On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Appropriations passed a FY2018 funding bill with a vote of 29 to 2. The funding levels for a few of the programs the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities is monitoring include:

Department of Labor:

  • $2.71 billion for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)

Department of Health and Human Services:

  • $126 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s opioid prevention programs
  • $15 million for a new Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) opioid prevention program that that will fund grants to communities and community coalitions based on evidence-based programs and promising practices; maintains funding for previously funded SAMHSA opioid prevention and treatment programs
  • $500 million in state opioid abuse crisis grants authorized under the 21st Century Cures Act
  • $160 million for the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant (level funding with FY17)
  • $1.2 billion for mental health programs (level funding with FY17)
  • $2.9 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (level funding with FY17)
  • $9.3 billion for Head Start (level funding with FY17)
  • $250 million for Preschool Development Grants
  • $3.39 billion for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (level funding with FY17)
  • $700 million for the Community Services Block Grant (three percent reduction over FY 2017)
  • $21 million for victims of trafficking ($2 million increase over FY 2017)
  • $5 million for a new Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant to support clinical training of sexual assault nurse examiners to administer medical forensic examinations and treatment in hospitals, health centers and other emergency health care settings

Department of Education:

  • $15.5 billion for Title 1 Grants to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) ($25 million increase over FY 2017)
  • $1.2 billion for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (level funding with FY17)

View separate summaries of the measure from the Republicans and Democrats online.