2.3 million and doing it within regional and policy has been really, really challenging. And so that'll be interesting to see how it is that we can maybe change that or shift that or find ways to braid services more effectively with all of these other different grant opportunities because they're the last pair to they're just less cumbersome than VR is in order to do that. And just some more of that ancient thinking on the part of VR as we only pay after we've made sure everybody else is paid right, What might that look like if we were a little less stringent? And then of course, our big, big giant speed bumps were around Measurable Skill Gain Credential Attainment. The nuts and bolts of that we found out, is really how we were capturing that data in our aware program. And the translation is, is we weren't. And so hence the...   Carol: Reason you were in the basement.   Sabrina: Right? So we had to completely look at how we had those screens developed on our educational goal screen in Orca. And like so many late nights of Heather and I watching videos from Missouri General on how they did it right and looking at that and then rebuilding that entire part of our Orca system, Orca meaning AWARE system so that we could capture that data and have it be accurate because it's not that Oregon wasn't doing MSGs and credential attainment. We just never wrote it down. And so we had to train staff about what those are. We had to create procedures and have those in place for how to do the data entry. And we actually had to build the infrastructure back so that it would actually report correctly on our 911 reports. So that was a huge undertaking of I'll sleep when I'm dead kind of activities that needed to happen to pull this off.   Carol: Holy cow. I like it when you get you did your voice as your stringent voice. Oh my gosh. So I know you also have had you are not shy for all our listeners. I mean, Sabrina and I had chatted a little bit ago and super cracked up because you are definitely one to say what's on your mind. And so I know you made some interesting observations since you started leading this project. What are some of your ideas you thought should change?   Sabrina: Oh, that's the if you could change the world, Sabrina, what would it be question? Oh, this is just Sabrina talking, not saying anything. But if I could, we all know how poverty and disability go hand in hand. Same outcome results since the 80s. What's going on? Where's the juggernaut? Guys, we have the ability to fix this and it all comes down to post-secondary ed and our unmet need problem that we have, how we take their Pell grants and we skim right off the top and we do tuition fees, books and supplies off of their Pell grant. If nationally, we could find a way to take that Pell grant and let them use that for poverty based stuff housing, food, all their disability related stuff that we can't pay for or that they don't know how to report. Just let them have their Pell grants to live on and. We covered tuition fees, books and supplies. In addition to that, it would be life altering and life changing to the poverty cycle. We continue to find people with disabilities in in America, but that can only change with big time people that have, you know, some sort of sway in how it is that Pell Grants are administered and approved. And think under the Department of Ed, they could really work together in a great way to recognize participants in a different way. With Pell Grants, let us do the tuition fees, books and supplies, allow those Pell Grants to serve the people from their poverty lens. Huge opportunity there. That I think would really take a lot of fear. And the struggle I mean, you know, it a person with a disability doesn't have the option of working three hours in the evening while going to school full time. It takes them 2.5 hours to get dressed in the morning. It takes them another three hours to work with their adaptive equipment to write that paper. It's not apples to apples. It doesn't need to be apples to apples. And we have an opportunity to recognize that. And change the unmet need calculations for VR or change how Pell Grants are interpreted by VR. That's my biggest dream. It would change so many lives.   Carol: That is excellent. I know one of my colleagues, DJ Ralston, does a lot of training around disability and poverty and how it goes hand in hand, and I think we don't talk about it enough in VR. It's like we somehow think all of that's superfluous, like it's out to the side and but it's so intricately intertwined with the person because if you don't have food and you don't have a house, how are you...   Sabrina: You're not going to go to school.   Carol: How are you going to school and where are you plugging in your laptop? You know, you can only be at Starbucks so long in a day.   Sabrina: Or if you're  housing is tied to those benefits that are tied to a poverty cycle.   Carol: Yeah.   Sabrina: Yeah. No , can't do it. Yeah, So much fear around that.   Carol: Do you have any other thoughts on changing the world?   Sabrina: I have so many thoughts on changing the world, but that's the one that. That's the one that I probably have the okay to talk about.   Carol: Yeah. We don't want to get you off the grant now. So one of the other things that's interesting is that the DIF grants are a discretionary grant. So when we get our VR or 110 dollars, it's a VR formula grant. What kind of challenges have you faced in managing this discretionary grant versus, you know, the typical VR funding?   Sabrina: I would say it's constantly managing and balancing the funds and the report writing requirements of the grant. I don't think anybody knew what that was all about. Whenever we signed up to do this, it's pretty heavy. We have, you know, monthly reports that we need to write, monthly calls with that we need to attend quarterly, meetings with other DIF people that we need to attend. And then twice a year we had an end of year report, annual performance report, that are giant documents. We are held accountable for every penny. Don't lose a penny, Pull down the money, spend the money, Why aren't you spending it fast enough? But make sure it's applicable, make sure it's reasonable. Make sure it's necessary. Make sure you prove it to us. Then all of those things are. But are you serving the people? How many people are you serving? It's this dichotomy of crazyville that kind of gets me going around pulling down the funds, spending the money, managing the budget, re managing the budget because you're just guessing when you say how much this is going to cost, you have no idea that the entire workforce is going to receive a 6.5% wage increase next year and another 6.5% wage increase after that. And you didn't write that into your grant and you don't know that travel is going to be exorbitant with inflation, all sorts of things that you have to constantly rebalance the funds and you have to write down absolutely everything you do with a DIF grant. So you have to say what you're going to do and then go do it and say what you're doing while you're doing it, and then say how you could have done it better and then say what you might do better in the future in this continuous cycle across 15 to 20 different work buckets and work plans that you have in place? Yeah. For every minute that you spend doing something, you spend another minute and a half writing about it, it feels like.   Carol: So yeah, I'm glad we brought this up because I know it's just the stark reality of it. And so I think folks sometimes get into the DIF grant and they don't understand this about, you know, you have line items in a budget and now we're going to go outside of this and we want to move money, but we got to get okay, you know, and all of these things because it's very different than the VR grant. So I think it's better for people to at least understand that going in that there is going to be this component. So if you're able to build in, you know, someone that can help assist with some of this stuff as you're doing the project, which is the really cool stuff, you know, that you're trying to get done. But you have to remember there is this sort of a little bit of an administrative burden. And it's not just even a little bit, you know, it's kind of a, a lot bit, but it is sort of the price we pay to have these funds to do these cool different things.   Sabrina: Totally worth it. But yeah, go in with your eyes wide open. And if you don't have somebody that's done grant management or you have somebody that's strong in project management, think about the person that you need in that role to be able to pull that off for sure.   Carol: Yeah, good advice. Good advice. So of course we talk about the bummer things, but let's talk about something like what is like one of the coolest things that has happened to date. Do you have a fun story or something really cool? We want to leave people with like a happy thing.   Sabrina: Want to share two things because two things came to mind. The first thing that comes to mind is part of our initiative is to either develop or enhance existing career pathways in Oregon for people with disabilities. So make them more accessible, make them more anything that they could be to be working for the people that we serve. And so one of the things that they've done out in eastern Oregon is create this drone program. You know, those drones that go up in the air and fly over stuff. And so what that's done is it's allowed for people that want to work in agricultural fields and want to work with cattle, want to watch crops, want to work for an elk hunting operation, those sorts of things. They can now, without a lot of physical mobility, be able to run a drone, go check on their crops, go check on their cattle and their herds, run hunting programs and all sorts of things through this program that teaches people how to run these drones and how to work for companies that have these drones all over eastern Oregon, which I think is really cool. And we're having several people that have disabilities sign up for those programs in a way that because of this program, we're able to develop that and make that possible for them. So that feels really good.   Carol: That is very cool.   Sabrina: Yeah. But one of the cooler things that sort of hits me in the feels is just when an ICAP participant walks up to you and says, Before I had my career coach, I didn't have anyone. But with career coaches that understand my disability, I have gone from a 1.6 GPA to a 4.0 GPA, and I'm the first person in my family to ever go to college. Right? Those just, yup. that's why we all get up every day and we do this work and we keep plugging away at it and we try and make the world a little bit better for people. And so that's really what excites me. And it happens not just once, not just twice, but all the time.   Carol: That makes my heart happy. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Because we've thought about those navigators, other places we've had, but not here. Like what your spin on this has been super interesting. I love it.   Sabrina: What happens if that career coach understands disability, understands that unique lens? Gives grace. Just somebody that goes in and talks to the Accommodations office at the local community college on behalf of a student that can even troubleshoot it with a professor if it's not working out right, somebody that's physically there that they can just walk into their office and sit down and go, Hey, this is really hard. It's great. Those coaches, they're amazing.   Carol: That's great. So what are your next steps?   Sabrina: Next steps, Right. We're going to continue with our messaging. We really need to target in to get up to that 45% BIPOC number. With our recruiting strategies, there's not a lot of black indigenous people of color in Oregon. It's pretty low, 14.4% of the overall population. So that 45% is a big ask for us and they don't have a lot of warm, happy feelings about accessing VR in general or our larger human services offices that we're all located in. So that's a big deal. We are going to be onboarding three additional community colleges to start serving students this fall. We started out with the core ten. Now we're adding three more. So that's a big deal. We're going to continue to draw down those funds as quickly as we can, find new and inventive ways to braid funding more effectively so that we can use those client service dollars. And then really, the big thing on my mind that I worry about is figuring out a way for this to be sustainable. How do we get to retain those coaches long term in Oregon? We're going to prove that they matter and that they make a difference. How do we keep them? So that's on my to dos.   Carol: Well, I'm fully confident you're going to do it. All of it, because you are a get up and go kind of gal. So I so appreciate the work you're doing in Oregon. I appreciate you taking the time to talk with us and share so our listeners can get a little glimpse into what's going on in Oregon. I think it's fun and that you guys have been willing to like you expose all your dirty laundry like where we were. You know, we're in the basement, we're going up. It's going to be so good for the people in your state. And I'm really excited. I hope you'll come back towards that last year when you have really fun results to share.   Sabrina: I hope so. I do hope so. That'd be great. I'd love to come back. Thank you, Carol, so much for inviting me. It's been fun. Thanks.   Carol: Have a great day.   Sabrina: Hey, you, too.   {Music} Speaker1: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

The Stockdale Independent School District is accepting applications for students, who meet eligibility requirements, to receive free or reduced-price meals for the 2023-24 school year. Children in households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are eligible. Additionally, foster children, children who are enrolled in Head Start or Even Start, and those who meet the income guidelines of the program based on the Federal Income Chart, are eligible. For those households that qualify based on income, an adult in the household must complete an online application at https://family.titank12.com. Families may apply...Article Link

The Poth Independent School District is accepting applications for students, who meet eligibility requirements, to receive free or reduced-price meals for the 2023-24 school year. Children in households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are eligible. Additionally, foster children, children who are enrolled in Head Start or Early Head Start, and those who meet the income guidelines of the program based on the Federal Income Chart, are eligible. Families may apply during the school year if their household income goes below the income limit. Households who received a notification letter...Article Link

The Floresville Independent School District is accepting applications for students who meet eligibility requirements to receive free or reduced-price meals for the 2023-24 school year. Children in households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are eligible. Additionally, foster children, children who are enrolled in Head Start or Even Start, and those who meet the income guidelines of the program based on the Federal Income Chart are eligible. Families may apply anytime during the school year if their household income goes below the income limit. For households that qualify for free...Article Link

The recent U.S. debt-ceiling negotiations included demands for cutting funding for Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program. How much would cuts to these and other social safety net programs reduce government spending by? And at what cost to its beneficiaries, that comprised about 3 in 10 people, including nearly half of all U.S. children, in 2019? Melissa Kearney joins EconoFact Chats to discuss these and other issues concerning the U.S. social safety net. Melissa is a professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland. She is also the director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group.

The recent U.S. debt-ceiling negotiations included demands for cutting funding for Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program. How much would cuts to these and other social safety net programs reduce government spending by? And at what cost to its beneficiaries, that comprised about 3 in 10 people, including nearly half of all U.S. children, in 2019? Melissa Kearney joins EconoFact Chats to discuss these and other issues concerning the U.S. social safety net. Melissa is a professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland. She is also the director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group.

More charges in the massive Mississippi TANF fraud case as ex-WWE performer Ted Dibiase Jr. is indicted for fraudulently obtaining federal funds from The Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and charges are filed on both a student and teacher after their classroom fight goes viral. 

This week, Angela and Alexander discuss movement on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program expansion bill, a bill that would allow pharmacists to prescribe contraceptives, and the importance of grassroots efforts and ICAN liaisons around the state.

Earned Income Tax Credit (the refundable portion), Supplemental Security Income (not social security!), and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Family program are all programs that provide cash to people in need. Or, sort of. Kind of. Okay, not really. The first part of our Public Health Explained mini-series about the components of our welfare system. -o-Visit our website for more detail and updates! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingispublichealth  Instagram: Everything is Public Health Email: EverythingIsPublicHealth@gmail.com   Twitter: EverythingisPH Mastodon: @everythingispublichealthPhoto credit:Photo by StellrWeb on Unsplashhttps://unsplash.com/photos/djb1whucfBY?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLinkReferences: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/08/07/541609649/how-to-fix-poverty-why-not-just-give-people-moneyhttps://www.ssa.gov/sf/FactSheets/aianssavsssifinalrev.pdfhttps://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-eligibility-ussi.htmhttps://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-earned-income-tax-credithttps://federalsafetynet.com/welfare-budget/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earned_income_tax_credithttps://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/programs/tanf/abouthttps://www.cbpp.org/research/family-income-support/temporary-assistance-for-needy-familiesSupport the show

Our largest and most vital US public government programs — food stamps (SNAP), Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), unemployment insurance and even the tax system — are being systematically plundered by domestic and transnational criminals who are intent on disrupting our way of life. Woody Talcove knows this because for 14 years, he has been on the frontlines of securing government agencies from fraudsters, cybercriminals and adversaries. The level of fraud is possibly the biggest heist in American history. To put things in perspective, US government published preliminary data showing that in 2021 alone,  it was defrauded by $277bn. And that relates to the unemployment insurance programme alone. Fraud is not only a problem for taxpayers and the federal budget. Fraud wreaks havoc on individuals' lives and the people who suffer are those who need the most support. If fraud losses were stopped, they could pay for free childcare for every family in America. The time for complacency has come to an end. It is time to treat this as an national emergency. This podcast episode is a wake up call.  Haywood ‘Woody' Talcove is CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solution's government business. This podcast is brought to you by RELX.

This week, Alexander shares exciting news about a new partnership with Catholic Radio Indy alongside discussing efforts to expand the TANF program this session.

On this midweek show, Misha Werschkul of the Washington State Budget & Policy Center talks with Crystal about the opportunity this legislative session to align the laws and budget of the state with our values and provide bright futures for all Washingtonians. As legislators prepare to set the State Budget for the next two years, Crystal and Misha discuss how important issues like housing and homelessness are receiving a lot of attention in contrast with less fanfare around education, before diving into impactful cash assistance programs targeted at addressing the wealth gap such as Guaranteed Basic Income and baby bonds. They then turn to the subject of ending Legal Financial Obligations, as it is a practice of wealth taking from the least-resourced to fund our court system, and have a philosophical discussion on unpacking the question of - what does real public safety look like? Finally, they cover progress on much-needed reform of the tax code - the long-awaited launch of the Working Families Tax Credit, movement towards implementation of the capital gains tax, and the anticipated introduction of a wealth tax proposal. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @HacksWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii, find our guest Misha Werschkul at @mishaanne and the Washington State Budget & Policy Center @budget_policy.   Misha Werschkul Misha (she/her) is a leading voice shaping the debate in Washington state on budget priorities and economic policies. She's a policy wonk at heart and a relentless believer in the importance of people joining together to make change. She has more than two decades of policy and legislative experience and is eager to build on this experience with an openness to new ideas and approaches, especially about how to bring racial equity into policymaking and organizational processes. You're most likely to find Misha working with partners to craft policy proposals and build coalitions around statewide progressive revenue, economic, and racial justice issues. She also serves on the board of directors of Balance Our Tax Code and the SEIU Benefits Group. In her spare time, Misha tries to be outside as much as possible. Some of her favorite activities are gardening in her taxpayer-supported neighborhood community garden, backpacking with friends in the publicly funded Olympic National Park, and paddleboarding in Lake Washington.   Resources Washington State Budget & Policy Center   2023 State of the State Address: Bold actions for building a stronger Washington | Washington Governor Jay Inslee   “Washington Should Tax the Rich to Save Our Public Schools” by Robert Cruickshank for The Stranger    “The U.S. Could Help Solve Its Poverty Problem with a Universal Basic Income” by Michael W. Howard for Scientific American   “How Tacoma's yearlong guaranteed income experiment fared” by Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks from The Seattle Times   HB 1045 - Creating the evergreen basic income pilot program   “To address wealth gap, WA to consider $4,000 ‘baby bonds'” by Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks from The Seattle Times   “Budget funds key first step in State Treasurer's wealth gap initiative” by Adam Johnson for Office of the State Treasurer   SB 5125 | HB 1094 - Creating the Washington future fund program   “A tragic Seattle story explains the decline of American welfare” by Shaun Scott for Crosscut    “Getting rid of legal financial obligations can protect the economic security of thousands of Washingtonians” by Evan Walker for Washington State Budget & Policy Center   “It's Time to Reform Washington's Harmful System of Fines and Fees” by Evan Walker & Andy Nicholas for Washington State Budget & Policy Center   “Beyond Policing: Investing in Offices of Neighborhood Safety" by Betsy Pearl for The Center for American Progress   “The Working Families Tax Credit will reduce hardship across Washington” by Margaret Babayan for Washington State Budget & Policy Center   Working Families Tax Credit Coalition   “In Washington State, the Left Won a Major Victory for Taxing the Rich” by Galen Herz for Jacobin   “Share the Wealth, Washington!” by Carolyn Brotherton for Economic Opportunity Institute   WA Possible - podcast about what is possible for economic justice in Washington state by Washington State Budget & Policy Center   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Today I am excited to be welcoming Misha Werschkul, who's the Executive Director of the Washington State Budget and Policy Center - welcome. [00:01:01] Misha Werschkul: So glad to be with you, Crystal. Thanks for having me. [00:01:04] Crystal Fincher: Thanks for joining us. I just want to start off by talking about - a lot of people are familiar with the Washington Budget and Policy Center, but for those who aren't, what is it? What do you do? And what brought you to this work? [00:01:14] Misha Werschkul: Thanks so much for starting with that. The first thing that I just want to share is - at the Washington State Budget and Policy Center - we're a nonprofit advocacy organization, so we're not part of State government. We actually work doing research and analysis, work in coalition with other organizations. And really, our goal is to make sure that the laws and the budget of Washington State are in alignment with the values of our state and really setting up a bright future for all Washingtonians. So we primarily work on state policy, although we do a little bit of work on local issues from time to time and federal issues. And all of our work is, as I mentioned, in coalition partnership - so we work with other organizations that do grassroots organizing and power building, communications, more political work - and really work together to try to make sure that when the Legislature comes together, as they are right now, that they're doing the things that match the values in our community. So it's really actually super fun work that allows us to bring those skills of research and analysis in what we hope to be service for social justice. A little bit about me is just - I came to this work really through a path of advocacy work. So prior to being with the Budget and Policy Center, I worked with a labor union in our state that represents home care and nursing home workers, and had a chance to be a frontline lobbyist down in Olympia trying to advance the interests of the long-term care workforce. And I saw through that work the incredible impact of the Budget and Policy Center, the power of the team here, and the importance of working on structural issues like the state budget, tax policy, economic justice - and now get the chance to work still in collaboration and partnership with organizations like the labor union that I worked with. [00:03:12] Crystal Fincher: You talk about the structural impact that can be made - and so much of that is impacted at the state level. What are you looking to have accomplished in this legislative session that just started? [00:03:24] Misha Werschkul: We always talk about the most important piece of legislation that the Legislature tackles each year is the state budget. And that is hundreds of pages of decisions - embedded in the state budget - around what are we going to spend money on, and how are we going to collect the revenue that pays for those things. And so our state has been really in a good situation with being able to receive federal dollars through all of the COVID relief that has happened over the past few years. And we've been able to do a lot - our legislators have - to be able to invest in our communities and help, really, us weather a really horrific pandemic. And this year, the Legislature is going to be putting together the budget for the next two years, so the end of 2023 through 2025. And I would say, always, that the most important thing that they can do is put together a budget that really meets the needs of communities, reflects community input, and ideally collects the revenue to pay for those investments in an equitable way. So there's millions of things within the state budget that matter to folks all across our state, and that's something that we'll be watching super carefully this legislative session - and frankly, every legislative session. [00:04:44] Crystal Fincher: What are the most important things you believe are going to be the components of the budget that will make a positive impact for the state? [00:04:52] Misha Werschkul: Some of the things that are getting a lot of attention and are going to be really important are really what is the level of investment in housing and homelessness. That's something that - I live in Seattle - that is something we're talking about a lot in Seattle, but is also really an issue all across the state - folks in rural communities, other urban areas, suburban areas - dealing with the homelessness crisis and the lack of access to affordable housing. And so this year, the governor has proposed a really big investment in housing and homelessness services - much bigger than has been talked about in previous years - and really, I think, embraced the need for a statewide solution that really matches the scale of what the crisis is that folks are experiencing. And so we're going to be watching that really carefully to see what can be done in that area. The governor is also talking about behavioral health as an important area for investment, climate change. One area we'll be paying attention to at the Budget and Policy Center is education - that is actually the biggest part of the state budget - is funding for public schools. And we know that schools all across our communities - kids need to be invested in, right? And that that is something that is going to be important this year - special education, how are we supporting teachers, what are we really doing to make sure that kids' mental health are taken care of. There's a lot more to do in that area and a lot of conversation to be had in the next 100-ish days of the legislative session. [00:06:29] Crystal Fincher: Certainly a lot of conversation to be had. And while we have heard a lot of talk, fortunately, about taking action on housing and homelessness, we haven't heard as much about education after, surprisingly, seeing so many teachers and educators bringing to the fore the crisis, basically, that we're facing in terms of funding, special education resources, and the ability to really give kids the education that will equip them for their future and that we're constitutionally obligated to give them. What are the prospects for action and what do you think is possible this legislative session? [00:07:06] Misha Werschkul: I think the Legislature is going to step up and do something for our kids. So there hasn't been as much talk about it - there are a number of different challenges that the Legislature is grappling with, a number of different things the Legislature is dealing with. But ultimately, education is the most important thing when it comes to the state budget and the paramount duty of Washington State. And so last year there was investment in counselors and other types of support professionals in the schools - that's going to be rolling out and making a difference for kids this year, but more has to be done. And I think that that is an area where we're hearing folks - really from both political parties - talk about the need to invest in education. And so I'm actually pretty hopeful about what's going to be done in that area for kids all across the state because the need is really present. And as you mentioned, the calls that teachers made at the start of the school year, folks' experience of the first few months of the school year, kids back to school in January - the needs there are very visible. And I think legislators will listen to that. [00:08:23] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. You have also, and the Budget and Policy Center has done a lot of work and highlighted a lot of research about the importance of cash assistance policies in addressing poverty and strengthening communities. Starting with Guaranteed Basic Income, that we've heard a lot from Representative Liz Berry on - what is that? What kind of record does it have? And why is it important? [00:08:48] Misha Werschkul: I love that you're asking about this because I think this is actually one of the most important things the Legislature can and should act on this year. So the idea of Guaranteed Basic Income is really a concept that's really been brought forward by - historically by Black leaders, Black women, also by tribal governments - as a way to really recognize the inherent dignity of people and the fact that people can make the best choices with resources that can meet the needs of themselves individually, their families, and their communities. And it's really a rejection of the paternalistic approach of a lot of policy approaches where - too often - you have government agencies really making decisions on behalf of people and taking away that ability for people to make their own decisions. And so this concept of Guaranteed Basic Income has been around for a long time. There has been a dramatic emergence of local pilots of Guaranteed Basic Income programs all across the country in recent years - and huge successes of those programs. The Magnolia Mother's Trust is one of the first, the Stockton SEED [Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration] program - also those two pilot programs really sparked action in every part of our country, including right in Tacoma where there's been a pilot that Mayor Woodards led with United Way of Pierce County. And so we're seeing a lot of success historically and even in the last few years of really the approach of getting cash to people in a way that's not restrictive and that lets people make choices that meet their own needs and the needs of their families and communities. The opportunity this year - and what Representative Berry is talking about - is the opportunity to really move that from local pilots to state policy. And she's proposing a statewide pilot that is limited in certain ways in scope, but would be the first state in the country to really have a statewide program for Guaranteed Basic Income. And it's an opportunity to take all of the things that we know from all of the local pilots and the past work on Guaranteed Basic Income and really try it out in a new context of a state program. That bill has gotten a lot of excitement and energy, and hopefully we'll see it get all the way to the finish line this year because it really is, I think, a transformative way to think about the role of state government and a move away from what really are pretty failed paternalistic policies that we've had in the past towards - one, policies that recognize the inherent dignity and the ability of people to make choices for themselves. [00:11:52] Crystal Fincher: Another program that is really interesting and that you have talked about is the Baby Bonds savings program. What is that? [00:12:01] Misha Werschkul: Okay, so the Baby Bonds program is something that I think is complementary to Guaranteed Basic Income, and also complementary to other approaches like the Working Families Tax Credit and existing public benefits, like TANF [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] and the Housing and Essential Needs program. So it's important to think about it as a complementary, not a replacement for any of these other programs. But the idea of Baby Bonds is really a concept that was developed by an economist, Darrick Hamilton, to think about how do we really address the issue of wealth disparities - primarily by race - that exists. And we know that little bits of money, changing people's income doesn't actually get to that core issue of how people build wealth over time and how people build wealth intergenerationally. So white folks like me, in a lot of cases, have been able to build wealth in our families that we passed down through generations. And I, for example, was able to go to college because my parents were able to help me pay for the cost of going to college. The idea of Baby Bonds is how could we really give every Washingtonian the opportunity to have that little additional seed investment to be able to invest in themselves and their future. And so the State Treasurer, Mike Pellicciotti, has championed this approach for our state. Other states are already moving forward on this, but the idea would be to create an account for every kid who's eligible - to be able to have a little bit of resources that grow over time that they could then use to invest in college, to invest in starting a business, or to invest in buying a home. And really start to move the needle on those intergenerational inequities around wealth. In and of itself, Baby Bonds isn't going to fix everything - it is a piece of the puzzle but is an important one. And it's been exciting to see bipartisan support for that proposal and a lot of energy from local communities to really think about really a proposal that isn't going to have a huge impact in 2024 or 2025, but is setting kids up for success over the long-term and giving people the access to opportunity. [00:14:31] Crystal Fincher: So this is an interesting area. So we talked about Guaranteed Basic Income, which is something that definitely has an immediate impact, Baby Bonds savings, which is a long-term impact - both of which are direct cash assistance. And we are so used to, in our society, and hearing pushback on - Well, just giving people cash, are they going to just waste it? How do we know that they're not going to spend it on different things? People are in poverty - as some people say - because they're bad at managing their money, so we can't just hand it over. We need to really prescribe how it can and can't be used. How do you battle that mindset and address those kinds of worries? [00:15:15] Misha Werschkul: I think for us at the Budget and Policy Center, it comes back to - what does the research say? And those narratives that exist are just not supported by anything that we see in the research. And so what we've seen is that programs that are out there that give people direct cash - that folks use it in ways that really do meet the needs of themselves and their communities. And I can't remember the number right now, but I feel like there's something like more than 100 local pilots that have operated around Guaranteed Basic Income in the last several years. And so we're not talking about just one example - we are talking about example after example after example. I also think it is actually really important to tackle those narratives a little bit head-on and talk about - where do those narratives come from, and why are they so compelling for some folks? And these ideas of - for example, with regards to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and welfare and the dialogues over the years around that program - the kind of myth of the welfare queen - that is a created story that serves a particular purpose. It's not rooted in any sort of reality and we have to actually talk about, we have to actually name those myths that are out there, name those narratives, and call them out for what they are. Because so often it's deeply rooted in racism, deeply rooted in classism and sexism. And to be able to - our hope at the Budget and Policy Center, and other folks play different roles in this, is that by really looking at actually what does the research say and what are the facts on the ground, that that will help to begin to dismantle these narratives that have been built over time. So that's our hope at the Budget and Policy Center - is showing the success of the local pilots, showing what works, and really building some different narratives out there that actually are more rooted in reality. [00:17:42] Crystal Fincher: So another thing that you've talked about that is really important is the impact of Legal Financial Obligations on poverty and people's ability to get out of poverty. What are Legal Financial Obligations and what can the Legislature do about it? [00:17:57] Misha Werschkul: This is such an important area that hasn't been actually talked about as much when it comes to the upcoming legislative session, so I'm really glad you're asking about it, Crystal. So Legal Financial Obligations are essentially fines and fees that are put on folks based on their interactions with the criminal legal system. And it is one of the primary ways that we actually currently fund our court system. It is probably obvious, as I'm saying this, how inequitable this system is and how ineffective it is, but I'll just elaborate just a little bit. So basically what happens is that folks who are interacting with the criminal legal system - through those interactions - are building up debt over time that oftentimes folks don't have the ability to pay, so that - and there's an expectation that folks will pay those debts in the future. Most of the time, as I said, folks don't have the ability to pay - the money can't be collected. And so really what you have is a situation where folks are shouldering this debt that carries with them after their interaction with the criminal legal system. And the courts don't get the resources that they need to actually fund their operations. So it's a super ineffective way to fund operations - based on trying to collect money from people who, for the most part, really don't have any money to pay those fines and fees. Our goal at the Budget and Policy Center, and in coalition with a lot of other organizations, is to really end the practice of Legal Financial Obligations. There are infinite number of better ways to fund our court systems than through the collection of fines and fees. So the goal - the big goal - is to actually end the practice of Legal Financial Obligations as a whole. Not surprisingly, that's not something that's likely to happen in one legislative session. We do have legislative champions who are working towards incremental changes to Legal Financial Obligations, a greater recognition of ability to pay in terms of how fees are assessed and collected - and there we hope to see some progress this legislative session. But in the work around trying to end poverty, people talk about not just the importance of giving people money to be able to afford their basic needs, but actually stopping the practice of wealth taking, which is basically what Legal Financial Obligations are - is another way that any resources that people have are taken from them and that folks are in a system of indebtedness based on an interaction that is already deeply racialized with the criminal legal system. So Representative Tarra Simmons is really leading a lot of that work in the Legislature, groups like Civil Survival and Living with Conviction - want to lift up their work. And I also will just, as I'm answering this question, take this opportunity to say I am so appreciative to be able to be here and share this information with you, and I'm also doing that work on behalf of an amazing team of folks at the Budget and Policy Center - so Evan Walker is the person on our team who leads the work on Legal Financial Obligations, Emily Vyhnanek and Tracy Yeung lead the work on direct cash assistance, and other folks are leading other pieces of the work. So I just want to take the opportunity to celebrate their deeper work in each of these areas and how they engage with our coalition partners, even though I'm the one here sharing it with you. [00:21:49] Crystal Fincher: And I really appreciate that, and appreciate the work of your entire team - and the work over years that you've been doing - this is not work that you or the Budget and Policy Center is new to. It's really been just a long-term labor, and so really appreciate that. And also just appreciate the importance in you working on issues like Guaranteed Basic Income, Legal Financial Obligations - because we're so used to hearing sometimes in common discourse - things like, If you do the crime, then you do the time. If you don't want something, you should follow the law. Now you got to pay up. And viewing it as we need to hold people accountable and really focusing on a lot of the punitive and punishment aspects of these things, when really we're all losing as a result of those - trying to implement these punitive policies are creating worse outcomes for everyone in every way. When you look at the percentage of our budgets going towards supporting the court systems and jails, clearly fines are not cutting it. And also we say that we want a safe community. We say that we want people to be able to make a mistake, to do their time, fulfill their obligation, and then become a productive member of society - we commonly hear. But we do things that really impair their ability to do that and trap them in cycles of criminalization and poverty - and it just is counterproductive and we wind up paying for it as a community. How do you address people who focus on the punitive aspects - and really wanting to hold people accountable or punish people - and not realizing the other impacts that come from that? [00:23:40] Misha Werschkul: I think that's such a big question and I don't know if I have the full answer to it. I will say I was listening to the governor's State of the State address, and he said some things that I really agreed with and then some things that I didn't agree with as much. But one thing he said that I thought was interesting was - he talked about public safety, which we know is a term that means certain things to, and maybe different things, to different people. And he talked about how we actually need to unpack what public safety is and recognize that there's a lot of different aspects of that. And then he actually talked about the work around gun responsibility as an aspect of public safety. And it got me thinking about - just these terms and how they're code, in a lot of ways, for certain things - like public safety is code for policing. And how can we actually really talk about public safety for all of us? And what does it actually look like for all of us to be safe in our communities? And policing - heavy policing - is clearly not providing safety for all of us. In fact, I don't think it's really providing safety for any of us. And if we can think about - what is that aspiration around safety and what does that value for us in our lives and for our families and communities? How do we actually build that together? And a lot of times that does mean a lot of different things - it actually means people having the resources to be able to afford their basic needs so that they can put food on the table, it means that people have shelter - that people are not homeless. It means talking about gun responsibility. And I think a lot of times we fall into, again, these sort of narrative traps of - Oh, yeah, like crime - punish - yeah, if you do the crime, you have to do the time. And sort of believe in a way that that is going to make us safer. And actually I don't know that - it doesn't. And so I think just - I don't know, I think we just have to have those conversations in a real way - because, as a white person, a white woman, doing this work, I did believe for a long time that having a police presence was a way that my safety was - was about my safety. But actually, as I unpack that - it's not true, even for me as the model person that the police are here, supposed to protect. And I think we have to just actually talk about that a little bit more and actually have a higher aspiration for safety for all of us, because sometimes it's like walking around certain parts of maybe cities with a heavy police presence might make someone feel - it might make someone feel a little bit safe in the immediate term, but I actually hope for something a lot more. I hope that we can get to a place where - I don't know - safety, just - it's not actually true safety. And so I'm just trying to get at - what is that higher aspiration of safety that we could be striving towards and building towards, and not feeling like our only definition of safety is having armed police officers walking around - to what - shoot someone if something happens? That actually doesn't make me feel super safe - to think about people wielding guns on the streets shooting people to protect me. And so I think that's just something we need to be talking about and grappling with. But I do think - I really appreciated Governor Inslee starting to peel open that conversation a little bit. Now, he then did go on - I want to acknowledge - to talk about the importance, I think he did go on to talk about the importance of investing in policing as well. So he still has that as part of his solution. But I think at least he was starting to unpack - what does public safety look like and maybe open up a different conversation. [00:28:34] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, I appreciate your thoughts on that. And unpacking what public safety looks like, unpacking what accountability looks like, and really trying to reduce harm all the way around. We don't want people to be victimized. We don't want people to be trapped in cycles that create and produce harm. What does accountability look like if it's not our court system and jails, which are not doing an effective job. What does public safety look like if it's not only police officers who, I think everyone agrees, can't do the job alone. If not, other models being more successful and effective. The final thing I want to talk about and cover today is what our tax code looks like. It is so foundational to everything in society. It is underneath, it impacts the revenue that we collect that enables every public service to be possible, which public services are possible, and to what degree. There's been lots of talk about how regressive our system has been, how much needs reform. Where do we stand on that? What needs to happen? And what's possible this legislative session? [00:29:56] Misha Werschkul: My favorite topic, Crystal - at the Budget and Policy Center, we love talking about taxes. And the reason is because it is super important how we collect revenue as a state and local government. And there are a lot of policy choices embedded in - a lot of values embedded in how we collect revenue. So I think probably most of your listeners know that Washington State has the most inequitable tax code in the country, meaning those with the lowest incomes pay the highest percentage of their income in state and local taxes. And in fact, we're way out of sync with most other states on this. So low income people in Washington State are paying basically double someone with a similar income in Oregon, simply because of the structure of our tax code. This is obviously a pretty bad deal for most Washingtonians. It's a super good deal for the wealthiest Washingtonians who are paying a minute share of their income in state and local taxes. And this is a big problem. This is not something that there's a quick and easy fix for, but there is some really exciting stuff happening. So in 2021, the Legislature took two big actions to start to make progress to reform our state tax code. One is they passed a capital gains tax to fund early learning investments in education. The other is they passed a Working Families Tax Credit set up to benefit 420,000 households in Washington State with direct cash sales tax refunds. Both of these policies are happening. So the Working Families Tax Credit launches February 1st. I'm so nerdy excited about this - it's not even funny. But starting very soon, people - 420,000 households - will be able to apply to be able to get a refund check of up to $1,200 in our state. We have been talking about this for so long, it feels like - and the day is finally almost here where this is happening. It is a step in the right direction of balancing our tax code in and of itself. It's not enough. It needs to be expanded. We'll be working this legislative session to try to expand eligibility to younger adults, so folks who are 18-24 and actually older adults as well - 65+ - who aren't currently eligible for the Working Families Tax Credit - to basically bring them in and allow them to be eligible. There's a great website called wataxcredit.org, I think - I hope it's org now - that has a ton of information about this. And I want to just share that out so folks know to spread the word because folks do need to actually proactively apply. One way to think about it is - really anybody who's eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit is going to be eligible for the Washington Working Families Tax Credit too. Plus anyone who files their taxes with an ITIN number who is being excluded right now from the EITC will be eligible for the Working Families Tax Credit. So I'm super excited. It's happening soon. There's going to be action in the Legislature on this, but more importantly, the policy is happening. Folks can get the money if they take the step to apply with Department of Revenue. Capital gains tax is being challenged, not surprisingly, by wealthy individuals who would pay the tax. They're trying to get the court to basically intervene and rule that the tax is unconstitutional. The State Supreme Court is hearing that case on January 26th and this is a wonky legal issue that needs to get sorted out before the tax can be fully implemented. And I could go on and on about the legal part of it, but I will stop because you actually asked about also what's happening this legislative session. And I will just pitch the efforts that some of our partners, especially Economic Opportunity Institute and Balance Our Tax Code, are leading with regards to a wealth tax and really thinking about big solutions that make a real difference in making our tax code more equitable. We have to get to the root of it, which is wealth. And so it's exciting to see this proposal coming forward this session that Representative Noel Frame has been a huge leader in. [00:35:01] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely and appreciate that. We will include the wataxcredit.org link in our episode notes to make it convenient for people to visit. And also thanks for mentioning your partners - we did have a conversation with Summer Stinson of the Economic Opportunity Institute, and she did talk a lot about that court case and how important it is to have a capital gains tax, what it really means, how few people it actually impacts - it is the wealthiest portion of the wealthy - and we'll see how this court case turns out. I really do appreciate you joining us today. If people want to learn more about the organization, where can they visit? [00:35:51] Misha Werschkul: Our website is www.budgetandpolicy.org so you can check us out on the website. We're also on social media - I'll share those links with you for the show notes hopefully. And I also will share - April Dickinson on our team has led the effort just to launch a new podcast called WA Possible that we hope is a great complement to Hacks & Wonks and a bit of a deeper dive into some of what could be possible when it comes to economic justice in Washington state. There's a great episode there talking about the Black Women Best framework that some national partners launched and some of the policies we talked about today, so just would share that as well. [00:36:37] Crystal Fincher: Thank you so much, and April Dickinson is awesome. Thank you for all the work. Thank you for joining us today and we'll talk to you all next time. [00:36:44] Misha Werschkul: Thank you so much Crystal - appreciate you. [00:36:46] Crystal Fincher: Thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks, which is co-produced by Shannon Cheng and Bryce Cannatelli. You can follow Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks. You can catch Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave a review wherever you listen. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

