Updates from Organizations - Government agencies - Advertise Various Artists

Washington, D.C., January 8, 2019) – At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced a plan to ensure that low-income Americans have access to the nutrition they need, despite the inability of Congress to pass an appropriations bill that safely secures our borders.  The plan provides full benefits for participants in USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the month of February.

When USDA’s funding expired on December 21, 2018, SNAP benefits for January were fully funded. States have already received that money and have been distributing it to participants. Since the lapse in appropriations, USDA has been reviewing options available to the department for funding February benefits without an additional appropriation from Congress.

“At President Trump’s direction, we have been working with the Administration on this solution.  It works and is legally sound.  And we want to assure states, and SNAP recipients, that the benefits for February will be provided,” Perdue said.  “Our motto here at USDA has been to ‘Do Right and Feed Everyone.’  With this solution, we’ve got the ‘Feed Everyone’ part handled.  And I believe that the plan we’ve constructed takes care of the ‘Do Right’ part as well.”

To protect SNAP participants’ access for February, USDA is working with states to issue February benefits earlier than usual.  USDA will rely on a provision of the just-expired Continuing Resolution (CR), which provides an appropriation for programs like SNAP and child Nutrition to incur obligations for program operations within 30 days of the CR’s expiration.  USDA will be reaching out to states to instruct them to request early issuance of SNAP benefits for February.  States will have until January 20th to request and implement the early issuance.  Once the early issuances are made, the February benefits will be made available to SNAP participants at that time. 

USDA has also ensured the other major nutrition assistance programs have sufficient funding to continue operations into February. The child nutrition programs, including school meals and after-school programs have funding available to continue operations through March. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) has prior year funding which USDA will begin to provide states this week to facilitate February benefits. Other FNS programs, which provide critical assistance to our nation’s food banks, the elderly, and Tribal nations, may continue to utilize grant funding provided prior to the lapse in appropriations. Commodity deliveries to those programs will continue.

Nutrition Assistance Programs under a Lapse in Appropriations

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

• USDA will use the authority under the last Continuing Resolution to issue February benefits.  The Continuing Resolution that expired December 21, 2018 provided an appropriation for programs like SNAP and Child Nutrition to incur obligations for program operations during the 30 day-period following the expiration of the Act.

• States will need to take action to issue February benefits on or before January 20, 2019.  We will be reaching out to States to instruct them to request early issuance of SNAP benefits for February. States will have until January 20 to implement this early issuance. 
• Once these early issuances are made, the February benefits will be made available to SNAP participants at that time.  SNAP monthly issuance for February is estimated to be approximately $4.8 billion and State administrative expense (SAE) is estimated at about $350 million for a total need of approximately $5.1 billion.
• This approach requires careful coordination. FNS has noticed States to hold their issuance files. States would, instead, implement an early issuance strategy, providing February benefits to SNAP participants on or before January 20, 2019.  We will be working with States individually on how this approach is executed, in order to issue benefits to eligible households in the most efficient and equitable manner possible. 

Child Nutrition Programs

• For these programs, including school meals and the Child and Adult Care Food Program, States already have funding to cover CN program operations for the month of January (approximately $2.1 billion) on the basis of the last continuing resolution.
• This week, we will provide an additional two months’ worth of funding, consistent with the standard practice of funding these programs on a quarterly basis.

Supplemental Nutrition and Safety Programs

• For WIC, FNS has identified resources to cover projected State expenditures for February.  The agency will allocate at least $248 million to State agencies this week, and we have identified an additional $350 million in unspent prior year funds to allocate at a later date.  A total of approximately $600 million in funding will be provided to WIC State agencies. We will continue to work with States to make resources available to the extent possible.
• For the WIC Farmers’ Market (FMNP) and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs (SFMNP), FNS does not anticipate significant operational impacts as they are seasonal benefit programs with annual grant funds.
• For the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), food deliveries planned for February will continue.  Due to the lapse, States have not received their 2019 caseload assignments, so CSFP-participating States must operate at 2018’s caseload levels.  Similarly, states have received no additional administrative funds since the lapse, and none can be made available until the lapse ends.
• For The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), food deliveries planned for February (including entitlement, bonus and trade mitigation) will continue.  States have received no additional administrative funds since the lapse, and none can be made available until the lapse ends.
• For the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), food deliveries planned for February will continue.  FDPIR programs have administrative funding through January 31 and are expected to operate the program.

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With the economic and societal costs of smoking totaling more than $300 billion a year and rising, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on The Real Cost of Smoking by State as well as accompanying videos.

To encourage the estimated 37.8 million tobacco users in the U.S. to kick the dangerous habit, WalletHub calculated the potential monetary losses — including the lifetime and annual costs of a cigarette pack per day, health care expenditures, income losses and other costs — brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.
 

States with the Lowest Smoking Costs

States with the Highest Smoking Costs

1

Georgia

42

Washington

2

Missouri

43

Vermont

3

North Carolina

44

Minnesota

4

Mississippi

45

Hawaii

5

South Carolina

46

Alaska

6

Tennessee

47

Rhode Island

7

Alabama

48

Massachusetts

8

North Dakota

49

District of Columbia

9

Arkansas

50

New York

10

Wyoming

51

Connecticut

Key Stats

• The estimated financial cost of smoking over a lifetime is just above $1.9 million per smoker.
   
