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Families Need More State Support In Adoptions, Committee Told

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By Brynna Sentel
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS—Ernie Shearer and his wife saw their plans of retiring and downsizing their lives change before their eyes when they adopted their four grandchildren who had been removed from their opioid-addicted son and his spouse.

Shearer shared the health and behavioral problems the children have experienced as he testified Wednesday before the Interim Study Committee on Public Health, Behavioral Health, and Human Services. He told his family’s story to urge lawmakers to provide adoptive parents with adequate subsidies to ease the transition of taking care of children with health and other issues.

“Our whole life got turned upside down,” Shearer said. “It wasn’t a hard decision to make. Before we even had the chance to make the decision we had it explained to us that if we didn’t take the children they would be split up and we probably wouldn’t see them again.”

The committee heard from witnesses who said that Indiana provides less support for adoptive families than other states.

“We should be doing everything possible to try to encourage adoptions and not making it more difficult,” Sen. David Niezgodski, D-South Bend, said. “These children have needs that need to be met, and it is our obligation to meet those needs.”

Adoptive parents have said that the Department of Child Services assesses their income and expenditures before determining what, if any, subsidies they should receive to care for children with health or behavior issues. They don’t consider the actual cost of caring for the children.

“Ordinary and special needs of a child is what DCS needs to focus on, not focusing on what the parents’ income is, not what they have in retirement,” said Kristi Cundiff, the founder, and CEO of Indiana Foster and Adoptive Parents Resources and Advocacy Group.

Cundiff characterized ordinary needs as being food, clothing, shelter, but children with a special need might need to be going to a psychiatrist. Therapy sessions, doctor visits, and special medications are not factored into the amount these parents should receive.

Niezgodski, who authored a bill in the prior legislative session, told the committee that subsidies after adoption should be at least 50% of what they were when the child was in foster care, adding that it could be as high as 100% of foster care subsidies.

Some of the committee members agreed that it would be less costly to provide adopting parents with more in subsidies than to continue to care for the child through the foster system.

“When a foster parent decides to adopt children they are doing it because they love those children obviously they want to take them in their homes and provide good lives for them,” Niezgodski said. “I believe that when loving parents are wanting to adopt that the needs of these children do not change and the natural ability of those parents don’t change.”

In the negotiation process of adopting a child through the foster care system, some parents accept lower subsidies than they believe is necessary out of fear of losing the child forever, or simply out of confusion according to several testimonies.

The committee passed a recommendation to enact legislation in the 2020 session to streamline and simplify the adoption of foster children and address the disparity between foster and adoption subsidies based on the best interest of the child.

FOOTNOTE: Brynna Sentel is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

Navigating Browning Genealogy

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ADOPT A PET

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Esther is a female brown tabby and is 3 years old. She is the mom of the “E” kittens, all of whom have been adopted. She’s currently adoptable at River Kitty Cat Café in downtown Evansville. Her adoption fee is $40 and includes her spay, microchip, vaccines, and more. Contact Vanderburgh Humane at (812) 426-2563 for adoption details!

 

EPA’s 2019 Children’s Health Month Highlights

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is celebrating the successful completion of Children’s Health Month 2019 after conducting a number of key activities that support the agency’s commitment to protecting children where they live, learn and play.

“I am proud of the work we continue to accomplish to protect children’s health across the country,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “From proposing the first revisions to the lead and copper rule in nearly three decades to announcing $10 million in funding to replace old school buses, the Trump Administration is making tremendous progress toward protecting the most vulnerable among us from environmental hazards.”

Throughout the month, EPA officials hosted on-the-ground events celebrating Children’s Health Month in all 10 regions. Key highlights from EPA’s actions include:

Proposed Lead and Copper Rule

As part of Children’s Health Month, EPA proposed an updated Lead and Copper Rulethat significantly improves the actions that water systems must take to reduce lead in the nation’s drinking water in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The agency’s proposal takes a proactive and holistic approach to improving the current rule – from testing to treatment to telling the public about the levels and risks of lead in drinking water. When finalized, this proposal will:

  • Require more water systems to act sooner to reduce lead levels and protect public health.
  • Improve transparency and communication.
  • Better protect children and the most at-risk communities.

https://us.vocuspr.com/Publish/518041/vcsPRAsset_518041_117103_a3f37f61-1f30-493d-baeb-c69b618e925d_0.jpg

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announces the proposed Lead and Copper Rule in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Enforcement Actions

EPA announced 117 federal enforcement actions completed over the last year to ensure entities like renovation contractors, landlords and property managers are in compliance with regulations that require them to protect communities and the public from exposures to lead.

Partnership to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposure at Schools and Childcare Facilities

EPA signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that provides a framework for a coordinated approach between more than a dozen critical partners across the federal government, tribes, water utilities and the public health community. The commitments of the MOU support the Lead Action Plan, which provides a blueprint for reducing lead exposure and associated harms by working with a range of stakeholders, including states, tribes and local communities, along with businesses, property owners and parents.

