AB 1321 Passes: California Will Set Up Nutrition Incentive Program!

Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1321 (Ting), which will set up the infrastructure for the Market Match program already running using mostly private funding throughout California. This is a tremendous victory that will be essential in scaling up the Market Match program, benefitting low income California residents struggling to afford healthy food, as well as the state’s small farm sector.

Tremendous thanks are owed to Roots of Change, the organization which sponsored the legislation and organized the advocacy efforts, from Northern California to the Central Valley to LA to San Diego, at every step of the way through the legislative process.

Hunger Action LA operates Market Match at 20 markets now in LA County, with the newest programs just beginning in the past month in Pasadena, Downtown LA, Santa Fe Springs and Eagle Rock. Our colleagues at SEE LA operate the program at 5 additional markets. AB 1321’s passage should pave the way for a bright future for the program.

Thank you, very much, to all of you who made phone calls and wrote letters of support---multiple times!---for the program. It’s another testament to the power of people’s voices if we but use them, in policy issues that affect us all.

Via: Hunger Action Los Angeles
http://www.hungeractionla.org/news_update_oct_13th_2015#ab1p

Effort to repeal California ‘welfare queen’ law done for the year

State Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, has suspended her latest bid to reverse a law barring families that conceive additional children while on welfare from receiving increases to their grant.

Mitchell said she would not continue forward this year with Senate Bill 23 to repeal a law Mitchell contends perpetuates the negative concept of the “welfare queen,” a woman who has babies while on welfare to collect more cash assistance. Mitchell’s bill is currently awaiting a vote on the Assembly floor, and she said she would instead push to get the policy into next year’s budget.

“How would we pay for it?” Mitchell said. “Because of the huge price tag, I’m going to continue working with the administration during the interim.”

Overturning the “maximum family grant” would cost an estimated $205 million in the first year. SB 23 passed the Senate this spring, but its prospects dimmed when Gov. Jerry Brown left it out of the final budget deal in June.

Mitchell said she had not changed tactics out of concern that the bill would fail in the Assembly or be vetoed by Brown.

“I’m confident that they agree with the policy,” she said. “I will be waiting with bated breath for January 10,” she added, referring to the date by which Brown must release his budget proposal.

Via: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article34058808.html

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article34058808.html#storylink=cpy

From the California Budget Project: Parental Incarceration Is Bad for Children’s Health

“Family unity and stability have profound impacts on children’s lifelong health,” according to a health impact assessment of Proposition 47 released today by Human Impact Partners (HIP), a nonprofit that analyzes the effects of current and proposed public policies on community health. Proposition 47, “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,” will appear on the November 4 statewide ballot and would reduce California’s reliance on incarceration for nonviolent crimes.

HIP’s study estimates that over 10,000 children could be affected by the measure due to a resentencing option for parents who are currently incarcerated. Moreover, as many as 5,800 children a year may not have to see their parent go to prison for a nonviolent crime in the future.

The CBP’s own analysis of Proposition 47, released earlier this month, discussed the negative health impact of incarceration on individuals and their communities. As parents experience periods of incarceration, their children can be exposed to persistent poverty, food insecurity, frequent relocations, and repeated abandonment. This often leads to childhood behavioral difficulties, lower academic test scores, and an increased likelihood of contact with the juvenile justice system.

Incarcerating parents increases children’s likelihood of developing health problems, even when other risk factors — such as chronic poverty, access to health care, and the safety of the neighborhood — are taken into account. In a new study, Kristin Turney, assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine, found that childhood learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), behavioral problems, developmental delays, and speech or language problems are all significantly related to parental incarceration. Having a parent incarcerated was in some cases more detrimental than divorce or the death of a parent.

As these youth transition into adulthood, many play a supporting role for their parents, which can put a strain on their own lives. Children of Re-Entry is a youth-led New America Media project that is working to document the stories of young people as they grapple with their parents’ incarceration and subsequent return home. In 21-year-old Alisha’s words:

A part of me knows that I’m my mom’s backbone, almost. When I’m around she tries harder. But sometimes that’s not good enough. I don’t want to look over my shoulder all the time. Like, I don’t want to worry about coming home and finding my mom not okay.

