National Association for State Community Services Programs … · 2018. 6. 6. · PAGE 2 VOLUME 21 NASCSP NEWSLETTER VOLUME 21 PAGE 2 LEGISLATIVE CORNER by Jovita A. Tolbert CSBG

Volume 21

The November Congressional Elections: Possible Impact on our Programs

by David Bradley

October 2006

Articles Pg Legislative Corner 2

CSBG Data Corner 4

CSBG Spotlight: The Road Less Traveled—Part I

5

WAP Corner: Are We There Yet?

7

Energy Star’s Change A light -Change the World Celebration

9

The National Elder Economic Security Initiative

10

NASCSP in Rhode Island 12

NASCSP Newsletter Subscription Form

12

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

NASCSP Newsletter

National Assoc iat ion for State Community Services Programs

NASCSP STAFF Timothy R. Warfield Executive Director [email protected] Robert Adams Director, WX Services [email protected] Jenae Bjelland Director, Research, CSBG [email protected] Joan Harris Director, Member Services [email protected] Terry Joyner Deputy Director, Member Services [email protected] Gretchen Knowlton Deputy Director, Research [email protected] Allison Spector Program Assistant, WX Services [email protected] Jovita Tolbert Deputy Director, Program Services [email protected]

Many of this November’s Congressional elections are officially “too close to call.” Consequently, control of the Congress, which includes both the House of Repre-sentatives as well as the Senate, is entirely up for grabs. The fifteen House seats De-mocrats need to pick up, as well as the six Senate seats needed to assume control, are now, perhaps for the first time, at least very possible this fall. Regardless of which party controls each chamber, our programs that assist the poor will be affected. Here are just a few of the more obvious aftershocks likely come November. 1. Unless it is a big Democratic tidal wave, possible, but not likely, Democratic majorities in the House and Senate will be narrower, not wider. The six-seat Senate spread is likely to be no more than two seats come November 8th. The fifteen House seat margin may very well be whit-tled down to the low single digits. With such a narrow majority margin likely, ei-ther party will find it difficult to effec-tively govern and legislate in the run-up period to the 2008 Presidential election. 2. We are likely to lose some friends in Congress. There are currently some fifty House seats that are considered “in play” this November. Of these, twenty-five House seats, all Republican, are consid-

ered “toss-ups.” Many of these “toss-up” seats are held by moderate Republicans, some of whom have championed CSBG and LIHEAP funding for many years. With so many Republican seats in play it seems extremely likely some of our strong-est House Republican supporters may not be coming back 3. Even among returning members, com-mittee realignment is likely. It should not be automatically assumed that every return-ing member will want to retain their cur-rent committee or subcommittee assign-ments. With the possibility of a Democ-ratic majority in both the House and the Senate, returning Democrats will have an opportunity to fill expanded Democratic committee rosters. I am hearing from a number of Democrats that they are angling for slots on the House Ways and Means Committee or the Senate Finance Commit-tee, the Appropriation Committees, or per-haps Armed Services. There is the poten-tial for considerable Democratic committee readjustment. I would also expect that with or without the majority, Republicans, especially in the House, will be switching committee assign-ments. One Republican insider predicted to me that, assuming House Republicans retain the majority, as many as ten of the twenty-seven Republican seats on the Edu-cation and Workforce Committee could be

PAGE 2 NASCSP NEWSLETTER VOLUME 21 PAGE 2 NASCSP NEWSLETTER VOLUME 21

LEGISLATIVE CORNER by Jovita A. Tolbert

CSBG Appropriations – CR CLEARED IN CONGRESS Late Tuesday, September 26, 2006, the House adopted the $447.6 billion fiscal 2007 Defense spending bill (HR 563) with a vote of 394-22 and; on Friday, Sep-tember 29, 2006, the Senate followed suit as they voted 100-0 to clear HR 5631. The legislation includes a stopgap measure, also known as a continuing resolution (CR), to temporarily fund programs covered by appro-priations bills not enacted before Congress recesses to campaign. As you may know, the CR calls for the lowest of the House or Senate passed bills or current fund-ing. Consequently, since the Labor-HHS-Education bill has been reported out of House and Senate commit-tees, but not passed on the House or Senate floor, the programs in the bill will be funded at fiscal year 2006 levels. The CR will only run through November 17th. This bill is the first to be sent to President Bush for sig-nature. Notably, the fight for full funding of CSBG is still not

