January 5, 2020 | Issue 46
Upcoming Events
February 17 - State Offices Closed
February 24-28 - NASCSP Conference
March 11th - Wytheville Data Session
March 12th - Farmville Data Session
March 19th - Newport News Data Session
Webinar Spotlight

Presented by: TechSoup
Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST
This webinar will walk through client case studies and key insights on how to improve your web presence so your marketing efforts don't go to waste. Following this webinar, you'll know how to evaluate your website and take seven actionable steps to ensure that your organization is putting its best foot forward in all things digital for 2020.
CSBG Regional Training: Diving into Data
Are you drowning in client data but finding that much of it is never used, maybe not understood, maybe not complete, maybe not important? This workshop will help you become a data-centric organization that can rely on accurate, timely client data to improve your outcomes. We will develop data collection plans and practice simple ways to analyze data so it becomes the information you need to make key programmatic decisions. 

This workshop is ideal for ROMA Implementers and program directors. Participants will be asked to bring a laptop for some hands-on practice with spreadsheets. (Please note: This is  not a  class on advanced data analytics or use of statistical software.)  
Dates and Locations:

March 11th - Wytheville Community College
March 12th - Farmville Public Library
March 19th - Downing Gross Cultural Arts Center, Newport News, VA
Community Action Updates
2020-2022 State Plan Comment Period
The first comment period for the 2020-2022 CSBG State Plan is open. The CSBG State Plan is a critical document for both state and federal oversight of CSBG. The CSBG State Plan integrates and aligns requirements from the CSBG Act with elements of the overall CSBG Performance Management and Accountability Framework. There are several elements of the CSBG State Plan which include: State Training and Technical Assistance, State Linkages and Coordination, Tri-Partite Board Compliance and Monitoring practices.

The State Plan generally has minor changes every two years, and is always released for comment prior to submission to OCS. This year we are proposing changes to our CSBG monitoring process. For this first comment period we have released the updated Monitoring tools and practices for review by agencies. This comment period started on January 8th and will end February 7th. We will have two additional comment periods in March and June which will encompass the other areas of the state plan.

During OVCS Roundtable at the January VACAP conference we reviewed in detail the State Plan process and reviewed all of the proposed monitoring document changes.
VACAP CSBG Roundtable Recap
Thank you to those who attend the CSBG Roundtable at the VACAP Conference in January. There were several important updates presented at the Roundtable including:

  • We have compiled a list of frequent monitoring findings and recommendations, some of the top ones include: Board Structure/ Vacancies, Board awareness and understanding of Community Action, Income eligibility verification practices, sub-recipient monitoring practices.
  • Community Action Plan Due May 1st - no major changes to the 2020-2021 plan. A webinar will be conducted with the system is ready to collect information.
  • 2020 Census - April 1st is Census Day - Please ensure your agency is engaged with the Community Action Partnership information. Funding allocations for FY 2022 will change based on the 2020 Census.
  • Tiffney Marley and Jeannie Chafin with the National Community Action Partnership presented on Pursuing a Whole Family Approach in your agency. The presentation can be found here.

The full presentation with more information from the roundtable can be found on our website. Please contact your program consultant for more information as well.
Community Action Resources
CSBG Website
The CSBG Team often refers to their website for you to find more information and resources. We continuously update our site with training's, newsletters and resources that we believe will be helpful for CAA's in Virginia. We hope you take some time to visit our website and check out the resources available. A few of our pages include:
  • CSBG Program Guidance: this is where all of the recent webinars and guidance documents are posted. All webinars are posted within a week of delivery. We encourage you to look here if you missed a scheduled webinar.
  • Virginia CSBG Newsletter: All newsletters are posted to our website within a week of delivery. You can also sign up to receive newsletters if you are not on our list.
  • CSBG Resources: This page contains resources from our office and the field on many large topic areas, such as Board, Needs Assessment, Strategic Planning, etc. This page is ever evolving and new resources are being added throughout the year.
Samepage - Collaboration Platform
Several VACAP Peer Groups have recently started using Samepage - which is a collaboration and document sharing platform - to stay connected throughout the year. You should have received an email invitation to join Samepage if you are part of the Fiscal, Human Resources, ROMA or new Board Peer Group. Samepage allows users to communicate via chat, create and share documents, plan meetings, and much more. If you are a member of one of these peer groups but were not added to the group please email csbg@dss.virginia.gov and we will be sure to add you to the appropriate group.
Virginia Community Action Spotlight
CAA Leader Recognized as Trailblazer
On Sunday, February 2 the Norfolk Public Library presented its 6th Annual African American Trailblazers Honors Program at the Chrysler Museum of Art. The achievements of five distinguished individuals were recognized with awards. One of those recognized was Ms. Regina Lawrence, President and CEO, STOP Inc.

Ms. Lawrence’s accomplishments include a legacy of 45+ years of her service at STOP Inc., which includes 18 titles, most current being President and CEO. The current Board Chairman, William E. Curtis and Chairman Emeritus,George F. Reed spoke of Ms. Lawrence’s hard work, perseverance and commitment in keeping STOP Inc. viable through a difficult period in the Agency’s history and of her visions for the Agency’s future.

Click here to read more about STOP's work in the community and congratulations again Ms. Lawrence!


Virginia Community Services Block Grant Office