Addressing the health needs of children with incarcerated parents is a common-sense public safety approach. Untreated and unaddressed health issues as children can lead to future problems, such as drug addiction, that are prevalent in the criminal justice population. Supporting family stability would likely improve health outcomes and educational and employment prospects for these youth. Reducing unnecessary incarceration for nonviolent crimes could be one way to support family stability and thereby strengthen the long-term well-being of our communities.

— Selena Teji

An autism treatment lost in California's shift from Healthy Families

By Chris Megerian

July 7, 2013, 8:24 p.m.

SACRAMENTO — Evan Kim was 2 years old when he was diagnosed as autistic last year, and his parents searched for some way to curb his head-banging tantrums.

Using a state-financed healthcare program for low-income families, they found therapists who could provide a specific kind of autism treatment aimed at analyzing and improving behavior. The therapists spent 40 hours a week with Evan at the family's home in the Los Angeles area, coaxing him to stop the tantrums and improving his communication skills.

Evan's mother, Jenny Kim, was relieved — until last month, when her children's healthcare plan changed and the therapy, known as applied behavior analysis, was no longer covered.

"I'm afraid he's not going to make any progress from now on," Kim said. The same service, she said, would cost $10,000 a month out of pocket.

Evan's therapy was a casualty of the state's effort to phase out its Healthy Families insurance program and shift the nearly 900,000 children it covered into Medi-Cal, the broader healthcare program for the poor. Despite officials' assurances that the transition would not jeopardize services, activists say hundreds of children are losing coverage for applied behavior analysis.

"Those are the families that fall through the cracks," said Julie Kornack, a public policy analyst at the Los Angeles-based Center for Autism and Related Disorders. "If they don't get the treatment they need, they won't be contributing members of society. And everyone will have to pay to take care of them."

Activists fear that other coverage gaps could surface as the state prepares to move the final 150,000 children into Medi-Cal in the next two months. Elizabeth Abbott, an official at the advocacy group Health Access, said she worried that dental resources could also become strained.

"This is potentially the tip of the iceberg," Abbot said.

Rene Mollow, a deputy director at the California Department of Health Care Services, said the transition has been mostly smooth. She said some children can get similar autism therapy through a federal program or local school district, but she conceded that those services won't be available to everyone.

Lawmakers agreed to eliminate Healthy Families last year as a savings measure pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown, but the money hasn't materialized the way the administration had hoped. The state saved only one-fifth of the $13.1 million it had projected in the fiscal year that just ended.

Administration officials say that's the result of delays, increasing healthcare costs and other factors.

Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) pushed to restore coverage for applied behavior analysis for children with autism in the state budget that went into effect last Monday. However, the $50 million was not included in the budget that lawmakers sent Brown last month.

"The administration promises us a resolution, but we don't have one yet," Steinberg said.

Mollow said the Brown administration was concerned about the cost as the state emerges from a years-long budget crisis.

"We're coming out of a significant deficit," she said. "We're just looking to be prudent with the dollars that we have."

Applied behavior analysis is an intensive treatment in which therapists use positive reinforcement to improve a child's behavior and detailed instructions to make learning new tasks easier. It is used to teach a child, among other things, how to get dressed in the morning and play well with others.

Brown expressed skepticism of the therapy when he signed a 2011 bill requiring many private insurers — but not Medi-Cal — to cover applied behavior analysis.

"There are remaining questions about effectiveness, duration and the cost of the covered treatments that must be sorted out," he said in a statement.

Autism experts disagree, saying the therapy can be costly but is vital.

"They're taking away the only scientifically proven treatment for children who have a very significant medical condition," said Jonathan Tarbox, director of research and development at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders. The center provides applied behavior analysis through state-funded programs.

Patrick Sullivan of San Diego said his 6-year-old autistic daughter, Naia, has benefited dramatically from applied behavior analysis.

Sullivan said a state employee assured him earlier this year that his daughter's transition to Medi-Cal would be "seamless." Later, he learned that her therapy would no longer be covered at the end of this month.

Sullivan hopes his daughter can receive treatment at one of California's regional centers that provide services to the developmentally disabled. But Naia's autism, he said, may not be severe enough for her to qualify, or the amount of therapy she receives could be sharply reduced.

