Probably most of you already know, but a good reminder:Connecticut’s Care 4 Kids child care assistance program continues to be open for services to eligible working families. In addition, the program has raised the income limit to allow more working families to qualify.The program will NOT close to working families as of December 31, 2009, as previously announced. It will remain open to working families until at least February 28, 2010, pending budget availability.The Care 4 Kids program helps families pay their child care costs to help parents stay employed. It also helps families on Temporary Family Assistance who are working or learning skills to obtain employment.The Care 4 Kids program is:Accepting new applications from working families with annual earnings up to 75% of the state median income level (for example, $73,281 for a family of four). This income level is higher than the traditional eligibility ceiling of 50% of state median income to apply.Allowing currently-served families to remain eligible until their earnings reach 75% of the state median income level.For information about submitting applications or general information about Care4Kids, please visit: www.ctcare4kids.com or call 1-888-214-KIDS (5437) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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From our friends at DataHaven (a great website, by the way):Do you have opinions about your neighborhood’s convenience, safety or appearance, skills you can contribute, or suggestions for improving the community? Do you want to help your neighborhood become an even better place to live and work?We’re excited to announce the first-ever New Haven Neighborhood Quality of Life Survey!This citywide survey is part of a grassroots effort to encourage more residents to participate in their local neighborhood associations and Community Management Teams. Many of these groups have agreed to formally participate in this inaugural year. They have agreed to distribute this email (and paper copies, available upon request) in order to give everyone an opportunity to share their perspective. Developed with the help of successful national examples, the survey represents many months of work and feedback from these associations and other local residents.DataHaven, a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)3 organization that compiles and shares high-quality public information, will ensure accuracy of reporting and maintain the anonymity of all information collected.Immediately following the collection of surveys, DataHaven will make neighborhood-level results available at its website. Results will also be shared at informal Neighborhood Workshops, to be organized by CMTs, neighborhood groups and at a citywide level. The results may be used by anyone to help their neighborhood develop action plans to address quality of life concerns.Please help our neighborhoods by distributing this email to your mailing lists and inviting your neighbors to participate at the link below. Any resident, employee, student or visitor to your neighborhood may take the survey.The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. We need you to help make this survey and this city the best it can be!Survey Linkhttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s/neighborhoodsurveynewhavenIf you have any questions about this survey, or if you would like to request coded paper-based surveys for distribution (for those without computer access/comfort), please contact Mark Abraham (matissepicasso@gmail.com) or Doug Hausladen (douglas.hausladen@gmail.com).
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There a chance that more than 100 17” flat screen monitors may come available to non-profits. Please let me know if you are interested such monitors, and how many, for your non-profit, should they become available. These monitors are used but are of relatively recent vintage and are in working order.
C.J. May
Recycling Coordinator
Yale University
www.yale.edu/recycling
203-432-6852
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Starting February, CAHS and three partner organizations will start rolling out a very powerful new tool to help low-income families become more self-sufficient: EarnBenefits Online (EBO). EBO is web-based application that helps case managers and intake workers screen clients for ten benefits simultaneously, allowing them to have quick access to more services.How does EBO work?For a client, EBO will look like the following.1. Sit down with the case worker and describe their household situation: income, family members, assets, housing situation, etc.2. The case worker will introduce the information on the computer as they talk, and hit a button.3. EBO will give a list of all the benefits the client (or a member of the household) can apply to, as well as information on where he needs to go and what he needs to bring.4. The case worker can then hit "print", and EBO will fill an application with all the information automatically and give it to the client, so he can bring it to DSS or the appropiate agency.The whole thing is completely transparent, very easy to use and fully automatized; the eligibility requirements are all handled by EBO. The software is web based, so the only thing the worker needs is a computer with Firefox and an internet connection - and a printer with plenty of paper!EBO will screen for SNAP, Husky, TANF, SAGA, EITC, WIC and Medicaid, amongst other benefits, when fully deployed. Think on the amount of time clients and case workers will safe.Who is going to offer this service?CAHS is proud to announce our partners for Greater New Haven:Junta for Progressive Action (GNHC profile)Christian Community Action (GNHC Profile)Catholic Charities / Centro San José (and someone should help me convince them come to GNH Community!)Starting February, this fine sites will be screenings for benefits using the EBO software. If you give me a desk and a computer with an internet connection, I will be doing screenings furiously too; so drop me a line if you need this service. Contact them (or myself) for more information of availability and referrals - we are still working out the details, so suggestions, encouragement and ideas are more than welcome.Interested in EBO? Want to help?We are still looking for sites and partners. If you think your case workers will get a lot of use of this tool, please drop us a line! Tracy Helin is the person to talk to in this regard; I am available for questions as well.We really want this to be useful, so please, talk to us! We want to screen people, we want to help them get benefits. We want to help!Join us at the EarnBenefits GNHC GroupRead more…
Connecticut Money School (CMS) is a project of the Connecticut Association for Human Services (CAHS) and five nonprofit partners. CMS provides free financial education for adults and seniors. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to become financially stable and successful. One way to achieve financial stability and success is through a better understanding of how to manage your money and your assets - and CMS is here to help.The Connecticut Money School is coordinated by our very own Ellen Carter (link to her profile page) and it is an excellent resource for those looking to learn how to better manage their money. CMS has a ton of classes in the GNH area; the courses are always free, and always taught by professional instructors that are experts on their subject.It is a very good resource, that can be very useful for many people in New Haven. Spread the word!Even more important, we are always looking for more instructors, more students, and more places to hold classes. If you want to help by letting us use a classroom, you want to teach or you want to ask about the program, drop Ellen a line on the CMS website or here at GNH Community.
