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CANews
June 18, 2014
In This Issue
CAN Safety Net Forum Video
Opportunity Imbalance
Voter Registration Sets Record
Teen Smoking Rates Down
Goodwill High School for Adults
Why Good People Can't Get Jobs
CapMetro Seeks Homes for Old Buses
CityWorks Acadmey
Transportation Planning for Health and Human Services
Substance Use Services Inventory

The 2014 CAN Dashboard has been released.  This fifth annual report includes two new indicators - food insecurity and college success.  Also new this year is a set of recommendations, drawn from the work of CAN, to respond to our community's growth, increasing diversity, and economic segregation.
 
Call (512) 414-0323 if you would like CAN staff to share a presentation of the findings of the report with your board or community group. 
 
ACC President presents to CAN Board of Directors
The CAN Board of Directors meeting on June 13th featured a presentation by ACC President Richard Rhodes on how Austin Community College is reshaping education in Austin. the meeting also included highlights from the June 4th CAN Safety Net Forum on Employment Assistance, Training and Work Supports.  
 
Visit the CAN Board web page for presentations and more information.  You can also watch a recording of the meeting on ATXN
 
CAN Community Council - Challenges Facing Veterans
The CAN Community Council continued its review of issues facing vulnerable populations at its June 16th meeting.  A panel of local experts shared the unique challenges and barriers facing veterans in our community. 

 

Presentations shared at Community Council meetings are available here.  Minutes of meetings are available here.
"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.
Cultural Competency, Diversity & Inclusion Toolkit 
 
Use these on-line resources and information to help your organization promote diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence.
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 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 the 2014 Work Plan and the agendas, minutes and presentations from the CAN Board of Directors and Community Council meetings.
Employment Assistance
systems changes that can help people connect to jobs, training & supports

     

CAN is hosting a series of Safety Net Forums this year, the second of which featured a discussion of available community resources to help people find employment, training and work supports such as childcare. This video highlights some of the information shared at the June 4th forum and some of the systems changing ideas that emerged.  

 

CAN Jobs Forum
CAN Safety Net Forum: Employment Assistance

 

Future Safety Net Forums will be held on the following topics...

  • Health Care, August 6th
  • Cultural Proficiency and Interpreter/Translation Services, September 3rd

Visit the CAN website to learn more about past and future Safety Net Forums.  View the report to the CAN Board on the Employment, Training and Work Supports Forum here and related information here.

 

Opportunity Imbalance
Austin area has grown at 5-times the national rate since 1980

     

Since 1980, the Austin metropolitan area's population has grown five times faster than the U.S. overall. Population growth in Central Texas has brought opportunity, but has also resulted in rising housing costs in the urban core and changing economic realities. CAPCOG's newly published Housing Opportunity in Central Texas report, created as part of the HUD-funded Sustainable Places Project, summarizes key findings of data analysis and examples of how the many planning tools - built by the project - will impact future policy decisions. 

 

The report's conclusions call for integrating planning for land use, housing and transportation.  A few highlights...

  1. The fast-growing Hispanic population is primarily located in low-opportunity areas.  If the region hopes to maintain a productive future workforce, it is "imperative"' to improve Hispanic people's access to opportunity.
  2. As local governments develop policies to deal with gentrification, the cultural heritage of African American and Hispanic neighborhoods must be considered. 
  3. Affordable housing must be expanded in high opportunities areas to provide greater access to educational and economic resources and to provide a "ladder to the middle class". 
  4. Areas of low opportunity that are in a state of further decline can benefit from "place-based investments" that address the specific challenges of these areas.
Voter Registration Sets Record
Travis County voter rolls hit all-time high in May

Vote 

Travis County's voter rolls exceeded 635,000 citizens last month, breaking the November 2012 record of 634,931 registered voters. In December 2012 more than 41,000 residents were removed from the voter rolls, as required by law, bringing the number of registered voters down to under 600,000. Voters are removed from the rolls because they move out of Travis County, move within Travis County but fail to update their address or are deceased. The new voter registration record represents the largest increase for any comparable period in more than a decade.

