"Building safe and supportive neighborhoods through a community-based approach"

E-News Bulletin July 2009
Vol. 3, Issue 4

Dear E-News Bulletin Subscriber,

The state of Illinois began its fiscal year 2010 without a state budget due to state lawmakers’ inability to reach a consensus on a fair, responsible, and balanced budget.

Over the past week, human services providers across the state, unsure of their futures, have either terminated staff or cut pay, and, in some instances, shut down operations altogether thereby endangering public safety and public health, undermining our state’s already frail economy, and threatening to reverse decades of improvements in child well-being.

And while state lawmakers continue to collect their paycheck, many of the clients these providers were serving – i.e., the poor, disabled, children, and seniors – now find themselves without a safety net to grab or a lifeline to call. At a time when many Illinois families, children, and neighborhoods are already feeling the pain of job loss, housing foreclosure, and spikes in child neglect, violent crime, substance abuse, and domestic violence, the ILAACP believes it is unconscionable for state lawmakers to eliminate the very services that citizens will increasingly rely on to weather these tough times.

NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT!!! On July 14th, the Illinois General Assembly will reconvene in Springfield to once again consider passing a fair, responsible, and balanced budget; a budget that provides for the health, safety, and welfare of the people. Please take an active role in helping yourself, your family, and your larger community, by engaging in at least one, if not both, of the following two activities:

Contact Your State Legislator: Your state representatives and senators are in their district offices between now and July 14th. Call your legislator's district office, or meet with them, and share how their inaction on passing a fair and equitable budget has negatively impacted you, your family, and/or your community. Need help locating your state legislator? Click here. Need help with talking points? Click here.

Attend July 14th Rally in Springfield: Illinois Action for Children, along with several other statewide advocacy organizations, is organizing a rally at the State Capitol Building in Springfield, IL for Tuesday, July 14th at Noon. Action is also coordinating free bus rides and pick up routes. For more information, please contact Nataly Barrera at barreran@actforchildren.org or 773-697-6126.

In Service,

Malik S. Nevels, J.D.
Executive Director

• $2.5 Million Available for HIV Projects for Youth
• Chicago's Public Schools Making Little Progress in Student Achievement
• IVPA Seeking Youth Advisory Board Applications
• Illinois Budget Update: Take Action and Attend the July 14th Rally
• Job Opportunities: City Colleges of Chicago - Child Development Director
• Events: CNN Presents Black in America 2
• An ILAACP Member You Should Know: Ray of Hope Center of the Arts

Take Action and Contact Your Legislators
Last week, the General Assembly failed to pass a tax increase or other new revenue option that is needed to avoid disastrous cuts and adequately fund human services and education for young children. The General Assembly will return to Springfield on July 14 to either attempt to override the governor's veto, thereby making the so-called "50% budget" the state's budget for FY10, or to consider any new ideas for a budget solution. Your legislators are currently back in their districts, so now is your opportunity to tell them ot keep working until they come up with a budget that does not under-fund the human services vital to Illinois' most vulnerable populations. Call and visit your legislators at their offices, or send an email to urge them to choose people over politics. Please also read talking points about the issue. (provided by the Ounce of Prevention Fund)

Attend the July 14th Fair Budget Rally
Illinois Action for Children is hosting a Rally in the Rotunda at the Capitol at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14th. Make your plans now to come to the State Capitol and rally with other advocates and concerned citizens in support of a fair, balanced and comprehensive budget that is both fiscally and morally responsible. For more information, contact Nataly Barrera at 773.697.6126 or barreran@actforchildren.org. To view the event flyer, please click here. (Buses to the rally will be provided by IL Action for Children)

IL HB 174: Education and Fiscal Responsibility Act
Proposed as a possible solution to the current budget crisis, HB 174 raises approximately $7 billion in new revenues while modernizing the state’s tax system and making it fairer; doubles the state income tax credit Illinois homeowners receive for property taxes paid on their principal residence; increases the personal income tax rate from 3% to 5%; increases the corporate income tax rate from 4.8% to 5%; and makes meaningful new investments in education while reducing funding discrepancies between school districts. Please click here to view a complete breakdown of this legislation.

21st Century Community Learning Center Flat-Funding
The proposed U.S. budget for Fiscal Year 2010 includes no new investment in the federal 21st CCLC afterschool intitiative, summer learning programs, Child Care Development Funds or community schools. Contact the White House and Congress to let them know the importance of investing in afterschool programs, and that flat funding the 21st CCLC program will leave communities--and millions of children--with no safe, supervised and educational activities after school. Click here for more details about the 21st CLCC Afterschool Initiative.

