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CAN Board to focus on place-based planning and the new "opportunity maps"
The CAN Board of Directors will receive a report from the CAN Community Council on place-based planning. The City of Austin will provide an update on implementation of Imagine Austin and innovative efforts to engage the community. Frank Fernandez will share new Opportunity Maps, created by the Kirwan Institute, that offer a spatial representation of high and low opportunity in the five-county Austin area.
The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 17th and will be televised on Austin Cable 6.
To access past agendas, minutes, and presentations, click here. |
CAN Community Council to focus on the behavioral health continuum
The CAN Community Council meeting on Monday, May 20th will feature a discussion about the continuum of services and care required to have a mentally healthy community. Emergency psychiatric services, substance abuse treatment, peer counseling and mental health care are all integral pieces of a full continuum of services that are needed. Experts from the field will share their insights about existing efforts, where the biggest gaps exist along the continuum and how our community can respond.
The meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Boards and Commissions Room of Austin City Hall and will be broadcast on Austin Cable 6.
To learn more about the CAN Community Council and to access past agendas, minutes, and presentations, click here. |
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CAN to release 2013 Community Dashboard report at May 23rd press conference
CAN leaders will unveil the 2013 CAN Community Dashboard report at a press conference at Austin City Hall on Thursday, May 23rd at 9:30 a.m.
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Apply to be a member of the CAN Community Council
The CAN Community Council is a self-appointed board of community members who reflect the diversity of interests, concerns, issues and populations of the Central Texas community. Each year, the Community Council accepts applications from people who may want to serve a three-year term on this board. The Community Council meets most months for televised, evening meetings that feature presentations and discussions about important community issues. The role of the Community Council is to provide a link between the community at large and the policy makers and elected officials who serve on the CAN Board of Directors.
On-line applications are accepted year-round. Applications received by September 15th will be considered for election to the Community Council for a term beginning in January 2014. |
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2-1-1 Connects People to 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.
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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UT Regents Approve Plans for Dell Medical School
New teaching hospital to be built adjacent to the new school
 The UT Board of Regents last week approved a $334 million plan to construct a new medical school on land already owned by the university. The Dell Medical School is expected to open in the summer of 2016.
The Seton Healthcare Family and Central Health, partners in the new endeavor, will construct a teaching hospital adjacent to the medical school. Click here to learn more about the plan. |
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Voters Approve $490 Million in Austin ISD Bonds
$402 million in bonds rejected
 Austin ISD voters approved two of four bond propositions last Saturday.
Voters approved Proposition 1 for $140.5 million to upgrade technology, build new science and technology labs, add new school buses and improve energy conservation. Voters also approved Proposition 3 for $349.1 million, to allow the district to repair and renovate aging schools.
Proposition 2, which would have provided $233.9 million for new schools to address overcrowding and to improve facilities for fine arts, special education and athletics, lost by less than 200 votes. Proposition 4, which also failed, would have provided $168.5 million for facility improvements for career and technical education, fine arts, special education and physical education and renovations to the Ridgeview Campus to create a School for Young Men.
For more information visit http://www.austinisd.org/bond and www.traviscountyclerk.org/eclerk/.
AISD will establish a Citizens Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) to oversee how the bond programs are carried out. AISD is taking applications for those interested in serving on the 2013 CBOC. |
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Hispanic Quality of Life Report
Draft to be shared at Town Hall meeting on May 16th
The Hispanic Quality of Life Oversight Team has released its draft report with recommendations for the Austin City Council on how to improve the quality of life for Austin's Hispanic population. The draft report and recommendations, created by a seven member team of residents over the past four years, will be shared on Thursday, May 16th at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers.
The report notes that the Hispanic population feels "marginalized" when it comes to economic prosperity. Too many Hispanic youth fail to graduate from high school and many become parents too early. 56% of Austin's Hispanic population is under the age five and 45% of these young children are living at the poverty level or below. The report recommends the creation of a Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Advisory Commission to promote policies and programs to help Hispanics and Hispanic families thrive. |
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The Geography of Opportunity
New report maps areas of high and low opportunity
Green Doors and the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity have released The Geography of Opportunity in Austin and How It Is Changing, an in-depth analysis of the geographic footprint of opportunity, or the lack thereof, in our community in terms of education, housing, economics, health, and environment.