Today we're speaking with coauthors of a new report by the Center for Law and Social Policy, entitled "A Community-Driven Anti-Racism Vision for SNAP." Senior policy analyst, Parker Gilkesson, and community organizer, Tamika Moore, argue that although public benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provide critical care and support for families with low incomes, they also reinforce racism and structures of oppression. Interview Summary   As I was mentioning to both of you before we started recording, this is a really interesting perspective, and it needs to be aired more. I'm glad we're playing a role in that. Parker, let's begin with you. Can you tell our listeners, what you're hoping to accomplish with this report?   Parker: So I was a social services worker for the State of North Carolina, and that is where a lot of my thoughts around policy, particularly pertaining to public benefits, arise. I saw so much while working there. I recognized that the systems in place often are framed as race neutral. They are set up to help people, however, there are multiple barriers put in place that particularly harm people of color. It was really important to me when I began my journey at CLASP, to figure out how we could bring along folks who have deep expertise. People who actually have received and been recipients of the program themselves. They are the experts. And so, that is what led me to bring together folks to create the Community Partnership Group, who wrote this report along with us, and which Tamika is a part of. It's super important to really set the tone for community driven vision for what the SNAP program can be. Obviously, just based on different systemic roots, the program currently, innately, is not anti-racist, even though it does help people and helps people of color as well. We talk about multiple barriers in the paper, what we want to grow, what we want to eliminate, we want to make better, so that it better serves people and moves on the journey to becoming more anti-racist.   Let's talk in a little more detail about something that you just mentioned, which was the importance of the partnership between your center, the Center for Law and Social Policy, the staff there, and people with direct lived experience of people in the communities that are most affected by these programs. And you've created something called the Community Partnership Group. So can you tell us a little bit more about that group and why is it so important?   Parker: So the Community Partnership Group is a diverse collective of activists from across the US. They partner with us, other nonprofits, administering agencies, and policy makers, to ensure that whoever they're working with, the work is grounded in the expertise of people who are directly impacted by poverty. This group is small but mighty. We work together on multiple issues. Tamika works on youth issues. We have other folks who work on housing. We've been meeting together over the last two years. It was definitely something different for a CLASP to embark upon. It had not been done before, where we wanted to deeply engage with folks to really shape our minds around what policy changes could look like. And to do it in a way that wasn't transactional, that wasn't, "We're just going to consult with you all on this one off project." Or, "We are just going to create something and bring it back to you all for your advice," versus helping them to be a part of the process. I'll push it over to Tamika to talk a little bit about her experience with this.   Tamika, I'm glad that we can hear from you on this. So what are your thoughts on this issue of a partnership and working together with a group like CLASP?   Tamika: It has been nothing short of incredible. They are extremely supportive. Our entire group is extremely supportive. I've been a part of the Community Partnership Group since its inception in 2020. I do youth empowerment work as well as anti-hunger work. I am a lived experience expert, someone that has gone through and used these programs, and been street homeless, and lived in my car, and I've utilized these programs over a course of several years. I don't anymore. But I have plenty to say about them and how these different programs and different pieces of legislation that affect these programs can be updated and changed to actually benefit the people that's supposed to benefit. Being a part of this and having this partnership with CLASP, with everyone else in the CPG group, has been an incredible journey.   It's really nice to hear from both of you that this partnership is working so well. These partnerships don't happen all that often. It really takes, I know from our own experience, a lot of work by all parties to make these successful. So congratulations for doing something pretty unique and important. So Tamika, back to you. Could you share some historical examples of what you see as institutionalized racism built into the SNAP program?   Tamika: We can find institutional racism across the board when it comes to the SNAP program. From different neighborhoods that need the SNAP program and that are impacted by different policies that block individuals from receiving SNAP benefits, such as the drug felon ban, to gatekeepers that are hired and are supposed to approve, disapprove the benefit to the participant. These individuals, their training, affect the lives of people that they're supposed to be assisting. The foods that are available in these neighborhoods, what's available and accessible in the neighborhoods that mainly receive SNAP benefits, which are obviously disproportionately, black and brown communities, communities of color. Not having access to hot foods, which is just a policy issue in and of itself. But not having access to nutritious foods, like fruits and vegetables, in these neighborhoods that receive the SNAP benefits. Not receiving enough of a SNAP benefit to even benefit the way that you're supposed to and be able to feed your family, is another one. There's just so many different ways that this affects the SNAP policies and SNAP benefits.   Let me ask you a follow-up question about that. You've given a lot of examples and I really appreciate that. Can you tell us a little bit more about how individuals experience interacting with the system? How does it make people feel to interact with such a system, and does this affect people's willingness to engage with the SNAP program? Or does it affect, you think, the number of people who are eligible, who enroll in the program? What's it like?   Tamika: A hundred percent. I can say from personal experience. I was homeless for a period of time before I applied for benefits myself because there's such a stigma attached to receiving these benefits. That you're lazy, that you don't want to work, that you're a bum or a whatever other derogatory terms. I'm sure you've heard them, we all have. Or you're on drugs, or you're an addict of some kind. Anything and everything. But that's simply not the case. I wasn't on drugs, I didn't have any children, no one could say, "Oh! You know." But there's such a stigma attached to it, it keeps a lot of people from applying. And then when you do apply, you're in this place where there's so many people that are needy, that are in the position that you're in. And it's a re-traumatizing system, to have to tell someone your story, first of all, that you don't know. Tell them what's going on in your life, and actually admit to the fact that you can't provide for yourself and that you need help. But to have to go from that person to another person, to another person, to another person, and actually hope that these people care. They're dealing with a number of people throughout the day, so it's stressful on them as well. But to actually talk to somebody that cares about what's going on in your life, that wants to help you, which is not something that happens often. Unfortunately, I was homeless for seven months before and I went through three social workers before I got to someone that actually told me how I could help myself. This is why I call them gatekeepers. Because they are the individuals that ultimately have an effect on whether you receive this assistance that you need so badly, or whether you don't and you continue to struggle.   It's not a great process. It needs to be updated, it needs to be streamlined in every state so that you don't have to be re-traumatized every time you have to go in there. You don't have to re-qualify. Every time you have to re-qualify, you have to worry about losing your benefits. You're threatened by letters and stuff that you receive when it is time for re-qualification. I mean, it is so hard to explain without becoming relatively emotional, but it's a terrifying process when we're supposed to be helping people. These are our people, and we're supposed to be helping them and lifting them up. Instead, we're threatening them every step of the way. If you lie about this or if you misspeak about this, there's public charge associated with so many different parts of this process as well. And you're just like, "I don't know what to say." So you don't say anything, and you don't get the benefits that you could have gotten. There's so many different parts of this. It's just not a great process. It's not a fun process, it's not a good process. It needs to be revamped.   Tamika, I appreciate you sharing that, and I'm sorry that I've asked you to relive it yet again. But it really helps, I think, paint a picture of what it's like to interact with a system like this and how traumatizing, re-traumatizing, and difficult it can be. So thank you very much for sharing that. Parker, why don't we dig into the report recommendations? Can you describe to our listeners, what you believe the key points in the recommendations are?   Parker: We have multiple recommendations that fall into different buckets. The main thing that we want, is that SNAP should absolutely be available to all who need it. Meaning, remove any barriers for folks who like Tamika mentioned earlier, who have been formally incarcerated students, immigrants. Even some indigenous populations who receive another food program that's full of canned foods and not fresh foods, if they received at that month, they aren't able to receive SNAP. That's not fair. Also, residents of Puerto Rico. There are multiple different policies right now that prevent different groups of folks from being able to receive benefits. So we want to make sure that it's available to all who need it.   We also want to make sure that it's sufficient enough to meet the needs of community members. So we want to make sure that, number one, we protect the Thrifty Food Plan. Although it's the lowest level food plan, they just reevaluated it last year, and we want to protect that. We know that there are multiple legislators that want to come against it. We know that the SNAP program does help folks, and we want to protect the good changes that have happened. But we also know that we need to increase overall SNAP benefits. Right now, currently per person, it is around $5 per day. $5 per day, so that's around a dollar and 33 cents per meal. I don't know anywhere that you can get a meal for $1.33 cents. So folks are having to make difficult decisions about what type of food they want to provide for their families. We think about food policing, and telling folks they can't buy sodas with their SNAP benefits, or they can't buy sugary foods, or they can't buy chips and all these different things. But the reality is that, to stretch someone's SNAP benefits to make sure that their families feel full, we can't talk about nutrition, and we can't talk about healthy foods without talking about increasing the benefits. Because at that point we'll be blaming people for the difficult choices that they have to make, instead of recognizing that the SNAP benefits just aren't enough for a sustainable diet. Not only in terms of the cost of food, but also in terms of culturally appropriate foods. In different communities, whether it is Caribbean, African, Latino communities, we use different spices, we use different beans and flavors, and different things that also cost a lot of money. And so, oftentimes the diets that are used to estimate the average cost of food are Eurocentric diets. And so we have to move away from the idea that Eurocentric diets are the only diets that are healthy. That's not necessarily true. When we look at the more culturally diverse diet, and we add those foods as we estimate the cost, that will help SNAP benefits to go up as well.   In thinking of different dietary needs and different things of that nature, we also want to expand bonus funds for accessing fruits and vegetables. So currently there are multiple programs. One that we talk about specifically in the paper is a farmer's market benefit where if you have a farmer's market in your area, you can use double benefits to purchase from the farmer's market. However, farmer's markets are seasonal. Farmer's markets sometimes for different communities are extremely difficult to get to. And so, if we want to encourage fruits and vegetables, and the purchase of them with the SNAP program, we should encourage that by using this benefit across all grocery stores.   And one of our major, major, major recommendations, is about hot foods. This is one that many folks in the anti-hunger community, don't necessarily jump into but it was super important. The group was really serious about us taking this on to really talk about how the SNAP program should allow people to buy hot and prepared foods. Because it is something that is necessary for folks who have experienced homelessness, for folks who may live in housing where they don't have a working stove. There are so many different situations that we've heard of through doing our research and talking to folks, where if they were able to purchase hot foods with the SNAP program, it would completely and totally change their lives. So I'll let Tamika jump in here, to talk about our recommendations with hot foods, and also just talking about subsidies, in terms of fruits and vegetables.   Thanks, Parker. I appreciate it. There are a lot of very concrete ideas among your recommendations. So Tamika, what would you like to highlight about the report?   Tamika: So I'm going to start with hot foods, speaking with direct personal experience with street homelessness while I was receiving benefits. I'm first going to address just how dehumanizing it is to tell someone that if you don't have a stove or a kitchen, that you don't deserve a hot meal. That's basically what the current SNAP policy is insinuating, right? Because if you don't, you can't. It's ridiculous to think that someone is homeless and out in the cold in the wintertime, and they can't go and get a bowl of soup from the corner store or from a grocery store, if they have access to one, or somewhere like that. Or a hot dog or just something that's hot to warm your stomach. Food should be treated and accessed as a basic human right no matter the disposition of it. And that's just the fact of the matter. Could you imagine someone telling you that you can't have something hot to eat just because they don't want you to use the dollars that they're giving you for that? It's incredibly dehumanizing and ridiculous.   And then also as a homeless person, you really can't budget the same way that you would if you did have access to a fridge, or a refrigerator, or a stove. You can't go and buy milk because there's nowhere to put it. Or eggs, or rice; nowhere to cook it. Pancake mix - nowhere to cook it. These are all things that you could use to stretch those dollars for yourself and your family. You can't do these things. So you actually end up spending more money having to go to corner stores and buy whatever it is that they have at the corner store that you can eat that day rather than being able to cook something for yourself, or buy something that is hot for yourself. One of my colleagues talks about the frozen chicken or frozen turkeys at the grocery store where you could buy a roasted one for $7, maybe 5$, $7 something like that, that's already cooked. But you can't buy that. But then you can buy the frozen one that's $14. It's just not cost effective either. And like Parker just highlighted, that is what you're limited to with the SNAP funds.   As a single person in the United States, the benefit right now is about $192 or less. The USDA estimates that for a single person, a single person in the United States, it's $230 to $420 per month. So the benefit is not enough to sustain you. We know that. Just for a single person, not enough to sustain you. Now going to the corner store, you're reduced to those foods, which we know is not nutritious in any way. And like I said, more expensive in the long run. Furthermore, it is re-traumatizing to have to go to the store or corner store, whoever or wherever you're going every day, to ask them to heat something up for you too, because you don't have access. Being homeless is already a daily battle, mentally, physically, emotionally; a battle. You're constantly having to fight negative thoughts and feeling unworthy. Having to go and ask someone to heat up food for you because you can't do it for yourself, it just amplifies those feelings.   I'm so happy that you're able to lay some of these things out, because these are not stories that everybody has heard.   Tamika: That's one of the reasons why we're hearing why it's important to have someone's perspective that has experienced these things. It's important to have people with lived experience in the room when you're creating policies that affect the individuals that actually experience these things. This is why. This is why. It's a different effect. If you have never experienced that, I don't feel like you should be writing a policy that affects someone that does, especially not without direct input from someone that has.   Bios   Parker Gilkesson is a senior policy analyst with the Center for Law and Social Policy's Income and Work Supports team. She specializes in work support programs for people with low incomes and focuses on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Parker is a subject matter expert in social policy, benefit eligibility, human services delivery, racial equity, community partnership, and state and local policy regarding SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Medicaid. She has been quoted in TIME Magazine, New York Times, National Public Radio, The Hill, and many more. Prior to joining CLASP, Parker began her career as a human services specialist in Mecklenburg County, NC. In this role, she worked directly with people to determine their eligibility for Medicaid, TANF, and SNAP. Parker earned a Master of Public Policy degree, with a concentration in public administration, from Liberty University and a bachelor's degree in health education, maternal and child health from Howard University. Parker believes all policies should be grounded in the wisdom and experiences of those directly impacted by them. Therefore, she has worked to co-create a community of shared learning that highly regards lived experience as necessary expertise in the quest toward equitable policy solutions. Parker is passionate about systemic change that addresses root causes to eventually eradicate poverty and inequities in the health and social welfare of our nation's residents.   Tamika Moore is a New Jersey native who has spread her passion for youth empowerment through her non-profit organization VisionWorkz. Her mission is to help guide, inspire, and empower LGBTQ youth to see their true potential and value. She pushes to provide healthy and safe avenues for teens and adolescents to release their emotions on a creative and functional basis. Tamika has traveled the East Coast delivering her global vision of bringing the input of young people to the forefront for legislative changes involving education, programs for teens, and poverty. Tamika contributed to the LGBT curriculum in New Jersey and believes in helping to establish core values like financial literacy and professional development to help kids feel secure about themselves and their future.  

Senate and House Democratic leaders Sen. Derrick Simmons and Rep. Robert Johnson provide a recap of their joint caucus hearing on the scandal-plagued Mississippi Department of Human Services and its administration of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. In the poorest state in the country, millions of federal welfare dollars have been squandered and systemic problems remain that prevent the help getting to the poorest of the poor in Mississippi.

The La Vernia Independent School District has distributed letters to the households of children in the district campuses about eligibility benefits for free and reduced-priced meals and any actions households need to take to apply for these benefits. Applications are also available at each campus or the Child Nutrition Office at 315 Bluebonnet Drive in La Vernia. Children in households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are eligible. Additionally, foster children, children who are enrolled in Head Start or Even Start, and those who meet the income guidelines of the...Article Link

The Stockdale Independent School District is accepting applications for students, who meet eligibility requirements, to receive free or reduced-price meals for the 2022-23 school year. Children in households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are eligible. Additionally, foster children, children who are enrolled in Head Start or Early Head Start, and those who meet the income guidelines of the program based on the Federal Income Chart, are eligible. Families may apply during the school year if their household income goes below the income limit. Households who received a notification letter...Article Link

The Floresville Independent School District is accepting applications for students, who meet eligibility requirements, to receive free or reduced-price meals for the 2022-23 school year. Children in households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are eligible. Additionally, foster children, children who are enrolled in Head Start or Even Start, and those who meet the income guidelines of the program based on the Federal Income Chart, are eligible. Families may apply anytime during the school year if their household income goes below the income limit. Completed applications may be turned in...Article Link

The cries from the left predicting the end of the world in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is a familiar sound. We heard the same after the historic reform in welfare in 1996 when Aid to Families with Dependent Children, which effectively subsidized low-income women to have children out of marriage, was replaced with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families — which introduced the idea of workfare. The reform, the left screamed, would throw low-income women mercilessly to the streets. But the result was quite the opposite. We had a dramatic decrease in welfare...Article Link

Eligibility for hardship assistance is based on need and can be as much as $935 per month (single person), as much as $1,770 per month (family of four), as much as $1,358.50 per month (single person with a disability) and as much as $2,193.50 per month (family of four, one adult is a person with a disability).

