COPS / Metro Convenes 100 Stakeholders for ACA Implementation
With about 100,000 Bexar County residents eligible to get healthcare insurance through the exchange, leaders from COPS/Metro Alliance and University Health System brought together close to 100 community stakeholders to evaluate ACA implementation readiness and identify concerns. The first enrollment period for the subsidized insurance runs from Oct. 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014. Leaders aim to develop a comprehensive plan to educate San Antonio area residents on the Insurance Marketplace provision.
Read more
Border Interfaith & EPISO Leverage $1.5 Million for Training
Citing evidence that the regional return on investment for Project ARRIBA's workforce development is $26 for every $1 invested, the City Council of El Paso voted to increase funding to $1.5 Million over five years, rather than the $1.25 Million initially recommended by city staff. This is the single largest investment the city has made into ARRIBA since its inception.
This funding will enable the project to support the training and placement of 600 El Pasoans into living wage careers in the border region. Organization leaders are hopeful that this will help leverage matching funds from the State of Texas through the Texas Innovative Adult Career Education (ACE) Grant Program.
Read moreTexas IAF Reconstitutes Launchpad (Job Training) Fund
"The Launchpad Fund, which gave nonprofits $10 million starting in the 2010-11 biennium to support career training programs for low-income students, will be replaced by the Texas Innovative Adult Career Education Grant program. The ACE grant program will award about $5 million under a similar model to nonprofits for the next biennium. It will be administered by Austin Community College, which will step into the comptroller's office's current oversight role....
Said Minerva Camarena-Skeith, a representative of Austin Interfaith, the nonprofit that helped found Capital IDEA with business community members and advocates for public funding: "It still gives these job-training programs the opportunity to apply for these $5 million, and also be able to leverage more city and local funds."
Read moreAustin Interfaith's First In-District Charter Leads the Way
"The switch at Travis Heights has been in the making for nearly three years. Austin Interfaith, a coalition of schools, churches and unions, and district labor group Education Austin ...reached out to 100 campuses before they found a partner in Travis Heights willing to become a charter.
Their volunteers then went door-to-door, garnering support and hosting school meetings to find out what parents and teachers wanted in a school. They reached 90 percent of the school's households and got 99 percent support from parents and 97 percent support from staff...."
Read moreAustin Interfaith Backs Low Cost Housing & Code Enforcement
"Interviews with current and former public officials, real estate experts and citizen activists suggest that Austin has simply lacked the political will to do things differently.
Read moreAMOS Backs Greater Emphasis on 'Restorative Justice' For Juvenile Offenders
"In the disagreement between Polk County officials and the citizen group AMOS, logic seems to favor AMOS. Especially in the long run.
Read moreAZ Interfaith Meets with Sen. John McCain Reaffirming Support for Immigration Reform
Taking full advantage of the August recess, Arizona Interfaith leaders met with Senator John McCain for frank conversation about the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform. Judicatory leaders and key Arizona clergy discussed with the Senator how to broaden Congressional support for reform that includes a path to citizenship.
McCain: Backing Immigration Reform Sends Right Message, Arizona Republic
TBO Leaders Call Out Border Hospital Board for Secret Vote
Three and a half years ago, leaders of The Border Organization pressured the Val Verde Regional Medical Center board to contract with a reputable health management system in response to deteriorating hospital services and several million dollars of public debt. The Board of Val Verde eventually chose Methodist Healthcare System (MHS), and the hospital is currently millions of dollars in the black.
However, the Board recently held a secret election to vote in a new CEO, nullifying the managing contract with MHS and sparking public concern about the possibility of corruption:
Read moreNAIC Urges US Representative Ann Kirkpatrick to Support Immigration Reform
Northern Arizona Interfaith Council leaders, including Catholic clergy Manuel Hernandez and lay leader Leah Mundell, convened at the office of US Representative Ann Kirkpatrick of Flagstaff to urge her to support comprehensive immigration reform.
"One attendee told of a young Flagstaff woman who qualified for temporary legal residency as a so-called "Dreamer." She was caught, however, driving to work without a license because Arizona does not allow Dreamers to apply for licenses. She obtained a license in California, but it is considered only temporary if she lives in Arizona. 'She still has to violate the law,' said the attendee. 'We have to go forward with reform.'"
Read moreAustin Interfaith & Allies Victorious in Defense of Workers
In the latest segment of a long-standing battle for living wages in Central Texas, 200 supporters of construction workers, including Austin Interfaith leaders, Catholic Bishop Joe Vasquez of the Austin Diocese and Workers Defense Project, rallied on the steps of City Hall demanding that workers receive the pay promised to them by developers of White Lodging, in exchange for $3.8 million in fee waivers granted by the City.
Read more