PathWays PA E-Newsletter: March 12, 2012
TAKE ACTION REGARDING COSTLY VOTER ID BILL
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives may vote as soon as this week on legislation that would enact a costly voter identification law in the state. This program may move forward despite its pricetag of $11 million for a measure that will put up barriers to people who want to exercise their right to vote.
Discuss this bill with your representative today.
The state Senate approved the bill by a vote of 26 to 23 on Wednesday. It now heads back to the House for a concurrence vote since it was amended in the Senate. If passed by the House, it will go to Governor Corbett's desk for a final signature. Learn more in this Philadelphia Inquirer article.
This could be the last chance to take action on this bill in the Legislature. Please email and call your House Representative today.
JOIN PBPC FOR THE PHILADELPHIA BUDGET SUMMIT ON MARCH 16
Get the inside scoop on the 2012-13 state budget and what it means for the Philadelphia area at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center's first Philadelphia Budget Summit.
The Summit will be held from 9 to 11:30 am on Friday, March 16, 2012 at the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA
The Summit is open to anyone who wants to learn more about the state budget. Visit http://pennbpc.org/phillysummit for more information, including directions. If you have any questions, please email Stephanie Frank.
National
CONSIDER ASKING YOUR SENATOR TO SPONSOR THE FAIRNESS IN WOMEN CONTRACTING ACT
Women small business owners are at the backbone of our recovering economy, and starting a small business can be a smart professional decision for many women including our returning veterans.
In order to make sure that women small business owners are successful, the BPW Foundation is asking you to contact your Senators ASAP about sponsoring a new bill, The Fairness in Women Contracting Act. The purpose of the bill is to address two outstanding barriers that have arisen since implementing the Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) procurement program in March, 2011.
This bill improves the WOSB procurement program to lift the dollar caps on the awards in the qualifying 83 NAICS codes, and gives sole source authority to the program. Sole source contracts have a cap of $5 million—the same as in the other small business procurement programs. It also allows women owned small businesses to bid on more lucrative contracts within the WOSB program.
How can you help? By calling or emailing your Senators asking that they co-sponsor The Fairness in Women Contracting Act. If you are a small business owner, let them know that as well. You can contact your Senators' local or Washington, DC office. Click here to find your Senator's contact information. Click here for more background on the bill and for a sample email. Please let the Foundation know which Senate offices you contact by emailing them at foundation@bpwfoundation.org.
From our friends at the BPW Foundation.
UPDATE ON THE HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTH ACT
The Homeless Children and Youth Act, HR32, is bi-partisan legislation that would make it easier for homeless children, youth, and families to receive HUD homeless assistance, no matter where they happen to be living. The legislation cuts through the red tape of current HUD regulations, allowing for streamlined referrals between agencies. HR32 passed out of the House Financial Services Committee’s Insurance, Housing, and Community Opportunity Subcommittee on February 7th, and now moves on for consideration by the full Financial Services Committee.
Updates:
- The Alliance for Excellent Education has produced a compelling new video about HR32 featuring formerly homeless youth. The video may be viewed at http://helphomelesskidsnow.org/video/
- A broad coalition of national homeless, education, and children’s organizations support HR32. We are beginning to compile a list of state and local organizations that endorse HR32. Please send statements of support for state or local organizations to info@helphomelesskidsnow.org. A list of national endorsing organizations may be found at http://helphomelesskidsnow.org/supporters/
- To take action, visit http://helphomelesskidsnow.org/take-action/
Information
MEETING FOR FAMILIES OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES RECEIVING SERVICES
MAX Association cordially invites you to attend a meeting for families of people with disabilities
receiving services in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties.
You may have heard stories in the news recently about how cuts in state funding in Pennsylvania will result in reduction or even loss of critical services. Did you know that you may be part of this story? There may likely be a reduction or loss of the services your relative with disabilities receives.
MAX needs your voice. Your voice counts. Come see what you can do now. This is a call to action!
MAX has scheduled two dates and locations for your convenience.
Monday March 12 - 6pm – 7pm
Montgomery County Human Services Building
1430 DeKalb Street
Norristown, Pa 19404
Monday March 26 – 6pm-7pm
Child Guidance Resource Centers
2000 Old West Chester Pike
Havertown, Pa 19083
MAX is a Southeastern Pennsylvania regional provider association serving over:
- 40 human service organizations in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties
- 25,000 individuals and their families
- 6,500 direct support professionals
For more information on these meeting or on MAX visit our website at www.MAXAssociation.org
Or give them a call at (610) 825-2026.
AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE ACT AND YOU
West Chester BPW is hosting a forum:entitled The Affordable Health Care Act and You on Monday, March 19th 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Marchwood Apartments Community Room. A panel of legal and health care speakers will explain the most important aspects of this important legislation; then questions will be taken from the audience.
Attendance is free but seating is limited, so please register by emailing: WestChesterBPW@hotmail.com. Click here for event details.
DATA SEARCH WEBINAR: THE USER FRIENDLY GUIDE TO FNS’ PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA
Thursday, 3/15/2012, 2:00pm – 3:00pm Eastern Time
Registration Link: http://vovici.com/wsb.dll/s/17fb9g4de99
Session Description: Data is often a key component to deciding how to direct your organization’s efforts. This webinar will help you determine where the data is and how you can utilize it to further your mission.
Participation: The session will be available via Microsoft Office LiveMeeting (Webinar) and is free for all participants. You will need access to a phone line and a computer with internet access for this webinar. To participate, please complete the online registration. Further information will be forthcoming to registered participants. You must register to receive additional information. Connection instructions will be sent prior to the session in which you register for, to the email address you provide in the registration.
WOMEN’S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The AARP Foundation has announced a call for entries for its sixth annual Women's Scholarship Program. The program provides funds to low-income women age 50 and older who are seeking new job skills, training, and educational opportunities to support themselves and their families. The application deadline is Friday, March 30, 2012.
To be eligible for a scholarship, applicants must be a U.S. citizen, be able to demonstrate financial need, and be enrolled in an accredited school or technical training program within six months of the scholarship award date. The program will give priority to women raising the family members of others, to women that have been out of the workforce for more than a year, and to older women veterans.
The application and additional information are available at http://www.aarp.org/aarp-foundation/scholarships.html?cmp=RDRCT-WSCHP_JAN26_012. We encourage you to provide this valuable information to your partners, clients, and business associates.
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION PARTNERSHIPS FOR IDA PROGRAMS
Tuesday, March 13, 3:30-4:30 p.m. EDT / 12:30-1:30 p.m. PDT
Want to know what to look for when approaching a bank or credit union as a partner for your Individual Development Account (IDA) program? Join the Assets for Independence (AFI) Resource Center for this webinar and learn how to create strong partnerships (and strengthen existing ones) with financial institutions. AFI will also provide an overview of the Community Reinvestment Act, how it affects banks’ investment in the community, and how you can leverage it to develop effective IDA collaborations.
This hour-long webinar will include:
- Account features that are needed or desirable for IDA programs
- Internal processes that must be developed and in place in a financial institution to offer IDAs
- How to develop agreements and accountability systems to promote effective partnerships with financial institutions
- Unique features of bank and credit union partnerships with IDA programs
Click here to register now! The webinar is free to all interested participants. In advance of the webinar, please send any questions you would like panelists to address during the session to Johanna Barrero, or call 202.207.0117.
WEBINAR ON NEW LABOR MARKET TOOLS TO SUPPORT FEDERAL GRANTS
The Workforce Strategy Center (WSC) is pleased to join forces with the SkillsNET Foundation to introduce SkillsPass, JobReadiness and the Labor Market Value Index - a suite of tools to help align curriculum with job skill requirements to make it more responsive to employers' needs, and more relevant to students' gainful employment and career aspirations.
WSC will be presenting a webinar about the tools on Wednesday, March 14th from noon to 1 PM EST and again on Thursday, March 22nd from noon to 1 PM EST.
During the webinar they will show how the tools can inform:
- Virtual industry advisory board operations
- Present labor market value of courses currently offered
- Gap analysis that provides targets for curriculum development and revision
Please register by clicking on one of the following:
THE STATE OF AGING IN PENNSYLVANIA: A FORUM ON OUR AGING SCORECARD
A recent AARP study ranked Pennsylvania number 39 out of 50 in a nationwide comparison of the quality of services we provide to our seniors and their caregivers. Since Pennsylvania has the 4th oldest population in the country, there is some work to do to increase the number and quality of community-based aging services in the commonwealth.
Join United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and The Jewish Federation to hear from AARP on how they developed their aging "scorecards". Following the presentation from a co-author of the AARP study, join in the discussion of the solutions currently in progress as we improve our resources statewide for seniors and caregivers.
March 30, 2012 - 10 AM to 12 PM
United Way of Southeastern PA, 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
RSVP here: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e5mwjp7f048bff25&oseq=
For more information on the AARP study, please visit:
http://www.aarp.org/relationships/caregiving/info-09-2011/ltss-scorecard.html
Comments
Post a Comment