eNotes
June 24, 2016In this Issue:
- Federal Actions to Encourage Early Autism Identification and Intervention Source: Government Accountability Office (GAO) - June 20, 2016
- Guidance on the Every Student Succeeds Act - Children in Foster Care / Engaging Stakeholders Source: U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services - June 23, 2016
- Invitation to Comment - Preschool Pay for Success Feasibility Pilot Source: U.S. Department of Education - June 24, 2016
- Just Released! The 2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation - June 21, 2016
- Grant Notices - Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships Source: Office of Head Start - June 27, 2016
1. Federal Actions to Encourage Early Autism Identification and Intervention
Research has shown that early identification and intervention can greatly improve the development of a child with autism. A newly published GAO report, Federal Autism Activities: Agencies Are Encouraging Early Identification and Providing Services, and Recent Actions Could Improve Coordination (GAO-16-446) (May 2016), examines: (1) how federal agencies encourage early autism identification and interventions, (2) the intervention services provided by federal education and health care programs, and (3) steps federal agencies have taken to improve research coordination. The GAO believes improved cross-agency coordination is still needed.
- Full Report: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/677696.pdf
- Highlights: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/677366.pdf
2. Guidance on the Every Student Succeeds Act - Children in Foster Care / Engaging Stakeholders
The U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services have released guidance to states, school districts and child welfare agencies on new provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for supporting children in foster care. The U.S. Education of Department also has released a letter stressing the importance of meaningful stakeholder engagement as states and local school districts transition to the ESSA.
- Foster Care Guidance (June 23, 2016)
- Dear Colleague Letter on Foster Care Guidance (June 23, 2016)
- Dear Colleague Letter on Foster Care Timelines (June 23, 2016)
- Dear Colleague Letter on Stakeholder Engagement (June 23, 2016)
Additional guidance related to the ESSA is available at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/index.html.
3. Invitation to Comment - Preschool Pay for Success Feasibility Pilot
The U.S. Department of Education is inviting comments on a proposed information collection request related to Preschool Pay for Success Feasibility Pilot, a competition that seeks to award grants for feasibility studies to measure the viability of preschool Pay For Success (PFS) projects. The Department is interested in comments that help assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. Comments must be received by July 25, 2016. To learn more, see the Federal Register Notice.
4. Just Released! The 2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book
Since 1990 KIDS COUNT has examined trends and ranked states on child well-being across four domains: (1) Economic Well-Being, (2) Education, (3) Health and (4) Family and Community. 2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book (June 2016), presents both multiyear trends and data from 2014, the most recent year available. Some positive findings show that all child health indicators improved, teen birth rate reached an all-time low, and a smaller percentage of children were living with parents who lack a high school diploma. Nevertheless, despite tremendous gains in recent decades for children of all races and income levels, inequities among children remain deep and persistent. On nearly all measures, African-American, American Indian and Latino children continued to experience negative outcomes at rates that were higher than the national average in 2014. Additionally, despite the economic recovery, the child poverty rate remained at 22%, unchanged from the prior year.
5. Grant Notices - Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships
The second Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) for the Early Head Start (EHS) Expansion and Early Head Start-Child Care (EHS/CC) Partnerships have been posted online. The grants are meant to expand access to high-quality, comprehensive services to low-income infants and toddlers and their families.
Applications must be submitted by August 24, 2016. For more information, email EHS.CCPartnerships@acf.hhs.gov.