Providers of ACS-funded day care and early childhood education are grappling with the potential impact of steps recently announced by Commissioner John Mattingly to close a $62 million budget deficit in the program.

Monday, December 1, 2008 marks Worlds AIDS Day. World AIDS Day is observed every year on December 1st. The World Health Organization established World AIDS Day in 1988. World AIDS Day provides an opportunity for governments, national AIDS programs, faith organizations, community organizations, and individuals to raise awareness and focus attention on the global AIDS epidemic.

An initiative to evaluate and strengthen the professional child welfare workforce is being launched by researchers at the SUNY Albany School of Social Work in partnership with the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA). The effort is being supported by a five-year $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Children's Bureau. The project, which is being led by Associate Professor Nancy Claiborne and Assistant Research Professor Catherine Lawrence, will work with private agencies in New York State who serve children and families in the public child welfare system.