over. There is again talk about an across-the-board cut in domestic programs. Moreover, the White House recently won a $5 billion spending battle that could harm Senate appropriators’ domestic spending plans. Surrendering to a veto threat, Senate GOP appropriators agreed to restore $5 billion of the $9 billion that they had taken from President Bush’s spending request for Pentagon pro-grams. It was the intention of Senate appropriators to create space under the discretionary spending cap to pro-vide additional spending for domestic programs. Hence, the actual battle was over what appropriators would be allowed to use to deter proposed cuts in domestic pro-grams, particularly in the Labor-HHS- Education bill (HR 5647). Nonetheless, Senators Specter (R-PA) and Harkin (D-IA), the sponsors of the March 16th amendment to add $7 billion to the Labor-HHS-Education bill, are now circulating a letter to their colleagues that asks the Senate leadership to add $2 billion to the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill so that it matches the level

filled with new members. And of course, in both parties subcommittee chairmen or ranking members may switch to another subcommittee especially if the new subcommittee is likely to be legisla-tively active in the coming year. The reader should keep in mind that education issues, particularly higher educa-tion issues, trump poverty issues every time. We may very well see members leave subcommittees with primary jurisdiction over low-income programs to others dealing with education or health care. 4. Charitable Choice may fade as an issue. For the first time in years I am hearing House Republicans express a willingness to drop the ever-contentious issue of Charita-ble Choice (faith-based participation in domestic pro-grams) if it enables program reauthorizations to clear Congress. CSBG, Head Start, and the Workforce Invest-ment Act are just three of the bills that have not been reauthorized because of the House Republicans’ insis-tence on including the most contentious provision in Charitable Choice: language allowing faith-based service

providers to discriminate in employment when they re-ceive public dollars.

5. A hike in the minimum wage should move quickly. I sense a strong majority in both chambers favoring in-creasing the minimum wage. The November elections will only add to these numbers. 6. CSBG reauthorization is likely to move slowly next year. Both parties have their priorities. Higher Educa-tion Act, No Child Left Behind, among others are likely to consume much of the initial Committee time and re-sources. It is likely, however, that Congress will turn its attention to CSBG sometime in 2007. It’s going to be a fascinating November 7th. Some races may not be decided for hours, days and even weeks after the polls close. Whatever the eventual election outcome, visible changes in Congress will be apparent early in 2007 and they will be of significant importance to the future of our programs.

approved in March. Below is a list of the Senators that voted on March 16th in favor of the Harkin/Specter amendment to the budget resolution to increase funding for Labor-HHS-Education appropriations by $7 billion. The Senators that are high-lighted have also signed on to Senators Specter (R-PA) and Harkin’s (D-IA) current letter to Senators Frist (R-TN and Senate Majority Leader), Reid (D-NV), Coch-ran (R-MS), and Byrd (D-WV) that asks the Senate leadership to add $2 billion to the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill so that it matches the level approved in March.

