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Travis County Community Conditions Report
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Travis County Health and Human Services and Veterans Services Department has released the 2011 Community Impact Report Part I: Community Conditions Highlights. The report provides an overview of community conditions across the issues areas where Travis County invests about $9.8 million in social service contracts to supplement and align with direct services provided by Travis County. Those areas include basic needs, housing, workforce development, child and youth development, education, behavioral health, public health and access to health care, supportive services for independent living, legal services and restorative justice.
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2-1-1 Community Needs and Trends Report |
United Way 2-1-1 helps residents navigate the complex system of health and human services in Central Texas. By dialing 2-1-1 from any phone, callers are connected to services offered by more than 5,000 programs.

Each year, United Way releases a Community Needs and Trends Report summarizing the nature of the calls received in the past year. 2-1-1 experienced a 15% increase in call volume in 2011. Much of this increase is due to a new partnership with Central Health to connect callers to medical care. The economy and wildfire disasters also created an increase in calls. Over 140,000 referrals to specific programs were made. |
Documentary Explores Hunger and Obesity
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| Feeding Minds: Texas Takes on Hunger and Obesity, 30 Second Promo |
The documentary "Feeding Minds: Texas Takes on Hunger and Obesity" will premier in 12 cities tomorrow night, Thursday, February 23rd. The film explores the overlapping challenges of childhood hunger and obesity, and what seven Texas cities are doing to solve this problem. The documentary is hosted by Jeremy Everett, director of the Texas Hunger Initiative at Baylor University, and Camille Miller, president and CEO of Texas Health Institute.
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2011 Annual Report |
Community Action Network has released a summary of work accomplished through the network of CAN partner agencies and Issue Area Groups. Read the CAN 2011 Annual Report. |
CAN Community Council Considers Health Reform |
This Kaiser Foundation video provides a basic overview of the Affordable Care Act. The video was shared at this month's CAN Community Council meeting during a presentation by Texas Well and Healthy.
Next month's Community Council meeting will focus on transportation, housing and the upcoming 2012 bond election. |
CAN Events Calendar |
Keep up with community events and post your own events on the CAN Community Events Calendar. |
Follow CAN's Tweets |

Get short, timely updates on meetings, research and more on CAN_Austin. |
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Violence Increases Among Incarcerated Youth |
A recent Texas Tribune article takes a look at the impact of juvenile justice reforms on youth in the six youth correctional facilities across the state. The Legislature passed laws in 2007 to improve conditions in youth lock-up facilities and to encourage counties to keep low-level offenders in their communities after reports of physical and sexual assault of youth by staff.
Since the reforms, the average daily population of youth in secure facilities has dropped to about 1,200 from nearly 3,000 in 2007. While there has been a decrease in staff assaults of youth, the instances of violence by youth in the facilities has increased. The Tribune article reports that youth-on-youth assaults grew to 54 assaults per 100 youths in 2011 from 17 assaults per 100 youth in 2007. Staff assaults by youth climbed to 37 confirmed assaults per 100 youths last year from a rate of 10 per 100 youths in 2007.
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National Transit Leaders Praise Rail |
Transportation agency leaders from six peer cities delivered a unified message in their visit to Austin this month: Rail investment has a positive impact on business and complete transit networks are an attractive option to car owners.
Transit agency leaders from Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, and San Diego spoke at two events where they addressed Austin leaders in the public and private sectors. The visit comes as the City of Austin anticipates unveiling a planned rail line connecting the University of Texas, capitol complex, and downtown, and also linking into Red Line commuter rail and a planned rail line connecting Austin to San Antonio. Click on the map to learn more about Austin's proposed urban rail plan.
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Workforce Solutions Capital Area Receives National Award |
The National Association of Workforce Boards has given the 2012 Workforce Investment Board Excellence Award Grand Prize to Workforce Solutions Capital Area. Workforce Solutions will be formally recognized during the annual National Association of Workforce Boards conference in Washington, D.C., March 11th -12th.
"We are tremendously excited and honored by this award," said Alan Miller, Executive Director for Workforce Solutions Capital Area. "It recognizes our commitment to building partnerships and developing innovative workforce development solutions in support of developing a world-class workforce. The credit for this award is shared by our board, staff, and all of our community partners and stakeholders." View the presentation Miller plans to share at the conference.
This is the inaugural year of the WIB Excellence Award and represents the standard of excellence for workforce investment boards. The award honors a WIB that has demonstrated an ongoing ability to develop comprehensive workforce solutions for their community. It recognizes the WIB's ability to engage partners and create strategic, community-based workforce solutions. |
New Water Restrictions in Response to Long-Term Drought |

