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PA County Among Finalists in NACo Innovation Challenge
Armstrong County is among the eight winners selected for NACO's Innovation Challenge for Coal Reliant Communities. They will join teams from Michigan, New Mexico, West Virginia and Virginia for a three-day training workshop in Charleston, WV. in mid-November. NACo and the NADO Research Foundation (National Association of Development Organizations), with support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, sponsor the Innovation Challenge for Coal-Reliant Communities program, which assists county and regional leaders with retooling local economies to be more resilient to changing conditions.
At the training workshop, the eight interdisciplinary teams will receive tailored technical assistance before and after the event to help them implement a variety of strategies and projects related to economic diversification, asset-based development, cluster development, workforce training, broadband, recreation and tourism, and entrepreneurship. For more information, follow this link.
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Supporting Justice Involved Veterans Conference
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency, The PA Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, The PA Department of Human Services, and the Middle Atlantic States Correctional Association are sponsoring, "Honoring the Sacrifices: Partnering to Support Justice Involved Veterans," a free one-day conference on November 12, 2015.
Training topics include VA eligibility and services, trauma treatment, traumatic brain injury, homelessness and more. The training will be held at Fort Indiantown Gap's National Guard Training Center. To register, visit www.masca.us, click on the tab entitled "more" and the "veterans."
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2016 NACo Healthy Counties Initiative Forum
Join NACo Wednesday, January 27 through Friday, January 29, for the NACo 2016 Healthy Counties Initiative Forum in Salt Lake County, Utah. The Forum will be hosted in coordination with Salt Lake County's Innovation Summit.
The event will include:
- An official 2016 Sundance Film Festival screening
- Keynote speakers, interactive expert panels, breakout sessions, and
- Mobile workshops highlighting what works in counties.
Note that an optional day of skiing with a lunch presentation will be held Saturday, January 30, 2016.
Contact Maeghan Gilmore, Program Director at mgilmore@naco.org or (202) 942-4261 with questions. For more information on the Healthy Counties Initiative, follow this link.
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Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Training
This workshop will provide practical information to understand Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and its impact on the life of a child, a family and relevant community systems. This workshop will stress the importance of knowing the diagnosis in order to appropriately design treatment that improves outcomes for individuals living with FASD and their families. Attendees will be able to:
- Understand the latest research related to FASD, including the prevalence of FASD in the general population.
- Highlight strategies for improving outcomes in community systems of care for those often seen as non-compliant or unmotivated by recognizing and treating for FASD.
- Identify best practices for supporting people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and mental health conditions to succeed, including how to support individuals with FASD and families raising a child with FASD.
The training will be sponsored by PACA MH/DS and held on November 10, 2015 at the CCAP Office in Harrisburg. To register and for more information follow this link.
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NACo Study Addresses Mental Illness in County Jails
Accompanying the research brief are case studies that describe efforts in three large counties.
- Montgomery County, Md. illustrates collaborative approaches and partnerships between county health and justice agencies.
Earlier this year, NACo, the Council of State Governments Justice Center and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation launched Stepping Up: A National Initiative to Reduce the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jails. Since then, more than 125 counties have passed resolutions in support of the initiative and pledged to take action. For more information about Stepping Up, visit www.naco.org/stepping-initiative.
This publication was released in conjunction with NACo's Large Urban County Caucus Safe and Secure Counties Symposium in King County, Wash. To read the full research brief, Addressing Mental Illness and Medical Conditions in County Jails and the accompanying case studies, visit www.naco.org/jailhealthservices.
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Municipal Recycling Program Grants
The state Department of Environmental Protection has announced the opening of a new Section 902 grant round to support the development of municipal recycling programs. Counties, municipalities, consortiums and other intergovernmental organizations are eligible, although anyone who received funding in the last 902 grant round in 2015 will not be considered for funding in this round.
Only those projects involving municipalities that have a mandatory trash collection program or projects seeking support for a residential recycling program that have a corresponding commercial recycling program will be considered for funding, up to 90 percent of approved recycling costs.
Deadline for applications is November 20, 2015, and more information is available by contacting Mark Vottero, Recycling Grants Coordinator for DEP, at mvottero@pa.gov, or by contacting the DEP regional planning and recycling coordinators.
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Multimodal Transportation Funding Opportunity
PennDOT announced today it will begin accepting applications on October 3, 2015, for funding transportation improvement projects under the Multimodal Transportation Fund.
PennDOT will evaluate the applications and make selections based on such criteria as safety benefits, regional economic conditions, the technical and financial feasibility, job creation, energy efficiency, and operational sustainability.
The Multimodal Fund was created by Act 89, enacted in November 2013, Pennsylvania's far-reaching transportation funding plan. The fund addresses road and bridge projects. Also through the fund, transit, aviation, rail freight and pedestrian and bicycle modes obtained dedicated sources of funds for the first time, putting the modes on a firmer footing for future initiatives.
PennDOT has $40 million in grants available for fiscal year 2016-17. Applications are due by December 18, 2015. PennDOT expects to announce grant recipients early next year for the funding that becomes available in July 2016.
For more information about the program, visit www.penndot.gov and click on Multimodal Program under the "Projects & Programs" button.
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EPA Brownfields Proposal Guidelines Workshop
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3 Brownfields is hosting upcoming Brownfields Proposal Guidelines Workshops (Helping Applicants Understand Grant Requirements). The workshops are designed to assist local government and nonprofit organizations to better understand the proposal criteria and selection process for EPA's Brownfields assessment, cleanup, and RLF grants. The following topics will be addressed during the workshops:
- The different EPA Brownfield grant types and candidates eligible to apply
- The grant application process and the threshold and ranking criteria
- Proposal tips and strategies
Local, county, and regional governments and nonprofit organizations who are currently considering applying for an EPA Brownfields assessment, cleanup, or RLF grant are strongly urged to participate. The Pennsylvania workshop will be held on October 26, 2015 in Harrisburg, at the PADEP South-Central Regional Office, Susquehanna Room A.
