In 2023 Community Assessment on Poverty Needs are recommendations that may enhance the community’s availability to address the causes and conditions of poverty reported by the low-income members of the community. It is important to remember that Yellowstone Country Assistance Network is a small part of a large Social Service Delivery System. With an operating budget of around $165,000.00 a year, the Organization cannot address all the needs. County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, Community Strategies, and the decision-makers each strategy requires.
Decision Makers: Government & Community Development
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs) fund local community development activities such as affordable housing, anti-poverty programs, and infrastructure development. Federal CDBG funds are provided directly to designated entitlement communities, which include central cities of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), cities with populations of at least 50,000, and qualified urban counties with populations of 200,000 or more. States also receive federal funds to distribute to their smaller towns and rural counties. Funds must benefit low-income people, prevent or eliminate slums and blight, or meet emergency needs. In addition, communities affected by major natural disasters may receive CDBG funds through special congressional appropriations.
Decision Makers: Funders, Community Development, & Nonprofits
“Community land trusts (CLTs) are private, nonprofit organizations that purchase land to lease to residents with low and middle incomes for housing use. CLTs separate ownership of the home and the land it occupies, which reduces the size of a mortgage and lowers monthly mortgage payments1. The land the house is on is leased to homeowners as part of a long-term ground lease, typically for 99 years. CLT agreements require homes to be owner-occupied and stipulate that the house may not be rented out or” flipped” by renovating it for quick resale. As part of their shared equity agreement, homeowners on CLT-owned land must sell the home back to the CLT or another low-income resident at an affordable price when they decide to move. CLTs may also purchase and hold land to support community development, open space efforts, community gardens, and similar initiatives. In addition, CLTs often include stewardship activities such as teaching expectant and new homeowners about finances, alerting them to high-risk loans, and assisting potentially delinquent homeowners.”Community land trusts (CLTs) are private, nonprofit organizations that purchase land to lease to residents with low and middle incomes for housing use. CLTs separate ownership of the home and the land it occupies, which reduces the size of a mortgage and lowers monthly mortgage payments1. The land the house is on is leased to homeowners as part of a long-term ground lease, typically for 99 years. CLT agreements require homes to be owner-occupied and stipulate that the house may not be rented out or “flipped” by renovating it for quick resale. As part of their shared equity agreement, homeowners on CLT-owned land must sell the home back to the CLT or another low-income resident at an affordable price when they decide to move. CLTs may also purchase and hold land to support community development, open space efforts, community gardens, and similar initiatives. In addition, CLTs often include stewardship activities such as teaching expectant and new homeowners about finances, alerting them to high-risk loans, and assisting potentially delinquent homeowners.
Decision Makers: Government & Community Development
The HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME), funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (US HUD), provides formula grants to states and localities to support activities that build, buy, and rehabilitate affordable housing. Households with low incomes rent or purchase these homes; HOME may also provide families with direct rental assistance. Participating jurisdictions, or PJs, must match every dollar received with 25 cents in funding and determine how to allocate funds; they also often partner with local nonprofits.
Decision Makers: Funders, Community Development, & Nonprofits
Housing First programs address chronic homelessness by providing rapid access to permanent housing without a pre-condition of treatment, and ongoing support services such as crisis intervention, need assessment, and case management. A form of permanent supportive housing, the program usually serves individuals who are chronically homeless and have a persistent mental illness or problems with substance abuse and addiction. Clients can be placed in apartments throughout a community or a centralized housing location with on-site support for those requiring more intensive services; clients receive housing regardless of substance use. Unlike standard rapid re-housing programs, there are no time limits for Housing First program participation.
Decision Makers: Government & Community Development
Housing rehabilitation loans and grant programs provide funding to repair, improve, or modernize dwellings and remove health or safety hazards from those dwellings. Programs primarily serve families with low and middle incomes and may prioritize services for households with vulnerable members such as young children and older adults. These programs can adopt a comprehensive housing improvement strategy or focus on individual housing components such as heating and insulation, plumbing, structural concerns, lead, asbestos, or mold. Programs can be focused at local, state, and federal levels.
Decision Makers: Government, Public Health, Community Members, & Community Development
Service-enriched housing is permanent, basic rental housing in which social services are available on-site or by referral through a supportive services program or service coordinator. Accommodation and services can be provided by nonprofit, private, or government organizations; housing options can be unsubsidized, government-assisted, mixed-income, or a combination. Programs often support low-income families, older adults, people with disabilities, or veterans. Some service-enriched housing programs also assist families or individuals experiencing homelessness; programs that support households experiencing homelessness are often referred to as permanent supportive housing.
Community Support Strategies for Park and Hot Springs County may include off-hours (non-traditional hours) child care development, transportation system development, transportation services coordination, and support. Evidence from the report indicates that a Community Support Strategy may be an opportunity to address these issues.
Decision Makers: Business
Flexible Scheduling: scheduling allows employees to control some aspects of their schedule. This can include flex time, where workers set their start and end times around a core schedule; flex hours, which allows banking of accumulated hours for future time off; compressed work weeks, such as working 10 hours per day for four days rather than five 8-hour shifts; and self-scheduling of shift work, sometimes used in nursing and manufacturing positions. Voluntary reductions in work weeks, such as temporary transitions to part-time or partial retirement for older workers, are also approaches to flexible scheduling.
Decision Makers: Business
Job-sharing Programs are flexible work arrangements in which a single full-time position is split between two part-time employees, and each part-time employee retains the rights and privileges of the full-time job. Employees receive the same benefits as full-time employees, proportional to their hours worked. Such arrangements are generally initiated at the request of employees.
