January 2017 ACY.org Page 2
Agency: Protect children from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke by encouraging U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) to finalize smoke-free housing policies
January 23, 2017 at 11:06 pm Carol Walker read more
2017 Legislation to Watch: Health
Smoke-Free Multifamily Housing Promotion Act (HB 855) Secondhand smoke in multifamily housing creates a significant health risk to non-smoking residents. The Smoke-free Multifamily Housing Promotion Act would incentivize rental units, condominiums and/or co-operative apartment buildings to go smoke-free by...
Codify the Dustin R. opinion so foster youth with disabilities who transition from DHR’s care to DHMH at age 21 have bridge services available as they make that transition
Foster youth with significant developmental disabilities, who cannot live independently when they turn 21, transition from the care of Maryland’s Department of Human Resources (DHR) to the responsibility of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH). For these...
Advocate for legislation which permits eligible foster youth to retain federal benefits currently being retained by the state of Maryland
Currently DHR applies for Social Security Disability (SSDI) and Social Security Survivor (OASDI) benefits for children in their care who have been abused and/or neglected and live in a foster home, group home, or treatment center. Rather than using...
Agency: Train stakeholders on prevention of sex trafficking and the importance of foster children being allowed to live a normal life
The incidence of sex trafficking in the United States is growing. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center received 24,062 “signals,” or reports, of human trafficking in 2014. Of those, nearly 3,600 were related to sex trafficking, up from nearly...
Agency: Oversee and publicize information about DHR’s implementation of the IV-E Waiver across Maryland
In September 2014, Maryland was awarded a $650 million Title IV-E Waiver grant which allows the Department of Human Resources (DHR) greater flexibility in how it spends its federal Title IV-E child welfare funds over 5 years. DHR has...
Improve higher education outcomes for foster and homeless youth
Advocates for Children and Youth has partnered with the Public Justice Center and the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth to create the Maryland Higher Education Network (HEN). Our goal is to improve higher education outcomes...