MLB – Major League Baseball Last Night Oakland A’s 2, Detroit Tigers 0 Cleveland Guardians 12, Chicago White Sox 9 – 11 Innings Chicago Cubs 6, San Diego Padres 0 Athletics 2, Tigers 0 – A’s beat Tigers 2-0 as Blackburn improves to 4-0 Paul Blackburn threw 6 2/3 strong innings to improve to 4-0 as the Oakland A’s shutout the Detroit Tigers 2-0 to snap a season-high nine-game losing streak. Tony Kemp hit a solo home run in the third and Chad Pinder added an RBI single in the fourth. Blackburn gave up four hits and struck out three before leaving in the seventh inning. Despite walking two batters, rookie Dany Jiménez escaped damage and earned his fifth save to finish off the four-hitter. Guardians 12, White Sox 9 – F/11 – Naylor powers big comeback, Guardians stun White Sox in 11 Josh Naylor hit a tying grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning and a three-run homer in the 11th, powering a huge comeback that carried the Cleveland Guardians to a wild 12-9 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Naylor also had a run-scoring double in the eighth and finished with eight RBIs for the Guardians, who stunned Chicago by rallying from an 8-2 deficit in the ninth aided by two White Sox errors. Andrés Giménez led off the inning with a homer and then doubled home a run in the 10th as the Guardians snapped Chicago’s six-game winning streak. Cubs 6, Padres 0 – Hendricks brilliant for 8 2/3 innings as Cubs snap skid Kyle Hendricks came within one out of three-hit shutout for the Chicago Cubs, who beat the listless San Diego Padres 6-0 to snap a season-high five-game losing streak. Manager David Ross came out to get Hendricks after he got Jurickson Profar to fly out to left on his 116th pitch. Hendricks struck out rookie José Azocar to open the ninth and walked Jake Cronenworth on six pitches before going to a full count against Profar. Scott Effros came on and retired Manny Machado. Hendricks (2-3) didn’t allow a runner to reach scoring position. Today Oakland (Montas 2-2) at Detroit (Skubal 1-2), 1:10 p.m. – Game 1        WSJM/WCSY 12:50 (Game 1, Oakland is the home team) Oakland (Martinez 0-0) at Detroit (Faedo 0-0), 4:40 p.m. – Game 2       WSJM/WCSY Cleveland (Quantrill 1-1) at Chicago White Sox (Giolito 1-1), 8:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Miley 0-0) at San Diego (Clevinger 0-0), 9:40 p.m. MLB – MLB plans London games in 2023, 2024 and 2026 Major League Baseball plans to play regular-season games in London in 2023, 2024 and 2026. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox split two games at London’s Olympic Stadium in June 2019. The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs were scheduled to play there in June 2020, but those games were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. MLB plans to hold a Home Run Derby at London’s Crystal Palace Park on July 9 this year. NBA – National Basketball Association – 2022 NBA Playoffs – 2nd Round Last Night Boston Celtics 116, Milwaukee Bucks 108                        (Series Tied 2-2) Golden State Warriors 101, Memphis Grizzlies 98            (GSW Leads 3-1) Tonight Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m.                       (Series Tied 2-2) Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns, 10:00 p.m.                   (Series Tied 2-2) NBA – Suns coach: NBA should consider families-only seats at games Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams says the NBA should consider having a special section in the stands reserved for the families of visiting teams in the wake of Chris Paul’s family being harassed during a playoff game in Dallas. The incident happened Sunday during Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Dallas Mavericks and Suns. The Mavericks said afterward that they were aware of an incident between a fan and Paul’s family at American Airlines Center and that the fan was ejected. Paul tweeted about the incident after it happened but didn’t speak to the media following practice Monday. NCAAMBKB/NBA – Former NBA, Michigan State star Adreian Payne shot, killed Former Michigan State basketball standout and NBA player Adreian Payne has died in a shooting. He was 31. The sheriff’s office in Orange County, Florida said deputies responded to a shooting Monday morning when Payne was identified and taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Lawrence Dority was present at the scene, according to the sherriff’s office. The 29-year-old Dority was arrested on a first-degree murder warrant after homicide detectives interviewed him. Payne played in 107 NBA games, averaging four points and three rebounds, over four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic. NHL – National Hockey League – 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs – 1st Round Yesterday Pittsburgh Penguins 7, New York Rangers 2                      (PIT Leads 3-1) Florida Panthers 3, Washington Capitals 2 – OT                (Series Tied 2-2) Colorado Avalanche 5, Nashville Predators 3                   (COL Wins 4-0) Calgary Flames 4, Dallas Stars 1                                      (Series Tied 2-2) Tonight Boston Bruins at Carolina Hurricanes, 7:00 p.m.              (Series Tied 2-2) Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m.      (Series Tied 2-2) St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild, 9:30 p.m.                     (Series Tied 2-2) Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers, 10:00 p.m.            (Series Tied 2-2) NHL – Islanders fire coach Barry Trotz after missing playoffs The New York Islanders have fired coach Barry Trotz after missing the playoffs in his fourth season with the team. General manager Lou Lamoriello made the surprising announcement more than a week after the regular season ended. Trotz coached the Islanders to playoff appearances in each of his first three years with them. They failed to qualify this year after starting the season on a 13-game road trip and enduring a string of coronavirus-related absences and injuries that derailed the season. Trotz had one year left on his contract. He joined the Islanders in 2018 after winning the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals. WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association Tonight Minnesota Lynx at Indiana Fever, 7:00 p.m. NCAAFB – NCAA clarifies compensation rules but is crackdown likely? College sports leaders are trying to send a warning to schools and boosters when it comes to paying athletes for endorsement and sponsorship deals: There are still rules and they will be enforced. The NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors has approved guidance clarifying the types of payments and booster involvement that could be considered recruiting violations. It is not clear whether the NCAA will clamp down on boosters offering money to recruits or whether it will be taken to court over it. NFL – Mississippi sues Favre, wrestlers, over welfare misspending The Mississippi Department of Human Services is suing retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, three former pro wrestlers and several other people and businesses to try to recover millions of misspent welfare dollars that were intended to help some of the poorest people in the nation. The lawsuit was filed Monday. It says the defendants “squandered” more than $20 million in money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families anti-poverty program. The suit was filed less than two weeks after a mother and son who ran a nonprofit group and an education company in Mississippi pleaded guilty to state criminal charges tied to the misspending. MILB – Midwest League Baseball Last Night No games last night Today Great Lakes Loons at Lake County Captains, 11:00 a.m. Dayton Dragons at Lansing Lugnuts, 11:05 a.m. Beloit Snappers at West Michigan Whitecaps, 6:35 p.m. Fort Wayne Tin Caps at South Bend Cubs, 7:05 p.m. MHSAA – High School Sports Last Night Girls Soccer St. Joseph 1, Lakeshore 0 Our Lady of the Lake 8, Michigan Lutheran 0 Edwardsburg 8, Niles 0 Plainwell 3, Dowagiac 1 Buchanan 8, Bronson 0 Allegan 6, Sturgis 0 Paw Paw 4, Three Rivers 1 Vicksburg 3, Otsego 1 Coloma 1, Lawton 0 Kalamazoo Hackett 8, Watervliet 0 Fennville 2, Constantine 1 Delton-Kellogg 2, Olivet 1 Kalamazoo Christian 2, Parchment 0 Schoolcraft 3, Saugatuck 1 Mattawan 8, Battle Creek Central 0 Portage Central 9, Battle Creek Central 0 Gull Lake 8, Kalamazoo Central 0 Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 2, Portage Northern 0 Comstock 9, Marcellus 1 Hartford 5, Bangor 1 Baseball Mattawan 9, St. Joseph 6 – Game 1 Mattawan 13, St. Joseph 0 – Game 2 Watervliet 5, Coloma 2 – Game 1 Watervliet 7, Coloma 1 – Game 2 Mendon 18, Bangor 2 – Game 1 Mendon 19, Bangor 0 – Game 2 Hartford 7, White Pigeon 4 – Game 1 Hartford 15, White Pigeon 5 – Game 2 Parchment 12, Battle Creek Pennfield 2 – Game 1 Parchment 15, Battle Creek Pennfield 5 – Game 2 Gobles 8, Saugatuck 1 – Game 1 Gobles 10, Saugatuck 4 – Game 2 Girls Tennis St. Joseph 4, Mattawan 4 Brandywine 8, South Haven 0 Edwardsburg 8, Paw Paw 0 Otsego 7, Niles 1 Softball Michigan Lutheran 17, Benton Harbor 0 – Game 1 Michigan Lutheran 16, Benton Harbor 1 – Game 2 River Valley 18, Eau Claire 0 – Game 1 River Valley 15, Eau Claire 0 – Game 2 Watervliet 16, Coloma 6 – Game 1 Watervliet 8, Coloma 3 – Game 2 New Buffalo 9, Lawrence 7 – Game 1 New Buffalo 14, Lawrence 4 – Game 2 Paw Paw 5, Lawton 4 – Game 1 Paw Paw 12, Lawton 2 – Game 2 Jackson Northwest 4, Mattawan 0 Mendon 19, Bangor 0 – Game 1 Mendon 21, Bangor 0 – Game 2 Centreville 15, Bloomingdale 0 – Game 1 Centreville 17, Bloomingdale 2 – Game 2 Hartford 10, White Pigeon 0 – Game 1 Hartford 15, White Pigeon 0 – Game 2 Gobles 28, Saugatuck 9 – Game 1 Gobles 12, Saugatuck 8 – Game 2 Track and Field St. Joseph at Lakeshore Girls: St. Joseph 120, Lakeshore 40 Boys:  St. Joseph 105, Lakeshore 58 Today Baseball Lakeshore at St. Joseph, 4:00 p.m. (1 game) Our Lady of the Lake at New Buffalo, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Michigan Lutheran at River Valley, 4:15 p.m. (DH) South Haven at Berrien Springs, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Bridgman at Buchanan, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Eau Claire at Lawrence, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Paw Paw at Allegan, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Niles at Otsego, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Sturgis at Plainwell, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Dowagiac at Three Rivers, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Edwardsburg at Vicksburg, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Softball Battle Creek Central at Lakeshore, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Michigan Lutheran at River Valley, 4:15 p.m. (DH) South Haven at Berrien Springs, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Bridgman at Buchanan, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Eau Claire at Lawrence, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Paw Paw at Allegan, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Niles at Otsego, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Sturgis at Plainwell, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Dowagiac at Three Rivers, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Edwardsburg at Vicksburg, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Girls Soccer Bangor at Marcellus, 5:30 p.m. Girls Tennis Gull Lake at Lakeshore, 2:00 p.m. Gull Lake at St. Joseph, 4:00 p.m. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MLB – Major League Baseball Last Night Oakland A’s 2, Detroit Tigers 0 Cleveland Guardians 12, Chicago White Sox 9 – 11 Innings Chicago Cubs 6, San Diego Padres 0 Athletics 2, Tigers 0 – A’s beat Tigers 2-0 as Blackburn improves to 4-0 Paul Blackburn threw 6 2/3 strong innings to improve to 4-0 as the Oakland A’s shutout the Detroit Tigers 2-0 to snap a season-high nine-game losing streak. Tony Kemp hit a solo home run in the third and Chad Pinder added an RBI single in the fourth. Blackburn gave up four hits and struck out three before leaving in the seventh inning. Despite walking two batters, rookie Dany Jiménez escaped damage and earned his fifth save to finish off the four-hitter. Guardians 12, White Sox 9 – F/11 – Naylor powers big comeback, Guardians stun White Sox in 11 Josh Naylor hit a tying grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning and a three-run homer in the 11th, powering a huge comeback that carried the Cleveland Guardians to a wild 12-9 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Naylor also had a run-scoring double in the eighth and finished with eight RBIs for the Guardians, who stunned Chicago by rallying from an 8-2 deficit in the ninth aided by two White Sox errors. Andrés Giménez led off the inning with a homer and then doubled home a run in the 10th as the Guardians snapped Chicago’s six-game winning streak. Cubs 6, Padres 0 – Hendricks brilliant for 8 2/3 innings as Cubs snap skid Kyle Hendricks came within one out of three-hit shutout for the Chicago Cubs, who beat the listless San Diego Padres 6-0 to snap a season-high five-game losing streak. Manager David Ross came out to get Hendricks after he got Jurickson Profar to fly out to left on his 116th pitch. Hendricks struck out rookie José Azocar to open the ninth and walked Jake Cronenworth on six pitches before going to a full count against Profar. Scott Effros came on and retired Manny Machado. Hendricks (2-3) didn’t allow a runner to reach scoring position. Today Oakland (Montas 2-2) at Detroit (Skubal 1-2), 1:10 p.m. – Game 1        WSJM/WCSY 12:50 (Game 1, Oakland is the home team) Oakland (Martinez 0-0) at Detroit (Faedo 0-0), 4:40 p.m. – Game 2       WSJM/WCSY Cleveland (Quantrill 1-1) at Chicago White Sox (Giolito 1-1), 8:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Miley 0-0) at San Diego (Clevinger 0-0), 9:40 p.m. MLB – MLB plans London games in 2023, 2024 and 2026 Major League Baseball plans to play regular-season games in London in 2023, 2024 and 2026. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox split two games at London’s Olympic Stadium in June 2019. The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs were scheduled to play there in June 2020, but those games were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. MLB plans to hold a Home Run Derby at London’s Crystal Palace Park on July 9 this year. NBA – National Basketball Association – 2022 NBA Playoffs – 2nd Round Last Night Boston Celtics 116, Milwaukee Bucks 108                        (Series Tied 2-2) Golden State Warriors 101, Memphis Grizzlies 98            (GSW Leads 3-1) Tonight Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m.                       (Series Tied 2-2) Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns, 10:00 p.m.                   (Series Tied 2-2) NBA – Suns coach: NBA should consider families-only seats at games Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams says the NBA should consider having a special section in the stands reserved for the families of visiting teams in the wake of Chris Paul’s family being harassed during a playoff game in Dallas. The incident happened Sunday during Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Dallas Mavericks and Suns. The Mavericks said afterward that they were aware of an incident between a fan and Paul’s family at American Airlines Center and that the fan was ejected. Paul tweeted about the incident after it happened but didn’t speak to the media following practice Monday. NCAAMBKB/NBA – Former NBA, Michigan State star Adreian Payne shot, killed Former Michigan State basketball standout and NBA player Adreian Payne has died in a shooting. He was 31. The sheriff’s office in Orange County, Florida said deputies responded to a shooting Monday morning when Payne was identified and taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Lawrence Dority was present at the scene, according to the sherriff’s office. The 29-year-old Dority was arrested on a first-degree murder warrant after homicide detectives interviewed him. Payne played in 107 NBA games, averaging four points and three rebounds, over four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic. NHL – National Hockey League – 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs – 1st Round Yesterday Pittsburgh Penguins 7, New York Rangers 2                      (PIT Leads 3-1) Florida Panthers 3, Washington Capitals 2 – OT                (Series Tied 2-2) Colorado Avalanche 5, Nashville Predators 3                   (COL Wins 4-0) Calgary Flames 4, Dallas Stars 1                                      (Series Tied 2-2) Tonight Boston Bruins at Carolina Hurricanes, 7:00 p.m.              (Series Tied 2-2) Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m.      (Series Tied 2-2) St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild, 9:30 p.m.                     (Series Tied 2-2) Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers, 10:00 p.m.            (Series Tied 2-2) NHL – Islanders fire coach Barry Trotz after missing playoffs The New York Islanders have fired coach Barry Trotz after missing the playoffs in his fourth season with the team. General manager Lou Lamoriello made the surprising announcement more than a week after the regular season ended. Trotz coached the Islanders to playoff appearances in each of his first three years with them. They failed to qualify this year after starting the season on a 13-game road trip and enduring a string of coronavirus-related absences and injuries that derailed the season. Trotz had one year left on his contract. He joined the Islanders in 2018 after winning the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals. WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association Tonight Minnesota Lynx at Indiana Fever, 7:00 p.m. NCAAFB – NCAA clarifies compensation rules but is crackdown likely? College sports leaders are trying to send a warning to schools and boosters when it comes to paying athletes for endorsement and sponsorship deals: There are still rules and they will be enforced. The NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors has approved guidance clarifying the types of payments and booster involvement that could be considered recruiting violations. It is not clear whether the NCAA will clamp down on boosters offering money to recruits or whether it will be taken to court over it. NFL – Mississippi sues Favre, wrestlers, over welfare misspending The Mississippi Department of Human Services is suing retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, three former pro wrestlers and several other people and businesses to try to recover millions of misspent welfare dollars that were intended to help some of the poorest people in the nation. The lawsuit was filed Monday. It says the defendants “squandered” more than $20 million in money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families anti-poverty program. The suit was filed less than two weeks after a mother and son who ran a nonprofit group and an education company in Mississippi pleaded guilty to state criminal charges tied to the misspending. MILB – Midwest League Baseball Last Night No games last night Today Great Lakes Loons at Lake County Captains, 11:00 a.m. Dayton Dragons at Lansing Lugnuts, 11:05 a.m. Beloit Snappers at West Michigan Whitecaps, 6:35 p.m. Fort Wayne Tin Caps at South Bend Cubs, 7:05 p.m. MHSAA – High School Sports Last Night Girls Soccer St. Joseph 1, Lakeshore 0 Our Lady of the Lake 8, Michigan Lutheran 0 Edwardsburg 8, Niles 0 Plainwell 3, Dowagiac 1 Buchanan 8, Bronson 0 Allegan 6, Sturgis 0 Paw Paw 4, Three Rivers 1 Vicksburg 3, Otsego 1 Coloma 1, Lawton 0 Kalamazoo Hackett 8, Watervliet 0 Fennville 2, Constantine 1 Delton-Kellogg 2, Olivet 1 Kalamazoo Christian 2, Parchment 0 Schoolcraft 3, Saugatuck 1 Mattawan 8, Battle Creek Central 0 Portage Central 9, Battle Creek Central 0 Gull Lake 8, Kalamazoo Central 0 Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 2, Portage Northern 0 Comstock 9, Marcellus 1 Hartford 5, Bangor 1 Baseball Mattawan 9, St. Joseph 6 – Game 1 Mattawan 13, St. Joseph 0 – Game 2 Watervliet 5, Coloma 2 – Game 1 Watervliet 7, Coloma 1 – Game 2 Mendon 18, Bangor 2 – Game 1 Mendon 19, Bangor 0 – Game 2 Hartford 7, White Pigeon 4 – Game 1 Hartford 15, White Pigeon 5 – Game 2 Parchment 12, Battle Creek Pennfield 2 – Game 1 Parchment 15, Battle Creek Pennfield 5 – Game 2 Gobles 8, Saugatuck 1 – Game 1 Gobles 10, Saugatuck 4 – Game 2 Girls Tennis St. Joseph 4, Mattawan 4 Brandywine 8, South Haven 0 Edwardsburg 8, Paw Paw 0 Otsego 7, Niles 1 Softball Michigan Lutheran 17, Benton Harbor 0 – Game 1 Michigan Lutheran 16, Benton Harbor 1 – Game 2 River Valley 18, Eau Claire 0 – Game 1 River Valley 15, Eau Claire 0 – Game 2 Watervliet 16, Coloma 6 – Game 1 Watervliet 8, Coloma 3 – Game 2 New Buffalo 9, Lawrence 7 – Game 1 New Buffalo 14, Lawrence 4 – Game 2 Paw Paw 5, Lawton 4 – Game 1 Paw Paw 12, Lawton 2 – Game 2 Jackson Northwest 4, Mattawan 0 Mendon 19, Bangor 0 – Game 1 Mendon 21, Bangor 0 – Game 2 Centreville 15, Bloomingdale 0 – Game 1 Centreville 17, Bloomingdale 2 – Game 2 Hartford 10, White Pigeon 0 – Game 1 Hartford 15, White Pigeon 0 – Game 2 Gobles 28, Saugatuck 9 – Game 1 Gobles 12, Saugatuck 8 – Game 2 Track and Field St. Joseph at Lakeshore Girls: St. Joseph 120, Lakeshore 40 Boys:  St. Joseph 105, Lakeshore 58 Today Baseball Lakeshore at St. Joseph, 4:00 p.m. (1 game) Our Lady of the Lake at New Buffalo, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Michigan Lutheran at River Valley, 4:15 p.m. (DH) South Haven at Berrien Springs, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Bridgman at Buchanan, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Eau Claire at Lawrence, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Paw Paw at Allegan, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Niles at Otsego, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Sturgis at Plainwell, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Dowagiac at Three Rivers, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Edwardsburg at Vicksburg, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Softball Battle Creek Central at Lakeshore, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Michigan Lutheran at River Valley, 4:15 p.m. (DH) South Haven at Berrien Springs, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Bridgman at Buchanan, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Eau Claire at Lawrence, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Paw Paw at Allegan, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Niles at Otsego, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Sturgis at Plainwell, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Dowagiac at Three Rivers, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Edwardsburg at Vicksburg, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Girls Soccer Bangor at Marcellus, 5:30 p.m. Girls Tennis Gull Lake at Lakeshore, 2:00 p.m. Gull Lake at St. Joseph, 4:00 p.m. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MLB – Major League Baseball Last Night Oakland A’s 2, Detroit Tigers 0 Cleveland Guardians 12, Chicago White Sox 9 – 11 Innings Chicago Cubs 6, San Diego Padres 0 Athletics 2, Tigers 0 – A’s beat Tigers 2-0 as Blackburn improves to 4-0 Paul Blackburn threw 6 2/3 strong innings to improve to 4-0 as the Oakland A’s shutout the Detroit Tigers 2-0 to snap a season-high nine-game losing streak. Tony Kemp hit a solo home run in the third and Chad Pinder added an RBI single in the fourth. Blackburn gave up four hits and struck out three before leaving in the seventh inning. Despite walking two batters, rookie Dany Jiménez escaped damage and earned his fifth save to finish off the four-hitter. Guardians 12, White Sox 9 – F/11 – Naylor powers big comeback, Guardians stun White Sox in 11 Josh Naylor hit a tying grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning and a three-run homer in the 11th, powering a huge comeback that carried the Cleveland Guardians to a wild 12-9 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Naylor also had a run-scoring double in the eighth and finished with eight RBIs for the Guardians, who stunned Chicago by rallying from an 8-2 deficit in the ninth aided by two White Sox errors. Andrés Giménez led off the inning with a homer and then doubled home a run in the 10th as the Guardians snapped Chicago’s six-game winning streak. Cubs 6, Padres 0 – Hendricks brilliant for 8 2/3 innings as Cubs snap skid Kyle Hendricks came within one out of three-hit shutout for the Chicago Cubs, who beat the listless San Diego Padres 6-0 to snap a season-high five-game losing streak. Manager David Ross came out to get Hendricks after he got Jurickson Profar to fly out to left on his 116th pitch. Hendricks struck out rookie José Azocar to open the ninth and walked Jake Cronenworth on six pitches before going to a full count against Profar. Scott Effros came on and retired Manny Machado. Hendricks (2-3) didn’t allow a runner to reach scoring position. Today Oakland (Montas 2-2) at Detroit (Skubal 1-2), 1:10 p.m. – Game 1        WSJM/WCSY 12:50 (Game 1, Oakland is the home team) Oakland (Martinez 0-0) at Detroit (Faedo 0-0), 4:40 p.m. – Game 2       WSJM/WCSY Cleveland (Quantrill 1-1) at Chicago White Sox (Giolito 1-1), 8:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Miley 0-0) at San Diego (Clevinger 0-0), 9:40 p.m. MLB – MLB plans London games in 2023, 2024 and 2026 Major League Baseball plans to play regular-season games in London in 2023, 2024 and 2026. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox split two games at London’s Olympic Stadium in June 2019. The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs were scheduled to play there in June 2020, but those games were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. MLB plans to hold a Home Run Derby at London’s Crystal Palace Park on July 9 this year. NBA – National Basketball Association – 2022 NBA Playoffs – 2nd Round Last Night Boston Celtics 116, Milwaukee Bucks 108                        (Series Tied 2-2) Golden State Warriors 101, Memphis Grizzlies 98            (GSW Leads 3-1) Tonight Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m.                       (Series Tied 2-2) Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns, 10:00 p.m.                   (Series Tied 2-2) NBA – Suns coach: NBA should consider families-only seats at games Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams says the NBA should consider having a special section in the stands reserved for the families of visiting teams in the wake of Chris Paul’s family being harassed during a playoff game in Dallas. The incident happened Sunday during Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Dallas Mavericks and Suns. The Mavericks said afterward that they were aware of an incident between a fan and Paul’s family at American Airlines Center and that the fan was ejected. Paul tweeted about the incident after it happened but didn’t speak to the media following practice Monday. NCAAMBKB/NBA – Former NBA, Michigan State star Adreian Payne shot, killed Former Michigan State basketball standout and NBA player Adreian Payne has died in a shooting. He was 31. The sheriff’s office in Orange County, Florida said deputies responded to a shooting Monday morning when Payne was identified and taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Lawrence Dority was present at the scene, according to the sherriff’s office. The 29-year-old Dority was arrested on a first-degree murder warrant after homicide detectives interviewed him. Payne played in 107 NBA games, averaging four points and three rebounds, over four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic. NHL – National Hockey League – 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs – 1st Round Yesterday Pittsburgh Penguins 7, New York Rangers 2                      (PIT Leads 3-1) Florida Panthers 3, Washington Capitals 2 – OT                (Series Tied 2-2) Colorado Avalanche 5, Nashville Predators 3                   (COL Wins 4-0) Calgary Flames 4, Dallas Stars 1                                      (Series Tied 2-2) Tonight Boston Bruins at Carolina Hurricanes, 7:00 p.m.              (Series Tied 2-2) Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m.      (Series Tied 2-2) St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild, 9:30 p.m.                     (Series Tied 2-2) Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers, 10:00 p.m.            (Series Tied 2-2) NHL – Islanders fire coach Barry Trotz after missing playoffs The New York Islanders have fired coach Barry Trotz after missing the playoffs in his fourth season with the team. General manager Lou Lamoriello made the surprising announcement more than a week after the regular season ended. Trotz coached the Islanders to playoff appearances in each of his first three years with them. They failed to qualify this year after starting the season on a 13-game road trip and enduring a string of coronavirus-related absences and injuries that derailed the season. Trotz had one year left on his contract. He joined the Islanders in 2018 after winning the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals. WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association Tonight Minnesota Lynx at Indiana Fever, 7:00 p.m. NCAAFB – NCAA clarifies compensation rules but is crackdown likely? College sports leaders are trying to send a warning to schools and boosters when it comes to paying athletes for endorsement and sponsorship deals: There are still rules and they will be enforced. The NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors has approved guidance clarifying the types of payments and booster involvement that could be considered recruiting violations. It is not clear whether the NCAA will clamp down on boosters offering money to recruits or whether it will be taken to court over it. NFL – Mississippi sues Favre, wrestlers, over welfare misspending The Mississippi Department of Human Services is suing retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, three former pro wrestlers and several other people and businesses to try to recover millions of misspent welfare dollars that were intended to help some of the poorest people in the nation. The lawsuit was filed Monday. It says the defendants “squandered” more than $20 million in money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families anti-poverty program. The suit was filed less than two weeks after a mother and son who ran a nonprofit group and an education company in Mississippi pleaded guilty to state criminal charges tied to the misspending. MILB – Midwest League Baseball Last Night No games last night Today Great Lakes Loons at Lake County Captains, 11:00 a.m. Dayton Dragons at Lansing Lugnuts, 11:05 a.m. Beloit Snappers at West Michigan Whitecaps, 6:35 p.m. Fort Wayne Tin Caps at South Bend Cubs, 7:05 p.m. MHSAA – High School Sports Last Night Girls Soccer St. Joseph 1, Lakeshore 0 Our Lady of the Lake 8, Michigan Lutheran 0 Edwardsburg 8, Niles 0 Plainwell 3, Dowagiac 1 Buchanan 8, Bronson 0 Allegan 6, Sturgis 0 Paw Paw 4, Three Rivers 1 Vicksburg 3, Otsego 1 Coloma 1, Lawton 0 Kalamazoo Hackett 8, Watervliet 0 Fennville 2, Constantine 1 Delton-Kellogg 2, Olivet 1 Kalamazoo Christian 2, Parchment 0 Schoolcraft 3, Saugatuck 1 Mattawan 8, Battle Creek Central 0 Portage Central 9, Battle Creek Central 0 Gull Lake 8, Kalamazoo Central 0 Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 2, Portage Northern 0 Comstock 9, Marcellus 1 Hartford 5, Bangor 1 Baseball Mattawan 9, St. Joseph 6 – Game 1 Mattawan 13, St. Joseph 0 – Game 2 Watervliet 5, Coloma 2 – Game 1 Watervliet 7, Coloma 1 – Game 2 Mendon 18, Bangor 2 – Game 1 Mendon 19, Bangor 0 – Game 2 Hartford 7, White Pigeon 4 – Game 1 Hartford 15, White Pigeon 5 – Game 2 Parchment 12, Battle Creek Pennfield 2 – Game 1 Parchment 15, Battle Creek Pennfield 5 – Game 2 Gobles 8, Saugatuck 1 – Game 1 Gobles 10, Saugatuck 4 – Game 2 Girls Tennis St. Joseph 4, Mattawan 4 Brandywine 8, South Haven 0 Edwardsburg 8, Paw Paw 0 Otsego 7, Niles 1 Softball Michigan Lutheran 17, Benton Harbor 0 – Game 1 Michigan Lutheran 16, Benton Harbor 1 – Game 2 River Valley 18, Eau Claire 0 – Game 1 River Valley 15, Eau Claire 0 – Game 2 Watervliet 16, Coloma 6 – Game 1 Watervliet 8, Coloma 3 – Game 2 New Buffalo 9, Lawrence 7 – Game 1 New Buffalo 14, Lawrence 4 – Game 2 Paw Paw 5, Lawton 4 – Game 1 Paw Paw 12, Lawton 2 – Game 2 Jackson Northwest 4, Mattawan 0 Mendon 19, Bangor 0 – Game 1 Mendon 21, Bangor 0 – Game 2 Centreville 15, Bloomingdale 0 – Game 1 Centreville 17, Bloomingdale 2 – Game 2 Hartford 10, White Pigeon 0 – Game 1 Hartford 15, White Pigeon 0 – Game 2 Gobles 28, Saugatuck 9 – Game 1 Gobles 12, Saugatuck 8 – Game 2 Track and Field St. Joseph at Lakeshore Girls: St. Joseph 120, Lakeshore 40 Boys:  St. Joseph 105, Lakeshore 58 Today Baseball Lakeshore at St. Joseph, 4:00 p.m. (1 game) Our Lady of the Lake at New Buffalo, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Michigan Lutheran at River Valley, 4:15 p.m. (DH) South Haven at Berrien Springs, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Bridgman at Buchanan, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Eau Claire at Lawrence, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Paw Paw at Allegan, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Niles at Otsego, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Sturgis at Plainwell, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Dowagiac at Three Rivers, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Edwardsburg at Vicksburg, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Softball Battle Creek Central at Lakeshore, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Michigan Lutheran at River Valley, 4:15 p.m. (DH) South Haven at Berrien Springs, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Bridgman at Buchanan, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Eau Claire at Lawrence, 4:15 p.m. (DH) Paw Paw at Allegan, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Niles at Otsego, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Sturgis at Plainwell, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Dowagiac at Three Rivers, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Edwardsburg at Vicksburg, 4:00 p.m. (DH) Girls Soccer Bangor at Marcellus, 5:30 p.m. Girls Tennis Gull Lake at Lakeshore, 2:00 p.m. Gull Lake at St. Joseph, 4:00 p.m. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted human services agencies to rethink how they engage with clients and how they address persistent stress and trauma experienced by their own staff. On this episode of On the Evidence, Mathematica's J.B. Wogan and Diana McCallum discuss how human services agencies have adapted during the pandemic. The episode also includes insights from Kataney Couamin and Andrea Barnum, who work at local agencies providing workforce services, as well as Mathematica's Jonathan McCay and The Adjacent Possible's Michelle Derr, who have provided research and evaluation technical assistance to state, tribal, and local agencies that administer the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Find a full transcript of the episode here: mathematica.org/blogs/pandemic-era-adaptations-in-human-services-could-fill-a-need-even-outside-a-public-health-emergency Read the issue brief about supporting mental wellness for TANF program staff and participants: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/supporting-mental-wellness-program-staff-and-participants-strategies-temporary Read the issue brief about pandemic-era innovations for the future of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/brief-pandemic-era-innovations-future-temporary-assistance-needy-families-programs Read the issue brief about lessons from delivering remote services to job seekers with low incomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: https://pathwaystowork.acf.hhs.gov/pathways_publications/lessons-learned-delivering-remote-services-job-seekers-low-incomes-during Read the issue brief about what works to help job seekers with low incomes during economic recessions and recoveries: https://mathematica.org/publications/what-works-during-economic-recessions-and-recoveries-evidence-from-the-pathways-clearinghouse Read the issue brief about providing coaching and navigation services virtually to promote economic mobility during the pandemic: https://www.mathematica.org/publications/using-coaching-and-navigation-to-promote-economic-mobility-how-might-programs-provide-these-services Read a program snapshot about a nonprofit in South Carolina that used virtual services to continue supporting fathers during the pandemic: https://www.mathematica.org/publications/engaging-fathers-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-and-beyond-program-snapshot