Additionally, House GOP moderates sent a letter on Sept. 27th to House Majority Leader Boehner requesting an extra $7 billion to fund Labor-HHS-Education pro-grams. Current plans call for Congress to recess until No-

Akaka (D-HI) Alexander (R-TN) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Bennett (R-UT) Biden (D-DE) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Burns (R-MT) Byrd (D-WV) Cantwell (D-WA) Carper (D-DE) Chafee (R-RI) Clinton (D-NY) Cochran (R-MS) Coleman (R-MN) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Dayton (D-MN) DeWine (R-OH) Dodd (D-CT) Dole (R-NC) Domenici (R-NM) Dorgan (D-ND) Durbin (D-IL)

Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA) Frist (R-TN) Grassley (R-IA) Hagel (R-NE) Harkin (D-IA) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inouye (D-HI) Jeffords (I-VT) Johnson (D-SD) Kennedy (D-MA) Kerry (D-MA) Kohl (D-WI) Landrieu (D-LA) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (D-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) Lott (R-MS) Lugar (R-IN) Menendez (D-NJ) Mikulski (D-MD) Murkowski (R-AK)

Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Nelson (D-NE) Obama (D-IL) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Roberts (R-KS) Rockefeller (D-WV) Salazar (D-CO) Santorum (R-PA) Sarbanes (D-MD) Schumer (D-NY) Smith (R-OR) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (R-PA) Stabenow (D-MI) Stevens (R-AK) Talent (R-MO) Thune (R-SD) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (R-VA) Wyden (D-OR)

PAGE 3 NASCSP NEWSLETTER VOLUME 21

vember 13th and finish its business that week before de-parting for the Thanksgiving holiday. Another lame-duck session may be scheduled in December, if needed. This will be determined, in part, by the outcome of the elections and the leaders. Some members of Congress and staff are suggesting there will only be a week long lame duck before Congress passes another continuing resolu-tion to keep the government open; others suggest the ses-sion will drag out into December. We will keep you informed as things progress. CSBG Reauthorization - GAO REPORT The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report regarding the oversight of CSBG on July 11, 2006. The report, entitled Community Services Block Grant Program: HHS Should Improve Oversight by Fo-cusing Monitoring and Assistance Efforts on Areas of High Risk, can be found on the NASCSP website’s “Publications” page (http://www.nascsp.org/ Publications.htm). Notably, the report found that states monitor and strive to provide additional oversight of their agencies. Accord-ing to the GAO report, GAO analysts found that the states they visited “provided oversight in addition to on-site monitoring through such activities as reviewing re-ports, coordinating with other federal and state programs, and providing formal training and technical assistance.” For more insights on the report by the House Education & the Workforce Committee, please visit: http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/109th/education/csbg/csbg.htm. You may also view NASCSP’s Special GAO Newsletter online at http://www.nascsp.org/ Publications.htm.


During Fiscal Year 2005, state and local entities receiving Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funding reported the following outcomes in support of the National Performance Indicators (NPI) of community action. The out-comes listed below represent some of the most common and significant achievements of community action around Goal 6 (Low-income people, especially vulnerable populations, achieve their potential by strengthening family and other supportive systems): SENIOR CITIZENS LIVE INDEPENDENT LIVES 1,477,926 senior citizens received services from community action and maintained an independent living situation as a result of services (52 states) INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES LIVE INDEPENDENTLY 511,989 individuals with disabilities received services from community action and maintained an independent living situation as a result of services (50 states) EMERGENCY SUPPORT TO VULNERABLE PEOPLE NEED NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS SERVED Food and Nutrition (49 states) 10,875,753* Emergency Vendor Payments (47 states) 3,043,694* Temporary Shelter (48 states) 200,500 Emergency Medical Care (50 states) 71,017 Protection from Violence (43 states) 53,649 Legal Assistance (39 states) 98,619 Emergency Transportation (46 states) 821,425 Disaster Relief (40 states) 123,187 *Composite number of individuals, households and families reported STRENGTHENING FAMILY AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT Community action agencies administer a variety of programs and services that helped infants, children, youth, parents, and other adults achieve developmental and enrichment goals during Fiscal Year 2005: INFANTS AND CHILDREN 424,828 infants and children obtained age-appropriate immunizations, medical and dental care (49 states) 1,096,100 infants and children were assisted in their growth and development as a result of adequate nutrition (47 states) 305,866 infants and children were assisted in developing school readiness skills through participation in pre-school activities (46 states) 171,071 children who participated in pre-school activities became developmentally ready to enter kindergarten or first grade (41 states) YOUTH 86,925 youth experienced improved physical health, growth and development (37 states) 101,949 youth experienced improved social/emotional development (46 states) 61,850 youth avoided risk-taking behavior for a defined period of time (40 states) 27,832 youth had reduced involvement with the criminal justice system (39 states)

