The Coalition for Juvenile Justice Calls for More Strategic use of Federal JJ Funds

The Coalition for Juvenile Justice, a network of state’s advisory groups, has responded to President Obama’s budget which consolidates Title II and JABG funds into a new bucket called Juvenile Justice System Incentive Grants.  While supporting the positives of the incentive grant approach – and there are some – CJJ suggests using that pot of fund to create a two-tier system in which Tier I funds support on-going core compliance work and Tier II funds would be available to states as incentives to promote other reforms, assuming they are in compliance.  While the overall funding level is of concern, this CJJ suggestion seems to be a positive alternative that solves some of the concerns that relying on incentive grants alone could result in state’s backing out of or being unable to provide the core compliance work that is critical to sustain several decades of change.

Deadline Looms for Debt Restructuring Option in Budget Repair Bill

Without a Deal Early This Week, Window Will Close for $165 Million Short-term Savings

As a recent Wisconsin Budge Project Blog post noted, one of the relatively easy ways to close the projected $137 million budget shortfall in the 2010-11 fiscal year is to restructure some state debt. That maneuver, which is part of Governor Walker’s recommendations in the “budget repair bill,” would increase interest payments on state debt by $42 million over the next decade, but would save the state $165 million in the current fiscal year. However, a Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) memo has confirmed that the Legislature is rapidly running out of time to accomplish the debt restructuring.

Read more in the blog post Saturday by the Wisconsin Budget Project.

Jon Peacock

The Obama Budget and Juvenile Justice Funding – II

While Congress struggles with continuing resolutions and cuts related to the current fiscal year’s budget, as mentioned in a blog posting last week, the Obama FY 2012 budget proposal reduces and alters funding for some of the traditional Formula and JABG juvenile justice grants. Until some basic questions get answered about how funds would be awarded, it is unclear whether or not this proposal will strengthen or weaken progress toward juvenile justice reform. For example:
• If there is no “guarantee” of funding (e.g. Formula or JABG funds) to states, even if in compliance, what is the incentive for a state to be in compliance?
• Can these new incentive grant funds be used to support compliance monitoring activities? If not, how will financially-strapped states find the resources to remain in compliance? If so, with a reduced amount of funding overall what will be left over for actual program improvements?
• Given the current fiscal and political climate, does configuring juvenile justice funds in this way increase the likelihood that at least some level of federal support for system reform can be maintained?

Although the overall allocation reductions can only hurt system reform efforts, I think it is too soon to take sides in whether this proposal makes sense in the long run. Stay tuned.

A Study in Contrasts: Federal Proposals for Child Care and Head Start

1. House proposed big cuts: On February 11 House leadership released the FY 2011 Continuing Resolution/appropriations bill they are bringing to the floor. The House bill would cut Head Start by $1.083 billion (from FY 2010) and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) by $39 million. The Head Start and child care cuts would result in 218,000 children losing Head Start and 150,000 children losing child care.

2. President proposes big increases: Meanwhile, the President also released its FY 2012 budget. The budget recognizes the importance of early learning to helping children succeed and parents work and includes increases in funding for early childhood. Its increases for child care and Head Start would basically allow the children served by ARRA to continue to receive services with some additional funding to strengthen the quality of child care in a potential CCDBG reauthorization. The FY 2012 budget includes: A $1.3 billion increase for CCDBG, and a $866 million increase for Head Start and Early Head Start. Head Start would serve an estimated 968,000 children.

These dueling proposals highlight the wide gap between the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the President. We are almost certainly heading toward a showdown at the O.K. Coral on both the 2011 and 2012 budgets. Stay tuned.

Obama Proposes Changes in Juvenile Justice Funding

In the just-released federal budget proposal, President Obama is proposing the creation of a $120 million Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant program that would be available to states that are in compliance with the JJDPA core requirements to compete for. A story in Youth Today outlines a plan to combine funds formerly in the JABG and Title II Formula grant categories into this new “race to the top” style program.  So, this could mean the end of JABG grants and no guarantee of formula funds coming into Wisconsin – although Wisconsin has made good progress both on compliance in general and moving toward more evidence-based and community-based programming that seems to be at the heart of the incentive plan.  Watch what happens as the budget proceeds! (Note: the story seems to group Wisconsin in with other states as being "routinely out of compliance" - yet Wisconsin really has been out of compliance in only one requirement for one year in the past 9 years - perhaps a bit of journalistic license gone too far!).

What will the Governor’s Budget tell us, if Anything, About Consolidating JCIs?

