Financing Policies and Practices that Support Permanency for Youth Transitioning Out of Foster Care

This strategy brief is one of a series of briefs exploring strategies for financing supports and services that help foster youth make successful transitions to adulthood. It was written by The Finance Project with support from the Foster Care Work Group. The Foster Care Work Group (FCWG) is one of three work groups of the Youth Transition Funders Group (YTFG), a collaboration of foundation leaders dedicated to improving the lives of the nation's most vulnerable young people. Foundation leaders participating in the YTFG are committed to achieving a common vision -- ensuring that vulnerable youth are connected by age 25 to institutions and support systems that will enable them to succeed throughout adulthood. The FCWG brings together foundation leaders with a shared interest in preparing youth in foster care for their transition out of the child welfare system and providing them pathways to lifelong economic well-being

Connected by 25: Financing Policies and Practices that Support Permanency For Youth Transitioning Out of Foster Care

In an effort to strengthen philanthropic investments among its membership, the Youth Transition Funders Group (YTFG) asked a group of policy experts to provide recommendations on how foundations can work to encourage effective policy solutions on issues affecting youth in transition to adulthood. The primary challenge was to think beyond the systemic silos that so deeply shape the services and expectations of youth and move towards an overall framework that could produce improved outcomes. YTFG's work is based on the Connected by 25 framework, in which all youth reach the following outcomes by age 25:Educational achievement in preparation for career and community participation, including a high school diploma, post-secondary degree, and/or vocational certificate trainingGainful employment and/or access to career training to achieve life-long economic successConnections to a positive support system -- namely, guidance from family members and caring adults, as well as access to health, counseling, and mental health servicesThe ability to be a responsible and nurturing parentThe capacity to be actively engaged in the civic life of one's communityThis issue brief offers a summary of those recommendations, focusing on four primary transition points that often threaten the ability for youth to be connected by age 25 to the institutions and support systems that help them succeed throughout life

N.C. Medicaid Reform: A Bipartisan Path Forward

The North Carolina Medicaid program currently constitutes 32% of the state budget and provides insurance coverage to 18% of the state’s population. At the same time, 13% of North Carolinians remain uninsured, and even among the insured, significant health disparities persist across income, geography, education, and race. The Duke University Bass Connections Medicaid Reform project gathered to consider how North Carolina could use its limited Medicaid dollars more effectively to reduce the incidence of poor health, improve access to healthcare, and reduce budgetary pressures on the state’s taxpayers. This report is submitted to North Carolina’s policymakers and citizens. It assesses the current Medicaid landscape in North Carolina, and it offers recommendations to North Carolina policymakers concerning: (1) the construction of Medicaid Managed Care markets, (2) the potential and dangers of instituting consumer-driven financial incentives in Medicaid benefits, (3) special hotspotting strategies to address the needs and escalating costs of Medicaid\u27s high-utilizers and dual-eligibles, (4) the emerging benefits of pursuing telemedicine and associated reforms to reimbursement, regulation, and Graduate Medical Education programs that could fuel telemedicine solutions to improve access and delivery. The NC Medicaid Reform Advisory Team includes: Deanna Befus, Duke School of Nursing, PhD ‘17Madhulika Vulimiri, Duke Sanford School of Public Policy, MPP ‘18Patrick O’Shea, UNC School of Medicine/Fuqua School of Business, MD/MBA \u2717Shanna Rifkin, Duke Law School, JD ‘17Trey Sinyard, Duke School of Medicine/Fuqua School of Business, MD/MBA \u2717Brandon Yan, Duke Public Policy, BA \u2718Brooke Bekoff, UNC Political Science, BA \u2719Graeme Peterson, Duke Public Policy, BA ‘17Haley Hedrick, Duke Psychology, BS ‘19Jackie Lin, Duke Biology, BS \u2718Kushal Kadakia, Duke Biology and Public Policy, BS ‘19Leah Yao, Duke Psychology, BS ‘19Shivani Shah, Duke Biology and Public Policy, BS ‘18Sonia Hernandez, Duke Economics, BS \u2719Riley Herrmann, Duke Public Policy, BA \u271

Fulfilling the Vision of Jessie Ball duPont: 2012 Annual Report

This annual report details the activities of the Jessie Ball duPont fund, including:Mission & ValuesLetter from President & Chair2012 Highlights2012 GrantmakingCelebration of 35 YearsTrustees and Staf

State Implementation of National Health Reform: Harnessing Federal Resources to Meet State Policy Goals

Discusses state options for maximizing coverage and access to care; reforming the health insurance market; holding insurers accountable for high-quality, affordable coverage; restructuring healthcare delivery and financing; and cutting budget deficits

Federal Aid to the States: Historical Cause of Government Growth and Bureaucracy

In recent years, members of Congress have inserted thousands of pork-barrel spending projects into bills to reward interests in their home states. But such parochial pork is only a small part of a broader problem of rising federal spending on traditionally state and local activities. Federal spending on aid to the states increased from $286 billion in fiscal 2000 to an estimated$449 billion in fiscal 2007 and is the third-largest item in the federal budget after Social Security and national defense. The number of different aid programs for the states soared from 463 in 1990, to 653 in 2000, to 814 by 2006. The theory behind aid to the states is that federal policymakers can design and operate programs in the national interest to efficiently solve local problems. In practice, most federal politicians are not inclined to pursue broad, national goals; they are consumed by the competitive scramble to secure subsidies for their states. At the same time, federal aid stimulates overspending by the states, requires large bureaucracies to administer, and comes with a web of complex regulations that limit state flexibility. At all levels of the aid system, the focus is on spending and regulations, not on delivering quality services. And by involving all levels of government in just about every policy area, the aid system creates a lack of accountability. When every government is responsible for an activity, no government is responsible, as was evident in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The failings of federal aid have long been recognized, but reforms and cuts have not been pursued for years. Aid has spawned a web of interlocking interests that block reform, including elected officials at three levels of government, armies of government employees, and thousands of trade associations representing the recipients of aid. Yet the system desperately needs to be scaled back, not least because the rising costs of federal programs for the elderly are putting a squeeze on the federal budget. To help spur reform, this study examines the historical growth of the aid system and describes its failings. Congress should reconsider the need for aid and begin terminating activities that could be better performed by state and local governments and the private sector

Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing and Civic Engagement in New Mexico

Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing and Civic Engagement in New Mexico by Lisa Ranghelli looks at 2003-2007 data from 14 New Mexico nonprofits, which shows high return on investments and successful policy changes that benefit New Mexicans, such as anti-predatory lending laws, minimum wage increases and homeless trust funds

The Status of Women in the South

The southern United States is a dynamic and influential region marked by innovation and economic opportunities for women, yet also a region where inequalities persist and many women -- especially women of color and those who are immigrants -- face challenges such as high unemployment, a large gender wage gap, abuse of their reproductive rights, and low levels of political representation. This complex picture of the South as a region where both opportunities and disparities exist is often lost by those who either romanticize the South's positive qualities or exaggerate its negative aspects. Between these two views of the southern United States -- both of which are at least partially based in reality -- this report relies on empirical data to provide a balanced understanding of the status of women in the South today

The State of Black Male Commissions: A Survey

Drawn from a broad research scan and interviews with key leaders, this survey documents the practices, strategies, and achievements of the black male commissions, government agencies created to improve the status and well-being of black men and boys

The Next Stage for Social Policy: Encouraging Work and Family Formation Among Low-Income Men

Examines proposals to create work incentives for less-educated young men by changing the Earned Income Tax Credit for the childless into an individual work credit and reducing the marriage penalty. Simulates each proposal's effects, with cost estimates