Despite the recent rains, Central Texas is still in the midst of an exceptional drought that weather experts predict could worsen. With that in mind, Austin Water is reviewing the structure of its current watering restrictions and codes, and asking for citizen input.
Citizens and businesses are invited to attend a workshop this evening, February 22nd from 6:30 to 9 p.m. to review a draft framework for watering restrictions and drought response developed from public feedback. The workshop will be in Room 104 of the Austin Water headquarters located at 625 E.10th Street.
Austin has been in Stage 2 watering restrictions twice since 2009. If the drought does worsen, the Lower Colorado River Authority-where Austin gets its water-would ask customers to cut back even more than Stage 2 restrictions require. The current code and watering restriction levels are not designed for long-term drought situations. Updates to the water conservation code will take into consideration protecting Austin's tree canopy and the long-term effects on Austin Water residential and commercial customers. |
My Health, My Voice: Community Conversations About Health |
Key health partners in our community are holding a series of forums in each of the Travis County precincts to gather public input for the creation of a new Health Improvement Plan for Austin and Travis County. The first of these four monthly meetings will be held on Thursday, February 23rd from 6 - 8 p.m. at Reagan High School.
The forums will include free health screenings and refreshments, information about services currently available, and an opportunity to share what kinds of services community members want to see. Partners in the effort include the City of Austin, Travis County, the Austin Travis County Health and Human Services Department, Central Health, St. David's Foundation, the Seton Healthcare Family and UTHealth. Learn more.
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Mapping Health Services for Adolescents and Young Adults |
The City of Austin's Healthy Adolescent Initiative is inviting teens, parents, young adults and service providers to help create a map of how the Austin adolescent health system operates and to identify opportunities for improvement. The event will be held this Thursday, February 23rd from 4:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the Manchaca Library. Specific goals of the mapping project include:
- Understand the Austin adolescent health system from youth, parent, and youth service provider perspectives
- Identify differences between the youth, parent and youth service provider perceptions
- Analyze implications of the differences between perceptions
- Identify challenges, bottlenecks, blind spots, and pulse points in the health service system
- Envision the desired future adolescent health service system
- Create innovative proposals for how to solve current problems and issues
- Create a shared vision of the future Austin adolescent health system
A follow up meeting on February 29th will create a desired reality map for the adolescent health services system that would incorporate the feedback and findings from the first event. Register on-line at AHAinitiative.org.
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Expert Panel to Discuss Human Trafficking in Travis County |
While most of us are aware of the existence of human trafficking in our world, we are perhaps less aware of the scope of the problem in our own community. The League of Women Voters of Austin will host a panel discussion with experts on human trafficking. The discussion, to be held on Sunday, March 18th from 3 to 5 p.m. at Congregation Beth Israel, will feature four local experts who will give an overview of the problem and possible solutions. Speakers include ...
- Laurie Cook Heffron, LCSW and Research Program Coordinator, University of Texas at Austin's Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, will moderate the meeting and provide an overview of human trafficking locally, statewide, and nationally.
- Deek Moore, Detective, Austin Police Department, Human Trafficking Unit, will discuss law enforcement and criminal investigation of human trafficking.
- Kathie West, Victim/Witness Coordinator, U.S. Attorney's Office in Austin, Waco, and Midland, Texas, will discuss the criminal justice system and prosecution of human trafficking cases.
- Judith Averill, Clinical Director, Refugee Services of Texas and Director of Greenleaf Counseling, will discuss victims' services and survivors' needs.
Following the panel presentations, members of the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions and discuss the information and issues related to the presentations. |
Learn How to Connect People to Resources in Our Community |
2-1-1 Texas offers free monthly trainings on when to use 2-1-1 Texas and how to search the 2-1-1 Texas database to find information about available community resources. The targeted audience for these trainings is social services professionals and volunteers. Registration for the training sessions, offered the last Friday of each month, is not required.
Training sessions are held on the last Friday of every month at 2 p.m. at United Way Capital Area, 2000 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and last about an hour and a half. For more information, call 2-1-1 and select option 1 or email Amy Price at amy.price@unitedwaycapitalarea.org.
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 Working to promote equity and opportunity. Community Action Network (CAN) is a partnership of agencies, organizations and individuals who work together to enhance the social, health, educational and economic well-being of Central Texas. CAN's role is to enhance awareness of community issues, strengthen partnerships, and support collaborative strategies to promote equity and opportunity.
CAN Partners: 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, interfaith Action Central Texas (iACT), One Voice Central Texas, Seton Healthcare Family, 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, Basic Needs Coalition, Behavioral Health Planning Partnership, Central Texas Afterschool Network, Child & Youth Mental Health Planning Partnership, Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, HousingWorks, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Coalition, Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, Ready by 21, Reentry Roundtable, Regional Transit Coordination Committee and Success by Six. |
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