The CBSG Supplemental grant period ended on September 30, 2022. We want to share some important information regarding the close out process for the grant. 

• Final Reports - We have received guidance that we should receive the final reporting forms by Dec. 7, 2022. As soon as we receive these forms we will be sending them to agencies. We anticipate reports will be the same forms that were used last year. We encourage you to use last year's forms as a guide (CSBG Expenditures, Allocated Resources, Services, and Demographics) We anticipate that reports would cover the time period of October 1, 2021- September 30, 2022. You will be reporting on funds expended as well as services and demographics that were provided with the CSBG Supplemental funds. You can begin preparing the information so when the forms are released you are able to easily enter the information into the form customized for your agency. 
• Final Monitoring of CARES funds - we will be conducting a final monitoring of CARES funds and issue a final close out letter once completed. The monitoring will consist of the following: 
• Review of Documentation for select CARES invoices (this has been occurring throughout the year, you will be notified if your agency needs to submit anything additional in regards to invoicing.)
• Completion of 4 narrative questions via this form: https://forms.office.com/g/1BpKRdDxhw. We will use these questions and answers in lieu of a monitoring interview. This form is due November 15, 2022
• A review of a sampling of client files. We will request a small sampling of client files to be uploaded via a secure file share portal to allow us to ensure that eligibility determination processes were followed. Client files will be requested throughout December and January.
• Once final reports are received, we will also review final reports and include feedback in our final close out monitoring letter. 

As Community Action Agencies, your success stories are key to amplifying your work and expressing the importance of your programs. The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) wants to help you capture these stories and get them out into the world. We’ve created a OEO Storytelling Guide to help you generate good content. In this guide, you’ll find some simple and effective ways you can easily pull together client information to make a great story. We’ve also created a simple OEO Story Submission Form to make it as easy as possible for you to submit your information to us.

We also want to see photos and video reflecting your work! Photography is a vital element in elevating your stories and generating interest. There are some useful tips in the OEO Storytelling Guide to help you take great photos/video.

The OEO wants to hear from you frequently, and we are committed to utilize your stories to craft engaging content to share statewide and beyond. We are proud of your work and are excited to share your successes!

We will be working with EmpowOR to host a 1^st quarter report work session on Nov. 16^th at 1:30pm for agencies with EmpowOR. This will be a work session to import 1^st quarter report data from EmpowOR to CSBG Reporter. You will be able, in real time, to export and import reports. Lil will be on to answer questions, troubleshoot and walk through the process. We know for many of you this will be your first time importing the reports from EmpowOR to CSBG Reporter, we wanted to offer this work session to ensure a smooth transition.

As you know 1^st quarter reports are typically due Nov. 15^th, however if you are participating in this work session your reports can be submitted by Nov. 18^th so you can use this work session to complete the 1^st quarter reporting. 

If you did not get the meeting invite and would like to attend please contact Abby at Abigail.hanks@dss.virginia.gov. 

The Capital Strategy Group, LLC will be conducting its last training in the Leadership 101- Foundational Principles Series on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. Bias in the Workplace will run from 10 am to 11:30 am. This training consists of 3 areas that delve into how biases in the workplace can cause unintended harm and impact employee performance and engagement.

Area 1: Discusses the historical context of structural racism and addresses the known biases that occur in the workplace to include: hiring employees, the work environment, performance, and promotion.

Area 2: Provides real- world experience on what seemingly can be covert bias with harmful consequences.

Area 3: Invites learners to identify some basic principles and methods that learners can practice at removing biases and employing an inclusive approach in their everyday settings.



The deadline to register is November 11, 2022. Click here to register. 

With 2023 just around the corner, now is the perfect time to evaluate your organization's progress to inform agency goals and priorities for the new year. Partnership staff will review dynamic tools and processes you can use to reflect on organizational performance in 2022 to inform action in 2023, including through the Community Action Standards of Excellence and organizational assessment tools available to the Community Action network. Join this webinar to learn more about these great tools and resources, and the 2023 Pathways to Excellence cohort opportunities you can use to move your agency practices towards excellence.



Click here to register.

Community Action Agencies (CAAs), like many employers across the United States, are experiencing challenges retaining their existing staff and recruiting new employees in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. To help CAAs strategize for employee recruitment and retention in a post-pandemic world, CAPLAW has created this guide identifying some types of compensation they can offer, and the laws and regulations governing their salaries and benefits. When making any changes to their salary and benefits packages, CAAs should carefully review applicable laws and guidance in consultation with an employment attorney in their state, since state and local wage and hour laws will also apply. The rules and compensation types discussed here are not exhaustive, but we hope they will help you lay the foundation for a more engaged and experienced workforce. 

Click here to learn more about each compensation type. For a printer-friendly chart version of this guide, click here.