U.S. H.Res. 419: Fostering Resilience in African American Youth
H. Res. 419 encourages research that promotes health and well-being among African-American youth and seeks to understand the relationship between resilience and the various types of development including physical, identity, emotional, social, and cognitive.

U.S. H.R. 1995/S. 844: Eliminating Disparities in Diabetes Prevention
H.R. 1995 & S. 844 amend the Public Health Service Act to prevent and treat diabetes, to promote and improve the care of individuals with diabetes, and to reduce health disparities, relating to diabetes, within racial and ethnic minority groups.

$2.5 Million Available for HIV Projects for Youth
Some $2.5 million is available for competitive HIV/AIDS cooperative agreements that will support prevention and testing for at-risk adolescents, employing technology-based approaches, social networking web sites, and peer educators. Projects will serve youth in alternative educational settings; juvenile detention facilities; and alternative living arrangements ordered by the courts. The application deadline is July 20, 2009.

Chicago Community Trust Competitive Grants Program
The Chicago Community Trust helps Chicago-area nonprofits achieve their goals to improve the life and vitality of their communities. The trust is accepting letters of inquiry from qualified nonprofit organizations for a highly competitive grantmaking process that seeks to address a wide variety of community needs. Up to $300K is available in funding. A letter of intent is due by July 15, 2009.

HIV Prevention for Young Women At-Risk
Grantees will develop and implement a new program which provides realistic prevention education services focused on the intersection between juvenile delinquency and STD/HIV infection for female adolescents/youths. This program will specifically target female adolescents/youths aged 9-17 who are deemed at-risk for juvenile delinquency. Up to $130K is available in grant funding. The application deadline is July 27, 2009.

RMYF Evaluation Grants for First-Time Applicants
Ruddie Memorial Youth Foundation evaluation grants are targeted to innovative programs or innovative components of programs serving youth. These are the only RMYF grants available to first time applicants. Up to $25K is available in grant funding. The application deadline is July 31, 2009.

LEGO Children's Fund
The Lego Children's Fund supports organizations and programs dedicated to inspiring and encouraging youth creativity, thereby improving their quality of life and preparing them for the future. Particularly, programs dedicated to a child's exploration of creativity that cater to children ages birth to 14, with priority consideration for disadvantaged or at-risk youth. Up to $5K is available in funding. The application deadline is August 1, 2009.

CLOCC Seed Grants
The CLOCC Seed Grant Program is designed to help investigators and organizations develop programs and research efforts to the point at which they should be able to obtain funding from outside sources. Up to $40K is available in grant funding. A letter of interest is due by August 3, 2009.

Targeted Grants to Reduce Childhood Lead Poisoning
The EPA is soliciting proposals from eligible entities to conduct activities to reduce incidences of childhood lead poisoning in vulnerable populations. Projects will address the issued through conducting outreach and education, identifying and monitoring under-studied areas, and developing replicable tools to tackle challenges in lead posioning prevention. Up to $100K is available in funding. The application deadline is August 14, 2009.

Heineman Foundation Seed Grants
The purpose of the Heineman Foundation is to provide seed money to start-up projects and new projects within existing organizations for a maximum of three to five years. Preference is given to organizations that we have not previously funded. The average range of funding is $20K to $50K, per annum. The application deadline is September 1, 2009.

Childhood Obesity Prevention & Treatment Research Consortium
This program solicits cooperative agreement grant applications from institutions to conduct randomized controlled trials to test innovative interventions that address the childhood obesity epidemic. Up to $4.25M is available in grant funding. A letter of intent is due by September 8, 2009.

U.S. Recovery Act - Pathways Out of Poverty
The Department of Labor will provide approximately $150 million in grant funds authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for projects that provide training and placement services to provide pathways out of poverty and into employment. Awards of up to $8M per grant are available. The application deadline is September 29, 2009.

Chicago's Public Schools Making Little Progress in Student Achievement
According to a study commissioned by the Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago, Chicago's public schools have made little progress in raising student achievement during the last several years, according to a new nonprofit report. The report, titled Still Left Behind, finds that substantial gains on the Illinois State Achievement Test are mainly the result of changes in the test, with only modest improvement in real student performance at elementary and middle schools. On the Prairie State Achievement Examination, more than 70 percent of high school juniors fail to meet state standards, and fewer achieve scores that indicate college readiness on the national ACT exam in math, reading and science.Please click here to view this article in its entireity. Click here for access to the full report.