"I don't know what's going to happen," he said.

chris.megerian@latimes.com

Copyright © 2013, Los Angeles Times

More than 1 in 5 California children live in poverty, study finds

As California diversifies, it will face serious economic struggles if it fails to pay attention to widespread childhood poverty, according to a report released Monday by the Center for the Next Generation. The center found that more than 1 in 5 children in the state are living in poverty.

The study, "Prosperity Threatened: Perspectives on Childhood Poverty in California," focuses on new U.S. Census Bureau figures, finding that childhood poverty is endemic among the state’s fastest-growing population -- Latinos -- with nearly 1 in 3 Latino children living at or below the poverty line.

Researchers contrasted the numbers with data on seniors, which showed fewer than 1 in 10 living in poverty.

“We can’t honestly separate our state’s economic future from current poverty rates among our kids,” said Ann O’Leary, vice president and director of the center, who co-wrote the report. “Our ability to thrive as the world’s ninth-largest economy depends on having an educated, healthy and stable next generation of workers.

"We’re headed in the opposite direction,” she added.

The study, which was funded by the center, details a trend of increased childhood poverty in California that accelerated during the recession. And while childhood poverty fell in five California counties between 2006 and 2011, 16 counties saw a reduction in senior poverty during the same period.

Los Angeles County, with more than 9.6 million people, is home to nearly 2.4 million children -- more than 17% of whom live in poverty, according to the study.

Of 51 counties studied, L.A. County ranked 22nd in terms of poverty rate.

In Orange County, slightly more than 16% of the children live at or below the poverty line, according to the study.

“We’ve taken steps to provide our seniors with some level of assurance that they’ll be cared for in their later years,” said O’Leary, adding that the study, funded by the center's general budget, began last fall. “California’s grandparents should ask why their grandkids don’t get the same treatment.” 

The report noted a correlation between education levels and childhood poverty rates; counties with the highest number of parents with college degrees also have the lowest levels of childhood poverty. The opposite also is true, the study found.

O'Leary and her coauthors suggest that state leaders make tackling childhood poverty a central goal of any economic recovery plan.

The center's mission is to influence the national debate over sustainable energy and improving opportunities for children and families.

via LA Times

California to stop going after children for caregivers' debts

Clarence Ayers was baffled.


At 73, he was raising his great-granddaughter in rural Fresno County. He relied on $334 a month in public
assistance to help cover the teenager's expenses: new shoes when she outgrew her old ones, transportation
to the after-school activities she enjoyed.


But last summer, county officials said they were slicing his CalWorks payment by 10% and for the most
perplexing of reasons: Over the years, they had mistakenly sent $10,000 to the girl's mother and grandfather.


"Irene wasn't even born when some of that money was paid," Ayers said. "She was being punished for
something she never did."


For decades, if county officials couldn't track down a parent or guardian who owed them money, they went
after the children — even if they no longer lived together.


Now, the much-criticized practice is ending as part of an agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by Ayers and
others who accused state officials of essentially holding children responsible for their caregivers' debts.


Details and total costs of the settlement are still being hammered out, but the California Department of Social
Services said refunds will be provided for any such collections made since Jan. 6. Earlier this year, counties
were told to stop collecting on past overpayments from adults whose families benefited from the funds when
they were children.


"We're very pleased that the department has recognized that this is something they want to change," said
Patti Prunhuber, a Public Interest Law Project attorney involved in the case. "These debts do not belong to
these children. They are not responsible for them. They didn't create them, and they shouldn't follow them
into their new households or into adulthood."


Officials now will focus on recovering overpayments from the parents or caregivers who received the funds,
said department spokesman Michael Weston.


A program administered at the county level, CalWorks provides cash assistance to some of the state's
neediest families. The program has been pummeled by budget cuts in recent years, whittling down how much
families can qualify for and how long they can receive the aid.


If county officials overpay a family by $35 or more, state law requires them to try to recover it, according to
court filings. One option is to track down other household members. In some cases, officials allegedly
garnished the benefits or tax refunds of young people whose caregivers had been paid too much because of
a county mistake, legal aid attorneys said.