CSBG-IS Data Corner


Three and a half years ago, Ona Porter was chosen to be New Mexico’s Community Action Association Director. The bad news was she had no Community Action experience. She didn’t know the complex or-ganizations, their funding sources or the skill sets re-quired to be successful in them. The good news was she had no Community Action experience. She was not constrained by what had been tried, what had failed or what one “should” do in the posi-tion. What she saw was the potential of $50 million dollars in resources in the poor-est state in the nation, and what she felt was compelled to discover how those resources could be targeted to end poverty. One of the things that became apparent was the importance of those resources being de-ployed in a network with shared values and goals, and with a common tool for problem analysis, strategy development, and evaluation. If we had those, she reasoned, then high impact strategies and the unique circumstances of agencies and the commu-nities they serve would not just co-exist but thrive. We could be a network instead of eight agencies in a loosely formed Association. As such we could also create a statewide policy agenda for justice Capturing the best skills, talents and experience of each agency was essential to get from where we were to where we must go. Three strategic directions were defined to accomplish critical objective. The first was transformational leadership which was designed to create a learning organization that would inspire and equip member agencies to: (1) define poverty and set goals for its elimination, (2) develop and test high impact strategies, (3) refocus their re-sources, and (4) engage their communities. It was also intended to lay the foundation for the creation of a statewide blueprint to end poverty. Organizational development was also a critical piece

CSBG Spotlight:

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED— PART I

of a shared, powerful future. The task here was to build a powerful and agile network of agencies that are com-petitive, able to seize opportunities, create new para-digms, and address the impacts of a rapidly changing economy. It is also to understand ourselves as social en-trepreneurs, who apply innovative solutions to pressing social problems, empowering communities and partners to mobilize resources and develop opportunities for im-

provement and change. We needed in this process to ask ourselves if we could become the model of “self sufficiency” that we ex-pect of the people we serve. Finally, strategic communication was es-sential. Poverty is driven both by economic forces and by the capacity of individuals and families to function effectively. We knew that the complexities of poverty and

the cost of America’s tolerance for it must be understood in order to open the public policy space needed to vali-date the sweeping changes that we would require to fully develop the assets of New Mexico’s children, families and communities. That communication, we understood, must be driven by a complex, compelling, integrated set of messages that utilized all media and covered all mar-kets. In sequential processes that brought agency leadership and enterprise teams together to build the three strategic directions, we developed what we refer to as a filter for decision making. It is a tool used to evaluate current activity for its out of poverty and ending poverty poten-tial, and to build high impact strategies. As the follow-ing chart indicates, an out of poverty or ending poverty strategy must be high impact, reintegrate communities, maximize resources, and address each of the four catego-ries in which all research on poverty is organized; per-sonal behaviors, social and personal assets of communi-ties, the exploitation of low-income people, and political and economic systems.

Capturing the best skills, talents and

experience of each agency was essential to get from where we were to where we must go.

Opportunities Must be an out of poverty or ending poverty strategy and be structured to: — Be HIGH IMPACT — Reintegrate communities — Maximize Resources — Address each of the 4 categories of the causes of poverty — Personal behaviors — Communities lack social and human assets — Exploitation of low-income people — Political and economic systems


High impact strategies affect: • The way people think and what they believe • The goals of the system • The rules of the system • The ability of people to self organize Medium impact strategies provide: • Checks and balances so that things don’t get worse • Reactions to changes in the environment rather than proactive strategies

Low impact strategies include: • Activity that is unaccountable to the vision • Activity that can actually make things worse, such as enabling the community to ignore poverty by

telling them that we are taking care of it, or enabling people in poverty to stay stuck in it by provid-ing handouts without offering self-sufficiency planning.

