THIS ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH EXPANDED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS
AT:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly
IN THIS ISSUE:
1) HHS promotes risk avoidance for America's youth
2) Secretary Thompson discusses Child Welfare Program Option
3) President's budget includes vital food supply protections
4) SCHIP enrollment climbs to 5.3 million children in 2002
------------------------------
HHS promotes risk avoidance for America's youth
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson and Deputy Secretary Claude Allen spoke to HHS leaders about the importance of Risk Avoidance among teenagers.
Risk avoidance is an outreach strategy developed by HHS to encourage youth to make smart decisions. It recognizes the interconnectedness of risk behavior and seeks to stop it before it starts. The meeting was organized to help various federal agencies incorporate risk avoidance into their activities and programs.
"When young people are involved in one risky behavior, such as alcohol, drugs, sex, tobacco, or violence, they are more likely to be involved in another. We want to prevent these actions before they happen," Secretary Thompson said.
Statistics indicate:
· Teens who smoke have a higher rate of alcohol use.
· Teens who use alcohol are more likely to have sexual experiences, often
with multiple partners.
· Teens who have multiple sexual partners are more likely to be involved
in substance abuse.
· Teens who use drugs are more likely to be involved in violent behaviors.
Several HHS programs and initiatives already incorporate the risk avoidance strategy of prevention or stopping risky behaviors into their approach:
· Substance Abuse - President Bush proposed a new $200 million "Recovery Now" program to provide treatment services to an additional 100,000 individuals. HHS also funds more than 2,700 communities to implement substance abuse prevention models that reach more than 1 million young people.
· Promoting stable families - President Bush's welfare reform plan directs up to $300 million for programs that encourage healthy, stable marriages - including voluntary pre-marital education and counseling.
· Promoting abstinence - The safest sex for young people is no sex, which is why the President requested $135 million this year for abstinence education programs - a 30 percent increase over last year's budget.
------------------------------
Secretary Thompson discusses Child Welfare Program Option
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the Child Welfare Program Option in President Bush's fiscal year 2004 budget. The option offers states a more flexible alternative to the current foster care entitlement program to best serve children and their families.
"This new Child Welfare Program Option will enable states to develop a child welfare system that supports a range of services to families in crisis and children at risk," Secretary Thompson said. "We are providing children with foundations for a healthy future and strong, happy family life."
This new, broad flexibility will allow states to maintain a child welfare system that broadens a range of programs to families in crisis and children at risk, while removing the burdens of many federal requirements.
The overall fiscal year 2004 HHS budget request for programs related to children is $881 billion - an increase of $4.4 billion, or 5.3 percent. $5 billion was requested for foster care programs run by the Administration for Children and Families - up $238.2 from the fiscal year 2003 request. $1.7 billion was requested for adoption assistance programs - up $80 million from fiscal year 2003. In addition, President Bush has proposed doubling the budget for the Mentoring Children of Prisoners budget to $50 million.
------------------------------
President's budget includes vital food supply protections
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced President Bush's fiscal year 2004 budget request of $116.8 million for bioterror-related food safety programs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
"We are building on the largest investment in our public health infrastructure in history by making America healthier, safer and better prepared," Secretary Thompson said. "We are ensuring that our food supply is safe by making it easier for state, local and federal authorities to exchange information about pathogens in food, and we will be able to improve food monitoring and inspections throughout America."
$20.5 million of the FDA's fiscal year 2004 budget for bioterror-related food safety programs will fund programs that will be administered under the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, as well as related programs to protect the food supply.
The HHS proposal directs $5 million toward improving laboratory preparedness
by expanding federal, state and local involvement in the Electronic Laboratory
Exchange Network, which enables laboratories across the country to exchange
information on pathogens in food. An additional $5 million will also go to improve
the quality of food monitoring and inspections through state contracts and grants.
$10.5 million will go toward implementing a registration system for domestic
and foreign food production, handling and storage facilities, as well as a prior
notice system for imported food shipments.
------------------------------
SCHIP enrollment climbs to 5.3 million children in 2002
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced that the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) increased its coverage of American children by 15 percent from 2002.
"Working with governors, we've made tremendous progress in reaching millions of children with needed health coverage," Secretary Thompson said. "Since President Bush took office, we have given states more flexibility and freedom to develop SCHIP plans that best meet the needs of their residents. The strategy is working for children across America, but we must and will do more."
During 2002, a total of 5.3 million children were enrolled in SCHIP, up from 4.6 million children in 2001.
In a recent HHS report, conducted by HHS' Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS), the 2002 enrollment statistics show a higher percentage of American children had health insurance in the first half of 2002. Another report from HHS' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that more children rely on public coverage, such as SCHIP, for their health insurance.
· Created in 1997 with bipartisan support in Congress, SCHIP is a state and federal partnership formulated to help children without health insurance, many of whom come from working families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford private health insurance. The SCHIP law appropriated $40 billion in federal funds over 10 years to improve children's access to health coverage.
------------------------------
FOIA¬Privacy
¬Disclaimers¬Accessibility
Last updated 3 February 2003
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Contact the webmaster