Another plaintiff in the lawsuit, Jamie Hartley, was just 16 in 2008 when Riverside County paid her mother
for her older brother's expenses, even though he no longer qualified for the program. County officials
threatened to seize Hartley's 2011 tax refund to help collect the $766 debt — money she was counting on to
help cover college living expenses, according to court papers.


It's not clear how many people were targets of such practices, which date back at least to 1981, Weston
said. Until 1996, federal law required that officials recover overpayments from any member of the household
possible, he said.


Now states can decide whether to pursue those who were minors when the money was provided. In Los
Angeles County alone, 4,682 children and 88 adults were having money docked from their benefits to
recoup such overpayments at the time the practice was stopped, officials said. The county stopped going
after tax refunds in 2000.


In the last two years, legal aid attorneys received a rash of complaints from people who had received
collection notices, said Antionette Dozier, an attorney for the Western Center on Law and Poverty who also
worked on the case. It appeared that changes in systems used to recover overpayments had turned up a
number of old cases, Dozier said.


In 2010, Pilar Lopez received a letter from Butte County officials saying she owed nearly $7,000. If she
didn't erase the debt, officials said they would seize her tax refund, a huge financial blow to the mother of
three who was paying her way through Chico State.


The CalWorks money had actually gone to Lopez's father during a period in the 1990s when she'd lived
mainly with other relatives in a different county. After she tracked down school and medical records that
backed up her account — a process that took months — Butte County officials relented.


"Why are you going after a minor when they didn't even know what money meant back then?" said Lopez,
32. "I literally could not sleep at night. I kept thinking, 'Where am I going to get the money?'"


The settlement came as a relief to Ayers, the 73-year-old raising his 14-year-old great-granddaughter, Irene.
He said details of how the state debt was incurred were never fully explained. Irene's mother was a child
herself when at least some of the payments were made, Ayers said, and her grandfather is no longer alive.


Retired after working in transportation on movie sets, he said he lives on Social Security income, his savings
wiped out by a series of family funerals.


The CalWorks grant he receives to support Irene is a "big help," he said. "She's growing so fast." Every
week, she asks for money for a new pair of shoes, a school trip or a science project. "She's active at school.
I don't want to stop that."


Via:  http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may/12/local/la-me-child-welfare-debts-20120512

HHS issues final rule on insurance exchanges

March 12, 2012 | Mary Mosquera, Contributing Editor


WASHINGTON – The Department of Health and Human Services has released its final rule on the establishment of health insurance exchanges - online marketplaces. The rule also includes provisions for qualified health plans and exchange functions in the individual market.


The final rule, which combines what originally had been separate proposed rules published in July and August 2011, encompasses the key functions of exchanges related to eligibility, enrollment and plan participation and management. The department received more than 24,781 comments on the proposed rules.


HHS seeks further comments from the public on several sections, which are issued as interim final rules, related to options for conducting eligibility determinations, the ability of a state to permit agents and brokers to assist qualified individuals, and Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program.


The 644-page rule appeared March 12 in a preview section of the Federal Register. HHS will officially publish the rule on March 27.


The policies incorporated in the rule give states more flexibility to design and create their exchanges - websites - where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for and compare health coverage. Exchanges are scheduled to go live in 2014 under the health reform law. “Exchanges will offer Americans, competition, choice and clout,” the final rule said.


The rule offers guidance about the options on how to structure exchanges in setting standards for establishing exchanges, setting up a small business health options program (SHOP), performing the basic functions of an exchange, and certifying health plans for participation in the exchange.


The rule also provides guidance for establishing a streamlined, web-based system for consumers to apply for and enroll in qualified health plans and insurance affordability programs.


Boosting competition


Insurers will have to compete for their customers’ business, said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “More competition will drive down costs and exchanges will give individuals and small businesses the same purchasing power big businesses have today,” she said in a statement.


The final rule makes sure that exchanges will coordinate with Medicaid, CHIP, and the Basic Health Program so that an applicant experiences a seamless eligibility and enrollment process regardless of where he or she submits an application.


In response to comments, the final rule provides two ways for exchanges to interact with Medicaid agencies when making eligibility determinations. Exchanges can conduct eligibility determinations for Medicaid and for advance payment of premium tax credits, or the exchange will make a preliminary eligibility assessment and then turn it over to the state Medicaid agency for final determination.


