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| CAN Releases Community Dashboard |
 CAN will release Community Dashboard 2010 at a news conference tomorrow at 10 a.m. at City Hall. Watch it live or on demand on Channel 6. The annual report will track how we are doing as a community on 16 key social indicators that include education, income, housing, health, safety and other issues. You can find the report tomorrow on the CAN website www.caction.org. |
| Snapshot of Adult Literacy in Central Texas |
The Literacy Coalition of Central Texas has released "Literacy in Central Texas: A Snapshot of Conditions." The report includes information for the Austin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson Counties. Some findings of the report include...
- 147,180 adults struggle with the English language;
- 164,452 adults do not have a high school diploma; and
- 121,074 adults struggle with reading or cannot read.
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| New Center to Treat and Prevent Childhood Obesity |
| The Dell Children's Medical Center will open a new Texas Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Obesity to provide clinical treatment for children and teens who are obese. The Center will be established with a $1 million four-year grant from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. In addition to clinical treatment for children, teens, and their families, the Center will also provide community engagement and advocacy to fight childhood obesity at both the individual and community level. |
| CAMPO Twenty-Five Year Transportation Plan |
 The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) has drafted a plan to respond to the transportation needs of our five-county region through the year 2035. People, Planning and Preparing for the Future: Your 25 Year Transportation Plan is available for review on the CAMPO website www.campotexas.org. Public comment on the plan will be accepted on-line through April 13th at 5 p.m. You may also attend a public hearing on Monday, April 12th at 6 pm at the Austin Convention Center, Ballroom A. | |
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| Make Sure YOU Count on April 1st! |
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Mayor Leffingwell and Judge Biscoe will host a Census Summit on March 10th at 5:30pm at Austin City Hall in the Council Chambers. The Census forms will begin arriving in mail boxes this month. Taking 10 minutes to answer 10 questions will help fund community services for the next 10 years. |
| Follow CAN's Tweets |
 If you like the reports and research in CANews, you should follow CAN_Austin on Twitter. Chantel Bottoms is constantly posting new links to research and interesting information. | |
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| Affordable Housing Bonds |
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Austin voters approved $55 million in general obligation bonds to be used for affordable housing in November 2006. After three years, 76% of the total has been spent or committed. The City of Austin has developed a website to let voters know how their bond funds have been spent so far. |
| Travis County Food Environment - New USDA Food Atlas |
The US Department of Agriculture has launched a new Food Environment Atlas that offers a state-by-state and county-by-county analysis of food indicators. Some of the information recorded on the site for Travis County follows:
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# of households with no car and more than 1 mile to store: 5,172
- % of households with no car and more than 1 mile to store: 1.6%
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# of low-income households with no car and more than 1 mile to store: 68,997
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% of low-income households with no car and more than 1 mile to store: 8.5%
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WIC $ redemptions: 20,210,985
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Low-income preschool obesity rate: 15.3% |
| Financial Aid Saturdays: 19 Down, 10 To Go |
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The Austin Chamber of Commerce, 13 local school districts and 11 institutions of higher education have completed 19 Financial Aid Saturdays to help 2,000 local families submit their federal and/or state financial aid forms for college. If you know a college-bound student or adult who needs help submitting their financial aid forms accurately and in a timely manner, tell them about this Saturday's five events in Williamson, Travis and Hays counties.
Financial Aid Saturdays March 6th - 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
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Hendrickson High School, 2905 FM 685, Pflugerville, TX 78660
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Hutto High School, 200 College, Hutto, TX 78634
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Leander High School, 3301 S. Bagdad Rd., Leander, TX 78641
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Lehman High School, 1700 Lehman Road, Kyle, TX 78640
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Round Rock High School, 300 Lake Creek Drive, Round Rock, TX 78681
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| Imagine Austin's Future - Areas Susceptible to Change |
 The City of Austin has expanded the deadline for submitting input into the first phase of Austin's new Comprehensive Plan to March 31st. Visit the Imagine Austin website to participate in a survey or to find out how to host a "Meeting-in-a-Box" with your friends and neighbors.
Phase II of the Imagine Austin plan development will begin this spring with a closer look at future land use and Austin vision for the future. The map to the left is part of a "Susceptibility to Change Analysis." Areas in red and yellow are most likely to change. Click on the map to learn more about what kinds of changes are likely to occur. |
| Public Hearings on HUD Funded Programs |
The City of Austin expects to receive about $13 million for four U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs next year. Two public hearings will be held to assess community needs and to receive public input on priorities for services. The four programs include:
- Community Development Block Grants,
- HOME Investment Partnerships,
- Emergency Shelter Grants, and
- Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS.
Public hearings will be held before the Community Development Commission on Wednesday, March 10th at noon and before the City Council on Thursday, March 11th at 4 pm. Both meetings will be held at Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd Street. |
| Apply for Austin ISD Dual Language Program |
 Austin ISD will offer Two-Way Dual Language Programs in four elementary schools next year. Students entering kindergarten and first grade next year may apply. Students will include both native Spanish and native English speakers and all instruction will be in both languages to build multi-lingual capacity for all students. Visit www.austinisd.org for applications and more information. Applications are due March 26th. |
| Women's Resource Fair |
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Women and children who are low-income, homeless or victims of domestic violence are invited to the Third Annual Women's Resource Fair, hosted by the Austin Young Lawyer's Association, on Saturday, March 27th a the Schmidt-Jones Family Life Center at the northwest corner of 13th Street and Lavaca. The day long event will include legal assistance, medical services, employment and educational counseling, social services, child care and shelter and housing information. |
| Transition to the Future - Symposium for Parents of Children with Special Needs |
Parents and caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are invited to attend "Transitions to the Future," a free symposium on services, resources and options for people making the transition to adult services. The conference will be held on Friday April 16th from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Goodwill Industries. Learn more at www.iddc-ctx.org. | |
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Community Action Network (CAN) is a partnership of agencies and organizations in Austin and Travis County that provide resources to improve the health and well-being of people in our community. CAN is a collaboration of organizations and individuals working together to build a community of equity and opportunity.
CAN's role in the community is to ...
- enhance awareness of community issues;
- strengthen partnerships and connect planning efforts;
- support collaborative strategies that maximize community resources and impact; and
- mobilize action by reporting on progress made to improve the community's well-being.
CAN Partners: Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, Austin Chamber of Commerce, Austin Community College, Austin Independent School District, Austin Travis County Integral Care, Capital Metro, Central Health, City of Austin, Community Justice Council, One Voice Central Texas, Seton Family of Hospitals, St. David's Foundation, St. Edward's University, Travis County, United Way Capital Area, University of Texas at Austin, and Workforce Solutions - Capital Area.
CAN Issue Area Groups: Aging Services Council, Austin/Travis County Victim Services Task Force, Basic Needs Coalition, Behavioral Health Planning Partnership, Central Texas Afterschool
Network, Child & Youth Mental Health Planning Partnership, Ending Community Homelessness
Coalition, Early Care and Education, HousingWorks, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Coalition, Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, Ready by 21, Reentry Roundtable, and Regional Transit Coordination Committee.
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