January 6, 2010
Program Book now available! You can still register on-site!Sign up by this Friday for January 12th site visit to new Louisiana CAP Weatherization Training Center NEWS YOU CAN USE
United Community Action Network in Oregon teaches unemployed people to work in home weatherization WIC Fruit and Vegetable Vouchers increase —
Thanks to our great colleagues at the Food Research and Action CenterISSUES AND OPINIONS Another great weatherization op-ed from Teresa Cox in Mid-Willamette Valley CAA PARTNERSHIP NEWS New partnership with SafeLink offers Community Action Agencies opportunity to generate revenue while serving community Now is the best time to enroll as a CCAP Candidate! Application must be received by January 20th. The deadline for articles for the winter Promise issue is January 8!
LACAP TRAINING CENTER — LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE!
Don't miss this!
On Tuesday, January 12th (the day before our conference officially begins), Jane Killen, Executive Director of the Louisiana Association of Community Action Partnerships (LACAP), is working with us on a high-visibility, special public education/media event that will showcase LACAP’s Weatherization training and certification programs in Baton Rouge.
We have contracted with The Hatcher Group in DC to work with us to draw a wide range of media coverage to audiences across America. Jane has arranged for two buses from New Orleans to her Baton Rouge training center for a 2 hour special event. We will be offering slots for up to 60 of our conference attendees to participate in this event, for example, be available to answer questions and describe Community Action’s successes and achievements with Weatherization, with a special focus on ARRA funds. Those of you who administer Weatherization programs have the opportunity to be a proactive part of this event. If this whets your media/marketing appetites, please let me know ASAP, at dmathis@communityactionpartnership.com or 202-449-9774.
UCAN program teaches unemployed to work in home weatherization
Ron Simpson is quickly becoming an expert in helping low-income people save money, but he's also intimately familiar with what it means to fall on hard times.
After losing his job at a fencing company almost a year and a half ago, the 53-year-old Roseburg man suddenly found himself relying on unemployment and food stamps to support his family. He was considering returning to the classroom for the first time since high school and attending Umpqua Community College. Then he found out about a new United Community Action Network program that would train him to work in a burgeoning industry: home weatherization.
“This is an opportunity to learn something else that I'll be able to do until I retire,” he said.
For the past three months Simpson has immersed himself in a yearlong program known as SOS — an acronym loosely based on the principles of self-sufficiency, on-the-job-training and skill building. Unemployed residents learn “green” building techniques — how to install renewable energy sources such as solar panels, tips for weatherizing and other conservation-based skills. Participants then get hands-on training providing free home weatherization to low-income people through UCAN's weatherization program.
Simpson happily helped out Wednesday with replacing windows and putting in new insulation, among other improvements, at a mobile home in Green. He also worked with eight new trainees learning through the UCAN program.
It was nice to do some hands-on work before transitioning to inspecting people's homes, he said. Simpson plans to start work in January as an energy auditor for the UCAN weatherization program, looking for ways to improve a home's energy efficiency.
Program participants worked in teams Wednesday, switching off between tasks so each would get a chance to try everything. The trainees were supervised by various trainers knowledgeable in weatherization.
The mobile home's owner and occupant, Bonnie Kyrros, stood outside watching all the activity, thrilled. She said she'd been on the waiting list for two years and had no problem with a bunch of trainees using her home as a learning opportunity, especially if it was going to save her money.
“I can't say anything but the best for UCAN,” she said. “They're awesome.”
In the wake of the recession and mass layoffs, UCAN wanted to do something to help, said Chris Shoopman, a program manager for UCAN who is coordinating SOS and doing much of the training. Stimulus money has helped — the federal government has given UCAN's weatherization program $1.8 million.
“We just figured, ‘How can we tie people losing their jobs into this green weatherization industry?' ” he said.
The solution UCAN came up with was the SOS program. To create it, the agency formed a partnership with the Oregon Energy Coordinators Association, a Salem-based nonprofit group that runs training programs similar to SOS throughout Oregon, along with other organizations and contractors such as All Phase Weatherization & Construction near Medford.
The program is a way to teach people to work in an industry that will only keep growing, Shoopman said.
“People are trying to save energy to save money,” he said.
Once they complete the program, trainees will hold various certifications related to the industry, Shoopman said. Trainees also get support from community partners to address any barriers to successful completion of the program.
Simpson said he was able to get help improving his computer skills, which he was lacking, and appreciated all the support the program provided him.
“It's not a catch-and-release program,” he said. “They promised us they would not let us fail.”
For the worker, finding and installing cost-saving solutions for low-income people is one of the best parts of training to weatherize homes.
“It's gratifying knowing you're helping someone out,” he said. “You're bringing up their quality of life.”