It’s been another 7+ months since the issue of whether to consolidate Lincoln Hills School and Ethan Allen School has received much media attention – so, it’s been a quiet fall and winter – and one has to admire the commitment and patience of the many staff who await a decision, one way or the other, as they continue to pour their heart and soul into transforming kid’s lives.  A recent story in the Marshfield News Herald summarizes the challenges that staff have faced while the number of youth placed in JCIs has gone down and no decision has been made – and we will find out next week if the Governor’s budget includes a definitive decision on this topic. 

Attention to Beyond Scared Straight pushes states to suspend programs

The broadcasting of Beyond Scared Straight that raised the visibility of the program has led to both Maryland and California to suspend their programs pending further internal review.  Their action apparently follows some kind of notice from OJJDP that the programs featured in the A&E series may be in violation of JJDPA core requirements and could result in loss of federal juvenile justice funding.  In the category of “…things that make you go hmmmm?” one has to wonder why it’s only now, after airing on national television, that these questions arise; but, I suppose we’ll see what happens as they review the criteria and procedures used in the programs.  Maybe they’ve found a way to take kids into prisons that doesn’t violate JJDPA?  Or not!  

Health care reform act likely to save Wisconsin money – based on careful reading of Secretary Smith’s testimony

Catching up on some news from late last month, Wisconsin’s new Secretary of the Department of Health Services (DHS) testified at a January 26th hearing of the House Budget Committee, which is now chaired by Rep. Paul Ryan (R. WI).  Smith, who served as the national Medicaid Director for nearly 8 years during the Bush administration, was one of four witnesses who testified about the fiscal impacts of the health care reform law (aka, the Affordable Care Act or ACA).

A Journal Sentinel article by Guy Boulton does a great job of examining the Secretary’s testimony and explaining that the ACA’s net effect on Medicaid spending in Wisconsin is likely to be quite positive. By my calculations, which are based on figures in the Secretary’s testimony and on a conversation with him, Wisconsin is likely to save well over $500 million from 2014 through 2019.

Sebelius tells governors to follow the money, as she outlines strategies for Medicaid savings

On Thursday, February 3, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a letter to state governors outlining “flexibility and federal support available for Medicaid.” The letter doesn’t respond directly to the contention of GOP governors that they should be allowed to reduce eligibility standards. Instead, Sebelius explains the broad flexibility states already have, and she urges that they focus on the main cost drivers of Medicaid spending – services for the elderly, people with disabilities, and children and adults with chronic conditions.

All or nearly all states are struggling with deep deficits in their Medicaid budgets, as the Recovery Act’s enhanced federal funding for cost-sharing dries up. Unfortunately for states, that aid is ending well before their caseloads begin to drop or state revenue rebounds. As a result, many governors have been seeking increased flexibility to change their Medicaid programs, including the authority to reduce income limits and to tighten other financial and non-financial eligibility standards.

Supersizing the required votes for tax increases

Although lawmakers are facing a deficit in the upcoming biennium of well over $3 billion, many fiscal conservatives are intent on limiting the options for addressing Wisconsin’s budget challenges. Toward that end, the Governor recommended a Special Session bill that would require a two-thirds majority in each house of the Legislature to raise the rates for the sales, individual income, or corporate income taxes. That “supermajority” bill (Special Session AB 5) has been approved by the Assembly and is slated to come up for a vote Tuesday, Feb. 8, in the Senate.

The bill may be just the first in a series of measures to make Wisconsin follow in the footsteps of California’s constraints on legislative options. The next measure could be a more restrictive constitutional amendment, which was recently introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 8 and Assembly Joint Resolution 9.  A Wisconsin Budget Project Blog post today by Tamarine Cornelius examines both the bill and the constitutional amendment.

Read more in the WBP blog post.

Jon Peacock

A Closer Look at the Current Medicaid Deficit

In his State of the State address last night, Governor Walker reiterated that he will introduce a budget adjustment bill to close a deficit in the current fiscal year (2010-11). That budget hole results in part from a shortfall in funding for Medicaid and BadgerCare Plus. (We outlined other factors in Monday’s Budget Project Blog post.)

Last week when Walker first indicated he would propose a budget adjustment bill, he put the 2010-11 Medicaid deficit at $214 million. Fortunately, by Monday when the Legislative Fiscal Bureau released its report on the status of the state budget, the current Medicaid deficit had declined to $153 million. This blog post summarizes the factors affecting that deficit.