One existing effort that is further supported by this MOU is EPA’s 3Ts – training, testing and taking action – for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in School and Child Care Facilities.

Children’s Health Month PSA: Lead in Drinking Water Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0VxEte0vS8

DERA Grants

In FY 2019, EPA awarded more than $9 million in DERA funding for rebates to replace older diesel school buses with newer, cleaner vehicles. This month, EPA announced the availability of approximately $10 million in rebates to public school bus fleet owners to help them replace older school buses.

School buses travel over 4 billion miles each year, providing the safest transportation to and from school for more than 25 million American children every day. However, exhaust from diesel buses can harm health, especially in children, who have a faster breathing rate than adults and whose lungs are not yet fully developed. EPA has implemented standards to make newer diesel engines more than 90% cleaner, but many older diesel school buses are still operating. These older diesel engines emit large amounts of pollutants, including particulate matter, which is linked to instances of aggravated asthma, lung damage and other serious health problems.

Children’s Health Resources and Reports

Over the past month, EPA released the following reports:

 

ADOPT A PET

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Dixie is a female mixed-breed. Judging by her belly, she was likely was a momma dog multiple times in her life before coming to VHS. She was abandoned by her previous owner. Dixie can be nervous around men, but she really wants to learn that they are not scary! She gets along fine with dogs and cats. She is also heartworm positive, but VHS will treat her at no additional cost to her adopters. Her fee is $110 and includes her spay, microchip, vaccines, and heartworm treatment. Contact Vanderburgh Humane at (812) 426-2563 for adoption details!

Ernie Pyle: Hoosier War Correspondent

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EPA Updates Superfund National Priorities List, Advancing the Agency’s Commitment to Protect Human Health and Expedite Cleanups Across the Country

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the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is adding two sites and proposing to add five sites to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) where releases of contamination pose human health and environmental risks.

“Our commitment to communities with sites on the National Priorities List is that they are a true national priority,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Under the Trump Administration, EPA has a renewed focus on the Superfund program. We are taking action to clean up some of the nation’s most contaminated sites, protect the health of communities, and return contaminated land to safe and productive reuse for future generations.”

The following sites are being added to the NPL:

  • Arsenic Mine in Kent, N.Y.
  • Schroud Property in Chicago, Ill.

Before being added to the NPL, a site must meet the listing requirements and be proposed for addition to the list in the Federal Register, subject to a 60-day public comment period. The site will be added to the NPL if it continues to meet the listing requirements after the public comment period closes and the agency has responded to any comments.

The following sites are being proposed to the NPL:

  • Blades Groundwater in Blades, Del.
  • Clearwater Finishing in Clearwater, S.C.
  • Highway 100 and County Road 3 Groundwater Plume in St. Louis Park and Edina, Minn.
  • Henryetta Iron and Metal in Henryetta, Okla.
  • Caney Residential Yards in Caney, Kan.

The NPL includes the nation’s most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste releases. The list serves as EPA’s basis for prioritizing Superfund cleanup funding and enforcement actions. Only releases at sites included on the NPL are eligible to receive federal funding for long-term, permanent cleanup.

Superfund cleanups provide health and economic benefits to communities. The program is credited for significant reductions in birth defects and blood-lead levels among children living near sites, and research has shown residential property values increase up to 24% within 3 miles of sites after cleanup.

Redeveloped Superfund sites can generate substantial economic activity. Thanks to Superfund cleanups, previously blighted properties are now being used for a wide range of purposes, including retail businesses, office space, public parks, residences, warehouses and solar power generation. At 529 Superfund sites returned to productive use, 8,600 businesses operate with 195,000 employees earning more than $13 billion in annual income.

Community members are key partners at Superfund sites, and their early involvement leads to better cleanup decisions, including those about a site’s future use.

In September, EPA announced the Superfund Task Force’s completion and issued its final report outlining significant accomplishments at Superfund sites across the country over the past two years. The Task Force’s important work will continue under the Superfund Program and at all sites on the NPL. The agency will continue to prioritize expediting cleanups to protect people’s health and the environment.

For information about Superfund and the NPL:

ADOPT A PET

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Sugar Bear is a female tortoiseshell cat. She’s 4 years old. She’s one of those cats that isn’t thriving in the shelter setting – she gets overstimulated easily. She just wants to curl up on a lap in the peace & quiet, for goodness’ sake! Sugar Bear’s adoption fee is $40 and includes her spay, microchip, vaccines, and more. Contact Vanderburgh Humane at (812) 426-2563 for adoption details!

Commentary: The Strange Case Of The Disappearing Crisis

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By John Krull
TheStatehouseFile.com 

INDIANAPOLIS – The silence deafens.

Not long ago – just a few years ago, in fact – shouts from conservatives across the land filled the air. The federal government’s deficits were an ongoing crisis. The national debt was a disaster in waiting.

The threat was so serious that drastic measures were called for. Republicans in many states – including Indiana – said America needed a new constitutional convention. It was the sole way to save the day and the nation. Indiana even hosted a gathering for those calling for such a convention, one several Hoosier legislative leaders endorsed.