• The out-of-pocket cost per smoker is $123,308 over a lifetime. Smokers in New York will pay the highest cost, $194,899, which is 2.3 times higher than in Missouri, where smokers will pay the lowest cost at $86,001.
   
• Each smoker will incur an average of $237,605 in income loss over a lifetime. Smokers in Maryland will lose the highest amount, $321,977, which is 1.9 times higher than in Mississippi, where smokers will lose the lowest amount at $171,397.
   
• Each smoker will incur an average of $172,801 in smoking-related health-care costs over a lifetime. Smokers in Connecticut will pay the highest amount, $289,154, which is 2.5 times higher than in Kentucky, where smokers will pay the lowest amount at $117,094.

 
To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, please visit: 
https://wallethub.com/edu/the-financial-cost-of-smoking-by-state/9520/

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Utah Schools Unsafe for Many LGBTQ Secondary Students, GLSEN Report Finds
 

Utah schools lack many inclusive resources and affirming policies for LGBTQ students
 

UTAH (January 9, 2019) – GLSEN today released state-level data from its benchmark National School Climate Survey, which demonstrate that Utah schools were not safe for most lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) middle and high school students. In addition, many LGBTQ students in Utah did not have access to important school resources, such as an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, and were not protected by supportive and inclusive school policies.

GLSEN’s biennial National School Climate Survey, begun in 1999, is the only survey of its kind, documenting the experiences of LGBTQ youth in schools, including the extent of the challenges that they face and their access to the school-based resources that support their educational success and well-being. The survey has consistently demonstrated that specific school-based supports are related to a safer and more inclusive school climate, including supportive educators, LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, comprehensive and affirming policies, and student clubs, such as Gay-Straight Alliances or Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs).

The release of today’s state-specific data allows advocates, educators, administrators, and policymakers, among others, to evaluate school climate in their state. For Utah specifically, the report found:

The vast majority of LGBTQ students in Utah regularly heard anti-LGBTQ remarks.

• 83% of LGBTQ students reported regularly hearing homophobic remarks in school, and 66% reported regularly hearing negative remarks about transgender people.

• Some students also regularly heard school staff make homophobic remarks (24%) and many regularly heard school staff make negative remarks about someone’s gender expression (46%).

Most LGBTQ students in Utah experienced bias-based victimization at school.

• 72% of LGBTQ students experienced verbal harassment at school based on sexual orientation, and 55% experienced verbal harassment at school based on gender expression.

• Most LGBTQ students never reported incidents of school victimization to school staff (63%) and only 30% of those who reported incidents said it resulted in effective staff intervention.

• LGBTQ students reported that they also experienced victimization at school based on disability (25%), race/ethnicity (26%), and religion (40%).

Most LGBTQ students in Utah reported discriminatory policies and/or practices at their school.

• Most students (69%) experienced at least one form of anti-LGBTQ discrimination at school during the past year.

• One-third of LGBTQ students (33%) in Utah were disciplined for public displays of affection (PDA) that did not result in similar action for non-LGBTQ students.

• 2 in 3 transgender students (65%) were unable to use the school restroom aligned with their gender, and over 2 in 5 transgender students (43%) were prevented from using their chosen name or pronouns in school.

• Some LGBTQ students reported being unable to wear LGBTQ-supportive apparel (15%), being unable to form a GSA (22%), and being unable to bring a same-gender date to a school dance (16%).

Most LGBTQ students in Utah did not have access to in-school resources and supports.

• Only 8% of LGBTQ students attended a school with a comprehensive anti-bullying/harassment policy that included specific protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.

• Only 5% reported that their school had a policy or official guidelines to support transgender or gender nonconforming students.

• Only 14% were taught an inclusive curriculum that had positive representations of LGBTQ people, history, or events.

• Only 1% reported receiving LGBTQ-inclusive sex education at school.

• 43% of students reported having a GSA or similar supportive club in their school.

“This research makes clear that many LGBTQ students in Utah are facing hostile environments that lack many of the resources that make their schools safe spaces for them to attend,” said Jayson Stokes, Co-Chair from GLSEN Northern Utah. “Leaders throughout the state of Utah must prioritize the safety and well-being of all students by supporting comprehensive policies and practices that are inclusive and affirming of LGBTQ students.”

Comprehensive state snapshots for 41 states and Puerto Rico with additional data can be found at www.glsen.org/statesnapshots. To access national-level infographics, an executive summary and the full GLSEN National School Climate Survey report, visit www.glsen.org/nscs.

Media Contacts:

GLSEN Northern Utah Contact: Jayson Stokes, Jayson.Stokes@nutah.glsen.org; 801-510-8257
GLSEN National Contact: Sue Yacka-Bible, sue.yacka-bible@glsen.org; 646-388-6575

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About GLSEN:

GLSEN works to create safe and inclusive schools for all. We envision a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Each year, GLSEN programs and resources reach millions of students and educators in K-12 schools, via action at the national, state, and local level. Over nearly three decades of work, GLSEN has improved conditions for LGBTQ students across the United States and launched an international movement to address LGBTQ issues in education and promote respect for all in schools. Find more information on GLSEN’s policy advocacy, student leadership initiatives, school-based programs, research, and professional development for educators at www.glsen.org.