DISCOUNTED RATES FOR THE PARTNERSHIP'S
ANNUAL CONVENTION END ON JULY 3!
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 UPDATED FEDERAL REGISTER ALERT:
HEAD START PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
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Head Start Performance Standards
Proposed Rules
Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start
Notice of proposed rulemaking
6/2015
Citation: Federal Register Volume 80, Number 118 (Friday, June 19, 2015) Pages 35429-35564
URL: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/06/19/2015-14379/head-start-performance-standards
PDF Format: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-06-19/pdf/2015-14379.pdf
Summary: This NPRM proposes to update Head Start program performance standards, last revised in 1998, to meet Congress's requirements and improve the quality of Head Start. In the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, Congress instructed the Office of Head Start to update its performance standards by regulation and "ensure that any such revisions in the standards [do] not result in the elimination of or any reduction in quality, scope, or types of health, educational, parental involvement, nutritional, social, or other services." The proposed performance standards incorporate extensive consultation with experts and findings from scientific research, reflect best practices, lessons from program input and innovation, integrate recommendations from the Secretary's Advisory Committee Final Report on Head Start Research and Evaluation, and reflect this Administration's deep commitment to improving the school readiness of young children. The proposed program performance standards will improve the quality of services, reduce bureaucratic burden on programs, and improve regulatory clarity and transparency. They provide a clear road map for current and prospective grantees to provide high quality Head Start services and to strengthen the outcomes of the children and families they serve.
Action Date: Please submit comments on this NPRM by August 18, 2015.
Contact: Colleen Rathgeb, Office of Head Start Policy and Planning Division Director, (202) 358-3263, OHS_NPRM@acf.hhs.gov.
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COMMUNITY ACTION OF VENTURA COUNTY, CA, USING CROWDFUNDING PLATFORM TO RAISE FUNDS
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Community Action of Ventura County (CAVC) is using the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo to enlist community support for its social enterprise - The CAVC Kayak Works. Working closely with a local college, California State University Channel Islands, the agency has developed an appeal for donations and support of the program. The CSUCI marketing class also helped the agency to develop its own program-specific Facebook page.
"Social media is no longer the wave of the future," says Executive Director, Tim Hockett, "it's now an essential component of getting our story out."
Through "boosting" the launch of The CAVC Kayak Works Indiegogo campaign on Facebook, more than 34,000 people were reached in just the four initial days.
The kayak program employs homeless or formerly homeless persons in the assembly of award-winning sea kayaks.
To see the Facebook and Indiegogo pages, please click on the following links:
Feel free to "like" the pages and share with others.
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WHITE HOUSE RURAL CHILD POVERTY REPORT
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In May, the White House released a report entitled Opportunity for All: Fighting Rural Child Poverty. The report is a must read for Community Action and highlights program and policy issues impacting children in rural communities. Community Action leads the way in rural America and we ask that you take time to download and read this important report.
To read this report, go to: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/rural_child_poverty_report_final_non-embargoed.pdf
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REGISTER FOR SERVE RURAL BY JUNE 30
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Late this spring, the White House Rural Council announced "Rural Impact," an effort to help address the challenge of rural child poverty by bringing together federal agencies and public and private resources. As part of this initiative, United We Serve launched Serve Rural, a national effort to enlist volunteers and local organizations to help build thriving rural communities.
In early July, they will send thousands of Americans to Serve.gov to search for volunteer opportunities in rural communities-and we want your organization or organizations near you to be represented. United We Serve needs your help to generate as many opportunities as possible in advance of this big push for volunteers serving in rural communities.
Join by registering your volunteer opportunities and tagging them as "Serve Rural" on Serve.gov no later than June 30. If you don't have a project to register but know an organization near you that does, please tell them to register on Serve.gov. That way, all rural volunteer opportunities will be in one searchable database.
Projects posted on Serve.gov are distributed to sites across the web through AllforGood, making it more likely that your projects are seen by thousands of volunteers. Click here for instructions on how to register your volunteer projects on AllforGood.
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CSBG REAUTHORIZATION SPONSOR MICHAEL FITZPATRICK SPEAKS IN PENNSYLVANIA ABOUT COMMUNITY ACTION
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 U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-8, Middletown, speaks to members of the Bucks County Opportunity Council, Community Action Association of PA and Montgomery County Community Action Development Commission on Monday, June 22, 2015, at the Bucks County Opportunity Council Office in Doylestown Borough. From left: Rick Beaton, President, Community Action Association of PA; Executive Director, CADCOM (Montgomery Co.), Erin Lukoss, Executive Director, Bucks Co. Opportunity Council, and U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-8, Middletown.
