Highlights of key findings that resulted from this work in 2010 was shared at the annual CAN retreat and later with Travis County legislators.  This information helped CAN partners identify the collaborative initiatives they wish to pursue in the 2011 CAN Work Plan.  This information will be highlighted in the 2011 Community Dashboard report and on the CAN website. 

Following are just a few highlights of Issue Area Group accomplishments in 2010:

Aging Services Council (ASC):  The ASC launched a Neighborhood Ambassador Program aimed at training a cadre of neighborhood leaders to share information about resources and services available to seniors.  Developed a quarterly newsletter of information about services to share in neighborhood centers, senior centers, churches and any place that people gather. 

Basic Needs Coalition (BNC):  The Basic Needs Coalition provided the catalyst for the Best Single Source program and the Rapid Re-Housing program which provide case management and financial assistance to families and individuals at risk of homelessness. The network of relationships provided through the BNC added to the community's ability to access federal stimulus dollars. The Coalition helped to raise community awareness about poverty in our community with government proclamations, e-blasts and a presentation to the CAN Community Council. The BNC also partnered with ECHO to support and publicize National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.  

Behavioral Health Planning Partnership (BHPP): The BHPP partnered with Continuing Education at the University of Texas at Austin to expand professional development in cultural competency for behavioral health professionals. The BHPP also began working with boarding homes in the Austin area to better address the behavioral health needs of boarding home residents and continued conversations with stakeholders about the creation of a "sober center." Planning for the group to address developing a system of care based in a recovery model was initiated and will be the focus for 2011. The BHPP will use the recovery model to further develop substance use disorder and mental health integration in the community's behavioral health system of care. 

Central Texas Afterschool Network (CTAN):  CTAN developed a statement of Best Practices and an accompanying quality self-assessment tool, in alignment with the National Afterschool Association's accreditation program. CTAN Collaborated with Your Community Guide to produce both a printed and online searchable guide of afterschool opportunities for distribution to parents and schools in Travis County. CTAN partnered with United Way Capital Area and Ready by 21 to launch the High Scope Youth Quality Improvement System to increase program quality throughout Central Texas. CTAN also held its third annual conference for afterschool professionals; and is currently conducting a mapping study to identify afterschool programs and the numbers of students served in 17 Travis County low-income zip codes.

Child & Youth Mental Health Planning Partnership (CYMHPP): CYMHPP is collaborating with the indicator projects of the Ready by 21 Coalition and the Mental Health Task Force and is providing analysis of mental health indicators for children and youth. CYMHPP also hosted a Children's Mental Health Day at AISD's Lucy Reed Pre-K Center.         

Early Education and Care (Success By 6): The E3 Alliance and eight area school districts piloted a new measure of school readiness. Success by 6 worked with the City of Austin to ensure a smooth transition of services for young children and their families who were impacted by the sudden closure of Family Connections. The group also continued its work to increase the quality of child care available to children living in families with low income. In 2010, 52% of licensed child care centers serving low-income children were nationally accredited or Texas Rising Star certified. In 2005, only 12.5% were recognized. In the past five years, the percentage of child care centers with access to mental health consultation rose from 4.5% to 16%. Success by 6, in conjunction with community partners, has expanded the availability of support services to families with low income. In the past year, 516 families with children ages 0 to 3 received evidence-based home visitation services, increasing the likelihood that economically vulnerable children will enter public school with age-appropriate skills. 

Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO): ECHO reorganized and became an independent non-profit organization with a new community board of directors and governance structure.  ECHO published a "Plan to End Community Homelessness in Austin and Travis County"  as well as a report on best practices for support services in permanent supportive housing.  ECHO also held the annual homeless resource fair, conducted a count of the people who are homeless in our community, coordinated the submission of our community's Housing and Urban Development Continuum of Care application, which results in approximately $4.5 million in federal funding for housing and homeless services annually. ECHO also assisted in obtaining a $2 million grant for Salvation Army to be used for homeless prevention efforts among recently discharged veterans.  

HousingWorks: In collaboration with the Urban Land Institute, Real Estate Council of Austin and Austin Area Research Organization, released a report on housing policy priorities: Building and Retaining an Affordable Austin. Approximately 82 community leaders participated in the annual HousingWorks affordable housing bus tour of Austin, which explored how changes in zoning and density can improve affordability. Through efforts of the Housing Repair Coalition, which was originally a subcommittee of HousingWorks, the City of Austin agreed to devote $2 million of the voter-approved Affordable Housing General Obligation bond money to home repairs for low-income seniors and people who are disabled. The Housing Repair Coalition was awarded the Community Action Network Spirit of Collaboration Butler Award in recognition of its ground-breaking work to promote collaboration in the home repair efforts of government and non-profit organizations.

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Coalition (IDCC): The IDDC held a symposium, entitled "Transitions to the Future" for parents and caregivers of children with developmental disabilities.  The symposium featured information on housing and employment, financial support, guardianship and other legal issues. Texas Monthly Executive Editor Mimi Swartz was the keynote speaker.  Opening comments were shared by Chris Traylor, Commissioner of the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services.

Literacy Coalition of Central Texas: The Literacy Coalition recruited and referred 140 new volunteers to their network of partner literacy providers, trained 117 instructors of adult English language instruction, certified 9 master ABE instructor trainers and trained 19 ABE instructors in research-based classroom instruction strategies.  In the inaugural year of Health Literacy instruction, 286 healthcare providers were educated to effectively communicate with low literate patients. The Literacy Coalition also released updates for the Literacy Services Directory and the Immigrant Services Directory. In June 2010, the Literacy Coalition convened the Central Texas Regional Literacy Summit to formally release reports on literacy in Central Texas including The Need for Adult Education Services & the Capacity to Meet the Need.  All reports and directories are available on the coalition's website:www.willread.org.

Ready by 21 Coalition:  The Ready by 21 Coalition formed a new Steering Group with representatives from a broad range of youth-focused coalitions dedicated to using data to improve priority outcomes and indicators for children and youth - from early childhood to young adulthood, in areas of learning, working, thriving, connecting, and contributing.  With CAN, the new Steering Group is developing an online dashboard that will be linked with other community dashboards.  The Youth Services Mapping system, a project that originated in RB21 and was developed through AISD's ACCESS grant, now contains profiles for more than 100 service providers.  RB21's Quality team (in partnership with CTAN) continues to conduct Youth Program Quality Assessments and provide low cost professional development opportunities for staff from diverse youth programs.  The Youth Aging Out of Foster Care subcommittees developed a resource guide and coordinated to address gaps and barriers for youth aging out.  The Austin Healthy Adolescents (AHA) team led by the City of Austin HHSD began a planning initiative to coordinate improved health and engagement for young people.  The Youth Engagement Team produced a video on effective local practices for youth engagement.   The Coalition offered presentations on important topics such as AISD's strategic plan, desired professional skills in entry level employees, sexual health, and juvenile violent crime, and launched a new website to more effectively share information.