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Greetings!
This is the August 6th edition of a weekly report that is being shared with the LINC Commission.
Our board is deeply interested in our work and wanted to have more information that can be shared with others about the great things LINC is doing and helping accomplish.
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| LINC submits welfare-to-work proposal
This week LINC submitted a proposal to manage local welfare cases for the State of Missouri. LINC's Missouri Work Assistance Program would provide assessment, case management and employment services for welfare participants transitioning to work in Jackson, Clay and Platte counties; and contribute to the State of Missouri's achieving a statewide work participation rate of 50%.
The program, which begins Oct. 1, would be a major undertaking, with an annual contract value of $3.9 million. As of June 2010 there were 5,368 TANF participants subject to work requirements in the three-county area. LINC would work in partnership with the Full Employment Council and other community organizations.
The work would build on LINC's existing efforts to provide case management for local welfare recipients whose cash benefits are about to expire. The submitted application was 400 plus pages.
LINC staff developed the proposal with the guidance of LINCWorks co-chairs Bart Hakan and Terry Ward. Ward reported on the proposal at the July 26 LINC Commission meeting.
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Marty Blank addresses Missouri schools superintendents
Marty Blank, director of the Coalition for Community Schools, traveled to Missouri this week to address the Cooperative Conference for School Administrators. LINC videotaped Blank's Tuesday morning keynote speech. We also interviewed superintendents of LINC partner school districts for a video on our "community school" efforts. The annual conference is organized by the Missouri Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education. The three-day event was held at the Lake of Ozarks. LINC is one of the country's leading community school efforts and has a long-standing relationship with Blank, the coalition and the Institute for Educational Leadership which he leads. |
Back to School Rally
LINC was present in force at the Back to School Rally held this past Saturday and organized by Kansas City Councilman Terry Riley.
The event was held at Manual Career and Technical Center and lines formed early on a hot summer day.
Kansas City, Mo. School District officials were there to answer parents' questions about schools and programs available in the school district.
Children received free supplies, backpacks and updated immunizations.
LINC distributed materials, provided balloons, staffed tables and helped make sure there was adequate water for those attending.
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Hands of Hope continues
The "Hands of Hope" volunteer efforts in the Kansas City, Mo. School District continue this weekend with work at four elementary school sites: Faxon, Foreign Language Academy, Longfellow and Troost.
The school makeover event is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 7.
The Adopt-A-School Committee hopes to secure more volunteers to help later this month. If you or your organization would like to volunteer, call Irene von Collins at (816) 418-8615.
A school in Hickman Mills will also get volunteer assistance. Nearby churches will be working this weekend at Warford Elementary.
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Foster Youth Attends Black Caucuses
On July 8-11 students from the LINC Foster Youth Program attended the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus at the University of Missouri-St Louis (UMSL) to attend workshops focusing on college preparations. Topics included financial aid, career planning, and Q&A sessions with current UMSL students. One of the attendees was Vernae, a senior at Raytown High School who has been in the Foster Youth program for a year and a half. She serves on the Area Youth Advisory Board, which serves Jackson, Clay, and Platte Counties in Missouri. LINC staff Archie Williams said he has seen her undergo a great transformation during her time with the program - from quiet and shy to now being nominated for the State Youth Advisory Board in Jefferson City. This is the third operating year for the Foster Youth program, which participates in the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. The program focuses on helping current and former foster youth transition out of the foster care and achieve self-sufficiency. |
New enrollment process piloted in Hickman Mills
This week the Hickman Mills Caring Communities team piloted a new approach to enroll families in the LINC Before & After School Program.
The new process uses LINC's data system to complete enrollment applications for returning parents. In the past, parents have spent up to 15 minutes to complete the three-page application. Many of the families we work with have more than one child.
The new process is faster and more accurate, allowing coordinators to make changes and corrections on the spot.
The new process coincides with the district's new centralized enrollment process. In response to parent feedback, the district consolidated enrollment for all schools, programs, and services under one roof - Hickman Mills Junior High School. Dates and times were adjusted to include nights and weekends, making the process more convenient.
The district played a critical role in providing the space and infrastructure to enable LINC to pilot the new method. |
Three Trails Day in Hickman Mills
Three Trails Day will be held Saturday, Aug. 7 from 12:30 to 4:30 pm at Hickman Mills Junior High School, 9010 Old Santa Fe Road. The event follows the district's annual Back-to-School Parade and Rally, beginning at 11 am. The event will feature carnival rides, craft booths, pony rides, and dozens of other activities.
Children from Dobbs, Ingels, Santa Fe, Johnson and Truman will perform skits and dances beginning at 2 pm.
There will also be a free child identification screening sponsored by the Missouri Masonic Children's Foundation and the Hickman Mills School District. The Missouri Child Identification Program (MOCHIP) is designed to protect against the problem of missing and abducted children. Each parent/guardian will receive a CD containing digital photographs, fingerprints and emergency contact information for their child.
Three Trails Day is free and open to the public. |
School year starts this month
Summer programs are wrapping up and the regular school year is already beginning. Hickman Mills and Grandview have their first day of school Aug. 12. The other schools open as follows: Center and North Kansas City (Aug. 16), Independence and Fort Osage (Aug. 18) with Kansas City, Mo. the last to open (Aug. 30).
LINC Caring Communities sites coordinators are working hard to make sure schools, programs, staff and other things are in place when school opens. |
No Commission meeting in August
The LINC Commission traditionally does not meet in August. No meeting is planned. |
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Contact Information
Brent Schondelmeyer, Director of Communications
phone: (816) 410-8350
email: bschonde@kclinc.org
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