Also, a state-based exchange may determine eligibility for advance payments of the premium tax credit and cost-sharing reductions, or it could be approved ifHHS makes determinations for these functions.


HHS previously provided a total of $50 million to all states except Alaska, which refused it, to begin to plan the exchanges. Recently, 33 States and the District of Columbia have received more than $667 million in establishment grants to begin building exchanges.


The federal government will put in place an exchange for states that choose not to establish one or will not have one operational by 2014.


The health reform law also provides for a premium tax credit for eligible individuals who enroll in a qualified health plan through an exchange to reduce the cost-sharing obligation of eligible individuals.


HHS said it has worked with states, small businesses, consumers, and health insurance plans and sought public comments to come up with the rule’s provisions.




http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/hhs-issues-final-rule-insurance-exchanges 

Intel Inspires Young Women to Change the World

Last week the world celebrated International Women’s Day and this past weekend, the Women in the World Summit took place in New York City. The summit offers the opportunity for women from around the world to get together and discuss the importance of educating girls throughout every corner of the earth, and what it takes to break down the barriers preventing some girls from receiving an education.

We sat down with Shelly Esque, Vice President and Global Director of Corporate Affairs at Intel, who also participated in the “Girls Can Change the World Panel,” at the Women in the World Summit. Between Intel’s Classmate PC project, the Intel Science Talent Search program, we have known for sometime that the company is heavily invested in education. But Shelly spoke to us more specifically about Intel’s continued efforts to bridge the gender and technology divide. During our conversation together, Esque brought up an interesting point, and that is that technology is gender neutral, yet it really has the potential to unleash a woman’s confidence.

In the U.S. we take internet access for granted, but in places like the Middle East, women are just a minority of online users. And this is a shame, because access to information leads to more empowered women. For example, Esque spoke of one Turkish woman who was at first only allowed to dust the computer in her home. Then Intel created a women’s education program in her local community center. After enrolling in the program, the woman not only learned some valuable computer skills, but she also gained the confidence she needed to apply those new skills to her business. Today her business has become so successful that she is going global. And because she is making money, her male family members no longer seem to be bothered with her using a PC.

Intel believes that technology brings young girls more opportunities for education. Of course, once girls have the opportunity to get an education, they also gain the ability to make a difference in the world. To that effect, Intel has been working with non-government organizations like Room to Read, which is an organization that creates libraries in places that don’t have any. Organizations like this one has helped bring more educational opportunities to young women in developing nations. Furthermore, since 1995, Intel has set-up over 100 Intel computer clubhouses around the world where girls can learn from mentors, as well as from each other.

Intel also has a special Hackathon event coming up soon at their head-quarters Oregon. This 2 day event brings together Intel’s software engineers with groups of young women. The Hackathon will start out with the software engineers coming up with app ideas to solve the girls problems. There will also be opportunities for young women to learn how to create their own apps. All in all, Intel’s goal is to move people to action to help empowering women and girls through education and technology.