IVPA Seeking Youth Advisory Board Applications
The Illinois Violence Prevention Authority’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB) is currently accepting applications for new statewide board members. The Youth Advisory Board gives youth the opportunity to learn skills that develop them as violence prevention leaders and advocates in their communities, and act as spokespersons for youth in Illinois regarding youth-led violence prevention initiatives.

To be eligible youth must be 14-21 years of age and participate in an IVPA supported youth leadership program - e.g., Youth Led Mini-Grant, Choose Respect IL, or Safety Net Works.

Visit the ILAACP website to download the application. Please contact Kelly Fair at kfair@ilaacp.org or at 312-850-4444 x 225, if you would like additional information. Applications are due by Friday, July 17, 2009.

Congressional Black Caucus Bi-Annual Report
The Congressional Black Caucus recently released its bi-annual report, Opportunities for All - Pathways Out of Poverty. The report details their efforts between January - June 2009 to deal with the longterm, systemic inequities in the Black community. To read the report, please click here.

Most Type 2 Diabetes Can Be Stopped in Childhood
An increasing number of children are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a condition medical experts blame on a culture steeped in junk food and inactivity that has led to more obese kids. Aggressive early treatment and lifestyle changes can help, and even snuff out disease symptoms, but more sweeping health care system changes, including better health insurance for older teens and people in their 20s, are required for young diabetics to age into healthy older adults, experts say. Please click here to read more.

USDA Releases Report on Food Deserts
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service has released a report on food deserts. Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food - Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences summarizes findings of a national-level assessment of the extent and characteristics of food deserts, analysis of the consequences of food deserts, lessons learned from related Federal programs, and a discussion of policy options for alleviating the effects of food deserts. Please click here to access the report.

Web-Based Game Educates HIV-Positive Teens
A Web-based game could help educate teenagers with HIV infection on how to avoid transmitting the virus, a pilot study suggests.The game, dubbed +CLICK (Positive Click), allows users to navigate through a "shopping mall" where they can choose among different lessons on abstinence, condom use and birth control, as well as video clips featuring other HIV-positive young people and experts on the virus. The Texas researchers who developed the game tested it out on 32 HIV-positive 13- to 24-year-olds -- having each patient use the program in the waiting room during a routine doctor visit. To read more, please click here.

Leadership for Healthy Communities Action Strategies Toolkit
Leadership for Healthy Communities has released a new Action Strategies Toolkit designed to link specific policy actions to positive outcomes in healthy eating and physical activity behaviors, with a focus on research in vulnerable communities. In conjunction with 11 policy-maker organizations, Leadership for Healthy Communities developed this toolkit to equip state, municipal, county and school leaders with promising and evidence-based policy approaches designed to improve healthy eating and active living options nationwide. Please click here to visit the Action Strategies website and access the toolkit.

The Costs of Confinment: Why Juvenile Justice Polices Make Good Fiscal Sense
Approximately 93,000 young people are held in juvenile justice facilities across the United States. Seventy percent of these youth are held in state-funded, postadjudication, residential facilities, at an average cost of $240.99 per day per youth. Released by the Justice Policy Institute, The Costs of Confinement details how states can see a net reduction in costs by moving expenditures away from large, congruent care facilities (often called “training schools”) for youth and investing in community-based alternatives. To view the full policy brief, please click here.

Strengthening What Works: Critical Provisions for Prevention & Public Health in Health Reform Legislation
Prepared for Congress by the Prevention Institute, Strengthening What Works outlines the importance of community prevention as a vital component to comprehensive healthcare reform. For additional documentation, please click here.

DHS Grantsmanship Workshops
July 16, 2009 - Chicago, IL
Click here for registration information
July 29, 2009 - Champaign, IL
Click here for registration information
August 4, 2009 - Quincy, IL
Click here for registration information

City Colleges of Chicago - Child Development Center Director
City Colleges of Chicago is looking for an experienced leader who can create and maintain a high quality lab school environment. This is a unique opportunity to impact the lives of both young children and college students by directing an early childhood program in a higher education setting. For more information about this position, please click here.

University of Chicago - Director of Public Relations
The University of Chicago Department of Music is seeking a Director of Public Relations to manage marketing and promotion for its comprehensive student performance program and its academic program. For more information about this position, please click here.

Evanston Health & Human Services Dept. - Medical Director
Under the general direction of the Department Director/Public Health Administrator; the Medical Director is responsible for overseeing the health programs and medical services provided by the Evanston Health and Human Services Department. For more details on this position, please click here.

