The CAFCA Brief UpdateCAFCA BRIEF UPDATE

June 2003

REMINDER:
CAFCA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING THIS FRIDAY, JUNE 20TH, 9:00-10:30.  Our program will feature Mary Simons giving an overview and demonstration of the various pages and features of the CAFCA web site and Peg Long describing an important member benefit regarding unemployment insurance.  The Membership/Communications Committee will meet 7:30-9:00 a.m. prior to the meeting, and the CTS Committee will meet from 10:30 a.m.- noon following the meeting.

“How to Prepare For and Respond to a Medicaid Audit,” presented by Linda Siderius, Esq., Monday, June 23, 2003, 5:00-6:00 p.m., 455 Sherman St., Denver, 1st floor building conference room.  Please RSVP so we know how many copies of the handouts to make.  Call 720-570-8402.

A FORUM ON THE FUTURE OF PRIVATE CHILD WELFARE SERVICES, co-hosted by CWLA and CAFCA, Monday, June 23, 2003, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., 455 Sherman St., Denver, 1st floor building conference room.  There will be a presentation followed by a facilitated discussion.  Cost is $5.00 for dinner.  PLEASE RSVP so we know how much food to buy and how many handouts to make.  Call 720-570-8402.

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2003-04 RTC RATES ANNOUNCED
CDHS announced its preliminary daily rate schedule for RTCs on June 17th.  Some additional tweaking will occur to make an adjustment for the county-only paid bed days that were included in the initial formula.  If you did not attend the RTC workgroup meeting on the 17th or did not receive a copy of the rate sheets, please contact Peg Long via e-mail to obtain your daily rate for 2003-04.  Peg will obtain an electronic copy of the revised rate schedule when it is completed and will e-mail it to all CAFCA member executive directors.

CAFCA COMMITTEE NEWS

FOSTER CARE COMMITTEE
On June 10, 2003, CAFCA CPAs hosted a lunch for counties to brainstorm about county needs, how to improve communications, and how to work together to better support the children and families we serve.  The group identified top priorities for county foster care, important types of foster care, and issues to address in the public-private sectors regarding foster care services.  The Committee’s efforts opened the door to better communication and a better understanding of county needs and challenges.  It also allowed them to develop the following joint strategies:
·       Recruitment – of all types of families
·       Training – both family and staff   - sharing training opportunities so can reduce cost to all (especially multilingual)
·       Support  - need to research different models of collaboration (i.e. pooling resources, Mental Health treatment)

Please contact Megan Aldritt, committee chair, (malldritt@catholiccharitiesden.com) to sign up for a group or to discuss further.  The next joint Lunch is scheduled for Tuesday August 19th 11:30 AM  - 1:00 PM at  455 Sherman St., 1st floor conference room.  The next Committee meeting is Thursday, July 10th, 10:00-11:30 a.m. at Adoption Alliance, 2121 S. Oneida, Suite 420, in Denver.

ADOPTION
On June 16, 2003, State Judicial issued its draft procedures and preliminary forms for implementation of the Voluntary Expedited Relinquishment Act.  Committee members have begun to review these and will provide feedback.   If you would like a copy to review, please contact either Virginia Appel, Committee Chair, or Mary Simons at CAFCA.  Next Committee meeting is Thursday, July 10th, 9:00-10:30 a.m. at the Adoption Alliance, 2121 S. Oneida, Suite 420, in Denver.  For more information, contact committee chair Virginia Appel at (303) 584-9900.

CTS
The Children’s Treatment Services committee members have been working on a response to the Medicaid Audits; a review of several RTC funding options, including the RTC Waiver and a transfer of the RTC budget to HCPF; RTC rates; and evaluation of the proposal to convert the federal Medicaid program to a block-grant program.  The next CTS Committee meeting is Friday, June 20th, 10:30 a.m.-noon, following the CAFCA General Membership meeting at 455 Sherman St., Denver, 1st floor building conference room.  For more information, contact committee chair Andrew Braun at (303) 639-1709.

PUBLIC POLICY
The Committee did not meet in June in order to give members a much-needed rest after an active legislative session.  Peg has sent all CAFCA members information about contacting assigned and other legislators to schedule visits and tours of member facilities.  If you did not receive this information, please contact Peg.  One item of note is that the Public Policy Committee will take on the planning and hosting of CAFCA’s annual Legislative Luncheon.  If you would like to join the committee, or just be involved in planning this important CAFCA event, contact Cyndi Dodds, committee chair, at (970) 669-7550.  The next Committee meeting is Tuesday, July 1, noon-2:00 p.m. at CAFCA, 5th floor conference room.

MEMBERSHIP/COMMUNICATIONS
The Membership/Communications Committee is gearing up to take on several projects, including planning the annual membership meeting, enhancing membership benefits and services, recommending changes to the CAFCA web site and developing marketing materials.  The next Committee meeting is Friday, June 20th, 7:30 a.m. –9:00 a.m., at 455 Sherman St., building conference room, just prior to the General Membership meeting.  For information, contact Derek Cortvriendt, (303) 421-4870.

