Joshua DuBois, Special Assistant to the President and Executive Director for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, invited the Community Action Partnership to a meeting at his office on April 22nd to discuss ways that Community Action and faith-based organizations and coalitions can work more closely together to address poverty and other human needs. More than 30 Community Action Agencies responded to a request in last week’s e news about how their agencies partner with faith-based organizations in their respective communities. This information will contribute to a briefing paper that Partnership president Don Mathis will write for Rev. DuBois.

The Partnership is grateful to John Noonan, Senior Advisor in the Office of Community Services, HHS and Acacia Salatti, Deputy Director, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, HHS for their help in arranging the meeting and follow-up activities. Plans are underway to have Joshua DuBois, Acacia Salatti, and Max Finberg, Director of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at USDA do a panel session at the Partnership’s annual convention in Boston on September 2nd.

To learn more about the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/partnerships. The President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has published the A New Era of Partnerships: Report of Recommendations to the President, a 170 page report which is available on line.

If you have not sent Don Mathis an email about what your CAA is doing with your faith-based partners and you still want to send it in, please email your great stories and collaborative program descriptions to dmathis@communityactionpartnership.com

From left to right: Don Mathis, Acacia Salatti, Brandy Raynor-Hill, Joshua DuBois, and Avril Weisman

Officials at the U. S. Department of the Treasury have asked the Partnership to endorse and help publicize Treasury's new electronics benefits transfer program which will substantially reduce paperwork, help the environment, save hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars, and help protect low-income beneficiaries from consumer fraud and check theft.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 19, 2010
Contact: Sandra Salstrom, Treasury Public Affairs, 202-622-2960

TREASURY GOES GREEN, SAVES GREEN
Broad New Initiative Will Increase Electronic Transactions, Save More Than $400 Million, 12 Million Pounds of Paper in First Five Years Alone

WASHINGTON - With Americans poised to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day this week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced a broad new initiative to dramatically increase the number of electronic transactions that involve Treasury and millions of citizens and businesses, a move that is expected to save more than $400 million and 12 million pounds of paper in the first five years alone. In addition to greatly reducing costs, enhancing customer service and minimizing Treasury's environmental impact, the move from paper to electronic transactions will increase reliability, safety and security for benefit recipients and taxpayers.

"Treasury must lead the way in developing methods to deliver payments that are safe and secure in a manner that is efficient and reliable," said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. "By moving to all-electronic payments, Treasury will save hundreds of millions of dollars and substantially reduce our environmental impact, making this a win-win for all Americans."

Starting today, Treasury will begin implementing a three-pronged initiative to dramatically reduce the number of transactions that are conducted on paper by moving them to electronic systems. First, Treasury will require individuals receiving Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Veterans, Railroad Retirement and Office of Personnel Management benefits to receive payments electronically. Individuals will be able to receive benefits either through direct deposit into a bank account or Treasury's Direct Express debit card. Today, one million Americans are receiving their benefit payments through Direct Express and they have found the card safe, convenient and easy to use. The requirement will apply to new enrollees beginning on March 1, 2011 and to existing check recipients beginning on March 1, 2013. Currently, 85 percent of federal benefit recipients receive their payments electronically. Moving all recipients of these benefits to electronic payments is expected to save upwards of $300 million in the first five years.

Second, businesses currently permitted to use paper Federal Tax Deposit coupons will have to make those deposits electronically beginning in 2011 with a few exceptions, primarily businesses with $2,500 or less in quarterly tax liabilities that pay when filing their returns. Currently, nearly 98 percent of all business tax dollars are paid electronically through Treasury's free Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. IRS research has shown that businesses using EFTPS are 31 times less likely to make an error. This change will save an estimated $65 million in the first five years.

