Good Afternoon, Folks-
Here are some NYSCAA updates and information that you may find of interest.
NYSCAA News and Updates
APR Goes Live. The APR system will be going live the first week in October. If you have issues or concerns, Lisa Nieves from NYS-DOS will be able to answer many of your questions. Since she works out of two different locations, try her first at 518-473-0096, and if you can’t reach her there, try NYSCAA at 518-690-0498, ext. 25. We encourage you to avoid the inevitable rush of late October to get into the system and to try it out early in the month. Recently, it was requested that each grantee designate two users who will be responsible for entering the APR data and information into the website. If you have not done so already, please read the attached memo (previously sent) and follow the instructions.
APR Release Pizza Party-If you are able to join us on Thursday, October 5th at noon, we would love to be your host for pizza and a demonstration of the APR system. Please let Liz Hughes know if you are able to attend at lhughes@nyscaaonline.org.
Symposium on Poverty. At the September 18th board meeting, the board approved moving ahead with a NYS Symposium on Poverty in early 2007. The Symposium will gather Community Action professionals, practitioners, academics, policy makers, advocates and low-income individuals and engage all in a dialogue on the current state of poverty in New York and means to address it. We hope to have the Symposium in late February or early March (to coincide with the NYS legislative session) and are looking for a few folks to serve on an Advisory Committee to help guide the event. Several CAAs have offered staff time to assist NYSCAA in pulling this together as well. Please let me know if you are interested in serving on the Advisory Committee or would like to contribute other resources at dharlow@nyscaaonline.org. More information will certainly follow and we will keep you all informed. The Symposium will feed into the Community Action Partnership’s National Symposium on Poverty to be held May 29-31 in Bethesda Maryland but will stand on its own as a New York event.
CSBG Funding. As you may have seen in Evelyn’s recent email, the continuing resolution (CR) to fund CSBG for 2007 was folded into the defense conference report last Thursday. The CR will fund programs at 2006 levels through November 17th.
CCAP Deadline Application Deadline Approaches. If you or anyone on your staff is looking to pursue their Certified Community Action Professional certification in 2007, the deadline for registration is December 15, 2007. For more information, go to http://www.communityactionpartnership.com/ccap/default.asp
NYCAA Board Committee Meetings. Reminder that the Membership Development Committee is meeting via conference call on Wednesday, October 4th at 1:00 and the Best Practices Committee will be meeting via conference call on Wednesday, October 4th at 2:30.
Other Issues of Interest
Best Practices. As you may know, NYSCAA has at various times sought best practice models to post on our website. NYSCAA will be working to redesign its website this fall and we hope to expand this section. However, in the interim, OCFS has releases its new Effective and Promising Practices webpage. In the words of OCFS, “This new web page is designed to be a resource for professionals and stakeholders interested in advancing programs and practices that are designed to achieve positive outcomes or the children, families, and communities of New York State.” Here is the link to the site: http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/sppd/eff_practices/.
NYC Poverty Report released by the Community Service Society. The Community Service Society (CSS) is an independent, nonprofit organization that provides innovative solutions to the most urgent problems facing low-income New Yorkers (NYC). For more than 160 years, they have worked to strengthen community life by conducting research, policy analysis, advocacy, and service initiatives. See this link for their recently released report on poverty in NYC. http://www.cssny.org/pdfs/Poverty-in-NYC-2005-FullReport.pdf
Have a great weekend!
Denise
Denise Harlow
Chief Executive Officer
New York State Community Action Association
2 Charles Blvd.
Guilderland, NY 12084
(518) 690-0491
Fax: (518) 690-0498
www.nyscaaonline.org
A Member of the Community Action Partnership-Helping People. Changing Lives.