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| Eight Months of Local Job Growth, But Not Enough to Regain Jobs Lost | |
Workforce Solutions Capital Area reports the Austin Metro area gained 2,700 jobs in September - the 8th consecutive month for job growth. September's unemployment rate for the five county metro area was 6.8%; down from 7.2% in August. Employers in government, education and health services added 5,200 workers in September.
The 17,300 jobs created over the past year have not been sufficient to regain jobs lost during the Recession. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, there are 61,900 Austin metro residents who are unemployed. |
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State Expands Behavioral Health Services for CHIP and Medicaid |
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has dropped limitations on mental health and substance abuse treatment benefits in both Medicaid managed care and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The changes come in response to the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. This federal legislation required Medicaid and CHIP group health plans that offer behavioral health benefits to provide those services at parity with medical and surgical benefits. To offset the cost of the changes, there will be increases in co-payments for some services. Learn more. |
| Legislative Forum on Mental Health and Chemical Dependency | |
Members of the Travis County legislative delegation will participate in a forum on key local mental health and chemical dependency issues on Wednesday, November 10th. The forum, conducted by Austin Travis County Integral Care in partnership with NAMI Austin and the Mental Health Task Force, will be held from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Joe C. Thompson Conference Center, 2504 Robert Dedman Drive.
The legislative form is free and open to the public. Consumers, family members, providers and partner agencies are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact erika.canales@atcic.org. |
| More Than a Job. It's a Career in Public Service! | |
Human Resources professionals from local government, education and health care employers will participate in a Career Fair and Expo to be held this Saturday, November 6th. The City of Austin, Travis County, the State of Texas, Seton Family of Hospitals and the Austin Independent School District will join other local employers at the Career Fair. Workforce Solutions will also be on hand with information on job readiness training and skills development and job referrals. Those attending the fair will be able to turn in job interest forms to hiring departments at the event. Participants are encouraged to go online at www.austincityjobs.org prior to the Career Fair to view opportunities. |
| Town Hall Meeting on Disproportionality | |
Disproportionality is the overrepresentation of a particular race or cultural group in a program or system. For example, African- American children are represented in the Texas Child Protective Services system at a higher rate than their percentage of the population. The Austin Disproportionality Advisory Committee is holding a Town Hall meeting this Thursday, November 4th to discuss why this happens, who is affected by it, and what is being done to stop it. Light supper will be provided at the meeting from 6:30 - 8 p.m. at the Carver Library, 1161 Angelina Street. |
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| Presentations on Community Indicators |
Check out the presentations shared at CAN Community Council meetings this year. Issue Area Groups and other stakeholders are helping us understand:
- where we stand on each indicator,
- who is working to move the indicator in the right direction, and
- what more needs to be done.
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| Get Your News and Research Fix |  CANews can only begin to touch the surface of all the news, events and research that is constantly updated on the CAN_Austin twitter page. Join other local news and data junkies by following Chantel Bottoms' twitter feed. |
| CAN Events Calendar | | Keep up with events in our community by checking out the CAN Events Calendar. |
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| Texas Has 2nd Highest Teen Birth Rate | |
Texas was second only to Mississippi in the rate of births to teens aged 15 - 19 in 2008. New data released by the Centers for Disease Control reports a rate of 64.3 births for every 1,000 teenage girls between 15 and 19 years of age.
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| What Happened and Why? A Post-Mortum of the November Election | |
The results of the November 2nd general election will be the topic of review and discussion at a special meeting of the Austin League of Women Voters. W. Gardner Selby, the Austin American Statesman's editor of PolitiFact Texas, will be the featured speaker. The public is invited to join in the conversation on Monday, November 8th at 2 p.m. at the Howson Branch Library, 2500 Exposition Boulevard. This free event is one of the League's ways of encouraging informed citizen participation in government. |
| Travis County Seeks Applicants for Central Health Board of Managers | |
 Travis County is seeking candidates for a single vacancy on the Board of Managers of Central Health, formerly known as Travis County Healthcare District. The District, approved by Travis County voters on May 15, 2004, has a budget of $109 million and provides access to health care for under-insured, uninsured and indigent people in Travis County. Central Health is governed by a nine-member Board of Managers. Four positions are appointed by Travis County, four by the City of Austin, and a consensus appointment is jointly agreed upon by the Commissioners Court and City Council. Click here to learn more and to apply for the open position.
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| Free Seminar on Health Insurance for Seniors |
 Having trouble navigating the health insurance maze for seniors? Austin Groups for the Elderly will hold a free educational seminar on Saturday, November 13th from 10 a.m. to noon.
Representatives from the Texas Department of Insurance and Physicians Health Choice will provide information to help seniors make choices about their health care options. Free respite care is available with a reservation. To learn more or to RSVP, contact Bruce Kravitz at bkravitz@ageofaustin.org or (512) 451-4611. |
| Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week | |
This week of events will be kicked off on Saturday, November 13th with a Homeless Resource Fair that connects people who are homeless with medical services, referrals to social service agencies, benefits enrollment, legal assistance, food, haircuts, and much more. Learn more about hunger and homelessness in Austin and the many events planned for Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week November 13th - 19th. |
| Lifeworks to Break Ground on New $9 Million Facility |
 Lifeworks will soon break ground on a new East Austin Youth and Family Resource Center, located at 835 N. Pleasant Valley Road. The $9 million, 31,000 square-foot facility will allow Lifeworks to expand mental health, education and literacy services for troubled youth and their families. The new building will also include space for two other nonprofits: Capital Idea and the Literacy Coalition of Central Texas. The new facility will allow Lifeworks, which currently serves about 10,000 children and families each year, to increase its capacity by 25%. |
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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 as a convener, connector and informer helps our community...
- enhance awareness of community issues;
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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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