Finally, Treasury will eliminate the option to purchase paper savings bonds through payroll deductions for federal employees on September 30, 2010 and for the private sector by January 1, 2011. This policy covers only paper savings bonds purchased through payroll sales; individuals will still be able to purchase paper savings bonds at financial institutions for themselves and as gifts. Payroll savers will be encouraged to continue their purchases through Treasury Direct, a web-based system that allows investors to buy and hold electronic savings bonds. Transitioning employees to electronic payroll purchases saves employers administrative costs and allows employees to manage their own bond accounts. This is estimated to save nearly $50 million in the first five years.

The benefits of electronic transactions are well documented. Aside from the large cost savings, electronic transactions provide safety, convenience and control for payment recipients, taxpayers and savings bond holders. These initiatives do not require new legislation and can be accomplished by changes to Treasury's existing regulations.

As Treasury moves towards an all electronic payment environment, the Administration is strengthening protections for individuals who receive Direct Deposit. Treasury and the federal agencies that issue benefit payments have published a notice of proposed rulemaking to ensure that exempt federal benefit payments are protected from garnishment after they are directly deposited into accounts. Also, Treasury will soon issue a notice of proposed rulemaking that reaffirms the longstanding policy that federal benefits must be directly deposited into an account in the name of the recipient and not into an account of a third party. This rule will prevent entities such as payday lenders from establishing a master account to receive payments on behalf of multiple beneficiaries. The rule address concerns that benefit recipients do not have control over their funds in these arrangements. In addition, this proposed rule will permit the direct deposit of benefit payments into master accounts established by organizations such as nursing homes, as long as certain consumer protections are provided for their residents.

Women’s Entrepreneurship in Green Industries
Teleconference

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau is pleased to be hosting a series of teleconferences for workforce practitioners, designed to offer information and an exchange of ideas to better connect women with green jobs training and green employment. This area of workforce development is an important part of preparing our nation to be competitive in the new economy. The teleconferences are geared towards workforce professionals, career advisors, and educators, although interested women are welcome to participate as well.

The second teleconference in this series, “Women’s Entrepreneurship in Green Industries” will take place on April 29, 2010 from 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EDT. This teleconference will focus on opportunities and resources available to help women succeed in green entrepreneurship, including first-hand tips from experienced green entrepreneurs.

Speakers include:

• Sara Manzano-Díaz, U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau Director
• Ana R. Harvey, U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Women's Business Ownership, Assistant Administrator (tentative)
• Julie Abrams, Women’s Initiative for Self Employment, Executive Director
• Colleen Graber, Public Policy Associates, Inc., Project Manager
• Rebecca Lundberg, Powerfully Green, CEO
• Laura Culin, Austin Lumber, President/CEO

Participation is limited so register early! Please visit the Women's Bureau Web site for more information or register directly here.

WOMEN’S BUREAU, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Contracted with Public Policy Associates, Inc.
and Wider Opportunities for Women

Each year, nearly 700,000 men and women are released from prison and return to their communities. More and more Community Action Agencies are either starting or expanding re-entry programs in response to the need for services for ex-offenders. Thanks to Leah Kane at the Council of State Government’s Justice Center, the Partnership joined with hundreds of agencies in support for funding the newly-passed Second Chance Act.

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April 12, 2010

The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Chair, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
144 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Richard Shelby
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
123 Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Alan Mollohan
Chair, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
Room H-309, The Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Frank Wolf
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
1016 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairmen Mikulski and Mollohan and Ranking Members Shelby and Wolf:

We write to express our support for full funding of the Second Chance Act in fiscal year 2011. Our diverse organizations have come together because we represent constituencies working to increase public safety by improving reentry from prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities.

The Second Chance Act, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law in April 2008, is a common sense, evidence-based approach to reducing crime and improving public safety. The bill authorizes $165 million for programs that will improve coordination of reentry services and policies at the state, tribal, and local levels, including demonstration grants, reentry courts, family-centered programs, substance abuse treatment, employment, mentoring and other services needed to improve transition from prison and jail to communities and reduce recidivism.

