PathWays PA E-Newsletter: November 8, 2010
Special Announcements
It’s Not too Late to Join PathWays PA for our PathWays to the Starts 32nd Anniversary Celebration Sports-tacular!
PathWays PA will celebrate 32 years of services to low-income women, children and families this year by hosting the PathWays to the Stars 32nd Anniversary Celebration Sports-tacular.
WHEN: Tuesday, November 9, 2010, 6:30 – 9:00PM
WHERE: Radisson King of Prussia’s Waterford Ballroom
The silent auction will feature Phillies, Flyers, Eagles and Sixers tickets and memorabilia. Also, as part of the festivities, we will present this year's Trailblazer Awards to five inspiring individuals. To read about the 2010 Trailblazer Honorees, click here.
To bid on silent auction items, click here.
Tickets to the event are $50 and may be purchased online. Further information on corporate and individual sponsorships can be found here.
Federal
Support Child Care and Head Start
There is still time to sign-on to the letter to Congress to help protect Child Care and Head Start.
Over half of PA’s funding for Child Care Works and Keystone STARS and over 85 percent of Head Start funding comes from the federal government. Any cuts in federal funding will have a direct impact on the number of early learning slots available to kids. If made these essential investments will sustain services to at-risk children, ultimately helping us to reduce costs in education, health and social services while increasing employment. In Pennsylvania, for every dollar spent through child care and Head Start over two dollars is circulated in the economy.
Even though election results are in, existing members of Congress can still come to a resolution on funding for these critical programs in the next few weeks. In Pennsylvania there are over 9,000 children in child care, Head Start, and Early Head Start that could lose their early learning funding in Congress does not act.
Please sign-on to a letter urging our U.S. House and Senate members to pass a budget that helps early learning programs.
Act on Equal Pay Today!
On November 17, the Senate will vote on an important bill for families across the nation - the Paycheck Fairness Act. Please take action now by calling your Senators and asking them to ensure that all workers have access to equal pay!
The Paycheck Fairness Act would close important gaps in current law to ensure that employees can compare salaries without retaliation, to improve wage data collection, and to put remedies for wage discrimination on an equal level with racial and ethnic discrimination.
Why is paycheck fairness important for families? Currently, women earn 77 cents for each dollar earned by men. The pay gap adds up to an average of nearly $11,000 per year. With women acting as the bread-winner or co-bread-winner for two-thirds of families, that additional money could support many households in need.
Please contact your Senators and urge them to support the Paycheck Fairness Act.
State
Ask House Leaders to Finish Session’s Work, Including SB 1409
Senate Bill 1409 would amend Pennsylvania's Workforce Development Act to codify the Industry Partnerships program. Industry Partnerships consist of groups of businesses with similar product markets and skill needs that identify and address their common workforce education and training issues. These partnerships currently include more than 6,300 employers in Pennsylvania and have trained more than 73,000 individuals.
The bill is now in the House of Representatives and needs only Labor Committee consideration and a vote by the full House. It can then be signed into law by Governor Rendell before he leaves office. Unfortunately, the House has decided to cancel the remaining session days and only return for Leadership elections and farewells to departing members. They are leaving a lot of important work unfinished.
We need a concerted effort from all supporters of Industry Partnerships to contact House Leadership and urge them to reconsider their decision to end this legislative session without voting SB 1409 and other important legislation.
Please contact your member of the House and the following members of House leadership:
For more facts on the Industry Partnership program and for ways that you can support it, please visit www.workforcepa.com. Also, please take a look at our video on how employers and workers in Delaware County have benefited from the Industry Partnership program.
Are You "High-Risk"? Uninsured? There's a Pool for That
Two or three months after most states have opened their high-risk insurance pools as part of health care reform, far fewer people than expected have been enrolling. While Pennsylvania’s program, PA Fair Care, is open to 3,500 individuals, only 1,300 have enrolled to date.
PA Fair Care offers a broad range of benefits that include preventive care, physician services, diagnostic testing, hospitalization, mental health services and prescription medications. Subsidized premiums are $283.20 a month, plus additional co-pays and coinsurance.
To be eligible for PA Fair Care, applicants must:
Information/Events
Home Heating Assistance Program Now Open
Pennsylvania's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has opened for the winter season.
LIHEAP provides cash grants of $300 or more that can be used to help pay regular monthly heating bills. The grants do not have to be paid back, and no lien will be placed on the home of those who receive assistance through LIHEAP. Recipients do not have to miss a heating payment to qualify.
Individuals with an income of up to $17,328 can qualify for LIHEAP assistance; a family of four can qualify with an income of up to $35,280. For complete income guidelines please click here.
Information and applications for LIHEAP are available by calling 1-866-857-7095 and online here.
Need Help Finding Health Care? Use These Tools!
