February-2015 Newsletter – Connecticut Association for Community Action

Governor's Budget Eliminates HSI Funding – For the first time ever, Governor Malloy's proposed FY 2016-2017 biennium budget released Wednesday completely eliminates Human Services Infrastructure funds, the "core" funding for Connecticut's Community Action Agencies…

Save the Date! 2015 Community Action Day – Join Connecticut's Community Action Network on Wednesday, March 4th, at the Legislative Office Building (LOB) in Hartford as we discuss the importance of the Human Services Infrastructure (HSI) CAP line item in the state budget and ask that it be restored!

No Cuts to CSBG, Head Start, or LIHEAP in President Obama's Proposed Budget, Now it's up to Congress – President Obama's proposed FY 2016 budget, released earlier this month, includes no cuts to Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), the Low Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP), or Head Start funding…

Community Action Highlights

• More partnerships sought to to help meet southeastern Connecticut community needs (Kimberly Drelich, The Day, 1/23/15)
• HRA to encourage savings (Scott Whipple, New Britain Herald, 2/8/15)
• Meals on Wheels rolled out early delivery in case of travel trouble during storm (Izaskun Larraneta, The Day, 2/10/15)

Check It Out – Items of Interest

• 1 in 5 American kids rely on food stamps (CBS Money Watch, Aimee Picchi, 1/28/15)
• Political poverty-phobia and the future of community action: An interview with Denise Harlow (Rick Cohen, Nonprofit Quarterly, 1/30/15)
• Statement of Robert Greenstein on the President's 2016 Budget (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/4/15)
• Report: Connecticut has largest income gap between top 1 percent and the other 99 percent (Stephen Busemeyer, Hartford Courant, 2/9/15)
• Malloy would tax business, cut social services to balance budget (Keith Phaneuf and Mark Paznoikas, CT Mirror, 2/18/15)
• Nine charts about wealth inequality in America (Urban Institute, 2/15)

Community Events

• Appropriations Hearing on the Governor's Budget, February 27th, LOB
• Community Action Day, March 4th, LOB
• New Opportunities Walk for Warmth, March 28th
• Save the date! TEAM's 8th Men Who Cook Event

National Events

NASCSP
2015 Mid-Winter Training Conference
February 23-27 in Arlington, VA

NCAF
2015 Legislative Conference
March 24-27 in Washington, D.C.

NASCSP
Peer to Peer ROMA Training and Certification Project
April 8-9 in Atlanta, GA

Northern New England 2015 CAA Conference
May 20-22 in Manchester, VT

CAPLAW
2015 National Training Conference
June 10-12 in Portland, OR

Community Action Partnership
2015 Annual Convention
August 25-28 in San Francisco, CA

NASCSP
2015 Annual Training Conference
September 15-18 in Sacramento, CA