Good Morning,
Here are some NYSCAA News and Updates along with other items that may be of interest.
NYSCAA News and Updates
APR Release. As you know, the APR web site went live on Monday. We encourage you to try it out sooner rather than later. Several agencies attended the APR Release Pizza Party and received an overview of the system. If you have questions on the content of your data, please contact Lisa Nieves at NYSDOS at 518-473-0096, and if you can’t reach her there, try NYSCAA at 518-690-0498, ext. 25. If you have a question on the technology, please contact Liz Hughes (x25) or Tom Coffinger (x26) at NYSCAA at 518-690-0491.
New York State Poverty Symposium. Planning continues on the Poverty Symposium and we hope to get dates to you soon. We are looking to host it in late February or early March in Albany to complement the legislative season with the focusing the spotlight on the effects of poverty in our community and how the Community can address these issues in partnership with Community Action. We will be coupling the Symposium with a second day that will have a NYS Community Action in the 21st Century focus as well as preparation, support and scheduled times for legislative visits. This is still very much in the planning phase but we will keep you updated and hope that all of you will be able to attend with staff, customers, and hopefully board members.
NYSCAA Technology Day. We are also in the planning stages of a NYSCAA Technology Day to be held in Albany in January 2007. We will keep you apprised of this one-day event as it takes shape.
Committee Meetings. The Public Policy Committee will meet via Conference Call on Friday, October, 13th at 2:00. The Best Practices Committee will next meet on Thursday, November 2nd at 9:00 via conference call.
NYSCAA Meets with the Schenectady Gazette. Thanks to a referral provided by Barbara Rivenburgh at SCCAP, Denise Harlow and Jen Forster Green met with Sarah Foss of the Schenectady Gazette to discuss Community Action, issues regarding poverty in NYS and the Capital Regional, and the Poverty Symposium. Ms. Foss is developing a series on poverty related issues to run this fall. We encouraged her to reach out to other CAAs, especially SCAP in Schenectady, as she develops her stories.
Other News and Updates
The Older Americans Act is Reauthorized After months of negotiations and compromise involving the House, Senate and Administration, the Older Americans Act has been reauthorized for five years. The House passed H.R. 6197, The Older American Act Amendments of 2006, by voice vote on September 28. The Senate agreed to the bill by voice vote on September 30. The bill, annually appropriated at approximately $1.8 billion, provides for services including Meals on Wheels, health screenings, counseling and support for people who care for elderly relatives, and it also authorizes the Department of Labor’s Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). Two contentious areas where compromise was necessary involved the formula for distributing grants to states and the focus of the SCSEP. http://www.chn.org/humanneeds/061004d.html
Upcoming Events
Revenue Forum Gears up for another NYS Legislative Session. The Fiscal Policy Institute and New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness will be hosting a meeting of the revenue forum to discuss the outlook for the 2007-08 budget and advocacy efforts for the transition period and early 2007. The meeting will be held October 18th, 2:00-4:00 PM, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 262 State Street in Albany. (NYSCAA staff will attend and update folks, as well.)
The Women in Leadership Summit
Get distinctive learning, practical solutions, and proven results at The Women in Leadership Summit, taking place November 13-15, 2006 in Boston, MA. Now in its eighth year, the Summit is one of the most comprehensive leadership development programs for women, providing not only practical skill-building workshops and unparalleled networking opportunities, but also the inspiration and renewal necessary for tackling today's most difficult organizational and leadership challenges.
http://www.linkageinc.com/learning_events/conferences/wil/default.aspx
Training Opportunity: Community Action Association of Pennsylvania
The Community Action Association of Pennsylvania will hold their 2006 Annual Conference from October 25 to 27 in Harrisburg, PA. The “Extraordinary people, innovative ideas, successful communities” conference will offer two and a half days of thought provoking and stimulating educational opportunities. Thirty workshops in five tracks have been arranged to provide learning experiences for all levels of Community Action staff. A complete outline of the conference presenters, including workshops is available. Download registration information and forms from the website. http://www.thecaap.org/conferences.html
Publications/Articles of Interest
Becoming a More Effective Nonprofit Board
Board performance is widely recognized as a critical ingredient in a nonprofit organization’s ability to achieve impact. But what does effective board performance look like? Of course, exercising oversight is necessary, especially in an era of increasing scrutiny of nonprofits. However, exercising oversight is not enough to create an effective board, states a recent article from Bridgestar. http://www.industrymailout.com/Industry/LandingPage.aspx?id=85406&lm=3046735&q=20679915&qz=5ef13782c58cc36ad8d88cd7e99d809f
Has Welfare Reform Changed State Expenditure Patterns? The welfare reform of 1996 granted states more flexibility in spending for TANF by receiving block grant funding. This article from the National Poverty Center reviews TANF spending, and found that state spending on public welfare programs increased from 19.4 percent in 1980 to 26.9 percent in 2003, which is attributed to medical vendor payments for Medicaid. To view or download, please see: http://www.peerta.acf.hhs.gov/policies/program.htm#general.
Women in Poverty. Attached is an article by Joan Kuriansky, Executive Director, Wider Opportunities for Women on Poverty in the United States entitled Income Inequity Grows: A Disproportionate Share of the Increase in Poverty Is Borne by Women and the Elderly.
Thanks and 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.