The Second Chance Act will provide crucial resources at a time when they are desperately needed. In 2008, federal and state prisons held over 1.6 million inmates – one in every 198 U.S. residents – and released 735,000 individuals back to their communities. And more than 9 million individuals are released from jail each year. Unfortunately, most individuals face numerous challenges when returning to the community from prison or jail, and research indicates that over half are reincarcerated within three years of their release. In a recent report, The Pew Charitable Trusts estimated that, if current growth rates continue, state and federal prisons will grow by 13 percent by 2013, adding more than 192,000 prisoners at a cost of $27.5 billion. According to the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, jails are growing at an even faster pace. However, research confirms that comprehensive, coordinated services can help formerly incarcerated individuals find stable employment and housing, thereby reducing recidivism.

By providing the resources needed to coordinate reentry services and policies at the state, tribal and local level, the Second Chance Act ensures that the tax dollars spent on corrections do not simply fuel a revolving door in and out of prison and jail. State, tribal and local governments and nonprofit organizations around the country are eager to launch and expand innovative reentry programs, and families and communities are desperate to access the services the Second Chance Act will provide.

Please support full funding for Second Chance Act programs in FY2011.

Sincerely,

The Community Action Partnership joined with more than 300 national, state, and local organizations in signing this letter. Others included: American Correctional Association, American Psychological Association, American Probation & Parole Association, Campaign for Youth Justice, Child Welfare League of America, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), National Alliance to End Homelessness, National Association of Counties, National Association of Social Workers, National Black Police Association, National Employment Law Project, U.S. Conference of Mayors, The Corps Network, and dozens of faith-based groups.

With appreciation to our tireless health care advocacy colleague, Richard Hamburg at Trust For America’s Health, the Partnership signed on the following letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius calling for a federal focus on community health care and prevention services through an adequately-funded public health system.

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April 20, 2010

The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius
Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Hubert H. Humphrey Building
200 Independence Avenue, SW – Room 120F
Washington, DC 20201

Dear Secretary Sebelius:

On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we thank you for your leadership in helping to make comprehensive health reform a reality, which we believe lays out a vision for a modernized healthcare and public health system. Together, our organizations advocated for meaningful, sustainable public health, wellness, and prevention provisions, which we
feel will be the cornerstone in transforming our health system into one that truly promotes health, not just disease treatment. As you begin to work on implementation of the law, we would like to share our vision for ensuring the prevention provisions achieve the largest possible impact on disease prevention and health.

The Prevention and Public Health Fund is central to supporting the long-term transformation of the nation’s public health system. The Fund alone cannot achieve this transformation, thus investments from the Fund should be used in a manner that leverages change throughout the public health system – with a move away from a stove-piped,
disease-by-disease approach to one that addresses the determinants of health in a crosscutting manner. If these grants merely supplant existing funding, no net benefit will be achieved. These funds should be used for transformational investments, helping lead the nation into a more community-oriented, accountable approach to public health. There should be flexibility built into the Fund to ensure a focus on the determinants of health in a cross-cutting manner in all places where people live, learn, work and play.

The overarching goal should be to optimize the health of everyone by creating healthier, safer, and more resilient communities through policy, systems, organizational, and environmental change. Investments from the Fund should be science-informed or evidence-based, have measurable health outcomes and policy goals, promote innovation,
focus on the determinants of health and health equity, and have a significant level of accountability. In addition, funding prevention strategies may yield significant returns on investment. These savings can then be reinvested into communities and support the ongoing transformation of the public health system and community health.

The National Prevention Strategy contained in the statute should become the basis for defining the goals of a transformed public health system, identifying gaps in the current system, and how the Fund can be used to help close these gaps. The Strategy should have a particular focus on how public health investments can work synergistically with
the reforming health care system so that health departments have greater capacity in areas relevant to the reform process. Additionally, there are key areas where non-governmental public health entities, including a broad range of community groups and schools can play vital roles in helping to transform the nation’s health and the broader public health system. Indeed, in a transformed system governmental public health may lead, but
implementation will be across all sectors of society.

