Dear EIFA Members,

Happy New Year to you! As we look forward to this new year, we are happy to have with us several new Board members. Our newly elected Board members include Maureen Casey from Arizona, Paula Connolly from Iowa, and Dan Dinnell from Nevada. We are excited about the breadth of early intervention experience and leadership they bring to our organization.   

 

At the same time, we would like to take a moment to recognize Darla Gundler from Massachusetts, Leah Esther Lax from New York, and Mark Smith from Nebraska as they transition off the EIFA Board.  All three are founding members of the EIFA, and have committed significant time and energy to not only establishing EIFA, but helping it to stay true to its mission of supporting family leaders as they seek to improve outcomes for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. We will miss them on the Board, but know that they will continue their important leadership work in their communities, their states, and in national activities, including with EIFA. 

 

Later this month, the new Board will convene to elect officers, review accomplishments in the last year, and define priorities for the upcoming year. On January 25, 2013 we invite you to join us for our Annual Membership Webinar--we'll send out a link and call-in number. We look forward to continuing EIFA's work, and to your participation in these important efforts. Thank you for everything you do for young children with disabilities and their families in your own communities and states!

Sincerely,

Nancy
Nancy Peeler
2012 President
Early Intervention Family Alliance

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Upcoming ECO Center Webinars

The ECO Center will be hosting two back-to-back national webinars related to child outcomes data:

•  January 24th from 3:00-4:00 p.m. Eastern time – Using Child Outcomes Data at the Local Level

The ECO TA Cadre Learning Community will be hosting a webinar that focuses on helping local programs use their child outcomes data.  Join the discussion about a new ECO center resource (drill down questions related to child outcomes data, indicators C3 and B7) and informal state sharing about experiences in supporting programs in using their child outcomes data at the local level.  Be sure to view the short voice over presentation and the draft tool online and make comments prior to the webinar. 

•  January 24th from 4:00-5:00 p.m. Eastern time – Implementation Science and Outcomes Integration:  The Exploration Stage

The ECO Outcomes Integration Learning Community will be hosting a webinar that focuses on the exploration stage of implementation science andhow that stage is relevant to states wanting to integrate the IFSP/IEP process with the outcomes measurement process.   Join the discussion of the five key activities of exploration and hear state presentations on their exploration activities while considering integrating outcomes into their IFSP/IEP process. 
Details about how to join the webinars will be posted on the Upcoming Events page of the ECO web site prior to the webinars!

Congress and the President Agree to Pull Back from the "Cliff"

Congress and the President Agree to Pull Back from the “Cliff”
Update from ITCA  – January 2, 2013

Late New Years Day, close to midnight, the House passed a compromise plan and sent a bill to the President for signature.  The bill passed the House by a vote of 257-167.  The Senate had passed the bill, "American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012" by a vote of 89-8, after midnight on December 31, 2012.  Five Republicans voted “no” on the Senate bill. Three Democrats also voted “no” (Bennet (CO), Carper (DE) and Harkin (IA)) on the bill.

The final deal was crafted by Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.  If the plan had not passed the House last night, the Senate bill likely would have expired when the 112th Congress adjourned tomorrow.  This would have left resolution of the fiscal crisis to the new 113th Congress, convening on January 3rd.

White House Summary of the budget agreement can be found here.

Early information on the deal includes:

• All income for families up to $450,000 and for individuals up to $400,000 was protected at Bush-era levels. All income above that went back to higher levels.
• Sequestration cuts were delayed for 2 months. Half of the delay is offset by discretionary cuts, split between defense and non-defense.
• Unemployment insurance was extended for one year.
• Taxes on capitol gains and dividends are permanently set at 20% for those with income above the $450,000/$400,000 threshold and remain at 15% for everyone else.
• Nine month Farm bill extension prevents a spike in milk prices. 
• The estate tax is set at 40% for those at the $450,000/$400,000 threshold, with a $5 million exemption, indexed to inflation.
• The 2009 ARRA tax breaks for low-income Americans: the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the American Opportunity Tax Credit are extended for five years.
• Alternative Minimum Tax is permanently patched.
• The payroll tax holiday expires.
• Scheduled cuts to physicians under Medicare are postponed for a year.

Some House Republicans stated they did not vote to approve the compromise because of the lack of spending cuts in the bill.  Earlier in the day, House passage was in doubt, with many discussing a possible amendment containing spending cuts. By last night when the vote was held in the House, the Senate had already adjourned. It was unlikely they would have considered the House bill, as revised. 

The President is expected to sign the bill into law shortly.  Significant debate and disagreement is expected in the coming weeks given the new sequester deadline, the approaching debt ceiling and the upcoming expiration of the FFY 2013 Continuing Resolution currently keeping the government funded.

Resources: 

AMCHP’s resources on sequestration go to: http://www.amchp.org/Policy-Advocacy/Sequestration/Pages/default.aspx

To view a comprehensive fact sheet about the legislation go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/01/fact-sheet-tax-agreement-victory-middle-class-families-and-economy

Fiscal Cliff

We've been closely watching the fiscal cliff activities, and know you have as well.  As 2012 drew to a close things appeared to gain momentum, thanks to the approaching deadline. It is important that family members stay informed, and since things move quickly, following the news is probably the easiest way to stay updated. 

It is also important that family members stay in touch with their Congressional Delegation and urge them to continue to provide adequate funding for early intervention and related early childhood programs.