Stephanie K and Jay welcome back to the studio Mr. Joe Kiefer MTA's own Quality Assurance Coordinator.  This week Joe talks about a how a new survey and TANF helps families in need.  The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provides states and territories with flexibility in operating programs designed to help low-income families with children achieve economic self-sufficiency.  States use TANF to fund monthly cash assistance payments to low-income families with children, as well as a wide range of services.  For more information visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/programs/temporary-assistance-needy-families-tanf 

When kids experience extreme poverty, it can have lifelong impacts on their health and well-being. That is why it is critical we take steps to help support families who are living far below the federal poverty level. House Bill 22-1259 will make changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF), known here as Colorado Works, so that it is responsive to the needs of our families and our changing economic landscape. By increasing basic cash assistance payments, improving outreach and engagement around the program, and creating a smoother ramp to economic security for TANF recipients, this bill will ensure that all families can meet their basic needs and live happy, healthy lives.  Welcome back to The West Steps. This week, we are excited to have an in-depth conversation on one of the most consequential policies at the legislature this year: House Bill 22-1259. Sarah Barnes, Manager of Special Policy Initiatives at the Colorado Children's Campaign, joins us for an overview of the bill and the impact it would have on families living in extreme poverty. Sarah discusses the ways in which the current TANF program is failing the families that depend on it, and how HB22-1259 would enact to fix our TANF statute's outdated provisions. Basic cash assistance is one of the most targeted ways to lift families out of poverty, and it is essential that structural changes are made to ensure this program is accessible to the families that need it.  To follow this bill and its journey through the legislature, subscribe to KidsFlash and look out for our weekly Capitol Updates. Interested in joining the discussion? Contact Sarah Barnes at sarahb@coloradokids.org to find out ways to get involved with the TANF Coalition. Support the show (https://www.coloradokids.org/)

On this week's Friday Politics Roundup,  I welcome guest host, Amy Knect, back to the show. On today's show, we're be digging into the great Universal Basic Income (UBI) debate and check in on the latest school board meeting in the Pennridge School District. Yes, the school board carrying out a right-wing extremist experiment in undermining public education. Earlier this year, Philadelphia announced that it will begin a very limited guaranteed income pilot program as soon as this month. The pilot program would give a maximum of 60 people $500/month for at least 12 months. The 60 people are drawn from a pool of about 1,100 who have received federal support through TANF, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, for five years. The funds will come without any strings attached, unlike traditional social welfare programs. Philly now joins a growing list of U.S. and cities around the world piloting programs to give people money as a way to provide an economic floor for individuals and families.  UBI is not just one thing. They range from libertarian proposals - to give people money and wipe out other social welfare programs such as TANF, Medicaid, and Social Security - to more democratic socialist programs - to give people money as a baseline for being part of a given society while maintaining or expanding existing programs (think Medicare for All).  We'll take a look at some of the preliminary results of Stockton, California's UBI experiment - the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) to see what $500/month did for 125 individuals in that pilot. We'll also talk about the report, "Becoming Visible: Race, Economic Security, and Political Voice in Jackson, Mississippi." That report investigates " how policies created through racial exclusion and oppression are maintained behind a veneer of race-neutrality, and to reject reform efforts that tinker at the margins of this system." We'll also be checking in with the Pennridge School District school board meeting this past Monday. We're starting to see an organized pushback in the community to the board's thinly-veiled extremism. Amy Knecht was there for the meeting. Looking forward to this one! Magnolia Mother's Trust: https://springboardto.org/magnolia-mothers-trust/ Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED): https://www.stocktondemonstration.org/ Policy Paper: “Becoming Visible: Race, Economic Security, and Political Voice in Jackson, Mississippi,” https://bit.ly/34eEEu1 Center for Guaranteed Income Research, UPenn: https://www.penncgir.org/ You can help support homegrown, progressive media by becoming a patron of Raging Chicken for as little as $5/month: https://www.patreon.com/rcpress Join our Discord to continue the conversation all week long: https://discord.gg/BnjRNz3u  

With less than 80 days to go in the legislative session, the pace has started to pick up at the Capitol. More than 400 pieces of legislation have been introduced, and the Children's Campaign has already analyzed and taken positions on 120.  We are excited to see some of our priority bills already making their way through the legislature. If passed, our state could see significant systems change in the early childhood sector, school finance formula, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, among others. You can follow these bills – and many more to be introduced – by subscribing to our weekly KidsFlash newsletter and visiting our Capitol Updates page.   This week on The West Steps, we're in house! Riley Kitts, Government Affairs Director at the Colorado Children's Campaign, sits down with our host and Communications Director, Beza Taddess, to give us an insider view of what the 2022 legislative session has looked and felt like so far. In a year that more closely resembles pre-pandemic times, the session has been off to a slow start. However, the Children's Campaign is still anticipating the introduction of our additional priority bills – and hopefully their passage – to secure some significant wins for Colorado kids and families. Riley shares his excitement for the remainder of the session, and encourages all Coloradans to reach out to their legislators and share their stories. In fact, you don't even need to travel to the Capitol to advocate for policies you care about. Contact your legislator via email, phone, or social media, and consider signing up to provide virtual testimony on a bill you are passionate about. To learn more about ways to engage, contact Riley at riley@coloradokids.org. Support the show (https://www.coloradokids.org/)

In Colorado, a family with two children must make less than $421 per month to qualify for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Therefore, the level of poverty a family must experience to access this program is too low for it to truly help families achieve economic security. In addition, TANF payments do not adjust proportionally to inflation. The payments families receive are worth far less today than they were in 1996 when the program began. Colorado needs to take steps to ensure TANF better serves the families that need it. In doing so, we can help place families on the path to economic prosperity and ensure children have the resources they need to thrive. On this week's episode of The West Steps, we gain firsthand insight about the changes needed to help TANF best support the Colorado families that need it. We are joined by Sarah Barnes, Manager of Special Policy Initiatives at the Colorado Children's Campaign; and three members of the Clayton Early Learning team: Coressia Sanders, a former TANF recipient and Continuous Learning and Data Coach; Kayla Frawley, Manager of Policy and Advocacy, and Ealasha Vaughner, mother of two and Community Ambassador Coordinator . Our discussion centers around the many obstacles families face in accessing TANF. With TANF legislation soon to be introduced at the state Capitol, we also hear about the important steps advocates are taking to elevate the voices of TANF recipients in the policy making process to ensure the program changes in a way that better serves families. Interested in learning more about the work of the TANF coalition? Contact Sarah Barnes at sarahb@coloradokids.org. Support the show (https://www.coloradokids.org/)

400 Million in Unused Federal Money. The host for this show is Jay Fidell. The guest is Tom Yamachika. One of the ways our government provides a safety net for those less fortunate is through a program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. TANF was enacted in 1996 as a program that replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), which used to provide cash assistance to families with children experiencing poverty. Under TANF, the federal government provides a block grant to the states, which then use these funds to run their own programs. To receive federal funds, states must also spend some of their own dollars on those programs and face severe fiscal penalties if they fail to do so. This state-spending requirement, known as the “maintenance of effort” (MOE) requirement, replaced the state match that AFDC required. So what have we done with the federal TANF money? We've let it pile up unused. The ThinkTech YouTube Playlist for this show is https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQpkwcNJny6lmEllOKP493URXssFT4N7G Please visit our ThinkTech website at https://thinktechhawaii.com and see our Think Tech Advisories at https://thinktechadvisories.blogspot.com.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of a federal program that provides direct cash assistance to the poor -- the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. An investigation by ProPublica looks at just how much TANF has actually helped families in need. Stephanie Sy reports. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: Performance Audit Services Senior Auditor Kristen Jacobs recaps a new LLA report that reviews the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services' implementation and administration of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. | https://LLA.La.gov/go/podcast

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: Performance Audit Services Senior Auditor Kristen Jacobs recaps a new LLA report that reviews the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services' implementation and administration of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. | https://LLA.La.gov/go/podcast

When the Federal pandemic-related UI programs ended on September 6th, 2021, many Americans became aware of what low-income, government program-dependent Americans have long been aware of – a benefits cliff. This cliff occurs when public benefits taper off or phase out quickly, forcing beneficiaries to choose between earning more or maintaining what is often a vital subsidy. It is a classic Catch-22. These cliffs impact both short-term work incentives and long-term opportunities for growth in wages. On this episode of “https://www.aei.org/tag/hardly-working-podcast/ (Hardly Working)”, am joined by https://www.atlantafed.org/community-development/about-us/staff/ruder-alexander (Dr. Alex Ruder), the principal advisor of Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Community and Economic Development team. We discuss Dr. Ruder's vocational journey in workforce development policy, the https://www.atlantafed.org/economic-mobility-and-resilience/advancing-careers-for-low-income-families/cliff-tool (Career Ladder Identifier and Financial Forecasting (CLIFF)) tool that he helped develop, and the future of federal benefits and benefits cliffs post-pandemic. Mentioned During the Episode: https://www.aei.org/events/unemployment-insurance-at-a-crossroads-tracing-program-design-during-and-beyond-covid-19/?mkt_tok=NDc1LVBCUS05NzEAAAGAORfixn9OyJ_sMhzVVmwWoOTHiFGKS96we9NyGIJ8k2EjfO2N1D1Vopl_T9ETw7mxlbgx0PWWnjDqjSG2hXQhttps://www.aei.org/events/unemployment-insurance-at-a-crossroads-tracing-program-design-during-and-beyond-covid-19/?mkt_tok=NDc1LVBCUS05NzEAAAGAORfixn9OyJ_sMhzVVmwWoOTHiFGKS96we9NyGIJ8k2EjfO2N1D1Vopl_T9ETw7mxlbgx0PWWnjDqjSG2hXQ (AEI's upcoming event on UI Reform)  https://files.stlouisfed.org/files/htdocs/publications/review/08/03/Garrett.pdf (St. Louis Federal Reserve Publication on 1918 Influenza) https://www.aei.org/op-eds/its-not-enough-to-learn-to-code/ (Brent Orrell on how “Learning to Code” Isn't Enough) https://www.atlantafed.org/community-development/publications/partners-update/2020/01/200226-research-on-understanding-and-overcoming-benefits-cliffs (Alex Ruder on Understanding and Overcoming Benefits Cliffs) https://www.atlantafed.org/news/conferences-and-events/conferences/2020/10/15/reframing-benefits-cliffs/transcript.aspx (Alex Ruder on Benefit Plateaus) https://www.atlantafed.org/-/media/documents/community-development/publications/discussion-papers/2021/01-restructuring-the-eligibility-policies-of-the-child-care-and-development-fund-to-address-benefit-cliffs-and-affordability-2021-06-18.pdf (Childcare Benefits Cliff Florida Case Study) https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/marginal-tax-rate-series (Effective Marginal Tax Rate Series on Effective Tax Rates) https://metroatlantaexchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/MAX_Ruder_Presentation.pdf (Alex Ruder on Benefits Cliffs and Career Pathways) https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/private/pdf/264531/strengthening-the-EHCW-Report.pdf (Entry-Level Healthcare Workforce Report) https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/addressing-benefits-cliffs.aspx (Programs on Smoothing Out Benefits Cliff Effects) https://www.aecf.org/resources/promoting-economic-self-sufficiency-as-a-state-tanf-outcome (Economic Self-Sufficiency Measures as a State Goal) https://livingwage.mit.edu/ (MIT's Living Wage Measure) http://www.selfsufficiencystandard.org/washington (UW's Self-Sufficiency Standard Measurement) https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/cost-of-living/calculator (St. Louis Federal Reserve's Cost of Living Index) https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/programs/temporary-assistance-needy-families-tanf (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Programs) https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO (World Economic Outlook (WEO) Metrics) https://www.atlantafed.org/community-development/publications/partners-update/2020/covid-19-publications/200604-dollars-and-sense-affordability-of-childcare (The Atlanta Fed on the Affordability of Childcare)...

Congressional Democrats are working on a $3.5 trillion bill that would vastly expand the social safety net. But what exactly is this thing we call the social safety net? “We’re talking about things like the earned income tax credit, child tax credits, a cash transfer program called TANF, or Temporary Assistance [for] Needy Families … but if you think about how long it might take you to get on your feet, it is a relatively meager and challenging system to subsist on,” said Tina Sacks, associate professor of social welfare at the University of California, Berkeley. The idea that the government should help catch Americans if they fall on hard times started during the Great Depression, for obvious reasons. But Sacks says today that net doesn’t work as well as it should. There are a lot of gaps in the system, and at the end of the day our programs are pretty meager compared to those in other developed nations. On the show today, Sacks walks us through the ins and outs of the social safety net. What it looks like in practice and whether the Democrats’ plan could make a real difference. Later, we’ll talk about the next legal fight over reproductive rights, hear from a listener who makes us smart about toaster ovens and a callout for all your Duo voice memos! When you're done listening, tell your Echo device to “make me smart” for our daily explainers. This week we'll explain so-called name, image and likeness compensation deals and how they’re changing the game for student athletes, along with the origin of potato chips. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter! You can find the latest issue here. Here’s everything we talked about today: “From Cradle to Grave, Democrats Move to Expand Social Safety Net” from The New York Times “Pandemic Aid Programs Spur a Record Drop in Poverty” from The New York Times The Uncertain Hour’s podcast on the history of welfare reform “The Time Tax” from The Atlantic “Texas doctor who defied state’s near-total abortion ban is sued” from The Los Angeles Times Professor Caitlin Myers’ tweet thread on economists’ amicus brief against a Mississippi abortion law “A ‘Righteous Strike'” from The New York Times’ The Daily podcast

Congressional Democrats are working on a $3.5 trillion bill that would vastly expand the social safety net. But what exactly is this thing we call the social safety net? “We’re talking about things like the earned income tax credit, child tax credits, a cash transfer program called TANF, or Temporary Assistance [for] Needy Families … but if you think about how long it might take you to get on your feet, it is a relatively meager and challenging system to subsist on,” said Tina Sacks, associate professor of social welfare at the University of California, Berkeley. The idea that the government should help catch Americans if they fall on hard times started during the Great Depression, for obvious reasons. But Sacks says today that net doesn’t work as well as it should. There are a lot of gaps in the system, and at the end of the day our programs are pretty meager compared to those in other developed nations. On the show today, Sacks walks us through the ins and outs of the social safety net. What it looks like in practice and whether the Democrats’ plan could make a real difference. Later, we’ll talk about the next legal fight over reproductive rights, hear from a listener who makes us smart about toaster ovens and a callout for all your Duo voice memos! When you're done listening, tell your Echo device to “make me smart” for our daily explainers. This week we'll explain so-called name, image and likeness compensation deals and how they’re changing the game for student athletes, along with the origin of potato chips. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter! You can find the latest issue here. Here’s everything we talked about today: “From Cradle to Grave, Democrats Move to Expand Social Safety Net” from The New York Times “Pandemic Aid Programs Spur a Record Drop in Poverty” from The New York Times The Uncertain Hour’s podcast on the history of welfare reform “The Time Tax” from The Atlantic “Texas doctor who defied state’s near-total abortion ban is sued” from The Los Angeles Times Professor Caitlin Myers’ tweet thread on economists’ amicus brief against a Mississippi abortion law “A ‘Righteous Strike'” from The New York Times’ The Daily podcast