U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-8, Middletown, spoke to members of the Bucks County Opportunity Council, Community Action Association of PA and Montgomery County Community Action Develooment Commission on Monday, June 22, 2015, at the Bucks County Opportunity Council Office in Doylestown Borough. Congressman Fitzpatrick introduced the CSBG reauthorization bill this spring.
To read the article, go to: http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/news/local/fitzpatrick-wants-more-federal-dollars-for-nonprofits/article_31a59e6d-9a82-56bf-a14f-c4cc0a0dec1f.html
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NEW YORK SMARTY PANTS PROJECT EXCEEDS TARGET
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Sometimes being a smarty pants is a good thing. That is what the New York State Community Action Angels network believes anyway. It is for that very reason this year's annual statewide project for kids was called "Smarty Pants" ~ Read Them Ready". Their goal was to collect 10,000 storybooks. This project partners with Pathways to Kindergarten, an initiative created by Community Action Angels and ChildCore Publishing to insure at risk children are prepared for kindergarten. Both projects are in memory of Stephanie Bates, an employee of Pro Action of Steuben and Yates whose heart was always with the youngest of those we serve.
"Children who do not have access to books and who do not read regularly are among the most vulnerable and are at risk for failing in school", said Pat Standish, Community Action Angels Coordinator and Division Director at Community Action for Wyoming County. "Twenty-three percent of children in New York State live in poverty and for many of them owning their own book is not an option. While we realize we cannot put a book into the hands of every child who might need one, we want to help as many as we can. At the same time it is important to let people know that the need exists and how little it takes for someone to make a difference.
So what were the results? In just 22 business days 26,693 storybooks were donated and the number continues to rise. Now, thousands of New York State children will have a greater chance of success in school and in life.
"The New York Department of State commends and is proud to support the efforts of the statewide Community Action Angels Smarty Pants Project,'" said Veronica Cruz, Director, New York Department of State's Division of Community Services. "We'd like to congratulate Pat Standish and all the Community Action Angel Volunteers who contributed their time and talent to promote this most worthwhile project, which collected more than 26,000 books in less than one month."
Questions? Contact Pat Standish at Pstandish@wccainc.org.
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OPENING DOORS: FEDERAL STRATEGIC PLAN TO PREVENT
AND END HOMELESSNESS
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OBAMA ADMINISTRATION RETOOLS NATIONAL PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS
 This past Monday, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) released revisions to the Obama Administration's plan to end homelessness. The plan, Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, was originally released in 2010, and defined national goals and strategies for ending homelessness.
While the plan reaffirms strategies that have been effective in combating homelessness, it lays out a future roadmap for coordinated, collaborative action among the 19 USICH member agencies as well as local and state partners. Some of significant 2015 changes to Opening Doors include:
- A new operational definition for an end to homelessness;
- Clarification on the role of Medicaid in financing services for permanent supportive housing;
- A change in the deadline for ending chronic homelessness from 2015 to 2017;
- Expanded guidance and new strategies for retooling homelessness programs into more effective crisis response systems; and
- Increased emphasis on the use of data in decision-making and performance management.
Read the report
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LCRC AND SSRC WEBINAR ON JUNE 25
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Join the Learning Communities Resource Center and the Self-Sufficiency Research Clearinghouse for a Webinar on June 25th
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Using Implementation Science as a Tool for Practice   Webinar on Thursday, June 25, 20152:00pm ET/1:00 CT/12:00pm MT/11:00am PT Register Now Join LCRC for the "Using Implementation Science as A Tool for Practice" webinar on June 25th at 2pm ET/1pm CT/ 12pm MT/ 11 am PT. This free webinar will highlight Implementation Science as a methodology for system change in support of family self-sufficiency to improve Community Action programs.
Implementation Science is defined as the study of methods to promote the integration of research findings and evidence into policy and practice. The webinar will also feature ICF International staff with specialties in Family Self Sufficiency who will:
- Offer an overview of the framework and components of implementation science and aspects of the Self-Sufficiency Research Clearinghouse;
- Discuss how Community Action Agencies can use Implementation Science in their work;
- Provide examples of how Implementation Science has been used in the social service field.
This webinar is free, but pre-registration is required. Register here today!