Moving agencies and action to HIGHEST POSSIBLE IMPACT!

If you’re wondering about the results experienced from the use of the above chart, tune in next month for Part II of The Road Less Traveled! And, for more information, please contact Ona Porter, Execu-tive Director, Community Action New Mexico by

email at [email protected] or by phone at (505) 217-2747. You can also visit Commu-n i t y A c t i o n N e w M e x i c o o n l i n e a t www.communityactionnewmexico.org

KNOWING WHAT THE ORGANIZATION WANTS We all exist within very structured organizations with rules procedures, approval processes and oversight requirements. While it may differ slightly from state to state, the “corporate culture” will dictate a large portion of the plan-ning process. Your plan should always support the needs of the organization. By understanding the culture, your planning efforts won’t be easily negated by those who must approve it. DEVELOP A PLAN WITH REASONABLE AND ATTAINABLE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The easiest way to create failure in a Plan is to fill it with unreasonable expectations. This seems rather obvious but many intelligent managers feel that lofty goals serve as an incentive to make staff work harder. In fact, unobtainable goals and objectives serve as a disincentive and will demor-alize those who you must depend on for success in the im-plementation phase of the Plan. You should always create consensus among the interested parties that the goals and objectives can be met and that success is truly possible. Success is your best motivator – not lofty ideals. DEFINE WHAT SUCCESS WILL LOOK LIKE Every good instruction manual for planning will contain a section related to quantifying goals and objectives. It is essential to know when a goal or objective is reached and placing values helps measure the success. The only real caution is to define your success in terms that are achiev-able and measurable. After all, how do you know you ar-rived at your destination if you don’t know where you started from and where you are going? TREAT EVERYONE WITH RESPECT, HONESTY AND OPENNESS This factor is based in simple common sense and fair treat-ment. No Plan can be successfully implemented without people. You need staff to carry out the tasks in the Plan, low-income customers to participate in the project, and managers to supervise and evaluate results. Being respect-ful of everyone allows you to include everyone’s differences in your planning process. Being honest about what you expect from each party in the Plan and how you intend to


WAP Corner: Are We There Yet? by Robert Adams

Imagine driving down the road watching the landscape pass by as you glimpse the world around you through the front window. Your thoughts are on the road, the traffic, the possible hazards ahead, and the ultimate destination for your trip when all of a sudden a voice from the back seat screeches, “Are we there yet?” You turn around to try to explain the road, the trip and the distance to your goal and the reply from the back is, “Are we there yet?” Exasperated, you try to quiet the voice in the rear, hoping to refocus your attention on the road and the traffic but again the voice cries out, “Are we there yet?” You want to scream. You want to silence the constant query. You want to find the peace that comes from the answer “Yes” - but nothing works. Why? Because you aren’t there yet. As you travel through your career in the Weatheriza-tion Assistance Program (WAP) doing your job, while always looking for ways to improve what we do, do you ever here that voice asking, “Are we there yet?” What is success in the WAP? And how do we know we’ve arrived at our destination? When building for success, whether it is in the corpo-rate world or the “WAP world”, there are several basic factors you will want to consider. INCLUDE CUSTOMER’S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES INTO ALL DESIGN AND PLANNING The primary purpose of the WAP is to help low-income families save energy and hopefully money. It isn’t any more complicated than that. However, some-times we become immersed in our budgets, or person-nel issues, or technology advancements and we lose sight of the mission – helping the families. When en-gaging in any planning or redesign of your program, you should always start with the question, “How will the family benefit?” By simply changing the initial fo-cus of the discussion from the organization to the cus-tomer, your planning efforts can result in a higher level of success for those we serve.

