The Office of Community Services recently released the current draft of ROMA Next Generation for the first of two public comment periods.* This comment period will run for 60 days and provide the Community Action Network and others the opportunity to comment.
Click here to access the newly-released ROMA Next Generation Materials.
As stated in theDear Colleague Letter (above), "In compliance with the requirements of Section 506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Office of Community Services (OCS) is requesting feedback from the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Network on a proposed CSBG Annual Report."**
We encourage the entire Community Action Network to take a close look at the materials and work together at the local, state, and regional levels to provide feedback. This 60-day period is our primary window to inform the process. As noted in the Dear Colleague Letter, "At the end of the 60-day PRA comment period, OCS will complete a review of all comments and submit a revised CSBG Annual Report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). During the second phase of the PRA process, which includes a 30-day comment period, OMB will review the comments. Once OMB determines it is appropriate to approve the information collection, the collection will be approved for a three year period."
In addition, the Partnership will hold web meetings to inform and solicit feedback. We will analyze changes that have been incorporated into this draft and assess where feedback from the CSBG Network has been incorporated. Please keep an eye out for an announcement of these web meetings later this summer.
We look forward to working with you to analyze and provide feedback to OCS on this important element of the CSBG Performance Management System.
Please keep an eye open for upcoming eNewsletters and information posted on our website. Additional information about the draft may be found in our ROMA eNews mailing foundhere.
**The Federal Register announcement of the latest draft can be found here.
**The RNG materials are now described as a proposed CSBG Annual Report.
Note: this information is provided for information purposes only by the Community Action Partnership and not intended to provide any advice or interpretation of the materials provided as part of ROMA Next Generation.
RESEARCH: STATE TRENDS IN CHILD WELL-BEING
Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT Project, June 21, 2016
CAP SAN BERNARDINO HONORED AT CALIFORNIA NONPROFITS DAY
June 22, 2016
Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County (CAPSBC) was honored as a Nonprofit of the Year at a celebration of California Nonprofits Day at the State Capitol in Sacramento.
CAPSBC was selected as an exceptional nonprofit organization in the community. California Nonprofits is a statewide alliance of over 10,000 organizations, representing and promoting California's growing nonprofit sector and working to bring the full power of nonprofits to strengthening communities. CAPSBC has been delivering critical programs and services to help the less fortunate in San Bernardino County since 1965.
CAPSBC CEO Patricia L. Nickols-Butler stated, "It is an honor to be recognized as 'Nonprofit of the Year.' We appreciate the opportunity to raise the profile of the important work of helping people achieve self-reliance and economic stability, especially in these challenging times. We are grateful to Assemblymember Brown for nominating CAPSBC for this prestigious award, and for her on-going support of our mission to empower people to make positive changes in their lives."
VIRGINIA CAA WINS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR GRANT
Total Action for Progress (TAP) of the Roanoke Valley was one of fourteen agencies in the country - and the only agency in Virginia - that received a Department of Labor Strengthening Working Families grant (4 year award of $4 million).
This grant will assist southwestern Virginia address child care barriers for those who are in workforce development training or seeking to enhance their employment as part of a two-generation strategy. TAP is the lead applicant working with New River Community Action.
The Strengthening Families Grant also went to CAA ABCD in Boston.
Click here to read the executive summary of the TAP application, including the grant proposal and outcomes.
SUMMER NUTRITION PROGRAMS CLOSE HUNGER GAP FOR MILLIONS OF CHILDREN
Food Research & Action Center, June 14, 2016
After three years of significant growth, national participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs plateaued last summer, according to the Food Research & Action Center's annual Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation report (pdf) released today. During July 2015, the programs served nearly 3.2 million low-income children across the country, a modest increase of 11,000 participants from July 2014.
The Child Nutrition Reauthorization currently being considered by Congress provides an important opportunity to invest in the Summer Nutrition Programs so that more children return to school in the fall, well-nourished and ready to learn. If every state had reached the goal of 40 children participating in Summer Nutrition in July 2015 for every 100 receiving free or reduced-price lunch during the 2014-2015 school year, an additional 4.9 million children would have been fed each day, and states would have collected an additional $384 million in child nutrition funding in July alone (assuming the programs operated 22 weekdays).
"Status quo is not good enough when it comes to the well-being of our nation's children," said FRAC President Jim Weill. "More must be done to expand access to summer meals if we are to close the hunger gap and reduce the summer 'learning slide' for millions of our nation's children. Greater investments are needed to make these good programs even better."
The Summer Nutrition Programs, which include the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program over the summer period, provide free meals at participating summer sites at schools, parks, other public agencies, and nonprofits for children under 18. Not only do children benefit from the free meals, but they also benefit from the enrichment activities that keep them learning and engaged.
NEW CFED PAPER: STRENGTHENING VITA TO BOOST FINANCIAL SECURITY AT TAX TIME & BEYOND
Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), June 23, 2016
A large body of research and the experience of tax preparers has shown that tax time is one of the most critical moments in the financial lives of low- and moderate-income households. For 45 years, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program has been an essential tax-time resource, providing taxpayers of limited financial means with a free tax preparation service that is not only efficient, but has a 94% accuracy rate - higher than any other category of tax preparation service.
Today, CFED is releasing a new white paper, Strengthening VITA to Boost Financial Security at Tax Time & Beyond, which focuses on the development, growth and maturation of the VITA program from small, individual community tax preparation programs to a nationwide network serving over 2 million lower-income taxpayers annually.