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The Fund for Women and Girls at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is accepting applications.
The deadline is 5 pm on Friday, January 15.
Applications and guidelines are available at: www.fundforwomenandgirls.org
The Community Fund for Women and Girls was created in 1995 to provide ongoing support for services important to women and girls. Since its inception the Fund has distributed $370,000 into the community.
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Update: We will be taking applications until Thursday if needed. We are really looking for more partner organizations in New Haven specifically, by the way. We had a life demo of the application yesterday, and it is wonderful. If anyone has questions, please call me. I can even drop by to show it.EarnBenefits demo________________________Just a quick reminder for all you folks out there about Earnbenefits, a new tool that CAHS is going to launching next year.We all know how hard is to direct people to apply for the state and benefits they are eligible for. The requirements are confusing, the applications are too long, and it is hard to keep track on what they need to do. We are rolling out an online application to actually try to solve that; a screening tool that keeps track of all requirements, fills the application in full and prints out instructions on what documents the client needs to bring to DSS, VITA sites or DCF.We are looking for partners to deploy this tool. We will offer support, some financing for expenses and training. You can find the RFP here. The deadline for it was today (December 11), but if we get applications say, on Monday or Tuesday, we will definetely have a look.Which leads me to the next point, of course: if someone needs help doing screenings, the outreach team of CAHS in New Haven (aka me) is more than glad to help. I am available for coming and talking with clients about benefits; SNAP right now, and more benefits as Earnbenefits rolls out. Contact me if you need more information on either screening or the RFP.
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CAHS is starting a new and very exciting program in the coming months: EarnBenefits.EarnBenefits is an online screening took created by Seedco that allows us to screen a client for 8 to 10 benefits at once. Basically we are able to sit down, ask a few questions, and get a list of all the benefits they can apply. The software then automatically fills and application with the client information, a list of all the paperwork they need to include and the benefits they will get, and prints them. You will only need to make the copies of the documents needed and have it send to DSS.We want to have a good team of service providers using this tool, so we are looking for partners. We are offering funding, training and support to put everything in place and running; the idea is that case workers will be able to use EarnBenefits to screen clients quick and efficiently, getting all the paperwork ready in a few minutes, and make life easier to our clients.Check the full RFP and information bellow:EarnBenefits Partner RFP-Final.docImproving Access to Work Supports through Online ScreeningEarnBenefits InitiativeRequest for Partnership ProposalThe Connecticut Association for Human Services (CAHS), a statewide advocacy, outreach, and public education nonprofit organization, seeks proposals for partnership from direct service providers for an initiative to improve access to work supports for low-wage residents. Improving access to work supports is a powerful strategy for promoting job stability and economic advancement among low-wage workers. CAHS will contract with Seedco to adapt its widely-used electronic benefits tool, EarnBenefits, and work in five or six Connecticut cities with community partners to enroll 1,500-plus residents in work support programs annually. Those community partners who are approved will be granted free access to the EarnBenefits screening tool, and will receive training from CAHS staff on how to improve benefits screening through the newly developed electronic system.This project has been made possible through a partnership with the following funders: Fairfield County Community Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, and The William Casper Graustein Memorial Fund.Selected applicant organizations may be eligible to receive grants of up to $5,000 in program support. Please be prepared to submit an itemized budget with your proposal.EarnBenefits is a web-based product developed by Seedco, Inc., a nonprofit workforce intermediary based in New York City. EarnBenefits is used to guide clients through the online application process and allow them to apply for multiple benefits at the same time. Working with a trained counselor at your local partnership organization, the prospective applicant can use EarnBenefits to learn about a number of work supports they may be unaware of, receive an estimated dollar value of those supports they qualify for, and even re-certify for those supports they already receive. EarnBenefits will automatically fill out multiple applications, which your counselors/staff then print for the applicant to take and apply at relevant agencies. EarnBenefits will then track the application.For full details, download the RFP:EarnBenefits Partner RFP-Final.docRead more…
Hi! Welcome to GNH Community Network. Glad to see you here; I hope you participate and join the conversation. For starters, I am linking some documents and materials here so you can learn more about the website.If you need some pointers on how to use the site and all the tools and resources available, check our tutorial here. Lots of good pointers and general information. If you want a very brief, one page explanation on the site, check this flier:GNH Community one pager short.pdfPlease distribute it far and wide - we want people to join!If you have any questions, queries or ideas, please contact me; check my profile for the details. I will be more than glad to have meetings, organize workshops, do presentations, prepare materials or talk with anyone that might be interested. Again, just contact me!