Food Research and Action Center
USDA on the fast track: More fruits and vegetables for women in WIC
Women participating in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program will soon see their monthly WIC fruit and vegetable vouchers get bigger. State agencies got the green light from USDA - via the Federal Register - to move forward with an increased voucher amount. All women on the WIC program will now get a $10 voucher for fruit and vegetables.
This increase was included in the FY 2010 Agricultural Appropriations bill, which passed last October and boosted the total amount of the fruit and vegetable voucher for women by an additional $2 a month. After the bill was passed, the action moved to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which fast-tracked the release of regulations to guide the implementation of the new voucher amounts. The regulations - published in the Federal Register, December 31, 2009 as WIC Revisions in the WIC Food Packages Rule to Increase Cash Value Vouchers for Women - are effective immediately.
With this increase, all women on WIC will now receive the full fruit and vegetable voucher amount originally recommended by the Institute of Medicine. Previously, the WIC fruit and vegetable voucher amount for women was $8. Over the next five years, these additional benefits will be worth a quarter of a billion dollars in additional fruit and vegetables for women in the WIC program.
State agencies have until April 30, 2010 to implement the new voucher amount.
Advocates should urge their states to implement the new benefit as soon as possible.
Click here for more information, contained in the WIC section of FRAC's Website, including:• Estimated State-by-State Value of the Additional Fruit and Vegetable Benefits for Women
• The WIC Food Package: More Fruits and Vegetables Support Good Health and Healthy Communities
• Time for a Change Guide: Maximizing the Benefits of the New WIC FoodsContact Geri Henchy—ghenchy@frac.org, 202.986.2200 x3025—with any questions.
Weatherization helps on heat bills, environment
Teresa Cox • January 4, 2010
President Obama was recently quoted as saying that housing insulation is "sexy."
I wouldn't go that far, but there is no doubt that insulation, new windows and the other aspects of weatherizing a house look pretty good to the owners of those homes.
And thanks to the $2.9 million included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for Marion and Polk counties, we will be able to weatherize more than 450 homes in low-income neighborhoods over the next three years.
That is 150 more homes each year than we would have been able to weatherize without the economic recovery money.
It should go a long way toward meeting the needs of the 1,200 households that have been on the waiting list of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency (MWVCAA) — many of them for more than three years.
Overall, at least 4,500 homes in low-income neighborhoods in Oregon will be weatherized through March 2012 using the $38.5 million that was the state's portion of the$5 billion contained in the stimulus bill for the federal Weatherization Assistance Program.
That's good news on several levels.
It means more jobs. The state estimates 628 direct jobs will be created because of the weatherization funding — 62 of them in Marion and Polk counties — and the number grows to 1,099 when you add in other jobs created to support the program. Locally, weatherization is performed by private contractors or Community Action crews, and MWVCAA has added eight positions to help handle the added work.
It means lower energy bills. The federal government estimates that low-income families save about $350 annually after their homes are weatherized.
It's good for the environment. Weatherized homes are more energy efficient, emit fewer greenhouse gases and improve local air quality, according to the federal government.
And there is another benefit: the health and safety of the family in a home.
A couple of years ago, one of Community Action's energy auditors performed tests on a home owned by a woman diagnosed with severe health issues — the cause unknown — resulting in her confinement at home. She was unable to perform many of the tasks you and I take for granted like gardening (her passion).
The auditor discovered toxic levels of carbon monoxide coming from her furnace — poisoning her slowly and quietly.
After the furnace was replaced and adequate ventilation restored, we received word from the homeowner that while she would never regain all of her health, the deterioration had stopped and some ailments had gone away.
And she was able to resume gardening.
That is just one of the success stories from the low-income weatherization programs that have operated in Oregon since 1979.
For Community Action Agencies that administer many of the programs locally, it is work that is extremely rewarding, and those rewards are certain to grow for all of us as more homes are weatherized in 2010 and beyond.
Teresa Cox of Salem is executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency. She can be reached at (503) 585-6232 or coxt@mwvcaa.org.
New partnership offers Community Action Agencies opportunity to
generate revenue while serving community
Community Action Partnership is spearheading a partnership with SafeLink Wireless to help enroll low-income individuals in a government-supported program that provides them with a free cell phone and airtime each month. We are asking all local agencies to take a moment to read the information on SafeLink below to learn how your agency can earn money by enrolling eligible individuals.
