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Helping People. Changing Lives.
March 2022 Volume 32; Issue 6
From the Executive Director's Desk

March is the first month of the Head Start/Early Head Start contract year. We have just been informed that the federal government is close to finalizing a budget for the current year which includes a small increase for these services. We should know about final numbers for our services within the next month or 2.

Our board President, Tom Letsche and I had the opportunity to visit the state capital on March 9th. We met with our members and discussed issues around child care, dental access, infrastructure, Family Development & Self-Sufficiency, and others. We thank our elected members for their service to our state.

We are fortunate to have received 2 new contracts in our Child Care Resource & Referral department. These contracts will help providers across our region and the state with child care management consulting and with mental health needs through the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports systems. Thanks to Melissa Juhl, Sharon Heidesch and all of the staff involved in preparing for these services.

Gasoline and heating fuel prices are rising dramatically. This will impact most everything in our economic system. Mid-Sioux will see budgets reflect these rising prices. Families will be impacted as well. Our LIHEAP and Weatherization services become even more important when energy prices spike as they have now. 

We all hope for a quick resolution to the war in Ukraine for the sake of the Ukraine citizens and for all of the impact the war has throughout the world.  


Respectfully:
Dick Sievers
Executive Director
Click the ICAA Logo above to find out what's happening in statewide Community Action.
HOUSING/ENERGY SERVICES
Embrace Iowa
One of my favorite programs is this one! The Des Moines Register operates the Embrace Iowa campaign at Christmas-time. They raise emergency funds for low-income families through-out all of Iowa. This past year, Mid-Sioux received $24,808 and was able to assist 42 households with emergency needs that Mid-Sioux generally isn’t funded for from other federal, state, or local resources.
Payments were made for:
·      3 Beds
·      10 Car Repairs
·      10 Medical Bills
·      3 Dental/Eye Glasses
·      1 Rent
·      6 Home Repairs
·      7 Appliances
·      1 Kitchen Table
·      1 High Chair
·      4 Mortgage Payments
·      6 Misc.
 
Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP)
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provided funding to assist low-income households with water and wastewater bills. Funding will continue until 9/30/23. To date, Mid-Sioux has assisted over 90 households and distributed over $21,000 in benefits. Income guidelines are set at 200% of poverty and household must demonstrate a water burden and currently be experiencing a water crisis. Applications are taken over the phone or in person by our outreach staff.
 
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
Heating costs continue to go up. A recent poll with our propane vendors has prices per gallon that range from $1.78 (1000 gals) to $3.94. Some of the bigger vendors didn’t respond to our request for prices. Last year we were seeing prices that ranged from $.90 to $1.22. This is sad and scary! ☹
 
Applications for the program has increased greatly this year. We are seeing a lot of new households in need of assistance. So far this year 1850 applications have been approved. We have exceeded the number of applications taken last year at this time. 
 
 
Julie Colling
Housing/Energy Services Director
HEAD START / EARLY HEAD START
Sign up now for the FREE Head Start & Child Development Center Preschool Programs!

Kindergarten readiness for 3 & 4 year old children
Visit www.midsioux.org or call 800-859-2025 for an application.
Give your child a “Head Start” in their education! 
FAMILY DEVELOPMENT AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Generally, by this time of the year our FaDSS team has completed their annual visit to the State Capitol Building in Des Moines for our annual Iowa Family Development Alliance (IFDA) Day on the Hill event. During that event, we had the opportunity to meet with area Legislators and provide information pertaining to our program. We have always enjoyed this event and the opportunity to visit in-person with Legislators. Last year, due to COVID-19, each FaDSS grantee provided the information electronically to Legislators serving their areas. This year, IFDA has put together a Virtual Day on the Hill event. Along with emailing information to Legislators, we are also holding a Zoom meeting on Friday, February 18th for each region of the state. Staff from FaDSS grantees will be present to provide information and answer any questions Legislators may have. Success stories from FaDSS participants will also be played during these meetings.

FaDSS is one of Iowa’s best investment to prepare families with a limited income and barriers to education, work, and self-sufficiency to become employed, increase family income, achieve education milestones, and save the state money through decreased Family Investment Program (FIP) cash assistance.

Last year we were so appreciative that the Iowa Legislature and Governor approved an increase for the FaDSS Program. It marked the first increase for the program in six years! This year, the Iowa Community Action Association is recommending a modest provider increase to allow local FaDSS agencies to keep up with increasing costs.

Below are a few statistics from fiscal year 2021:
  • Statewide, in FY 21 families exiting FaDSS decreased their average monthly FIP amount by 63%.
  • Mid-Sioux Opportunity’s Return on Investment was $1.58 last year. This is calculated by wages earned and FIP savings. This does not include that every dollar earned in wages is regenerated in to the community five to six times.
  • 67% of families in Mid-Sioux’s FaDSS program participated in work preparedness activities.
  • Mid-Sioux FaDSS staff had 838 contacts with families in the program during FY 21.
 
As is the case each year, we know Legislators have many tough decisions to make. We hope decision makers will continue to agree that investing in FaDSS is an investment in Iowa’s future.
OUTREACH
We are starting to wind down with LiHeap, (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) and application counts have been slowing down due to the weather being warmer. As of February 2022, Sioux County had 430 approved applications and only 22 denied applications. We are currently over the total number of approved applications taken in 2021! We are taking applications for LiHeap until April 30th so there is still plenty of time to apply for LiHeap. For information on what will be needed to apply, please contact Sarah Kennedy or Pam Ericson at the Sioux Center office 712-722-3611.

Our Sioux County food pantry has been busy with clients needing groceries. We had 49 families utilize the pantry in February verses only 37 families in January. We have been utilizing the Food Bank of Siouxland and our Cherokee offices food pantry to keep our pantry stocked for our families to use. Families are able to receive food once every 30 days. Families that are interested in receiving food from our food pantry will need to apply for LiHeap and be approved. 

We are taking applications for Early Head Start and Head Start. Early Head Start and Head Start are free programs for children. Early Head Start is a program that is for children ages 0-3 and Head Start is for ages 4-5. For more information or to apply for Early Head Start or Head Start, please contact our office at 712-722-3611. 

We also offer LiHWap, (Low Income Household Water Assistance Program) ,it is a federal funded program that helps with water and sewer costs. To apply for this program, you will need to be approved for LiHeap and have one month in arrears on your water and sewer bill. For more information, please contact Sarah Kennedy or Pam Ericson at 712-722-3611.
Child Care Resource & Referral
CCR&R Reaching Families with Newborns
 
Child Care Resource and Referral is now reaching every family in Iowa who has a newborn baby. A new postcard, “Looking for Child Care?” is being mailed along with every new Iowa birth certificate. The State Child Death Review Team (CDRT), with members from the Iowa Department of Human Services and Iowa Department of Public Health, reached out to Child Care Resource and Referral to request if there was any way they could help share information regarding child care to parents. Bobbi Riedemann, Statewide Communication Specialist and Mid-Sioux employee, worked with the team to create a postcard specifically for the birth certificate mailings. An estimated 42,000 postcards will be mailed to Iowa families each year. Child Care Resource and Referral are excited for this new partnership and a chance to educate these new families on choosing child care. Families can find more child care information at https://iowaccrr.org/families/. Text Link
418 S. Marion Street | Remsen, IA 51050 | 712-786-2001 | 800-859-2025