July CSBG Newsletter

July 7, 2021 | Issue 62

LearnWorlds, Virginia's new Learning Management System now open!

The Virginia CSBG Office and Virginia Community Action Partnership partnered together to purchase LearnWorlds, a learning management system. LearnWorlds is a one stop shop for resources, training, and technical assistance for the Virginia CAA Network. We are excited to have this system for agency staff and board members.

LearnWorlds is now open and available for any Virginia CAA board or staff member to create an account and begin accessing courses and resources. We have put together a user guide which contains information on how to create an account and access the courses and information. Also, a short pre-recorded webinar is available to learn more about LearnWorlds.

You can access LearnWorlds by going to vacsbg.learnworlds.com.

Our office and VACAP will continue to add new courses and resources as they become available.

If you have any questions or trouble accessing the site, please reach out to Abby Hanks at Abigail.Hanks@dss.virginia.gov.

VDSS Rise Program

The 2021 General Assembly appropriated funds for the implementation of an individual development account (IDA)* program. RISE (Reaching Independence through Savings and Education) is an IDA administered by the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) designed to support TANF eligible individuals for the purposes of home ownership, transportation acquisition, education, small business ownership, or to achieve self-sufficiency.

To be eligible to participate in the RISE program, the TANF recipient must be employed, part-time, full-time or self-employed, and must complete financial and asset specific training.

Intermediaries will work in tandem with VDSS to offer a comprehensive strategy for TANF eligible families to achieve self-sufficiency. The participant shall work with an Intermediary who will review program requirements, determine eligibility, monitor financial and asset specific training completion, support and work with the participant in establishing a savings goal, and assist in establishing and monitoring the RISE account.

Community Action Agencies operating as intermediaries will work in tandem with the VDSS to offer a comprehensive strategy for TANF eligible families to achieve self-sufficiency. The participant shall work with an Intermediary who will review program requirements, determine eligibility, monitor financial and asset specific training completion, support and work with the participant in establishing a savings goal, and assist in establishing and monitoring the RISE account.

Community Action Updates

Upcoming Events

July 5 - State Offices Closed
August 15 - 4th Quarter Reports Due

CSBG 4th Quarter Report due August 15th

This is a reminder the 2020-2021 CSBG 4th Quarter Report is Due August 15th. The 4th quarter report has not changed from last year, we do not plan to conduct a training this year since there are no changes. In the CBSG Reporter User Guide, starting on page 27 is the Reporting information. If you need any assistance in completing the report please email your program consultant and we can schedule a one on one call to review the report. Also, we have created a 4th quarter reporting checklist, which can be used to ensure you have completed the required sections.

As a reminder these are the components to the 4th quarter report (all are in CSBG Reporter):

Progress Report
ROMA Implementer Actual Activities
Family NPI
Community NPI (If Applicable)
Demographics (both individual and family)
Capacity Building Form
Expenditures
CSBG Resources

Organizational Standards Review Timeline

Your CSBG Program Consultant will be conducting the annual Organizational Standards review in September 2021. Your agency will receive a list of all standards that need attention by September 30, 2021. The agency will have October and November to upload any outstanding information prior to a final review and update letter going to the Board President and Executive Director in January 2022.

The purpose of our annual review ensures that agencies are continuing to meet the standards and are updating required documentation as outlined by the due dates.

CSBG Roundtable Recap

On June 8, 2021, the Virginia CSBG team held a roundtable for the CAA network. During this roundtable, attendees were split into small groups to discuss a variety of questions. Each group had great discussions around the future of Community Action, strengths and challenges brought on by the pandemic, changes to agency structure over the last year and opportunities for growth as a network. Some key points from discussion included the shift to long term solutions versus short term fixes that just get people through the crisis only to go on to the next crisis. Also, encouraging communities to work together to make change rather than disparate services spread across the community. At the agency level, there were several comments around the increased amount of cross-training happening. There were also comments around the new strategies being developed to reach clients and to provide clients wrap around services.

This roundtable gave agencies an opportunity to share and learn from others in the network. We hope to continue this style roundtable event at future VACAP conferences, if you have any suggestions for future discussion questions please email csbg@dss.virginia.gov.

Community Action Resources

Richmond Fed Broadband Summit - Information Released

More than 100 guests from across the nation participated in the Richmond Fed’s inaugural Broadband Summit on June 8, 2020 to gain insight into steps their states can take to reduce the digital divide. The theme for the virtual event was “Strategies for Accelerating Broadband Deployment,” and it was co-hosted by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

To access the information from the summit please visit the Richmond Fed's website.

OSHA Issues Long-Awaited COVID-19 Guidance for Employers

On June 10, 2021, OSHA announced two new, eagerly anticipated components of its workplace COVID-19 safety standards and guidance.

OSHA updated its guidance for protecting employees from exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace. This guidance is intended to help employers who are not covered by OSHA's new Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for healthcare settings take appropriate steps to protect unvaccinated and at-risk employees.

The updated OSHA guidance aligns with the CDC’s recently-issued recommendations, which distinguish between fully vaccinated and unvaccinated employees. Fully vaccinated individuals no longer have to wear masks or physically distance indoors or outdoors, or undergo post-exposure COVID-19 tests. OSHA clarifies that, unless other federal, state, or local laws, rules, or regulations say otherwise, most employers no longer need to take steps to protect fully vaccinated workers who are not otherwise at risk from COVID-19 exposure. OSHA defines an “at-risk employee” by referencing the CDC’s webpages describing Vaccines for People with Underlying Medical Conditions and People with Certain Medical Conditions.

Employers are also reminded that under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employees with medical disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodations to protect them from contracting COVID-19 in the workplace when their disability precludes them from: (1) becoming vaccinated; (2) being fully protected by a vaccination due to an immunocompromising condition; or (3) wearing a face covering. For more information on how to properly consider reasonable accommodations for disabled employees, please refer to CAPLAW’s Building Readiness resource.