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CANews
February 19, 2014
In This Issue
Austin is Fastest Growing Metro Area
RB21 Overview of Children & Youth
KRLU Austin Civil Rights History Blog
211 Community Needs and Trends
Voter's Guide for March 4th Primary
Help Get Texas Covered
Integral Care Spanish Website
New Early College Start High Schools
Austin City Government 101
Art City Austin Seeks Volunteers
African American Family Support Conference
Children & Youth Focus of February CAN Board Meeting 
Representatives of the United Way, City of Austin and Travis County shared an update on the School Readiness Action Plan. This community-wide plan for ensuring all children enter school ready to learn was developed with multiple stakeholders. 
 
CAN staff shared an update of the Ready by 21 Dashboard with data on the status of children and youth in our community. Ready by 21 also shared recommendations for how agencies can work together to leverage resources and maximize the impact of their individual efforts.  The video of the presentation is linked here.
 
The next meeting of the CAN Board of Directors will be held on April 11th  from 1-3 in the Boards and Commissions Room at Austin City Hall.  
Aging Population Focus of Upcoming CAN Community Council Meeting
 
The Aging Services Council, the Mayor's Task Force on Aging and St. David's Foundation will share insights into the issues and needs of Austin's fast-growing aging population. 
 
The meeting will be held Monday, February 24th from 4-6 p.m. at Workforce Solutions, Alamo Room, 6505 Airport Blvd.
The Safety Net:  
Our Community is Changing - Are We Ready?
CAN recently produced a Report on the State of the Safety Net for the Austin Metro Area that takes a look at safety net gaps and needs and makes recommendations for improving the service delivery system.  For more information see the presentation to the CAN Board of Directors and video.    
As follow-up to the report, CAN will be hosting a series of forums to more deeply examine key barriers and gaps and discuss ways to improve the safety net:

May 7, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.,

IBC Bank, 11400 Burnet Rd., Building 46

Housing and utility assistance, housing rights, financial literacy, and assistance with poor credit and criminal histories.

 

June 4, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.,

IBC Bank, 11400 Burnet Rd., Building 46

Basic education and literacy; job search assistance and training;
child care and other work supports; and assistance for small businesses.

 

July 2, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.,

IBC Bank, 11400 Burnet Rd., Building 46

Availability of, and legal obligation to provide, interpreter and translation services; and enhancing cultural competency and grassroots leadership development.
For more information contact: vsarria@austinisd.org.
CAN has a new web address:
CAN has a new url to match our new name.  Check out the CAN website for research and reports. You will also find our Work Plan and the agendas, minutes and presentations from the CAN Board of Directors and Community Council meetings.
"Together We CAN!" is a collaborative project of CAN and Leadership Austin.  The website shares  practical ideas for action we can all take where we live, learn, work and serve to make our community a better place. You can also share how YOU make a difference.
Let us come to you!
Do you have an organization, board or community group that would appreciate an overview of community conditions?  
 
CAN staff are available to make presentations.  We have recently presented to Hispanic Austin Leadership, Impact Austin, East Austin Rotary, the Central Health Board of Directors and church groups.  
 
Contact us at (512)414-0323 or email kevin.paris@austinisd.org.  
 
More than 1,000 Twitter followers!
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Join the 1,000 Twitter followers getting updates on news, meetings, research and more at CAN_Austin.
 
CAN Partners

Austin Chamber of Commerce

 

Austin Community College

 

Austin ISD

 

Austin Travis County Integral Care

 

Capital Metro

 

Central Health

 

City of Austin

 

City of Pflugerville

 

Community Justice Council

 

Del Valle ISD

 

Goodwill Industries of Central Texas

 

Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce

 

Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce

 

Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

 

Huston-Tillotson University

 

interfaith Action of 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

  
Austin Tops Forbes List
fastest growing metro for fourth year in a row 

    

Forbes's annual listing of America's 20 Fastest-Growing Cities has Austin at the top of the list for the fourth year in a row.  Forbes rates cities based on population growth, job growth, unemployment data and median salaries for college-educated workers.  Dallas ranked fourth on the list Houston was tenth, and San Antonio was the twentieth fastest growing city.  

Ready By 21 
Overview of well-being of children and youth in Austin/Travis County 

RB21 logo     

ReadyBy21 and CAN will provide an overview of the well-being of children and youth in Austin and Travis County on Wed., March 5th from 9 to 11 am at Workforce Solutions Capital Area at 6505 Airport Blvd.  This meeting will provide an opportunity to hear updates on RB21 indicator data and discuss how to use the RB21 Dashboard and Youth Services Mapping (YSM) Tool to inform the proposal writing process for upcoming RFAs.