value their progress and success helps everyone know the process before it is enacted. And being open helps every-one, allows them to know the roles of others in the Plan and what is expected from everyone in order to achieve total success. RECOGNIZE STRENGTHS AND IDENTIFY SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE NEEDED TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS Everyone brings an assortment of strengths to the work-place. Your planning process should maximize the strengths of the individuals who will implement your strategies and the low-income families who will receive your services. You will define the skills and knowledge required to achieve success as you outline each task to be performed. Your Plan must include a segment for acquir-ing these skills if not available or providing knowledge to the low-income and the staff to make sure that all objec-tives are met. CELEBRATE AND REWARD SUCCESS AT ALL LEVELS The basic tenets of the WAP “reward system” allow for paychecks to the staff and reduced energy use for the low-income customers. These are truly rewards for a job well done but don’t actually recognize all the effort that occurs to achieve success. You must find ways to celebrate suc-cess throughout the year. When a crew meets its produc-tion objectives, take them to lunch to say thank you. When a customer exceeds your expectations in saving en-ergy or is extremely helpful during the Weatherization process, stop by the house and give them a certificate of appreciation. When employees go beyond the required duties to help the organization or a customer, give them some recognition in a meeting or an hour off at the end of the day. Saying thank you was something every child learned growing up. Rewarding successful behavior by saying thank you is the least we can do. The best way to repeat success is to celebrate it.

KNOW WHEN CHANGES IN THE PLAN ARE REQUIRED Regardless of how careful you construct your Plan, or how many hours are spent having it reviewed by peers, or how many solicited comments are made to improve it, all plans require a certain amount of changes based on operational experience. It is impossible to conceive every possible scenario and plan for it. You will need to recognize when a plan isn’t working and needs to be altered to refocus on success. And you will need to examine the metrics continually to ensure that the quantifiable objectives remain achievable. On-going changes in your Plan will keep it dynamic, useful, and a real blueprint for Program success at all levels. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appre-ciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” This is what you do every day in your job –succeed! And your success provides so much for others. Enjoy it, embrace it and repeat it often. Only in achieving success can you truly help those you serve breathe a little easier and live a little better life. And the next time you hear that voice asking, “Are we there yet?,” you can turn around and answer, “Not yet, but I know when we’ll be there and how we are getting there.” That should quiet the voice until you arrive.


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February 2007

2007 NASCSP Mid-Winter Training and Orientation—Washington Marriott Hotel, Washington, DC February 12-16, 2007

In our world, we are quickly becoming accustomed to employing advanced technologies and techniques. Every day we provide our customers with a unique combination of state-of-the-art energy efficiency improvements while paying close attention to those elements of the home that can improve the family’s health and safety. Wherever possible, we try to integrate measures that make us more cost effective – thus providing the family with the best package of services at the lowest practical cost. But sometimes we become so engrossed in what we are doing that we forget why we do it. We need to stop every once in a while and remember our mission and cele-brate our success and accomplishments. This is what took place on October 4th when Indiana’s Area Four Agency on Aging and Community Action Programs joined with the community of Reynolds - and the rest of the state and nation - to celebrate Energy Star’s Change a Light—Change the World Celebration. Reynolds, Indiana, renamed as “BioTown”, is at the fore-front of the drive for energy independence through the use of biofuels and efficiency. The event, held at the White County Fairgrounds, showcased the benefits of increased energy efficiency through simple measures— like changing a light bulb. Those in attendance at the event signed the “Change a Light Pledge” and promised to replace at least one incandescent light bulb for an En-ergy Star-rated compact fluorescent bulb (CFL). They were also encouraged to take part in consumer education sessions, dense-pack insulation demonstrations, CFL lighting exhibits, Energy Star appliance displays, biomass energy production demonstrations, and presentations on energy efficient retro-fits of existing homes. At the welcoming ceremony, Kevin Burt, from the Indi-ana Office of Energy and Defense, Ryan West, from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, and Charlie Van Voorst, Reynolds Town President, spoke about the importance of the event and the progress the town has made towards the goal of energy independence. Paul Dickerson, Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renew-