Today on the show Crystal is joined again by Senator Joe Nguyen, this time to talk about his decision to run for King County Executive. They discuss why he chose to take on one of the longest serving public officials in the area, combating climate change through a lense of equality and equity, why Senator Nguyen believes the people of King County are ready for change, and so much more. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Find the host, Crystal Fincher on Twitter at @finchfrii and find today's guest, Senator Joe Nguyen, at @meetjoenguyen. More info is available at officialhacksandwonks.com.   Resources “Understanding the King County Budget” from King County: https://kingcounty.gov/council/budget/archive/2019_2020_budget/budget_basics.aspx “What would it cost to house and provide treatment for Seattle's homeless?” by Scott Greenstone: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/what-is-the-cost-to-house-and-provide-treatment-for-seattles-homeless/ “Supporting homeless individuals: How much do we spend?” by Manola Secaira: https://crosscut.com/2018/08/supporting-homeless-individuals-how-much-do-we-spend#:~:text=Seattle%20set%20aside%20%2454%20million,was%20more%20than%20%241%20billion. “Seattle taxes ranked most unfair in Washington – a state among the harshest on the poor nationwide” by Gene Balk: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/seattle-taxes-ranked-most-unfair-in-washington-a-state-among-the-harshest-on-the-poor-nationwide/ “County Exec Candidates Spar Over PACs, City Finally Funds Street Sinks” from Publicola: https://publicola.com/2021/05/25/county-exec-candidates-spar-over-pacs-city-finally-funds-street-sinks/ “A guide to political money: campaigns, PACs, and super PACs” by Philip Elliot: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/a-guide-to-political-money-campaigns-pacs-super-pacs “Democracy vouchers: They worked, now here are five ways to make them better” by Joe Nguyen: https://southseattleemerald.com/2017/11/20/democracy-vouchers-they-worked-now-here-are-five-ways-to-make-them-better/ “Washington high court charts less punitive path on juvenile justice” by Claudia Rowe: https://crosscut.com/opinion/2021/04/washington-high-court-charts-less-punitive-path-juvenile-justice “In Seattle's polluted valley, pandemic and particulates are twin threats” by John Ryan: https://www.kuow.org/stories/duwamish-valley-faces-pollution-and-pandemic “The Case for Making Transit Free (and How to Pay for It)” by David Gordon: https://www.theurbanist.org/2018/12/27/the-case-for-making-transit-free-and-how-to-pay-for-it/   Transcript Crystal Fincher: [00:00:00] Welcome to Hacks and Wonks. I'm your host Crystal Fincher. On this show we talk to political hacks and policy wonks to gather insight in the local politics and policy through the lens of those doing the work, and provide behind the scenes perspectives on politics in our state. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Today, we're happy to welcome back someone who's been on the show before, but not in his current capacity as a candidate for King County Executive. Thank you for joining us today, Joe Nguyen. Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:01:02] Thank you so much for having me. I'm very glad to be back. Crystal Fincher: [00:01:06] Yes. So, we've had conversations with you as a senator during the legislative session. We've talked about a lot that you were working on and that you had accomplished in that capacity. But now, you're running against Dow Constantine who has been a King County Executive establishment, basically. He's been there 12 years? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:01:24] Yeah. Crystal Fincher: [00:01:24] It's been a long time and a lot of people have looked at him as, "Oh, he's just there. He's not going to be challenged. He's a Democrat. King County elects Democrats. So, here we go." Then, you walked in, they're like, "Not so fast." What made you decide to challenge Dow Constantine, especially as another Democrat? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:01:43] Yeah, I think really in this moment, when you're trying to get past the pandemic, not just of COVID but also racial inequities, we are seeing how much success we can have when you have legislators who have lived experience, who are fighting with the fierce urgency to get things done. Really, the success in the legislature this past year was part of that inspiration. Seeing so much can be accomplished, say for instance, on progressive revenue, on police accountability, on climate, basic needs programs, childcare. All these things were possible before yet they weren't getting done. A lot of it is because the community now is being uplifted and amplified. So, for me, all of the legislation that we're passing at the State then has to be implemented at the local level as well. It's nothing against the current incumbent. I just feel that in this moment we need change and we need somebody who reflects the values of this community in the future, what King County looks like. Of all the things that we care about, in our campaign, whether it's police accountability, climate, transit, those all happen at the county level. I think that we are at a very, very unique moment to get a lot of stuff done. Crystal Fincher: [00:02:49] All right. So, you say nothing against the current incumbent, but as you said, in your opinion, a lot needs to change. You've certainly not hesitated to be spicy on Twitter in clapping back to some things that he said. So, I guess, what do you think does need to change and where do you think that Dow has not met the mark? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:03:09] Well, systems of power tend to reflect the people who create them. That's just how it works. It's so much that it's baked into our system. When you go look for a job, what do people tell you? It's not what you know, it's who you know, right? That is baked into our system. It is very hard to get systemic change when the people who are in power benefit from that system. There are just some key differences in which I would behave versus say, for instance, the incumbent. One of the examples is that in White Center, they were going to site a COVID facility, which I supported and said it was fine. I did say, "Hey, you should probably give folks a heads up because if you don't, there's going to be a lot of distrust and it's going to become a contentious issue." They didn't, and there's a history of this type of behavior where you're not having enough conversations at the local level. So, for me, I think what community has always done in the past is fight to make sure that their issue was being heard. But I want to be able to flip that. I want to be able to have community members have their voices be uplifted and amplified instead. I think that's truly transformative. So, I think it's just a mindset of how we would lead. Mine would be much more community focused and rooted in the folks who were impacted by policy and less top-down. Crystal Fincher: [00:04:24] All right. Well, Dow Constantine has certainly talked a lot about addressing homelessness, about leading a regional effort to address that and has a task force, or I forget the exact word of it. Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:04:39] The Regional Authority. Crystal Fincher: [00:04:39] Yes, to address that and recently made a hire for someone to lead that. How do you think that's going? Do you think that he's on the right track or would you do things differently? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:04:51] I will say that we've declared an emergency on homelessness over six years ago. In fact, it had been an emergency for even longer. I remember when I was in college back in 2006 and we had kicked off the ten-year plan to end homelessness. So, in King County we've talked about ending homelessness for decades, literally decades, and things don't seemed to be getting better. So, to be honest he's had 12 years as an incumbent to solve the issue. I'm not sure if four years he's going to be able to change it if he couldn't do it in 12. I think we just need leadership that looks at it a little bit different. What I will say is that the reason why in the legislature I tackled anti-poverty efforts as one of the key focus has been because you have to solve the systemic issues as they relate to homelessness, in addition to the short-term as well. If you don't turn off the spigot of folks who are becoming homeless, it becomes very difficult to alleviate it on the ground level. So, it's a multi-jurisdictional approach and it's completely true that it should be a regional approach. I'm very excited about that model. I was able to meet Marc Dones at a housing conference years ago before I was even in the legislature and was so impressed by them. So, I think that leadership is going to be a fantastic one, but it's not just King County as well. It has to be the state and it has to be the federal government. So, the King County Executive is in charge of a $12 billion budget. King County itself is the 12th largest county in the United States. It is bigger than 14 states. So, that position is more than just a county executive. It can be a bully pulpit to actually help influence policies at the state and the federal level as well. I think we need to be doing more in terms of alleviating homelessness, because it's cheaper to keep somebody housed than it is to take them out of homelessness. That's a lot of what the work we've been doing at the legislature, that in conjunction with the regional plan, I think, is the right move. But we can't look at it from a very myopic way. I'm glad that we're buying hotels. That's not going to be sufficient to alleviate homelessness. We need to be doing more in basic needs investments as well. So, the fact that we spend 73% of the County General Fund, 73% of the County General Fund goes towards law enforcement and the court system, not antipoverty, not human services. We have to fundamentally shift how we address problems. Crystal Fincher: [00:07:04] So, you say addressing basic needs, you say that we need to certainly house people and that's cheaper than allowing them to languish unhoused and all of the problems at cascade because of that, what specifically is involved with basic needs, and when you say we need to house people, specifically how? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:07:23] Yeah. So, let's think long-term. So, we'll start longterm and we'll go more short term as well. So, my family, when we were growing up, we benefited from being on what's called TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Locally, I think folks call it welfare in a derogatory term. So, when I grew up, we relied on that service. I think it was about a few hundred dollars a month. That was the key that kept us in our homes. We also grew up in public housing, so social housing as well. So, in my mind there's a few things that we can be doing. We can be doing more for housing as it relates to those on the margins. We've moved away from that social housing. We moved more towards what's called affordable housing. Oftentimes the calculations for affordable isn't truly affordable for those who make very little, like my family did back in the day. So, we have a lot of civic land, surplus lands that we can then use to build, I think, more social housing for those who need it the most. We also need to improve our stock of affordable housing as well. That's going to require public-private partnerships, which we're seeing happen now with the private sector, providing lower cost loans and whatnot. We can help certainly with permitting. We can help certainly with planning as well. By the way, we could also use what's called cross-laminated timber in order for us to be more mindful of climate, in addition to having it be done near transit centers. So, we need more housing. We need more social housing to keep those on the margins most impacted by the housing insecurity as well. So, those are investments we've been making at the State. We've then also tried to tackle a regressive tax structure. I think the root cause to a lot of these issues is the inequities in our tax structure, which has been done on purpose, in my mind, to keep certain people out of our economic system. Because of that, it's exacerbated over time. So, the fact that we funded the Working Families Tax Credit for the first time after it was passed 12 years ago, and by the way includes ITIN filers as well. So, those who don't have Social Security numbers. I think that's all part of it, is that if you look at those types of investments over the longterm, that's how you keep people stable. That's how you keep people housed. Then, even for cap gains, that money goes towards more affordable childcare. That money goes towards a more equitable tax structure, and that money goes towards investments in infrastructure as well. So, we can do all of these things at the state level, but we require implementation at the county and local level. For a long time, it's been the missing middle -- candidly. I think Seattle gets a lot of attention. The legislature gets a lot of attention. Folks aren't quite sure what the county does. I think Girmay [Zahilay] really put the county on the map in recent years as well. So, I think people are now paying attention to how that impacts their daily lives. That's why we need leadership at that level who reflects the future of what we can be doing, not just what we've been doing in the past. Crystal Fincher: [00:10:17] So, you talk about reflecting what we can be doing, not just what we've been doing in the past. That's going to take strong leadership, certainly to move in a more progressive direction to do things differently than you've done before. You come from a legislative body, in the legislature and it's one person in the midst of several coming together to make decision. But the ultimate blame, if something goes wrong, usually doesn't land on one person. The ultimate credit usually doesn't go to one person because you're acting in concert. King County Executive is very different, similar to the mayor at the end of the day, people are looking to you to get things done. So, how do you think you're uniquely qualified, especially coming from a different kind of background in the legislature to take on the task of running everything at the county? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:11:03] Yeah. Thank you for that question. What's interesting is both people know me because of my work in the legislature, because we've been very active over the past few years. If you look at my body of work even beforehand -- so, I actually have a finance and economics background out of college. I used to manage a portfolio of about $150 million. I was a senior strategist for the CFO of Expedia. I've been in leadership positions at startup companies. I've managed hundreds of millions of dollars. I've managed teams that were in the hundreds as well. Then, now, I'm at Microsoft doing strategy and analytics. So, my whole background is actually more robust than most people who've run for executive office in the first place. So, if you look at most folks, it's lawyer, public office, and then ran for executive office. They've never actually had executive experience before they ran for office. So, the fact that I already have significant executive experience, I also have a tremendous amount of success in the public sector. Most importantly, the lived experience of people who've been impacted by bad policy, I think that makes me uniquely qualified to serve as King County Executive, is because we have that ability to look at things different. What's funny is that there's been news articles written about how we've managed our office in the legislature, of how it was different. I don't think people realize it, but the bar, apparently, the bar is not super high. One of the news articles that people wrote was the fact that I use an app to schedule my meetings. I don't know if you saw this, but in the legislature, when I first came in, I just looked at it and said, "Hey, this doesn't make any sense." So, I documented every single step to pass legislation, there's about 153. I noticed that a third of the times a bill dies. But then, I also noticed there was a tremendous amount of effort spent in the wrong places. So, the most important thing that you have in the legislature is your team, your staff. I want to make sure that we are able to free them up to do good work as much as possible, and that a lot of our staff members were, in fact, just spending time in emails and then scheduling meetings. By having an app, we were able to save about six hours a day per day. So, by doing that, it freed them up. That's how we're able to be more effective in terms of communicating with constituents, getting more in-depth with policy. It just blew people's minds. I had people coming to my office just to take a look at how we were doing things. It was just how you would normally do it if you were just running a small business. You have to be more efficient just because you have limited capacity, limited resources to try and be effective. So, it's interesting seeing that translate into the public sector, how successful that can be. I think we could do it more at the county as well, but also just in general is being able to bring 21st century techniques and tools to a body that is not necessarily known for being as agile as it can be. Crystal Fincher: [00:13:42] All right. So, we could expect to see different, newer, updated, "today" type things from Joe Nguyen. You talked about doing things differently. Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:13:50] Yeah. Crystal Fincher: [00:13:51] There was a conversation in a recent forum where you talked about doing things differently, including not taking money from PACs. You said that you're committing to not taking money from corporate PACs, that you've never taken money from corporate PACs. Dow Constantine said, "Now hold up. It looks like you have taken money from several PACs, from the Washington Beer and Wine Distributors Association, from Federation of State Employees. A number of them, from labor union PACs, to housing PACs, to you name it, building trades. So, one, there have been PACs and there are others, just different associations. You've taken money from them. You've taken money from the State Dental PAC. How is that different than saying that you're taking money from a corporate PAC? Is that really a fair bar, if there is little differentiation between what type of PAC, who is the PAC? It seems like it might be splitting hairs a little bit. How do you answer that? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:14:57] Well, no. Actually, I do think it's very different. So, corporate PACs serve a special interest for a particular organization in a particular company. If you look at the money in politics, that's oftentimes the problem, is that people are trying to buy their way into access. I will point out that all those things came in after I had won. So, I won before any of those things came in. So, I'll just be very clear. What's funny is that even when I saw some of those associations, I wasn't sure how that should be classified. I asked some of our more progressive congressional leaders and progressive members as well. That was a differentiation, where it is okay to get money from people, but not necessarily the corporations themselves or the PACs associated with it. So, first off, if there is a distinction between the two, which I think that there is, I'd be happy to have the incumbent just do the same thing that I'm doing. So, give back all the corporate PAC money, give back all the money from corporations and that's totally fine. But because -- the reason why they're different is because they serve different interests. The reason why I support labor communities and the reason why I'm okay with taking funding from labor communities is because they serve the people. So, as long as it's focused on the people in the community, it's fine. If it's more to be in self-service to themselves, that's a very different type of story as well. But the incumbent has been around for a long time. I noticed that he did give back money from oil and gas companies and pharmaceutical companies as well. So, obviously there is some sort of difference in terms of where money comes from. We've just never taken it in the past. Even in this race, we don't take any corporate PACs. We don't even take any money from associations. It's been 100% individuals as well. So, I don't know. If it seems like splitting hairs then that's fine. They can do the exact same thing we're doing, give back all the money you've ever received from corporations and their PACs and only do associations and labor unions. But I do think that they're very different. Crystal Fincher: [00:16:47] So, do you consider something like the Washington Beer and Wine Distributors Association? By the way, lots of people enjoy, love beer and wine distributors. I certainly partake, so no shade to the organization, just in this conversation. An organization like that, which is a business lobby, really, and they're acting on behalf of their business members. Do you consider that to be something like a corporate PAC, where it's not a union, it's not something else, or do you just put that in a different category? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:17:21] I think it's an association of people. So, as long as you're not taking from a specific business or a specific corporation, but I concede -- that is a very fair point. I've actually had some conversations with even one of our current and state-wide elected officials about their bar, because he probably has the most streak in terms of what type of money he gets. What I will say is that I have had people and their corporations try to give me stacks of checks before they realize that I didn't take corporate PAC money. They do that on purpose because they want to buy your influence. So, it's not as if it's an accident. So, I'm okay with associations. If folks want to raise the bar and take no money from any associations or any PACs, let's have that conversation because I do believe that money corrupts politics, and that's fundamentally one of the problems. In that point, I would actually support democracy vouchers for King County as well. I think we should have that -- Crystal Fincher: [00:18:13] that's not a bad idea. It's a pretty good idea. Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:18:15] It's a good idea. You know what's funny? Is when Seattle Democracy Voucher first came out, I was skeptical at first. Then, my background is in analytics. So, after the first election where the mayoral race didn't have access to Democracy Vouchers but the council races did, it was a perfect case study to see the impacts of Democracy Vouchers. I published an article in the South Seattle Emerald that showed that by having Democracy Vouchers you level the playing field, you have a more diverse candidate pool. You have a more diverse donation pool. You have younger people, people of color involved in politics that they had not been before. Then, by the way, you also included a lot of -- oftentimes you'll have outside influences on politics within Seattle. So, the percentage of money from outside Seattle versus inside was a lot less for Democracy Vouchers too. So, I think it's a great investment towards making our free and fair elections better, but no, that's a great conversation to have. I think we should have it. So, I don't take corporate money. I don't take money from corporations and their PACs. There is certainly a nuance in terms of what associations might count. But if we want to have that conversation, let's just not take any money from corporations or the PACs and let's have the discussion about associations and we can go from there. Crystal Fincher: [00:19:25] That makes sense. Now, talking about keeping the public safe, which includes policing, in today's conversation. Especially at the county, the issue of the youth jail has certainly been big and visible with people saying, "Why, if we're saying that we want to move in a direction, are we building a jail for kids?" A lot of strong opposition to that. Now, there's also a new opportunity with appointing a new sheriff, where we're moving away from electing the sheriff. King County very strongly said, "Hey, we want to do things differently." Actually, lots of people talk about this conversation about public safety and, "Hey, this is just a Seattle thing." But voters countywide said, "You know what? We know that we need to move in a different direction. This is where we want to go." They voted for some substantial change within the county. So, in terms of what a Nguyen administration would look like, how would that be different than what the Constantine administration has looked like? What are your specific plans in terms of the King County Sheriff, the department, and incarceration across the county? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:20:43] Yeah. No, I agree. Like I mentioned before, 73% of the County General Fund goes towards our legal system. So, instead of trying to solve for the root causes of crime, which is oftentimes poverty, we just went ahead and criminalized it. That fundamentally is the problem. So, there's a few different aspects that I would tackle. So, first off, as it relates to the youth jail. So, the church where I grew up happened to be next to the youth jail, the area where we lined up in the morning on Sundays, you can see the cells from where were lined up. I remember a lot of the youth pastors at that point said, "Hey, if you're bad, you're going to end up there." Such a gross feeling for me just because whenever I look into those cells I saw kids that looked like me, and I just never liked that spot in the first place. That's why I'm so viscerally against it. In fact, one of my first bills, literally my first bill that passed on the Senate floor was a bill that would allow for law enforcement to refer youth to community facilities instead of having to go to the legal system as a whole. So, we've been working on this for the past few years. The difference is I would have listened to community members. Community members said, there were better ways than youth incarceration, there were better ways in building a bigger jail. Smaller therapeutic community-based organizations can help mitigate and lower the rates of youth detention. They were right. They built the jail anyway. Now, after it was built, they say, "Oh, it turns out you were right. We shouldn't have built it in the first place and then shut it down." That blows my mind. Imagine if you were able to spend $240 million on diversion and youth programs versus a jail. Imagine what better spot we would be in right now. So, the difference from a high level is that I would have listened to community members. I would have listened to the science and looked at the results and then make a decision based off of that. That's the first one. There are statutory requirements to have some sort of facility in order to maintain a process, but it didn't have to be a big jail. It could've been smaller therapeutic center as well. So, I'll put that one out there. There are a whole host of things that we can do. Everything from risk-based assessments, because the first thing that people are going to say is, "Well, there are going to be kids who are really, really bad and you don't know what to do with them." Well, first off, the number of kids who are in that category is very small. So, if all you have is a hammer, everything is going to look like a nail. So, we have to get away from that mindset and be able to actually address the root causes of some of these things. You can have what's called respite centers, where you have behavioral and mental health services onsite to help calm things down. So, certainly you can be able to have a facility to handle the most dire needs because we already spend so much money on that legal system. But for the majority of people, it should be more therapeutic, more humane, more community-based, that'd be the first one. In fact, they are doing it now. Choose 180, Credible Messengers, there are programs that are out there doing it right now because they were doing it before, we knew that they existed before. So, you would double down on some of those efforts. In terms of the Sheriff's office specifically, I thought that was a great move to make it an appointed process. Especially as a person who is currently running for office, I do know that running for office, the people that we elect aren't always the best people. It's just the people that were able to get elected. So, I think it's better to have a more thoughtful approach to something that is that important. The mindset that somebody in that position should have is a guardian. We need to change the culture of how we handle policing in King County. That person has to be a guardian and not necessarily a warrior in this space. So, we will look for somebody and it'll be based off of community input as well. So, oftentimes when we see leadership, a leader makes a decision, tells the community, and then thinks that counts as community engagement. I see it all the time. You've probably seen it all the time. That's not how it should be. They should be part of the process. Being able to have the discussions as we go along. One of the things that I would look for is how forward-thinking they are in terms of what the role of law enforcement should be because there's a lot of things that law enforcement is in charge of right now that I don't think you need somebody with a gun to be able to handle. One of the last bills or the last bill that I dropped before the session was over related to what's called pre-textual stops. Things like broken tail lights, expire tabs, something dangling from your rear view mirror. These are the things that do not pose a risk to somebody, but oftentimes half of the incidences where there's violence with law enforcement are because of what's called pre-textual stops. I think that should be removed from a uniformed officer that has a weapon. They could cite the person simply with the license plate. You can have a completely different department. Same thing with behavioral and mental health responses and stuff like that, where we should rethink the rule of policing in King County, because it would make it safer for the community. It also makes it safer for law enforcement as well. We have examples of how this has done well in other jurisdictions, whether it's one of the [Scandinavian] countries that are out there, but we're not reinventing the wheel. There are other examples of ways to do it better. Crystal Fincher: [00:25:45] So, in terms of what people can see with King County Sheriffs and their communities throughout the county, those cities that have arrangements and agreements and contracts with the King County Sheriffs -- Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:25:59] Contracts, yeah. Crystal Fincher: [00:25:59] -- they hopefully, in your administration, you're saying, can expect to see less of the stops you just described. Are there other differences that you think they will be able to see after you take office? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:26:14] Yeah. You know what's funny, is I used to be in the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight. After a young man named Tommy Le was shot in Burien, I really wanted to get more involved to understand the systemic issues that caused that dynamic to happen. Instead of having a knee jerk reaction, met with his family, helped organize a forum, actually met with the Sheriff's office as well. My background is actually in strategy and analytics. So, I downloaded 10 years of data for law enforcement in King County, specifically for every single contract city as well, just to understand the trends of what was happening. So, this is a particular point of interest for me in terms of how they should be handled. Each contract is different depending on the jurisdictions that they're in, and that's how they actually fund the King County Sheriff's Office, is through these contracts. I would offer a variety of services that are different. So, what I will point out is the City of Sammamish, I'm not sure if they still do it or not, but part of their contracts, they have apparently a lot of snowbirds where law enforcement will come and just check in on their homes to make sure it's fine. So, it is possible to have other functions for these officers when they're out on patrol, and making sure that people are safe in a different way, but it would look a lot different. I think it would look a lot different than what we're currently doing now. It's going to be based more on programs that we know already work. So, a lot of the incidences where it's behavioral and mental health, you can have more of a Medic One type response, where you would send a professional, a mental health or behavioral health professional people to get some help. What's interesting is that Washington State, we used to be 50 out of 50 when it came to funding for behavioral and mental health. Over the past few years, based on the investments that we made, we're now 26 out of 50. Again, a lot of those things have to be implemented at the county level. So, layering on more services, removing things that aren't necessarily required for somebody that has a weapon, being able to have a variety of services that are layered on top of the basic needs programs that we have right now, it would be a lot different in that we can rethink the paradigm of what policing looks like in King County. Like I said, it's bigger than 14 states. It's the 12th largest county in the entire nation. I think we can be a beacon in terms of what the future policing could look like in Washington State and across the country as well. Crystal Fincher: [00:28:23] Absolutely. Looking at how we take care of our people and their health, air pollution is certainly a big issue that literally affects life expectancy, child health, hospitalizations, and disabilities. Looking at water pollution, certainly, addressing those issues, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions and the increasingly dire and impending consequences of not taking more action sooner, what will you do as King County Executive to address those issues? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:29:00] Yeah. I think climate change should be the lens in which we look at the issues facing our county as well. What's interesting is, so I grew up in Burien as well. So, born in White Center, grew up in Burien, it's nearby the airport. Sorry, I have a lot of stories, but everything you say triggers a memory when I was a kid. I had asthma growing up because I was next to the highway and I had no idea that that was a thing. That if you were lower income you oftentimes live in areas that were more polluted. I just didn't know. So, we grew up next to the highway. I had asthma. I didn't realize a lot of other kids had asthma as well, but one of the most visceral memories that I had growing up before my father was in his car accident was that he would take us down to the Duwamish and he would go fishing or go crabbing. I remember one day, one of the strangers was walking by and said, "Hey, you don't want to eat that stuff because the water is polluted." He's a fishermen from Vietnam, so that's how you get sustenance. So, being told that the water is so poisoned you can't eat the food from it, was a very memorable moment for me in the sense of like, "Oh, wow, this stuff is impacting us right now." I was like six at that time. So, I think it impacts our daily lives. We have to look at it from a lens of how does our behavior as human beings impact climate change. So, before we were talking about the need for more affordable housing, I think there was a stat that said we needed 196,000 more affordable housing units to actually alleviate the issues that we're having right now. Again, you can do a few different things. So, we've passed legislation as it relates to car emissions and building standards. Again, those have to be implemented at the county level. Our planning should be mindful of climate change as well. So, the county is in charge of the Growth Management Act. For those who don't know, that's how you plan for development and growth in Washington State. It's a big, big deal. You should be more focused in terms of how climate change can impact that, which oftentimes means you need to build more densely in urban areas and then leave rural areas untouched. Because when you talk about mitigating the impacts of climate change, it's also carbon sequestration. So, being able to use that land to sequester carbon. Then, also when you talk about affordable housing, you can use what's called cross-laminated timber and you have to build as it relates to transit in those spaces as well. One of the things that I've always said is that we should have Transit For All. I say it because it's more equitable, but also because it lowers vehicles' miles traveled. So, it makes us lower our greenhouse gas emissions. I've done the math. People think that it's a wild idea. Fares make up 15% of the Metro revenue, 15%, you're talking about $180 million. So, the fact that we spend 73% of the General Fund on our legal system and nobody says anything, but if I wanted to just spend 10% of that budget on fares, people go wild. It's like, we can just reinvest our money more strategically. Also, we have to have a Transit Benefit District anyways to pay for a lot of the plans that we have in place for King County Metro Connect. So, there are ways to actually pay for this in a progressive way. It just requires a new level of thinking. So, when it comes to climate change, it has to be through the lens by which we operate. I'm glad that we bought a few buses. I'm glad that we're investing a little bit more in electrification. That's not going to be enough. We have to change behaviors. That includes being able to build transit in areas that have historically been left out. So, where I grew up, it took me an hour and a half to get downtown on a bus. I think they're now putting in the H Line, which is great because it helped pay for some of that as well, in partnership with the county. That is going to make it a little bit faster, 30 years after I left. So, it's an interesting dynamic where you're just now seeing communities having investments being made in it even though it's been a problem for generations. But that's really what it's going to take, is investing in communities impacted by it, having it be done strategically, so that way our transit and our housing is all being done at the same time. It also allows for economic mobility as well, so people can have access to their jobs. So, I'm rambling, but this is an area that I'm very, very passionate about. I serve on the Transportation Committee for this reason and I serve on the Environment, Energy and Technology Committee for this reason as well. Crystal Fincher: [00:33:02] And to be clear, when you say you support Transit For All, and especially talking about how it's very achievable to recover the amount of money that is received from the fare box, you're talking about free transit for all and not charging for riding whatever mode of Metro Transit it would be? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:33:20] Yeah, exactly. Also, to protect the drivers themselves, to be honest. I think a lot of interactions where drivers have altercations is because of that system. Also by the way, law enforcement, fare enforcement is potentially problematic as well, or it is problematic. You just have to pass legislation to allow for alternative means of collecting fares. So, it's one of those things where it's good, that should exist in our society. What's funny, I know what the person, the incumbent is going to say, is that, "Well, 60% of the fare revenue comes from corporations paying for it for their employees." Absolutely right. What's interesting is you can do what's called a Transit Benefit District. Right now, it's usually an MVET, or a sales tax, or a property tax, very regressive. I would lobby the legislature to have something a bit more progressive. What's interesting is that when Joe Biden put out his infrastructure plan and said that we would need to have progressive business taxes in order to pay for it, one of the first people to speak out in favor was actually Jeff Bezos. So, there is appetite because they understand that their workforce needs to have this infrastructure to be successful as well. So, I think that we could potentially get new authority from the legislature to have a Transit Benefit District paid for by larger corporations based off of whatever metric they want to use, office spaces they've leased or size, or whatever they want to use, to help mitigate the cost of the fares. But also we need to pay for a Transit Benefit District anyways for the infrastructure for part of the Metro Connect plan. That's another thing too, is that we need to do a better job connecting state infrastructure, city infrastructure, and county infrastructure. The fact that we have to have multiple ways of paying for things makes it a little bit difficult. So, implementing that by having Transit For All just makes it easier, I think, as a whole. Crystal Fincher: [00:35:05] I think so. I agree with that, actually. So, as we get ready to close, certainly looking at someone who's been an incumbent for a long time with Dow Constantine and who has almost always had a litany of endorsements from labor unions, progressive organizations, other elected officials. This year is no different, frankly. His endorsement page is lengthy. When you look at that and you're making the case to the people, why in the face of all that, and a lot of people supporting Dow Constantine, a lot of organizations supporting Dow Constantine, why should they choose you? Why do you have a path to win and the ability to really deliver on the change you're talking about? Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:35:53] Yeah, what's interesting is that most of those endorsements came before anybody knew that I was even running for office. In fact, I think all but a handful came before I even jumped in the race. For folks who are paying attention, the fact that we are in the driver's seat when it comes to most of these endorsements now, whether it's legislative districts, whether it's in the KC Dems and otherwise, we're getting about 60% to 40% of the majority of these meetings. We have the sole endorsements from the 11th, 39th [Legislative District Democrats]. We have duals in the 37th, 36th. Most other ones, we're just at that threshold to get a sole endorsement, which is 66%. We're getting 62%, 64%, so one or two people. So, the fact that the incumbent has been there for 12 years and the fact that he's already spent $750,000, and we're the ones that are driving the conversation in terms of the endorsement after only being in for about two to three weeks, I think in itself is telling in terms of where the tides are turning. We have the sole endorsements from the King County Young Democrats. We have the endorsements from the ATU [Amalgamated Transit Union]. There's a couple of other ones that are pending as well, that we'll make public pretty soon. Then, we have significant amount of support from legislators and other elected officials across the state. So, I'm not too worried about the endorsement game just because, look at what came in before I jumped in, look what came in afterwards. It's pretty telling by itself. But what people really want more so than that is to see that their lives are getting better. I've had conversations with thousands of people at this point, not just as a senator but also on the campaign trail. What really people want right now is change. They know that we need to act urgently when it comes to tackling homelessness. They know that we need to act urgently when it comes to tackling climate change. They know that we need to act urgently when it comes to tackling racial inequities in our society. Especially when it comes to say, for instance, gun violence and otherwise as well. So, I think the pitch that I'll make to people, and it seems to be resonating, is that, "Look, in this moment in time, as we're moving out of this pandemic, we're trying to now address systemic issues that have been in place for generations, for generations, that have not been able to be moved in terms of the current leadership that we have in place right now. It's simply time for change." I think we'll have that message resonate just based off of what we're already seeing with some of these, not just endorsements, but community conversations as well. I think we'll have a strong shot winning South King County. I think we'll have a strong shot winning Seattle. I think we'll have a strong shot in East King County as well. So, I think people are hungry for change and I think we represent what that change could look like. Crystal Fincher: [00:38:29] Well, certainly we'll be keeping an eye on this race. It's one of the biggest ones happening in the State this year. Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:38:35] Yeah. Crystal Fincher: [00:38:36] I look forward to talking to you again. Thanks so much for joining us today. Senator Joe Nguyen: [00:38:40] Thank you. I appreciate the time. Crystal Fincher: [00:38:45] Thank you for listening to Hacks and Wonks. Our chief audio engineer at KVRU is Maurice Jones, Jr. The producer of Hacks and Wonks is Lisl Stadler. You can find me on Twitter @Finchfrii, spelled F-I-N-C-H-F-R-I-I, and now you can follow Hacks and Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Just type in Hacks and Wonks into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get our Friday almost-live shows and our mid-week show delivered to your podcast feed. You can also get a full text transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced during the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the podcast episode notes. Thanks for tuning in. Talk to you next time.