Highlights:• Beginning next month CAAs in the states where SafeLink is available will receive a SafeLink information packet explaining the program and how to enroll people
• CAAs who would like to participate need to complete the agency enrollment process to ensure compensation for approved applications
• CAAs will receive $2 for every approved applicant in states that do not necessitate documentation to be provided for enrollment and $4 for every approved applicant in states that do necessitate documentation for enrollment
• Individuals can be enrolled online or through a paper application faxed or mailed
• Each agency will be assigned a unique code to enter during enrollment that will track that office’s sign-ups
• Revenue generated from approved applications will be disbursed quarterly to either the state association or the enrolled Agency
• There is no limit to the number of people that can be enrolled by a specific agencyStay tuned for additional information and updates on SafeLink as we implement this exciting partnership. You can also learn more by visiting www.safelink.com, or if you have specific questions, please contact Avril Weisman at aweisman@communityactionpartnership.org.
NOW IS THE BEST TIME TO ENROLL AS A CCAP CANDIDATE!You can enroll today, prepare your submissions, and you may be on your way to becoming a CCAP at the Community Action Partnership’s Convention in Boston on September 2, 2010. But you have to act now, because the deadline for submitting your Candidate Data Form (see description below) is January 20, 2010.
IS CERTIFICATION RIGHT FOR ME?
Certification is designed for current and emerging managers or leaders in the Community Action Profession. If the following describes you, then CCAP may be right for you:• You are a program manager, or an executive, or a supervisor, or a department head, or a deputy director. Or you are preparing yourself for this kind of position or responsibility in your agency.
• You are committed to the vision and values of Community Action.
• You are committed to maintaining high ethical standards of professional conduct.
• You are willing to learn more about the history, vision and values of Community Action as well as the principles of good management, the best practices of 21st century leadership and the current theories about poverty in America. (While there are no required classes, you will be expected to demonstrate your competence in each of these areas.)WHY SHOULD I ENROLL?
Because becoming a CCAP:• Gives you visible recognition for your accomplishments in the field. Tells others, you have achieved a nationally recognized professional standard.
• Enhances the credentials of Community Action staff.
• Provides an edge in competing for public and private grant funds.
• Improves your professional marketability when competing for higher positions in your own agency or another CAA.
• Establishes standards that encourage future community action leaders to carry on the quality work of the movement's founders. Future generations will benefit from your commitment to professionalism today.WHAT ARE THE STEPS? Follow these three steps to become a Certified Community Action Professional (CCAP):
• Complete a Candidate Data Form (CDF): This is an accurate record of your experience as a management executive, education, involvement in national, regional, state and local Community Action activities, and in association management activities outside the CAA. If you set the goal to achieve certification in 2010, the CDF must be received at the Community Action Partnership Office or at the CCAP e-mail address, ccapcontact@aol.com, by no later than January 20, 2010. Click here to download the CDF.
• Develop an Executive Skills Portfolio (ESP): This is a sample of work, structured according to specified guidelines, that documents and demonstrates your application of the vision and values of community action and the contributions you made as a manager and leader. The completed ESP must be received at the Community Action Partnership Office or at the CCAP e-mail address, ccapcontact@aol.com , by February 17, 2010. To get a copy of the ESP Format Guide, click here.
• Pass a Written Exam (administered annually on the 3rd Wednesday in June): A combined minimum score of 700 points on the CDF and ESP qualifies you to sit for the examination. The four hour exam is based in the community action Body of Knowledge document, which cites core areas in which candidates should be highly knowledgeable. A study guide will be available for you once you submit your CDF.HOW DO I ENROLL TODAY?
Download and complete the CCAP Enrollment Form. (This is a large file; it will take a few minutes to download.) Return the completed enrollment form, three letters of recommendation, and the signed Community Action Code of Ethics along with the required enrollment fee ($425 members & $635 non-members), and you are well on your way to earning the right to sign CCAP after your name.
NOTE: Your CCAP candidacy is valid for three years. If you fail to complete the process in 2010, you will still have two more years to earn your CCAP
The CCAP Class of 2009 at the Partnership Annual Convention in Philadelphia
The Promise Winter 2010 issue deadline – January 8As you prepare to celebrate the holidays with family and friends, please take a moment to consider sending a submission for The Promise magazine.
For the Winter 2010 issue, we’re specifically interested in the following:• CAA’s local outreach efforts for Census 2010 – what is your CAA doing to ensure that low-income people are counted and as a result, receive the critical services they need?
• CAA heating programs – what is your CAA doing to help residents grapple with rising heating costs this winter? Did your community receive additional LIHEAP funding; partner with utility companies to help consumers with their bills; or collect coats, hats, and gloves for families? Let us know!Please also send us news on your CAA’s new staff appointments, awards, best practices, and success stories.
Email your information (news releases or full-length articles) and photos (in JPG or TIF format with 300 dpi) to Lisa Holland, lholland@communityactionpartnership.com by Friday, January 8.