Decision Makers: Businesses, Educators, Government, Nonprofits
Youth Apprenticeship Programs provide high school students with professional opportunities combining academic and on-the-job training and mentorship. Apprenticeships include classroom-based vocational education related to paid on-the-job work in a high school or technical college setting and connect participants to instructors who also act as mentors. Youth apprenticeships are offered in a variety of fields. Training requirements and applicable government or industry-recognized standards vary by area. Most formalized internships in the United States serve adults who have graduated from high school, often through Registered Apprenticeship programs.
Decision Makers: Businesses, Educators, Government, Nonprofits
Bridge programs for hard-to-employ adults Bridge programs for low-skilled, unemployed adults are basic education and training programs that teach fundamental skills (e.g., reading, math, writing, English language, or soft skills) with industry-specific training. Bridge programs can include hands-on courses closely tied to in-demand jobs and may provide additional support for low-income and at-risk students. Programs can be implemented independently but are often included as the first step in career pathways programs or as an early component of sector-based workforce initiatives to increase participants’ skill levels to continue progressing in a career pathway. Programs are also called occupationally contextualized basic education programs.
Decision Makers: Government
State courts issue certificates of employability to people with criminal convictions who have met specific standards to help employers and landlords make better-informed decisions about applicants with criminal records. Courts and, sometimes, parole boards can tailor certificates based on an individual’s history and circumstances and may relieve or mitigate some or all consequences of a criminal conviction, such as statute-imposed penalties restricting occupational or business licensing and employment. Certificates may be issued after a set waiting period based on proof of behavior and work history or may be awarded during sentencing to support reentry. Several states’ certificates create an enforceable presumption of rehabilitation, and some limit employers’ liability in negligent hiring actions. Some certificates may be available only to individuals convicted of less serious offenses, though several jurisdictions award them to convicted felons. Names of certificates vary by state; examples include certificates of relief, certificates of reentry, certificates of good conduct, certificates of rehabilitation, certificates of qualification for employment, and certificates of recovery. Unlike a pardon or expungement, a certificate does not remove a conviction from a person’s record or relieve a job applicant of the obligation to acknowledge the conviction if asked.
Decision Makers: Government, Public Health, Community Members, & Community Development
Carpool and rideshare programs help commuters share transportation. Carpools and rideshares can be informal arrangements between individuals, sometimes called casual carpooling, or be formally arranged through dynamic ridesharing programs or other ride-matching services. Employers and state and local governments often support the creation of carpools and vanpools, coordinate ridership, and provide incentives such as preferential parking for participants.
Decision Makers: Government & Community Development
Tips for Winning Federal Transportation Grants help organizations seeking federal transportation grants.
Decision Makers: Healthcare, Public Health
Chronic disease management programs Chronic disease management (CDM) programs are proactive, organized sets of interventions focused on the needs of a defined population of patients. Program design varies, but CDM programs are usually multi-component efforts that include planned visits to teach patients about their disease and coach them on healthy behavior change, medication adherence, and skills for self-management of chronic conditions in partnership with a coordinated, multidisciplinary care team. Interventions may be based on the Chronic Care Model, which identifies links to community resources, health system support, health care system redesign, self-management and provider decision support, and clinical information systems as essential elements for health care systems to support high-quality chronic disease care. CDM programs can help patients with diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, and depression and can be delivered in various healthcare settings.
Decision Makers: Healthcare, Public Health
Consumer Participation in healthcare governance Healthcare entities are often governed by boards that set the Organization’s strategic direction; board decisions help determine organizational policy, shape patient services, and, ultimately, affect patient outcomes. Governing boards are generally comprised of various stakeholders and can include consumer representatives, usually patients of the Organization. Consumers may also be integrated into other governance activities, participate in projects to develop and disseminate consumer-friendly health and comparative quality information, or participate in healthcare system redesign efforts. Patient advisory councils (PACs), also known as patient and family advisory councils (PFACs), made up of patients, family members, health care providers, and administrative staff, can carry out these governance activities as well, in settings including hospitals, primary care practices, and community health centers. Consumer roles may be long-term commitments such as reviewing current services, potential change initiatives, or short-term engagements to provide feedback or preferences on discrete questions.
Decision Makers: Funders, Business, Government
Electronic Benefits Transfer payment at farmer’s markets Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) is the electronic payment system of debit cards that the government uses to issue Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to eligible recipients. SNAP benefits used to be paper-based and easy to redeem at farmers’ markets; when the EBT mandate passed, benefit redemption at farmers’ markets declined dramatically. The ability for farmers’ markets to accept EBT re-establishes an opportunity for low-income shoppers to access fresh, locally grown foods.
Decision Makers: Funders, Government, Public Health, Nonprofits
Father involvement programs that support father involvement provide educational training and services related to parenting skills, father-child relationships, and child development and well-being. Fathers can be involved with their children through direct interactions, support for a child’s mother, managing a child’s behavior, and role modeling positive behavior1. Father involvement programs are often delivered in a group setting through local organizations and often focus on first-time, low-income, minority, and nonresident fathers.
Decision Makers: Funders, Businesses, Government, Public Health, Community Members, Nonprofits & Community Development
Financial Education for Adults Adult financial education programs often covers basic budgeting, bank use, and credit management. In addition, specialized education programs can focus on preparing for divorce, bankruptcy, credit building and counseling, homeownership, retirement, or other relevant topics. Financial education may be provided in groups or as one-on-one coaching, in person, over the phone, or online. Programs can be offered through nonprofit organizations, for-profits, government entities, and employers, often serving individuals with lower incomes.