With the IRS reducing taxpayer support and community tax sites across the country experiencing high demand for services, VITA is at a critical moment. The paper explores concerns about the ability of the VITA program to meet the needs of lower-income taxpayers and recommends policy solutions to ensure the program's success well into the future. It proposes that VITA needs
Congressional authorization so that the program is not funded on a year-by-year basis, which increases the risk and uncertainty
An increase in funding to keep up with growing demand for VITA services
A federal student loan assistance program to support and encourage young professionals to serve their communities
An Innovation Fund to develop, test and scale up best practices
CFED's Taxpayer Opportunity Network played an instrumental role in providing feedback and research from the field to make this evaluation possible. Also, a shorter brief of the paper is available here.
Here's how you can engage to ensure that VITA remains a vibrant community effort for years to come:
Download the paper and share it colleagues and others in your network.
Share the policy brief with lawmakers to encourage them to take action.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks about a webinar to learn more about the proposals and what advocates can do.
Spread the word on social media using this toolkit.
Understanding the characteristics of the poor is crucial for crafting effective anti-poverty policies. In this Economic Analysis, we document characteristics of the 46.7 million Americans-14.8 percent of the population-who lived in poverty in 2014. Using the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) collected in March 2015, the source of official poverty statistics, we describe who lives in poverty as well as the characteristics of the working-age poor and those working-age poor who were employed less than full-time year-round.
Kevin has many years of experience working with both national and local non-profit organizations. He brings first-hand experience in microlending and other forms of economic development.
Kevin worked for seven years as managing director of the Enterprise Development Group, a local microenterprise lender serving the greater Washington, DC/Baltimore metro area. Prior to that role, Kevin worked at the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, a national organization that represents the domestic microenterprise field. He has also worked with the National Congress for Community Economic Development and several member community action agencies engaged in housing and economic development activities.
A native of Los Angeles, Kevin came to Washington, DC for graduate school and has remained in the area since then. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from California State University at Fullerton and a master's degree in Political Science from the American University in Washington, DC.
He looks forward to his new position as director for economic development at CAP and helping more community action agencies to start or expand their economic development efforts.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016, 12:00 pm (11am CT/10am MT/9am PT)
Presenters:
Olivia Golden, executive director, Center for Law and Social Policy (moderator)
Robert Greenstein, president, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
Heather Hahn, senior fellow, Urban Institute
Cemere' James, vice president of Policy, National Black Child Development Institute
Christian Soura, director, South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
The Urban Institute in collaboration with the Center for Law and Social Policy and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities invites you to a discussion on how state and federal government can improve access to work support programs for low-income families.
Over the last four years, as part of the Work Support Strategies (WSS) initiative, six states have worked to streamline low-income families' access to benefits, reducing burdens on families and workers and promoting cross-agency and cross-program integration and coordination. Results and implications of WSS show that WSS state agencies improved benefit access and the delivery of benefits through coordination of technology, local office operations, policy, use of data for management, and relationships between health and human services
agencies and between state, county, and local offices.
In addition to a brief overview of the findings, a panel of experts will offer their views on improving access to work supports and the challenges and opportunities for the future.
How the CFPB Proposes to Regulate Payday Lending Thursday
Thursday, June 30, 2016 | 2 pm ET (1pm CT/12pm MT/11am PT)
Presenters:
Diane Standaert, Director of State Policy, Center for Responsible Lending
Anju Chopra, Senior Policy Manager, CFED
Emanuel Nieves, Government Affairs Manager, CFED
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's long-awaited proposed regulations aimed at curbing the most abusive practices of the small-dollar lending industry were released earlier this month, and we have been pouring over them since then to better understand the regulation and think about how the rule could be made even stronger. Now that we've had the chance to wrap our heads around this important proposal, we want to share what we've learned with you.
On Thursday, June 30 at 2 pm EDT, CFED will host a webinar to explain how the regulation works and the potential implications for state-level rule-making. They will also discuss what you can do during the comment period to stay engaged and support the Bureau's efforts, including engaging with our #ConsumersCantWait campaign.
These sessions of the Community Economic Development Webinar Series are hosted in partnership with the California Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA).
What is the Office of Community Services' CED Program: Use $800,000 to Create Jobs
Wednesday, June 29, 2016 2pm ET (1pm CT/12pm MT/11am PT)
Level: All
The purpose of the Community Economic Development discretionary grant program is to promote and support projects that address economic self-sufficiency for low-income persons and distressed communities by awarding funds to community development corporations (CDCs) to create employment and business development opportunities. Each year approximately 40-45 grants are awarded with a maximum grant award level of $800,000. Grants are awarded to cover project costs for business start-up or expansion and the development of new products and services. The grants serve as catalysts for attracting additional private and public dollars; for every CED dollar awarded, $3-5 is leveraged. Types of projects funded include business incubators, shopping centers, manufacturing businesses and agriculture initiatives. Funded projects are to create new employment or business opportunities for low-income individuals.Learn how your project could benefit from this source of financing from the federal Office of Community Services. In this session you will be presented with several CED projects funded with OCS-CED grants. You will hear what works (and what has not worked) and how the funds could be used in many innovative ways. Get insight into the funding RFP process.
Assessing the Use of Debt (Loans) in Community Development: Upsides and Downsides
Monday, July 27, 2016 2pm ET (1pm CT/12pm MT/11am PT)
Level: Intermediate
This is an intermediate session for those organizations that are considering using debt in a proposed CED project or are thinking of taking out a note (debt) on existing properties. Many projects can afford to fill project financing gaps with debt, but should you? This session will focus on the considerations you should make before taking on debt. You will learn basic underwriting from experienced lenders who have financed many community development and related commercial projects. What types of projects and tenants can best withstand debt? Where are the best sources for obtaining debt? How much debt could I afford or will be limited to? These are some of the questions that will be answered during this session.