The problem, these doomsday prophets warned, was President Barack Obama’s health-care reforms. Those reforms were running such huge annual deficits that a smash-up was inevitable. The only way to avoid the cataclysm was to change the Constitution and tie the hands of both the president and Congress regarding the budget.

Then the election of 2016 happened.

Donald Trump lost the popular vote but pulled off the equivalent of an inside straight in the Electoral College to become president. Republicans also won the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.

The members of the GOP could set whatever budget priorities they chose, including trimming deficits and paying down the debt. They chose to make their top priority a massive tax cut that favored the very wealthy.

But the cries for a constitutional convention to deal with the debt and deficits dwindled, then died.

Was that because the problem went away?

Well, no.

In each of the three years, Donald Trump has been president, the deficit has been around $1.1 trillion. During the last four years of the Obama presidency – the years when the howls for the constitutional convention were the loudest – the federal budget deficits ranged from $438 billion to $679 billion. They declined in Obama’s second term when his healthcare reforms took effect.

These Trump deficits have occurred during a time of economic prosperity. As the president likes to boast, the stock market has set record after record. The job numbers indicate that the United States is operating close to what economists call full employment.

To be sure, the good news is not universal.

Wages for lower-income Americans haven’t kept pace with the growth of the economy. There’s also considerable evidence that part of the reason the job numbers are so good is that more and more people are working two or three jobs to keep their heads above water.

But, still, if things are going so well, there should be enough money available to bring the deficits down, right?

Again, no.

It appears to be a question of values.

Apparently, running up deficits to allow old people, children, sick people and poor people to buy luxuries such as insulin is wrong, wrong, wrong. Those people should be able to provide for themselves and their needs. If they can’t, well, tough.

But running up deficits to allow billionaires to engage in stock buybacks or to purchase that much-needed ninth home is okay. In fact, it’s better than okay. It’s great.

It appears that the deficits never were the issue.

Treating old people, children, sick people and poor people like, well, people was the problem.

Sometimes, one conservative friend or another of mine will shake his head and wonder why so many of their fellow Americans – particularly young Americans – are listening to “socialistic” proposals like those coming from Democratic presidential candidates such as Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.

Sanders and Warren can’t be that persuasive, they say.

They’re right.

On their own, Sanders and Warren aren’t that persuasive.

But, then, they’ve had a lot of help making their case from erstwhile conservative deficit hawks.

FOOTNOTE: John Krull is the director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

Gov. Holcomb announces Bedel to lead new Indiana Destination Development Corporation

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Gov. Eric J. Holcomb and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch announced today that Elaine Bedel will serve as secretary and CEO of the newly established Indiana Destination Development Corporation (IDDC).

Bedel currently serves as president of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), the state’s lead economic development agency.

“Elaine will excel as Indiana’s first chief destination officer to bring our public and private sectors together to best tell Indiana’s story,” Gov. Holcomb said. “In her new role, Elaine will work collaboratively to develop marketing strategies that will enhance economic development, attract new talent to our workforce and enhance our state’s profile as a great destination for visitors.”

“Elaine brings a remarkable breadth of experience from both the public and private sectors, and will be a tremendous asset to our organization, industry partners, and the visitors we serve every day,” said Lt. Gov. Crouch. “I am confident that her leadership, in combination with the experience and vast industry knowledge of our current Office of Tourism Director, Misty Weisensteiner, will transform how we tell Indiana’s story.”

House Enrolled Act 1115, authored by Rep. Mike Karickhoff and sponsored by Sen. Chip Perfect, established the IDDC with the goal of elevating Indiana’s position as the best place to live and visit. Starting on July 1, 2020, the corporation will operate as a joint public-private agency that will be able to raise its own funds, which is designed to reduce the state’s funding of the agency and increase its ability to be competitive.

By statute, the Governor appoints a director of the corporation, a role that Bedel will fill. The corporation will be governed by a seven-member board composed of the governor, who will appoint the Lt. Governor as his designee, the president of the IEDC or its designee, and five members appointed by the governor from the private sector tourism industry.

Bedel will remain a member of the Governor’s cabinet and begin reporting to Lt. Gov. Crouch on Nov. 11 to initiate planning for the transition. Secretary of Commerce Jim Schellinger will assume the responsibilities of the role of president of the IEDC.

Weisensteiner will continue her leadership of the Office of Tourism Development and will transfer to the IDDC. She will report directly to Bedel and continue her efforts to improve Indiana’s tourism efforts.

Bedel was appointed by Gov. Holcomb in 2017 to serve as president of the IEDC. Prior to serving the state in her current role, she served as president, chief executive officer and chief compliance officer of Bedel Financial Consulting Inc., a role held since she founded the company in 1989. Bedel, who resides in Indianapolis, is an author of a personal finance book and is a nationally-recognized speaker, providing financial expertise at conferences hosted by Schwab Impact, the University of Indianapolis and the Financial Standards Board.

Bedel earned a bachelor’s degree from Hanover College and an MBA from Butler University.

 

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