If you are looking for help finding healthcare, Healthcare.gov has some great tools for you to use. Using their website, you can compare coverage and pricing on health insurance in your area.
In addition, if you are looking for a health clinic, Healthcare.gov offers a portable version of the "Find a Health Center" tool available online from HHS. The portable version is available for free download from iTunes. Federally-funded health centers provide checkups, treatment, pregnancy care, immunizations, dental care, prescriptions, mental health, and substance abuse care, even if you don't have insurance.
Veterans Job Fair and Support Services
You are invited to the Veterans Job Fair and Support Services at Delaware County Community College. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to talk to Veteran Support Groups and a variety of Employers!
When: Tuesday November 9th, 2010, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Where: Delaware County Community College, 901 Media Line Road, Media, PA 19063-1094
For a list of employers and support service providers scheduled to attend click here.
Bring a resume and dress for success! For resume assistance please call PA CareerLink® Delaware County at 610-447-3350 or 610-723-1220.
PathWays PA Free Courses
PathWays PA Offers Expedited Career Path to EMT
PathWays PA is offering eligible job seekers free education and training to achieve certification as Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
The need for EMT is driven by the demand for services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Successful candidates will have:
PathWays PA Offers English Language/Civics Courses
PathWays PA is offering a course meant for those interested in learning and improving their English while also covering:
Classes will be held at the PathWays PA office at 310 Amosland Road, Holmes PA. They will be in the morning from 9:30-12:00 either Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursdays.
For more information about the class, please contact Kelly Binder at 610-543-5022 X 227 or kbinder@pathwayspa.org.
Images courtesy of http://appetiteforequalrights.blogspot.com/2010/04/fair-pay-now.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PAState_Capitol_Back_a_Bit.JPG, http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelgoodin/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VBRITTO-building-radiator-Paris.jpg // http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
It’s Not too Late to Join PathWays PA for our PathWays to the Starts 32nd Anniversary Celebration Sports-tacular!
PathWays PA will celebrate 32 years of services to low-income women, children and families this year by hosting the PathWays to the Stars 32nd Anniversary Celebration Sports-tacular.
WHEN: Tuesday, November 9, 2010, 6:30 – 9:00PM
WHERE: Radisson King of Prussia’s Waterford Ballroom
The silent auction will feature Phillies, Flyers, Eagles and Sixers tickets and memorabilia. Also, as part of the festivities, we will present this year's Trailblazer Awards to five inspiring individuals. To read about the 2010 Trailblazer Honorees, click here.
To bid on silent auction items, click here.
Tickets to the event are $50 and may be purchased online. Further information on corporate and individual sponsorships can be found here.
Federal
There is still time to sign-on to the letter to Congress to help protect Child Care and Head Start.
Over half of PA’s funding for Child Care Works and Keystone STARS and over 85 percent of Head Start funding comes from the federal government. Any cuts in federal funding will have a direct impact on the number of early learning slots available to kids. If made these essential investments will sustain services to at-risk children, ultimately helping us to reduce costs in education, health and social services while increasing employment. In Pennsylvania, for every dollar spent through child care and Head Start over two dollars is circulated in the economy.
Even though election results are in, existing members of Congress can still come to a resolution on funding for these critical programs in the next few weeks. In Pennsylvania there are over 9,000 children in child care, Head Start, and Early Head Start that could lose their early learning funding in Congress does not act.
Please sign-on to a letter urging our U.S. House and Senate members to pass a budget that helps early learning programs.
On November 17, the Senate will vote on an important bill for families across the nation - the Paycheck Fairness Act. Please take action now by calling your Senators and asking them to ensure that all workers have access to equal pay!
The Paycheck Fairness Act would close important gaps in current law to ensure that employees can compare salaries without retaliation, to improve wage data collection, and to put remedies for wage discrimination on an equal level with racial and ethnic discrimination.
Why is paycheck fairness important for families? Currently, women earn 77 cents for each dollar earned by men. The pay gap adds up to an average of nearly $11,000 per year. With women acting as the bread-winner or co-bread-winner for two-thirds of families, that additional money could support many households in need.
Please contact your Senators and urge them to support the Paycheck Fairness Act.
State
Senate Bill 1409 would amend Pennsylvania's Workforce Development Act to codify the Industry Partnerships program. Industry Partnerships consist of groups of businesses with similar product markets and skill needs that identify and address their common workforce education and training issues. These partnerships currently include more than 6,300 employers in Pennsylvania and have trained more than 73,000 individuals.
The bill is now in the House of Representatives and needs only Labor Committee consideration and a vote by the full House. It can then be signed into law by Governor Rendell before he leaves office. Unfortunately, the House has decided to cancel the remaining session days and only return for Leadership elections and farewells to departing members. They are leaving a lot of important work unfinished.