In the short term, as the National Prevention Strategy is developed over the next year, expenditures under the Fund for FY 2010 and FY 2011 should be consistent with the categories of expenditure identified by both the House and Senate. These are:

Community Prevention: A focus on community prevention is the centerpiece of a transformed public health system. The focus should be on cross-cutting approaches to reducing the risks that affect health and safety. Funds should not be limited categorically, and instead considered for clear and focused priorities and opportunities across the range
of public health programs, which would include chronic disease prevention, injury and violence prevention, reproductive health, infectious diseases, emergency preparedness, mental and behavioral health, birth defects and developmental disabilities, and environmental health. In addition, while state and local health departments must be
central players in community prevention, grant funding is also needed to support the work of non-governmental organizations committed to community prevention. Such efforts need to be promoted in communities of all sizes, particularly those with high need, using creative governmental and non-governmental partnerships.

Core Capacity (for both state and local health departments and others doing community prevention): All health departments should be supported in their efforts to expand the role of community prevention in addressing the health needs of their populations, but particular effort should be made to close the geographic gap in capacity to build healthier, safer, and more resilient communities. Investment in capacity building will require both
steady support for fundamental functions such as epidemiology, laboratory, informatics and communication as well as flexibility so that one-time, non-recurring projects can improve the most important and most underdeveloped current capacities. This can be done through support in part of the accreditation process developed by the Public Health
Accreditation Board, which is focused on building these capacities and thresholds.

Research, Development, and Dissemination of Best Practices: There is a continuing need to expand the science base of prevention, with particular emphasis on translation into practice and data to do appropriate program evaluation. In a strengthened, transformed public health system, state and local health departments will routinely be able to collect
and assess sufficient data to evaluate programs as they are implemented. It also requires ramping up the capacity of the task forces on community and clinical prevention, creating the research and technical support for innovation in community prevention, and establishing the newly authorized program in public health services and systems research,
with a particular emphasis on data collection and analysis.

Strong partnership and collaboration among local and state health departments and federal agencies will be essential to target new capacity-building funds in a manner thatmaximizes their impact in transforming the nation’s public health system. Even with accreditation, more will need to be done at the national level to build a public health workforce able to serve in health departments at varying stages of building such capacity. A number of programs targeting all levels of education and training, are authorized in the legislation that would enhance capacity at the state and local level and
could be funded at least in part through this Fund.

Finally, investments should be significant in size so that we can make a significant difference. Spreading these funds among too many programs will dilute the investment and reduce the likelihood we will see real change.

We thank you for your leadership in a hard-fought battle to bring health reform to America. The President’s signature, however, was only one step in an ongoing fight to help Americans lead healthier lives. We look forward to working with you to ensure the objectives of this law are achieved.

Sincerely,

Alliance to Make US Healthiest
All Saints Home Care And Referral Services (CA)
America Walks
American Association for Health Education
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
American College of Clinical Pharmacy
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
American Heart Association
American Medical Student Association
American Nurses Association
American Osteopathic Association
American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
American School Health Association
Arthritis Foundation
Asian Pacific Islander Caucus for Public Health
Association of Academic Health Centers
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing
Association of State and Territorial Health Officers
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Bay County Health Department of Bay City, MI
Campaign for Public Health
Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland
Coalition for Health Services Research
Coastal Health District, Georgia
CommonHealth ACTION
Community Action Partnership
Community Health Councils
Community Health Partnership: Oregon’s Public Health Institute
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Defeat Diabetes Foundation
Faces and Voices of Recovery
Family Voices
Food for the World, Inc.
Hepatitis C Association
Hepatitis Foundation International
HIV Medicine Association
Home Safety Council
Ingham County Health Department, Lansing, Michigan
Khmer Health Advocates, Inc
Monroe County Public Health Department (MI)
National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Coalition for LGBT Health
National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity
National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
National Health Council
National Health Equity Coalition
National Network of Public Health Institutes
National Nursing Centers Consortium
National Psoriasis Foundation
National REACH Coalition
National Recreation and Park Association
National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Alliance
Nemours
Partners for a Healthy Nevada
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Prevention Institute
Public Health Foundation
Public Health Institute
Public Health-Seattle & King County
REACH U.S. Charleston and Georgetown Diabetes Coalition
REACH U.S. Southeastern African American CEED for Diabetes
Research!America
Safe States Alliance
Society of Public Health Education
Strategic Health Policy International, Inc
The New York Academy of Medicine
Trust for America’s Health
WalkSanDiego
YMCA of the USA

"Introduction to Community Economic Development"
Free webinar hosted by Community Action Partnership
Community Economic Development project

May 4th—3:00 pm Eastern/12:00 pm Pacific
90 minutes

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Register Today!