The San Antonio Food Bank, in partnership with the City of Floresville, Wilson County, and local food pantries will host a COVID-19 Response Food Distribution event on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 10 a.m. at the Floresville Event Center at 600 S.H. 97 W. in Floresville. Eligible households include those on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Supplemental Security Income (SSI); NSLP National School Lunch Program; and Medicaid. Preregistration is required online at http://bit. ly/3os3N8s. For more information, call 210-431- 8326.Article Link

What is health equity and how does it relate to food systems?  Derek Lin, a policy analyst at New Mexico Voices for Children, joins Sophia to share his perspective on using an equity lens to think about and address food insecurity. Show Notes: 3:20 The "gut microbiome" or gut flora or gut microbiota are the microorganisms including bacteria, archaea and fungi that live in the digestive tracts of humans and other animals including insects. 3:50 the “Map the Meal Gap 2019” annual report from Feeding America found that 1 in 4 children experience food insecurity in New Mexico, the highest indices of childhood hunger in the nation. https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/new-mexico15:50 SNAP aka the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, provides nutrition benefits to food insecure families. 17:35 TANF aka Temporary Assistance for Needy Families operates differently state by state and supports a variety of programs that are aimed at helping income insecure families achieve more self-sufficiency. 18:35 Under the Trump administration, the "Public Charge" rule has been interpreted broadly and used widely to  reduce the number of people eligible for green cards and other visas in the United States and has consequently made benefits such as SNAP increasingly inaccessible to immigrant populations. https://www.inquirer.com/news/immigration-trump-hunger-food-stamps-public-charge-20200301.html19:55 Households do not reach food security through access to maximum amount of benefits. The shortfall of these programs is clearly illustrated through numbers: https://www.npr.org/2020/09/27/912486921/food-insecurity-in-the-u-s-by-the-numbers23:44 Research has been done on how the working families tax refund would reduce childhood poverty and hunger significantly https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/working-families-tax-relief-act-would-raise-incomes-of-46-million-households#:~:text=The%20credit%20is%20refundable%2C%20meaning,%2C%20property%2C%20and%20other%20taxes.Expanding low income comprehensive tax rebates and creating a fairer tax system is another policy solution to systemic poverty and food insecurity that NM Voices advocates for. Check out their factsheet: https://www.nmvoices.org/archives/1229225:10 https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/opinion/2020/10/21/addressing-new-mexicos-food-and-water-insecurity-critical/6002366002/31:00 Food sovereignty, a term coined in 1996 by members of Via Campesina, an international farmers' organization, asserts that the people who produce, distribute, and consume food should control the mechanisms and policies of food production and distribution.Learn more about how the New Mexico Out-of-School Network is fighting hunger through OST at our website NMOST.org. The music for this podcast was made by Rock Violinist, Adam Degraff, you can follow him and check out his music at adamviolin.com.  

Congressman Dan Kildee (Michigan’s Fifth District)Born and raised in Flint, Congressman Dan Kildee is a lifelong Michigander. In Congress, he has proven he can bring people together and get real results for his constituents and Michigan. Congressman Dan Kildee holds various leadership positions in Congress. As Chief Deputy Whip—part of the Democratic leadership team in the 116th Congress—he acts as an important liaison among Members of Congress and the leadership to build support for Democratic priorities and legislation. Congressman Kildee serves on the prestigious Ways and Means Committee, the oldest and one of the most powerful committees in the U.S. House of Representatives. On the committee, Congressman Kildee works to lower the costs of health care premiums and prescription drugs, protect Social Security and Medicare, negotiate fair trade deals, and create a tax system that benefits working families, not just the richest corporations. The committee also has vast jurisdiction over important programs including Unemployment Insurance, enforcement of child support laws, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and foster care and adoption programs. Before being elected to Congress, Congressman Kildee co-founded and served as the president of the Center for Community Progress, a national non-profit organization focused on urban land reform and revitalization. He also founded Michigan’s first land bank – the Genesee County Land Bank – which is responsible for tens of millions of dollars in redevelopment in Flint. The Genesee County Land Bank later served as a model for over 100 other land banks across the nation. Previously, Congressman Dan Kildee served as the Genesee County Treasurer, on the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, and on the Flint Board of Education. Additionally, he worked for eight years at the Whaley Children’s Center, a residential treatment facility in Flint for children who have experienced trauma and abuse. Congressman Kildee resides in Flint Township with his wife, Jennifer. They have two children, Kenneth and Katy. Dan’s oldest son, Ryan, and his wife Ginger are the parents of their first two grandchildren, Caitlin and Colin.

Congressman Dan Kildee (Michigan’s Fifth District)Born and raised in Flint, Congressman Dan Kildee is a lifelong Michigander. In Congress, he has proven he can bring people together and get real results for his constituents and Michigan. Congressman Dan Kildee holds various leadership positions in Congress. As Chief Deputy Whip—part of the Democratic leadership team in the 116th Congress—he acts as an important liaison among Members of Congress and the leadership to build support for Democratic priorities and legislation. Congressman Kildee serves on the prestigious Ways and Means Committee, the oldest and one of the most powerful committees in the U.S. House of Representatives. On the committee, Congressman Kildee works to lower the costs of health care premiums and prescription drugs, protect Social Security and Medicare, negotiate fair trade deals, and create a tax system that benefits working families, not just the richest corporations. The committee also has vast jurisdiction over important programs including Unemployment Insurance, enforcement of child support laws, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and foster care and adoption programs. Before being elected to Congress, Congressman Kildee co-founded and served as the president of the Center for Community Progress, a national non-profit organization focused on urban land reform and revitalization. He also founded Michigan’s first land bank – the Genesee County Land Bank – which is responsible for tens of millions of dollars in redevelopment in Flint. The Genesee County Land Bank later served as a model for over 100 other land banks across the nation. Previously, Congressman Dan Kildee served as the Genesee County Treasurer, on the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, and on the Flint Board of Education. Additionally, he worked for eight years at the Whaley Children’s Center, a residential treatment facility in Flint for children who have experienced trauma and abuse. Congressman Kildee resides in Flint Township with his wife, Jennifer. They have two children, Kenneth and Katy. Dan’s oldest son, Ryan, and his wife Ginger are the parents of their first two grandchildren, Caitlin and Colin.

Congressman Dan Kildee (Michigan’s Fifth District)Born and raised in Flint, Congressman Dan Kildee is a lifelong Michigander. In Congress, he has proven he can bring people together and get real results for his constituents and Michigan. Congressman Dan Kildee holds various leadership positions in Congress. As Chief Deputy Whip—part of the Democratic leadership team in the 116th Congress—he acts as an important liaison among Members of Congress and the leadership to build support for Democratic priorities and legislation. Congressman Kildee serves on the prestigious Ways and Means Committee, the oldest and one of the most powerful committees in the U.S. House of Representatives. On the committee, Congressman Kildee works to lower the costs of health care premiums and prescription drugs, protect Social Security and Medicare, negotiate fair trade deals, and create a tax system that benefits working families, not just the richest corporations. The committee also has vast jurisdiction over important programs including Unemployment Insurance, enforcement of child support laws, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and foster care and adoption programs. Before being elected to Congress, Congressman Kildee co-founded and served as the president of the Center for Community Progress, a national non-profit organization focused on urban land reform and revitalization. He also founded Michigan’s first land bank – the Genesee County Land Bank – which is responsible for tens of millions of dollars in redevelopment in Flint. The Genesee County Land Bank later served as a model for over 100 other land banks across the nation. Previously, Congressman Dan Kildee served as the Genesee County Treasurer, on the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, and on the Flint Board of Education. Additionally, he worked for eight years at the Whaley Children’s Center, a residential treatment facility in Flint for children who have experienced trauma and abuse. Congressman Kildee resides in Flint Township with his wife, Jennifer. They have two children, Kenneth and Katy. Dan’s oldest son, Ryan, and his wife Ginger are the parents of their first two grandchildren, Caitlin and Colin.

Congressman Dan Kildee (Michigan’s Fifth District)Born and raised in Flint, Congressman Dan Kildee is a lifelong Michigander. In Congress, he has proven he can bring people together and get real results for his constituents and Michigan. Congressman Dan Kildee holds various leadership positions in Congress. As Chief Deputy Whip—part of the Democratic leadership team in the 116th Congress—he acts as an important liaison among Members of Congress and the leadership to build support for Democratic priorities and legislation. Congressman Kildee serves on the prestigious Ways and Means Committee, the oldest and one of the most powerful committees in the U.S. House of Representatives. On the committee, Congressman Kildee works to lower the costs of health care premiums and prescription drugs, protect Social Security and Medicare, negotiate fair trade deals, and create a tax system that benefits working families, not just the richest corporations. The committee also has vast jurisdiction over important programs including Unemployment Insurance, enforcement of child support laws, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and foster care and adoption programs. Before being elected to Congress, Congressman Kildee co-founded and served as the president of the Center for Community Progress, a national non-profit organization focused on urban land reform and revitalization. He also founded Michigan’s first land bank – the Genesee County Land Bank – which is responsible for tens of millions of dollars in redevelopment in Flint. The Genesee County Land Bank later served as a model for over 100 other land banks across the nation. Previously, Congressman Dan Kildee served as the Genesee County Treasurer, on the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, and on the Flint Board of Education. Additionally, he worked for eight years at the Whaley Children’s Center, a residential treatment facility in Flint for children who have experienced trauma and abuse. Congressman Kildee resides in Flint Township with his wife, Jennifer. They have two children, Kenneth and Katy. Dan’s oldest son, Ryan, and his wife Ginger are the parents of their first two grandchildren, Caitlin and Colin.

Commissioner Carol Cuadrado (Passaic County Board of Social Services) discusses the role of county governance in the implementation of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other programs. Hosted by Dr. Brad Forenza.

Our goal with this interview was to bridge the gap between the black woman and the privileged white woman and discuss how can we work together to decrease racism and build healthy relationships across communities and between individuals, personally and professionally? Vulnerability June's Thoughts Acknowledging that I don't know everything.   There's much left for me to learn.  Even as a black woman, there is much left for me to learn about relationships and inclusion that's left for me to learn.  In the state of vulnerability, it's about being patient, trusting that I can learn, reaching out, asking questions and having conversations.  And sometimes, getting feedback about something that I did as a leader and not taking it as a personal attack upon myself for the sake of being vulnerable.   Being vulnerable allows us to learn things that we don't know.   Learning is positive and what we're in taught in the moment is valuable. Right now, in our society, we are at a vulnerable state. Tracy's Thoughts When doing the racism evaluation at Bucks County Community College, Tracy received results that surprised her.  She didn't think she had any racists tendencies, but she wasn't as tolerant as she thought she was.  One thing she learned was that saying “I don't see color” actually takes away from a black person's identity.  Not having bad intentions, Tracy felt like since she and her black colleagues worked together, and they were friends they were all the same.    Tracy had never thought about the color of her skin being an advantage.  She hadn't never thought of back women she went to school with were any different than her. Timing God has a knack with timing.   The COVID pandemic has forced us to face the issue of racism and really learn and be educated.   Learning is more powerful than a training on racism that you have to do.   Education is more sustainable than trainings so if we can work together to educate others on racism, we will have a better chance of bridging the gap for good. White Privilege and Racism Being privileged is not about money.  It's about access.   The important thing is to recognize privilege and not pretend it isn't there. Both Tracy and Robyn admit they were ignorant as to what white privilege is. Neither one of them associate with racism, but they also didn't recognize white privilege. June points out the difference between her upbringing in an impoverished area with little resources.   College was a dream, not a reality.   Minimum wage was considered success.   It took being outstanding in order to make it out of the neighborhood and go to universities.  There is much more pressure for the impoverished black people who have to do ten times the amount of work to be able to get to college. Leadership How can we as female leaders change the landscape of racism? Take the entrepreneurial mindset of risk taking and channel that energy into conversations about racism like the one we have on the podcast. It would be easier to keep quiet instead of getting uncomfortable, but if we are going to channel the entrepreneurial mindset, we have to bring it into conversations.  That is the only way any measurable change is going to happen.    Female entrepreneurs are the people who can do this because we have the support of other women who are willing to come together and work with each other.  Bring the spirit that drove us into entrepreneurship is what is going to do it. We must be willing to take the risk and be supportive when other women are taking the risk and let the uncomfortable conversations happen. Being a Leader Comes from Within Being a leader of ourselves must happen first.  Open the channels to improve and build relationships.  It must start with the individual.   We must take the action to improve ourselves first before we can lead others.    Take the time to reach out, ask questions and seek resources to education ourselves and then use our knowledge to lead. Assumptions We can assume that others are in the same situation we are in.  Once we focus on our-selves we can realize that there are differences and accept the things we don't know. Accountability We need to have accountability partners to ensure that we are taking action and not only listening but taking the necessary action.    As women we need to hold each other accountable for taking action.   But also, if we do something or say something in accordance with what I'm saying about mutuality and inclusion and decreasing bias, then also call each other out on that. Micro-aggressions of Racism Behaviors or things done or said that are offensive but not directly done or said towards someone.    Doesn't have to be directed at you but will offend you. Being aware of what we say and do is critical to avoid committing microaggressions. Humanity We should live with humanity as a core value.  Human decency may not be measurable, but we can certainly hold each other accountable for human decency. Everyone commits microaggressions, not just white people.   But do we have the decency, once called on it, to do better. Without human decency, all of the training on racism, all of the speakers and education on racism, will not do any good…it has to happen internally with each and every one of us. Learn More and Connect  June Rogers June is the Program Director of a social services initiative (KEYS).  Keystone Education Yields Success is a collaborative program between the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and PA's Community Colleges.  KEYS is designed to assist recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families(TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP) attending PA's community colleges and ensure the successful completion of the students' courses. June also serves as co-chair of the college's advisory group on race, ethnicity, diversity, and inclusion. She is passionate about human decency and creating change. To learn more about the KEYS program, click HERE. Tracy Timby Tracy is the Dean of Business + Innovation at Bucks. While growing her legal practice and specialty in Alternate Dispute Resolution, she served as the Director of the Paralegal Program at Bucks County Community College. In 2014, Tracy became the Dean of the Business Department. She loves inspiring faculty to be innovative and creative in teaching and collaborating with the local business community in support of the business programs at Bucks County Community College. The Department's Speaker and Networking Series features prominent business leaders and entrepreneurs. The series is now presenting events in the local business community on various topics such as Social Media Marketing and Customer Service. Entrepreneurial Movement Tracy is thrilled to be a part of the growing entrepreneurial movement on campus and in the County. The daughter of one of the founding partners of a local law firm and the granddaughter of a small businessman, she grew up knowing the value of charting your own course. She is also thrilled to have had the opportunity to develop the Faculty Innovator program to revise learning goals across disciplines to include the entrepreneurial mindset, collaborate with small business in Bristol Borough to present a series of seminars addressing their needs and most recently develop Bucks+, a program to encourage and track co-curricular and extra-curricular experiences that build the competencies employers are seeking. Tracy continues to support the Collaborative Divorce movement in Bucks County. When you work with a Collaborative Professional, you are empowered to make your own decisions based in knowledge not fear or emotional reaction. Website: https://www.bucks.edu/academics/department/business/ Instagram: @businessatbucks LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracytimby/   Learn more about your host, Robyn Graham, click HERE. To learn about The Brand Marketing Insider by Robyn Graham, click HERE. Book a Brand Marketing Strategy Session HERE. Ask Me Anything HERE. Connect with me, Robyn Graham: Website | Instagram | LinkedIN | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Pinterest    

Santina is a tribal member of San Ildefonso Pueblo. She is a Mother/Guardian of 5 children, ages 5-14yrs old. Santina has been working with youth and their families for over 10 years. She started her career at the State of New Mexico Income Support Division as a Case Worker, assisting youth and families to obtain state assistance and moving on to a Career Development Specialist for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program, assisting families in obtaining employment and training. After leaving the State of New Mexico, she received her Master's of Social Work Degree and a State Licensure. Santina now works for JJAB as a Youth Resource Specialist. Santina is caring and is passionate about assisting youth and families in the best way for each unique situation as she knows about overcoming challenges and living in a community where there is available supports. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/losalamosjjab/message

Santina is a tribal member of San Ildefonso Pueblo. She is a Mother/Guardian of 5 children, ages 5-14yrs old. Santina has been working with youth and their families for over 10 years. She started her career at the State of New Mexico Income Support Division as a Case Worker, assisting youth and families to obtain state assistance and moving on to a Career Development Specialist for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program, assisting families in obtaining employment and training. After leaving the State of New Mexico, she received her Master's of Social Work Degree and a State Licensure. Santina now works for JJAB as a Youth Resource Specialist. Santina is caring and is passionate about assisting youth and families in the best way for each unique situation as she knows about overcoming challenges and living in a community where there is available supports. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/losalamosjjab/message

The Governor pushes back in the battle over CARES Act spending power.Then, more on the coronavirus pandemic in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama from the Gulf States Newsroom round-table.Plus, a yearly audit reveals $94 million in questionable use of TANF funds.Segment 1:Governor Tate Reeves is laying out the next steps of a strategic plan to open more Mississippi business and allow for more recreational activities. The new Executive Order amends his Safer At Home order, which he signed over a week ago and remains in effect until Monday, May 11. The revisions allow for restaurants to reopen with certain health restrictions like masks for servers and limiting dining areas to half capacity. Reeves also says it provides an opportunity to resume outdoor youth athletics.During his daily press briefing, Reeves expressed regret over not being able to loosen restrictions on salons and barber shops. He did, however, pledge CARES Act funds to assist those businesses. Reeves' power to distribute those funds is at the heart of a constitutional clash between the Governor and state lawmakers. Last week the legislature passed Senate Bill 2772, securing the spending power of CARES Act funds. Reeves is openly critical of the move.Segment 2:The gulf states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are experiencing shared concerns as their local governments respond to the coronavirus pandemic. But, unlike other parts of the country, the states aren't taking a coordinated regional approach to reopening their economies. In part two of this Gulf States Newsroom round-table, we join our own Kobee Vance, along with WBHM's Janae Pierre and Paul Braun of WRKF in Baton Rouge and WWNO in New Orleans to discuss some notable moments and the role of state legislatures.Segment 3:The office of the State Auditor is revealing $94 million in questionable use of TANF funds by the Department of Human Services and two of its sub-grantees. The audit of DHS showed massive sums were funneled to two non-profits - the Mississippi Community Education Center and the Family Resource Center of North Mississippi - with little to no proof those funds benefited the needy as required by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. As State Auditor Shad White tells our Michael Guidry, former Director John Davis created a culture of impropriety at DHS. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

* The HSE is sending medical teams to nursing homes where  clusters of Covid-19 infections have been identified.  * 82 year old man makes full recovery from COVID 19. * Maynooth University library loans rest pods to TUH for weary frontline staff. * Video of Orangutan washing her hands goes viral.