able Energy, also spoke about the town’s journey toward energy independence, the progress made to date, and the importance of the “Change a Light” campaign. The event raised the awareness of the public about pro-grams like Weatherization Assistance (WAP). Through-out the day, a steady stream of visitors viewed the dis-plays of WAP tools and technologies - like how the blower door works, the way homes breath using the “House of Pressure”, and the use of infrared cameras in detecting heat loss and quality installations. Professor Bill Hill of Ball State University emphasized the impor-tance of residential energy efficiency during his presenta-tion to the audience. When WAP joins together with programs like Energy Star, we create a dynamic relationship that strengthens our ability to serve those most in need with the best the market has to offer. The constant striving to improve what we do has become a well-developed skill in our net-work and we should take pride in it. Because of that skill, we remain a Program on the cutting edge of technology and a highly regarded and effective public investment. There is a good reason why DOE continues to refer to us on their own website as “this country's longest running, and perhaps most successful energy efficiency program”. We are!


Energy Star’s Change a Light—Change the World Celebration

by Allison Spector and Erica Burrin (Program Manager, Indiana WAP)

I cannot say whether things will get better

if we change; what I can say is they must change

if they are to get better.

—G. C. Lichtenberg


The National Elder Economic Security Initiative

by Ramsey Alwin

The Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) national Elder Economic Security Initiative (EESI) is a conceptual framework which includes con-crete tools to shape public policies and programs to promote the eco-nomic well being of older adults, whether or not they have the capacity to be fully self-reliant or are in need of certain public supports to age in place with dignity. The EESI combines coalition building, research, edu-cation, and advocacy at the community, state, and national level. WOW has partnered with five states, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsyl-vania, and Wisconsin, to launch the national EESI. Undergirding EESI is the Elder Economic Security Standard (Elder Stan-dard) developed by the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massa-chusetts Boston in partnership with WOW. The Elder Standard is a new measure of income that older adults require to maintain their independ-ence in the community and meet their daily costs of living, including af-fordable and appropriate housing and health care. The Elder Standard is calibrated to household size, geographic area, and life circumstances. The development and use of state specific Elder Standards promote a measure of income that respects the autonomy goals of older adults, rather than a measure of what we all struggle to avoid – abject poverty. The Elder Economic Security Standard will: Provide important new information to illustrate the basic costs seniors face and how their financial security is affected when their life circum-stances change. The Elder Standard will provide a precise and up-to-date measure of elders’ economic well-being. It will be calculated by commu-nity and tailored for the goods and services that elders must have to meet the basic needs. Serve as an educational tool for elders. Seniors may use it to objectively determine their actual costs of living, assess their current economic status and future economic security, and make more informed financial and life choices. Provide a foundation for developing a state policy agenda and a platform for engaging in national advocacy. Serve as an educational tool for adult children of elders. Adult children may use it to objectively determine parents’ actual costs of living, which will assist adult children as they make decisions about accessing benefits and/or making long-term arrangements for care.

EELDERSLDERS S STRUGGLETRUGGLE TOTO M MAKEAKE EENDSNDS M MEETEET

Despite policy and program efforts over the past several years, elders still struggle to make basic ends meet. The most recent U.S. Census data shows that that poverty has remained at 3.6 million in 2005 – 10 percent of those aged 65 or older live in poverty ($9,367). Women are almost twice as likely to live in poverty in their senior years as men (7 percent of men and 12 percent of women live in pov-erty). Poverty is hitting older women of color harder than older non-Hispanic whites: 8 percent of non-Hispanic whites live in poverty; 25 percent of African-Americans live in poverty; 22 percent of Hispanics live in pov-erty; and 45.9 percent of older Hispanic women who live alone live in pov-erty.