Northwestern University - IRB Coordinator
Under general supervision, the IRB Coordinator provides oversight of the daily activities of the Office for the Protection of Research Subject (OPRS) Institutional Review Board (IRB). This position manages the confidential institutional review and approval process of all research activities involving human subjects to protect their safety, rights, and welfare. Please click here to learn more about this position.

KIPP Foundation - National Director of Recruitment & Selection
The National Director of Recruitment and Selection is a highly motivated individual who believes deeply in KIPP’s mission and can implement and manage the recruiting effort and the selection process for the KIPP School Leadership Program. This role will provide strategic leadership to the organization around building robust pipelines of talent as well as collaborating with multiple internal stakeholders to ensure alignment and strong communication among those responsible for recruitment, selection, training and development of our school leaders. To view more details about the position, please click here.

Careers in Nonprofits, Inc. - Associate Director, Education
The Associate Director is responsible for assessing educational needs, researching current trends and issues in the healthcare industry and implementing relevant programming in response to those needs. For more information about this position, please click here.

St. Louis Public Schools - Director of Marketing
The Director of Marketing supports the mission, vision and values of the St. Louis Public School District by exhibiting the following behaviors: excellence and competence, collaboration, innovation, respect, personalization, commitment to community, accountability and ownership. Please click here to learn more about this position.

CCS - Campaign Director
CCS Campaign Directors work on-site with leading institutions to strategize and manage major capital campaigns, annual appeals, and special projects. Please click here for more details about this position.

Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago - Case Manager
Easter Seals is seeking an individual to fulfill the position of Youth Case Manager. The selected applicant will provide participants intensive and individualized career case management services, and provide on-going support as participants navigate through life and the professional world. to learn more about this position, please click here.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois - Vice President of Development
The Vice President of Development provides leadership, direction and coordination for all Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) fundraising activities, including annual giving, major and planned giving, foundation support, direct marketing and special events. Additionally, the Vice President will oversee fundraising initiatives of Planned Parenthood Action Illinois, the advocacy and political action network. Please click here for the full job description.

Jumpstart for Young Children - Site Manager
The primary responsibility of the Jumpstart Site Manager is to manage the day-to-day operations of the campus Jumpstart program in order to ensure that Jumpstart Quality Standards, guidelines provided by Jumpstart, are met and that the program is meeting grant requirements. Please click here to learn more about this position.

Lutheran Social Services of IL - Child Welfare Specialist
The Child Welfare Specialist will provide case management services to
children and families in the Foster Care program. Please click here for more information about the position.

International Organization for Adolescents - Executive Director
The Executive Director will lead the organization in cultivating new and existing organizational opportunities, building and expanding the organization, and fundraising and strategic planning. For more details about this position, please click here.

Urban Students Empowered Foundation - Program Manager
We are seeking a Program Manager to manage key aspects of our program and to work directly with the Chief Program Officer (CPO) to lead and expand our programmatic continuum. For a detailed list of the position's responsibilites, please click here.

Dime Child Foundation - Youth Program Assistant
The Youth Program Assistant will work with the foundation to evaluate program services that meet the needs of participants, and support program staff with program coordination and other services. Please click here to learn more about this position.

Chicago Cares - Administrative Assistant
The Administrative Assistant is responsible for supporting the operations of both the Program and Service Events Departments on a daily basis. Please click here for more details about the position.

Mission
Ray of Hope Center of the Arts is a teen-focused multi-cultural arts organization that creates innovative programs and delivers authentic performances filled with positive messages that uplift people while transforming lives through the use of visual, media, and performing arts.

Founded by Victoria Brady in 2002, the organization was developed to provide high quality arts programming to youth, adults, and senior citizens with an emphasis on those that are disadvantaged. Ray of Hope's constant aim is to provide a "Ray of Hope Through the Arts."

Programs
Ray of Hope Center of the Arts runs two specialized programs for youth ages 14-19 years old. Teen Corner Music Production consists of vocal and instrumental music, life skills education, home work assistance, dance, graphic designs, music and video production. Teen Corner Artistic Productions is a Media Literacy and Arts Program which program includes a uinque blend of journalism, music production, and video production. In addition to these youth programs, Ray of Hope offers classes for all ages focusing on music, dance, and theater.

Contact
To learn more about Ray of Hope Center of the Arts, please call 773.947.0447; or visit the website at www.rayofhopearts.org.

To learn more about ILAACP membership, please contact us at 312.850.4444 or ilaacpinfo@illaacp.org