In this episode we discuss the newly signed Cares Act aimed at providing aid to businesses and individuals that have been impacted by the Coronavirus and the resulting economic shut-down. The application process for the Cares Act loans will take the form of a modified 7a SBA loan and will be processed through SBA approved lenders. On this episode, we have bank representatives, employment attorney, FSU Economics professor and business leaders in the restaurant industry. A recent post re: the summary of the Cares Act:Senate Passes the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”)26 March 2020  Coronavirus Resource Center  BlogAuthors: Frank S. Murray Jr Jared B. Rifis Leah R. Imbrogno Jamie N. Class Matthew E. Sierawski Julia Di Vito Kaitlyn M. Foley As the coronavirus outbreak continues to wreak havoc on markets and industries in the United States and around the world, businesses are now confronting significant and unique challenges. Successful navigation of these challenges will require thoughtful and comprehensive planning. Foley has created a multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional team, which has prepared a wealth of topical client resources (see Foley’s Coronavirus Resource Center) and is prepared to help our clients meet the legal and business challenges that the coronavirus outbreak is creating for stakeholders across a range of industries, including manufacturing, technology, solar, hospitality and travel, healthcare, food, fashion and apparel, and sports and entertainment. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) – Summary of Bill Language and Key TakeawaysOn March 25, 2020, the Senate unanimously passed (96-0) the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), commonly known as “Phase Three” of coronavirus economic relief. The CARES Act provides much needed stimulus to individuals, businesses, and hospitals in response to the economic distress caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The bill passed on March 25 is not yet law. Until the CARES Act is passed by the House of Representatives and signed into law by the President, it is subject to revisions. The bill will now go to the House, which is currently not in session. The House may reconvene to address the bill or pass the bill by unanimous consent agreement. The House is expected to pass the bill without changes on March 27, and it will then be presented to the President for his signature.Additional information, updates, and analysis regarding the CARES Act will be posted on Foley’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Please check back frequently for updates. Foley is available to assist in interpretation of the CARES Act for your business and can help you find ways to claim and/or use available funding for your company. The CARES ActTop 10 Takeaways:Provides stimulus to individuals, businesses, and hospitals in response to the economic distress caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.Creates a $349 billion loan program for small businesses, including 501(c)(3) non-profits and physician practices. These loans can be forgiven through a process that incentivizes companies to retain employees.Allocates $500 billion for assistance to businesses, states, and municipalities, with no more than $25 billion designated for passenger air carriers, $4 billion for air cargo carriers, and $17 billion for businesses critical to maintaining national security. The remaining $454 billion may be used to support lending to eligible businesses, states, and municipalities.Allocates $130 billion in relief to the medical and hospital industries, including for medical supplies and drug and device shortages.Expands telehealth services in Medicare, including services unrelated to COVID-19 treatments.Provides $1,200 to Americans making $75,000 or less ($150,000 in the case of joint returns and $112,500 for head of household) and $500 for each child, to be paid “as rapidly as possible.”Expands eligibility for unemployment insurance and provides people with an additional $600 per week on top of the unemployment amount determined by each state.Expands the Defense Production Act, allowing for a period of two years when the government may correct any shortfall in resources without regard to the current expenditure limit of $50 million.Provides the Secretary of the Treasury with the authority to make loans or loan guarantees to states, municipalities, and eligible businesses and loosens a variety of regulations prior legislation imposed through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, and others.Accompanied by supplemental appropriations to help the government respond to this pandemic.Summary of the CARES Act:Division A - Keeping American Workers Paid and Employed, Healthcare System Enhancements, and Economic Stabilization   Title I – Keeping American Workers Paid and Employed Act     Foley Title I Contacts: Jamie Class, Erin Toomey, Jessica Glatzer Mason, and Frank MurrayPaycheck Protection ProgramThe Paycheck Protection Loan Program, at a price tag of $349 billion, covers the period February 15, 2020 through June 30, 2020 and greatly expands SBA loan eligibility.  The loan program will allow businesses suffering due to the coronavirus outbreak to borrow money for a variety of qualified costs related to employee compensation and benefits, including (i) payroll costs, (ii) continuation of health care benefits, (iii) employee compensation (of those making less than $100K), (iv) mortgage interest obligations, (v) rent, (vi) utilities and (vii) interest on debt incurred before the covered period.The legislation greatly expands the number of businesses (including non-profits) that are eligible for SBA loans and raises the maximum amount for such a loan by 2.5 x the average total monthly payroll costs, or up to $10 million.  The interest rate may not to exceed 4%.Companies that employ no more than 500 employees are (or a greater number based on the size standard applicable to the industry) may be eligible.  Certain companies in the Accommodation and Food Services Industry (NAICS Code 72) may be eligible if they have no more than 500 employees per physical location. In most cases, the number of employees is counted together with all affiliates.Waives affiliation rules under 13 C.F.R.  121.103 for any business with less than 500 employees in the Accommodation and Food Services Industry, certain franchise businesses and small businesses that receive financing through the Small Business Investment Company Act.  Affiliation rules otherwise apply to determine eligibility.Waives the credit available elsewhere, personal guaranty and collateral requirements.For eligibility purposes, requires lenders to determine whether a business was operational on February 15, 2020, and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes, or a paid independent contractor. (This is likely to be interpreted to replace the determination of repayment ability which is not possible during the crisis.)All or a portion of the loan may be forgivable and debt service payments may be deferred for up to 1 year.Entrepreneurial DevelopmentProvides funding to educate small businesses and their employees regarding (i) Federal resources available during this time, (ii) Hazards of COVID-19 and (iii) best practices around teleworking to prevent the spread of COVID-19.iii.  State Trade Expansion ProgramAllows for federal grant funds appropriated to support the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) in FY 2018 and FY 2019 to remain available for use through FY 2021.Waiver of Matching Funds Requirement under the Women’s Business Center ProgramEliminates the non-federal match requirement for Women’s Business Centers for a period of three months. Loan Forgiveness Establishes that the borrower under the Paycheck Protection Program shall be eligible for loan forgiveness equal to the amount spent by the borrower during an 8-week period after the origination date on (i) rent, (ii) payroll costs for workers making less than $100K, (iii) interest on a mortgage, and (iv) utility payments. The amount forgiven may not exceed the principal of the loan. Incentivizes companies to retain employees by reducing the amount forgiven proportionally by any reduction in employees retained compared to the prior year.To encourage employers to rehire any employees who have already been laid off due to the COVID-19 crisis, borrowers that re-hire workers previously laid off will not be penalized for having a reduced payroll at the beginning of the period.Minority Business Development Agency Empowers the Department of Commerce, through the Minority Business Development Agency, to provide grants to minority business centers and minority chambers of commerce to provide education, training and advising related to accessing federal resources.vii. United States Treasury Program Management Authority The Department of the Treasury, consulting with the Small Business Administration and the Chairman of the Farm Credit Administration shall establish criteria to allow other lenders to participate in the Paycheck Protection Program, so long as such participation does not threaten the safety and soundness of the lender, as determined in consultation with the relevant federal banking agencies.viii.  Emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDLs”) For the period between January 31, 2020 and December 31, 2020 (the “covered period”) EIDL eligibility is greatly expanded to include any business with not more than 500 employees operating under a sole proprietorship or as an independent contractor, and any cooperative, ESOP and tribal small business concern with not more than 500 employees. The number of employees is determined together with affiliates.Furthermore, EIDLs may be approved solely on the bases of an applicant’s credit score or by use of alternative methods to gauge the applicant’s ability to repay. Additionally, applicants may request an advance of up to $10,000 within three days after the Administrator receives the application, subject to verification that the entity is eligible under this program. The advance may be used for any allowable purposes under §7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act and is not subject to repayment, even if the loan request is ultimately denied.Importantly, the CARES Act waives: (1) the requirement of personal guarantees for loans up to $200,000, (2) the requirement that the applicant must be in business for a year (but must be in operation on January 31, 2020), and (3) the credit elsewhere test.Establishes that an emergency involving Federal primary responsibility determined to exist by the President under Section 501(b) of the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act qualifies as a new trigger for EIDLs.Importantly, the CARES Act waives: (1) the requirement of personal guarantees for loans up to $200,000, (2) the requirement that the applicant must be in business for a year (but must be in operation on January 31, 2020), and (3) the credit elsewhere test.Subsidy for Certain Loan PaymentsFor loans under §7(a) of the Small Business Act, Title V of the Small Business Investment Act, and for loans made by an intermediary using §7(m) loans or grants, the Administrator shall pay the principal, interest, and fees owed for loans in regular servicing status for any such loans, whether on deferment or not, that were made before the enactment of the Act for the following 6-month period, and for any such loans that were made between the date of enactment of the Act and six months from such date. This does not apply to Payroll Protection loans or EIDL loans which have separate subsidy and repayment requirements.The payments shall be made not later than 30 days from when the first payment is due and shall be applied such that the borrower is relieved of any obligation to pay that amount. The Administrator shall coordinate with relevant banking agencies to request that lenders not be required to increase reserves because of these payments.The Administrator will waive limits on the maximum loan maturities for loans given deferral and extended maturity during the year following enactment. The Administrator will extend lender site visit requirement timelines as necessary because of COVID-19, to within 60 days of a non-default adverse event, and 90 days of a default. $17 billion is appropriated for the foregoing.BankruptcySection 1182(1) of Title 11 is amended to define “debtor” as persons engaged in commercial or business activities and their affiliates (excluding persons who primarily own single asset real estate) that have aggregate, noncontingent, liquidated secured and unsecured debts (at the date of petition filing or the order for relief) of $7,500,000 or less (excluding debts owed to affiliates or insiders), half or more of which arose from those activities.  Exempt from this new definition are any members of a group of affiliated debtors that has aggregate, noncontingent, liquidated secured and unsecured debts over $7,500,000 (excluding debt owed to affiliates or insiders); corporations subject to 1934 Act reporting requirements; and affiliates of an issuer under the 1934 Act.  National Emergency Act payments for COVID-19 by the President are exempted from “current monthly income” and “disposable income” when determining the power of courts to approve debtor plans rejected by trustees or claim holders. Debtors that have experienced material financial hardship due to COVID-19 can modify a plan confirmed prior to this Act’s enactment date if approved after notice and hearing, but only if that plan doesn’t provide payments more than seven years after the first payment was due under the original plan, and follows requirements of 1322(a)-(c) and 1325(a). This modification terminates one year after the enactment of this Act.Title II – Assistance for American Workers, Families, and Businesses      Foley Title II Contacts: Julie Lutfi, Ashley May, and Dick RileySubtitle A: Unemployment Insurance ProvisionsEligibilityThe law expands the scope of individuals who are eligible for unemployment benefits, including those who are furloughed or out of work as a direct result of COVID-19, self-employed or gig workers, and those who have exhausted existing state and federal unemployment benefit provisions.The only individuals expressly excluded from coverage are those who have the ability to telework with pay and those who are receiving paid sick leave or other paid benefits (even if they otherwise satisfy the criteria for unemployment under the new law).Administration of BenefitThe benefits are administered by each state and upon the state’s written agreement with the Secretary of Labor to provide the specific benefits.  States that enter into such an agreement with the Secretary of Labor will be reimbursed in whole or in part for the cost of the benefits plus administrative expensesTypes of Benefits ProvideThe law provides an increase of $600 per week in the amounts customarily available for unemployment under state law.  This increase applies for unemployment payments made from the date of the law’s enactment through July 31, 2020 (approximately four months).States can agree to provide pandemic emergency unemployment compensation to individuals who have either exhausted all of the benefits available to them under existing state and federal law or who are not otherwise eligible for benefits under existing state and federal law.  Individuals must be able and available to work and actively seeking work, unless they are unable to do so as a result of COVID-19 illness, quarantine, or movement restriction.States can agree to waive the waiting period for receipt of benefits so that individuals do not experience gaps in income.The federal government will temporarily fund short-time compensation under existing state plans.  States that do not yet have short-time compensation plans in place may agree to implement a plan, provided that employers who enter into short-time compensation plans must be required to pay to the state half of the short-time compensation paid under the planTime Periods for Expanded BenefitsThe law provides unemployment benefit assistance to covered individuals who are not otherwise entitled to benefits under existing state or federal law for weeks of unemployment, partial unemployment, or inability to work caused by COVID-19 during the period January 27, 2020 through December 31, 2020.  This includes any waiting periods for benefits under applicable state law.The total benefit may not extend beyond 39 weeks (including any unemployment benefits or extended benefits received under existing state or federal law), unless, after the law is enacted, the duration of extended benefits is extended, in which case the total benefit may extend beyond 39 weeks by that same additional period of extended benefits.The $600 weekly benefit increase will be applicable to weekly payments made through the end of July 2020.Protections Against Fraud and OverpaymentAny fraudulent intent or misrepresentations to obtain payments to which an individual is not entitled will result in ineligibility for any other unemployment compensation benefits under the new law as well as criminal prosecution. Overpayments may be clawed back by the state agencies.Social Security TreatmentThe additional unemployment compensation provided is not considered “income” for purposes of Medicaid and CHIP.Subtitle B: Rebates and Other Individual ProvisionsTax CreditsBeginning in 2020, "eligible individual" taxpayers can benefit from a tax credit equal to the sum of: (i) $1,200 for single filers ($2,400 for those filing a joint return) plus (ii) an amount equal to th eproduct of (a) $500 multiplied by (b) the number of qualifying children. However, the aforementioned tax credits will be “phased-out” by 5% (but not below 0) when such eligible taxpayer’s adjusted gross income exceeds: (i) $150,000 for joint-filers, (ii) $112,500 for heads of household, and (iii) $75,000 for all other types of filers.This means, for example, the tax credit will phase out entirely at $198,000 for joint-filers with no children.“Coronavirus-Related Distribution”A “coronavirus-related distribution,” as defined under the CARES Act, is generally defined as any distribution from an eligible retirement plan made: (i) on or after January 1, 2020 and before December 31, 2020, (ii) to an individual (a) who is diagnosed with COVID-19, (b) whose spouse or dependent is diagnosed with COVID-19, or (c) who experiences adverse financial consequences as a result of being quarantined, furloughed, laid off, had hours reduced, or other factors as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury during the COVID-19 pandemic.Tax Treatment of Coronavirus-Related DistributionsIndividuals who elect to receive a “coronavirus-related distribution” will not be subject to the traditional 10% tax penalty imposed under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) for early withdrawals from eligible retirement accounts,unless the aggregate amount of such distributions from all plans maintained by the employer (and any member of any “controlled group” which includes the employer) to such individual exceeds $100,000. Coronavirus-related distributions made from both traditional eligible employer sponsored retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) may be excluded from gross income.Repayments of Coronavirus-Related DistributionsAny individual who receives a coronavirus-related distribution may generally, at any time during the three (3) year period beginning on the day after the date such coronavirus-related distribution was received, make one (1) or more contributions in an aggregate amount not to exceed the amount of such distribution to an eligible retirement plan of which such individual is a beneficiary . The aforementioned repayments of coronavirus-related distributions for eligible retirement plans, will, to the extent of the amount of the contribution, be treated as having received the coronavirus-related distribution in an eligible rollover distribution,” and as having transferred the amount to the eligible retirement plan in a direct trustee to trustee transfer within sixty (60) days of distribution.Effects on the Limits on Loans from Qualified Employer PlansThe limitation on loans from any qualified employer plan made to qualified individuals will be increased from $50,000 to $100,000, and should the due date of any such loan occur between the date of enactment of the CARES Act and December 31, 2020, it will be delayed for one (1) year.Effects on Minimum Distribution ThresholdThe CARES Act temporarily waives the minimum distribution requirements for all “eligible deferred compensation plans.” This includes: (i) certain contribution plans (e.g. an employer purchased annuity contract), (ii) deferred compensation plans that are maintained by an eligible employer, or (iii) IRAs.  This applies for all distributions made on or after January 1, 2020.However, if this section applies to any pension plan or contract amendments, such pension plan or contract amendments will not fail to be treated as being operated in accordance with the terms of the plan during such period, solely because the plan operates in accordance with the CARES Act, so long as the amendment or contract in question has been in effect from its effective date until December 31, 2020.Any plan or contract amendments to which Section 2203 of the CARES Act (the section on temporary waiver of required minimum distribution rules) applies will not fail to meet the requirements of either the Internal Revenue Code or the Employee Retirement Income Security Act as a result of making such an amendment. However, this provision only applies to those amendments which are in effect during the period beginning on the effective date of the amendment until December 31, 2020.Tax Treatment of Charitable DonationThe CARES Act allows taxpayers to take an above-the-line tax deduction for charitable contributions of up to $300 for the tax year beginning in 2020.Additionally, except for certain exclusions specified below, the percentage and excess carryover restrictions on charitable and other “qualified contributions” (e.g. a contribution to a corporation, trust, a state, or an organization of war veterans, etc.) are disregarded.Exceptions to the CARES Act General Disregard of the Percentage and Excess Carryover Restrictions on Qualified ContributionsThe CARES Act treats individuals and corporations differently regarding the aforementioned exceptions, and such different treatments are described below.Qualified contributions for individuals will be allowed as deductions to the extent that the combined contributions do not exceed (i) the excess of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income over (ii) the amount of the charitable contributions made by the individual under certain other provisions of the CARES Act (e.g., donations to a church, educational organization, private foundation, etc.). If such contributions exceed the foregoing limitation, they will be added to the qualified contribution excess, which is eligible to be treated as charitable deductions for up to the next five (5) successive tax years. Any qualified contributions made by corporations will be allowed as deductions only if these contributions do not exceed 25% of the taxable income of the corporation over the amount of all other charitable contributions allowed under the CARES Act. To the extent a corporation exceeds this limit, it will carry over the excess which will be eligible to be applied as charitable contribution deductions for the subsequent five tax years. This is provided that the excess qualified contribution amounts in question meet certain other restrictions, specifically, they must not exceed the lesser of: (i) 10% of the corporation’s taxable income or the total charitable deductions taken by the corporation during the taxable year over the sum of the contributions made in such year plus the aggregate of the excess contributions which were made in taxable years before the contribution year and which are deductible under this subparagraph for such succeeding taxable year; or (ii) in the case of the first succeeding taxable year, the amount of such excess contribution, and in the case of the second, third, fourth, or fifth succeeding taxable year, the portion of such excess contribution not deductible under this subparagraph for any taxable year intervening between the contribution year and such succeeding taxable year.iii.  Subtitle C: Business ProvisionsEmployee Retention Credit for Employer Subject to Closure Due to COVID-19Eligible employers will receive a credit against applicable employment taxes for each calendar quarter in an amount equal to 50% of the qualified wages with respect to each employee. The amount of qualified wages taken into account for each eligible employee, however, will not exceed $10,000 per calendar quarter and the credit will not exceed the applicable employment taxes owed for such calendar quarter. The aforementioned credit is not applicable if the employer is alto taking advantage of the small business interruption loan. An eligible employer is defined as any employer: (i) which was carrying on a trade or business during calendar year 2020, and (ii) with respect to any calendar quarter for which, (a) the operation of their trade or business was fully or partially suspended due to governmental order as a result of COVID-19, or (b) the  calendar quarter is within the period beginning with (1) the calendar quarter after December 31, 2019 for which gross receipts for the calendar quarter are less than 50% of the gross receipts for the same calendar quarter of the prior year and the ending with (2) the calendar quarter following the first calendar quarter beginning after the calendar quarter described in (1) for which gross receipts of the employer are greater than 80% gross receipts for the same calendar quarter in the prior year.Delay of Payment of Employer Payroll TaxesThe CARES Act will allow for most employers to defer paying their share of applicable employment taxes from the time the CARES Act is signed into law through December 31, 2020. Half of this deferred amount would be due on December 31, 2021 and the other half by December 31, 2022.Modifications for Net Operating Losses (“NOL”)There will generally be a temporary repeal of taxable income limitation including (i) in the case of a taxable year beginning before January 1, 2021, the aggregate of the net operating loss (“NOL”) carryovers to such year, plus the NOL carrybacks to such year, and (ii) in the case of a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2020, the sum of (a) the aggregate amount of NOLs arising in taxable years beginning before January 1, 2018, carried to such taxable year, plus (b) the lesser of (1) the aggregate amount of NOLs beginning after December 31, 2017, carried to such taxable year, or (2) 80% of the excess of certain taxable income.In the case of any NOL arising in a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2021, whereby (i) such NOL will be a net operating loss carryback to each of the five (5) taxable years preceding the taxable year of such loss and (ii) certain rules applicable to farming losses and insurance companies shall not apply.  There are additional rules that apply specifically to “real estate investment trusts” and life insurance companies.Modification of Limitation on Losses for Taxpayers Other Than CorporationsFor any taxpayer other than a corporation:For a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, subsection (j) (relating to a limitation on excess farm losses of certain taxpayers) would not apply; and ii.  For any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2020 and before January 1, 2026, any excess business loss of the taxpayer for the taxable year will not be allowed.In regard to treatment of capital gains and losses for purposes of calculating “excess business losses”: Deductions for losses from sales or exchanges of capital assets will not be taken into account.The amount of gains from sales or exchanges of capital assets taken into account will not exceed the lesser of (1) the capital gain net income determined by taking into account only gains and losses attributable to a trade or business, or (2) the capital gain net income.The amendments made in the aforementioned section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017.Modification of Credit for Prior Year Minimum Tax Liability of CorporationsThe corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT) was repealed as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but corporate AMT credits were made available as refundable credits over several years, ending in 2021.  The CARE Act accelerates the ability of companies to recover those AMT credits, permitting companies to claim a refund now and obtain additional cash flow during the COVID-19 emergency.  Modification of Limitation on Business InterestThe CARES Act temporarily increases the amount of interest expense businesses are allowed to deduct on their tax returns, by increasing the 30-percent limitation (as imposed under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) to 50 percent of taxable income (with adjustments) for 2019 and 2020.  As businesses look to weather the storm of the current crisis, this provision will allow them to increase liquidity with a reduced cost of capital, so that they are able to continue operations and keep employees on payroll.Qualified Improvement PropertyThe CARES Act enables businesses, especially in the hospitality industry, to write off immediately costs associated with improving facilities instead of having to depreciate those improvements over the 39-year life of the building. The provision, which corrects an error in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, not only increases companies’ access to cash flow by allowing them to amend a prior year return, but also incentivizes them to continue to invest in improvements as the country recovers from the COVID-19 emergency. Temporary Exception from Excise Tax for Alcohol Used to Produce Hand SanitizerFor distilled spirits removed after December 31, 2019 and before January 1, 2021, such distilled spirits will be free of tax for use in or contained in hand sanitizer produced and distributed in a manner consistent with any guidance issued by the FDA related to the outbreak of COVID-19.Title III – Supporting America’s Health Care System in the Fight Against the Coronavirus      Foley Title III Contacts: Rachel O’Neil, Erin Horton, Anil Shankar, and Paul JosephSubtitle A, Part I:  Addressing Supply ShortagesProvides for the National Academies to examine and report on the security of the U.S. medical product supply chain in order to assess U.S. dependence on critical drugs and devices sourced outside of the U.S., and to develop recommendations to improve resiliency of the U.S. supply chain for critical drug and devices.Requires the Strategic National Stockpile to include certain types of medical supplies, including personal protective equipment (PPEs), and identifies respiratory protective devices as covered countermeasures for use during a public health emergency.Prioritizes the review of drug applications to mitigate emergency drug shortages.Creates additional reporting requirements for drug manufacturers to report a discontinuation and disruption of the sourcing of active pharmaceutical ingredients.Requires manufacturers of certain drugs and medical devices critical to public health during a public emergency to develop, maintain, and implement risk management plans related to shortages, creating an annual notification requirement of the same. Such manufacturers are also subject to shortage-related inspections by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).Subtitle A, Part II: Access to Health Care for COVID-19 Patients Permits group health plans and insurers to cover and reimburse providers of diagnostic testing relating to COVID-19 at pre-emergency-period negotiated rates, and sets reimbursement rates in instances without previously negotiated rates equal to the cash price for services listed on a publicly-available website or the plan or insurer can negotiate with a provider for a rate lower than such cash price. All providers of a diagnostic test for COVID-19 are required to publicize cash price for such tests. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in HHS assessing a civil monetary penalty of up to $300 per day.Requires health plans and issuers to provide for rapid coverage of “qualifying coronavirus preventative services” – an item, service, or immunization intended to prevent or mitigate coronavirus—and vaccines for coronavirus.Appropriates $1.3 billion for FY 2020 for supplemental awards to health care centers for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19.Amends Section 330I of the Public Health Service Act, relating to Telehealth Network and Telehealth Resource Centers Grant Programs, and Section 330A of the Public Health Service Act, relating to the Rural Health Care Services Outreach, Rural Health Network Development, and Small Healthcare Provider Quality Improvement Grant Programs—an individual or entity affected by these grant programs should seek out an attorney to examine the effect of such amendments.Limits potential state and federal liability for volunteer health care professionals—who provide services without compensation or other thing of value—for harm caused to patients relating to the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of COVID-19. This provision expressly preempts more restrictive state or local law.Amends certain federal regulations governing the confidentiality and disclosure of substance use disorder patient records (Part 2), including allowing certain re-disclosures to covered entities, business associates, or other programs subject to HIPAA after obtaining the patient’s prior written consent.Permits a state agency or area agency on aging to transfer, without prior approval, not more than 100% of the funds received by the agency to meet the needs of the state or area served, and provides that the same meaning shall be given to an individual unable to obtain nutrition due to social distancing as one who is homebound due to illness.Provides that within 180 days of the passage of the Act, the Secretary of HHS shall issue guidance on the sharing of patients’ protected health information (PHI) related to COVID-19, including guidance on compliance with HIPAA regulations and applicable policies.Provides that the Secretary of HHS shall carry out a national awareness campaign relating to the importance and safety of blood donation, and the need of for donations for the blood supply during a public health emergency.iii.  Subtitle A, Part III:  Innovation Provides for using competitive procedures to enter into transactions to carry out public-health emergency health related projects and prohibits canceling those contracts solely because the emergency ends.Includes new provisions to expedite the development and approval of drugs to prevent or treat diseases in animals that are could have significant adverse consequences for humans.Subtitle A, Part IV:  Health Care WorkforceApproves appropriations for a variety of health professions-related programs, with particular focus on programs serving medically underserved populations (rural and geriatric).Subtitle B:  Education ProvisionsWaives requirement for certain higher education institutions to match federal funding and allows certain institutions to transfer unexpended allotment.Permits certain higher education institutions to use their allocations of Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants for emergency financial aid for students.Permits certain higher education loan borrowers flexibility in repaying loans or returning grants during a qualified emergency.Permits certain students to complete distance education and certain students of foreign institutions to take classes in the United States.Allows the Secretary of Education to issue waivers upon request relating to assessments, accountability, and related reporting requirements, and requirements for state and local educational agencies and Indian Tribes to receive funding.Allows the Secretary of Education to grant a deferment to an institution that received a loan under Part D of Title III of the Higher Education Act.Payments on student loans held by the Department of Education are suspended for 6 months, and the Secretary of Education shall suspend all involuntary collection activities during the period of payment suspension.The Corporation for National and Community Service can allow individuals to accrue service hours and may permit certain grants funds.Not more than 20% of the total amount allocated to a local area under 29 U.S.C. 3151 et seq. may be used for administrative costs.For the program year 2019, not more than 20% of the total amount allocated to a local area under 29 U.S.C. 3151 et seq., may be used for administrative costs of carrying out certain local workforce investment activities, if the portion of the total amount that exceeds 10% of the total amount is used to respond to qualifying emergency.  For the program year 2019, certain unobligated funds reserved by a governor for statewide activities under the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act may be used for statewide rapid response activities, or in certain circumstances, released to local boards impacted by the coronavirus.Gives the Secretary of Education authority to waive certain eligibility requirements, wait periods, and allotment requirements under the Higher Education Act for a period of time.Authorizes the Secretary of Education to modify the required and allowable uses of funds for grants and to modify any federal share or other financial matching requirement for a grant awarded under certain provisions of the Higher Education Act to an institution of higher education or other grant recipient (not including an individual recipient of Federal student financial assistance) as a result of a qualifying emergency.Allows the Secretary of Education to modify the categories of extenuating circumstances under which a grant recipient may be excused from fulfilling a portion of a service obligation under title IV of the Higher Education Act and must consider teaching service that is part-time or temporarily interrupted due to the emergency to be full-time service.  Requires the Secretary of Education to waive certain years of teaching service requirements under the Higher Education Act in certain circumstances.Subtitle C: Labor ProvisionsPaid Public Health Emergency Leave MinimumsEmployers may, but are not required to, pay any more than $200 per day and $10,000 in the aggregate for each employee for public health emergency leave under section 110(b)(2)(B) of the Family & Medical Leave Act of 1993 as amended by the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act.Rehire Eligibility for Paid Public Health Emergency Leave EmployersFor purposes of public health emergency leave under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, an eligible employee is an employee who has been employed for at least 30 calendar days by an employer with respect to whom leave is requested. The employee must be employed for at least 30 calendar days, which includes an employee who was laid off by that employer on or after March 1, 2020, had worked for employer for not less than 30 of the last 60 calendar days prior to the employees layoff, and was rehired by the employer.Emergency Paid Sick Leave MinimumsEmployers may, but are not required to, pay any more than:$511 per day or $5,110 in the aggregate for each employee when taking emergency paid sick leave if the employee is subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19, the employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19, or the employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking medical diagnosis; or $200 per day or $2,000 in the aggregate for each employee when taking emergency paid sick leave if the employee is caring for an individual who is subject to a federal, state or local quarantine order, or is caring for an individual who has been advised to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19, the employee is caring for the employee's son or daughter, if the child’s school or childcare facility has been closed or the child’s care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19 precautions, or the employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by HHS in consultation with the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Labor.Advance Refunding of Payroll Credits for Required Paid Sick Leave and Required Paid Family LeaveEmployers can apply a credit in the amount calculated under subsection (a) of section 7001 or 7003 of the Family First Coronavirus Response Act, subject to the limitations placed by subsection (b) of section 7001 and 7003, both calculated through the end of the most recent payroll period in the quarter. In anticipation of a credit, the credit may be advanced according to forms and instructions to be provided by the Secretary of Labor. The Act ensures employers that the Secretary of Treasury shall waive any penalty under section 6656 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for failure to make a deposit of the tax imposed under section 3111 (a) or 3221(a) of such Code if failure was due to anticipation of credit allowed.vii. Subtitle D: Finance CommitteeAn additional safe harbor provision is added to section 223(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, providing that a plan shall not fail to be treated as a high deductible health plan (HDHP) by reason of failing to have a deductible for telehealth and other remote care services.  Section 223(c)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code is adjusted to include “telehealth and other remote care.” This addition allows an individual to have an insurance plan (for plan years beginning on or before December 31, 2021) that includes telehealth and other remote care without disqualifying the individual from owning an HDHP.Inclusion of Certain Over-the-Counter Medical Products as Qualified Medical ExpensesMenstrual care products are now included under the term “qualified medical expenses.” Increasing Medicare Telehealth Flexibilities During Emergency Period The amendment removes some limiting qualifications to section 1320b-5(b)(8), which allows for the Secretary of HHS to temporarily waive or modify the application of portions of the Social Security Act in the case of a telehealth service furnished in any emergency area during an emergency period.  The provision that sets out the defined term “qualified provider,” which limited 1320b-5(b)(8), is removed in its entirety. Enhancing Medicare Telehealth Services for Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics During Emergency PeriodA new provision is added under Section 1834(m) of the Social Security Act (42 USC 1395m(m)), enhancing payment for telehealth services furnished via a telecommunications system by a federally qualified health center (FQHC) or rural health clinic (RHC) during an “emergency period” notwithstanding that the FQHC or the RHC providing the telehealth service is not at the same location as the beneficiary.  Payment methods for FQHCs or RHCs that serve as distant sites shall be based on payment rates similar to the national average payment rates for comparable telehealth services under the physician fee schedule under section 1848.Temporary Waiver of Requirement for Face-to-Face Visits Between Home Dialysis Patients and PhysiciansAmended section 1395rr(b)(3)(B) to allow the Secretary of HHS to waive the requirement that individuals with end stage renal disease receiving home dialysis must receive certain periodic face-to-face (non-telehealth) clinical assessments in order to be eligible to receive end stage disease-related clinical assessments via telehealth. Use of Telehealth to Conduct Face-to-Face Encounter Prior to Recertification of Eligibility for Hospice Care During Emergency PeriodSection 1395f(a)(7)(D)(i) is amended to allow a hospice physician or hospice nurse practitioner during an “emergency period” to conduct a face-to-face encounter via telehealth to determine recertification for continued eligibility for hospice care.Encouraging Use of Telecommunications Systems for Home Health Services Furnished During Emergency PeriodDuring an emergency period, the Secretary of HHS shall consider ways to encourage the use of telecommunications systems.Improving Care Planning for Medicare Home Health ServicesCertain Medicare sections are expanded from being limited to the services of a physician to include services of nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and physician assistants that provide home health services.Adjustment of SequestrationA temporary suspension of Medicare sequestration put into effect during the period of May 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The Medicare programs under title XVIII of the Social Security Act shall be exempt from reduction under any sequestration order during the period.Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System Add-On Payment for COVID-19 Patients During Emergency PeriodThe Secretary of HHS will increase the weighting factor for coronavirus-diagnosed patients discharged during the emergency period. The weighting factor is used by the Secretary of HHS to reflect the relative hospital resources used with respect to discharges for a particular group compared to discharges within other groups.Increasing Access to Post-Acute Care During Emergency PeriodDuring the emergency period, the Secretary of HHS will waive the requirement that patients of inpatient rehabilitation facilities receive at least 15 hours of therapy per week.  For long-term care hospitals furnishing services during the emergency period, the Secretary of HHS will further waive discharge percent requirements and the general application of site neutral payment rates.Revising Payment Rates for Durable Medical Equipment Under the Medicare Program Through Duration of Emergency PeriodThe Secretary of HHS shall apply the transition rule, described in 42 C.F.R. § 414.210(g)(9)(iii), to items and services furnished in rural areas and noncontiguous areas as planned through December 31, 2020, and through the duration of the emergency period.  For areas other than rural and noncontiguous areas, the Secretary of HHS shall apply the transition rule described in 42 C.F.R. § 414.210(g)(9)(iv) through the remainder of the emergency period.Coverage of the COVID-19 Vaccine Under Part B of the Medicare Program Without Any Cost-SharingThe term “medical and other health services” is expanded to include “COVID-19 vaccine and administration.”  The deductible described in section 1395l(b) shall not apply with respect to a COVID-19 vaccine and its administration.Requiring Medicare Prescription Drug Plans and MA-PD Plans to Allow for Fills and Refills of Covered Part D Drugs for up to a 3-Month SupplyDuring the emergency period, a prescription drug plan or MA-PD plan shall permit a part D eligible individual reenrolled in such plan to obtain a single fill or refill the total day supply prescribed for such individual for a covered part D drug.Providing Home and Community-Based Services in Acute Care HospitalsThe prohibition that nothing in section 1395a allows the Secretary of HHS authorization to limit the amount of payment that may be made under a plan for home-and-community care is expanded to include home and community-based services, self-directed personal assistance services, or home and community-based attendant services.  The provision is also expanded to clarify that the section shall not be construed to prohibit receipt of any care or services specified in paragraph (1) in an acute care hospital, provided certain requirements are met.Clarification Regrading Uninsured Individuals The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, enacted last week, added subsection (ss) to section 1396a, which defined “uninsured individual” as those not described in section 1396a(a)(10)(A)(i) and not enrolled in certain health care programs. The CARES Act amends this definition to exclude subsection VIII if the individual is a resident of a state that does not furnish medical assistance as described.    Clarification Regarding Coverage of COVID-19 Testing ProductsThe Families First Coronavirus Response Act, enacted last week, added COVID-19 testing to section 1396d, which provides medical assistance payments under certain conditions. The CARES Act amends this section by removing the requirement that the in-vitro diagnostic products administered are approved, cleared, or authorized under sections 510(k), 513, 514, or 564 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.Amendment Relating to Reporting Requirements with Respect to Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory TestsThe CARES Act extends the dates by one year for the reporting periods in section 1395m-1(a)(1)(B).  The applicable prohibition that payment amounts determined under section 1395m-1 shall not result in a reduction in payments, as defined by the subsection, for a clinical diagnostic laboratory test is expanded to 2017 through 2024.   The applicable percentages used to determine the limits on reductions in payment defined in 1395m-1(b)(3)(A) are adjusted to include a new clause for 2021, which makes the new applicable percentage zero (0) for 2021.Expansion of Medicare Hospital Accelerated Payment Program During the COVID-19 Public Health EmergencyMandates that the Secretary of HHS expand the accelerated payment program to hospitals experiencing significant cash flow problems during the “emergency period.” Exception for Certain States from Enhanced FMAP Requirements Provides that states may receive the temporary increase of Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) (authorized under the Families First Act enacted last week) notwithstanding the requirement to not impose premiums on beneficiaries, for a period of 30 days.viii.  Subtitle E, Part I: Medicare ProvisionsExtension of Funding for Quality Measure Endorsement, Input, and SelectionThe Social Security Act is amended to increase the amount allotted for this fiscal year ending on October 1, 2020 from $4,830,000 to $20,000,000 and for the period beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending on November 30, 2020, the amount equal to the pro rata portion of $20,000,000. Extension of Funding Outreach and Assistance for Low-Income ProgramsThe amount allocated for state health insurance programs shall be $13,000,000 for this fiscal year. For the period beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending on November 30, 2020, the amount available will be equal to the pro rata portion of $13,000,000.The amount allocated for area agencies on aging shall be $7,500,000 for the fiscal year of 2020. For the period beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending on November 30, 2020, the amount available will be equal to the pro rata portion of $7,500,000.The amount allocated for aging and disability resource centers shall be $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. For the period beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending on November 30, 2020, the amount available will be equal to the pro rata portion of $5,000,000.The amount allocated for grant or contract with national center for benefits and outreach enrollment is now $12,000,000 for the 2020 fiscal year ending on October 1, 2020. For the period beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending on November 30, 2020, the amount available will be equal to the pro rata portion of $12,000,000.Subtitle E, Part II: Medicaid ProvisionsExtension of the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration ProgramThe Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 section 6071(h)(1)(G) is amended to allocate $337,500,000 for the period beginning on January 1, 2020 and ending on September 30, 2020. For the period beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending on November 30, 2020, the amount available will be equal to the pro rata portion of $337,500,000.Extension of Spousal Impoverishment ProtectionsExtends the protections through November 30, 2020.Allows the State to disregard the income of a spouse and conduct an analysis solely on an individual’s eligibility for medical assistance on the basis of reduction of income.Delay of DSH ReductionsThis section removes the $4 billion DSH reductions for federal fiscal year 2020 and delays the cuts from taking effect December 1, 2020. Extension and Expansion of Community Mental Health Services Demonstration ProgramExpands the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014.According to this section not later than 6 months after the date of enactment, the Secretary shall select two states, in addition to the eight States already listed, to participate in two-year demonstration programs that meet the requirements of this subsection.The requirements are states that:Were awarded planning grants, Applied to participate in the demonstration programs under this subsection but were not selectedThe Secretary shall use the results of its evaluation of the state’s original application and shall not require the submission of any additional application.If a state is selected it is required to: Submit a plan to monitor certified community behavioral health clinics under the demonstration program to ensure compliance with certified community behavioral health criteria during the demonstration period; and Commit to collecting data, notifying the Secretary of any planned changes that would deviate from the prospective payment system methodology outlined in the state’s demonstration application, and obtaining approval from the Secretary of any such change before implementing change.The Federal matching percentage applicable to amounts expended by states participating in the demonstration program under this subsection shall apply to amounts expended by the state during the fiscal period that begins on January 1, 2020 if the state was participating in the demonstration program as of January 1, 2020 and shall apply to amount expensed by the state during the first fiscal period the state participates if the state was selected pursuant to the expansion. Subtitle E, Part III: Human Services and Other Health ProgramsExtension of Sexual Risk Avoidance Education ProgramSection 510 of the Social Security Act is amended to extend the time through 2020 instead of ending in May 22, 2020 and to change the fiscal year to 2021. Extension of Demonstration Projects to Address Health Professions Work-Force NeedsActivities authorized by section 2008 of the Social Security Act shall continue through November 30, 2020. Extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program and Related ProgramsActivities authorized by part 1 of title IV and section 1108(b) of the Social Security Act shall continue through November 30, 2020. Subtitle E, Part IV: Public Health ProvisionsExtension for Community Health Centers, the National Health Service Corps, and Teaching Health Centers that Operate GME ProgramsThe amount allocated for community health centers under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is increased to $4,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and $668,493,151 for the period beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending on November 30, 2020.The amount allocated for the National Health Service Corps is now $310,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and $51,808,219 for the period beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending in November 30, 2020.The amount allocated for teaching health centers that operate graduate medical education programs now extends through fiscal year 2020 and $21,141,096 is allocated for the period beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending on November 30, 2020.Diabetes ProgramsThe amount allocated under the Public Health Service Act for Type I will extend through the fiscal year of 2020 and $25,068,493 will be allocated for the period beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending on November 30, 2020.The amount allocated under the Public Health Services Act for Indians will extend through the 2020 fiscal year and $25,068,493 will be allocated for the period beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending on November 30, 2020.xii. Subtitle F, Part I: Over-the-Counter DrugsAmends Chapter V of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) to insert a new section regulating certain nonprescription drugs that are marketed without an approved drug application under section 505 of the FD&C Act.  This new section primarily achieves two goals: (1) reforms the regulatory process for over-the-counter (OTC) drug approvals permitting the FDA more flexibility to make changes administratively, rather than through the time-consuming full notice and comment rulemaking process; and (2) incentivizes pharmaceutical companies to research and manufacture innovative drug products by providing an 18-month market-exclusivity period to reward investments for new OTC drugs.Amends Section 502 of the FD&C Act, to clarify that an OTC drug which does not comply with the requirements of its OTC monograph, which is essentially an approved recipe for a drug product, is considered misbranded.  The FD&C Act prohibits the introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce.Clarifies that nothing in the CARES Act will apply to drugs previously excluded by the FDA from the Over-the-Counter Drug Review under the original 1972 Federal Register document.Clarifies that sponsors of sunscreen ingredients with pending orders have the option to see review in accordance with the Sunscreen Innovation Act (SIA) or to see review under the new monograph review process.  The election must be made within 180 calendar days of the date of enactment of the CARES Act. Provides an annual procedure to update Congress on the appropriate pediatric indication for certain OTC cough and cold drugs for children under the age of six.  The evaluation consists of conditions under which nonprescription drugs are generally recognized as safe and effective.Makes technical corrections to the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-52).xiii. Subtitle F, Part II: User FeesDeclares that the fees paid pursuant to this section will be dedicated to FDA review of over-the-counter monograph drugs as set forth in the goals section and in letters from the Secretary of HHS to certain congressional committees.Establishes a new FDA user fee to allow the agency to hire additional staff members to ensure there is adequate agency oversight to approve changes to OTC drugs.Title IV – Economic Stabilization and Assistance to Severely Distressed Sectors of the United States Economy      Foley Title IV Contact: Christopher SwiftTitle IV of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act provides the Secretary of the Treasury with the authority to make loans or loan guarantees to states, municipalities, and eligible businesses and loosens a variety of regulations created in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, and others.ii.Subtitle A – Coronavirus Stabilization Act of 2020Emergency Relief and Taxpayer ProtectionsThe Act authorizes the Treasury Secretary to make up to $500 billion worth of loans and loan guarantees to eligible businesses, states, and municipalities. The term “eligible business” includes passenger air carriers or any other business that has not already received adequate economic relief in the form of loans or loan guarantees under other provisions of the Act. The Act reserves $46 billion to support passenger air carriers, air cargo carriers, and businesses important to maintaining national security. The Act establishes a $454 billion credit facility for Federal Reserve programs designed to support lending to eligible businesses, states, and municipalities. This program contemplates various loans and loan guarantees for distressed businesses.Businesses that receive loans through these Federal Reserve programs are prohibited from paying dividends or repurchasing stock (or other outstanding equity interests) while the loan or loan guarantee is outstanding, as well as for the 12 months following repayment. These businesses are subject to the same employee compensation restrictions as listed for air carriers, air cargo carriers, and businesses deemed important to maintaining national security. Although the Treasury Secretary can waive these restrictions, he must identify and explain the rationale for such waivers in testimony before Congress.Businesses that receive loans or loan guarantees through these Federal Reserve programs can only make loans (or other advances) to business that are incorporated in the United States. Transfers to subsidiaries and affiliates incorporated outside the United States are prohibited.The Act directs the Treasury Secretary to establish a program to provide low-interest loans for eligible businesses (including nonprofit organizations) with between 500 and 10,000 employees. Although these loans will require no repayment for at least six months, businesses and non-profit organizations seeking this support must provide a good-faith certification that they meet the following criteria:The company intends to maintain at least 90 percent of their current workforce;The company will not pay dividends or repurchase stock (or other equity securities);The company will not outsource or offshore jobs during the loan period or two years thereafter;The company will not abrogate existing collective bargaining agreements with labor unions; and The company will remain neutral regarding current or future union organizing activity.Limitation on Certain Employee CompensationThe Act also imposes certain compensation caps for officers and employees at companies  receiving loans or loan guarantees.  Under these caps, officers or employees that received $425,000 or more in total compensation in 2019 will have their future compensation capped at the amount they received that year.  This cap applies while the loan or loan guarantee is in effect, as well as to the 12 consecutive months after the loan or loan guarantee is no longer outstanding. The same restriction also applies to severance payments or other compensation received upon termination from businesses participating on the loan and loan guarantee programs.Additional caps apply for officers and employees whose total compensation exceeded $3,000,000 in 2019.  Under the Act, these individuals may receive compensation up to $3,000,000 plus 50 percent of the excess over $3,000,000 of the total compensation received by the officer or employee in 2019. For example, an officer or employee whose total 2019 compensation was $3,000,010 would be restricted to total compensation of $3,000,005 in subsequent years. Like the lower cap discussed above, this restriction applies while the loan or loan guarantee is in effect, as well as to the 12 consecutive months after the loan or loan guarantee is no longer outstanding.Continuation of Certain Air ServicesThe Secretary of Transportation may require any air carrier receiving loans or loan guarantees under Section 4003 to maintain scheduled air transportation services as the Secretary deems necessary to maintain service to any destination the carrier served before March 1, 2020. The Secretary of Transportation is to consider the needs of “small and remote communities” and “health care and pharmaceutical supply chains” when enforcing this portion of the Act.Suspension of Certain Aviation Excise TaxesThe Act suspends the imposition of aviation excise taxes as otherwise required under the Internal Revenue Code through December 31, 2020.Debt Guarantee AuthorityIn order to backstop solvent depository institutions, it appears that the CARES ACT allows the FDIC to establish a program to insure these institutions without regard to a maximum amount.  All such guarantees are to last at least until December 31, 2020.Temporary Government in the Sunshine Act ReliefIn the event that unusual and exigent circumstances continue to exist, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System may conduct meetings with less restrictive and formal meeting notification and record-keeping requirements until December 31, 2020.  Temporary Hiring FlexibilityWithout regard to certain statutory hiring requirements, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Securities Exchange Commission are given flexibility to recruit and appoint candidates for temporary and term appointments as necessary to prevent, prepare for, or respond to COVID-19 during the “covered period” of the CARES Act.Temporary Lending Limit WaiverEnlarges exception to requirement on the maximum amount of loans and extensions of credit by a national banking association to include a nonbank financial company (as defined in Section 102 of the Financial Stability Act of 2010) and allows the Comptroller o

