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Volume II, Issue 2   ●   March 2009
Public Inquiry & Assistance Center 

The AGO's Public Inquiry and Assistance Center (PIAC) works with consumers who have a range of questions and concerns and offers a free service that helps resolve matters between consumers and merchants outside of courts. Contact PIAC at (617) 727-8400.

Grant Opportunities 
Students Against Destructive Decisions

Justice and Mental Health Collaboration State-Based Capacity Building Program

Helping Outreach Programs to Expand

Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth

LEGO Children's Fund Grants to Support Children and Youth

Women Helping Others Foundation

Baseball Tomorrow Fund 

 
For additional grant opportunities, visit www.mass.gov/ago/grants.
 
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Thank you for taking the time to read this National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) special edition of the Building Better Communities newsletter.  I encourage you to read this newsletter and share it with your colleagues. If you have suggestions, thoughts or questions, please respond to us at agonewsletter@state.ma.us.
 
Cordially,
 
     Martha Coakley, Massachusetts Attorney General 
Martha Coakley 
Massachusetts Attorney General
 
blue mouseAGO Launches New Blog
On March 1, 2009, the AGO launched its new blog, At Issue & In Focus. The blog replaces the Energy Blog, launched in November 2008 in response to precipitous changes in energy costs. The blog will cover the wide range of issues addressed by the AGO including consumer alerts, cyber security, health care, and much more. Please bookmark and subscribe to the blog, and become an active participant in these vital efforts.
National Consumer Protection Week logoNational Consumer Protection Week
The AGO is proud to announce that it has joined a group of federal, state, and local government agencies and national consumer advocacy organizations to launch the 11th annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), March 1-7, 2009. Representatives from the AGO, in partnership with the Local Consumer Programs and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, are offering workshops at a variety of locations around Massachusetts. This year's workshops focus on consumer credit, credit scams and identify theft. For more information on AGO NCPW presentations, visit our website. 
prescriptionAGO Funds Community Programs
Using funds obtained in a national, multi-state settlement agreement, the AGO announces a competitive grant program designed to disseminate these funds locally, to qualified community health centers and/or nonprofit organizations, to support plans to improve or expand capacity for lead poisoning prevention throughout the Commonwealth.  View more information about the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Grant Program.  
In mid-February, the AGO awarded over $1 million in grants through the Prescription Drug Assistance Grant Program, to nonprofit community health centers in an effort to provide wider access to prescription medications to those populations where private or public financial assistance is unavailable.  View a list of grantees.