 

It is estimated that about 100,000 eligible voters are not yet registered.  One-hour training sessions for Volunteer Deputy Registrars are held the first Tuesday of each month at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the Travis County Tax Office, located at 5501 Airport Boulevard.  Voters must be registered by October 6th in order to vote in the November 4th election.  Visit www.traviscountytax.org to learn more. 

Teen Smoking Rates Down
national survey of youth risk factors

    

A national survey of America's youth finds that smoking among high school students is at it lowest level in 22 years. The National Youth Risk Behavior Survey has been tracking youth behavior since 1991.  National and state-by-state results for 2013 have just been released by the Centers for Disease Control.  

 

Following is a sample of some of the other data reported in surveys of Texas youth...

  • 28% of teens felt sad or hopeless
  • 21% of girls seriously considered suicide and made a plan about how to attempt it
  • 13% of girls were physically forced to have sex
  • 19% of teens were electronically bullied
  • 7% were threatened or injured with a weapon on school property
  • 27% of boys carried a weapon
High School for Adults
New Goodwill charter school gives adults a second chance at graduation 

    

Goodwill Central Texas will open the first free, public charter high school for adults between the ages of 19-50 in Texas this October. The Goodwill Excel Center is a public charter school that provides accelerated learning for adults in a classroom environment.  Students will have individualized and flexible year-round curriculum with drop-in childcare and transportation vouchers. The courses are accessible for ESL and special education students and Life Coaches provide supportive services. Learn more at www.goodwillcentraltexas.org.   

Why Good People Can't Get Jobs
free webinar features international employment expert, Peter Cappelli

    

Peter Cappelli, Director of the Wharton School's Center for Human Resources and author of several books, will be featured in a webinar by the National Association of Planning Councils on Wednesday, July 23rd at 3 p.m. 

 

Professor Cappelli's research examines changes in employment relations in the U.S. and their implications.  His book Managing the Older Worker dispels myths about older workers and describes how employers can best engage them. Why Good People Can't Get Jobs identifies shortfalls with current hiring and training practices. The webinar is free, but advance registration is required.  Learn more.

Capital Metro Seeks New Homes for Old Buses
Metro Ride Share vehicles available

    

Capital Metro is seeking proposals from qualified applicants for the Community Mobility Vehicle Grant Program. The program will offer Metro Rideshare vehicles to non-profit applicants who provide paratransit trips or who fulfill an unmet transportation need in the community, such as providing transportation services to seniors, individuals with disabilities, or people who are low-income. For-profit businesses can also apply for vehicles to provide connections between Capital Metro service and employers in the region.  

 

Capital Metro will hold an informational meeting about the program at the Terrazas Branch Library on Wednesday, June 25th at 10:30 a.m. and Wednesday, July 9th at 10:30 a.m. Additional information and the program application are available at https://www.capmetro.org/vehiclegrant/. 

 

CityWorks Academy
learn the A to Z of city operations

    

The City of Austin is now accepting applications for the 2014 CityWorks Academy. This inside look at Austin  government provides a unique opportunity for Austinites to learn about the City's governmental processes, its procedures and the people who deliver services. 

 

The Academy includes 12 three-hour sessions on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings and an optional half-day Saturday tour of certain City facilities.  Sessions begin September 9, 2014 and conclude December 16, 2014.  The application deadline is July 15th.

Regional Transportation Plan for Health and Human Services
summit to explore coordination of transit and transportation services

    

The Regional Transit Coordination Committee will share progress made in its regional plan for coordinating public transit and health and human services transportation.  The workshop will be held on July 17th in Round Rock. The workshop will bring together elected officials, health and human service agencies, and transportation professionals to discuss opportunities for regional transit coordination in the Capital Area.  If you have questions or would like to register contact [email protected]. 

 

Substance Use Services Inventory
compiled by Dell Children's Trauma Services Research Department

    

The Trauma Services Research Department at Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas, in collaboration with Austin Travis County Integral Care and Central Health, compiled this Substance Use Services Inventory for Travis County that provides valuable information on community resources along the continuum of care for behavioral health.  

 
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. 
 
CAN PartnersAustin 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, Greater Austin Black Chamber, Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber, Huston-Tillotson University, Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT), 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, and Workforce Solutions - Capital Area