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Pam Hansen has posted the list of vacancies in the Early Childhood group. You can find the list here. Direct download here.If I have time, I will post it later as a beautiful embedded spreadsheet. We will see.
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A couple of quick news and updates. First of all, a hearty welcome to all the newcomers to GNH Community - We are getting bigger, bit by bit, and sharing more information. I know at least one person that will be getting Spanish classes because she found out about them here (thanks, Hannah!), so keep the good work!Second thing, remember that next week our good friends of Junta (two GNH Community members) are hosting us for a workshop - and we still have some empty slots. Please tell your contacts about it; we still have slots available. Those who are already posting stuff might not learn much about how to use the page, but it will be a good opportunity to get to know each other and talk a bit on how to make this little project grow.Third, a reminder: post stuff! You can't really "break" the page. Post events (the calendar looks healthy busy of late, isn't it?), discussions, blogs, create groups... anything. The groups are one of the most useful features, and we don't use it much. Play with it.Last but not least, Lee Cruz has joined the ranks of administrators of the site, just in case I break something, or something needs to be changed and I am on vacation. This is not a Community Foundation project now, but he wants to help. Thanks!
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Posted by Lee Cruz on September 24, 2009 at 11:51am
Applications are being accepted through September 25, 2009 for The Foundation's “Making a Good Gift Better” grants program. The matching gifts program supports nonprofits serving the Greater New Haven region that provide food, shelter, clothing and fuel. Organizations with a 501(c)3 or applicable tax-exempt status that provide services in The Foundation’s 20-town region and raise a minimum of $1,000 between November 2, 2009 and January 15, 2010 may be eligible for a matching grant up to $5,000. Click here to download an application and for a complete list of eligibility criteria to participate in the program. For more information, email Ana Arroyo or call (203) 777-7084 .
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Some people have requested materials with information on GNH Community, so we can better spread the word using the almighty invite button. Here you have a couple of fliers.First, a one-page explanation on what GNH Community is and what you can do with it:GNH Community one pager.pdfSecond, a -longer- PowerPoint presentation with screenshots and such:Microsoft PowerPoint - A social network for New Haven.pdfFeel free to share - spread the word!
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Posted by Pam Hansen on September 11, 2009 at 1:30pm
The New Haven Early Childhood Council released its Early Childhood Plan on a September 8, 2009 Press Event. The Plan focuses on three strategic areas, Early Care and Education, Family Engagement and Health. Please upload the Plan NHECC_final.pdfRead more…
I just added a neat little tool to the Nurturing Families Group page - make sure you check it out.Seen it? The idea is to have spreadsheets like that to make information sharing easier between providers. Basically what we can have is a list of locations/programs and how many clients they can still take - the trick is that the spreadsheet is open (it is just a Google Document) so it can be edited by anyone that is interested.The one at the Nurturing families group in particular can be edited by anyone (link), so feel free to update the information there if you have it. If needed, it can be restricted to be only editable by a few people.It is really easy to do, so if you want me to create a similar gizmo for another group, please ask!On other news, the site also supports a ton of other apps, including fundraising and document editing tools. If someone wants to add something, please ask!
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A couple of updates on our plans for GNH Community:1. First of all, we want more content. Keep sending me anything you want me to upload - I will be adding stuff like the Youth Map and other information soon.2. I was planing on hosting a couple of workshops on how to use GNH community - on creating profiles, creating groups and adding content ourselves. We are going to add some neat collaboration features, like real-time counters on how many slots are available for some services (day care, homeless shelters, whatever is requested). I was thinking late September- early October; suggest dates in the comments if you want.Everything is really easy to use, so I strongly encourage everyone to play around as much as you want. You can't break it, believe me. I tried!. Some of my previous posts have tutorials on how to do common tasks (creating groups, attaching files, inviting people to join, etc) so have a look.
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Free home visits included in H.R. 3312, the Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion, and Supporting Parents Act would provide health and parenting education as well as additional services like diapers and other basic hygienic products for children.More information on what we YOU need to do in the newly created Early Childhood group.Add more content!
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