We need a concerted effort from all supporters of Industry Partnerships to contact House Leadership and urge them to reconsider their decision to end this legislative session without voting SB 1409 and other important legislation.
Please contact your member of the House and the following members of House leadership:
- Speaker: Keith R. McCall (717) 787-4610
- Todd A. Eachus (717) 787-2229
- Frank Dermondy (717) 787-3566
- Mark B. Cohen (717) 787-4117
- Jennifer Mann (717) 705-1869
- Dwight Evans (717)783-1540
- Ron Buxton (717) 783-9342
- P. Michael Sturla (717) 705-1923
For more facts on the Industry Partnership program and for ways that you can support it, please visit www.workforcepa.com. Also, please take a look at our video on how employers and workers in Delaware County have benefited from the Industry Partnership program.
Two or three months after most states have opened their high-risk insurance pools as part of health care reform, far fewer people than expected have been enrolling. While Pennsylvania’s program, PA Fair Care, is open to 3,500 individuals, only 1,300 have enrolled to date.
PA Fair Care offers a broad range of benefits that include preventive care, physician services, diagnostic testing, hospitalization, mental health services and prescription medications. Subsidized premiums are $283.20 a month, plus additional co-pays and coinsurance.
To be eligible for PA Fair Care, applicants must:
- Be a US citizen or lawful resident
- Be a Pennsylvania resident
- Have a pre-existing condition
- Be uninsured for the previous six months
Information/Events
Home Heating Assistance Program Now OpenPennsylvania's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has opened for the winter season.
LIHEAP provides cash grants of $300 or more that can be used to help pay regular monthly heating bills. The grants do not have to be paid back, and no lien will be placed on the home of those who receive assistance through LIHEAP. Recipients do not have to miss a heating payment to qualify.
Individuals with an income of up to $17,328 can qualify for LIHEAP assistance; a family of four can qualify with an income of up to $35,280. For complete income guidelines please click here.
Information and applications for LIHEAP are available by calling 1-866-857-7095 and online here.
Need Help Finding Health Care? Use These Tools! If you are looking for help finding healthcare, Healthcare.gov has some great tools for you to use. Using their website, you can compare coverage and pricing on health insurance in your area.
In addition, if you are looking for a health clinic, Healthcare.gov offers a portable version of the "Find a Health Center" tool available online from HHS. The portable version is available for free download from iTunes. Federally-funded health centers provide checkups, treatment, pregnancy care, immunizations, dental care, prescriptions, mental health, and substance abuse care, even if you don't have insurance.
Veterans Job Fair and Support Services
You are invited to the Veterans Job Fair and Support Services at Delaware County Community College. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to talk to Veteran Support Groups and a variety of Employers!
When: Tuesday November 9th, 2010, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Where: Delaware County Community College, 901 Media Line Road, Media, PA 19063-1094
For a list of employers and support service providers scheduled to attend click here.
Bring a resume and dress for success! For resume assistance please call PA CareerLink® Delaware County at 610-447-3350 or 610-723-1220.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities
PathWays PA Offers Expedited Career Path to EMT
PathWays PA is offering eligible job seekers free education and training to achieve certification as Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
The need for EMT is driven by the demand for services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Successful candidates will have:
- Achieved qualifying scores on WorkKeys® Assessment
- Clean criminal background check
- No back problems or physical restrictions
- The ability to lift 125 pounds 33 inches off the ground and carry for 10 feet
- Willingness to working with and touch all people
- A valid drivers license (or the ability to obtain one during training)
- Ability to pay attention to detail and flexibility to change course as circumstances warrant
- Willingness to work different shifts and weekends
- 6 weeks of Math/English Skills building classes at PathWays PA’s Holmes office.
- CPR Training and Certification through Delaware County Community College
- 137 hours of EMT training over 14 weeks
- Testing for EMT Certification
- Career coaching support
- Wednesday November 10th at 11:00 AM at PA Career Link (701 Crosby Street, Chester PA) Please call 610-447-3350 to reserve a seat.
- Wednesday, November 17th at 10:00 AM at Delaware County Community College (901 South Media Line Road Media, PA). Please call 610-723-1220 to reserve a seat.
PathWays PA Offers English Language/Civics Courses
PathWays PA is offering a course meant for those interested in learning and improving their English while also covering:
- United States History
- Work Skills
- Citizenship Process
- Employment
- Math
- Reading
Classes will be held at the PathWays PA office at 310 Amosland Road, Holmes PA. They will be in the morning from 9:30-12:00 either Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursdays.
For more information about the class, please contact Kelly Binder at 610-543-5022 X 227 or kbinder@pathwayspa.org.
Images courtesy of http://appetiteforequalrights.blogspot.com/2010/04/fair-pay-now.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PAState_Capitol_Back_a_Bit.JPG, http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelgoodin/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VBRITTO-building-radiator-Paris.jpg // http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Comments
Post a Comment