Thank you for your interest and support. The Indiana Association of United Ways usually provides its Policy Update on "odd Fridays" (1st, 3rd and 5th Fridays). Contact us if you have any questions or comments about content (past, present or desired for the future).
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2 Minute Update - Register to Vote Today! 
Thank you for taking a few minutes to review our Policy Update. Even though the Indiana General Assembly has adjourned, we cover many important policy issues throughout the year.
Paulette Vandegriff of the League of Women Voters reminds us how to register to vote in our 2 Minute Update.
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 Is your Indiana voter registration current?Deadline is Monday, April 4, to vote in the primary! 
To encourage your employees and clients to exercise their civic responsibilities, you might post this nonpartisan poster from Nonprofit Vote.
United Way Worldwide partnered with Nonprofit Vote to create this Voter Engagement Toolkit that includes helpful do's and don'ts and tips.
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Recommendations for a Thriving Indiana
 The IU Public Policy Institute released a new report, Thriving Communities, Thriving State, a compilation report of the work of three independent commissions. Groups of people from rural, suburban and urban communities identified community-based recommendations that require policy decisions at the local, regional and state levels. All three commissions prioritized:
- Education/workforce preparation, with specific recommendations for pre-K, K-12, post-secondary and education/workforce ecosystem;
- Leadership and engagement, which included individual leadership development, diversity/openness, regionalism and charitable activities; and
- Quality of life and quality of place, which included infrastructure, broadband connectivity, place-making and regionalism.
For each area, the commissions identified a "big idea" with specific recommendations. The researchers also identified five overall measures to illustrate if we are headed in the right direction over he next 10 years:
- more people moving into Indiana than moving out (net in-migration);
- better educated Hoosiers (high school and associate's degree or higher);
- fewer people below poverty (percent population below poverty);
- more jobs (percent change in jobs) and more Indiana workers available to fill them (percent labor force participation 16 and over); and
- higher per-capita income for Indiana workers.
The commissions also identified government innovation/local control (urban and mid-sized),entrepreneurship development (rural) and acceptance of diversity (urban).
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 Celebrate National Volunteer Week!
National Volunteer Week is April 10-16. This week gives your organization the opportunity to celebrate your volunteers! Here are just a few ideas:
- email or hand-written note with something specific that you appreciate about that volunteer;
- leave a "thank you" voice mail for your volunteers--sing it;
- distribute a "Payday" or "Lifesaver" candy, seed packet or flower;
- post a photo of volunteers with your organization on social media with the hashtag #NVW2016; and
- prepare a volunteer nomination for a volunteer recognition award (for example, FSSA Division of Aging and the Lt. Gov's office are accepting nominations for the Golden Hoosier awards and Serve Indiana will take nominations in the summer).
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Volunteer activity in 2015: 1 in 4 volunteer  |
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IaUW staff volunteer at
St. Mary's Child Center
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data on volunteering in the United States from September 2014 - September 2015. The volunteer rate is at 24.9% with about 62.6 million people who volunteered at least once during that time. Interesting findings from the volunteer survey data include:
- by age, 35-44 year-olds and 45-54 year-olds were the most likely to volunteer;
- parents with children under age 18 were more likely to volunteer than persons without children;
- part-time workers were more likely than full-time workers to participate in volunteer activities;
- 23.3% of unemployed persons volunteered, while 27.2% of employed persons volunteered;
- volunteers spent a median of 52 hours on volunteer activities; and
- Individuals volunteered most frequently for religious (33.1%), educational or youth service related (25.2%) or social or community service (14.6%) organizations.
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 Three weeks left to file your taxes 
The tax filing season has a typical flow, which we see in free tax preparation sites throughout the state. People who expect large refunds or who need to file for federal financial student aid tend to file early in February. A number of seniors and people with disabilities tend to file in March. And the final weeks tend to include the procrastinators and people who might owe taxes.
File your taxes for free through My Free Taxes if your income is less than $62,000.
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Indiana ranked #30 by Assets & Opportunity Scorecard 
The 2016 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard released data on Americans' financial security today and their opportunities to create a more financially stable future. The scorecard looks at 130 outcome and policy measures, which describe how well residents are faring and what states are doing to help individuals and families build and protect assets. Some interesting findings from Indiana include:
- 7% of Indiana households are unbanked, and 17.6% are underbanked;
- 69% of households have savings accounts;
- the income poverty rate is 14%; and
- the asset poverty rate is nearly 24%.
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 Early Education Matching Grants announced 
The State announced 20 recipients of the Early Education Matching Grants (EEMG) program. The EEMG was the first of the state's pre-k pilot programs and differs from the On My Way Pre-K pilot in five counties. The competitive EEMG program requires a 1:1 match and supports high quality programs that have already achieved a Level 3 or 4 on the Paths To Quality rating system.
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Third House Events and end of session updates from your legislators
 Legislators may provide a final "wrap-up" at local "Third House" sessions or "meet your legislator" sessions. We at Indiana Association of United Ways have worked to maintain the calendar of Third House meetings throughout the state and have encouraged strong attendance during this short session. Check the calendar for a date and location near you. Upcoming events are being held in the following communities:
- Carroll County - 4/2, 7:30am
- Kosciusko County - 4/15, 8:00am
If you attend, drop us a note to share a little about your experience.
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Weigh in on issues important to you!
Submitting comments during rulemaking periods is an important way to shape policy. State and federal agencies appreciate specific comments about possible impacts and ways to improve proposed rules. Below are a few open comment periods:
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IN Department of Insurance will hold a hearing on April 12 about a proposed rule regarding certification and registration requirements, precertification education and examinations, continuing education, duties, conflicts of interest, privacy and security of information, reporting requirements, enforcement, and other matters relating to an individual acting as a navigator and an entity acting as an application organization in Indiana. See Notice re: LSA#15-33.
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FSSA, Division of Mental Health and Addictions - related to minimum standards for opioid addiction treatment programs. See LSA #16-1, or proposed rule. Deadline: 6/30/16.
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 IaUW Public PolicyIaUW is a nonpartisan organization that works to advance policy principles and compromise solutions for the common good. We focus on policies that are aligned with the impact work in local communities conducted by our 60 United Ways and United Funds.
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Education, so that children are prepared for and succeed in school;
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Income/Financial Stability, so that individuals and families may achieve and sustain financial stability;
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Health, so that individuals may access quality healthcare; and
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Strong Communities, where a statewide 2-1-1 network and a strong charitable sector help communities thrive.
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Frequently Requested Links / Documents
iauw.org - Learn about the Indiana Association of United Ways, current trainings and conferences and the ways we support local United Ways/Funds, partners and communities.
IaUW Policy / Advocacy info - Review and download IaUW Policy Priorities, Third House calendar, bill lists, fact sheets, talking points and testimony.
Federal Advocacy Action Center - Contact your member of Congress provided through our partnership with United Way Worldwide.
IaUW Policy Update Archive - Read prior issues, special articles and key documents produced by IaUW related to public policy and advocacy.
Community Report Card - Check out key indicators in Education, Income and Health for your neighborhood, county or region.
IN211.org - S earch for human service information available through the referral database or by calling 2-1-1. Download reports about resources, needs, gaps and trends from Indiana 211 Partnership.
NRN Calendar - Register for high-quality and affordable training for nonprofit staff and volunteers by the Indiana Nonprofit Resource Network.
Indiana General Assembly - Check the hearing or floor schedule, watch a live or recorded hearing or floor session and look up your legislators.
Congress.gov - Look up bills introduced or passed in Congress.
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Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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