 

To get a preview of the presentation, you can view a video

of a recent presentation made to the CAN Board.

 

Austin Revealed: 
KLRU special highlights civil rights history in Austin

 

Wilhelmina Delco on politics and desegregation, Gary Bledsoe on police violence, Hoover Alexander on entrepreneurship - these are a few of the many stories shared on a KLRU Blog in honor of Black History Month.  The blog features the personal stories and memories of many well-known Austinites and reveals Austin's civil rights history through the voices of those who experienced it first hand.

 

Community Needs and Trends
top needs for 2-1-1 callers were for food, health care & bills

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The United Way for Greater Austin Navigation Center helps people navigate the complex system of health and human services in Central Texas by simply dialing 2-1-1.  More than 350,000 2-1-1 calls were answered in Central Texas in 2013. The 2013 Community Needs and Trends Report summarizes the kind of assistance callers were seeking.  

 

The United Way reports that 2013 saw another sharp increase in food-related calls.  Callers were also seeking help paying electricity and rent bills or finding housing they could afford. The launch of the Affordable Care Act also resulted in a higher volume of calls for enrollment assistance and other health care resources.

 

Voter's Guide for March Primary
Early Voting is now open

     

Vote On March 4th, voters will select party candidates for many state and county elective offices in the Joint Primary Election. The League of Women Voters has published a Voters Guide that is available to download from their website http://lwvaustin.org/.  

 

Early voting began February 18th and continues through February 28th.  This link to the County Clerk's website includes a map of polling locations and a list of IDs acceptable for voting. Whether voting early or on election day, you may vote at any polling location. 

 

Help Get Texas Covered
March 31st is last day to enroll for health insurance on the Marketplace
Darker areas indicate higher instances of uninsured people.

    

Texas has the highest rate of uninsured people in the nation. There are an estimated 4 million Texans who are eligible for health coverage through the health insurance marketplace, but many are unaware of this opportunity or are confused by their options.  Enroll America is targeting Texas for a flurry of outreach beginning March 1st and is training volunteers to help people get covered. February 22nd is a state-wide "Get Covered Training Day."  Training in Austin will be held at United Way for Greater Austin, 2000 E. MLK Blvd. Click here for more information and the RSVP to help get Texas covered. 

 

Integral Care 
new Spanish language website

 

During 2013, Integral Care served more than 32,000 people throughout its 46 facilities.  Close to 30% of those who benefit from Integral Care's services are Spanish-speaking.  To better serve this population, Integral Care has launched a new website http://www.integralcare.org/es.  

 

Early College High School
ACC partners with Elgin and Bastrop high schools 

 

Austin Community College is partnering with Elgin and Bastrop school districts to offer Early College High School programs that will allow students to earn a two-year college degree, for free, while in high school. Students will take high school and community college courses concurrently and can potentially earn an associate degree or career and technical certificate before they graduate high school. The programs are offered at no cost to students. For more information about early college high school, visit austincc.edu/echs

 

Austin City Government 101
forum educates people on how to get things done in city government

 

The League of Women Voters, KUT, KLRU, and the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life are hosing a meeting to help people understand how to effectively communicate with city government to get things done.  

 

The session on Saturday, February 22nd will feature a panel including Nelson Linder, President of the NAACP; Senator Gonzalo Barrientos; and Susan Morrison. Learn more at  lwvaustin.org. 

 

Art City Austin 
volunteers needed for weekend festival

 

The Art Alliance of Austin is seeking volunteers to help out with a weekend arts festival that takes place April 12th and 13th

 

Part art festival, part block party, this weekend-long arts festival transforms the streets of downtown in a celebration of art, culture and creativity.  The festival takes place along Cesar Chavez Street and the 2nd Street District.   Click here to learn more and to volunteer.

African American Family Support Conference
strengthening health and behavioral health for families

 

Registration is now open for the Central Texas African American Family Support Conference. The conference on February 25th and February 26th seeks to strengthen awareness of health and behavioral health services available in the community and to eliminate health disparities through culturally sensitive education and supports.

 

This year's conference will also feature an 8-hour Mental Health First Aid training session especially for clergy.  The session introduces non-healthcare professionals to risk factors, warning signs and available services for people who have a mental illness. Learn more about the Conference and the Clergy Only Mental Health First Aid Session.

  

 
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.