Jeannie Chaffin, Director, Office of Community Services (OCS), August 5, 2016
Puerto Rico is taking steps to protect its vulnerable communities from the Zika virus, including using funds from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP is an Administration for Children and Families (ACF) funded block grant that provides over $3.4 billion to states, territories, and tribes. Grantees have flexibility on how they use LIHEAP to meet the needs of their low-income households - paying utility bills, installing or repairing home energy equipment, providing blankets or fans, energy education, and more.
For part of Zika prevention, PRDF decided to target LIHEAP-eligible households with pregnant women and women of childbearing age. They partnered with the Puerto Rico Department of Housing (PRDH) to install or repair window and door screens in homes within the public housing system. This pilot program will help almost 400 households with pregnant women be better protected against infected mosquitoes. PRDF is also providing guidance to these families on other ways to prevent the spread of Zika.
Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity via The Manhattan Institute, August 3, 2016
After taking into account federal, state, and local minimum wages, the United States' average ratio of minimum wage to median earnings is higher than in most comparable nations, according to a report from the Manhattan Institute. Is a $15 Minimum Wage Appropriate? examines how the minimum wage relates to the average wage across the country and finds that higher-earning states and municipalities tend to set their minimum wages above the federal minimum, indicating that local government is better suited to set the wage. The report argues that the Fight-for-$15 movement is seeking to apply a one-size-fits-all standard that, while plausible in certain cities, is unsustainable in most.
We hope you have subscribed and receive the weekly emails from the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. You can register to receive this great resource here. It is a comprehensive collection of information on poverty that lands in your inbox each week. Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity was launched in October 2007 by major U.S. foundations to foster non-partisan debate during the 2008 campaign season about policy approaches for addressing poverty and opportunity. Today, Spotlight provides a platform for ongoing discussion about how best to address the needs of those who have fallen into poverty during the Great Recession and those who have struggled for generations to move up the economic ladder.
Their website is an important tool in the Community Action toolbox. Visit their homepage or click here. A recent lead article highlighted the two forums Spotlight held in conjunction with Policy Matters Ohio and Cleveland State University in Cleveland and Temple University in Philadelphia, aimed at fostering bipartisan dialogue and engagement about how to address poverty and create opportunity in the two host cities of the recent party conventions.
NEW BUILDING COMMUNITY WEBSITE
Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, August 8, 2016
A refreshed "Building Communities Academy" website highlights new and improved resources and incentives to support community centers and practitioners help families live healthier lifestyles.
Visit the website to learn more about the Aramark Healthy for Life 20 By 20 initiative, the science-based curriculum created with the American Heart Association that is designed to help families increase healthy behaviors and habits.
To encourage the use of the American Heart Association health and wellness workshops, which are part of the Healthy for Life 20 By 20 initiative, Aramark will award up to two $5,000 grants to Alliance member organizations that best demonstrate the materials in action. Go to the Grants Opportunity page on Building Community Academy for more information.
After coming out on July 7, the game swept the nation. Apple said Pokémon GO was the most downloaded
app ever in its first week. In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, one of the most popular places to play the game, which necessitates users to be in specific places, is downtown - Greene Square, specifically. Even when the sun goes down, the players don't stop. Often 20 plus players are in the Greene Square area, according to some Pokémon GO fans.
"You have to see it to believe it," said Dusty Noble, who monitors housing insecurity in Cedar Rapids for Hawkeye Area Community Action Program, a local nonprofit. "Three o'clock in the morning, there are just kids everywhere downtown." Noble said that's creating a Poké-problem. All of those Pokémon players downtown at night have started pushing homeless out of the area, who often sleep in Greene Square, on nearby benches or under bridges. Noble helped with a count last week and said there's a noticeable difference compared to previous. Homeless people are being found at campgrounds, on bike trails and in one case, the garage of an apartment complex.
Perhaps when the Poké-phenomenon passes, homeless populations will return to normal in the downtown area. But, for now, players have got digital creatures to catch. The city has also cracked down on some camps in the area, which is something that also likely played a role in the changing downtown homeless populations. HACAP reported some of those people were able to find housing.
This webinar series is designed to improve the effectiveness of Community Action agencies working on the front line of addressing family homelessness. Building on the research and information shared in ourprevious twowebinars, this next presentation will provide a deeper dive into the various processes and challenges of implementing innovative homelessness strategieswithin the Community Action network.
NLIHC will host a webinar for advocates and developers on options and considerations related to financing and operating affordable housing for extremely low income (ELI) households - those with incomes at or below 30% of the area median income.
Many consider developing rental units affordable to ELI households without relying on vouchers to be impossible. NLIHC's national Housing Trust Fund (HTF) Developer Advisory Group recently published two short briefs on strategies for funding ELI housing and on options and considerations related to using operating assistance and operating assistance reserves for HTF projects to achieve 30-year ELI affordability without depending on vouchers.
NLIHC's Ed Gramlich and Paul Kealey will provide an overview of the Advisory Group's papers. Former Homes for America President and CEO Nancy Rase and Community Frameworks Senior Housing and Community Developer Ginger Segel, both members of the HTF Developer Advisory Group, will be on hand to share reflections and answer your questions.
The national Housing Trust Fund requires that at least 80% of a state's HTF allocation must be used to produce, rehabilitate, or preserve rental housing, that 100% of a state's allocation in 2016 must benefit ELI households, and that HTF-assisted units must remain affordable for at least 30 years. Learn how this can be accomplished and what the pitfalls are.
CAPLAW WEBINAR: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS AND WORKING OVERTIME
Taking Care of Business and Working Overtime
Wednesday, August 17, 2016, 2:00-3:30 pm ET
Presenters: Eleanor Evans, Esq. and Veronica Zhang, Esq.
The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued its long-anticipated "overtime rule," which affects whether certain employees may be treated as exempt from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The DOL estimates that the new overtime rule, which will go into effect on December 1, 2016, will extend overtime protections to an additional 4.2 million exempt workers who are not currently eligible for overtime pay. This webinar will review the changes in the new overtime rule and how they apply to CAAs, discuss various options for compliance, and address common employee classification issues, including the classification of Head Start teachers.
CAPLAW will be issuing an extensive FAQ addressing the new overtime rule and its implications for CAAs prior to the webinar.
Community Indicators Consortium (CIC) Impact Summit
September 26-27, 2016, Washington DC, FHI 360 Conference Center
The 2016 CIC Impact Summit will take a close look at new approaches and policy applications of well-being indicators and engage in dialogue both about what we can learn from international and local efforts and how we are or can be leading the field in measuring progress to move "beyond GDP" toward equitable, sustainable, healthy communities. There is a discount for becoming a CIC member before registering and also a 10% discount for groups of three or more.