The Community Economic Development (CED) program area of the Partnership serves as clearinghouse for information and action that advances the field of community economic development. The Partnership’s goal is to provide tools and resources to strengthen the capacity of Community Action Agencies to build successful and innovative community economic development programs.

Glenn Sanada and Ralph Lippman of the California Community Economic Development Association and Thomas Tenorio, Executive Director of Community Action Agency of Butte County California/ a member of the Board of Directors for Community Action Partnership will lead an introductory webinar based on the foundation, program and development steps needed to complete a community economic development project. From concept to real estate or business development, the webinar “Introduction to Community Economic Development” will broaden your knowledge of the tools needed for a successful outcome.

To register click on the following link: http://cap.peachnewmedia.com
Peach New Media will email all necessary information upon registration.

Tuesday, May 4th will be the first in a regular series of webinars hosted by Community Action Partnership CED on how to successfully carry out a full range of community building strategies including real estate development-housing, retail, commercial-business assistance, lending, social services, and job creation.

Call or email Stacy Flowers at 202-449-9784 with any questions.

 

As part of its Idol Gives Back on-air TV fundraising, American Idol spent two hours at Foothill Unity Center, one of the four nonprofit Community Action Agencies in Los Angeles County. TV celebrities Ellen DeGeneres and David Arquette, who also chairs the Feeding America Entertainment Council, spent two hours filming at Foothill Unity Center where they saw program recipients and Community Action staff involved with food distribution, health care services, getting flu shots, enrolling for SNAP (food stamps) and other program activities. Foothill Unity Center receives food from the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, a Feeding America organization.

As Ellen DeGeneres interviewed a Foothill client family, it was noted that many more middle class families need assistance. She interviewed an 8th grade math teacher whose hours had been severely cut--putting his family in jeopardy of hunger. David Arquette noted how this type of situation has become more frequent and how really difficult it is for those who have never needed help before to ask for food.

"We have always admired the Idol Gives Back Foundation and the deep commitment and caring that power it," said Foothill Center Executive Director Joan Whitenack. "To be a part of this effort--and to welcome Ellen DeGeneres and David Arquette to our facility--is a dream come true." Since its establishment in 2008, the Idol Foundation has raised over $140 million for charities.

Foothill Unity Center has been providing help to low-income families and the homeless in the San Gabriel Valley for 30 years. Since it began in a Monrovia church closet, the need for services has exploded. Today, the Center serves 11 cities and adjacent county areas, operating two food distribution/service sites, a thrift store and an offsite warehouse.

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS
Deadline this Friday, April 30!

September 1st seems like a long way from now – but it is closer than we think! We have just over 4 months remaining to put together an outstanding Community Action Partnership Annual Convention: Community Action: The Power of Partnerships. Click here to download a form. Presentation proposals must be received by April 30, 2010.

We want to have YOUR “Call for Presentations” form submitted to us by April 30th. Highlight your program; best practice; management strategies; partnership, and more.

• Job Creation & Green Jobs
• Community Economic Development
• Head Start & Education
• Asset Development
• Energy and Weatherization
• Public Relations/Social Media
• Housing and Homeless Prevention
• Management and Organizational Development

The Boston Marriott is selling quickly. Please register now, either on-line or by calling
1 (800) 228-9290 to assure your great room rate of $189.00 single or double.

Watch upcoming issues of the eNews and our website convention page for detailed information and registration.

To view or download the 2010 Annual Convention Brochure, click here.