Provide a framework for analyzing impacts of local, state, and federal public policies and policy proposals in such areas as hous-ing, retirement security, health, long-term care, and taxes. By de-scribing with specificity the interplay between seniors’ expenses and income, it is expected that the Elder Standard will be instru-mental in debates about proposed shifts in Social Security, Medi-care, long-term care, pension, housing, fuel assistance, transporta-tion, tax policy and other public programs and policies that affect seniors. It will also show the impact of public policies on differ-ent populations of seniors. Serve as a counseling tool for those working with elders in need of income supports and/or additional skill sets. The Elder Stan-dard will assist in objectively determining elders’ actual costs of living, so they can assess their current economic status and future economic security, and make informed financial decisions regard-ing accessing financial supports and services including possible assistance when deciding to go back to school. Serve as an educational tool for “boomers” and younger adults. “Boomers” may use the Elder Standard to get a better under-standing of what they will need to maintain their lifestyle in their retirement.

NNEEDEED FORFOR N NEWEW M MEASUREEASURE OFOF IINCOMENCOME A ADEQUACYDEQUACY

The U.S. Census poverty data are merely the tip of the iceberg. These figures repre-sent use of an inadequate and out-of-date Federal poverty threshold as its baseline measure, thus failing to fully document hardship in our nation. The federal poverty threshold does not account for the rising costs of living seniors experience as they age – illness, loss of a spouse, or need to care for a disabled spouse, adult dependent child, or grandchildren. As a result, the federal poverty rates underestimate actual expenses necessary for even a bare-bones existence. A reliable and realistic base-measure of a minimum economic security for seniors is increasingly necessary as national and state policy debates intensify and resources be-come scarcer over the next few years.

National WOW Conference Call “MAKING ENDS MEET: IMPLICATIONS OF PEN-

SION REFORM ON ELDER ECONOMIC SECU-RITY”

On October 24th at 2 p.m. EST join WOW and Ellen Bruce, Director of the Pension Action Center, founder of the Pensions, Not Posies Coalition in MA, and Associate Director of the Gerontol-ogy Institute at UMass Boston to learn more about the latest on pension reform and implications on elder economic se-curity.

National WOW Conference Call “MAKING ENDS MEET: UTILITY ASSISTANCE

NEEDS OF ELDERS THIS WINTER” On November 14th at 2 p.m. EST join WOW and John Howat of the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) to learn more on utility assistance needs and trends for elders, energy policy as well as national and state legislative efforts to support senior energy needs. Mr. Howat specializes in energy and tele-communications at NCLC.

UPCOMING EVENTS

For more information on the national EESI or to register for the upcoming free conference calls, please contact Ramsey Alwin, Associate Director of National Programs & Policy, Elder Economic Security Initiative, by phone 202.464.1596 or email at [email protected].


NASCSP NEWSLETTER 12 ISSUES $100.00 Please send 12 issues of the NASCSP Newsletter. Enclosed, my check for $100.00. Please send 12 issues of the NASCSP Newsletter and invoice me for $100.00. Please send 12 issues of the NASCSP Newsletter to each of my ______ Community Action Agencies @$100.00 each

(address list of CAAs attached) and invoice me/check enclosed for $______________. Name: ___________________________________________________________________________________ Agency: ___________________________________________________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Phone: ________________________ Fax: ________________________ Email: ________________________ Please mail to: NASCSP 400 N. Capitol St., NW-Suite 395 Washington, DC 20001 Fax: 202/624-8472 Email: [email protected]

Community Services Network News Now!

NASCSP

IT'S TIME...MAKE YOUR PLANS TO ATTEND THE 2006 NASCSP ANNUAL CONFERENCE

MARRIOTT PROVIDENCE HOTEL—PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND OCTOBER 31—NOVEMBER 3, 2006

PLAN TO BE THERE!!!!

NASCSP IN

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

NASCSP Mission:

to assist states in responding to poverty issues.

National Association for State Community Services Programs … · 2018. 6. 6. · PAGE 2 VOLUME 21 NASCSP NEWSLETTER VOLUME 21 PAGE 2 LEGISLATIVE CORNER by Jovita A. Tolbert CSBG

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