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CAA Leaders from 25 States Tour Louisiana Weatherization Training Center By Rob Doherty From the outside, the headquarters of the Louisiana Association of Community Action Partnerships, Inc. doesn't look much different than the other low-slung buildings on Industriplex Boulevard in Baton Rouge. But walk inside and you get a glimpse of America's green future: a 10,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art center to train workers to weatherize homes. "There's nothing like it," say Matt Killen, who started training at the center when it opened last September. "It is all in one location." The center consists of a collection of classrooms and training stations - among them cabins for diagnosing a house's weatherization needs, a small house and wall to practice installing insulation properly, and a lab to teach how to correctly vent a home - all designed to give hands-on learning experience to the roughly 50 students who come through the center each month. "This is my dream," said LACAP President Gervis LaFleur, who has been involved in Community Action for more than 45 years. So impressive is the facility that in January it attracted Community Action Agency leaders from 25 states eager to see what Louisiana is doing as they gear up to retrofit more and more homes in their regions with the $5 billion included for the federal Weatherization Assistance Program in last year's economic stimulus bill. How important is that program, which since its creation in 1976 has made 6.3 million homes in low-income neighborhoods safer, more livable and more energy efficient? Just ask Kyla Johnson. The 29-year-old recently divorced mother of four from Franklin, Louisiana, told the CAA leaders that she used to warm her house by turning on the oven after the central heating in her home broke down. Then, the St. Mary Community Action Agency stepped in and weatherized her house late last year. "It was a Christmas gift," she said. "We thank God, and we thank all of you for helping us." But, as two Louisiana lawmakers - state Reps. Michael Danahay and Michael Jackson - told the CAA leaders, the weatherization program does more than just make a difference in people's lives. "You have known for 30 years that weatherization make sense, that it's efficient, that it helps save energy," Jackson said. "It also creates jobs." And when it comes to weatherization, it is Community Action Agencies that get the job done - and which face an important challenge in 2010 and beyond. The goals are daunting. Louisiana wants to weatherize 2,000 homes this year. Oregon expects to retrofit at least 4,500 through 2012 and Michigan's goal is at least 30,000 in the next three years. But the potential rewards are great.
"Think about all the things this program does," Don Mathis,
president and CEO of Community Action Partnership, told the CAA leaders. "We're
saving energy. We're providing jobs for people. We're making the climate better
and the economy better. In terms of bang for the taxpayers' buck, this is the
best deal going."
From left: Don Mathis, Kyla Johnson, Gervis LaFleur and Jane Killen The Community Action Partnership prepared a report to the Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services (OCS) to share information about a grant that recommended Creative Approaches to Training and Technical Assistance. The report contains information obtained from the Community Action network through two brainstorming sessions, a webinar and compilation of input from members of the network by Virtual CAP. The full report includes recommendations that the Office of Community Services continue its support of the Partnership's activities to develop Community Action Agencies new and emerging leaders and managers skills. Specifically, there is consensus for continued support of workshops at national meetings; the Award/Pathways initiative and the Certified Community Action Professional. The network frequently mentions the need for training in messaging, marketing and communication. In addition to an expansion of training approaches to include one-day regional workshops, a strong consensus is apparent for an on-line library operated by the Partnership. First year efforts would focus on organizing training materials into an on-line virtual library that will afford CAA professionals interactive opportunities to expand personal and organizational capacity.
Click here to read the report.
US Department of Treasury's Go Direct and Direct Express Programs
The US Department of Treasury has a variety of electronic options for people who receive federal benefit payments such as Social Security:
The Community Action Partnership is pleased to announce it is joining the Treasury Department’s campaign to encourage people to use these options. Local Community Action Agencies can also join the campaign’s outreach effort by distributing educational tools–including free materials such as brochures and posters–to help inform program participants about the safety, ease and convenience of direct deposit.
CAAs can also use the Treasury Department’s easy-to-follow program ideas for promoting the campaign, such as talking points to incorporate into new and existing presentations and financial literacy efforts, as well as training guides to help staff learn how to discuss signing up for the electronic payments with program participants. These tools can be found on the special Partners section of www.GoDirect.org. You can also email GoDirect@webershandwick.com or call 952-346-6055 to speak to a campaign representative to order materials or get more information. CAAs Receive VITA Grants Congratulations to the following CAAs that have received 2009 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program grants from the IRS:
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