Key findings from the analysis include:
- African Americans and Latinos are geographically isolated from higher opportunity neighborhoods in the Austin area.
- Latinos, the largest minority population in the region, are highly concentrated in neighborhoods of low opportunity. 63% of Latino children attend schools in low educational opportunity neighborhoods vs. 20% of white children.
- Affordable housing is concentrated in low opportunity neighborhoods. The vast majority (79%) of subsidized affordable housing is located in low opportunity neighborhoods. And only 8% of subsidized affordable housing is located in high opportunity neighborhoods.
To download a full copy of the report, as well as the executive summary, visit www.greendoors.org. |
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Tech Sector Economic Report
79% of CEO's report difficulty finding qualified technical staff
The Austin Technology Council brought together 150 local tech CEO's to review and comment on its latest Austin Economic Study. The Study found that tech industries contribute $21 billion annually to the local economy. Three-fourths of the CEO's reported they plan to hire more people this year, but 79% say it is "somewhat difficult" or "very difficult" to find the tech talent they need.
Three-fourths of the CEO's said new tech hires must have a four-year college degree. According to the report, Austin is expected to have at least 1,200 openings in software development over the next five years, but only 56 people completed local degrees in this field in 2011. At this pace, the local talent pool is only able to meet 25% of the projected job openings, leaving recruitment as the only short-term option for filling jobs. The report encourages investment in STEM education to build local talent for future jobs. |
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Texas Medicaid Costs Driven by Higher Poverty
Texas has become an increasingly poor state
The Legislative debate over whether to expand Medicaid to cover an additional 1.5 million uninsured adults in Texas has surfaced concerns about the rising cost of Medicaid. In an opinion piece in the Houston Chronicle, Rice professor Elena Marks with the Baker Institute for Public Policy notes that the cost per enrollee in Medicaid in Texas over the past decade (18%) has been less than the rate of inflation (20%) and a fraction of the increase in health costs nationwide (52%). Marks attributes the increase in Medicaid costs to the increase in poverty, especially among children.
Texas Medicaid covers poor people who are elderly, disabled, or children. But the parents of these children are generally not covered unless they earn less than $4,000 a year. From 2000 to 2010, the Texas population grew by 21%, while the growth rate for people who live in poverty in Texas grew at more than twice that rate. The number of children in Texas living in poverty increased 75%. Marks attributes this growth in poverty to a 79% increase in Medicaid enrollment. |
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Community Indicators Consortium Seeks Proposals
Share how your organization uses data to measure disparities and promote equity
The Community Indicators Consortium (CIC) "Impact Summit" in Chicago October 17th and 18th will focus on the challenge of documenting widening social disparities and seeking opportunities to advance equity in our communities. The CIC is seeking proposals for the conference. Tracks will include housing and community development, health, tools for impact, equity and ethics, and sustainability. Find more information here. |
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Why Bother?
Broadcast of Town Hall discussion of voting in Austin post 10-One
Austin voters have approved a historic change in how we elect our city council. Beginning in November 2014, City Council members will represent 10 geographic districts in Austin. Will the new system change the way citizens engage with city government?
Hear what Austin citizens and experts have to say about how 10-1 will impact the way we engage as a city. KLRU-TV and KUT FM will broadcast a discussion with local experts on Thursday, May 16th at 9 p.m. You can join in an online interactive discussion at OVEE.
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Urban University
Six week summer program for youth
Urban University is a six-week summer learning program for youth ages 8 through 18. Each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from June 11th through July 19th, students engage in age-appropriate learning experiences that include STEM focused projects, life skills training, sports, career and entrepreneurial exploration. Click here to learn more about the African American Men and Boys Harvest Foundation summer learning program. |
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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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