http://www.chipchick.com/2012/03/intel-inspire-change-world.html

Local schools join push for healthier eating

http://www.sbsun.com/ci_20097651

Will Bigham, Staff Writer First lady Michelle Obama's push to improve the quality of food served in U.S. schools appears to be bearing fruit locally. "Childhood obesity is a big buzz topic right now," said Cinde Stone, director of nutrition services at the Rialto Unified School District. "I think there's studies that show our nation as a whole is overweight. I think they're trying to help fix that problem." In keeping with the first lady's goal, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been adjusting its school meal requirements so that districts must serve more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and less salt. And for the first time, the government has set maximum calorie counts for meals served in schools. Previous regulations required only a minimum calorie count. The new regulations will be phased in beginning in the 2012-13 school year, and many local districts are already adjusting their menus. "It's been quite a transition because there are a lot of kids, particularly in this area, that grew up eating fast food," said Rose Fennell, nutrition specialist with the San Bernardino City Unified School District. "And so they like that profile of the food that they're used to getting," Fennell added. "They're used to fried food that's very salty. It's a transition for them to come to the schools and have things that are not fried, that are not really that high in sodium. So it's a challenge." Starting next school year, districts must serve each student up to a cup and a half of fruits and vegetables. Current regulations call for three-quarters of a cup of the foods, Fennell said. Next year the government will also require that more than half the grains served at schools be whole grain. Current laws encourage but don't require that whole grains be served, Fennell said. "There's been such a problem with childhood obesity, kids becoming diabetic at a very young age," Fennell said. In the Rialto district, Students eat healthy food during lunchtime Friday at Kordyak Elementary School in Rialto. (LaFonzo Carter/Staff Photographer) officials have instituted a program where students are served local produce. The practice is encouraged by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stone said. One hundred percent of the oranges served by the district are produced locally by the Mentone-based Inland Orange Conservancy. Stone said most of the fruit is from groves in Redlands and Highland. There's a grove in Rialto that Stone said she's approached about purchasing oranges. "I feel very confident that it won't be long until we're working with him," Stone said. To help it increase the amount of produce it serves, the Upland Unified School District has purchased a new six-food salad bar to replace a salad bar about half that size at Baldy View Elementary School. "If it goes well I'm going to go ahead and order nine more," said Food Service Director Sherry Conrad. The district has 10 elementary schools. Conrad has worked in the district's food service department for almost 25 years. She's seen soda removed from Upland schools, as well as french fries and other foods considered unhealthy. "We used to serve those kinds of foods as well, but we've gotten away from that," Conrad said. She said she understands the need for change in school menus. "There are so many children that are not eating properly right now," Conrad said. "Parents find it easy to go to McDonald's, I guess." The challenge for schools is finding healthy foods that children like enough to eat, Conrad said. "I'm going to gradually go in to make my changes, and maybe the kids will enjoy it," Conrad said. If students won't eat food served at school, they still have the option of bringing outside foods to school such as soda, candy and chips. "It's unbelievable," Conrad said of some students' lunches brought from home. "It's kind of sad."

Child Homelessness Reportedly Climbed 33 Percent In Past 3 Years

via USA Today News

One in 45 children in the USA — 1.6 million children — were living on the street, in homeless shelters or motels, or doubled up with other families last year, according to the National Center on Family Homelessness.

The numbers represent a 33% increase from 2007, when there were 1.2 million homeless children, according to a report the center is releasing Tuesday.

"This is an absurdly high number," says Ellen Bassuk, president of the center. "What we have new in 2010 is the effects of a man-made disaster caused by the economic recession. … We are seeing extreme budget cuts, foreclosures and a lack of affordable housing."

The report paints a bleaker picture than one by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which nonetheless reported a 28% increase in homeless families, from 131,000 in 2007 to 168,000 in 2010.

Dennis Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania professor of social policy, says HUD's numbers are much smaller because they count only families living on the street or in emergency shelters. 

"It is a narrower standard of homelessness," he says. However, Culhane says, "the bottom line is we've shown an increase in the percentage of homeless families."

The study, a state-by-state report card, looks at four years' worth of Education Department data. It assesses how homeless children fare based on factors including the state's wages, poverty and foreclosure rates, cost of housing and its programs for homeless families.

The states where homeless children fare the best are Vermont, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and Maine.

It finds the worst states for homeless children are Southern states where poverty is high, including Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas, and states decimated by foreclosures and job losses, such as Arizona, California and Nevada.

At the First Light shelter in Birmingham, Ala., the fastest-growing group is women with children, executive director Ruth Crosby says. She says the emergency shelter, which houses about 125 women and children, is full every night. An overflow room with mats on the floor fills up every night, too.

"We try not to turn people away," Crosby says. "Poverty in Alabama is severe at best. We were already in dire straights, and then you get the economy. It's kept us on the bottom."

Shelly Jordan, a case manager for the homeless in Hattiesburg, Miss., says it has become common for two-parent households or families headed by professionals to turn to the city's lone homeless shelter.

"People had savings or unemployment and that's run out," she says. "This is their last resort."

A small portion of homeless households with children, 4,355, are headed by veterans. That's less than 5% of the veterans who are homeless.

The number of homeless veterans fell 12% from 76,329 in 2010 to 67,495 this year, according to a report released Tuesday by HUD and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan credits the decline to more rental assistance and programs to get veterans into permanent housing.