The Pearl River is falling, but the effects of the flooding still remain. We check with local officials on how to stay safe in the aftermath.And, Entergy Mississippi shares steps on restoring power in flood-affected areas.Then, after a Southern Remedy Health Minute, a look at how the Department of Human Services shielded information in years leading up the alleged embezzlement scheme. Segment 1:The Pearl River in Jackson has fallen below major flood levels, but waters from the weekend flooding remain in some areas. Health officials are advising Mississippians to take caution when negotiating flood waters, and the dangers hidden within. Dr. Thomas Dobbs is the state health officer. He tells us the waters can be dangerous and can make you vulnerable to infectious diseases, chemical hazards, and injuries. Another ancillary effect of the recent flooding is the temporary displacement of wildlife that inhabit areas along the river. Russ Walsh is the Mississippi Wildlife Bureau Chief of Staff. He says white tail deer fleeing the affected areas might present a hazard, but the flooding should not have any long-term effects on the health of local wildlife.Segment 2:Roughly one thousand customers in the flood-worn neighborhoods along the Pearl River are without power. Entergy Mississippi strategically cut off power in affected areas as the waters posed a threat. Now, as residents begin to re-enter those neighborhoods, Entergy is working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Entergy's Mara Hartmann tells our Michael Guidry how customers can begins requesting service re-connections.Segment 3:Southern Remedy Health MinuteSegment 4:Seven embezzlement indictments tied to the Department of Human Services and a Mississippi non-profit this month drew national attention. The state auditor suspects an excess of four million dollars were stolen during the alleged scheme. But Mississippi Today Poverty Reporter Anna Wolfe says that DHS has been shielding information regarding Temporary Assistance for Need Family or TANF funds since as early as 2017. She shares more with our Michael Guidry. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today's show was recorded from the campus of NW Works for our conversation with Eric Walker, Vice President of NW Works and Melody Crossway, their Director of Mission & Programs. We talked about the history of NW Works, their mission and the people they serve. Eric told us about the importance of community partnerships with local businesses, industry and service organizations. Melody explained all the different types of programs and services the organization can offer to those same community members. Eric also explained the relationship between Firefly Cafe and NW Works. For more information about the cafe, visit their website: https://fireflycafebakery.com/ (I'll be hosting a meetup at the cafe later in February - stay tuned to the station's Facebook for more details: https://www.facebook.com/TheRiver953/) NW Works' programs and services are designed to meet the diverse needs of individuals who are 17 years of age or older and have long-term disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, mental health issues, physical challenges, traumatic brain injury, and hearing and vision impairments. They also work with those receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), veterans with disabilities, and those with other barriers to employment. NW Works, Inc. is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization that serves these under-served populations in Winchester, Frederick County, Clarke County, and other neighboring counties. The mission at NW Works is to enable adults with disabilities and individuals with significant barriers to employment to gain training and secure and sustain meaningful employment. For more information about the organization, visit their website: https://nwworks.com/ and follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NWWorks/ You can also support NW Works by donating items from their Amazon wish list - click here for that list.

Show Credit: WERA-FM, 96.7|Show Title: CHIP[ping] WIC According to the most recent data by the Census Bureau “Almost two-thirds (65 percent) of children, lived in households that participated in at least one or more of the following government aid programs: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Medicaid, and the National School Lunch Program.” So when the proposed fiscal government budget aims to cut important health and welfare programs that a majority of children in the US rely on, citizens and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle fought back. On the program today, Thomas Huelskoetter, Policy Analyst for the Health Policy team at the Center for American Progress.  His recent piece focuses on the major changes within the fiscal budget and how these proposed changes will impact families. Enlighten Me Wednesday 4-5p ET WERA-FM 96.7|@EnlightenMeWERA Enlighten Me is a newstalk program that aims to educate and inform. From historical perspectives to modern day stories, we will focus our attention on the issues that everyone deals with — be it policy, health, education, the economy, current events and race. Stories that might get a quick blurb in national news — We aim to uncover the deeper issue. And we’ll be sure to add a healthy dose of humor in the mix. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/enlighten-me/support

Indi Dutta-Gupta of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality's big idea for turning Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) into an effective recession-fighting tool. What to read: "Recession ready: Fiscal policies to stabilize the American economy" by Heather Boushey, Ryan Nunn, and Jay Shambaugh, Brookings "'If the goal was to get rid of poverty, we failed': the legacy of the 1996 welfare reform" by Dylan Matthews, Vox "The Legacy of the TANF Emergency Fund" by LaDonna Pavetti, Ph.D. "Why politicians should promise every American a job" by Matthews Yglesias, Vox Guest: Indi Dutta-Gupta (@IndivarD), Co-Executive Director at the Georgetown Center on Poverty & Inequality Host: Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Senior correspondent, Vox More to explore: Subscribe to Impeachment, Explained on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Casts, or your favorite podcast app to get stay updated on this story every week. About Vox Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Follow Us: Vox.com Facebook group: The Weeds **COME SEE THE WEEDS LIVE ON FRI., DECEMBER 18TH IN WASHINGTON D.C. (TICKETS HERE)** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1. USCIS updated Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, by removing receipt of a means-tested benefit to establish eligibility. 2. Individuals may still request a fee waiver if their documented annual household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or they demonstrate financial hardship. 3. The new policy is effective on Dec. 2.   Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver https://www.uscis.gov/i-912 Additional Information on Filing a Fee Waiver https://www.uscis.gov/feewaiver Eligibility https://www.uscis.gov/feewaiver#Eligibility What is a means-tested benefit? https://www.uscis.gov/feewaiver#meanstested How to show you are currently receiving a means-tested benefit https://www.uscis.gov/feewaiver#meanstested Federal Poverty Guidelines https://www.uscis.gov/i-912p Financial Hardship https://www.uscis.gov/feewaiver#financial_hardship How requesting a fee waiver affects your current immigration status https://www.uscis.gov/feewaiver#status uscitizenpod: USCIS Updates Fee Waiver Requirements (subtitled video of this podcast episode) Video posted October 28, 2019. http://bit.ly/I-912-2019 uscitizenpod: The USCIS N-400 and Fee Waivers (includes Fee Reduction) Video posted January 13, 2018. Available at http://bit.ly/I-912-2018 10/25/2019 USCIS Press Release I-912 Revised Criteria Provides Clarity for Demonstrating Eligibility https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-updates-fee-waiver-requirements WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has revised Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, by removing the means-tested benefit criteria that was previously used as a factor in determining whether an applicant was exempt from paying for filing fees or biometric services. Individuals may still request a fee waiver if their documented annual household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or they demonstrate financial hardship. A means-tested benefit is a public benefit—offered by federal, state, or local agencies—for which eligibility and amount considerations are based on a person’s income and resources. USCIS formerly considered Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and Supplemental Security Income during eligibility evaluations. USCIS has determined that receiving a means-based benefit is not an appropriate criteria in reviewing fee-waiver requests because income levels used to decide local assistance eligibility vary greatly from state to state. “USCIS relies on fees to cover the costs of adjudicating applications and petitions, implementing operational efforts, and ensuring the nation’s lawful immigration system is properly administered,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli. “USCIS waives hundreds of millions of dollars in fees annually. The revised fee waiver process will improve the integrity of the program and the quality and consistency of fee waiver approvals going forward. Providing clear direction to agency adjudicators for more uniform determinations will help us to uphold our mission of efficiently and fairly adjudicating immigration requests.” USCIS has estimated that the annual dollar amount of fee waivers increased from around $344.3 million in fiscal year 2016 to $367.9 million in FY 2017. In FY 2018, the estimated annual dollar amount of fee waivers USCIS granted was $293.5 million. Fee revenues account for more than 95% of the USCIS budget. Under the revised criteria, individuals may still request a fee waiver if: Their documented annual household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines; or They demonstrate financial hardship. However, USCIS will require applicants to complete Form I-912 and submit supporting documentation, including federal income tax transcripts. USCIS will not accept a letter stating the applicant is unable to afford filing fees or biometric services without a completed Form I-912. As of Dec. 2, those seeking a fee waiver must submit the 10/24/19 version of this form to request a waiver of a required fee for immigration benefits. After Dec. 2, USCIS will reject any Form I-912 with an edition date of 03/13/18 or earlier, a fee waiver request submitted with a letter, or documentation of receipt of means-tested benefit to show eligibility for a fee waiver. USCIS will adjudicate any fee waiver request postmarked before Dec. 2 under the previous policy, AFM 10.9, Waiver of Fees. The new form does not change the applications and petitions that are eligible for a fee waiver. For the list of eligible applications and petitions, see the Form I-912 Instructions. In addition, USCIS has updated policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to accompany this form revision. The updated policy guidance is effective on Dec. 2. For more information on USCIS and our programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), Instagram (/uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook (/uscis), and LinkedIn (/uscis).  

Government agencies work hard to help the people they serve, whether it’s helping individuals find jobs or improve family well-being. But despite best efforts, some participants still don’t succeed. What are some ways government agencies can improve services and ensure participants remain on the right track? In this episode, Kate Gualtieri, MDRC’s Director of Strategy, talks with MDRC Senior Fellow Melissa Wavelet, the former director of the Office of Performance and Strategic Outcomes in the Colorado Department of Human Services, about her experience implementing a variety of data-driven strategies that help city and state government agencies meet their goals and improve the lives of the people they serve. They also discuss Melissa’s work at MDRC on the TANF Data Collaborative, a new initiative sponsored by the Office of Family Assistance and the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in the federal Administration for Children and Families, created in an effort to accelerate the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) data for program improvement and evidence-building at the federal, state, and local levels.

Health and Welfare. In recognizing all persons' equal right to life, we call for the government's assurance of a robust safety net to stop preventable deaths and reduce affronts to human dignity due to inadequate nutrition, clothing, shelter, safety or health care. We also recognize that meaningful work according to a person's abilities is essential to human dignity, whether or not this work is remunerated by a market economy.We, therefore, support:Diverse efforts across this country to secure universal health care access, affordability and outcomes, including single-payer health initiatives, healthcare cooperatives, and hybrid systems at the state and national level.Maintenance of crucial federal programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (welfare), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or “food stamps”), housing initiatives, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Regular reform of these programs is essential, provided that they are not reduced without another adequate safety net being in place.Allowing states to experiment with alternative income support approaches, such as Universal Basic Income, as a replacement for the myriad means-tested programs currently in place.A health and welfare system that includes conscience protections for employers and charities that do not wish to participate in activities that contradict their sincerely held moral convictions.Assurance of a living minimum wage, calculated by the cost of raising a family on a single income in each given municipality, for all full-time workers.Retirement security for seniors through adequately-funded Social Security and other public pension systems.

On this episode of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by Eugene Craig III, a Republican strategist, former vice-chair of the Maryland Republican Party and grassroots activist.Defense Secretary James Mattis will retire at the end of February, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday night.The announcement comes shortly after the White House said the US would be withdrawing its troops from Syria, a move that came despite reported concerns among Pentagon officials. "General Jim Mattis will be retiring, with distinction, at the end of February, after having served my Administration as Secretary of Defense for the past two years," Trump tweeted in part. The Trump administration unveiled a plan today to force hundreds of thousands more Americans to hold jobs if they want to keep receiving food stamps, pursuing through executive powers what it could not achieve in Congress. What's the logic behind this plan? The country's food assistance program, which is run by the Agriculture Department (USDA), requires most adults without dependents to work if they collect food stamps for more than three months in a three-year period. But USDA regulations allow states to waive the requirement in areas with unemployment rates that are at least 20 percent greater than the national rate. These requirements were actually introduced during President Bill Clinton's administration as a part of his promise to end poverty as we knew it. The USDA is now proposing that states could waive the requirement only in areas where unemployment is above 7 percent. The current national unemployment rate stands at 3.7 percent. Helping poor families get into the workforce so they'd no longer need government aid was an admirable goal, and the new program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) did work for many families, but not all. As many low-income families have become more independent, many others have been left behind. Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his annual end-of-year press conference today, an event that I thought would have received - if not should have received - greater attention and analysis in this country than it has, at least from what I have been able to discern. President Putin emphasized that Russia is not interested in an arms race: "Generally, this is simply an element of containing and evening parties in the strategic balance. This is what it is. This means keeping parity and nothing more than that …We do not seek advantages, but we keep the balance and ensure our security … in actual fact, today we observe the disintegration of the international system of armaments and arms race containment." Putin hopes mankind will have enough common sense to prevent another world war from ever happening. He has said he regrets the growing global tendency of underestimating the risks of a nuclear war. Putin also warned that terrorists could spill over from Syria to other countries. "There is a danger that [terrorists] and groups akin to them could spill over to neighboring regions, such as Afghanistan, and also to other countries, including their origin," the Russian leader said. "That is a major threat for all of us."GUESTS:Eugene Craig III — Republican strategist, former vice-chair of the Maryland Republican Party and grassroots activist.Ray McGovern — Former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Peace.

A couple of years ago, Governor John Kasich advanced a bold new approach to TANF when he asked the Workforce Boards of Ohio to partner with the Job and Family Services JFS) Departments, combining WIOA Youth funding with TANF funding to invent a new approach for youth (14-24 year olds).  The program is Comprehensive Case Management Employment Program (CCMEP).  Hamilton County JFS procured provider services for CCMEP and the Talbert House agency partnered with Community Action Agency, Easterseals and the Urban League, all serving in Cincinnati and Hamilton County to deliver these bold new services.  Sherry Kelley Marshall, President&CEO of the Southwest Ohio Region Workforce Investment Board joined Doug Foresta with partner representatives to discuss CCMEP and share insights on the program, the customers and progress for success in implementation:  Bonita Woods, JFS Cincinnati/Hamilton County, Employee Services Supervisor; Benita Spraggins, Director - Community Link/Talbert House; Erica Fears, CCMEP Associate Director/Talbert House. Teaser for E:11: Sherry Kelley Marshall, President&CEO of the Southwest Ohio Region Workforce Investment Board, started a “Mind/Shift” discussion for the local area when the Comprehensive Case Management Program began implementation and is now trying to influence a change in use of language when serving youth and other disadvantaged customers.  One of the most important language shifts among many that Marshall advocates is changing CCMEP to Comprehensive Customer Management or Motivation to Employment Program – seeing as how many individuals don’t see themselves as “cases” and don’t like hearing others see them as “cases”.  Check out the E:11 Podcast in January 2019 for more on her advocacy for a “language mind/shift” to lift people through the words used to serve them.

If you want to know DC as more than the nation's capitol, check out Power Station's conversation with Ed Lazere. Ed is a champion of racial and economic equity for DC residents and neighborhoods. As executive director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, he has mastered the formula for influencing the City's legislative and budget making process. He and his team of nine, use research and data analysis to shape their advocacy around the issues that are most  crucial to low-income DC residents: affordable housing, quality schools, economic development, jobs, training and health care. Ed talks to Power Station about navigating relationships with DC's city council members, working in collaboration with nonprofit partners, and engaging DC residents in speaking out about the issues that affect their daily lives. Ed tells all about Initiative 77, a recent DC ballot measure about tipped wage earners, with an unexpected outcome. It is just one example of why having a voice is the city's policymaking process is essential. Whether the conversation is about the Earned Income Tax Credit or removing time limits for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, DCFPI is a force to be reckoned with.       

How are states and local systems serving refugees through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA)? What innovative strategies are being used to coordinate services and help refugees obtain employment? Listen to this interview with Sam Elkin, a researcher for a new OPRE study exploring these questions and more! Find the study Understanding the Intersection Between TANF and Refugee Cash Assistance and the related briefs at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre. Find more information about META at www.METASupport.org

Alex is Getting Brief Mode is Coming This is an experimental feature not available everywhere. Settings > Alexa Voice Response (at the very bottom) Alexa Can Fart On Command Just say, "Alexa Fart." Yep, this should be a big hit with the kids. Taking Another Look At Alexa Routines Launch the Amazon Alexa app on your phone, tap the hamburger and select Routines. Routines can be triggered by a phrase, or set to turn on at a specific time (repeat options for multiple days are available).  Then you put in what you want her to do (so it's a big if this then that statement For me I say, "Alexa, kill the lights," and all of my smart lights go out and she tells me the weather (as I plan on using this when I get ready to leave). I did find I couldn't use it with things that she already had built in. For example, "Alexa, I'm outa here" already had a built-in response.  There are other ways I could do this. I could assign the lights to a room and ask her to turn of a room or scene. You can also have her tell you the traffic and news.  Alexa Owners Get a Discount on TuneIn Live Alexa customers in the U.S. TuneIn Live, as the premium live audio subscription is called, will offer play-by-play calls from thousands of live sporting events, plus access to premium news stations, talk shows and other content. The subscription content comes from TuneIn partners like MLB, NBA, NHL, and the NFL, as well as news stations like CNBC, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, Newsy, and others. he broader TuneIn service also pulls in content from over 120,000 owned and operated as well as partner radio stations, and 5.7 million on-demand programs The skill can be enabled on Alexa device with the command, “Alexa, open TuneIn Live.” TuneIn Live is available as of today, Major League Baseball’s 2018 Opening Day. This isn't the first time there has been a discount applied to Alexa users. The Amazon Music Unlimited Echo Plan lets Amazon Echo owners access all the benefits from Amazon’s on-demand music service on a single Echo device for $3.99 per month, instead of $7.99 per month for Prime members, or $9.99 per month for non-Prime members. When you open the skill, try asking Alexa: - Play the Yankees game - What games are on? - Listen to the Golden State Warriors - Turn on MSNBC Speaking of Discounts, there is a discounted version of Prime  Amazon announced this morning it will offer a low-cost version of its Prime membership program to qualifying recipients of Medicaid. The program will bring the cost of Prime down from the usual $10.99 per month to about half that, at $5.99 per month, while still offering the full range of Prime perks, including free, two-day shipping on millions of products, Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Photos, Prime Reading, Prime Now, Audible Channels, and more. The new program is an expansion on Amazon’s discounted Prime service for customers on government assistance, launched in June 2017. For the same price of $5.99 per month, Amazon offers Prime memberships to any U.S. customer with a valid EBT card – the card that’s used to disburse funds for assistance programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program (WIC).