Registration is free. Please RSVP to:
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2014 National Survey on Drug Use Released
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) report, which shows progress in reducing some forms of substance use - especially among adolescents. Substance use levels in many areas, however, have remained relatively constant.
The 2014 NSDUH report on mental and substance use disorders helps kick off for the 26th annual observance of National Recovery Month. Recovery Month broadens public awareness to the fact that behavioral health is essential to health, prevention works, treatment for substance use and mental disorders is effective, and people can and do recover from these disorders.
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New Agency Open Records Guidebook Available
The AORO Guidebook, 79 pages in total (with a variety of sample forms agencies can use as templates), is designed to provide a general overview of the RTKL process from an agency perspective. It was written to be helpful for both new and veteran AOROs.
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Local Court Security Committee Workshops
The AOPC's Office of Judicial Security will be conducting their annual Local Court Security Committee Workshops this fall. This year's workshop will include a session on active shooter responses presented by an FBI Special Agent.
"Save-the-date" invitations are being sent to judges, county commissioners and district court administrators. In addition to the key committee members, others who serve on the local committee are invited to attend.
If you have any questions about the upcoming workshop, or to register, please contact Rebecca Brandt at (717) 231-3315 or rebecca.brandt@pacourts.us.
Here is the list of the workshops:
November 9, 2015
DoubleTree by Hilton, Pittsburgh-Green Tree
November 10, 2015
Hampton Inn Grove City
November 20, 2015
Penn Stater Conference Center, State College
December 4, 2015
DoubleTree by Hilton, Plymouth Meeting
December 11, 2015
Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts
PA Judicial Center, Harrisburg
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Certified Stormwater Inspector Training
The National Stormwater Center is offering Certified Stormwater Inspector (municipal) training in Pittsburgh, PA on November 12-13, 2015.
Designed specifically for municipal personnel the course offers training and certification to demonstrate, for the record, that inspectors are qualified. Inspectors who take the course learn:
- How to inspect construction, commercial, industrial, and municipal activities
- What to inspect
- The limits of their authority
- Appropriate demeanor
- Appropriate discretion
- Information on the Clean Water Act and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
- The six Minimum Control Measures
- How to better implement and support their MS4 stormwater program.
Graduates of the Certified Stormwater Inspector course receive certification for 5 years and continuing education units, and ongoing, unlimited support of the National Stormwater Center.
For questions or more information please call Michele at 1-888-397-9414, email info@npdes.com or visit the website at www.npdes.com. Registration is available on the website for all classes.
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Budget Impasse - County Impacts
CCAP, on behalf of Pennsylvania's counties, released a statement calling for a resolution to the budget impasse. Through its board officers CCAP has explained that while counties have not yet borne the full burden of the budget impasse, it is expected that the delay of state funds will begin to impact county operations when payments do not come. The full press release is available online.
In addition, CCAP has set up a separate web page where collecting all of the county impacts from the budget impasse and related media reports. Members can also find all of our grassroots materials - talking points, sample letters, sample letters to the editor - here as well as on the Legislative Action Center.
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| Upcoming NACo Webinars
Registration is now open for the following NACo webinars:
- The Latest Federal Regulations that Could Impact your County
November 4, 2015
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. - Drop the Jargon: Using Plain Language to Connect with your Audience
November 10, 2015
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. - Local Government Shared Services: Why the Regional Approach Makes Sense
November 12, 2015
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. - Stepping Up Webinar Series, Stepping Up: Preparing a Plan
November 17, 2015
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
In addition to these webinars, there are recordings of webinars from the past six months on a range of topics. To access these recordings, or for additional details and registration information, please click here.
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CCAP Welcomes New Members
CCAP welcomes the following new members:
- Johnson Controls, Inc., Energy, Engineering: Johnson Controls helped to establish energy performance contracting in 1983, and we have implemented more than 3,000 performance contracts with total active guarantees of more than $6.6 billion in North America alone. Providing solutions for energy and water efficiency allows customers to make capital improvements, conserve resources, and address tight budgets. As a Fortune 100 company with top financial ratings and 125 years of experience in energy saving solutions, we stand by our guarantees.
- Pennsylvania Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (PAPERS), Pension Services: The purpose of PAPERS is to foster an educational forum that leads to improved performance and management of the public employee retirement systems in Pennsylvania. The Association functions as a central resource for educational purposes and acts as a networking agent for public plan staff and board members. PAPERS provides the State's public retirement systems with educational conferences, seminars, newsletters, referral systems and a website for items of interest to our membership.
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Local Government Training Opportunities
The Pennsylvania Local Government Training Partnership is a training initiative between the Governor's Center for Local Government Services and Pennsylvania's statewide associations, including CCAP. There are many options for upcoming training sessions, as well as sessions that can be downloaded and viewed at your convenience. PACourses offered through the partnership are designed to keep municipal officials current on new laws and legislative requirements and enhance their ability to govern more effectively. Year-round, statewide training is provided in the areas of local government administration, finance, community and economic development, public safety, land use and planning, public works, recreation, environmental, and tax collectors.
For more information, or to register for a course, visit the PA Local Government Training Partnership website.
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Job Postings
As counties notify us of current vacancies we post them on our website and list them in the Update.
Additional information on each posting can be found by clicking on the name of the vacancy you are interested in. To submit a job posting, refer to the CCAP website. For additional information on submitting a job posting contact Mandi Glantz at mglantz@pacounties.org.
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| Upcoming Events
For a complete listing of upcoming events refer to the CCAP website.
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