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April 12th CAN Board Meeting
On Friday, April 12th at 1 p.m., the CAN Board of Directors will hear an overview of the community's socio-economic well-being with the soon to be released 2013 CAN Community Dashboard Report. Also the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce will introduce their new executive director and discuss opportunities for collaboration.
The meeting will be held in the Boards and Commissions Room of Austin City Hall and will be televised on Austin Cable 6.
To access past agendas, minutes, and presentations, click here. |
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Video - Central Texas: Creating the Future We Want
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Central Texas Creating the Future We Want
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Many thanks to Central Texas leaders and KLRU for helping CAN produce this video on the demographic trends in the Austin region and the challenges and opportunities these changes present.
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CAN Community Dashboard
The Community Dashboard tracks key socio-economic indicators for Austin, Travis County and the 5-county Austin metro area. |
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Use 2-1-1 to Connect People and Services
The United Way Navigation Center offers free training on how to utilize the 2-1-1 system to link people in need with available community resources.
Training sessions last about an hour and a half and will be held on the following Fridays at 2 p.m. United Way for Greater Austin, 2000 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Reservations are not required.
March 22
May 24
July 26
September 27
United Way 2-1-1 will also provide special training sessions for social service agencies and community groups at their locations. For more information, call 2-1-1 and select option 1 or email Amy Price at
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Follow us!
 Get updates on news, meetings, research and more at CAN_Austin.
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CAN Partners
Austin Chamber of Commerce
Austin Community College
Austin ISD
Austin Travis County Integral Care
Capital Metro
Central Health
Capital City African American
Chamber of Commerce
City of Austin
City of Pflugerville
Community Justice Council
Del Valle ISD
Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce
Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Huston-Tillotson University
interfaith Action Central Texas
Manor ISD
One Voice Central Texas
Seton Healthcare Family
St. David's Foundation
St. Edward's University
Travis County
United Way for Greater Austin
University of Texas at Austin
Workforce Solutions - Capital Area |
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Austin Tops Forbes List of Fastest Growing Cities
Third year in top slot
Austin takes the top spot on Forbes' annual list of America's Fastest Growing Cities for the third year in a row. This ranking was based on an estimated annual population growth rate of 3% for 2012 and 2013, a 3% rate of job growth in 2012, 4.9% unemployment, and an economy that expanded 6.3% last year.
Forbes ranks the 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the U.S. based on six factors that include population growth, job growth, and the average salaries of college-educated workers. Houston and Dallas came in second and third, respectively, and San Antonio ranked ninth. |
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Williamson County #1 in Health Rankings
Travis also ranks high
Williamson County is the healthiest county in Texas according to the County Health Rankings released today by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation . The annual report examines and ranks the overall health of nearly every county in all 50 states.
The rankings include a range of factors that influence health including high school graduation rates, obesity, smoking, access to healthy foods, unemployment rates, number of children living in poverty and family support. Out of 232 Texas counties included in the rankings, Williamson County ranked 1st and Travis County ranked 12th.
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College Enrollment Up
Central Texas students enroll at a higher rate than students across Texas
 The Central Texas Student Futures Project tracks the success of students who graduate from ten area school districts. According to the latest report, 61% of Central Texas students who graduated in the Classes of 2008 and 2009 enrolled in post-secondary education. This exceeds the state rates of 53% for the Class of 2008 and 55% for the Class of 2009. The report found that high school graduates are more likely to go to college if they meet college readiness standards set by the state. Graduates are also more likely to enroll in college if they have taken at least one advanced math course beyond Algebra II, taken more than one AP/IB course, or completed the FAFSA. Hispanic, low-income and first generation high school graduates seemed to benefit more than graduates as a whole from meeting with their high school counselor for help with college applications and essays.
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Improvement Noted in Central Texas Education Outcomes
E3 Alliance 2013 Progress Report
The E3 Alliance has released its 2013 Blueprint for Educational Change highlighting progress made on four community goals to improve education in Central Texas. The report notes that, even though the last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the percent of low-income students in Central Texas schools, many educational performance measures have improved. Demographic changes cited in the report include:
- Central Texas schools have experienced a 39% growth in student population, almost twice the student growth rate for the state as a whole.
- The Hispanic student population has grown by 80%.
- The low-income student population has grown by 90%.
- The English Language Learner population has grown by 105%.
- The number of students living in poverty in our region has grown at 3.5 times the national average over the last ten years.
In spite of these challenges, the Blueprint Report notes a higher percentage of students who enter kindergarten ready to learn, a steadily improving four-year high school graduation rate, and a steadily increasing percentage of high school graduates who are "college ready."
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Austin Chamber Releases Updated Education Reports
Data for 10 area school districts
The Austin Chamber of Commerce will release its annual Education Progress Reports at a luncheon on Wednesday, April 3rd. Michael Crosno, CEO and founder of MyEdu is keynote speaker for the event. The Austin Chamber partners with 11 area school districts and Austin Community College to publish annual reports to track progress in student achievement and the numbers of students enrolled in and prepared for post-secondary education.
Visit the Austin Chamber website to find links to the progress
reports for each participating school district and for Austin Community College.
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Claim Your Tax Refund
Free Tax Help
 Foundation Communities says March is the best time to visit one of its seven Community Tax Centers. So far this tax season, over 11,000 Central Texans have been served by IRS-certified volunteers who have helped them claim $24 million in tax refunds.
People who qualify can make an appointment or file their own taxes online for free by visiting www.CommunityTaxCenters.org. The website also includes a 2013 Tax Toolkit that can be downloaded in both Spanish and English. For more information, including income limits, hours, locations and what to bring, visit the Community Tax Centers website. |
Hire Our Heroes
Veterans Job Fair
Veteran job seekers, active duty military members, guard and reserve members, and military spouses are invited to a job fair on Tuesday, April 16th at the Millennium Center, 1156 Hargrave Street.
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Fair Housing Conference
Austin Tenants Council
The Austin Tenants Council is hosting a free, full-day Fair Housing Conference on Thursday, April 11th in Austin. The conference will include a discussion of recent fair housing legal cases, HUD's "disparate impact" rule and its implication on housing litigation, housing mobility in Austin, and disability issues in housing. Visit www.housing-rights.org for more information and to register.
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CAN is a partnership of governmental, non-profit, private and faith-based organizations which leverage mutual resources to collectively improve social, health, educational and economic opportunities in our community.
caction.org |
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