ASSOCIATION NEWS

The Colorado Association of Family & Children’s Agencies hosted its annual education conference, “Staying on Track” at Regis University on May 16, 2003.  Many of the presenters came from CAFCA member agencies and did an outstanding job of sharing their expertise with attendees.  Congratulations to the following employees of CAFCA member agencies who were honored for their achievements in child welfare:

Educator: Jeremy Koselak, El Pueblo Boys’ and Girls’ Ranch
Foster Parent Family: Sister Michael Delores Allegri, Catholic Charities
Therapist: Valeria Varan, Court House, Inc.
Group Home Parent: Michelle Lampkin & team, Savio House
Foster Parent Family: Julie & Eusebio Ibarra, Lost & Found
Child Care Worker: Lori Poland, Family Tree
Child Care Worker: Bernard Hammond, Mt. St. Vincent Home
Education Team: Andrea Brown, Gina Hartley, Jerry Cooper, Hannah Ahlquist, Lori McClurg, Patty Chrisco, Luis Picaso, Kelly Kirchmar, Lisa McDonald, Julie LaSeir, Tad Deutsch, Aryn Gannaway, Sister Elizabeth Adams, Malena Spence, Sandy Gryzmala, Kelly Lechuga, Mt. St. Vincent Home
Education Team: Jim Mooney, Linnette Cruz, Julie Bellum, Meredith Albert, Valeria Varan, Court House, Inc.

The Association board has welcomed community board members Vikki Williams of Policy Studies, Inc. and Judge Chris Melonakis of Adams County District Court.  Joining the board in August will be Gary Roffe, President of Stephany’s Chocolates.  As many of you know, Stephany’s has donated the chocolate hearts for distribution to legislators as reminders of our annual legislative luncheon.  We are pleased to have such an outstanding group of board members representing the larger community. 

The Association is developing grant ideas for training and research projects.  If you have an idea for child welfare training or see the need for research in a particular area of child welfare, please contact Peg by phone or e-mail.

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

UPCOMING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (TA) CONFERENCE CALL
June 26, 2003 11:00 am – 12:30 pm MDT
Conference Call: Collaborating to Meet the Mental Health Needs of Children and Families in the Child Welfare System
The mental health needs of children and families involved with the child welfare system are great. The challenges to meeting their needs are equally as great. This call will discuss both needs and challenges. Presentations will be made by communities and states where child welfare and mental health systems collaborate, build on each system's strengths, tap into family and community resources, and share responsibility for expanding the availability and effectiveness of mental health services.
Register at http://wwwgeorgetown.edu/research/gucdc/tacalls.html

TABOR TRAINING
On Thursday June 26th and Friday morning June 27th, the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute is conducting a TABOR train-the-trainer session. This day and a half training is designed to provide participants with the tools and information they need to educate others in their organizations and communities about TABOR and its effects on the state.
The training will involve learning about the TABOR amendment itself; discovering consequences of TABOR, many of which were not envisioned at the time of passage; identifying sources of information about fiscal and budget issues; and practicing a TABOR presentation. Each trainer will leave with a resource notebook full of TABOR background information, overheads of the TABOR power point presentation and a copy, either on disc or CD, of the computerized power point presentation.
The cost of the training is $25.00, but we will provide scholarships to folks in need. We also provide lunch and refreshments. Participation is limited so RSVP before Friday June 20th. To RSVP please call 303-573-5669 ext. 303, email me the registration form at ccenter@cclponline.org/, fax registration form to 303-573-4947 or mail to 1490 Lafayette St. Suite 206, Denver Colorado 80218 ATTN: Kathy.

WHERE: Colorado Municipal League Building 1144 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado 80203
WHEN: June 26th 9-5 and June 27th 8:30-12:15
COST: $25.00

TABOR FROM STATE TREASURER’S PERSPECTIVE
Mike Coffman has begun to examine TABOR and related amendments.  You can view his analysis at: http://www.treasurer.state.co.us   In his analysis of this past legislative session, he states:

The legislature resorted to a number of accounting gimmicks to defer liabilities in order to shrink the deficit for this year. Their use allowed the legislature to make it appear that it had cut nearly $167 million, when in fact it really did not.  In addition, the legislature raided almost $366 million from cash and trust funds. The legislature's budget-balancing decision to appropriate heavily from the State Education Fund (SEF) has far-reaching implications. At the legislature's current rate of withdrawal, the SEF will become insolvent in 2006. Without a viable SEF, the increases in education spending required under Amendment 23 will exceed 9% per year, creating a fiscal train-wreck for the state's General Fund. In reality, the legislature approved less than $430 million in actual reductions to state program funding while trying to cover an almost $1 billion deficit. Such maneuvers are dangerous because while they permit the state technically to balance the books, cash keeps flowing out while no new revenues are received. If utilized too extensively, the state might literally run out of cash to pay its bills.

The legislature resorted to such measures largely because the majority of the general fund budget is either protected through constitutionally mandated annual increases, such as K-12 education, or by federal law as an entitlement program, like Medicaid, making 62% of the total budget untouchable. These mandated spending requirements exist irrespective of what happens to the economy and the state's revenue situation. Thus, if the legislature chose to balance the budget exclusively through cuts, it would have to cut the budgets of every other portion of state government by nearly 36%.

Please send your questions and comments by email to State Treasurer Mike Coffman at mike.coffman@state.co.us or by fax at (303) 866-2123. To place your name on this confidential email/fax list, please write "Add Name" in the subject line of your email, or call (303) 866-2441. To unsubscribe, write "Remove Name" in the subject line or call the number above.

Of Interest: The Consolidated Child Care Mental Health Pilots have established a listserve. If you would like to sign up for it do the following: send a message to: lyris@web.cde.state.co.us In subject line: subscribe cccpilots-pmh.

We would like to include news about events, activities, or information that would be of interest to CAFCA members in the CAFCA BRIEF UPDATE.  Please e-mail your news to:  Peg@cafca.net.