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ACF NATIONAL EARLY CHILDHOOD TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SYSTEM TRANSFORMATION WEBINAR ON JUNE 25
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ACF National Early Childhood
Training and Technical Assistance System Transformation Webinar
Co-sponsored by the Office of Head Start, Office of Child Care,
and ACF Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development
Thursday, June 25, 2015
12:30 - 2 p.m. EDT
The Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Office of Head Start and Office of Child Care are collaborating to transform the current training and technical assistance (T/TA) system. Their goal is to more effectively support early care and education programs and staff in the delivery of quality services to children and their families across the country. To support this vision, on May 19, 2015, ACF announced the release of six funding opportunity announcements (FOAs), soliciting applications to build the following new National Early Childhood Centers:
- National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning
- National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness
- National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance
- National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement
- National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment
- National Center on Program Management and Fiscal Operations
This webinar will provide an overview of the new Early Childhood T/TA System, including transformation goals and a brief description of the six FOAs listed above.
How to Participate
To register for this webinar, go to: https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1067633
You will then receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the webinar.
The webinar will be accessible via computer, tablet, and other Internet-connected devices. Phone access is available for those requiring alternative accommodations. Email webcasts@hsicc.org to receive telephone access. Please call in with other colleagues in your organization where possible.
Questions?
To learn more about our Early Childhood T/TA System, please visit: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd/interagency-projects/ece-technical-assistance
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COLORADO HHS' EFFORTS TO MEASURE CLIENT WELL-BEING:
A WEBINAR ON JUNE 30
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Colorado Dept. of Health and Human Services' Efforts to Measure Client Well-being
Tuesday, June 30
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT
For the past two years the Colorado CSBG Network has partnered with the Colorado Department of Human Services Work Support Strategies Initiative (CDHS WSS) to inform CO public and private organizations' practices in defining, measuring, and using well-being metrics in supporting families, and to create a hands-on toolkit for county and community-based organizations to use in creating their own processes for measuring and tracking their clients' paths to improved well-being. The Colorado Community Action Association (CCAA) provided information on ROMA, Community Action National Performance Indicators (NPI's), customer tracking databases, and the variety of outcome indicators that are tracked through the CSBG Program in Colorado. The work of the WSS and the Family Well-Being Toolkit has been promoted by the CCAA through special breakfast meetings facilitated by CDHS WSS staff during the 2014 Regional Forums, and through a conference session at the 2015 Regions 8/10 Community Action Conference
Measuring Client Well-being presents a practical guide for county- and community-based organizations to explore new ways to support clients holistically and use well-being metrics to improve services, integrate programs, and achieve outcomes. Come join the Colorado Department of Health and Human Services Work Support Strategies Team on June 30 to learn more!
Click here to register.
This webinar is being offered as a part of the Work Support Strategies Initiative (WSS). WSS has provided a select group of states the opportunity to design, test, and implement more effective, streamlined, and integrated approaches to delivering key supports (including health coverage, nutrition benefits, and childcare subsidies) for low-income working families. To learn more, visit the WSS website.
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JOINT WEBINAR WITH HEAD START AND THE PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCED
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Office of Head Start
SAVE THE DATE FOR JOINT OHS/PARTNERSHIP WEBINAR
JULY 14th
1:00 ET/12:00 CT/11:00 MT/10:00 PT
Please watch the eNews for additional details and registration information.
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WIPFLI NONPROFIT AND GOVERNMENT UPCOMING EVENTS
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August 24-25, 2015
OMB's New Uniform Guidance
Community Action Partnership Annual Convention
San Francisco Marriott Marquis
San Francisco, CA
Registration Fee:
Cost for Community Action Partnership members are as follows:
* $625 per participant registering on or before July 27, 2015. (Partnership Members must use the promo code CAPSF* when registering or they will be charged the regular early bird rate of $645)
* $795 (regular registration fee) per participant registering after July 27, 2015.
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DISCOUNTED REGISTRATION RATES END ON JULY 3!
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 The CONVENTION BROCHURE is available to download, click here.
You can register for the Convention as well as several pre-convention activities to
help you maximize you Community Action experience.
Click here
for CONVENTION RESERVATIONS at the Marriott Marquis.
Please make hotel reservations now.
There are a very limited number of rooms remaining at the Marriott Marquis
On-line REGISTRATION for the Annual Convention is now available, click here.
Chicago Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants,
Tuesday, August 25 at 7:15 pm.
The $40 ticket price includes special Community Action
at the ballpark t-shirt and ballcap. Get the Registration Form here
For exhibitor, sponsorship, and advertising information, please click here.
Click on this link for registration and more information!
#Partnership15
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ISA is an insurance provider providing property, liability, and risk management services. Click here to learn about the Irwin Siegel Agency alliance with the Partnership or visit their website. |
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